"Maybe it's for the best if I just stay out of her life Glen." John said.
"Best for whom, John, you or her. Hey I understand if you take the easy way out. It's going to be a lot of work trying to build a relationship with Nikki. If you don't think it's worth it, maybe it is better if you just walk away." Glen said.
John sighed. He took another sip of his beer. "She hates me Glen." John said.
"No, I don't think its hate. There's a lot of stuff about Nikki you don't know. She's been through a lot of shit in her life. She has nightmares about the day you left her and didn't come back. That one event traumatized her John and you know why, because that little girl loved her daddy more than anything. Inside John, she's still that little girl waiting for her daddy to come back to her. You told me why you couldn't come back to see her. Now you need to tell her. It might change things it might not, but she needs a reason. She needs to know you didn't stop loving her or caring about her." Glen said.
Glen's cell rang and he answered it.
"Yea. Okay. I'll tell him." Glen said and hung up.
"Nikki wants to see you." Glen said.
John drained his beer and stood up.
"Let's go." John said.
"John and Glen got to Mark and Nikki's room and knocked on the door. Mark opened the door and let them in. Nikki was sitting on the bed cross legged looking down. She didn't look up when they came in.
"How is she?" Glen asked Mark.
Mark shook his head. "Not good." Mark said.
John stood looking at Nikki. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms, but he knew she wasn't going for that.
Nikki looked up and Glen was shocked by how red her eyes were. She looked terrible.
"Glen, Mark I need you to leave for a little while." Nikki said.
"No way little girl." Mark said.
"Mark I'm not playing this game with you tonight, just go." Nikki said harshly.
Glen took Mark's arm. "Don't push her Mark; she needs to do this on her own." Glen said.
Mark looked at her for a moment. He could feel her pain and wanted to take it away.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to attack him again, I got it out of my system." Nikki said.
"Well be next door in Glen's room, if ya need us." Mark said and He and Glen turned and left.
"Well sit down; I would like to know why you left me." Nikki said in a cold voice.
John pulled a chair near the bed and sat down.
"I'll start at the beginning of all this, I guess it will help you understand." John said.
"I met your mother while she was traveling. It was in Texas. I was at a bar and I guess her and a few of her friends decided to stop and check out the redneck bar. I saw her thought she was beautiful. She let me buy her a couple of drink and by the end of the night we ended up together in my hotel room. The next morning I gave her my number and told her if she ever got back to Texas to give me a call." John said.
"So pretty much it was a one night stand? You didn't love each other?" Nikki asked.
"No we weren't in love. It was just one of those things that happen." John said.
"Well a couple of months later, she calls me Hysterical, telling me she's pregnant. I was shocked. I told her not to worry I would do the right thing, pay child support or whatever she needed. She laughed and told me she was rich, didn't need child support. She told me she didn't want kid. I told her to have the baby and I would raise it, not to do anything rash. She agreed and I went up to Cape Cod and spent her pregnancy with her. When I saw you born, I was so happy. I held ya and I'm the one who named ya. You had my name at first. She changed it back later. Well I guess she had some mother instincts buried in there somewhere. When she seen ya, she changed her mind. She said we would both raise you. She said I could see you when I wanted. She stuck to her word for a while, but after a couple of years she started making it harder for me. She would refuse to let me see you. I kept coming back and bugging the hell out of her. Finally when you were four, she took me to court and had me stripped of my rights. She had your last name changed back to hers. She convinced the courts I was unstable and a bad influence, said I was an alcoholic. They threw everything at me. I was a nobody she was wealthy. You can guess who won the case. I got to see you one last time after that. I hired a lawyer spent 3 years trying to fight her but I lost. I came to see you anyway, but she had me arrested. I sent you cards and letters but I'm sure she didn't give them too you. After 6 years of fighting it, I walked away. She had too much power I couldn't win. I'm sorry Nikki maybe I didn't fight hard enough." John said with tears in his eyes.
Nikki sat quietly for a minute. "She told me you didn't want me no more. She said you called and said you didn't want me no more. Whenever I asked about you, she said you didn't want to see me no more." Nikki said.
John's heart was breaking. How could Monica fuck up her own kid like this?
"I'm so sorry Nikki. I tied so hard to be with you, but I guess it wasn't hard enough." John said.
Nikki looked him in the eyes, eyes that were so like his. "You promised you would come back." She said.
John was taken back to years ago; he was staring at a four year old girl wanting to know why her daddy had left her.
"I'm sorry baby girl." John said.
Nikki looked away.
"I can't just take up where we left off. I realize you tried to see me. But I can't just forget all the years you were gone. I can't just call you daddy and act like nothing happened." Nikki said.
"I'm not asking you too. I would like a chance to get to know you again. Maybe we can end up being friends if nothing else. Just don't shut the door on me completely Nikki, that's all I ask." John said.
"I'll try." Nikki whispered.
"That's all I ask." John said.
John stood up. He took Nikki's limp hand and pressed a kiss to it.
"I'll go. You look exhausted. I'll see ya." He said and put her hand back in her lap.
Nikki nodded. "Okay." She said.
John turned and left. Nikki lay back on the bed. She wanted to call her mother and tell her what a sorry bitch she was, but it wouldn't do any good. She didn't really feel like hearing that woman's voice right now.
Mark and Glen walked in the room. Nikki was lying on the bed. She was awake just sort of staring off into space. Mark sat down on one side of the bed and Glen on the other.
"Nikki, are you okay?" Mark asked.
Nikki looked up at Mark she seen the concern in his beautiful eyes.
"Yes, beside the overwhelming desire to bang my mother's head into a wall a couple of hundred times, I'm fine." She said smiling a little.
"Honey, I don't have to go home tomorrow. I can stay if you need me." Glen said.
Nikki sat up and hugged Glen.
"You need to see your kids, its important, believe me, they need you. I'll be fine, okay?" Nikki said.
Glen nodded and pulled her to set in his lap.
"You need to get some sleep. You look exhausted." Glen said.
"I'll go run you hot bath. It will help you relax." Mark said. He got up and went to the bathroom.
Glen sat there holding her. "You sure you're okay?" Glen asked.
"Yes, I'm okay." Nikki said
Mark came back in and took her hand.
"Come on little girl, take you a hot bath. Then you can go to bed." Mark said.
Nikki got up and went in the bathroom.
Glen and Mark exchanged a worried glance.
"I hope she'll be okay." Glen said.
"She will be, it's just going to take time." Mark said.