He Saved Me

Chp 60

Michael's POV
     We were finally back home. The vacation was much needed. But as usual, my children found a way to drive me crazy, regardless of where in the world we were. As much as I love them to death, my babies have really been trying me lately. Paris has been giving me the silent treatment, other than the few "yes" or "no" she mutters to me. She did not say a word to me in Africa. When we came home late last night, I made her take a drug test, and to no surprise she tested positive. How she managed to find drugs overseas? I have no fucking clue. So now she's pretty much on house arrest. Mainly because I don't know what to do with her anymore.
Then there's Blanket and Mia, who won't stop fighting! I think Blanket has finally gotten comfortable with having a younger sibling, and let's just say he's not too happy about it. He's no longer my youngest, and sees the difference in my treatment of him. I expect more from him now. I expect him to be more responsible. He keeps picking on Mia, and she keeps getting violent. Lord knows that if I spank Mia anymore than I do already, it's gonna be considered borderline abuse at this point. Every other day she's been getting in trouble. Blanket seems to be taking after a younger me, with his childish pranks and bugging his sisters. I want to say I'm proud, but with everything that's going on, I'm too overwhelmed for his tactics.
And then my eldest, thinks it's okay to play "dad" at home when I'm not around. He went as far as pulling Mia by her ear to place her in a corner. I understand Prince is the older brother, but under no circumstances do I think it's appropriate for him to discipline his younger siblings. Leave that up to me. I had to sit and have a talk with him about it. Being the oldest can really get to your head sometimes I guess.
So yeah, the trip ended on a bad note for me.  I've been super stressed out, just worrying about the kids. I've been getting little to no sleep at this point. I really don't want to go back on the medication. But I also need my body to rest. All that medication is part of a dark past. I can't go back there. I feel torn. I need to keep a clear head, and continue doing what I do.
     Thank God Mother's visiting today. She's the only person in this world that can bring me back to reality, and soothe some of my pain. That woman is an angel. The kids are normally more excited when we have family visiting, but they're all grounded at the moment. So there's that. The house is so much quieter with all of them put away in their rooms.
     I'm can't believe I'm saying this, but I sort of miss my monsters creating havoc around the house. I'm starting to feel a little bored. They make each and everyday so exciting for me. There's always something to do or something to talk about with them. But at the moment they're all pretty pissed at me. Can't say it doesn't hurt. Paris is probably the most pissed. I need to figure out what I'm going to do with her. I'm hoping Mother will be able to help me in that department.
     I heard the door bell ring, and a whole lot of commotion. The staff probably let Mother in. I walked out of my office and saw Mother smiling from ear to ear. And then I spotted her back up. Great. She brought along LaToya and Jermaine. My favorite. Can you sense the sarcasm? Don't get me wrong, I love all my siblings. But these two are the last people I want around me when I'm not at my best. With Jermaine's constant judgement and LaToya's screechy ass voice, I don't how I'm going to get through this lunch.
     "Hi baby," Mother called out. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her small frame. I might be almost a foot taller than her, but I still feel like the same Michael who could cuddle into her embrace and forget the whole world.
     "I missed you," I mumbled. I really did. With all the stress I've been going through, all I could imagine was being in her arms.
     "Well I'm here now baby. I missed you too," she said as she placed a kiss on my cheek.
     "Hey bro, don't forget about us," Jermaine said with a smile. I chuckled and pulled him and Latoya into a hug.
     "Yeah, yeah, guess I missed you two idiots too," I joked.
     "Miiiiichael! Boy you messing up my hair," LaToya shrieked. I rolled my eyes at her annoying voice squealing so close to my ear. Just to piss her off, I ruffled the top of her head, really messing it up this time. Jermaine and I burst out into laughter at her reaction.
     "Boys cut it out," Mother chuckled. "Y'all are grown with grown children. Act like it."
     "Sorry, I couldn't help it," I laughed. We all made our way into the family room and got comfortable on the couch.
     "Where are the kids Mike?" Jermaine asked.
     "The kids are in their rooms until further notice," I said with a loud sigh.
     "That bad huh?" Jermaine said while raising a brow.
     "You have no idea..." I replied. I filled them in on everything that has been going on with the kids. They all let out a sigh once I was done verbalizing the mess.
"Mike, you need to get Paris help! You don't want her to end up on something heavier. Cocaine is already up there! Do it now before it gets worse," LaToya pointed out.
"Toya's right man. You gotta put a stop to this before it gets any worse. Look, I know you're soft with the kids. And that's fine. That parenting style has always worked for you and them. But can you imagine if Joseph ever found any one of us hooked on drugs? You know for a fact, he would've whooped us bloody. Never would've touched that stuff again!" Jermaine stated.
I rolled my eyes at his remark. "Yeah well I'm not Joseph," I said annoyed. "You can call me soft all you want, I'm not beating my children. I can be strict when I have to be, but this isn't about me being strict anymore. Paris is old enough to know right from wrong. Me being strict won't turn her away from drugs. I tried that already. I-I... I just don't know where I went wrong."
"Now you listen to me Michael, you did nothing wrong. You have been nothing but an amazing father to those children. They're going to act out, that's normal. Now with Paris, she's just taking her life for granted. Ever since she started getting them tattoos, I told you to keep an eye on her," Mother said. I'm not fond off all those tattoos either, but Mother's just old fashioned. Those tattoos have nothing to do with her drug problem.
"It's this industry," I sighed.
"What do you mean?" LaToya asked.
"This was one of my biggest fears when Paris decided to go into modeling and acting. I kept her so sheltered from the outside world. When she finally put herself out there, it all changed so fast. The parties, the crowd, the attention... all that can change a person," I admitted sadly.
"Well it never changed us," Jermaine said.
"And you got your father and I to thank for that," Mother said with a glare.
"Y'all don't get it. If it doesn't change you, everyone else tries their best to bring you down. They've done it to me for decades. I wasn't into the partying and drinking, so I was deemed 'weird'. Paris just gave in I guess," I sulked. I feel like I let my daughter down. I should've prepared her better.