The first thing Rachel Berry does after unpacking her things and settling into her dorm in New York is to call Quinn. She is resigned to the fact that this is her life's destiny, but it doesn't take away the sting of betrayal and deep loss. Thinking that she was about to get married and instead having her boyfriend break her heart at the train station and insist that she go east alone, without him.
She would have been okay with it, she tells herself, if only he had discussed it with her first. But instead, he had assumed he knew her better than she knew herself. It hurt. And while she had loved seeing her glee club friends there to say goodbye, the possibility of truth sat like a pit in her stomach.
So, Rachel knows, she has to ask Quinn the question that has been on her mind all this time.
"Did you know?" she asks abruptly, not even bothering to say hello. She would have used her Metro North pass, but Quinn hasn't moved to Yale yet. She's still in Lima. The thought brings fresh tears to her eyes.
"I tried to talk him out of it, Rachel, I swear," Quinn promises. "But he texted all of us from your driveway. He wasn't going to listen to anyone."
"Are you sure you didn't talk him into it?" Rachel accuses. "This wasn't for him to decide!" Rachel exclaims, a desperate edge still in her voice days later. "It's my life, Quinn!"
On the other end of the call, Quinn sighs. Rachel hears all the things she isn't saying. Knows that although she never supported their getting married, Quinn had set aside those feelings and had done her best to race to their last-minute wedding. Finally, she speaks. "I know it is," she says.
"I mean, I love it here. I won't lie. But I just wish it hadn't been sprung on me at the last minute. Like I'm some weak person who can't make her own decisions!"
Quinn is silent, listening.
"I mean, half of me just wants to pick up and leave here! Just to spite him!"
Laughter fills the connection between them. "Rachel, whether you leave or stay there, Finn won't care one way or the other. The only person you'll be hurting is you. Do what you want to do - come home, stay there, do something else - but don't do it for him. He doesn't deserve to factor into that decision. Do it because it's what's best for you."
"Well, I do kind of love it here…" Rachel admits.
"Then who cares how you got there?" Quinn exclaims. "Stay out there if you want to, and know that Kurt will probably move there, too, within the year, and that I'll visit. And if what's-his-name shows his smarmy face there, just call me, and I'll come and together, we can give him a piece of our minds."
"I don't need your help," Rachel mutters. Though, if Finn did show up in New York, Rachel most definitely would need some backup.
"Rachel, seriously. Don't let one person's mistake close you off to other people's good intentions…" Quinn says quietly.
"What are you, a fortune cookie?" Rachel scoffs, but a laugh breaks through her tears.
"Mm-hm," Quinn confirms lightly. "I can even tell you your future."
"Really?" Rachel sniffles. "And what is that Madame Fabray?"
"That," Quinn echoes, "Is completely up to you."
It is these moments that Rachel is infinitely grateful for her friendship with Quinn. It's an unlikely one, and they don't connect much, but when they do, it matters. When they do, Rachel remembers it vividly, and carries the words Quinn speaks close to her heart.
"Listen, if you need any help with the move. Let me know…" Rachel offers, an apology.
"Sure," Quinn answers, and Rachel can hear the smile in her voice. "We miss you here."
"I miss you," Rachel insists. "More than you know."
The End.