Title: Inevitable
Summary: When Rachel finds out that Quinn is a drug addict, she tries to do what's best for the blonde. Will Quinn get clean or is she already too far gone?
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas. Simply borrowing the characters. I swear I'll give them back when I'm done.
Author's Note: I just want to go ahead and admit that this is written from a lot of personal experience. It will most likely move fast and be quite dramatic in the beginning, but only because that's how it happens when you or someone very close to you is using these types of drugs. It'll be about as realistic as my experience. By the way... While I've been discretely reading fanfic on and off for the past few years, I have yet to write. This… obviously… is me writing. I ask that you be kind and honest when reviewing. I'm totally good with constructive criticism. But …I'm not sure If I'm going to just leave this open ended and let you guys decide what happened or if I'm going to continue. But whether or not I continue this is totally up to the response that I get. Please Review and let me know what you thinkJ
Songs: For You by Passenger, Cure for Pain by Morphine
Not a single person Quinn went to school with knew why she was thrown off the cheerios in sophomore year, but they had all noticed the change. The way she talked, walked, and even interacted was almost... corrupt. Some insisted that she was going insane. Some said she was heartbroken over Finn leaving her for Rachel and had gone off the deep end. Some even speculated that she was seeing an older man. Somewhere deep down Rachel always knew what had changed with Quinn, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it. To herself or anyone else. Definitely not Quinn.
Quinn had never been the sweetest girl, but everyone noticed that she began attacking Rachel more viciously during junior year. Her jabs became much more personal... When the girl managed to speak anyways. Something about the blonde always seemed to be tied up as if she were doing her best to hide from the world while still staying in school. She always seemed anxious and sometimes even seemed afraid. At one point Rachel researched schizophrenia, but there wasn't a single realistic reason she was willing to accept that explained the new Quinn. Or rather, the most recent Quinn. The change was hardly drastic enough to warrant the description of new.
Everyone knew that Quinn didn't have the happiest of home lives. They would have had to have been blind to not realize the girl's parents were never anywhere around. Her mother had left her alcoholic father while she was still in middle school. No one was sure of the reason for that either. Quinn kept herself locked up tight. Never giving her emotions away freely. She refused to talk about what had happened with her family. She merely dismissed it until people finally left her alone; her remaining family included.
Her father became increasingly withdrawn and took long business trips. During the Summer before her sophomore year, she found something to fill her time and empty her wallet.
Drugs.
It started off innocently enough with the occasional joint and a party here or there, but by the time she reached her junior year her use was the farthest thing from occasional. And pot was the farthest drug from her mind.
It didn't take long for her to start losing weight and looking tired. Her new favorite thing was taking its toll and quickly. Her hair lost its shine, and she began to let herself go. Her clothes were far from form fitting, and her conversations were basically non existent. The ones she did have were bizarre to the point that people started to actively avoid her. Especially the Glee club.
Rachel was the only one who still shared concern for the blonde, and she was often ridiculed for it. While, she was afraid to approach her, she still cared. She knew there was more to what the girl was going through and she wanted to be sure that she was there for Quinn if the girl ever decided to rejoin the world of the living,
If Rachel had any idea of how dead Quinn really was, she would have acted sooner. Or ran. The brunette's perspective of Quinn had always been clouded due to her more than friendly attraction to the girl, but whether or not that would have been enough to keep her around would have been debatable.
Eventually, Rachel noticed Quinn start to change even more. Her clothing often looked as if it were borrowed from someone else's closet and she was almost always entirely unkempt. Her eyes were always blown and bloodshot. She was constantly spaced out as if she was looking through everything her eyes landed on. Sometimes, her expressions gave Rachel the impression that she was seeing things that weren't actually there. But what could Rachel do? Say "Hey, Quinn? Why do you look so terrified of that chair? Finn isn't even in the room." She wasn't stupid. She knew that no matter what she said Quinn would attack her, She always had. Quinn was impenetrable. And Rachel relied too heavily on logic to hope for more than misplaced anger.
By the time Christmas of junior year rolled around Quinn seemed to be an entirely different person than when high school began. She was failing all of her classes and hardly ever showed up to school. Her paranoia had started eating away at her, and her awareness of Rachel's desire to help her was making it worse.
