A Different Corner

Chapter One

Dad seemed to be taking longer than usual. I was worried and beginning to panic. "Fadi, can I come sit beside you?" He looked me in the eyes. "Yeah come on. It'll be okay. Dad says there's a line up in there so he'll be another five." I sighed with relief and sat beside him. He put his arm around me. "Is that alright if I do that sweetie?" He was sucking up because he knew I was about to panic. "Yes it's okay. Fadi I'm scared and I wanna go home." "Babe it's gonna be alright. Once dad comes back out we can go." I hugged him a bit. "These people are just staring at me. Can you put my hood up?" He agreed and helped put my hood up. I of course started to cry for the third time this afternoon. "Okay we can go guys." I heard dad's familiar voice. "Daddy I'm scared." I was so nervous. "Come on and I'll get you out of here fast." He took my hand. "Dad they're watching us. Don't make a big scene. Please don't. Let's just go out normally." He agreed and we just walked away. We got to the car and I just freaked out. "Dad please open the door. I can see them over here." Dad looked around to see three photographers standing behind cars. He rolled his eyes and unlocked the door. "Get in the car dear. I'll take care of them." I placed my bags in the back seat and climbed in. Dad shut the door and left my window a bit open. Fadi wasn't in here either. I heard dad calmly speaking to the paparazzi. "I know you're doing your jobs but right now you're invading our privacy. Please leave us alone for today." I heard the snaps of the cameras and freaked out more. "Dad please come. I wanna go home." Dad looked over to me. He just ignored the press and came back to the car. "We're going home now I promise." He motioned for me to scootch I over so he could sit in the back with me. Fadi got in the drivers seat and pulled off once dad was in the car. I was hugging dad from the side. "You did very well today. Don't think any different. I'm proud of you dear." I took a deep breath and looked into his beautiful hazel eyes. "Dad I was so nervous and I tried to stay calm. They wouldn't leave us alone. I mean we are followed all the time. Please can we not go out for a few more days? I don't wanna be followed anymore." "You did your very best at doing so. It's okay I understand why you wouldn't wanna be followed. It's nerve racking to be followed every day of your life even when you're doing the simplest things. That's been my life for the past thirty years my love." "Dad is that what it's like living in the spot light?" "Yeah it is." "I mean do you get anxiety like me? Does the press scare you?" He frowned. "No the press doesn't scare me. But the anxiety does." I sighed. We arrived home shortly after. 

Nothing more was said this afternoon. I was just sitting and staring at the television as Fadi watched TMZ. The headlines get getting to me. 'George Michael and Family Out for Eventful Shopping Trip' Or there was this one. 'Not So Family Friendly Trip with The Michael's'  Dad walked into the living room. "Turn that bloody channel off. You know I hate it. So why must you continuously watch it? God I hate them." Dad didn't seem too happy right now. Fadi wasn't paying attention. Dad sat down on the couch beside me. "Do you not listen to me or what? I said turn this bullshit off!" Dad was really mad now. Fadi turned the channel to some weird channel with porn on it. "Oh for fuck sakes not that one either. Jesus give me that converter will you!" Fadi tossed the converter and it hit me dead on in the face. I didn't say anything even though it hurt. Dad said something about it. Something was bothering him. He was never this mad. "Will you watch where you are throwing things? You hit Sam in the face." Fadi sat up and rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry Sam, and what crawled up your ass and died? Jesus ever since we've got back you've been in a snit." Dad looked offended. I backed away from them. I didn't really like the confrontation part of their relationship. "Maybe if you didn't hire the fucking paparazzi to follow us every where I wouldn't be pissed." I was in shock as well. "Dad may I be excused. I don't think I need to hear this." Before dad spoke up Fadi did. "Yeah George she doesn't need to hear this." Dad snapped. I knew this really bothered him. "Like hell! She can hear that you hired the thing she's most afraid of. So don't even think of lying because I saw your email to them. You really know how to grind people's gears eh?" Fadi turned on him. "I didn't hire them. I was emailing them about something else. How would you even know?" Dad did his iconic eye roll I'd see once in a blue moon. "Because you're the idiot who left the email open on our computer! My God! I can't believe you'd actually do that." I was getting quite upset. I haven't seen dad mad like this in a while. The last time was around a few months when my mom tried to do something to him. I can't exactly remember what,  but it was something.  "George I never hired them. Harvey emailed me something about information." "About what information Fadi?" He sat up more and looked directly at me. "Your fucking idiot of a daughter and her fucktard of a mother! I was trying to save you the pain. You just assume I'm hiring paparazzi because I sure as hell am not!" Dad stood up, and when he stood up when he was mad boy you better watch out. "You watch your tone when you speak about my daughter. What about Margaret?" I turned the channel to CMT so I could listen to music while they argued. "She was trying to sell private information we can chat about later. Something I'd rather not re-traumatize her with. She sold information to TMZ that Harvey emailed me about. He said he's not going to post it if you had read the full email. He said it was an invasion of her privacy." "You're real lucky I love you." "I'm sorry George, I really am." Dad looked defeated. "I know, and so am I." They hugged each other for a few minutes. Then sat back on the couch to pay attention to what I was watching.