Hola!
Don't kill me. This story idea LITERALLY woke me up at 4AM about two weeks ago and wouldn't let me sleep until I had plotted a good half of it out. I know I have several stories on the go, I can't promise when they'll be updated but I'm doing my best to balance it all. But this one LITERALLY has taken over most of my writing time.
That being said, this story is a lot darker than my other stuff. It's Rated M for language, so if cursing bothers you, than I suggest you check out one of my other stories instead :). I'm not going to make any promises that this is going to be pretty, but just bear with me. I promise you'll be okay with the ending. Maybe ;)
Anyways, hope you enjoy "Just Give Me A Reason"!
And as always, I don't own Finn, Rachel or anyone involved with Glee. Everyone belongs to FOX and Ryan Murphy. I just own the plot and any original characters.
Chapter One: January 2027
It was the fight to end all fights. A real knock 'em down, drag 'em out kind of fight that left one with clenched teeth and fists, steam coming from the ears and the need to punch the ever living shit out of a loved one.
Rachel Berry-Hudson could hear the blood rushing through her veins, pulsing in her ears as she glared at her husband from her position in the small living room. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, trying to prevent herself from screaming at the top of her lungs at her buffoon of a husband in front of her. Yeah, she'd gone there. He was a big, ugly buffoon of a man who she wanted to slap the fuck out of, more so than she already had. She dug her fingers into the palms of her hands and just glared at him. She didn't even have the words right now to articulate how mad she was, how crazy he made her feel.
For his part, Finn Hudson stood across from her, equally as angry, his eyes flaming from the words that had been spewed at him. He ground his teeth together, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he tried to bottle in everything he was feeling. He felt like he was going to explode at any moment, his heart pounding as he stared down his wife of almost 14 years. He didn't back away or shrink when he saw the glare she was giving him, he was sure it was equally as venomous as the one he was throwing her way.
"You're fucking insane, do you know that?" He spat at her, breaking the silence that had enveloped them.
"Really? REALLY?" She screeched. "Take a look in the mirror one of these days, Finnegan." He took a step closer to her, breaching the defensive stance he had held when the verbal mudslinging had really started.
"I know who I am Rachel, the question is who the fuck are YOU? What have you done with my WIFE?" He snarled, his lips turning up as he stepped so he was within inches of her and looked down. Her head snapped up, her glare reaching red alert proportions. Years ago, this would have made Finn run for the hills, drop to his knees and grovel for forgiveness or just try to diffuse the situation as best as he could. Not this time. Not today. Too much had been said, nothing could be taken back and he wasn't going to stop now.
Things had changed. Too much had changed. She used to think that the changes they had gone through as a family had come from being married for almost 14 years. But now she thought differently. Things had come to a boiling point and it didn't seem like the eruption was going to end any time soon.
It had started the moment she walked in the house from grocery shopping. The house was a disaster, in complete disarray with just stuff everywhere. They hadn't gotten around to taking down the Christmas tree yet, and the girls had yet to collect their Hanukkah and Christmas gifts from under the tree to be taken upstairs. But it was the mess that was around that bugged her. There was empty plates and dirty cups, socks and piles of half marked papers strewn about the small living room. Boots and other winter gear littered their very small entryway and that was just the two rooms she peaked in as she walked in with an armful of groceries.
And she was sure she knew exactly who the culprit was. Her ever so wonderful husband.
She found him right where she left him two hours ago. On the couch, slumped over in bad posture with a video game remote in his hand. The sound of gun shots and blasts resounded from the entertainment system that had been given to them for Christmas by his parents, blared throughout the main floor of their small house. He'd gotten on setting that up real fucking fast as soon as they brought it home. His priorities were so obvious.
The girls were gone for the weekend with Kurt and Blaine and their son Cameron, up to a ski resort in Akron, but they would be back that night as everyone started back to school tomorrow. She had left him with specific instructions to clean up the house while she was gone, because as a thank you for taking their two girls with them for the weekend, they were having Kurt, Blaine and Cameron over for dinner.
