battling bruises
RyderPOV
"I don't care what you think will happen… children are as a part of my life as Ryder is…There's no way they can't be there. And if you think my children will only be there for the ceremony, you need a reality check." Marley rages into the phone, most likely talking to my mother. She's been on Marley's case about everything to do with the wedding. It's driving Marley crazy.
"No, they will be there. Those kids are more than students to me; they're part of my family." I hear my mother respond quickly and probably rudely and Marley doesn't seem to like whatever she said.
"Don't start that Carrie, they are all good kids… they know I'll be watching them and so will all the other adults. If they do anything they're not supposed to, well… it won't be good." She pauses for a moment before jumping on the defense. "Do not start that with me again… this is not your wedding! It's mine and Ryder's."
"Marley, give me the phone." I tell her not saying anything else, she hands it to me and I brace myself before talking.
"Hey mom… how you doing?" I ask, trying to pull the 'I'm her favorite son' act.
"Don't you hey me Ryder Lynn… That girl is crazy, teenage kids at a wedding where there is alcohol? What is she thinking? That is completely irresponsible."
"Mom, Marley is the most responsible person I've ever met. Nothing is going to happen." I tell her.
"Well, if she'd just let me offer my opinions on things… this planning would be done in a snap. And it would be the most amazing and best wedding this town has ever seen."
"And that's why she's not planning it…" Marley sings as she walks by to get ready for work.
"Marls… hush up. " I whisper, knowing my mother has hawk ears.
"What did she say? What did that life wreaker say?!" My mother screeches.
"Mom! Leave her alone… She didn't say anything. And what did I tell you about calling her that?"
"Well it's true! Her and her little brats are ruining your life… you could find a nice, not divorced girl who wants to start her life for the first time… why waste that opportunity on a girl who gave you up in high school and made the mistake of marrying a psycho-path who beat her?"
"Mother! I've had had enough of this! Stop judging her, she has been nothing but kind to you since you met her when we in high school and back then you loved her… why judge her by her mistakes? She's not a perfect person, but she's perfect for me, okay?" my mother stays silent. "And here's the deal, and I'll tell dad about it when I see him later today. If Marley asks your opinion on something… you say whatever will make her happy, if she asks for your help, because her mother is not here to help her... you are going to be caring and kind and help her without complaint… and if she tells me you are not doing so… I will make sure you won't be at the wedding." I tell my mother simply and strictly, pulling the Millie card out. Millie passed away last month, right after we had told her about the engagement, she had a stork in her sleep and no one was there to find her. Marley not having her mom during the planning has caused so much pain and my mother is just being difficult.
"You would do no such thing!" she yells. "Your father would never approve of it!"
"He'd probably pat me on the back and tell me it's about time I stood up to you." I tell her. "So you follow these rules and everything will be fine and dandy and if you don't, well… Bye mom, love you!" I say and hang up before she can reply.
"You know you didn't have to do that, right?" Marley says softly as she sits on the counter.
"Yes I did… she was being a bitch, and it was not necessary. She needs to understand that this is our wedding and not hers. She is not making anything easier and she needs to know that." I assure her as I walk and stand in-between her legs.
"I don't want this wedding to tear your family apart, Ryder; I want it to be a happy occasion. It's supposed to be a time for us to start over… to start a new life… That's what Finn and my mom would want it to be for us." Marley says smiling sadly thinking about her mother and their mentor.
"Hey, don't go sad on me… I hate seeing my Stars sad, it makes RyRy sad." I tell her knick- name to address myself, in the hopes it will make her smile.
"I love that you just used your knick- name to talk about yourself…" She says, giggling.
"There's my Marley! Now get yourself to work, I'll take the kids to school." I tell her kissing her nose, smiling at the way her nose crinkles when I do.
"Okay… If I have to…" She mumbles, kissing me and grabbing her bag before leaving shutting the door behind her.
MarleyPOV
"Theme, theme, theme… a theme… I need a theme… I need a theme…" I chant as I pace the choir room, all of a sudden stopping as I catch sight of the plaque Rachel had made.
"The show's gotta go… all over the place… or something."
I don't know what to do anymore Finn…" I say to the plaque, tears clouding my vision. "It's just so hard… I wish you were here to help me… you and mom."
"You remember what you told me when I doubted myself? You need to grow a pair, that's what you told me… It helped me accomplish the dream I didn't know I had, Marley… you can do this, trust me." I hear his voice tell me, as clear as if he was sitting right next to me.
"I don't think I can, Finn… I don't think I can run this club without you."
"Yes you can… I know you can. You just have to be brave."
"Are you okay, Ms. Rose?" Says Stephan as he a Mary- Kate walk into the room together, hands entwined.
"Uh- yeah… I'm fine… Just trying to put the finishing touches on the theme for this week." I tell them, lying through my teeth.
