Being with Michael: Part 1 (Book Two)

Chapter Sixty One

"Apparently Paige is still in the hospital. Man, I tell ya that girl is trouble. So many bad things keep happening. I don't think Michael's going to be able to put up with it for much longer. Heck, I'm surprised the marriage's lasted this long. I give it a year. A year, and they'll be getting divorced. That's my bet. What do you say Cindy?" Alex, a famed radio personality across the west coast, says on-air.

Cindy shakes her head at him and speaks into the microphone, "I don't know, Alex. You never know. I mean if the marriage has already lasted these last four years, there must be something there. This one's been longer than his last two marriages, and for once the attention has been brought off of him and onto her. They both seem strong, and I bet they have a lot more in common than we know. I think they're going to stick this through, Alex. I don't think there's going to be a divorce."

"Well, those are our two bets," Alex says. "Make sure to call in and let us know what you think is going to happen!"

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"This is what they're saying about me?" Paige asks in a whisper. She's watching the TV in her hospital room. Pictures of her flash across the screen with reporters sharing the details of her life. She can't even recognize herself in the pictures; she sees she's definitely matured over the years and doesn't look like a teenager anymore.

Yesterday was the day she woke up after surgery. Stangers (to her, at least) were in her room and one had the guts to say he was her husband.

He has long black hair, deep gleaming eyes, prominent cheekbones, and a great smile with a little crook to the left that makes him look even more charming. He's handsome and she sees why she would marry him.

He's the one who told her Daniel is dead. When she asked him when he died, he said almost six years ago.

She feels like it's still six years ago. She can't think of anything past that point in time and she believes she's still in it. Her mind keeps telling her to make sure she makes it to class on time so she can graduate.

Apparently, she already did.

She graduated, she stopped racing, she got gigs dancing, and became a dancer for the guy with black hair. And then she fell in love with him.

They were surprised to know she didn't recognize him. They acted like she should and she didn't know why.

His name is Michael Jackson. So what? Her name is Paige Rhodes. Well, now it's Paige Jackson. But those are just names; she wants to get to know her new self and him.

It's so weird, being you, and yet not being you at the same time, she thinks.

When they let Paige watch TV, she knew it was all true. She lost her memory, and everything they say is true. And proof is all over the sreen.

This new information helps fill in some of the black holes for her.

Michael is a singer-songwriter, dancer, producer, humanitarian, businessman, etc. He's extremely famous and rich and successful. She's his dancer who married him. Great, she thinks. I'm a gold digger.

Then the reporters start dishing up things from her past. They mention her degree in engineering from Berkeley. They mention her dance crew from college, and the crews from her time in foster care. They mention her life in foster care. They mention him. There's pictures of his mug shot all over the screen and she feels her body tense up because this is the first time she's seen him since court. Everyone knows now what he did to her.

They mention her parents, the druggies who eventually died by homicide and suicide.

Shame washes over Paige. She definitely knows those things are true, so all of this must be true.