And clearly he hadn't moved his enormous ass off the couch since she left. Hell, he hadn't even peeled his eyes away from the damn TV screen when she stomped into the house with full hands.
She dumped the groceries she'd been able to carry in on the small island in the middle of their kitchen before stomping into the living room and standing in front of him, hands on her hips. When he ignored her, moving his head and neck around her to try and see the most of the TV around her, she began to tap her foot on the wooden floor.
"You're kind of being annoying right now Rachel, can you move your ass?" He snapped, pressing pause on the controller.
"I need your help with the groceries." She said simply, tapping faster.
"You got them into the cart and into the car by yourself, surely you can lug them into the house."
"Fuck you. Help me!" She stomped her foot as he laughed at her. He actually laughed at her! Who was this asshole?
"Yeah, swearing at me is really going to get me to help you." He laughed. She'd moved around enough to get out of his way unintentionally. "Some mouth you got there, sweetheart."
She tensed. She hated when he called her sweetheart. He knew she hated being called that.
"Lazy asshole." She mumbled as she started to walk out of the living room.
"Excuse me?" He jabbed at the buttons on his controller again, hitting pause for the second time.
"I said, lazy asshole." She said louder. She turned again to leave the room, hearing the controller hit the couch cushion and the distinct noise of her husband rising to his feet. She turned around to look at him. "Hear me now?"
"I heard you loud and clear, frigid bitch." He spat, his arms crossing his broad chest as he stood there, his stance immediately in defensive mode.
"Oh that's how we're going to play? Should I change it to dirty asshole then? Considering that's how it seems you want to play this..." Her hands fisted at her hips.
"When was the last time you picked up around here, huh? Maybe put a dish in the sink, let alone fucking wash something for once..." She glared. "Lazy bastard."
This had become their new normal. Every time they were alone together, things headed south and fast. Like a speeding bullet racing a train, it always seemed like they battled in order to see who could get who riled up faster.
Hurling insults, name calling and just general nastiness were usually the name of the game. No one ever winning anything in the end, the situation only eventually coming to an end when one or both were too steamed or exhausted to really go on. At which point Finn would stomp off to the garage to bang on his drums and Rachel would lock herself in a hot shower or the bedroom to scream out her frustrations. Nothing ever became settled, nothing ever came of these fights.
Until tonight. Tonight it all came to a head, the metaphorical eruption spewing forth from the volcano.
He stared down at her as the last syllable of bastard fell from her lips.
"I would watch what you say, sweetheart" He snarled. "Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
She chuckled in spite of his words, gripping her hips as she stared at him. "Smart. Very smart. I guess that sounded better than takes one to know one, right? I do applaud your attempt at trying to sound like an adult. I mean, nothing else with you points in that direction." She stepped back into the room and began to pick up the dirty dishes and such that were littered around the room. "God, sometimes I think I'm raising THREE children instead of two." She volleyed at him. "Now go get the groceries."
"Fuck the groceries." He spat.
"Well, at least someone...sorry I mean something would be getting action." She mumbled under her breath as she turned to leave the room again with the dirty dishes in her hands.
"Want to say that again, sweetheart?" He growled. He stalked closer to her until he was right behind her, towering above where she stood in the doorway of the room.
"I said it'd be nice if SOMETHING OR SOMEONE IN THIS HOUSE WAS GETTING FUCKED ONCE AND AWHILE." She screamed at the top of her lungs. "Happy now?"
"Ecstatic." He stamped out. "Not like I really want to fuck you anyway."
"Oh, cause that would mean you actually have to put some energy into something that isn't blasting fake enemies to bits, right? I mean, we wouldn't want to take away from that precious fucking time now would we?"
"Fuck you." He stabbed his finger at her. "You know I only do it to get away from you and..."
