Now: The Reunion
Dr. Marcus Tanner pushed his glasses up on his nose and crossed his legs, his brown corduroy pants swishing as he did so. He was wearing a blue shirt, starched stiff, under a brown sweater vest. Quinn Fabray thought he looked like a complete idiot with a ten dollar haircut but experience had taught her to keep such things to herself.
"We agreed that if you had to miss a session you'd inform me as soon as possible. I know you're busy and I understand more than most that sometimes you have to cancel. Things come up. Especially in a hospital. Still, you owe me a phone call as soon as you get a free moment. The hospital accepted you into the program under the condition that you adhere strictly to the rules outlined. You're only a few months away from putting all of this behind you and your behavior has been exemplary but you're not finished yet. Rules, Dr. Fabray. Structure. They're your best friends remember?"
Quinn fought back the urge to roll her eyes but she knew Dr. Tanner was right. She was being irresponsible. She'd purposely blown off calling him just to spite him. The last time she'd spoken with him he'd pressed the issue of her father. The 'chat' had rubbed her the wrong way and on the day of their next scheduled visit she'd weaseled her way into operating on a Subarachnoid hemorrhage. She didn't consider herself lucky that a woman had come in with a bleeding brain but being in the operating room meant she could skip her mandatory therapy session.
"I'm sorry. It was inconsiderate and it'll never happen again," she meant it when she said it but deep down she realized it was likely a lie. Even a subconscious lie still counted as a lie. All these years of therapy had taught her that.
To his credit Dr. Tanner didn't call bullshit. He scribbled something in his pad and adjusted his glasses for seemingly the hundredth time and gave her the curious look that she'd come to loathe. As much as she hated shrinks Quinn didn't doubt Dr. Tanner's effectiveness, the guy knew his stuff. He'd talked her into sharing her feelings a couple dozen times and with the exception of the few instances where he brought up Russell she didn't mind speaking with him once a week.
"So, tell me about New York. We were talking about why you left and didn't return. Tell me about that."
XOXOXOXOXOXO
"Quinn. Quinn. Did you see the size of that guy in the lobby? He was like ten feet tall." Dr. Gail Benson was Quinn's best friend in the hospital and the only other doctor from her intern class who hadn't burned out of the program. Out of six aspiring surgeons Quinn and Gail were the only two that hadn't washed out or gotten fired. Gail was finishing up a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal medicine and was only a few months away from starting a job in Los Angeles making upwards of 350K. She was simply cooling her jets until she was out of here. These days she was making her interns do most of her work.
"He was seven four," Quinn said, not bothering to look up from her pile of medical files.
"He had to be at least seven hundred pounds." Gail continued.
"Five hundred and thirty nine," Quinn added cooly.
"He was a monster. He was yelling at all the nurses and he broke a chair against the wall."
Quinn finally gave her friend the attention she'd been so desperately craving. "He wasn't a monster. He suffers from Gigantism. He broke the chair when he sat down and screamed out for help. He was very sweet."
Gail gave her a curious scowl. "How do you know? Did you go down to gawk at him too?"
"Of course I did, he was like ten feet tall and seven hundred pounds."
Gail burst out laughing and wrapped a playful arm around Quinn's shoulder. Gail was beyond affectionate. She loved to hug and shoulder slap. When they'd first met Quinn had even mistakenly thought the short brunette with the wavy black hair and wire framed glasses was flirting with her. It wasn't until she'd walked into a hospital on-call room and found her making out with a steroid head named Biff that she realized she wasn't Gail's type. The scene was so awkward however that it forced them to form a friendly bond to get over the weirdness of it all and over the years they'd grown to be close friends.
"I heard Dr. Softeyes let you cut today. A brain bleed. That's usually the sort of thing he hoards for himself."
Dr. Softeyes is what the women in the hospital called Quinn's boss, Attending physician and Neurosurgeon Frank Sofronio. Dr. Sofronio was a tall dark haired Greek with graying temples and striking blue eyes. He was okay as far as bosses went, extremely smart and talented and an excellent teacher. The whole hospital hated him though, he screamed a lot and called everybody names but Quinn didn't let it bother her. Nobody could hold a candle to Sue Sylvester. He had screamed and yelled at Quinn so much in a quest to intimidate her that when she didn't run off he took her under his wing as his protégé.
