A/N: HELLO EVERYBODY. I'm going through and making some major changes to this story. I know it's been years, but my writing has improved greatly and I feel like I can really make this story better!! You've all been messaging me and asking me to continue, and I hope this makes up for the very, very long wait!

Enjoy!

ooo

Shelby Corcoran was a lot of things. She was hard, driven, focused, organized, the list was endless. But one thing that usually didn't fall on that list was forgetful. So leave it to Shelby to add forgetful to the list the one night everything was already going wrong. The Treble Tones had just lost sectionals, absolutely crushing her girls, and her daughter was home sick with the babysitter.

No, Shelby wasn't forgetful. But tonight, with a million and one things racing through her mind, it wasn't until she was almost halfway home that she realized she had forgotten her purse at the school, causing her to scream out in frustration. So she turned around and sped back towards McKinley High School, praying for this god awful day to be over with.

ooo

Rachel sat rigid in one of the seats in the auditorium, bracing herself for the blow that was sure to come.

Her fellow glee members never seemed to understand why she fought so hard for the spotlight. They always chalked it up to her being a self centered diva, who only cared about making it to broadway. But if they would just look closer, get to know her better, see past her show face she plastered on the surface, they would understand.

Her dad and daddy always placed unrealistic expectations on her from a young age. At first it seemed as if they just had a real competitive edge to them, but as Rachel grew up, they became worse. They constantly wanted her to be the main soloist in every performance she did. And even when she was, they always found something wrong with her performance. Nothing she did was ever enough.

Rachel's head snapped up when she heard the auditorium's door slam shut.

"What in the hell was that, Rachel?" Her dad, LeRoy, seethed. "You weren't in any of the numbers. Do you care to explain?"

Rachel opened and closed her mouth a few times, debating on telling him the truth about her suspension, or making something up.

"I was suspended. I stuffed the ballot box for Kurt. I was banned from performing tonight." She said quickly with her eyes glued to the floor, afraid to look up and see his reaction.

Rachel felt herself being yanked up by her arm and grimaced when her dad didn't let go once she was up, choosing instead to dig his fingers in deeper. "And you didn't think that was something you should tell your father and I?" He sneered.

Rachel shook her head no while trying to hold her tears back. She knew tears only made her dad angrier. "I didn't think you two were going to come, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning." She offered lamely.

LeRoy laughed harshly. "You're in for it once we get home. We always come to your performances, Rachel. I don't know how you thought you could sneak this past us you stupid bi-"

"Rachel?"

Rachel felt her dad let go of her arm suddenly and watched as he stepped slightly in front of her, shielding her from whoever was on stage.

"Rachel, is that you?"

Before she could respond and pray to be saved from the hell she was surely about to face, LeRoy spoke up.

"Shelby, how lovely to see you again." He said fakely, putting on his usual act.

Shelby stepped down from the stage and out of the spotlight, looking LeRoy over cautiously. "Likewise." She said, moving her eyes over to Rachel. "I forgot my purse and thought I heard yelling, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay." She said, cocking an eyebrow at Rachel, silently asking if she was okay.

Rachel didn't dare move a muscle. She could feel her dad's eyes burning holes into the side of her head, daring her to say something. She locked eyes with Shelby, praying she could see the fearful look she was trying to convey.

Shelby's eyes glanced down to the red spot beginning to appear on Rachel's arm where her dad had been holding her, and then back up to Rachel. She opened her mouth to speak but was quickly cut off.

"Everything is fine, Shelby." LeRoy said forcefully, casually taking another step in front of Rachel. "Rachel here just informed me of her suspension and I was parenting her." He said mockingly. "And I'm sure you haven't forgotten about our contract, Shelbs. Thank you for checking in, but I got it from here." He said, grabbing Rachel's wrist tightly. "Let's go."

Rachel desperately shot Shelby one more pleading look with her eyes, praying she would notice something wasn't right and stop LeRoy.

