He shuffled in his seat after drinking two cups of coffee wondering what was going on. He wondered what Quinn and her father were doing? He wondered where his mother was? He hadn�t seen her since yesterday after the surgery was complete. He wondered where Mike was at this moment. Was he with some girl. Did he go out last night to a club. Where were the other guys. Where was his family. He felt so out of it. He didn�t know what was going on.
�You looked exhausted. You didn�t get any sleep last night.� Larry was harping over him like some den mother. He pretty much slept through the night but Larry was right he didn�t get any real sleep that previous night. The entire time he felt he was one turn, one shuffle, one stretch, one sound from waking up. It was like he was on the verge on sleep. He was asleep but not really.
His head shot up and towards the door to see Quinn and her father followed by her mother and her brother. He instantly felt on the defensive. Quinn was in mid sentence when she walked in the room.
�Dad, I�m fine.� He shook his head,
�Quinn, you need to go and sleep for a few hours. Mac will be fine. The doctors will take care of her, we�ll all be here and if anything should happen we�ll call you.� Nate spoke up,
�And don�t bother thinking you�re doing something wrong. There�s no need to feel guilty. You are of no use to Mac if you collapse from exhaustion and end up in the hospital yourself.� He continued,
�In fact, I think you should spend the day at home and come back tomorrow morning.� He wanted to laugh. Did Nate really think Quinn was going to stay away over night. He could tell him that wasn�t going to happen. The look on Quinn�s face told Nate all he needed to know. He held up his hands and nodded his head in defeat.
�Alright, alright.� This time it was Quinn�s mother who took a crack at coaxing her into getting some rest.
�Quinn go home. Come back around six or so to sit with her for a little while then go back home and sleep in your own bed. It�s about time you stopped sleeping overnight here. It doesn�t make you a bad mom for going home and getting some sleep. In fact, the doctor has been worried about you.� She nodded her head and he was a little surprised. He had never seen her give in so easily. Then again, she was outnumbered three to one.
�Ok.� Her dad, who by this time was sitting down, called out,
�And take Nick with you.� Nick was surprised he had entered into anyone�s mind. He looked at Mr. Garner and smiled half-heartedly. He wanted to smile even more but he was a little tired himself.
�Ok, let me just go check in on Mac first then I�ll leave.� He had forgotten Larry was in the room until his loud thunderous voice filled the room,
�I�ll take them.�
He positioned the vanity mirror on the passenger side so he could see her in the back seat as Larry drove to the hotel. She had agreed to let him get dropped off first since it was practically on the way. He couldn�t stop looking at her. Anytime she talked about her family she always mentioned her brother and her father but he wondered if she was like her mother. She didn�t seem like her father. He was such a cool person. Nick enjoyed being around him. They talked about sports, cars and everything that men talked about. He didn�t feel guilty about not crying and stressing over MacKenzie. It was understood that even though they were sharing a few laughs they still had MacKenzie in their hearts and prayers. He didn�t feel uncomfortable around Mr. Garner at all. Kind of how he was so relaxed with Quinn in the beginning. Before sex screwed them up.
Now he was uncomfortable with Quinn. She was so uptight just like he figured her mother was. Lillian Garner was one intimidating woman. If she didn�t like you she was as cold as the North Pole. She didn�t even toss a fake smile for the hell of it. She wasn�t one who was in charge of the welcome wagon. Lately, that�s how Quinn had been. He wondered if she was like that simply during stressful times. If that was the case, maybe Lillian wasn�t like that all the time either.
They pulled into the parking lot and Larry turned and looked at her,
�You want to come up? I need to take him upstairs and make a couple of phone calls. It will only take a minute.� He wished Larry hadn�t phrased it in such a way. It made him sound like a little kid. She nodded and took her seatbelt off. The safety latch was on the back door and Nick opened it, freeing her from the truck. She mumbled as she passed him looking down,
�Thanks.� If he didn�t figure out that was the only thing she could have said in the situation he never would have known what she said. Her voice was so inaudible. Cold as ice.
He entered his room after telling Larry and Quinn goodbye. He couldn�t wait to strip down and sink into the comfortable bed. He was smiling just thinking of it. How cool and refreshing those hotel bed sheets felt when they hadn�t been used yet. How soft the pillows were. A good hotel bed was like heaven. His smile disappeared and disappeared fast when he saw and heard his mother and one of her assistants in the suite.
�Hey Nick. What was the name of that stage director that you guys worked with on your last tour?� Wow, he couldn�t even get a hello. The first question wasn�t even about her first and only grandchild.
�Graham. Why?� She didn�t even look up at him as she answered,
�I want him for Aaron�s next tour. I think it will really take him to the next level. More adult, more professional.� He sighed and walked towards his room but stopped when her assistant called out,
�How�s the baby doing? How did the surgery go?� He couldn�t remember her name. Kristy, Misty, Trixie. He didn�t know. She probably only took the job to be next to celebrities. She probably only asked about his daughter to get on his good side. He shook his head slightly, now he was beginning to sound like Quinn.
�She�s in stable but critical condition but they think she�s going to be fine.� She smiled at him and for the first time he felt like he really could read a woman and he didn�t like the writing on the wall. She really was opportunistic, that cute little smile said it all.
�That�s great baby. I knew she would be ok. When I talked to Dr. Callan earlier he said things looked very positive.� Ok, maybe he should have given her the benefit of the doubt. When he looked over at her assistant, in her half top and tight pants he knew he had her pegged correctly the first time.
In the three and a half minutes that he had been in his room the phone rang seventeen times. He didn�t know what she was planning but he knew he was in the eye of the storm and it was driving him crazy. He quickly put his clothes back on and ran out of the suite. He set off for Larry and Josh�s suite hoping he could crash there instead of deal with the madness of his mother.
He knocked on the door and his heart raced when Quinn answered the door. She saved him from fumbling for the right words by turning around immediately and heading back in to the room.
Josh and Mike were deep in Major League Baseball Slugfest. Only Mike would think of bringing a video game during these times. He probably packed that before he packed a toothbrush.
�Hey man, Larry and Quinn were telling us about MacKenzie. I�m happy for you man, I know she�s going to make it.� Josh smiled over at him and Mike took the opportunity to get the upper hand in their video game war then laughed out loud.
Chapter 81 cont'd