"I told you he wasn't that bad but you wanted to go hang out with those losers in OB."
Gail scoffed. "I fixed a little baby's heart today the size of a silver dollar."
It was Quinn's turn to scoff. "You did?"
Gail shrugged. "I supervised." The thing Quinn could always count on from Gail was a gross exaggeration of nearly everything non-patient related that came out of her mouth. The only time anything she said was taken at face value was when she was working on a patient or handling a medical file.
Quinn laughed but her laughter was short lived. A trio of doctors ran past her at a sprint catching both their attention. Before she got a chance to ask what was going on another pair of doctors rushed past.
People only ran when somebody was dying someplace. She hadn't heard anything, no code called over the loudspeaker. No nurses or interns screaming down the hall. Still another doctor rushed past and disappeared into the Emergency area.
"What the hell is going on?" Gail asked but the Chief of surgery came strutting down the hall and it was all the explanation either of them needed. Dr. Mike King was as old as dirt but he was God in the hospital. He knew everything about everything and was always right. When he said jump everyone answered how high. One cross word from him and your career would be over before it started.
"Dr. Fabray with me," Dr. King said not bothering to slow down or even look in her direction. Quinn didn't hesitate. She abandoned her pile of folders and skipped down the hall on his heels. She was pushing through the swinging doors leading towards the Emergency area before she finally asked what was going on.
"What's going on?" She asked slowly, careful not to show fear but firm enough to show she expected an answer.
"VIP en-route. That movie they're filming downtown had an accident. Some stunt went wrong and a bunch of people got hurt. Multiple traumas and the star Rachel Berry has some sort of stomach laceration."
Quinn's stomach churned. Rachel Berry. That was exactly what she didn't want to hear. It had been over ten years since she'd seen Rachel last. Ten plus years and lots of water under the bridge. The last time she'd seen Rachel the girl had thrown a ten dollar lamp at her head.
"I'll hit the trauma's," Quinn said quickly.
"No. Stick with me, I've got enough people on the traumas I need you working on the VIP. The studio wants her back on set as soon as medically possible and I want you to run her Neuro exam."
Quinn sighed but didn't argue. A minute later she was walking down the hall while somebody screamed in the distance. Quinn recognized the loud obnoxious and entitled voice right away. Rachel.
"What the holy hell are you people doing to me? Are you trying to kill me?"
The thought of running crossed her mind. She could turn around climb into her car and drive away. Rachel would never even know she was here, she was sure of it. Sure she'd get fired and her career would likely be over but that seemed like a worthy trade off. Seeing Rachel again wouldn't be good.
"Get your hands off me already. Tina, Tina get over here and fix this. This guy is going to kill me."
Tina. The name was like nails on a chalk board. Quinn had heard Tina Cohen-Chang had become a doctor also and was now working as Rachel's private physician. Quinn suspected this was some sort of ruse designed by Rachel to score prescription drugs. Tina was likely serving as a very expensive legal drug pusher.
Dr. King stepped past a small group of people dressed as longshoremen, likely extras in Rachel's movie, and pushed his way into the room. Quinn held her breath and stepped inside the room behind him. There were people everywhere. The room was packed with doctors, nurses and what Quinn suspected was people from the movie set. The tension was thick in the air but she put on her doctor face and steeled her nerves. She'd never expected to see Rachel again. At least not outside of the movies. When she heard Rachel was going to be in town filming a movie Quinn didn't think twice about it. The odds of them bumping into one another had to be astronomical. She had been wrong. So wrong. Even here, in Pittsburgh, she couldn't hide from Rachel Berry.
"Get your damn hands off me. What is the matter with you people? I don't need any of you in here. I have a doctor. Tina tell them you're my doctor."
"I'm Ms. Berry's personal physician," Tina squeaked out.
"See, now move. I'm leaving. I have a movie to finish."
While peering over a half a dozen shoulders Quinn saw Rachel pushing herself out of her hospital bed and decided she'd seen enough. Instead of letting her leave Quinn took charge.
"Everybody who is not a doctor or nurse needs to get out of this room right now," Quinn said sternly.
