Chapter 10

January 2, 2003,

Where do I start? The "living with Michael Jackson" documentary premiered last night and it didn't go at all like dad expected it to! He is not happy at all, some things actually ended up getting broken によって dad because he was so angry. He made her leave the room once he got the feeling that the documentary was headed in a bad direction. Even after we left the room, we could hear dad yelling and throwing things. I had never seen my dad so mad in my life and I probably won't ever see him like this again! I came downstairs and saw dad sitting on the couch. I was debating whether または not to go up to him after what happened last night. I walked into the living room dressed in my super Mario pajamas and sat down 次 to him. We both looked at each other and neither of us 発言しました anything. Then he just reached over and hugged me as tight as he could. I asked "what was that for?" He 発言しました "I just want あなた to know how much I 愛 you!" I 発言しました "I know あなた 愛 me!" He looked like he was about to cry and I asked "are あなた okay daddy?" He 発言しました "I'm fine. Don't worry about me!"

Prince and Paris woke up and came downstairs. Grace followed behind them and passed Blanket to dad. Dad snapped out of the mood that he was in and went to the キッチン to make us French toast. I could tell that he was still aggravated によって everything that happened last night because he spent 20 分 rapidly stirring a few eggs in a bowl. Then he came to the 表, テーブル with our 食 and 発言しました "I think all of us should go on a long vacation for a while!" I asked "where are we going to go?" He 発言しました "I haven't figured that out yet. I think we'll just go from place to place for a while." I asked "why all of a sudden are we going on vacation?" He 発言しました "I don't know; I just think we need to get out of here for a while!" I don't know what's going on… But I know something is up because dad is 芝居 really weird!

February 6, 2003,

It was 9 o'clock at night and we were just boarding the private jet that dad rented. We are headed to ロンドン and we are staying with Mark Lester and his family. It's been a while since I've seen Kyle and I am really excited! I'm still curious as to why we are leaving so late at night

About five hours later, we pulled up in front of Mark's house in ロンドン and I jumped out of the car. Prince and Paris have fallen asleep and Grace carried them inside one によって one. Dad brought Blanket inside and Mark greeted all of us. I was full of energy still and Mark 発言しました "AJ あなた have to be quiet! The children are sleeping!" I continued to run around crazily in circles and dad asked "Alanna Michael Jackson; did あなた just hear what Mark said?" I 発言しました "yes but; I'm so hyper!!!" Dad looked at Grace and asked "did あなた give her the ADHD medication this morning?" Grace shook her head "yes" and he sighed was exhaustion. He walked up to me and 発言しました "go get your pajamas on and I'll be in the guestroom in a 分 to put a movie in." I could tell he wasn't in the mood to deal with me so; I did as I was told.

February 7, 2003,

I woke up this morning in the guestroom of Mark Lester's house and went out into the キッチン to wait for dad to get up. Grace came downstairs with Prince and Paris who had both slept in one of the other guestrooms. Dad had slept in the デン so he could take care of Blanket because he has been waking up in the middle of the night crying.

Grace took my bottle of ADHD medication and passed me a pill. Just as I put it in my mouth; dad came out of the デン carrying blanket and smiling. I ran up to him and hugged him. He 発言しました "good morning あなた guys!" Mark's son Kyle came running downstairs and 発言しました "wow: あなた really did come here!" I 発言しました "I can't believe it either!" The two less ran upstairs and Kyle 発言しました "I can't wait for あなた to see my new bedroom! We redecorated it last month!" He brought me to his bedroom and it was all 星, つ星 Wars themed. Posters were on the walls, a whole bunch of 星, つ星 Wars blankets, pillows, and a huge flat screen テレビ with a 任天堂 GameCube and games. I 発言しました "wow; this is so cool!" He 発言しました "I know; the TVs best part though!"

Dad walked up the stairs and into Kyle's room. He asked "are あなた guys having fun?" I 発言しました as I got up to hug him "thank あなた for bringing us here!" He 発言しました "you don't have to thank me but; you're welcome!" I 発言しました "how long are we going to stay here?" He 発言しました "I'm not exactly sure yet." I 発言しました "I have an idea daddy!" He asked "what that?" I 発言しました "all of us should have a water balloon fight!" He 発言しました "okay; then that's what we'll do!"

Dad, Kyle, and I went downstairs to start filling the water balloons up. Prince and Paris walked up to dad and asked "can we play too?" Dad 発言しました "of course あなた can!" I brought the water balloons outside and put them in a bucket. Dad followed me and helped Paris and Prince take their shoes off. Dad had filled the water balloons up so much; I could barely pick them up without them breaking in my hands. Before I could throw one balloon; Kyle threw a balloon at the back of my head and it exploded everywhere. I 発言しました "I'm so going to get あなた back for that!" Dad 発言しました "I think we should make teams." I 発言しました "that wouldn't be fair though because there's an uneven amount of people." He 発言しました "no; it will be fair because I will be with your brother and sister! They don't have good enough aim so; I'll be there to help them! Trust me; it will be evenly matched after all!" I 発言しました "all right… Kyle and I; versus you, Prince, and Paris."

