Nick opened his eyes and was staring at the ceiling, he barely got any sleep the night before and he didn�t know how he was going to make it through the day. He rolled over when heard the bathroom door open,
�Hey man, I�m glad you�re up. I was not looking forward to waking your grumpy ass up.� The days seemed to be getting longer and longer and he didn�t know if he was going to make it as they went on. He lay there, turning on the television with the remote and flipping through the channels until he saw his picture on the screen above the shoulder of an E! anchor. It was a repeat of the previous night�s show and of course they were talking about his new family. They discussed how he was able to keep his daughter a secret and they actually made it seem like a victory on his part that he kept his personal life so secretive. It was easy when you didn�t even know you had a daughter, he thought. He increased the volume when they mentioned an official statement from him,
�I regret I had to leave the tour but I love my daughter very much and I know our fans understand the decision I had to make. I thank you for your support, your understanding and our need for privacy during this difficult time.� He looked over at Josh and he shook his head as he stared at Nick,
�I�m guessing you didn�t say that.� He shook his head,
�No, I didn�t.� He couldn�t believe they lied about a statement on his behalf. Of course it sounded professional, honestly he thought it sounded weak, they should have just told everyone to go fuck themselves.
�The Backstreet Boys just finished their tour in Las Vegas.� Before they began to discuss his life any further he changed the station and got out of bed and began to get dressed. He sighed,
�Call Larry and let him know I�ll be ready soon.� Nick walked into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and stood before the mirror staring at himself,
�Why?� He would think he would be over that phase in this whole situation. The one thing he couldn�t get over more than anything else was wondering how the world found out.
He walked into the waiting room and, along with Josh and Larry, was alone with Quinn�s mother. He smiled slightly at her before sitting on the opposite side of the room. He grabbed a magazine and flipped through the pages, he could feel her eyes on him. He never felt really comfortable around her; she seemed to be very withdrawn. He could tell she had stood up and he was hoping like crazy that she was walking out the door but he had no such luck,
�I would like to speak with you please.� He looked up to see her standing before her. He glanced at Larry and Josh and she quickly spoke,
�I�m sure your friends can find something to do to occupy themselves for a couple of minutes.� Larry cleared his throat,
�Ma�am, he has someone with him at all times. If you want me to step to the other side of the room-� She shook her head,
�He�s a big boy, I�m sure he can handle himself.� Larry nodded,
�Yes ma�am but it�s not about that. My job is to-� Nick held his hand up,
�It�s alright, I�ll be fine.� Lillian nodded,
�Yes, in fact you can make sure we aren�t disturbed.� The more she talked and the more she made it clear that she wanted to speak alone with Nick the more he didn�t want to be alone with her,
�It�s fine man. I�m fine. It�s cool.� He wasn�t sure if he was trying to convince Larry or he was trying to convince himself. Larry finally relented and stood up, followed by Josh, and made his way out of the room. Nick watched them leave, wishing he were with them, and then looked up at Lillian. She stared at him for a moment before sitting down next to him,
�So, you�re Lily�s father.� Lily, he only had one child so he had to imagine she was talking about MacKenzie,
�Lily?� She nodded,
�That�s what we call her. Well, that�s what I call her. Lily, short for Lillian, she was named after me." He nodded and ran his hand up and down his thighs as he licked his lips,
�Oh, I always call her MacKenzie. Not Mac, MacKenzie.� He was talking nonsense and he shut his mouth quickly before he made a bigger fool of himself,
�My daughter has taken care of Lily by herself since the day she was born. Where have you been?� Wow, right to the point. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly; trying to by himself a little time,
�Well, I didn't know about her until a couple of months ago. And I�ve been on tour but I�ve tried to see her.� Lillian nodded and grunted,
�Yeah, twice. That�s not good enough. My granddaughter didn�t ask to be born. She�s here because of you and my daughter and you need to step up.� He nodded,
�Yes ma�am.� She didn�t let up on him at all,
�What kind of father are you going to be? You�re always gone.� He didn't know what kind of father he could be; he didn�t know anything except his life had changed forever.
�Have you thought about signing over your rights? Quinn and James are getting married. I think that would be best.� He looked over at her in disbelief,
�No, I haven�t thought about it. I�m her father, I�m the one who should be there.� She nodded,
�Yeah, you should be but will you? What kind of family did you grow up in? Was your mom and dad both in the house?� The last thing he wanted to do was talk about his family, whose presence he hoped she wouldn�t notice was absent,
�My mom and dad are still married. I have three sisters and a brother.� She nodded,
�Where are they now?� He looked down and played with his hands,
�They are on the road with my brother.�
�On the road with your brother?� He nodded,
�Yes, he�s a singer too.� He looked up at the TV and stared at the weather map. He didn�t care what he looked at he just didn�t want to look at her,
�How long were you and my daughter together?� Together? Did Quinn say they were together or was Lillian just assuming such a thing?
�Um, I�ve known her for like almost three years but um, probably a few months we were together.� Maybe that was about right, about the amount of time. It wasn�t easy to calculate because they were never together. It was all just so complicated. She seemed to have heard all she wanted to hear and stood up. He followed suit and stood before her,
�Uh, where is Quinn?� She walked away as she answered,
�She�s on her way here now. She finally got more than three hours of sleep.� He sat back down and was soon sitting in between Josh and Larry. Josh leaned over,
�You ok?� He simply nodded his head and stared at the wall. Having that conversation made him happy for the first time that his own mother wasn�t there.
He stood at the nurse�s station and waited for MacKenzie�s nurse, once she did he was greeted with a warm smile,
�Nick. How are you?� He smiled sadly as he leaned down on the counter,
�How�s she doing?� Her smile quickly went from warm to compassionate.
Chapter 57
Reunited
Stories