Rachel who had been grumbling to herself across the room quieted down almost immediately. Tina who was meekly standing beside Rachel's bed turned her attention to the doorway.
"You heard her, go. Clear the room right now," Dr. King said sternly. The room emptied out quickly. Rachel's large entourage scattered like cockroaches with the lights on.
"And you. Sit down and stop being a diva," Quinn said firmly.
Rachel's eyes widened but so did the eyes of everyone else in the room. Rachel's VIP status was all any of them were thinking about. Quinn wanted to get her exam done and get her out of here as soon as possible. That wasn't going to happen, she could see it in Rachel's face.
"Quinn?" Rachel asked.
Every doctor in the room, including Tina turned to stare at her. Tina's eyes widened with shock.
"Quinn Fabray?" She asked. "What. What. Are you doing here." Tina muttered out.
"Don't start stuttering again Chang, this isn't high school. And Rachel sit down and stop complaining so we can check you out. God you're still a diva. It's like we're fifteen all over again."
Rachel shoved a doctor out of the way until Quinn was firmly in her sights. When they locked eyes Quinn felt every emotion she'd buried deep within herself bubble to the surface. Rachel looked hot. Even with her face covered in blood. Fake blood, Quinn was sure of that, it was too shiny and red, too phony looking to be real, and it didn't take away from her beauty one bit.
Of course being hot was never Rachel's problem. She could always get Quinn's motor running, that had never been an issue. The problem was once her motor slowed down they always seemed to bump heads about stuff. They fought constantly. Loudly, angrily and often violently. Once the sex stopped things got broken and feelings were hurt. They were toxic together. Like bleach and ammonia. It had taken a long time for Quinn to work up the nerve to leave and it had done them both worlds of good. Rachel was a movie star and she was a doctor. Things had worked out for both of them. But still, Rachel looked so hot.
"Quinn Fabray. You're a doctor now?" Rachel asked. It didn't surprise Quinn that Rachel didn't know. Quinn was sure nobody knew. She hadn't kept in contact with anybody from back home. Her old life had been locked away, her family abandoned, her friends forgotten. She'd parlayed her Yale education into a spot in medical school and when she finished she had moved to Pittsburgh to start her career.
"Yes Rachel I'm a doctor. Now quiet down and do what I say. Lay down."
Rachel scoffed but laid back on the bed. "Sure, tell me what to do. Boss me around. Why should things be any different than high school. Or when we used to date. It's Quinn's way or she hits the highway."
"Rachel," Tina began to plead.
"No, it's okay Tina. You know how Quinn is when she doesn't get her way. We should just do what she says. Before you know it she'll start calling us the mean names she had for us in high school. Let's just let her have her way," Rachel said doing her best to sound annoyed but not actually pulling it off.
"Good. Life is much simpler that way," Quinn said turning her attention to the group of doctors standing around with open mouths. "Okay, who's up first. Let's go," she demanded.
XOXOXOXO
Everybody was staring at her. Quinn could feel it. By now half the hospital had probably heard that she knew Rachel Berry Hollywood A lister and notorious diva, intimately. Half the hospital was probably talking about her and Rachel being an item once upon a time. Talking and gossiping. And staring.
"You sneaky dog," Gail said sneaking up behind her. "Rachel Berry. That's your ex Rachel that you always talk about. Rachel freaking Berry?"
All she could do was shrug. No amount of fancy talking would ease this blow. "Yep."
"And you didn't think it was important to share that little nugget of information?"
Gail was a notorious gossip. Nothing went down in the hospital without her knowing about it. She was the eyes and ears of the whole place and despite having an education from one of the best colleges in the world she behaved like a fourteen year old Cheerio.
"As soon as I told you it would have been all over the hospital. And the way everybody's looking at me now, they would have looked at me like that then. It was worth trying to keep it quiet. One less accident in the city and nobody is the wiser."
Gail didn't appear to understand Quinn's reluctance. "You used to date one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Anybody else would be proud."
"Do you remember those stories I told you about our time together? Do you remember any of it besides the fact that she's a movie star?"
Gail shook her head. "Not a word."
"Quinn. Quinn can I talk to you for a minute?"