Knowing how good my dad is a water balloon flights; Kyle and I didn't stand a chance. I wasn't too worried about Prince and Paris because they are still little but; I knew dad would demolish us! The object of our water balloon fights is to get the other team as soaked as possible によって the time all the balloons are gone. Whichever team is the most soaked at the end loses

20 分 into our water balloon Fight; Kyle was completely exhausted from dodging every balloon dad threw at him. I 発言しました “you don’t have to avoid each one Kyle. Just don’t get soaked!!!” He 発言しました "I know; but I'm trying to stop us from losing!" I had made it whole time without getting wet at all and Kyle decided that he was done because he was tired. It was down to dad and I in the end and I was still going strong because of my ADHD. There were five balloons left and dad had stayed away from every balloon that I threw at him. I was determined not to lose against him for the millionth time. によって the time there was only one balloon left we were both getting out of breath. I don't think that dad saw that there was only one left so; I ran for it. He 発言しました "no, no, no, is that really the last one?" I started laughing and 発言しました "yes!" I started to slowly walk up to him with the balloon in my hand and he ran as fast as he could away from me. His socks started to fall off and he was stumbling. I knew that this was my one and only chance to get him. I backed him up so there was a 木, ツリー on each side of him! He laughed as I took the balloon and broke it over the 上, ページのトップへ of his head. I shouted "finally; I beat you!" He 発言しました in a shock “I can't believe it!"

March 1, 2003,

We were just arriving at our hotel in Las Vegas when dad got a phone call. I stared at him the entire time and he just looked distraught. He hung up the phone and 発言しました "AJ; go in the other room so I can talk to Grace." I left the room but; I could still hear everything that was going on in the other room. Dad 発言しました "they just served a 検索 warrant on Neverland!" Grace 発言しました "that district lawyer is out to get あなた all over again Michael!" He 発言しました "they are just doing this because they want to believe that I would do something that awful! Grace; I promise あなた that I would never ever do anything like that! I guarantee あなた that those police officers will not find one single shred of proven evidence in that house! I know one thing's for sure… If they decide to prosecute me I'm not going to just settle like I did back in 1993; I'm dragging this thing all the way through a trial to prove my innocence!"

The only thing I understood from what my dad 発言しました was "police officers" I knew whenever was going on; it wasn't a good thing. I didn't think too much of it at the time because I didn't want to worry about him. I assured myself that everything would be better in the morning and that it wasn't that big of a deal; even though deep down that something serious is going on!

March 8, 2003,

Well; we weren't in Las Vegas for long because for some reason we have to go back to Santa Barbara California. I asked my dad several times why we were going back so soon but; all he 発言しました was that he couldn't tell me. Ever since we got on the plane to head ホーム dad seems really nervous and I want to know why!

We left the airport and drove to Neverland. Dad's manager Frank was standing outside the gate and the car pulled up 次 to him. Dad rolled down his window and Frank leaned in to talk to him. Frank 発言しました "Mike あなた don't want to go in there!" Dad looked at him and asked "why not?" Frank 発言しました "those police officers absolutely DESTROYED the house! Everything is out of place; thrown everywhere and your office is a complete disaster!" Dad asked "what do あなた mean my office? They only had a warrant to 検索 my bedroom, bathrooms, and storage!" Frank 発言しました "I hate to tell あなた this Michael but; they searched every square inch of that house; whether they were supposed to または not!" Dad asked "how could just a few officers do so much damage?" Frank 発言しました "oh; it was way もっと見る than just a few officers!" Dad 発言しました "I was informed that there would only be three または four of them here! How many of them were there?" Frank 発言しました "like 20 of them." Dad 発言しました "this is ridiculous; absolutely ridiculous!"

Dad opened the car door and got out. Frank asked "where are あなた going?" Dad 発言しました "I have to see this for myself!" Frank 発言しました "if あなた want to but; I'm warning あなた to prepare yourself for what you're about to see!" I 発言しました "I want to go see too daddy!" Grace 発言しました "no; あなた are going to stay right here! I don't want あなた to see what's in there!" Dad came back outside 15 分 later and he was crying. によって the time he got to the car; he had calmed himself down so; we didn't see him crying または upset. He opened the door to the car and got in without saying a word. Grace asked "is it really that bad?" Dad 発言しました "oh yeah!" Grace asked "where are we going to go now?" Dad 発言しました "I don't know yet; but we'll figure it out!"


March, 10, 2003,

We are staying in a hotel for the time being until dad can find a new place for us to live. I saw dad getting ready to leave and asked "daddy; where are あなた going?" He 発言しました "out my little while. I'll be back soon though!" I asked "can I please, please go with you?" He 発言しました "yeah; as long as あなた listen to me!" I 発言しました "I promise that I will!" I grabbed my ジャケット and the two of us headed out to the car that was waiting outside.

