She sat, flanked by her family, in the chapel and cried until she felt she would pass out from exhaustion and a lack of oxygen. Her mother played with strands of her hair, pushing random pieces behind her ear,
�Honey, they have brought you nothing but more problems since they�ve been here. I think its time for them to go. All of them.� Having Nick and the rest of the guys had been stressful. Because of them there were reporters hanging around taking pictures of them as they came and went. They followed her family to their hotel, they knew where she lived. They were everywhere. Her father spoke to her for what seemed like the first time in days,
�They are here for support. It�s not their fault extra attention is being put on the situation. I think it speaks a lot that they are here, dealing with all the problems right along with us.� It was funny. Even though they were there it didn�t seem like she was getting any support from them. She was beginning to wonder why they were even there. They never really talked to her. When they did it normally had something to do with Nick and how she was treating him.
Should she ask them to leave? It wouldn�t put the genie back in the bottle. She and her daughter were out there for the world to know about if they so wanted but maybe some of the cameras would leave. Maybe some of the attention would die down. It was an idea and she was willing to ask for his friends to leave. She knew it would be unfair to ask him to leave and if he even thought about it she would be furious.
�I�m going to make that suggestion.� She looked down at her father as she stood up, �I�ll make sure to thank them daddy but I do think its time for them to go.� They all stood and her family gave her a group hug before she left them in the chapel.
She was walking towards the waiting room when she saw Nick sitting down on a bench next to a vending machine with a woman. Their backs turned to her just as she was getting closer. She watched the girl�s hand run up and down Nick�s back comforting him.
�I just don�t know what to do. I mean, I love my daughter. I really do but it was just so hard to really believe that I was a dad. More than anything I just want to be a good dad and maybe it scares me so much to be a dad because I don�t know if I�ll be a good one. I don�t want to let my kid down. It scares me.� Was that it? All this time he wasn�t willing to come to terms with being a dad because he was unsure if he could handle the job? Why had he never told her that before? As many times as she tried to communicate with him he never once conveyed such feelings to her.
�Nick, you�re going to be a great father. As long as you do what�s best for her then you won�t go wrong.�
�I don�t want to screw her up. Being a parent, it just seems so hard.� His friend ran her hand through his hair gently,
�Yes, its hard. It�s not supposed to be easy. You�re raising and molding a human being not some chia pet. It�s supposed to be hard and its supposed to be a struggle. Everyone makes mistakes but if you love her and support her she�ll know and she�ll love you.� This was a conversation he should have been having with her not some girlfriend of his.
�You and her mom just need to work hand in hand.� She could hear Nick snort,
�That�s not going to happen. She�s so mean. She doesn�t try to understand where anyone is coming from. It�s all about her. Mac is my daughter too but she acts like she�s the only one worrying and suffering. Its almost like she wants to be seen as the only who is hurting.� She couldn�t believe her ears. She couldn�t believe Nick could talk about her like that and to someone who didn�t even know her on top of that.
�She�s a mother. Mothers have this connection with their children. I bet its like twins. You know how they say twins can feel each other�s pain. It might be the same from mothers. I mean, MacKenzie grew inside of her. She�s been there from the beginning.� Nick shook his head,
�Its not as if I didn�t want to be there from the beginning. She took that away from me. I didn�t get to feel her kick. I didn�t get to see the little pictures they take of the baby when it�s still in the stomach. I didn�t get to help think of baby names. I wasn�t there to see her born. Nothing. She didn�t let me have any of that.� She was so tired of hearing that. Nick wouldn�t have been there even if he knew and she was tired of him trying to make it seem if he would have been there.
�There�s no doubt Quinn kept you from a lot. She kept you from bonding with Mac so you�re definitely behind the curve but you and Mac can make that up when she gets better.�
That was it. It was bad enough that he was telling her feelings that he hadn�t bothered to tell her. She even endured hearing her say her daughter�s name. Now this bitch was criticizing her and the choices she made. That was unacceptable.
She walked up on them quickly and once she was standing in front of them they both jumped. He stood up and she could see that he was uncomfortable. Before he could say anything she laid in on him,
�Well Nick I�m glad to see you�re finally talking to someone. Although I was actually hoping it would be me.� He licked his lips and pointed to his friend as she timidly stood up,
�Uh Quinn this is my�my friend Ashley. Ashley this is Quinn, Mac�s mom.� She noticed this girl actually had the nerve to extend her hand. She crossed her arms and effectively let it be known she wasn�t happy to meet her.
�For so long I�ve tried to get you to open up to me and you haven�t. If that wasn�t enough you actually talk about me and my daughter to some stranger.� She shook her head,
�What the fuck is wrong with you? I bet you told her all about Mac�s condition too. None of that is any of her business.� Nick sighed,
�We were just-� His friend nodded her head,
�You�re right Quinn. Whatever is going on with you and Mac is none of my business but Nick just wanted to talk.� She stepped closer to the girl and she noticed that she wasn�t all that cute. Her dark blonde, nearly brown, hair looked as if she had to straighten it a little too much. Her thin eyebrows matched her thin upper lip and her teeth looked a little on the big side.
�If I ever hear you mention my name or my daughter�s name I�ll kick your ass. You don�t know me so don�t throw my name around.� She nodded her head and glanced at Nick occasionally,
�You�re right I don�t. I�m sorry.� She could see Nick was about to say something and she held her hand so close to his face she could feel his breath,
�I don�t even want to hear it. How dare you talk about me and my daughter to some groupie?� She cut him off again,
�Don�t try to fucking explain. Get your ass to your daughter�s room. One of the doctors wanted to give us an update on your daughter but you were nowhere to be found at the time.� She threw a look of disgust at Ashley,
�Now I see why. Think you can tear yourself away from your little friend long enough to give a damn about your daughter?�
She didn�t bother to wait for anyone to say anything else. She just walked off and if Nick knew what was good for him he would follow right behind her. She was furious. Furious at him for talking to another woman. She was furious at Ashley for being that other woman and being in a situation she shouldn�t have been involved in. Didn�t she know? Didn�t she know it wasn�t good for her to allow Nick to talk to her about another woman, the mother of his child, the woman he was having problems with? And she was furious at herself. Furious for somehow not being available or whatever enough for Nick to talk to her about the situation, the feelings and the child they shared.
Chapter 77
Reunited
Stories