Of course. Tina. Tina freaking Cohen-Chang. Quinn hadn't seen Tina in a decade and she hadn't changed at all. Instead of black lace and dark eyeshadow she was wearing a skirt suit, it was however still black. That much hadn't changed it seemed.
"Elvira," Quinn said with an edge that brought up old familiar feelings and made her feel a tad uncomfortable.
"I need to speak to you about Rachel. She's being difficult and she won't listen to me. She needs surgery. She has an appendicitis."
Quinn shrugged, her eyes glued to the administration desk. Gail was staring nervously at her, along with the nurse sitting behind the desk typing on a computer.
"So tell her to get the surgery."
Tina let out a frustrated breath. "She won't listen to me. She doesn't listen to anybody. She wants to finish this movie then get the surgery done in LA. She doesn't understand that if it ruptures she could die."
"What do you want me to do about it Tina? YOU'RE her doctor. Talk her into it."
"She doesn't listen. You're the only person she's ever listened to. Even back in Lima. I called Santana to try and talk some sense into her, she and Brittany couldn't even get through to her. She's a total monster Quinn. She's going to get herself killed and her dads are going to blame me."
Quinn sighed not bothering to hide her annoyance. "Calm down."
"Go talk to her. Tell her to get the surgery."
She wanted to shrug and ask what difference it made to her if she got the surgery or not. She hadn't seen Rachel in years, they hadn't been a couple in over ten. Still those thoughts of past smiles, warm kisses, and gentle caresses were hard to ignore. She cared about Rachel. Even now.
"She's not going to listen to me," Quinn reasoned. She never had before. Everything that came out of her mouth back then had caused a fight. If Quinn said one thing Rachel said the opposite.
Tina wasn't buying it. "She hasn't stopped talking about you since you left the room. She spent ten minutes on the phone with Santana talking about you. She's coming down you know. Her and Brittany are flying down tomorrow."
Quinn sighed but Gail became visibly excited.
"You know Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce? I love that show."
Santana and Brittany had gained reality show fame a few years ago. Their dysfunctional, emotional, and sexually codependent relationship was now entertainment fodder for the entire world. Millions of people watched their insane love affair with curiosity and as a result the two girls had made a ton of money. There was a Playboy spread, which they'd posed for together, a 'leaked' sex tape, clothing lines, and several endorsement deals. Somebody had even put Brittany's clueless witticisms on tee-shirts and half the world was using Santana's genius insults. They were always in the tabloids and had become the sort of celebrities everyone knew but nobody understood how they'd grown to be famous in the first place. Last Quinn had heard they'd bought a multi-million dollar mansion in Hollywood and let the Puckerman brothers live in the pool house. Quinn would never admit it but she watched the show on a regular basis.
"We all went to high school together. Quinn was best friends with them," Tina said confidently.
"You were friends with Santana and Brittany?"
Tina laughed. "Quinn was their leader. We used to call them the Unholy Trinity."
Gail laughed. "The what?"
"Unholy Trinity. They were the prettiest girls in school. Cheerleaders. And absolutely mean. Everybody was terrified of them."
"You were a cheerleader?" Gail asked, surprised.
"Yes," Quinn deadpanned.
"Really?"
Quinn shrugged. "Sure. I was head cheerleader for a while."
"In what world is that fair? I was the biggest nerd in school. I had thick glasses and bad clothes. I didn't have a boyfriend until senior year and he broke up with me as soon as I had sex with him. And you get to be pretty, popular, and smart. Then you get into Yale and become a doctor," Gail seemed to be joking but Quinn could tell she was genuinely a bit annoyed.
"It's not a big deal. It was a thousand years ago. I'm not that girl anymore. Besides my life wasn't perfect. Not by any stretch of the imagination."
"Yeah she was in a wheelchair for a while. And she got pregnant at sixteen. And got kicked out of her house. And dyed her hair pink."
Gail's eyes widened with shock. "You used to be in a wheelchair? And you had a baby?"
"I was in a car accident and I ended up in a wheelchair for a while. It's why I have a bad back. And I had a baby that I put up for adoption."
Gail's mouth was wide open and Quinn could see the nurse working the desk was all ears also. Great. More gossip.
"Where is the baby? Do you know who has her?"
Quinn nodded. "Rachel's mother has her."
