| " Hi Mom." Mackenzie raced past her mother in the kitchen and walked down the hallway to her room. After holding her tears long enough to walk past her mother she finnaly let them flow. She opened the door to her room and threw her backpack against the wall and sat down on the bed. How could he do this to her? She grabbed her bear that was sitting on her bed and hugged it tightly to her chest. He embarresed her in front of the whole High School. Her stomach felt like it was going to explode. She was just so mad she didn't know what to do. Today was carreer day at school and he was supposed to show up and talk. Like usual, he didn't show up. He was never there for her. He always seemed to be doing something else. It seemed like he always had soemthing more important to do. She ws his daughter, didn't he care about her at all? She could remember her first dance recital. Mackenzie raced off the stage into the crowded school auditorium. She found her mother waiting in one of the rows. Her arms were open waiting for her. "Mackenzie, you were beautiful." Her mother let go of her and hnded her a pink carnation. Mackenzie smelled the sweet scent and smiled. 'Where's daddy?" Pat beant down to look in her daughters green eyes. "He had a show tonight and she couldn't make it." Mackenzie sat down in one of the chairs and began to cry. "He's never here." Pat sat down next to her daughter and wrapped her arms around Mackenzie. "You know he loves you sweetheart. He's very sorry he couldn't be here." Mackenzie nodded and wiped the tears away from her eyes. Mackenzie laid down on the bed and stared up at the celing. Sure, it was cool to say her dad was on tv but when he cared about his carreer more then his daugher, something was wrong. Did he really love her? There was a knock on the door and she wiped the stray tears away from her cheeks. "Come in." she cried The door opened and her dad walked in. The person she wanted to see the least right now. "Hey Mac." he smiled She didn't answer but only continued to stare at the celing. She didn't want to talk. "Can I sit down?" he asked Agin she didn't answer but moved over on the bed a little. He sat down and smoothed the sheets below him. "Can we talk?" he asked Mackenzie sighed. "What's there to talk about?" "Well about today." Mackenzie rolled over and faced the window. She couldn't even look at her dad. "Thanks for embarresing me today dad." The tears began to roll down her cheeks and they felt like they were burning. "I'm sorry Mac. I completly forgot." She wiped a tear from her eye and as she looked around the room her eyes stopped on a picture of her and her dad. She remembered that night. She had gone to a DCS taping. They seemed so happy in the picture, what went wrong. "Well it's not the first time." Ryan placed a hand on her back and slowly moved it along her back in slow circles. "Mackenzie I'm sorry." he said a little more forcefully Mackenzie sat up and wrapped her arms around her body. She began to shake and she looked down at the bed. "It's to late now dad." "Mackenzie you know I love you." Mackenzie slowly traced the flowers on her bedspread. He didn't love her. "You don't love me. Your career is more important then me." Ryan looked at his daughter. How could she say that. "Mac I love you more then anything." Mackenzie looked at her dad with such a fierceness in her eyes that Ryan was almost scared. "Well maybe you should show me sometime." Ryan grabbed his daughters hand and ran his fingers over her pale skin. "Sweetheart I'm sorry if I've never shown you that I love you, but I really do love you." Mackenzie slowly got off the bed and walked past her father. She looked at him one last time before she left the room and shut the door behind her. ******************************************************************************************* Ryan sat on the bed in shock. How could his daughter say something like that? Maybe it was time he quit DCS. It would give him more time with his family. This was his daughters most important time in her life. Maybe he wasn't always there for her but that didn't mean he loved her any less. This was his daugher, his little Mac. She was the world to him. Maybe it ws time things changed a little. |