1st of May, 2008
Michael is 49, Angela is 44
Angela: "Mommy? Mommy!"
I blinked, looking at Rose who extended her small hand to me.
We were sitting at breakfast, all of us nervous for the day ahead.
It had finally come. The end to our custody battle with Debbie.
"Sorry, baby. Mommy was distracted for a minute. What's wrong?"
"More." she held out her plate.
I smiled at her. She was still my hungry little girl.
I put more food in her plate, including some more vegetables. Of course she made a face.
"Mom, we're done." Paris announced.
"Good. Go ahead and get dressed. I put out clothes for you on your beds." I smiled at her.
Both her and Prince nodded before running upstairs.
"You should go get ready, too, honey. I'll take care of everything here." Katherine said.
"Thank you."
I stood up and waddled my way to my bedroom.
As I showered, I washed the previous couple of days away. They were a complete blur.
All I did was stay in bed because that awful feeling I had didn't go away until I woke up this morning.
Once I was done, I picked a nice dress that reached my ankles, then put on a pair of short heels. Lastly, I did my makeup and hair.
When I came back downstairs my mom was fixing Prince's tie.
"All ready to go?" Javon asked.
"Yeah." I sighed, hoping everything would go as planned.
~
With one hand on the small of my back and the other pushing cameramen away, Javon led me through the sea of people. Three other bodyguards were on either side of me.
"Angela! How is Michael doing?!"
"Is he alive?"
"Is it true that you married him for the money?"
I mentally groaned at their stupid questions and wanted everything to be over.
Michael knew how to handle crowds like these while I always felt like I was drowning.
"Are the kids okay?" I asked Javon.
"Yeah, they're already inside." he answered.
We took another step towards the courthouse, and I suddenly felt someone grabbing my arm tightly, their nails hurting my skin.
The bodyguard to my left hurried to get them off me but it was too late. I already started bleeding.
"Shit." I cursed.
Javon opened the main doors and led me inside.
"Get me a first aid kit." he ordered to one of the bodyguards as he sat me down on the nearest bench.
He inspected my wound and sighed deeply. "No one is doing their job anymore. And to think after everything Mr. Jackson had done for them they would at least have the decency to protect his wife and unborn child."
"Javon, it's okay. I'm fine." I assured him.
"No, it's not okay," he said. "A lot of the staff are talking about resigning once your baby is born. They claim they can't stay if Mr. Jackson isn't around anymore. So they're being lazy and are lacking on purpose. That man is getting fired today."
Javon rolled his eyes when the bodyguard came back with a first aid kit.
I flinched when he put some iodine on the marks. He then wrapped a bandage neatly over everything.
"I'll take you straight to the hospital once we're done here so a doctor could look at this."
I smiled and thanked him. "Should I start looking for new staff, then?"
"It's so frustrating. No one is loyal anymore." Javon huffed.
"Mom!" I heard Prince call. "They need us inside."
Javon helped me stand and I walked into the courtroom with my two children. Rob greeted me with a big grin on his face.
"I heard you haven't been feeling well..." he said.
"Yeah, I was a bit down lately... Don't worry, I'm fine now."
He took my hand in both of his. "We're going to win this, Angela. I promise."
I nodded.
"Quiet, please, we're about to start." someone announced, making Rob and I take our seats.
"All rise."
The judge came in, looking a bit frustrated. Uh oh.
"Ladies and gentlemen," she cleared her throat. "After two months of investigating this case, and quite a lot of evidence and facts, I've finally reached my decision, with the help of the jury."
I started praying quietly to myself.
Please, please, please...
"I declare shared custody of the two minors, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson. Either sides shall have these two minors for a week at a time. That is all. Thank you."
She slammed the hammer and I fell back into the chair.
"Angela," Rob made me look at him. "This is good. It could've been worse. Prince and Paris are staying with you, okay?"
I knew it was good, but I couldn't stop the tears. How could they even think to let Debbie take care of them?
"They won't go with her." I said.
"Well they don't have a choice. You'll need to explain that this is the situation for now."
I sighed deeply and put my head in my hands. How did this happen?
~
Paris hugged me as she cried into my shoulder.
"I don't want to go live with Debbie. Please, mom... Please!"
"Baby, you have to. It's what they decided in court. There's nothing I can do."
She shook her head violently and cried harder. I caressed her soft hair, shushing her.
Prince looked just as sad as his sister while sitting on the other end of the couch.
"I don't want to go, either, mom." he said on the verge of tears.
I sighed loudly while hugging both of them.
"Guys... I know it's hard but this is the situation and we all have to deal with it. Being with Debbie won't be as bad as you think," I assured them. "And you could always call me. I'll only be a few hours away."
"Please, mom..."
I let a tear escape. How can I let them live with that awful woman? If Michael was here he would never let this happen.
~
2nd of May, 2008
Michael is 49, Angela is 44
Angela: We had a few more days before Prince and Paris had to go be with Mark and Debbie for a week so I decided to make their time at home the best.
