| Chapter 6 |
| When she realized he had gone � which wasn�t until twenty minutes later because she was really upset � she panicked. What did it mean? He had never done that before. What about their relationship? It couldn�t really be over for such a stupid thing� But now that she thought it, it wasn�t just �such a stupid thing� at all. He had actually asked her to be with him during his tour. She knew how much it meant to him, and still she had said no. How stupid could she be??? She ran to her phone, grabbed it and dialed his number. No answer� She left a message. Michael, it�s Reese� Please pick up the phone if you hear me! Michael I am sorry, I didn�t want to hurt you. I have been so stupid, and it�s only now that I realize it. Michael please� I don�t want to lose you� Pick up the phone please. Or call me back when you get this message, please. She waited all evening; he didn�t call back. She tried again and again to reach him and she ended up giving up. She knew that he must have had her message but just wasn�t calling back. This surely was a sort of punishment, and she deserved it so she remained patient. But one night, after a whole week without any news from him, she took her car and went to his hotel. It started raining really badly before she got there. Once in front of the hotel, she couldn�t find a parking space and thus had to park two streets away. When she walked in the reception hall, she was absolutely drenched and looked a real mess. The man at the reception looked at her in a funny way. She knew it wouldn�t be easy. �Hi,� she said, smiling and walking towards him. She saw his hand getting close to the button that would call security. �No please, don�t do this�� she begged. �I know I look like a tramp and you probably don�t remember me. But I have been in this hotel many times now, I swear, I just want to speak to Mr. Jackson. Please�� He didn�t move, let alone replied. She started laughing. �Listen, I know how mental this all sounds�� He smiled; a way to show he approved that statement. �But please, you need to trust me. I know anyone could walk in here and ask to speak to him. But I�m not joking, I promise...� He remained still, his hand inches away from the red button. �Listen, could you call someone? There�s a guy called Tony in his entourage. Tony knows me� Please just call him and if he says no then I will go, I promise. But please call him because he does know me. You�ve got nothing to lose and Mr. Jackson won�t even be involved at that stage. Please�� He looked at her more closely. Her hair was a mess, she didn�t even have a coat on and she was completely drenched. But she looked honest; he had the feeling that she could be trusted. But how many people who looked as though they could be trusted had turned out to be mental fans before??? Still, the solution she had offered seemed quite reasonable. When she saw his hand move away from the button and grab the phone, a huge smile appeared on her face� �Hello,� he said, �I have a woman here called� Erm what�s your name by the way?� he asked her. �Conelly. Reese Conelly.� �She�s called Reese Conelly and she says that she knows you�� There was a pause. �OK then. Thank you very much.� He hung the phone up but didn�t look at her again. Tony arrived down the stairs a few minutes later. She ran towards him. The young man still didn�t dare to look at her. �Thank you so much Tony�� �Are you alright then?� �Sure, just a bit wet�� she replied, smiling. �Follow me,� he said, walking back up the stairs. �He got your messages, all of them� I don�t really know why he didn�t call you back. I�m glad you�re here cause he�s been a nightmare those last days.� He winked at her before opening a door. She walked in and came face to face with Michael. He looked at her without moving, probably too surprised to do anything. �Reese�� �Michael� I�m so sorry� I was getting mad because you weren�t replying to my messages so I decided to show up and Tony managed to get me in. Michael I love you,� she said, walking towards him but stopping before she touched him because she didn't want to make him wet. �I had to see you because I couldn�t bear it anymore�� He looked at her with tears in the eyes. He didn�t say anything, just walked closer and held her in his arms. �Michael, I�m drenched!� �I don�t care,� he said, holding her closer and kissing her. ***** About an hour later, Michael and Reese were walking out of the hotel. Michael had packed a bag like the previous weekend, Reese had dried her hair and was wearing one of his sweat shirts. They went pass the reception and through the backdoor. But before they had attained it, the young man Reese had been talking to earlier on ran after them. �Miss Conelly,� he called. She turned around and smiled at him. �Yes?� �I� I just wanted to apologise�� he stuttered. �Apologise for the way I treated you earlier on�� Michael looked at her but she still stared at the young man. �You don�t have to apologise,� she simply said, her smile not leaving her face. �I�m glad that you treated me like this in a way, because I know that he is safe� Thank you Jack!� she added after looking at the badge on his jacket. He stayed there, startled, watching them leaving through the backdoor, hand I hand. Michael actually waited there with a bodyguard while Reese went to get her car � with an umbrella this time. A few minutes later she was back, Michael went into her car and they disappeared. They got to her apartment and ran into the elevator, and finally into her apartment. They were laughing like teenagers. �Michael, you�re mad! This was so risky! What if we had come across somebody who recognised you???� �We didn�t, and that�s all that matters!