We drove to a shopping mall and got out of the car. Both of us walked inside and went into a Toys "R" Us store first. I 発言しました "look daddy dart guns!" He 発言しました "wow; I've never seen one's that look like this before!" I 発言しました "they have claws at the end of the darts!" 次 to the dart 銃 was a 星, つ星 Wars display and dad walked over to it. I followed him and picked up a talking Anakin Skywalker action figure. I 発言しました "Prince would 愛 this!" He 発言しました "then I'll buy it for him!" I asked "can I pick something out for myself?" He asked "what do あなた say first?" I 発言しました "oh yeah; please?" He 発言しました "yes あなた can but; nothing too expensive because your birthday is coming up in a few days!"

I ran down every aisle looking for something that I have been wanting for a long time. I found the ポケモン ultimate trading card box that I wanted and took it over to dad. I passed it to him and he asked "more ポケモン cards? Really? Don't あなた have enough of these already?" I 発言しました "I know that I have a lot but; these ones are different and there are 500 cards in this box." He 発言しました "I don't see the point in those silly little cards but; if that's what あなた want then go ahead and put it in the cart." I kissed him on the cheek and 発言しました "thank あなた daddy!" He 発言しました "you're very welcome! We have to find something for Paris and Blanket so they don't feel left out."

Dad found a ディズニー Princess movie set for Paris and got a talking Mickey マウス for Blanket. As we were walking out of the store we saw a McDonald's in the 食 court and dad asked "do あなた want to get something to eat?" I 発言しました "yes please" while tying my shoes. He 発言しました "okay; what do あなた want because I'm going to have one of the bodyguards get it for us?" I 発言しました "a チーズバーガー please!" Dad passed his wallet to our bodyguard James. He 発言しました "get three happy meals. Get two チーズバーガー meals and one chicken nugget meal. Get me a medium-sized fry and a vanilla milkshake please." While James bought our food, we walked out to the car with the other bodyguard named Tim.

May, 4, 2003,

Dad was out doing something and all three of us kids were in the hotel. I was in my hotel room searching through the TV channels when something caught my eye. I was changing the channels quickly but I 発言しました to myself "was that daddy I just saw on TV?" I went back to that channel and could not believe what I was seeing. It was a news レポート that 発言しました at the 上, ページのトップへ of the screen "King of Pop: Michael Jackson arrested in Santa Barbara County today." Dad was standing with his arms behind his back and a police officer handcuffed him. Then dad was directed him into a police car!

I was absolutely mortified によって what I just saw and jumped out of bed. I ran down the hallway as fast as I could and started hitting the door as hard as I could. Grace opened it and asked "what's wrong?" I 発言しました "daddy just got arrested!" I was surprised によって her reaction because she looked like she already knew that he was going to be arrested today. I walked into their hotel room where my siblings were and sat down on one of the beds. I 発言しました "alright; I want to know what's been going on and I want to know now!" Grace 発言しました "your dad will be ホーム in less than an hour… There's nothing to worry about!" I 発言しました "I know there's something going on and I want to know what's happening!!!" She 発言しました "I'm not going to tell you; you're going to have to ask your dad when he comes back.”

A half-hour later; there was a knock on my hotel room door and dad walked in. He looked at me and I was crying. He sat down on the ベッド and asked "what's wrong sweetheart?" I 発言しました "I wish あなた knew how scared I was. I had to watch my dad being arrested and I have no idea what's going on!" He hugged me as I cried uncontrollably into his shoulder and 発言しました "I know and I'm sorry that あなた had to see that!" He started to cry too and I asked "will あなた please tell me what's going on?" He 発言しました as he pulled away from hugging me "okay; I guess あなた should know. Just promise me that あなた won't tell your brother または sister because they are too young!" I shook my head to 表示する that I agreed and he proceeded to tell me what was going on.”

He asked "do あなた remember that boy named Gavin they used to come over to Neverland all the time with his brother?" I 発言しました yeah; why?" He took a deep breath and 発言しました "well; he 発言しました that I did some inappropriate things to him!" I asked "inappropriate as in what あなた told me kidnappers and some strangers do to kids?" He 発言しました "yes but; I want あなた to know that Gavin is lying and I would never ever do that to anyone!" I 発言しました "I know あなた wouldn't and that's awful that he would lie about something like that!" He 発言しました "I'm going to have to go to court probably within the 次 couple of years so; I can prove that I didn't do anything like that!" I asked "Will あなた promise me that あなた won't go to prison?" He 発言しました "I can't promise あなた that because there is a small chance that I would go to prison but; I will do everything in my power to stop that from happening… I can promise あなた that for sure!!!" He wiped the tears away from my eyes with his sleeve and 発言しました "I 愛 あなた and I always will; no matter what happens!" I kissed him and 発言しました "I 愛 あなた too!"