If Quinn's guilt was a plant, Rachel was feeding it bucketfuls of miracle grow.
With everything that the young girl was trying to hide you would think she'd have broken sooner, but It wasn't until April of junior year that the blonde truly broke down. It was just her luck that Rachel happened to be there.
"Why can't you just be like everyone else?! Why are you so-so-so you?!"
Rachel walked into the girl's bathroom to find Quinn sitting in the fetal position against the wall. Her breathing seemed heavy and her shoulders were trembling.
"Just do it. Just man up and do it! You're hydrated. It won't be as bad this time." She looked up and was shocked to see the Diva standing only a few feet from her. "Not now, Berry. I don't have time for your superhero antics right now." She sighed tiredly and rested her head on her knees.
"Will you please just talk to me? Just once? I know that you hate me or whatever. I'm just Manhands to you." She started tracing the grout between the tiles. "But I care. Will you just let me care? Please?"
"I-I'm fine. I'm fine. Don't worry about me okay? I'm fine. Really, I'm fine." Her reply was urgent and desperate, and Rachel knew she was trying to convince the both of them. Her normally soft voice was so scratchy that Rachel actually considered giving her some of the hot peppermint tea she'd gotten on the way to school.
She quickly decided that now was not the time for forced conversation. No matter how worried she was about the girl, her bladder was only a syllable or two away from bursting all over the bathroom floor. What would Quinn say about me then? The thought rushed her to the stall farthest from the blonde. She sat down and her mind went wild.
Why does she have to hate me so much? She hasn't even really bothered to truly socialize with anyone else in over a year. Why can't she just talk to me? Rachel rolled her eyes at the absurdity of her ever being special to Quinn. Like I would ever be lucky enough for her to look past her own selfishness long enough to acknowledge me as anything other than an enemy.
Rachel washed her hands thoroughly and after drying her hands she stood examining herself in the mirror. She had actually forgotten that anyone else was in the bathroom and nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a soft sob. She made her way to the stall door. "Quinn, talk to me. Let me in. Something…"
The girl spoke through distraught cries, "Why do you even give a shit? I don't understand. There is nothing I can do for you, Rachel! I can barely breathe most days…" Rachel's heart resisted its urge to crawl down her body and die upon the floor. How lost had Quinn become?
"I care because you obviously deserve better than you are giving yourself. " Her honest response shocked them both, but caused the blonde to start bawling her eyes out after offering a broken response. "You don't know what I deserve…"
When Rachel took another step forward and placed her hand on the stall door, it swung open to reveal a shocked Quinn sitting in front of the toilet.
She was holding a syringe.
"Oh my god." Rachel's hand shot up to try and hold back a sob. Silent tears began running down her cheeks.
The broken girl sitting on the floor looked shocked and guilty. Once she recovered from the initial shock, her face scrunched up.
Quinn shot the dirty looking liquid into the toilet and tossed the rig into the trash. Neither one of the girls could believe she had just done that. Quinn because she wasn't far from a crash of explosive proportions and Rachel because everything she had ever been taught to believe about people who did drugs told her that they wouldn't just throw them away like that. The drugs were supposed to be the most important thing to them.
Suddenly, Rachel dropped to her knees and pulled the blonde into her arms. "It's going to be okay. I promise." Quinn's arms wrapped around her tightly and gave Rachel the incentive she needed to speak again. "Let me take you home."
The blonde's reply came out as a whisper, but it was definitely said. It hung in the air beautifully. As if Rachel hadn't actually seen Quinn Fabray with a syringe poised to pierce her skin. For a moment, the brunette thought she had hallucinated, but it was definitely reality. "If you promise not to leave me."
"I promise, Sweetheart. I promise."
They sat like that for a few more minutes with Rachel running her hands through long blonde locks while the wet spot on her shirt grew. "Are you ready to go? Do you have anything that you need to go grab? I still have to get my stuff from class…"
"Since when have you seen me without my messenger bag?" She lifted it up in demonstration. "Better yet… when was the last time you actually saw me in class?" The reply was rather snarky but it was somewhat warranted, and they both let out a small laugh despite the many vicious looking elephants hanging out around them.
"Valid point, milady."