� He threw his bag on the floor, took her in his arms and kissed her. �So we might finally have this nice weekend that we wanted�� he added with one of those killing smiles. �Michael, there�s something important that I want to tell you� I�ve thought about it all and yes, I am coming with you on the Bad Tour� There�s just no way I could let you go for so long. I�m not saying I will stay for the whole tour, but at least the beginning of it�� He smiled and kissed her, and she kissed him back. They slowly moved around the apartment until they suddenly collapsed on the sofa, laughing like teenagers. Reese felt like she was fifteen again. She was lying on the sofa and Michael was by her side, half sitting on the sofa and half lying on her. He was kissing her lips, her face, her neck and all the parts he could get to. But his hands were not leaving hers, as if he was afraid of letting them wander over her body. She took them and slowly put them on her waist. He suddenly gasped and sat up. �What�s wrong?� �Nothing�� he replied, blushing in a few seconds and lowering his face. �Michael,� she said, sitting closer to him, touching his face with one hand and kissing him on the cheek. �I am very sorry if I did anything that seemed too soon for you. I am really sorry�� He looked at her deep in the eyes and didn�t see any resentment in them. �I panicked, I�m sorry. I� I�m not quite used to that �kind of thing��� he replied apologetically. �You don�t have to worry. I don�t really care. The only thing is� well you�re stuck here for a few days and I was wondering� will you still be able to sleep in the same bed as I will�?� �I think I can handle that!� he replied, smiling, kissing her. That night, for the first time of her life, she fell asleep in Michael�s arms, thinking that there was no other place on earth where she would rather be at that particular moment. When she woke up the following morning, he was already gone in the bathroom. She didn�t care, as long as she could have him. He had his habits; and then what, so did everybody else! ***** The following two months went very quickly. They had gone into a sort of �routine� which was very simple but very satisfying for both of them. It wasn�t too extravagant for Reese and it allowed Michael to have some peaceful moments. He liked spending weekends in her apartment, even if it meant staying in all the time, which they did anyway even if they were in a hotel. They would stay late in bed, have breakfast there, wander around all day in their slippers, watching TV, eating food on the sofa. Often he would tell her about the tour and everything that it involved. �Shhh, there won�t be any surprised left for me!� �Don�t worry, I�m not telling you everything�� he would reply with a wink. One day, his limousine came to pick her up and he was inside. That was very unusual because he was always waiting for her in the hotel and only a bodyguard � usually Tony � would be with her. �Hey, hello you!� she said before kissing him. �How come you�re picking me up personally? Anything special?� �You�ll see.� He replied, looking at her from head to toes. �Good, you�re wearing jeans and trainers; very appropriate.� She stared at him, trying to understand what he wasn�t saying, but there was nothing she could do. His malicious eyes were not telling her anything about his plans. He winked at her and then the car went. The journey lasted for about three hours, and when they went out of the car, she had no idea where they were� It seemed like a desert place and there just wasn�t anything to see or do. Apart from sand, rocks and maybe some dead plants here and there, there was nothing interesting. �Michael�� she said, sounding very confused, �Could you explain please. I don�t know what�s going on�� �This is mine,� he replied with a smile, staring at the bare land. �You must be joking. W� What are you going to do here? What is it for? Your own little piece of waste land?� �You lack imagination my dear Reese� I can see a mansion, a park, a fairground and others things like that, and who knows, maybe a zoo too�� She looked at him, deeply puzzled. He was just staring at the land. �You must be mad!� she said, joking. �Or maybe it�s already too hot for you; you�d better get back in the car.� He walked behind her, put his arms around her waist, rested his head on her shoulder and softly whispered in her ear. �Try to imagine Reese. Close your eyes and imagine what I said. Can you see it?� �If I think about Disneyland or something like that, yeah I see it. But here�� �Well let me tell you that here, precisely here, one day there will be �Neverland�!� he said in a dreamy voice. She turned towards him. �Neverland?� �Uhuh. I�ve recently bought this land and I will build my house and an amusement park here. I�d like to have a zoo as well; I must keep this idea.� �You really want to do that???� �Oh yeah, and I will!� he said in a firm voice, still staring at the faraway land. �Of course I won�t do it myself, but I will be involved with all the design and nothing will be done without consulting me first. This will be my place, my haven� And no one will be able to disturb my peace when I�m here�� For a few seconds � while saying these words � his expression looked quite hard. But right after he looked peaceful again. This was a project he would seriously get into after the Bad Tour. Less than two years now, and he would have his heaven on earth, his very own Neverland where he could do anything he wanted without fearing to be spied on by paparazzi� When they got back to LA, Michael didn�t speak for most of the journey, so that Reese just ended up sleeping. Too many things were running through his mind at the sane time. He had loads of ideas for this place, and he wanted to make sure that it would be perfect. But not once did the thought of Reese come to his mind while he was making his plans. For the moment he was not including her in his �haven�, without realizing it� |