The door opened and I saw Avery on the floor hiccuping in a fit of tears. A sigh slipped from my lips as I trudged over to her. “We tried everything,” Anna whispered behind me. “I’m sorry she got upset. Will I be seeing her tomorrow?”
“No, it’s not necessary,” I smiled in her direction. “I won’t be going into the office tomorrow.” I said and lifted Avery from the floor into my arms.
“Oh, okay, dear,” Anna smiled. I handed her some money but she pushed it back towards me. I didn’t fight her on this one. I thanked her and walked back to my apartment.
“I-I miss my mommy,” Avery cried softly into my shoulder. I could feel my jacket soaking through from her tears.
“I know you do,” I silently prayed to God to give me patients to take care of this little girl. The mention of her mother tore me apart every time it came up. How was I supposed to raise her when she told me every day that she missed her mom? I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay strong. I let her crawl up on her bed and fall into a restless sleep.
As soon as I got back out to the living room there was a knock at the door. I opened it and smiled to see Nick standing there. “Hey,” he smirked and pulled a bouquet of orange lilies out from behind his back. “These are for you.”
“Aw, Nick,” I smiled. “Thanks for the flowers. But if this is part of your crazy plan to get me to move back to Tampa, forget it.”
“Nah,” he wrinkled his nose. “I figured you had a long day. When I called your office to talk to you and they told me you had been sent home, I got kind of worried.” I rolled my eyes and plopped down on the couch. He closed the door behind him and followed me over.
“Yeah, I got fired,” I muttered and brought the lilies up to my nose. I loved lilies. They had always been my favorite flowers. “My boss said I had ‘lost focus’ on work over the past few months – when Greg and I broke up and with Kate’s death. I guess it’s kind of a good thing because I don’t have to worry about sending Avery off every day. But right now, I need to have money coming in for monthly payments and grocery bills. I guess I’m not Superwoman after all.”
“Well,” Nick sighed and pursed his lips together in deep thought. “I have some good news that might make you feel better.” I frowned at him, urging him to continue. “I talked to my brother today. He has a bunch of promoting to do for his new music and my sisters decided to take a vacation to visit my mom, so we aren’t going to be filming for the next few weeks. I thought I would stay here in New York for a while and help you out.”
“That’s awfully sweet of you,” I rubbed his shoulder. “But you don’t know much about kids.”
“Ah, that’s what you think,” he winked at me and I laughed. “Just hear me out!” He jumped up from the couch in excitement.
“Shh,” I tried to hush him through my laughter. “Avery’s asleep.” I reminded him. He nodded and began to quiet down a bit and continued.
“Okay, okay,” he nodded and put his hands up like he understood. “But listen, my friend Brian, you remember him, right?” He asked and I nodded with a smile. When the Backstreet Boys first took off and Nick and I were so close, I spent every waking moment tracking those boys online with all of their fans, just so I could know exactly where Nick was. “Well, he has a son named Baylee, and he’s about Avery’s age, maybe a little older. I spend a lot of time with him. I know a lot about kids.”
“Nick, you’re amazing,” I smirked. “But just because you spend a lot of time with kids doesn’t mean you know a lot about them.” As soon as I finished my sentence, I heard Avery begin to cry softly.
Nick cocked an eyebrow at me and folded his arms across his chest. “Watch and learn, Meg. Watch and learn.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the wait! I have been incredibly busy! My school is on block scheduling so we just had our midterms! Luckily they're over now, so I'll have more time to update ;] Keep up the reviews!!
