Remember the Time

Chapter 15

December 23rd, 1996

Loneliness.

That was the only thing Mariah felt as she sat alone in her hotel room. She had been trying to avoid Michael the past couple of days, which hadn't been hard since he was busy with shows. But now that he had a few days off, she knew he'd want to talk.

She still couldn't believe he blamed her for something she really had no say in. She begged Tommy and her mother to let her have the baby in secret and give it to him, but they wouldn't allow.

You have no time to be pregnant. You have a career to think about ...so they said.

If things had gone her way, she and Michael would be proud parents of a two year old instead of worrying about whether or not she could get pregnant again.

There was a knock on the door. She knew it was Michael and he was probably coming in with some lame excuse about how he didn't mean what he said or how he had just been irritated and took it out on her. But she wasn't going to let him off easily because deep down she knew it's how he truly felt. He could try to hide it as much as he liked, but he did blame her for the abortion. And to be honest, she wasn't too sure that he didn't blame her for Prince too.

"Go away Michael." She shouted at the door.

There was a pause in the knocking. "Mariah, open the door. We need to talk."

"What's there to talk about? You said what you felt." She retorted.

There was another pause and Mariah could imagine Michael's tired expression.

"Mariah, open the door."

She briefly closed her eyes to mentally prepare herself and then opened the door. "What do you want?"

Michael was still in his pajamas, and he looked tired, like he hadn't slept in days. "I want to talk."

She looked him up and down. "I guess.."

Mariah left the door open with just enough space for Michael to slide in. She walked back to the bed and sat down. She crossed her legs and Michael sat on the edge. He clenched his jaw, not quite looking at her.

"I thought you wanted to talk." She said, irritated by his hesitation.

He looked up, frowning. "I do."

"Then say something instead of staring at the damn floor. " She waved her arms. "I'm over here."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He said something under his breath.

"What was that?" She inquired, leaning forward.

"I said 'you're being ridiculous.'" He jumped up, eyes shooting daggers into her own. He raised his voice: "What the fuck is your problem? Why is it always that I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't with you?"

Mariah, startled by his sudden outburst, shrank back. She folded her arms, trying to comfort herself and Michael seemed to realize his mistake.

"Mariah, I didn't mean to yell, I just-"

"Just get out, Mike." She nearly whispered, her head turned looking out of the window. "Just leave me alone."

Michael left the room and just like clockwork, Mariah was alone again with her thoughts. Needing a distraction from her not so wedded bliss, Mariah decided to call someone she knew wouldn't want to argue with her: her father.

She picked up the hotel phone and dialed his number.

Ring..

Ring...