The blonde sat up and looked at Rachel incredulously before rolling her eyes. "Who the fuck other than you actually says milady?" She rose to her feet and grabbed her jacket off of the hook and the needle out of the trash. She knew exactly what Rachel was thinking and continued to bend the needle before capping it again. "I can't just leave it in the trash. If someone finds it, there'll be a fucking witch hunt and I'll be the first one they tie rocks to." She reached her hand out to Rachel and helped her up. The blonde didn't seem to notice how close they were but the brunette was painfully aware.
"Give me your keys." Quinn's jaw hit the floor with a thud.
"Excuse me?"
She spoke with authority as she held out her hand expectantly. "I don't trust you to not leave and after what I just saw I'll be damned if I let you out of my sight so soon. Please, just give me your keys." Even though she instructed the girl to do it, she was entirely stunned when she felt the keys be placed in her palm. "Thank you."
"I would say you're welcome, but I'm really not okay with the fact that you're being so demanding right now. I kind of want to tell you to fuck off actually." Quinn was surprised that she had actually said that out loud and blanched at the hurt look on the beautiful brunettes face. "Sorry. That was harsh."
"Really? I hadn't noticed." Her voice dripped with enough sarcasm that one could assume she'd become accustomed to swallowing massive amounts of the bitter liquid on the daily. "I'll be right back." She got to the hallway before turning back around and grabbing Quinn's hand. "Better yet. You're coming with me."
After they got Rachel's things, they headed down the hallway towards the parking lot. The trek was silent until they heard Finn's angry voice from behind them. "Rachel, what the hell are you doing with her? We have Glee today." She didn't reply and urged Quinn to continue walking. They ignored the shouts of "Rachel" that lingered behind them.
After they pulled into Quinn's driveway and got out of the car, the blonde leaned against the door. She had just remembered how bad her house looked. She'd lost something the day before and tore the entire house apart. Forget the rest of her house… her room? There's no way Rachel wouldn't be seriously disturbed by the state of her bedroom.
"Rachel, I need you to go home."
"No."
"What do you mean? This is my house! I don't want you here, Rachel. So, fucking go." She tried to squeeze into the house without allowing the shorter girl entrance, but the girl forced her way in. "Damn it, Rachel." She started to tear up and turned away to avoid what she knew to be a look of disgust. "I didn't want you to see this." After a few minutes of waiting for some form of movement, Rachel stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. The blonde jumped and looked at Rachel with an extremely vacant expression.
"Quinn? Quinn…. Quinn? Hello?" The blonde didn't respond until Rachel put her hand to her cheek. The girl jumped again and on a massive level. "Quinn are you okay?"
"How long have we been standing here? Did I just fall asleep?" She looked confused. "Fuck, I need to go to bed."
She started making her way up the stairs while Rachel followed. Neither could help but notice the damage: knocked over televisions, kitchen items thrown about, pillows everywhere, movie cases open and tiling the floor. It wasn't until Rachel saw Quinn's room that she really got concerned about what drugs the girl had been doing.
Some of the windows had been encased in duct tape with little holes left to peek through the blinds. The carpet had been torn up in some places and boards were taken up. Trim had been removed and the walls were covered in photographs and writing. Some of which she recognized as lyrics. There were electronic parts scattered all over the floor. Rachel realized what the place needed. Disaster relief. FEMA. Something…
Rachel was drawn from her thoughts by a tug on her hand. "Sorry." She blushed when she realized she had probably embarrassed the blonde by staring at the mess.
"I'm going to lie down once I find my bed under all this shit." She looked towards the corner of the room covered in arts supplies rather hopelessly. I'm guessing that's the direction of the bed. Her bed. Oh shit. She couldn't believe it took her so long to realize that she would probably be lying down with Quinn while she slept.
Quinn walked over to the corner and grabbed a corner of the sheet. In one swift movement she freed the bed of it's decorations. "Could you go grab a blanket and some clean sheets from the hall closet?"
After the bed was made up, Quinn immediately dropped onto the single mattress which lay on the floor. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to. I understand."
"A promise is a promise."
"And most people have no problem breaking them." Quinn said pointedly.
"Haven't we been over this a million times already? Rachel Berry is one of a kind. I'm not most. I am far from average, Quinn. I would think you'd have already noticed." She looked hurt. "You've practically compared me to-to… I don't know. Finn." She huffed.