"And what? Our family? Our girls? So sorry that we're holding you back from whatever it is you think you're missing. Not like you really help with them anyways."
"I help. I play fucking chauffer all weekend and who paid for..."
"Stop right there. You play fucking chauffer? Who drove Autumn to her dance class last, hmm?" She paused. He was silent. She saw the anger in his eyes. "That's right, me. Who dropped Sheridan off at that caroling thing she was doing with her glee club? Oh, I'm sorry your mother did because you were too busy doing God knows what with Puck while I was busy doing OVERTIME at the office...so we could, I don't know...afford Christmas since you decided you NEEDED a new fucking car a week before your supposed favourite holiday."
"I work hard. I spend my mon..."
She didn't give him a chance to finish. "You spend the money you make recklessly. Haven't you noticed that MY car could really use a tune up? Haven't you noticed that the floor in the upstairs bathroom could really use replacing? Of course not, you selfish piece of shit because all you really care about is what Finn wants. What Finn needs, what Finn would like. Never mind that I had to tell Autumn that no, I couldn't take her to see the Dorothy from Oz movie because Mommy just DOESN'T HAVE THE MONEY RIGHT NOW. But hey, Daddy gets a new car." She steamed. "You try telling a three and a half year old that Finn."
"Who pays for this house?" He roared. He came closer to her, so he was in her face. "Who bought you this house? That car that you're complaining about? I work hard for my fucking money, you have NO right to say anything. I provide for you...and don't you dare be putting the blame on me for you having to say no to our daughters once and awhile. It's good for them." He chuckled. "Lord knows they need to hear it once and awhile. Not like your dads did that for you, ever. I mean, you not taking the word no very well is essentially what brought us here to begin with, isn't it?" He smirked.
"Fuck you." Was all she said. She pushed her fists against his chest so he would get out of her face a little bit. He grabbed for her wrists so she would stop pushing against him. "Let go of me." She wiggled in his grasp, pulling herself back. His hands remained around her wrists.
"What, don't like it?" He bent his head, his eyes narrowing as he looked directly in her eyes. "Am I...scaring you?"
"You don't scare me. You're a coward." He tightened the grip on her wrists a little bit. "Now let me go." She struggled against his grip until he loosened and he let her go. When she'd gained control of her wrists again, she didn't move away from him right away. Instead, she wound up and slapped him across the right side of his face. "Don't you dare touch me like that again!"
"Bitch." He steamed as his hand flew to his face where she had slapped him. She backed away a few steps, still staring him down. She had been telling the truth, yes, he didn't scare her. Mainly because she knew she could take him, despite the fact that he had a good foot on her in height and easily a hundred pounds on her in weight. She knew Finn would never hurt her, at least not more than verbally. But her fight or flight instinct was strong and she wanted to put some space between her and her hulk of a husband.
They both stood there, their defensive stances on high alert. Both of them were steamed as they held each other's gaze. The groceries Rachel had just purchased were long forgotten as they both stared at each other.
"You're fucking insane, do you know that?" He spat at her, breaking the silence that had enveloped them.
"Really? REALLY?" She screeched. "Take a look in the mirror one of these days, Finnegan." He took a step closer to her, breaching the defensive stance he had held when the verbal mudslinging had started.
"I know who I am Rachel, the question is who the fuck are YOU? What have you done with my WIFE?" He snarled.
"You know who you are? Really? So you know you're a lazy, no good asshole who I wish I never married 13 fucking years ago? Really, you know that? Great. Saves me from saying it out loud then." She turned on her heel and went to leave the room, finally breaking the icy stare and thick tension that had surrounded them. She was done with this bullshit for right now. The girls would be home soon and she had to get dinner going.
"You're not the only one with regrets you know!" He called after her just as she had made it back to the hallway. "I never should have knocked you up all those years ago! Than we wouldn't be in this FUCKING MESS!" He screamed. She turned on her heel again and virtually ran at him, the fire back in her eyes.