But Shelby simply shot her a sad smile and turned her back on Rachel, leaving the auditorium, just like she had done before.

ooo

The car ride home was silent, and that scared Rachel more than anything. Usually her dad would spend the entire car ride yelling at her. But now, he sat stone still with a tight grip on the steering wheel, and Rachel didn't know what to make of it.

Once they got home, LeRoy got out and slammed the door, not saying a word. Rachel followed, knowing her punishment would only be worse if she didn't.

"You'll never guess who we saw tonight, Hiram." Her dad said while placing the keys on the counter.

Hiram looked up from his laptop on the kitchen table and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Who?"

"Rachel's mommy dearest." He said in a sarcastic voice. "She was concerned that I was yelling at poor Rachie poo." He mocked.

Hiram's eyes darkened and he quickly stood up from the table, making his way over to Rachel in two long strides and towering over her. "Your father and I have made it very clear that you aren't to see Shelby, have we not?"

Rachel shrank down and tried to back away from her father, knowing what was about come. "I didn't invite her, daddy. Her team was competing against us and-"

"Oh that's the best part! How could we forget to tell him, Rachel?" LeRoy said. "Our little Rachel didn't compete at all tonight. She was banned from competing because she was suspended."

Rachel watched as Hiram's eyes hardened. She could practically see the fire in them. "Daddy-"

Rachel didn't get to finish her sentence. She was met with a sharp slap on her cheek that brought immediate tears to her eyes.

"Do you understand how bad you make us look, Rachel? We do everything for you. And you go and get fucking suspended. You're such an ungrateful brat." Hiram yelled, slapping her again. "Go to your room, I'll be up later to deal with you."

Rachel didn't respond. She quickly scampered past him in case he decided to change his mind and hurried to her room.

Once her door was shut behind her, Rachel collapsed to the floor holding her burning cheek. It was definitely going to bruise, meaning she'd have to wake up earlier than usual for school the upcoming week to try and cover it.

Rachel heard footsteps and quickly ran over to her bed, throwing herself under the covers. Maybe if she pretended to be asleep, he'd leave her alone.

She heard her door open slowly and felt her bed dip. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut praying he would leave her alone tonight.

"You know the drill." Hiram whispered. "Take off your clothes."

She felt a hot tear slide down her cheek as she slowly moved to obey him, and found herself once again wishing for a savior.

ooo

Shelby thought about the incident with Rachel as much as she could throughout the rest of the weekend. Which, because of taking care of a sick baby, wasn't as much as she would have liked.

Something wasn't sitting right with her when she left the auditorium Saturday night. Sure, parents yell at their kids all the time. And with Rachel being suspended, who was she to question LeRoy's parenting skills? But Shelby still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The way LeRoy was talking to her just sounded so hateful. It didn't sound like a parent scolding a child, it sounded hurtful.

And there was something about the way Rachel was looking at her, not saying a word. Of course the two of them have their history, and things have always been a little strained between them, but Rachel was never one to sit tight lipped, even with Shelby. But she was looking at her like she wanted to say something. Almost as if she wanted to scream it. She just wished she knew what Rachel was trying to say.

It was Monday morning, and Shelby had arrived to school slightly earlier in hopes of finding Rachel and talking to her. She rounded the corner towards her office when she noticed Rachel standing by her locker, slowly putting books away.

Had she always been that skinny? Sure, she was a petite girl, but it seemed as if her clothes were hanging off her frail body. Shelby didn't remember her being that skinny. Why hadn't she noticed that sooner? She shook her head and tried to focus, making her way towards Rachel. She was just about to call her name when someone else beat her to it. Shelby watched in horror as the jock who called Rachel's name threw a bright purple slushy into her daughter's face.

"You!" Shelby barked at the football player. "Take yourself to Figgins office, I'll be there in 20 minutes to discuss your punishment."

The jock stared at Shelby in shock, not moving. "Now!" She yelled, causing the young boy to run.

