Disclaimer: It's called Fanfiction for a reason, people! I own nothing! This one-shot is part of Project PULL, which is run by my AMAZING friend, Bookaholic711. If you want to learn more about it, please go and visit her profile.
Word count: 1,413 (Edited)
Prompt: Mirrors
Pairning: Finn/Rachel
Summary: /""No, Rachel," he said, grasping for words that would make her understand, "you did nothing, okay? None of it is your fault, and you are worth it, no matter what anyone says.""/ Rated T for abuse.
She whimpered and cried out as the first blow hit her on the cheek. The second blow came, then the third, and then a fourth. Salty tears streamed down her face endlessly as she felt her now stinging face, the beginnings of a bruise evident already.
"Why?" she asked, nearly choking on her own tears. "Why would you do this to me, Daddy?" She watched through her tears as he looked back at her coldly. Then, quick as a flash, he whipped his hand out and hit her across the face one more time. The blow was so unexpected that she fell backwards, smashing into the wall and sliding down the floor. The mirror that was hanging right above her was knocked off the wall and crashed on top of her, every little shard raining down on her in a painful shower. She dimly thought it felt something like hail, though it stung much more, as it was mixed with betrayal and hurt.
She watched as her one dad walked out of the house, slamming the door. She was starting to feel numb now, and she welcomed the feeling, watching as some of her blood stained the carpet around her.
Finn drove down the street where Rachel lived, wondering what she wanted to tell him. Her call had sounded urgent, and remembering how she got cut off at the end made him speed up just a little. He quickly pulled in the driveway, unbuckling himself as he did so.
He nearly sprinted to the door, his heartbeat quickening in anticipation of what was to come. The door creaked slightly as he walked in, his eyes searching the room warily for any signs of a break-in.
He heard whimpering coming from the corner and he quickly rushed over. His heart shattered into a million pieces as he took in the scene before him. Rachel, his Rachel, was lying on the floor, tears streaming from her eyes as she held the left side of her face. Glass was littered all around her prone body and he could see the places where some of the pieces had lodged into her skin and cut her.
"Rachel," he said, barely a whisper. She hadn't heard him, so he tried again, louder this time. "Rachel!" The coppery smell of blood filled his nose as he dropped to his knees next to her. She flinched when his hand touched her arm, and he wondered, horrified, what had happened to her.
"It's okay," he soothed, trying to get her to look at him. She just started crying more, inching away from him.
"Please," she begged," don't touch me. I didn't do it, please, don't!" She sounded a little delusional to Finn, and he was stunned for a moment.
"Rachel," he repeated, trying not to sound scared, "it's me, Finn! I'm not going to hurt you! Remember, you called me, told me to come over? What happened?" His voice seemed to break through the haze of pain surrounding her and she lifted her hands off of her face for a moment to look at him. Pain and fear danced in her eyes. That wasn't what scared Finn the most, though. As he stared into her eyes, searching for answers he would never find, he couldn't find that sparkle that had always lit up her eyes and made him appreciate her every day.
"Finn?" she cried, starting to sob harder. "Don't let him hurt me again, Finn, don't let him!" She lifted herself up carefully, wincing as the glass cut deeper into her skin. She crawled over to him and he delicately gathered her in his arms, trying not to hurt her any more than she already was.
"Who did this to you?" he demanded, holding her as tight as he dared.
She whimpered again and he barely caught what she said. "Daddy," she whispered, almost too quietly for him to hear. He scanned the room quickly, just to make sure neither of her dads were in the room.
"Why did he do it?" he asked, a little more gentle this time. She looked just about ready to break. Glass was still scattered all over her body, almost making it look like she'd put on some kind of body glitter as it reflected the dim light in the room.
"He said I did it, but I didn't, I swear I didn't Finn! I didn't do it, I didn't do it..." she was completely out of it now, Finn could say that much. She kept murmuring to herself, staring up at him dazedly. She must be in shock, he realized, cradling her closer in his arms. Suddenly, her eyes cleared as she looked up at him, frowning.
"But why would he do it otherwise?" she asked, brow furrowed. "He wouldn't do something like that – there's always a reason behind everything he does..." she trailed off here, and dread filled Finn, rushing at him like a tidal wave.
"I must have done it," Rachel concluded sadly, and his eyes widened. "Either that, or I'm worthless."
"No, Rachel," he said, grasping for words that would make her understand, "you did nothing, okay? None of it is your fault, and you are worth it, no matter what anyone says." It sounded weak, even to his ears, but he hoped it would be enough to soothe her.
But she kept talking as if she hadn't heard him, that dazed look returning to her eyes. "Everyone always says I'm annoying and that all I want is the spot light... maybe it's true, and that's why he did it. Because I'm not worth it." She continued to cry, and that was when Finn decided that they need to get out of there, immediately.
He scooped Rachel up in his arms, making sure to be very careful with her. Most of the glass fell off of her as he picked her up and walked out of the house, tinkling as it the ground and dug into the carpet.
The drive to his house was a quiet one, but Finn didn't dare turn on the radio or try to talk to Rachel. She sat on the passenger side, huddled up at the window. He wasn't sure if she was asleep, but it was obvious that she had stopped crying, and that was good enough. He stared at the street lights as he passed them and watched as the first few stars emerged into the night sky. There weren't many cars on the road and he was thankful for that; he was afraid someone would see Rachel in the window, see her bruised and tear-stained face, and think that he'd hit her and call the police.
They arrived at his house in no time, and he carried her upstairs, grateful that his mom was out with Burt and wasn't home. She would be very suspicious about him carrying in a half delusional Rachel, who was covered in cuts and whose face was bruising. Not that he would do that to her, or that his mother would think that he'd do something like that, but it would still look quite suspicious to anyone.
Up in his room he cleaned out the glass in her cuts and bandaged up the worst ones. He wrapped her up tight in a blanket, because he remembered the time when he'd gotten trampled in football. They'd told him that he was going in to shock and had to make sure he was warm so he didn't freeze to death. He'd noticed Rachel start to shiver in the car and wanted to make sure that didn't happen.
As he lay next to her, watching as her face relaxed as she slept, he thought about the events to come. He might not be the smartest crayon in the box, but he could definitely tell that what was coming next was not going to be anything remotely good. But as Rachel's face twisted as she watched some horror unfold in her dreams, he drew her close, silently promising that he would help her every step of the way, no matter what was coming at them or what odds they were facing.
[A/N]: Hello there! So, most of the people reading this probably don't know me, as this is my first Glee fic. Hopefully I did this justice - I know how crazy some of the Finchel fans can be, as my friend is one of them. But anyway, this one-shot is actually dedicated to my friend, because she just wouldn't stop bugging me until I wrote this. Are you happy now, Brielle? But anyway, I hope you enjoyed! If you see any way possible that I can improve this one-shot, don't be shy, just tell me. I like constructive critism, as it helps me grow as a writer! If you did like it though, I'd appreciate it if you reviewed! Much love!
~Icelyn
