He lay in the bed with his hands behind his head staring up at the ceiling. His life was a mess and he didn't know how it ended up this way. It seemed as soon as he got over one thing it was another. As soon as one woman was out of his life another came in and brought more drama. Sometimes he thought he was never going to get his personal life together. Women were not something he could handle. He didn't know why he had such bad luck with the and why he picked the wrong ones. What was even more confusing with his track record with women was Quinn. She was, for the most part, a great girl. Actually, she was perfect. She had never, in his presence, done anything wrong. She was nice, polite, intelligent and supportive. However, he still couldn't keep it together with her. He didn't know what he couldn't keep together. They were never a couple and he never gave serious thought to his feelings for her but he felt that something was there. Something was there; they seemed to connect so well. They always seemed to get along so well and then something would happen but he didn't know what. Just like he didn't know what it was that would bring them back together. It was them, they just had this thing and he couldn't explain it. He didn't think he loved her but he had thoughts of them being together. Really, they weren't in a relationship he could just see them hanging out with each other; something casual he thought. There was a knock on the door and it sent his stomach into a tailspin. His heartbeat raced and he swallowed with difficulty as Josh opened the door. He sat up and placed his feet on the floor as he Kevin, Brian and AJ walked through the door. He wasn't feeling good about this; it was making him physically sick.
He stood up and looked at them once the door was closed. He hoped Howie was here. Howie was the only one that he had spoken to since he left the tour. He took a deep breath and released it slowly before speaking,
"Hey." That was it. That was all he could come up with at the moment. He didn't know what to say. Should he apologize? He wasn't even sure if they wanted to hear an apology or anything else from him right now. Kevin stepped up to him and he could see that he was struggling with what to say as well. The silence was sickening and wasn't broken until Josh cleared his throat,
"I'm going to go out for a while. Does anyone want anything?" No one really said anything coherent. There was just a few grunts and heads shaking before Josh got the picture and walked out leaving the four of them alone.
"So, did you guys come with security?" Neither Kevin nor Brian seemed to want to answer so AJ spoke up from the back of the room,
"We came with a couple." He nodded and smiled at AJ; grateful he didn't leave him hanging without a line. He held out his hand,
"Um, sit down anywhere." Kevin and Brian sat down at the table and AJ continued to lean against the wall. Kevin took a deep breath and Nick braced himself for whatever was going to come his way,
"Nick, why didn't you tell us you had a daughter?" He looked down at his feet and shrugged his shoulders,
�I don�t know.� He couldn�t bear to look up at them,
�Look at you. You�re a kid yourself. What are you doing with a baby?� Brian wasn�t going to cut him any slack on this one he knew it. He and Kevin would talk about not being married and having a kid. Honestly, he didn�t want to hear it. It was too late for that. He hated being lectured about not doing something he had already done. Obviously it wasn�t going to change anything and being told he was a screw up wasn�t going to make him feel any better.
I don�t know ok? It happened. I didn�t even know until a while ago.� Brian frowned,
�What? She just called and said �My baby is yours, she�s sick, come be here�?� He sighed,
�Something like that.� Kevin shook his head and ran his hand through his hair,
�This does not make sense. You had no idea the baby was yours?� This is why he would have preferred to deal with this on his own. He wasn�t saying he was handling it correctly but he wouldn�t have to deal with the third degree either.
�No, I didn�t even know she had a baby until we all went out to dinner with her and she showed up with her.� AJ shook his head,
�What? What the hell is going on?� Brian looked over at AJ.
�When we did the show here, we all met up with Quinn and she brought the baby. Nick is saying that was the first time he knew of a baby.� He shook his head,
�No, I�m not just saying that. It�s the truth.� AJ frowned and held his hands up,
�I�m lost here. Please explain this to me.� Kevin nodded,
�Explain it to us all.� He sat down but he really wanted to run out of the room and keep running until he couldn�t run anymore. He took a deep breath instead and told them everything. How he went to be with Quinn and the baby when he left the tour the first two times, the phone calls, the gifts, the CD he made, her fianc�e. Everything up until them knocking on his door and having to explain everything that had gone on in his life for the past couple of months. AJ shook his head,
�I can�t believe you kept this all to yourself.� He knew they would be mad at him but for the first time it occurred to him that they might be upset and hurt that he hadn�t talked to them.
They hadn�t stayed long and Nick couldn�t tell if it was shock, anger or hurt that was on their faces. It was probably a mixture of it all because God knows he�s been though more emotions than he ever thought possible at one time. They were all at the same hotel, which was not the one he was in, and they would see him the next day. Josh walked through the door an hour or so after they left and he was still lying on the bed looking up at the ceiling once again.
�Hey man, you ok?� He didn�t say anything, didn�t even bother to move as he continued to think about what he was going to do. Josh sat down on the bed,
�Man, I know you might not want to hear this but you have to pull it together.� He slowly turned and looked at Josh,
�You�re right.� He looked back up at the ceiling,
�I don�t want to hear it.� He could see Josh shake his head and walk to the other side of the room. He pulled the pillow over his face and he wished he had the courage, or some would say the weakness, to end his misery.
He was sitting in the waiting room the next morning when he saw the guys and Kristin enter into the room. Kristin walked over to him and wrapped her arms around. He wanted to cry but he couldn�t, not in front of all these people. The room was full of people, her people. Chris, her parents, her brother, he was sure Elliott and James would be there later. It was good to have people on his side even if they didn't seemed to thrilled to be there.
�Where�s Quinn?� He shook his head. He didn�t know. She wasn�t in the room when he walked in and he didn�t have the courage to ask anyone else. He didn�t want to face her; he didn't think his stomach could handle it. All he wanted to do was stay out of her path.
�Everything is going to be ok Nick.� He pulled back and smiled at Kristin as she continued,
�With MacKenzie and Quinn.� He could tell she knew something but he didn�t know what it was. He was tempted to ask but he didn�t need anyone else�s advice. He had enough from Chris, her parents, James and Elliott. Now he was going to get it from the guys. With her, he hoped he had someone who would be there for no other reason than to support him.
Chapter 61
Reunited
Stories