Nick was sitting in his hotel room alone, his heart racing as he listened to the phone ring,
"Hello?" He took a deep breath, this was going to be one of the hardest thing he ever had to do,
"Hey momma." He began to bite on his nail as he listened to her,
"What is going on? Why aren't you on tour? Are you being docked pay?" He shook his head. Yes, he was ok. No, he didn't need her. He was sure those were the answers she really wanted to hear to the questions she really wanted to ask if she weren't so preoccupied with business,
"I'm fine. The pay thing is fine too, don't worry about it. Where's Aaron?" When you weren't ready to do something you stall,
"He's getting ready to go onstage soon. Some reporter asked him about you and your situation." He sighed, the was the last thing he wanted to happen. It would only upset his mother for attention to be taken away from Aaron while he was on his tour,
"Sorry about that. What did he say?"
"I wouldn't let him answer. I told them it was about Aaron and that's what they needed to focus on." He nodded his head, thankful his mother's mind was always on business,
"So, where's Pop?" There wasn't enough stalling in the world. He was never going to be ready to tell his mother what he needed to tell her. She would never be prepared to hear it either,
"Home I guess honey. What-" He knew she was about to ask him what was going on again and he still wasn't ready,
"So, where are you guys right now?" She sighed, he knew she was aware of what he was doing,
"We're in Massachusetts. Nick, right now. What's going on?" He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out slowly,
"Ok, you remember Quinn? She was at the house a couple of times."
"No." He sighed,
"The black girl I brought home? You remember." He brought home quite a few girls but not quite a few black girls,
"Ok, vaguely, that was a long time ago and many girls ago." He rolled his eyes as she continued,
"What does that have to do with leaving the tour and not letting anyone know anything? Right now Nick, tell me." Time was not going to make it easier,
"Quinn, she has a daughter. Her name is MacKenzie and she needs surgery. I'm here in Miami now."
"Ok, your little friend's daughter needs surgery. Wait, did she have a daughter when she was dating you? How old is her daughter?" His heart began to beat even faster. Was she figuring this out just like that?
"Um no, she had the baby after she and I stopped hanging out." He heard his mother groan,
"I thought she was a smarter girl than that if I recall. But anyway, what does that have to do with you? Why did you need to leave the tour?" He closed his eyes,
"Because I'm the baby's dad. She's my daughter and I need to be here for her." There was silence at the other end and he was scared at what her reaction would be,
"What? Please tell me you're kidding me." He sighed,
"No, she's my daughter. She's so pretty momma, she has the most amazing green eyes. I mean, they are beautiful."
"I don't give a damn about her eyes. Nick, how could you be so damn stupid? A baby Nick? You're supposed to be a role model." He knew it wouldn't go over well,
"I'm not the only celebrity with a kid."
"I don't care about anyone else. I'm concerned about you." He nodded,
"I know, so um, where's Aaron? Let me talk to him." It wasn't as bad as he thought but he knew his mother and she wasn't going to leave it at that. He'd probably get phone calls throughout the day from her remembering things she felt he needed to know and she needed to get off her chest,
"Nick, he's about to go on live TV do not, I repeat do not, fill his head with your problems." He nodded his head,
"I won't." She sighed heavily into the phone,
"I don't believe you. I just can't believe this." He listened as she called Aaron over. She didn't even ask what was wrong with her granddaughter he thought as he waited for his bother to answer the phone.
It had been a long day and he was sitting in the MacKenzie's room alone. He was leaning over the bed watching her look up at him. He ran his finger over her face and once he ran tapped the end of her nose he was sure that she smiled,
"You smiled. Did you just smile at me? I think you did." He jumped and turned when the door opened,
"Oh, I didn't know you were in here. I was just showing Chris the room. She wanted to visit with Mac." It was Quinn and she was with a girl who he hadn't seen,
"Uh, it's ok. I was just checking on her." She nodded,
"This is my friend Chris. Remember she used to hang out with me sometimes?" He nodded his head but he wasn't sure,
"She was my other friend who knew about Mac?" He didn't remember her name or anything but he knew what she was talking about and it vaguely jogged his memory. He nodded,
"Yeah, um hi." He looked over at Quinn,
"I can leave-" She shook her head,
"No, you can stay." Chris smiled at Quinn,
"I'll be fine, go ahead." She walked over towards him and Nick held his breath until she walked past him and leaned down and smiled at Mac,
"Hi beautiful. How are you?" She stood up and looked directly at him,
"The doctor said your blood is a match they need to draw more for her surgery." He nodded,
"I'll go now-" She shook her head,
"You don't have to...you can stay. They still don't know when her surgery is."She walked off without saying anything else to him. It was hard to get the cold treatment from her of all people. They way she would hold him, talk to him, listen to him. He missed her giggle, her laugh, seeing her have a good time. He couldn't really explain his feeling towards her. Were they love, friendship, he wasn't sure but he knew he liked being on her good side and that was definitely where he wasn't at this time. He looked down at MacKenzie and his stomach felt uneasy. When was he ever going to accept that he was a father? When was he going to stop acting like it was some dirty little secret?He heard Chris' movement behind him and suddenly she was standing next to him,
"She hates me doesn't she?" She frowned,
"Who?" He sighed,
"Quinn. She's never going to forgive me is she?" She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders,
"What did you do?"He sighed and smiled wryly, it figures she hadn't told on him. She was and always had been loyal to him, maybe even to a fault.
"Pull up a chair, I need to talk to you about Quinn."
Chapter 48
Reunited
Stories
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