Fall Again (a Michael Jackson fanfiction)

27. Michael returns to Clemmie Woods

Michaels POV 🥀

A week later I was discharged. My family had visited every day, especially Janet - who brought me cards from my fans, which were lovely to read. I felt less alone.

Hope came too, with card games and books she liked - one of them caught me eye.
It was about a girl called Athena who gets wrongly accused of murder - and her boyfriend Zed who tries to get her justice.

The details of the night she was arrested are slowly revealed, then Athena falls in love with another prison inmate called Amethyst with beautiful eyes.

It's discovered that Zed was the actual murderer, and as more is revealed it comes to light that he was abusive to Athena.

I don't get much further than that when I'm discharged back to the psych hospital - but I take the book back with me, meaning to finish it.

There's a new man, who I immediately assume is Hopes brother James, they share the dark eyes, dark hair, and same skin tone.
He is beautiful, but not quite as beautiful as Hope.

He invites me out into the fenced off courtyard that night, and he sits there pointing out and naming the stars, Hope had gone home by then, and the night nurses had taken over.

I ask him a bit about Hope. He smiles, clearly loving and adoring his little sister.

"She's kind, so kind. And funny too! She's 28 now, 3 years younger than me. She likes snakes, music, books, and flowers."

"What kind of flowers?"

"She loves tulips."

"What's her favourite color?"

"She loves gold. Our dad Antonio adores her. He always wanted a girl, she's his princess."

He pauses for a bit and I watch him silently, hoping he'll say more.

"She is a truly wonderful person, the best little sister I could ask for. She's got an amazing sense of humour, she has a dragon tattoo on her back, I doubt you've seen it. She had quite severe behavioural issues as a child." He fell silent.

"Like what?" I pushed.

"She'd run off, climb on roofs, she has ADHD, did you know that?" Before I could answer, he continued, "she was so protective of me, if anyone said anything nasty to me in school she'd fight them. She was constantly getting detention and was suspended several times a year."

"She talked about you, you know." I replied softly, fiddling with a piece of grass. "She really loves you."

It was dark but I saw him smile. He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, and offered me one, I refused - then hesitated, and decided to take it.

I took a few puffs, and felt instantly calm - the night air tinged with cigarette smoke.

I coughed, and through coughs asked "Does Hope smoke?"

"Mmmhm." James nodded. "Not as much anymore, but she used to smoke weed as a teen."
I was surprised at first, then remembered Hope telling me about getting high and crashing a car, and James bailing her out by giving her a false alibi.

I mentioned this to James and he laughed, nodding. "It was us two against the world. She got me out of lots of trouble too, for various things."

I was interested, "Tell me more."

He just shrugged and laughed, and I didn't push for any more information.