Collide

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN - WITH YOU

"Hayley? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" he asked, as he put a hand on my shoulder when he was near me.

"I'm fine, Bill. I just—I just really needed to come back," I admitted, chuckling nervously. "Is Michael still here with Liz?"

"Um, Liz and her fiancé left shortly after you did, actually," he said, and I could tell by his demeanor that something was not right.

"What? Why? Are they okay?"

"Y—Yes, don't worry! It's just that Liz wanted to leave Michael alone because he had some business things to take care of with his attorneys, and it was really important, from what he told me. But... He's dealing with another kind of problem right now."

"What? What kind of problem?" I asked, as I felt panic taking over me.

"Joseph just got here, his father."

When Bill pronounced his name, I suddenly felt dizzy. I barely had time to realize what was happening that flashes went off in the back of my mind. Flashes of Michael and Joseph arguing, of Michael crying and shouting. I tried to keep my eyes open, but the unbearable pain of the piercing sound that came along with it didn't allow me to. I could see the despair on both of their faces even though I had no idea what this was all about. There were so many voices, and I couldn't seem to concentrate on any of them, even though I recognized Michael's one at some point. All those voices were coming from so many different fragments of conversation that it was too hard for me to even focus. I could only recognize words here and there, but they didn't mean anything once put together.

I remembered suddenly what Hayden told me about the visions. If it hurt me physically, that meant that it was and important event in Michael's life, something that needed my attention. Here, it was his relationship with his father.

But how was I supposed to make it better? From what Michael told me, his father and him never had the best relationship since he was a child, so how was I supposed to fix something that had been broken for decades?

"Matt, do you copy?" Bill's voice took me out of my trance, and finally I opened my eyes. "I need you to come at the gates and bring some cold towel and a bottle of Gatorade, and fast!"

The head of security had his hand on my shoulder and looked at me with worry in his eyes. When I looked up to him, he put his hand on my forehead and eyed me closely.

"Hey Hayley, are you sure you're okay? Is it another headache of yours?" he asked, genuinely concerned. "Matt is going to bring you some Gatorade and a cold towel to put over your forehead."

"It's alright, don't worry. It's just a headache," I reassured him, but he gave me a look. "I'm serious, don't tell Matt to bother coming here. I'm fine. I just want to go in there and see if Michael is alright."

"Are you sure? I—I don't feel like leaving you alone. You seemed in a pretty bad shape."

"I'm fine, really, Bill. I just felt dizzy, but I'm used to it. Trust me, I feel better already," I assured him, giving him a faint smile.

"Then at least let me take you to the main house. Deal?"

"Deal," I chuckled, and finally we passed the gates to get on the ranch's property. "Do you know why Joseph is here?"

"I have no idea. I didn't think Michael would actually agree to see him. I was surprised when he told me to let him in," he admitted. "He's been avoiding him for weeks."

"Yeah, I know," I sighed. "He's been avoiding Jermaine, too. He's isolating himself, and I don't think he should. It can be dangerous, even though I understand why he does. I mean... he's got everything here."