Gail's mouth opened for another question but she was cut off by the sound of wailing from down the hall.
"TINA," Rachel screamed at the top of her lungs. "TINA where the hell are you?"
Tina rolled her eyes and hustled off down the hall not even bothering to say goodbye.
"You should talk her into having the surgery," Gail said offering her two cents.
Quinn knew that was the right thing to do but somehow going back into Rachel's room seemed like the worst idea in the history of bad ideas. She was however a doctor and it was her duty to try and save Rachel from her own poor decisions, just like old times.
She followed Tina down the hall and watched as her old friend ducked into Rachel's room. She could hear Rachel's bossy and demanding tone from out in the hall. She was already laying into Tina for some imagined transgression.
"How dare you walk off and leave me in here. I'm laid up in the hospital and your out sightseeing. If you weren't one of my oldest friends I'd fire you. You're just like everybody else Tina, you don't care about me at all."
"Give it a rest," Quinn said as she stepped into the room.
Rachel's eyes widened with shock, it was likely nobody had spoken to her that way in a long time. She stared at Quinn briefly scowling then letting her gaze soften and before Quinn knew it was downright smiling.
"So, Pittsburgh. Is this where you went? Pittsburgh. Is this what you walked out on me for? Pittsburgh?"
Quinn took a deep breath. Rachel was baiting her, she was sure of that. Still there was something about the way she said Pittsburgh that rubbed her the wrong way. It was like she'd moved out of Heaven to take up residence in a crack house.
"I went to medical school. I came to Pittsburgh because that's where I was matched, I didn't have a choice."
Rachel scoffed. "I can't believe you're a doctor. I can't believe anybody would trust you with their health. Do they know you're a pot head? Do they know you drink vodka like ice tea?"
Don't take the bait, Quinn said to herself. Don't, it's what she wants.
"I've grown up. That was a long time ago Rachel. I don't drink or do drugs anymore."
Rachel laughed. "Do they know if they make you mad you'll screw their best friend?"
Don't bite. Stay strong.
"Rachel I didn't sleep with that girl. I told you that. Besides it was a long time ago. I'm not the same person."
Rachel looked over at Tina. "Did you know Quinn and I once locked ourselves in my loft and smoked weed and drank vodka for two days straight? Sunday night she tells me she has to go score us some more pot and she never came back. She didn't call me, didn't answer my phone calls. I thought she was dead. I thought she got raped and murdered and shoved in some suitcase and dumped in the Hudson River."
"I'm sorry about that," Quinn said softly.
"I mean I went to the police station and filled out a police report. I called all of our friends. Nothing. She cancelled her Facebook account. Changed her phone number and moved out of her place. It wasn't until the Police called me and told me that she was alive but didn't want to see me that I realized what a fucking coward she was."
Rachel was still talking to Tina but she was staring right at Quinn. Quinn fought back her frustration, it's what she wants. Drama. Their relationship was filled with drama. Fighting, sex, screaming, sex, violence, sex. Drama.
"It was cowardly but it was the only way I knew how to get away. I knew if I told you what I was doing I never would have done it. You would have never let me leave."
Rachel nodded. "I know. You wanted to move, to Pittsburgh."
"Rachel I went to medical school. I'm a doctor. I've made something of myself. You've made something of yourself. Can't we just be adults about this?"
Rachel laughed out loud. "Says the girl who went out to buy us weed and didn't come back for ten years. Ten years Quinn. We were talking about moving in together and you just left me. Dumped me like a piece of trash."
"I know, it was wrong."
"Tina did you know Quinn cut all of us out of her life. Every last one of us. She doesn't even speak to her family anymore. She made a new family, here in Pittsburgh."
Something inside her snapped. "Will you give it a rest already Rachel?"
"What? I'm not the one living here in Pittsburgh pretending to be somebody she's not. Hiding from her life. If you wanted to be a doctor I would have supported you. It would have been fine with me. You didn't have to run off and join Witness Protection."
Behave. Behave. She wants to fight.
"I did what I thought was best. It wasn't necessarily the right way to handle it but I was young Rachel. I was twenty one years old and I wanted to be a surgeon."
Tina's eyes widened. "Wait, you're a surgeon?"