When Shelby looked back towards Rachel's locker, she was gone.

ooo

It wasn't hard to find Rachel. All she had to do was follow the purple slushy trail towards one of the older bathrooms that people hardly used.

Shelby hesitated outside of the bathroom door, suddenly unsure of what to say, before slowly pushing the bathroom door open.

"Rachel?"

She didn't get a response. Instead, she saw Rachel clutching onto the sink, silently crying as the water ran. She was still covered in slushy.

Shelby walked over to her and pulled the chair that was always kept in the bathroom with her. She gently sat Rachel in the seat and had her lean back towards the sink. "Let me help you." She said softly. Rachel didn't reply, but continued crying silently.

Shelby grabbed the bag that Rachel had brought with her and grabbed a cup, slowly wetting her hair, before grabbing the shampoo and washing. As she massaged her scalp, Rachel's tears slowly began to subsided, and it seemed as if the girl was fighting sleep. Shelby just smiled, enjoying the moment. She repeated the same steps with the conditioner and turned the water off. If Rachel was awake, she wasn't moving. Shelby looked in the bag and found what she was looking for, and slowly began wiping Rachel's mascara tracks with a makeup wipe.

Shelby's eyebrows knitted together the more she wiped Rachel's face. As she removed the mascara stains, her daughter's cheek seemed to darken. As she removed the foundation, a bright purple bruise stared back at Shelby. She lightly ran her fingers over it, causing the girl underneath her to flinch.

"Rachel," She said gently. "how on earth did you get this?"

Rachel sat up quickly, ducking to avoid Shelby's touch. "Finn accidentally elbowed me in rehearsal." She said, grabbing her things and throwing them into a bag. "I need to change before class starts. Do you mind?" Rachel asked gesturing towards the door.

Shelby stood firm, trying to do the math in her head. "Rachel, you weren't at rehearsal this week, you were banned." She stated.

Rachel rolled her eyes and feigned annoyance. "I didn't say it was this week, now did I?"

"No. You didn't, but that bruise is way too purple to be any more than a couple days old. It would be turning green by now if it were from last week." She said. "I'm pretty much an expert on bruises, Beth gets them all the time." She added as an afterthought.

Rachel's eyes darkened at the mention of Beth and she once again pointed towards the door. "Well I'm glad you're an expert on at least one of your children, but this bruise is from last week. Now, can you please leave so I can get changed."

Shelby studied Rachel over once more and nodded. "You know you can always talk to me, Rachel."

Rachel rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I'll try and keep that in mind."

Shelby gave her one last look before walking out the door. She waited until it shut completely before collapsing against the wall to take a shuddering breath, unknowing her daughter was doing the exact same thing on the other side.

ooo

The rest of the day flew by quickly for Rachel. After her close call with Shelby in the bathroom, she found herself having a decent day. It was her first day back to glee after the suspension and everyone seemed genuinely happy to have her back.

Rachel was walking slowly towards her car, doing anything she could to delay the process of going home when she heard her name being called.

"Rachel! Wait up!"

She watched as Quinn Fabray half walked half jogged over towards her, her blonde hair dancing around her face. Rachel could still see slight remnants of pink in her hair if she looked hard enough, and it made her smile.

"Hey Quinn," She said tentatively. While they were no longer at each other's throats anymore, they still had a very rocky friendship, if you could even call it that, and Rachel always approached Quinn with caution. "What's up?"

Quinn hunched over trying to catch her breath before squinting up at Rachel. "I was just wondering if you knew how Beth was? Your mom still won't let me see her and-"

"Shelby's not my mom, Quinn." Rachel snapped, cutting her off. "And I have no idea how Beth is because I don't see Shelby outside of school."

Rachel's phone started buzzing, her father's face flashing across the screen, causing her stomach to drop. "I have to go." She said quickly, ignoring Quinn's protest and walking briskly towards her car, dreading whatever she was about to face at home.

ooo

"Dad, daddy, I'm home!" Rachel called out to the seemingly empty house. "I'm sorry I'm a little bit late, glee ran over today!" She called again, setting her things down on the entry table.