She stopped right in front of him, her finger pointing at him with all the anger she could muster in her eyes. "You take that back right now." She slammed out. "You fucking bastard, you take that back right now..."
"No."
"You're a fucking bastard. It's fine to hate me, and fight with me and hell it's fine to regret ever getting into a relationship with me and our marriage. But you are NOT allowed to regret what led to our daughter. That is not fair to her. She's innocent. This..." She gestured between the two of them, her hands waving to indicate the tension. "is not her fault. And not because she was born or made or whatever. You are a terrible father if you think that. And the fact that you said it out loud makes it so much worse. This is our problem, our fucking mess to use your ever so colourful description. Not Sheridan's"
"It's the fucking truth." He verbally slapped. His eyes narrowed. "You can't tell me that if I hadn't knocked you up in our junior year, if you hadn't insisted on keeping the baby, that we would be here right now." A breath, a pause. "We both know this was never the game plan. Not mine, not yours and especially not your father's." He stopped again, for dramatic effect. "You and I should have never ended up here. And we only did because you couldn't give her up for adoption."
She'd always maintained that the line would be her kids. In every facet of her life, the line of how much she could take would be crossed if her kids were involved.
She couldn't believe the words she was hearing. She couldn't believe what he was saying. Sure, their fights had become increasingly heated over the last few months. But they never brought up the kids, not like this. She'd never regret her daughters. Sure, they'd both changed her life in vastly different ways, but she would never regret bringing them into the world and raising them. They were her life, she lived for her girls, fucking breathed for them. But to hear Finn voice an opinion that was so different from her own, so different from what she had thought his was? That was enough to send her into orbit. That was her line and he hadn't merely crossed it, he had jumped over it and ran passed it at lightning speed.
She stared up at him, daggers shooting out from her eyes. "Get out." Her voice was hoarse and thick as tears threatened her eyes. She wasn't sure if they were angry, sad or disappointed tears. But it was impeding her ability to speak at the moment. "Get out of my fucking house." She stammered.
He glared down at her. "Your house?" He chuckled as he extended his pointer finger to point at the center of his chest. "My house." He said with a Tarzan like voice.
"Don't tell me what to fucking do."
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" She roared, every maternal feeling rising to the surface. "I don't want you here anymore. I don't want to see your fucking face. So help me fucking God, GET OUT!" When he didn't move, she stepped closer. "I'll call the cops. I mean, it's surprising the neighbours haven't already. But I'll do it if it gets you out of my fucking house." He glared at her again. "I don't want to see you right now you fucking asshole."
"I don't need this shit." He looked down at her. "I don't need this bullshit from you. Go fuck yourself." He stormed out of the living room, grabbed his keys off the hook by the front door and stormed out of the house without a jacket, slamming the door behind him. It was only when she heard the engine of his car rev up and his tires squeal on the asphalt of their driveway, that she allowed herself to completely fall apart.
Sobs rocked her body, the very ones she had been struggling to keep at bay as she had kicked her husband out of the house. She dropped to her knees, falling forward onto her hands so she was in a crawling position. She hung her head down and sobbed harder than she ever had in God knows how long. What had become of her life? What had become of her? What was she going to do now?
Finn pulled his car over in front of his mother's house and cut the engine. He laid his head down on the steering wheel in front of him, hitting his forehead on the smooth surface a few times over. When had things gotten so out of control? When had he officially lost all grip on reality? When had he become the man he promised himself, his mother and Rachel, that he would never be? The most important question of all though, was how was he going to fix this? Did he want to fix it, and better yet...could he?
He didn't know what he was going to do next. He kept his forehead leaned on the steering wheel in front of him, ignoring the blaring of his cell phone from the passenger seat. He didn't have to look at the bright screen to know it was his mother calling, just by the fact that it was Mother by Pink Floyd playing from the small phone told him who it was. She probably wanted to know what he was doing outside her house for one, and why he hadn't come inside yet. He didn't know if he was ready for that inquisition yet.