Rachel didn't seem to see the significance. Tina was shocked.
"I'm a month away from finishing up my neurology surgical residency. Next I start my fellowship and make it official."
"Wait, you're a neurosurgeon? What's going to be your specialty?"
"Spine."
Tina eyebrow's arched with interest. "Wow. A spinal surgeon. I applied for a Surgical residency but I didn't get in. I went into Family Medicine instead."
"So you've been here this whole time?" Rachel seemed annoyed.
"I was at Stanford for four years of medical school. Then I came here. I've been here seven years."
Rachel let out an angry sigh. "So after four years of Yale you went back to college for four more years of medical school. And you've spent seven years here and you're still not finished?"
"She's got a month left. She's already a neurosurgeon Rachel. Another year and she'll also be a spinal surgeon."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "This is what you left me for? I'm being paid seventeen million dollars just for this movie alone. I have houses all over the world. Hell I helped Tina pay off her med school loans and all she has to do is travel the world with me. She's got a house in the Hollywood Hills and a condo in the Caribbean. You would have been on easy street if you hadn't ran off like a coward."
Relax. It's a trap. Don't take the bait.
"I'm doing okay. I have six offers. New York, LA, Boston, Chicago. I can go anywhere I want."
Rachel scoffed. "Yeah, but knowing you you'll stay here. In Pittsburgh."
"Hey why don't you give it fucking rest already Rachel. I said I was sorry. I'm not gonna stand here and listen to this bullshit from you anymore. We're not sleeping together anymore so until I let you in my pants again why don't you keep your opinions to yourself."
The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying. It was a disaster. All of these years of therapy and staying out of trouble only to have Rachel show up and throw it all away. How dare her show up and screw things up. She opened her mouth to apologize but Rachel wasn't angry. She was smiling.
"There she is. There's my Quinn." She smiled playfully. "I knew you were still in there. You can move away and pretend you don't know me anymore and that you've changed but I knew you were still in there." She laughed evilly to herself. "Doctor Fabray."
Reality was a bitch. Rachel was right. She hadn't changed. She was only fooling herself. She was the same insane maniac that had fought with Rachel all those years ago. She felt her stomach turn and for the first time in over ten years she longed to light up a joint. Instead of fighting she turned tail and ran.
Then: The Break-up
"Yeah, right there. Deeper. Harder. Harder. No don't move. Don't move." Rachel let out a resounding scream that she was sure could be heard all over New York. Quinn may have been a drunken burnout but she was an absolute wildcat in the sack.
"New record," Quinn said as she slipped her two fingers out of Rachel's sweet spot and used those same fingers to pull a joint out of a nearby ashtray.
"What do you mean new record? Are you keeping track of how fast you can make me come?"
Quinn nodded like a proud parent. "Yep. Four minutes. Four minutes to make you my bitch."
She lit up her joint and took a long toke. Her short blonde hair a mess on her head, her eye makeup smeared into an Alice Cooper like blur on her cheeks.
"It was not four minutes," Rachel argued.
"It was. You're officially my dirty whore. Now go fix me a sandwich dirty whore."
Rachel slapped her on the back of the head. "Call me a whore again and I'll cut your eyeballs out of your head."
Quinn didn't seem to mind the threat. Instead of getting angry she took a long hit of the joint and exhaled slowly.
"Maybe we just roll a few more of these and relax a little bit. If you're nice to me I'll make you come again. And again, and again, and again." She took another toke before discarding the joint in the ashtray. "I'm sorry I called you a dirty whore."
Rachel planted a kiss on Quinn's cheek before reaching across her body and grabbing the joint out of the ashtray and taking a quick puff.
"Weed is bad for your voice. You shouldn't smoke it," Quinn scolded.
"Who are you my dad?"
Quinn laughed a little too eagerly. "Which dad? The black dad or the Jewish dad?"
Rachel gave her another slug? "Is that some sort of racist comment? Because my dads gave me everything, and one day I'm going to respond in kind. So if you have a problem with blacks, or Jews, why don't you just get the hell out of here."
Instead of moving Quinn crossed her legs, her naked body glowing under the dim light given off by the nightstand lamp. "I wasn't being racist. I was just asking which dad is the one who hassles you about everything. Not smoking, staying out of trouble. Practicing safe sex?"