Hiram suddenly appeared from the kitchen, grabbing her wrist and pulling her harshly to him. "Oh there you are, sweetie." He said in a sickenly sweet tone. "Do come in so your father and I can tell you all about the little visitor we had today."

Rachel felt herself being shoved towards the kitchen table and quickly sat down, not wanting to make her father any angrier. "Who came over?"

LeRoy laughed harshly at her before suddenly stopping. "As if you don't already know." He spat. "Your father and I were trying to enjoy the lovely day when a woman from child protective services showed up."

Rachel's blood ran cold. This wasn't going to be good.

"Apparently someone from the school anonymously called, concerned about your home life and your overall well being." LeRoy said, his voice eerily calm. "Who do you think might have made that call, Rachel? Perhaps a certain mother who just so happens to work at your school?"

Rachel vigorously shook her head no. "I swear I didn't tell her anything."

Rachel felt a hand fly across her face, hitting her where she was already bruised.

"Don't you dare lie to us!" Hiram seethed, his hand reeling back to deliver another harsh blow to her face.

Rachel stood up, clutching her cheek. "I'm not lying! I swear. I don't even talk to Shelby. She doesn't want anything to do with me."

This caused Hiram to laugh. He momentarily lowered his hand and clutched his stomach. His laugh booming through the house like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"Well, Rach, I can't say I blame her."

Rachel could feel the tears welling in her eyes and went to move past Hiram towards the stairs.

"Rachel!" He boomed.

She should've known not to turn around, but her instinct reacted faster than her head. She turned towards her dad and felt a fist connect with her jaw, causing her to lose her balance.

Rachel felt a white hot pain sear through the back of head on the way down, causing her to momentarily black out.

"That's for lying." She vaguely heard Hiram say from above her.

"Hiram. She's bleeding." LeRoy said.

"Yeah, and she deserves it. Let's go pick up Mike. He'll fix her up so we don't need to take her into the E.R."

Rachel groaned at the name Mike. He was a shady doctor who was a friend of her daddy. Whenever one of her dad's got too rough with Rachel, they would call Mike. He would 'fix her up' so there would be no record of her injuries.

Rachel heard the front door slam and waited on the floor for five minutes before she put her plan into action.

ooo

Shelby knew she shouldn't be here. She knew it was wrong to spy on people. But she couldn't help it. She had a feeling something terrible was happening with Rachel, and she couldn't sit idly by.

She knew she probably jumped the gun on calling CPS, but it was the only thing she could think of, and she knew Rachel was lying to her about the bruise. CPS seemed to blow Shelby off, telling her they would try and send someone out today to talk to Rachel's father's. But that wasn't good enough for Shelby. And that's why she was currently sitting parked across the street from the Berry household. She didn't know what she was looking for exactly, but she knew she needed to be here. She just did.

Beth cooed from the backseat, causing Shelby to smile. She turned around to pass the baby a toy she dropped when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

The Berry men were walking out the front door frantically, talking in raised voice and waving their hands about animatedly. Shelby cracked her window to try and hear what they were saying and slid down in her seat.

"This is your fault! I'm so sick of cleaning up your messes when you lose your cool!" She heard LeRoy say.

"Shut up and drive." Hiram shot back.

Shelby heard two car doors slam and an engine speed down the street before she sat back up.

"What the hell was that all about?" She muttered to herself.

She was just getting ready to put the car in drive when another flash of movement caught her eye.

Her daughter came walking out the front door, rather unsteadily, fumbling with her car keys in one hand, and holding a bloody towel to the back of her head with the other.

Shelby quickly got out of the car, adrenaline seeping into her veins at the sight of a bloody towel stuck to her daughter's head.

"Rachel!" She shouted from across the street.

Rachel slowly turned her head and locked eyes with Shelby. She was about to call her name again before she watched her daughter collapse onto the pavement.

"Rachel!"

ooo

Yay!! I'm so excited to be back with this story!