A knock on his window knocked him out of his thoughts. He turned his head and looked at the figure who was standing there, his stepfather. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes boring through the glass.
Finn hesitated before rolling down the window.
"Are you just going to sit here looking like a loser or were you planning on coming inside any time soon?" The older man asked. Finn blew out a breath and reached to turn off the engine of the car.
"I don't really know what I'm doing." He said hesitantly. He felt so small under his step father's gaze, the bravado and courage he had had when he was screaming at his wife earlier were long gone. Whenever he was in the presence of his stepfather, and even more so his own mother, he felt like a little boy. He couldn't wait to see what they would have to say about today's situation.
He gestured for his stepfather to step back as he opened the car door and stepped out, slamming it behind him. He towered over the older man, and looked down at him.
"Let's go inside, it's freezing out here."
Rachel was just picking herself up off the floor and wiping the tears from her face as her front door banged open again. She tensed, her back was to the entrance to the living room so she couldn't tell who it is. Well, until the feet stampeded in and little arms were thrown across her waist.
"Mommy!" The little girl called as she squeezed her hands into Rachel's hip. Rachel took a deep breath and shut her eyes for a moment before looking down at her daughter with a smile on her face.
"Well hello Ms. Autumn!" She exclaimed. She bent down and picked up her daughter who wrapped her arms and legs around her immediately. She kissed her cheek.
"I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too Mommy! Uncle Blaine took me on the Bunny Hill and I did good Mommy! I didn't fall down once! Uncle Blaine felled down two times on his bum!" The little girl exclaimed, leaning back to look her mother in the eye. She placed her little hands on Rachel's cheeks as she laughed. Rachel smiled softly at her little girl as she chatted about the hot chocolate she had drank with both breakfast and lunch yesterday, as her brother-in-laws, nephew and older daughter came into the room.
"I hear you guys had a good time." She smiled as she looked at the quartet that came into the room. She could see Kurt and Blaine's eyes flying around the room, taking in the sight of the mess around them, and the paused video game that she had yet to turn off. They didn't even have to say anything, she knew what they were thinking. But she couldn't and wouldn't say anything in front of the kids. Not right now.
"We did. Contrary to how many times I fell on the bunny hill." Blaine laughed at his niece "We did have a good time."
Rachel opened her other arm to her older daughter. The tall girl walked over to her mother and hugged her opposite side, leaning her head on Rachel's shoulder.
"And what about you Sher? Have a good time?" She nodded her head against her.
"May I be excused to go upstairs for a bit?" She asked softly. Rachel lifted her daughter's chin and eyed her suspiciously, before nodding her head.
"Autumn, why don't you and Cameron head for the playroom and find something to play with?" Rachel asked before putting her daughter down on her own feet.
Autumn looked up at her mother and nodded before running for her four year old cousin, grabbing his hand and leading him down the stairs to the playroom.
"What's wrong with Sheridan?" Were the first words out of Rachel's mouth as soon as the younger two children were out of earshot. She looked at both of her brother-in-laws. Her mothering senses were at an all time high.
"She was fine until the drive home." Kurt shrugged as they stood in the living room. "What happened in here?" Kurt was good for changing the subject.
Rachel ignored his attempted and stared at the two men in front of her. "What happened with Sheridan?"
"She didn't tell us Rachel. She was texting with someone on the way home and her demeanor just changed. She was happy this weekend, I swear. Playing around with Autumn and Cameron and just being herself. But I'm willing to bet her changed mood has something to do with who was texting her. Call it a hunch." Blaine was always more intuitive than Kurt was, more level headed where Kurt tended to fly off the deep end sometimes with the theatricality. Somewhat like herself. Blaine was often the voice of reason.