That seemed to make sense. Maybe she WAS overreacting. "The Jewish dad. He's neurotic."
"Aren't most Jewish people neurotic?"
Rachel threw another punch that landed squarely on Quinn's shoulder. "That was racist."
Quinn nodded a silent agreement. "A little bit," she finally admitted. "That was a little racist. At the very least a stereotype."
"Are we losers?" Rachel asked out of the blue. Back in Lima she'd always secretly considered Puck a loser because all he did was sit around all day and smoke weed. Now that she was sitting around all day smoking weed did that make HER a loser?
"I'm not a loser. I go to Yale. I have a 3.78 GPA from one the best Ivy League colleges in the World. I even got into Medical School. Stanford."
Rachel laughed. "You did not get into medical school. You're high."
Quinn nodded. "I totally got in. They sent me a letter and everything. I'm probably gonna go you know. I'm probably gonna leave New Haven and move to California so I can be a doctor."
"They don't let pot heads into medical school."
"I'll miss you."
Rachel took another hit of the joint. "I need to find another job. I have rent to pay. Ever since Kurt moved in with Blaine I'm spending all my money on rent. A guy I know is going to get me an audition for a show on Broadway. If I get it I can make a pretty good living. You should move in with me after graduation. You went to Yale, you can find a job easy I bet."
Rachel waited for Quinn to respond but she didn't. She was already asleep. She decided to dump the weed in the ashtray and follow suit. She had no idea what time it was, the clock said 1:17 but with the shades drawn she wasn't sure if that was am or pm. It didn't matter, she was tired. They could talk about all of this in the morning.
XOXOXOXOXO
"Are you kidding me? Sandra? My friend Sandra? You slept with HER?" Rachel was beside herself. Quinn was a real piece of work. Sandra, a girl Rachel knew from NYADA, somebody she considered a friend was sexting with Quinn.
"Rachel we aren't having sex. It's just a phone thing. You're overreacting."
"Oh so it's ME who's being unreasonable. It's totally not a big deal that I find a picture of another girl's naked vagina in your phone. A girl who is supposed to be my friend."
Rachel watched Quinn, waited for her to squirm but she didn't. Instead of squirming she simply shrugged. "It was this crazy thing we did. We didn't sleep together, it's not a big deal. I don't even remember why I did it."
"Probably because you're a cheating horny bitch." Rachel snapped.
Quinn shook her head. "It's not a big deal, don't get so bent out of shape. I told you I didn't sleep with her. It didn't even mean anything."
Bullshit. People always said that sort of thing when they were caught red handed. It didn't mean anything. You've got it all wrong. You're blowing this out of proportion. It was always the same thing.
"It meant something. You've still got her picture in your phone."
Quinn still wasn't squirming. Her calm demeanor was starting to piss Rachel off. She always did this, screwed up then pretended like it wasn't a big deal. She didn't even look like she cared that she was caught.
"I thought that was you," Quinn said.
"Really? You thought I sent you a picture of some other girl's snatch?"
Quinn actually laughed. "I thought it was you. I thought it was your snatch."
More bullshit. "You thought that this was me?" She held the phone up to Quinn's face. The photo was clearly of somebody with pale white skin. Rachel was a lot of things but pale and white wasn't on the list. She had color, tanned skin that clearly held a twinge of some ethnicity. There was no way Quinn got this body and her body confused. No way. Not to mention she'd just admitted she'd known full well what she was doing, just not why.
"It could be you," Quinn said still nonchalant.
"Why would I send you a photo of myself Quinn? You can see me naked anytime you want."
Quinn shrugged. Rachel discarded the phone on the bed and left the room. If Quinn wasn't going to be honest it was best they not be around one another. She needed water. Water would help. Maybe more weed.
She was sipping on a glass of water, doing her best to calm her nerves when Quinn came sauntering in as if she hadn't just crushed Rachel's whole world. Still nothing. Not a hint of remorse in her eyes at all. It was as if she simply didn't care.
"Did you send her a picture of yourself too?"
Instead of lying which Rachel figured would be the kind thing to do, Quinn nodded. "Sure I did. It was just some thing we did."
