He took a few seconds to apologize to Ashley for the way Quinn treated her before he left to join Quinn in MacKenzie�s room. She was now officially psycho. What she did was so uncalled for. He was embarrassed. Embarrassed for himself and embarrassed for Ashley. But he wasn�t embarrassed for Quinn he was pissed off at her. He�d had it. He wasn�t going to take her shit anymore. The guys were right. He needed to be stronger. Not just for Quinn�s sake but towards her as well. No more yelling at him. No more making him feel like shit. No more apologies when he didn�t feel them in his heart. He wasn�t going to walk on eggshells anymore.
With the flowers and teddy bear Ashley bought for Mac in his hand he opened the door to see Quinn pacing back and forth. He decided even though he wanted to tell her off about being so disrespectful to his friend he would remain calm.
�What did the doctor say?� She stopped pacing and stared at him coldly with her hands on her hips,
�You would know if you weren�t setting up you booty call.� She wasn�t going to let it go. He should have known she wasn�t going to let it go.
�And I know that shit is not for my daughter. Don�t even think of leaving that in here.�
�Please just tell me what�s going on.� Mac had been in surgery for hours and it was torture not knowing what was going on with his little girl. He didn�t understand how it could take so long to operate on such a tiny heart.
�They say things are going as planned and there are no complications.� She shook her head and frowned at him,
�I can�t believe you.� Get it over with. He might as well get it over with now. It was going to eat at her and as long as it was bothering her she was going to bother him about it.
�It was nothing.� He noticed her expression and she seemed to be taken off guard by his description of the situation.
�It was nothing? You�re talking to her about things you should be talking to me about.� That may have been true but she made it very hard for him to do that.
�How many times have I tried to come to you and talk? Just recently I came to you and told you how I was unsure about having Mac. That was hard for me Nick. Its still hard for me to admit.� Yes, she did do that but as far as he was concerned it was too little too late. For as long as he knew he was a father she dumped on him, told him she didn�t expect much of him. And for one minute she was nice and he was suppose to open up and talk to her like all was forgotten? No way.
�Why couldn�t you talk to me?�
�Because you made it hard. Every time you talked to me or even looked at me it was like you were saying I wasn�t shit. You were always ripping on me.� She crossed her arms over her breasts,
� So you get back at me by letting her rip me.� She was unbelievable.
�She wasn�t ripping you.� It amazed him how she was able to twist the situation to make herself look like a victim.
�I just can�t believe you.� She was pacing back and forth again and he wasn�t even sure if she heard anything he said.
�Talking to some stranger about me. And about Mac. She has no business knowing anything about my daughter. Some stranger Nick. With all the problems we�ve had with media you�re talking to some random whore.�
�She is my friend. She�s not some stranger.� She snorted and walked towards him,
�What�s her last name?� That was something he didn�t know. He never even thought to ask her that. It didn�t seem to matter when it came to their relationship. His silence answered her question and she smirked at him.
�You are so fucking unbelievable.� She waved her hands,
�Whatever Nick.� She seemed to be getting angrier as time went on,
�Just keep your little friends away from here and I�d appreciate it if you didn�t talk to them about me and my daughter. When will you ever learn? She was just being nice and hoping you would remember it later so she could be in your good graces.�
No girl would be that low. No girl would use his daughter�s illness to get closer to him. It hurt him that she thought no one could genuinely care about him and his feelings. But he knew the truth. He knew Ashley was there for him; there for the right reasons.
�She�s my daughter too damn it.� Not only did it surprise her it surprised him.
�I needed someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn�t judge me. She called and I knew she was a good listener�unlike some people.�
�Fuck you Nick.� He knew it was a low blow and probably not very smart on his part but at that moment that was what he wanted to come out of his mouth so he said it.
�I�ve been running around trying to make things ok for my daughter. Trying to do what�s best for her.� She snarled at him,
�Unlike some people.� She ran her hands through her hair and stood directly in front of him,
�I care about my daughter.� That was it. That was the last time he was going to let her get away with trying to imply that he didn�t love his little girl.
�I�m going through a lot too.� She begins to say something but he wasn�t going to let her stop him,
�No shut up.� He could see the shock on her face and it gave him a slight bit of satisfaction. �I�m hurting too. I�m scared for her too. I love her Quinn. God, I may not be as comfortable with this parent thing as you but I love her. I care about her. I�ve cried over her. You aren�t the only one who has cried, who has prayed, who hasn�t gotten a lot of sleep.� Her face began to soften just a bit.
�Everyone is concerned about her, even Ashley and she hasn�t even seen Mac.� That made her angry. He could see it.
�Oh please spare me about your piece of ass Nick.� He placed the flowers and teddy bear on the table nearby and grabbed her by the arm,
�Like I said. I�m going through a lot too but I don�t go around treating people badly. Kevin, Brian, Kristin, Leighanne, AJ, my mom, Larry and Josh have all been here for you. My friends. It�s not just your family and friends. We�ve been here right along with you. Even Howie has gone to church every night since he�s been home just to pray for MacKenzie. They all care but you�ve managed to make my mom a non-caring publicity hound, Brian a racist and Ashley a whore.� He released her arm and sighed,
�Stop using Mac as an excuse to be a bitch.� Before he knew it he felt the sting of her hand across his cheek and part of his mouth. She slapped him. He couldn�t believe it. He had been slapped before but he also said he would never let it happen again. He didn�t hit anyone and expected the same treatment. Not even Quinn was going to get away with that. He turned and began to walks away. She yelled out at him,
�Where are you going?� He didn�t turn around when he answered,
�I�m getting out of here before I do something I�ll regret.� She let out a weird cry and he saw the flowers fly everywhere and felt the water and pieces of glass as she threw the vase against the wall. Next was the teddy bear,
Chapter 77a