Rachel bit her lip, forgetting about her problems for a moment and looking towards the small set of stairs that led to the three small bedrooms.
"She'll come down when she's ready Rachel. I promise she's fine." Blaine tried to reason. She blew out a breath and gestured to the couch.
"Have a seat. Can I get you guys anything to drink?" When neither man said anything, she took a seat in the big overstuffed arm chair to the left of the couch and sighed. She decided to drop the Sheridan issue for the moment, knowing more so that Blaine was right. She would come to her when she was ready. She always did. Her bond with Sheridan was one of the things she was most proud of. Maybe it was the fact that she had been so young when Sheridan was born, but she loved how close they were. Sheridan told her everything and Rachel did her best to support her not so little girl in every way possible. They often had mother-daughter nights where they went window shopping at the mall, got frozen yogurt and cuddled in the living room watching Barbra Streisand movies until both of them fell asleep on the couch. She closed her eyes for a moment as she leaned back in the chair, trying to get her wits about her. The action didn't go unnoticed by either of the men in front of her.
"So, dare I ask where the behemoth otherwise known as my brother is at?" Kurt asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Rachel bit her lip silently, looking up at the ceiling before looking back at them.
"Who knows. He could be in Kentucky already for all I know. Not that I give a damn" Her voice dropped an octave as she spoke the last few words, trying to make sure that none of the children in the house heard her.
Both Kurt and Blaine raised an eyebrow at each other before turning to Rachel. "What happened while we were gone?"
She bit her lip harder so that the tremble didn't become visible. She was trying to keep it together, trying not to crack.
"We just had an awful fight." She stammered out, looking at her hands. "And I kicked him out."
Both Blaine and Kurt's jaws dropped almost simultaneously. Sure, they both knew the Hudson's had been having problems. Big problems. But neither of them knew that it could have possibly gotten this far.
"Rachel..." Blaine stood up from the couch while Kurt finally went over to turn off the TV and came to a stop in front of her.
"What did you guys..."
"Everything. We fought about everything and anything. How we haven't had sex in God knows how long, money...that was a huge one, how we've changed. He even said..." Her hand flew to her mouth as the tears began to trickle out of her eyes again. "He even said he regretted having and keeping Sheridan. That he knew we weren't supposed to make it this far.." She swallowed hard. "It was bad guys. Really bad. He...he grabbed me and I slapped him. I don't know how and if we're going to come back from this..." She sighed, closing her eyes.
Finn sat at the table across from his mother and stepfather, the warm hot chocolate his mother had made for him encased in his fingers. They were waiting for him to say something, waiting for him to break. It was just the way they worked. They'd had many situations like this in the last 16 years between the three of them, and even more before Burt had entered the picture. It still didn't get any easier, and as he sat there trying to formulate exactly what he was going to tell his mother about what happened at his own home today, he couldn't help but allow the shame to flood his being. He'd said some awful things to Rachel, things he shouldn't have said and things that had needed to be said for years. Either way, it didn't change how he felt and he couldn't take the words back.
"So, are you just going to sit here starring dumbly at that cup of hot chocolate or are you going to tell us what brought you to our neck of the woods?" Burt leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest much like he had outside.
He looked up from his hands and looked at the clock on the wall, the second hand ticking quickly. It was that late already? Shit, the girls were probably home by now, which meant Rachel was getting a chance to tell her side of the story to Kurt and Blaine. Great.
"Finn?" His mother asked softly.
He again contemplated what to say. "I...We had a huge fight, and it escalated to the point that I may have said some things that I deeply regret..."
His mother looked at him, urging him to continue. "Surely..."
"No. Mom." He shook his head. It had been bad. "I basically..." He grunted, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table and began pulling at his hair. "I told her...in not the nicest of terms...that I wished we'd never had Sheridan."