"Why? Why would you do this?"
"I was mad at you about something. I forget what. We made up, it's all good now."
Her head was spinning. It was the most insane thing she'd ever heard in her life. "You were mad at me, so you text some other girl naked pictures of yourself. What if they end up on the internet Quinn? Most of the pictures of naked girls on the internet were sent to somebody who sent it to somebody else who sent it to somebody else. Your picture is probably half way to China by now on some 'Slutty American College Girl' site."
Quinn laughed. "I didn't shoot my face. It's all good."
Rachel couldn't take it any more. Her nonchalance was driving her insane. She stormed into the living room, grabbed the first thing she saw and hurled it at Quinn's head. Quinn ducked just in time to avoid a concussion and for once she finally looked concerned.
"You almost hit me you fucking loon," she said with the emotion Rachel had been missing all morning.
"I'm the loon? You're sitting over there pretending like what you did is the most normal thing in the world. Walking around half naked talking about, It's all good. No it's not all good you fucking cheating bitch."
"If you throw something else at me I'm going to kick your ass Rachel. I swear."
Rachel smiled, eager to accept the challenge. "Yeah?" She reached for the first thing she saw. A lamp sitting on a small table. She yanked the cord from the wall and chucked it across the room, once again right at Quinn's head.
Quinn had to dive for the floor to avoid getting hit but she was on her feet lightning fast and across the room. She tackled Rachel to the floor with a wrestling move screaming and yelling the first bad names that popped into her head. Rachel didn't back down an inch.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Rachel pulled her naked body off the living room floor. Quinn was in the bathroom taking a shower, cleaning herself up. She wasn't sure how they'd gone from trying to kill one another to trying to make each other come. It happened like that sometimes. They started out angry, then it got rough, then it turned sexual.
"Quinn if you're not too busy we need more weed."
Quinn stepped out of the bathroom, her body naked and wet and perfect. Rachel briefly considered jumping her bones and initiating another round of love making. That could wait however. They needed more weed.
"Rachel," Quinn started to say. Something was off about her now. The shower had clearly sobered her up because she looked sad. Upset almost. She only looked that way when she was off the weed and booze.
"What's up?" Rachel asked. Surely she didn't want to fight again. They'd been fighting and having sex all day.
Instead of speaking she shook her head. "Nothing. I'll go get the weed." She disappeared back into the bathroom only to come out a minute later fully dressed. She walked over to Rachel, dropped to her knees beside her on the floor and kissed her softly on the mouth. It had been years since they'd kissed that way. Soft, romantic.
"What's that for?" Rachel asked.
"For everything. I love you so much, you know that don't you. More than words can express."
Rachel smiled suddenly shy. "Of course I do. I love you too."
Quinn pushed herself to her feet and walked over to the duffle bag she'd lugged down from New Haven. She rifled around for a minute or two then offered Rachel one last look.
"Can we talk about you moving in when you get back. I mean seriously talk about it?"
Quinn nodded. "Sure. We can talk about it." Something in her eyes gave Rachel the creeps. She wasn't going to do it, that's what her eyes were saying. They were saying we can talk about it but it's not happening. Not in a million years.
"Fine," Rachel said with an eye roll. "And don't go to Mario's. That guy is sketchy enough in the daytime."
Quinn nodded with a smile. "Okay." She said as she walked to the door. "I love you."
Rachel nodded suddenly disinterested. "Yeah, I love you too." She didn't bother looking up as Quinn walked out the door. If she had she'd have seen Quinn's dorm key gripped firmly in her palm, her ID sticking out of her back pocket, her lucky sweatshirt tied around her waist. If she'd only looked up she'd have gotten some clue that she wouldn't see Quinn again for over a decade.
First let me prevace this by saying I have no Earthly idea where this is coming from. I suppose I'm sick. Someplace deep down. I couldn't imagine ANYBODY would find this remotely interesting but me. Still, I must have some deep seeded emotional trauma that I have to work out through my art. So if you want to keep reading please do. If you're looking for a healthy, light hearted, and fun romance story, this is probably not the right story for you. What I can promise is drama, fighting, sex, and the most unhealthy relationship I can wrap my mind around. Enjoy!
Empty Pen