The kids were engaged in an on-going water balloon fight while I sat with AJ in a chair in the shade.
"Got you, Prince!" Lily laughed loudly as a balloon hit her brother's face.
Eric, who was on Prince's team rolled his eyes. "Last one in the pool is a rotten egg!"
I watched when all the bigger children jumped in the pool.
"Mommy come on! Join us!" Blanket said.
Smiling, I stood up and told him I have to go put on my bathing suit. I put Grace in charge then went to the bedroom to change.
Just as I finished tying my bikini bra, I felt a cramp-like sensation. Great, another false contraction.
My hand flew to my stomach and I leaned against the wall, trying to ease the pain. I sighed in relief when it ended. I've been getting them a lot lately. Too many times, if you ask me. Sometimes even at night.
When I came back the kids were splashing each other in the pool. Grace had already changed AJ into a tiny bathing suit.
"If you need anything, I'll be inside." she said.
I thanked her and slowly got into the pool. The water was so nice. AJ giggled loudly when I carried her through the water.
"You like that?" I asked her, tickling her stomach.
"Mom, look, I can stand upside down!" Blanket told me, diving in to show off.
"Angela!" Katherine suddenly called. "Angela!"
She came out of the house, panting.
"It's Dr. Moore," she held out my phone. "He says something happened to Michael."
Without hesitation, I got out of the pool with AJ still in my arms.
My mother-in-law wrapper a towel around us and gave me the phone.
"Dr. Moore?" I asked.
"Mrs. Jackson! Listen, something good happened. You need to get here."
My eyes widened. Did Michael finally wake up?
"Did he-"
"No, but he's doing better. I can't explain over the phone, you have to come here and see for yourself."
I let out a shaky breath and told him I'll be there.
"Tell Javon to get a car, we have to go to the hospital," I told Katherine and put AJ in her date. "And get the kids ready."
As I got dressed all I could do was cry happy tears.
~
Dr. Moore showed me a scan of some sort.
"Do you see that?" he pointed at an area in Michael's brain. "There's a lot of brain activity right there."
"So he's going to wake up?" I asked.
"Not exactly. But it's progress, and he should maybe start moving more parts. Like his legs, and you might see his eyes move as he dreams. His lungs are still not functioning, though."
"So he'll wake up eventually, right?"
"Eventually, yeah. We can't know when that'll happen. He might even stay like this from now on." the doctor said.
I pulled the doctor into a hug. "Thank you, Dr. Moore! Thank you..."
Tears streamed down my face. I knew Michael was there.
"Don't thank me. It's your husband. He's a real fighter." Dr. Moore rubbed my back.
I had to thank him again and he said I should go check on Michael.
~
As I lay in bed that night, all I could think about was getting my husband back.
That lonely feeling I had a few days ago crept its way in again. Not to mention, I couldn't cope with the fact that Prince and Paris were soon going to live with Debbie for an entire week.
I rolled onto my back and stared at the dark ceiling. Please wake up, Mike. We need you...
A knock on the door was heard. Prince peeked in, making me sit up.
"Hey, sweetie," I smiled. "Can't sleep?"
He shook his head and got in next to me.
"What's wrong?" I removed a piece of light brown hair from his face.
"I really don't want to go with Debbie." he said looking at me with glossy eyes.
I wiped his tears. "We talked about this, Prince... You have to."
"But I don't want to be away from dad, or from you..."
I hushed him when he started crying. It broke my heart to see him like this.
"It'll be okay, I promise. Remember how you begged your dad and I to go with Debbie?"
"But that was before," he scoffed. "I don't need her anymore, mom. I have you. And she wasn't that fun, anyway."
I kissed his forehead and pulled him close.
"I'm always a phone call away." I whispered.
Prince nodded into my chest and hugged me tighter.
~
3rd of May, 2008
Michael is 49, Angela is 44
Angela: I woke up from a shot of pain in my lower back. Hoping to make it stop, I squirmed around a bit.
But it didn't help. I looked at my alarm clock to find out it was only 3:33 AM.
Sitting up I could feel that tightening feeling in my abdomen.
"Really? Now?" I moaned softly.
I guessed Prince fell asleep next to me earlier because I could see his silhouette on the other side of the bed.
Deciding to walk around a bit and relieve my false contraction, I turned on a little light and started pacing through the bedroom.
That's when I felt warm liquid run down both my legs.
And when I looked down I was terrified of the amount of blood.
I froze. This never happened before. It's worse than that time I almost went into labor with AJ.
"Mom?" Prince's voice snapped me out of my trance.
Half awake, he took a glance at the blood-soaked sheets and hurried to get up.
"M-mom? Are you okay?" he grabbed my arms. "I'm gonna call someone, don't move."
Next thing I know, I was scooped up by whom I could only guess was Javon and we were on the way to the hospital.