Both his Mom and Burt sat back and stared at him, with wide eyes. Sure, having a baby in high school hadn't been the easiest feat. But they'd done it and survived. There was absolutely no truth to the words he had said both just now and to Rachel back at the house. Sheridan was his world, she'd been his little sidekick until she'd gotten to an age where it wasn't cool to hang out with your dad, no matter how young he was. But he'd been angry, and when you're angry you say things you regret. It was the one thing Finn always did, could never get right. He always hurt the ones he loved when his anger got the best of him. Maybe he should go back to kicking things when he's angry, at least chairs didn't have feelings that he could damage.
"Well, is that truly what you think Finnegan?" His mother used his full name. She only used his full name when she was angry or disappointed. He was sure this conversation could be included under both of those terms. It was where Rachel had gotten it from.
"Of course it's not true!" He slammed his fist against the table, causing his mother to jump and the cup to rattle. "She's my daughter. I could never...I mean sure in the beginning maybe I second guessed why we had kept her while we were trying to navigate high school but now? Never. She's my daughter! I would...I would do anything for her...or Autumn." He added finally. "I was just so angry, we were spewing the nastiest things at each other and it just...happened." He tried to be selective in what he said about the words they'd exchanged. He was sure they were already getting a colourful picture of the words that had been exchanged without him actually having to repeat them. A silence enveloped the trio for a few minutes, as the dust figuratively settled.
"How did the fight start?" Carole asked finally, breaking the silence.
"I...I didn't clean up the house like she asked me to while she went grocery shopping..." His voice grew timid and he dropped his gaze from his parents. Even at 32, he still felt like a little boy about to be disciplined when they sat like this.
"Well why didn't you?"
"I kind of just got into the game I was playing and time got away from me..." He held up his hand. "I know, not an excuse. I should have done what she asked. Most of it was my stuff too, aside from the kids gifts from the holidays. I...she...I just... she's always on my ass about something and I kind of just wanted a moment to myself. It was the first time the house had been quiet since winter break started."
"You're a married man Finn. A married man with children. You don't get the luxury of getting a moment to yourself unless you're sick as a dog. If you're wife asks you to do something, for the sake of all that is Holy you do it. You need to take responsibility for your life too, whether that means cleaning the house or taking out the trash or sitting through Frozen for the 8000th time, you man up and do what is asked of you even if you don't want to do it. And especially if the alternative is being lazy and playing video games." Burt said calmly, looking at his stepson. All Finn could do was nod.
"Rachel's really angry with me." He said simply, looking down at his hands again.
"Sounds like with good reason." His mother said simply. "I have every right mind to be pretty upset with you myself. I raised you better than that Finn. Now, did you leave or..."
"She kicked me out. After I said what I had about Sheridan, she said if I didn't get out of her house she was going to call the cops and have them remove me. So I left and came here. I didn't really know where else to go..."
Both Carole and Burt nodded. "Well, you know you're welcome to stay here as long as you need. I just...Finn, what are you going to do?" Carole asked softly. Her expression had gone from angry and confused to now soft and concerned.
"I..." He looked up at the ceiling and then back down at his parents. "I don't know. I just...I don't fucking know." He ran his fingers through his hair, and pulled at it like he had earlier. "But I don't know if we're going to be okay. This has been going on for months and today's fight just kind blew the roof off of everything I've been feeling and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to fix it."
"Everything is fixable Finn. You both just need space and time to heal..."
"You didn't see her Mom. She always said that if it came down to the kids or me she would without hesitation pick the kids. And I don't blame her. I mean, look at me? I'm such an asshole. I'd want to leave me too..." He felt his anger rising once again, as his thoughts dragged back to the situation at home. All he was thankful for at the moment was that his girls hadn't been home.
"Hey! No one is leaving anyone right now Finn." Burt cut him off. "You just need to try..."
Finn scoffed. "I'm sick of trying. I've spent the last almost 14 years trying, 17 if you count when we first started dating. Maybe it's time to realize that maybe this wasn't meant to last."
Well? Do you hate me?