"Oh, okay… Is it okay that we came early? If you need to be alone to focus…" MK starts but I cut her off.
"its fine- I'm just going to go to the teacher's lounge and then I'll be back in a little bit… just behave alright?" I tell them, Stephan smirks while MK blushes.
I leave the choir room and walk to the teacher's lounge… Finding coach Beiste sitting at her normal table.
"Hey, Kiddo… you doing okay?" She says as I sit down.
"Yeah, had a rough morning, that's all. Ry's mom is making planning difficult." I tell her.
"She always was rough to deal with… crazy women I swear, I thought she liked you though? What happened?"
"According to her I'm a 'life wreaker' and I'm ruining Ryder's chance of a happy life." I say, frowning slightly.
"Well, we all know that's not true… He loves you and those kids of yours and he wants to be with you… why would he still be here if he didn't want to be?"
"I guess your right… Well, I've got to get to Glee."
"Have fun kiddo… just remember what I said.
"So guys, we've had a rough time recently… but we're not going to let it slow us down." I say as I walk into the choir room again, now to a full room of students. I walk over to the white board and write on it in my neat handwriting:
Just be Brave
"What does that mean?" Matt asks me, a confused look on his face.
"Well, today I had a pretty difficult morning, spent the time I usually take to get ready fighting with my future mother in law over why I wasn't letting her plan my wedding… and then I got here and realized I didn't have a theme for you all and I- I talked to-" I stop, getting choked up.
"Did you talk to Finn?" Sophi asks quietly from the back of the room.
"Yes, and I had a pretty big pity party and he told me I could do anything, I just had to be brave. So this week, I want you to sing songs that give confidence and make you feel like you can do anything. So does anyone have anything to start us off?"
"I do." Mary- Kate says as Stephan laughs quietly at his girlfriend's subtle eagerness. She hits him lightly on the arm and gets up and walks to the center of the room. She smiles a small, shy smile and then explains. "This song reminds me to not be so shy, and to be a little more assertive when talking about what I want and care about. "
"Okay, go ahead." I tell her smiling.
You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love
Or you can start speaking up
Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do
When they settle 'neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
Everybody's been there,
Everybody's been stared down by the enemy
Fallen for the fear
And done some disappearing,
Bow down to the mighty
Don't run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
And since your history of silence
Won't do you any good,
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don't you tell them the truth?
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
When she finished she smiled and returned to her seat next to Stephan who threw his arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek making her blush. I laugh to myself quietly, seeing Ryder and myself in them, I see myself in a lot of these kids, which is one of the reasons why I need them at the wedding.
"So I have something to ask you guys." I tell them, sitting on the top of the piano. "Ryder and I were wondering if you would like to attend the wedding and also perform at the reception." They all jump up and down and talk excitedly. As the bell rings I laugh. "I'm going to take that as a yes! Don't forget to find songs!" I yell as they file out of the room.
As I walk into the house after school, I feel myself relax. It's quiet and calm, everything I need it to be. At least it is that way until Ryder walks in with Mike flipped over his shoulder and Rachel wrapped around his calf.
"Hey, Stars! How was your day?" He says as he takes notice of me. He then notices that I've already showered, and am now sitting on the couch with a book and tea, trying to relax. "Oh, we'll be right back." He then back up out the door and says a few things to the kids and then they walked back in, calmer and quieter.
"Hi. Sorry about that…" Ryder says sitting down next to me. "How was your day?"
"It was okay, a little rough getting started but-"
"What happened?" He asks full of concern as the kids come into the room, in hope of food. I get up put my book down, The Hunger Games of course and walk to the kitchen to start dinner.
"Well, I was about to have a mental break down over the week's theme but then I talked to Finn and he told me that all I had to do was be brave." I stop what I'm doing and my hands against the counter. "It was like he was right there, Ry. It was like nothing had happened and we were just picking a theme…"
"I know what you mean Stars, every time I walked past the office at the tire shop, I could hear him, it was like her was talking to Burt of something. I just can't imagine what Rachel feels like." Ryder tells me.
"Oh god, don't even let me think about that… Between baby-sitting her, running glee club, watching my own kids and wedding planning I have no time for myself anymore."
"It'll be over soon, when wedding planning really picks up she'll be distracted… by the way did you talk to the glee club about performing?" He asks, plating the kids food.
"Their over the moon about it… we just need a song list from the alumni so the kids know what they can't sing."
"I can do that, if it helps… when are you doing dress shopping?"
"This weekend… I don't know how I'm going to do it with mom though." I tell him tearing up slightly.
"It'll be fine, you know… my mom would love-"
"No. Not after this morning." I tell him shortly. She cannot come ruin this for me.
"Just ask her… she might not even say yes." He says. I really hate when he tries to play peace maker…
"Fine, I'll ask."
"That's my girl."