"Finn breaks his promises. Always has, always will. Just because you might not keep a promise or two doesn't mean you're anything like him." The brunette smiled making the other girl realize what she had just said. "Okay, fine. I get it. Finn lies because he is most. You don't because you're not. End of debate. Sleep time."
After a few minutes of feeling spacey and waiting for Rachel to get into bed, Quinn reopened her eyes and found the girl shifting nervously from foot to foot. She pulled back the covers and softly patted the bed. "Come on. Lie with me."
Rachel was sure she'd had a stroke. Or maybe she was already sleeping. Maybe this was dream Quinn. Nevertheless, she did as she was told.
"Do you think you could sing for me, Rach?"
Her heart started pounding. Surely, Quinn was still high. Maybe Rachel was high. Someone was definitely off their shit because when was the last time someone actually askedRachel to sing for them and not for a competition? "What do you want me to sing?"
"Sing how you feel. You've always been good at that.."
Rachel instantly knew what song she would sing… She took a deep breath to settle herself. Hopefully, Quinn would finally understand that she can't just walk away and let her hurt herself the way she has been.
For you, dear
I'd lose my tongue to talk, dear
No whispers in the dark, dear
For you I would
And if you, dear
Found my words were unclear
And my voice you can't hear
For you I would
Write you a poem
Just to let you know
I would write you a poem, my love
For you, dear
I'd lose my legs to walk, dear
No footprints in the chalk, dear
For you I would
And it's true, dear
If your demons are near
And you're drowning in tears
For you I would
Build you a boat
Just to keep you afloat
I would build you a boat, my love
She took a deep breath when she finished the song. If Quinn She smiled to herself as she felt Quinn roll closer to her and whisper a thank you, but she couldn't help the frown that appeared when she remembered all the reasons she shouldn't be smiling. It was clear that Quinn had a serious dependence on some type of drug. Worse, maybe she'd become addicted to the needle itself. Rachel had heard horror stories about people who became more addicted to the needle than the drug. Intervention really should be a bit less informative.
Rachel wasn't sure if she should tell someone or keep it to herself. Maybe she should try to help Quinn? Did her father know? Did her mother know? Rachel's mind became overwhelmed and began working double time to make up for her stress and confusion. She was only able to stop thinking about the terrible situation Quinn was in when she heard a knock at the door. She considered waking the now sleeping form next to and telling her to deal with it- it is her house after all- but then decided she didn't have the heart. She walked down the stairs carefully trying to avoid the debris and cautiously made her way to the door. When she opened it, the person on the other side looked as if he'd been slapped.
"Who are you? What are you doing in this house?" He shifted uncomfortably and looked around while muttering to himself "Fuck. Am I at the right house?" He suddenly stepped very close to Rachel. "Is this Q's house? Q lives here right? I need to see her. Now." Everything about the man was abrupt and shady.
"Look. Q is asleep. So you're just gonna have to come back some other time." She could tell the guy was fucked up and this definitely wasn't the type of person that Quinn needed to be around.
"Please. It's important. She was supposed to meet up with me tonight." He looked distraught and for a split second Rachel wondered if Quinn had slept with the 30 something year old man in front of her.
"Sh-" She was cut off when he suddenly ran past her into the house. She took off after him up the stairs and found him sitting by Quinn on the bed.
"Come on, girl. I got some for ya. Just wake up. I need you to go with me. Come on, our girl's not doing too good. I need you to wake up." The way he spoke to Quinn and caressed her face as she slept made Rachel feel like an intruder. In some extremely sick way, the moment was touching. She had never heard of Quinn even allowing someone to treat her that way. She was always so closed off. And yet here Rachel was. Watching some 30 year old guy gently shake her awake with sweet words and gentle touches.
"That's my girl. Rise and shine! All the other chickens have been fed!" He was very animated and seemed to laugh at his statement referring to chickens. Rachel couldn't help but be confused. Is there some type of joke I'm not getting?
He waited for her to sit up and become a bit more coherent. "How are you feelin'? I got some for ya. We need to go though. Kacey's really sick." He looked pointedly at Rachel to signal Quinn that she needed to get rid of her.
Quinn looked down after offering a brief look of remorse in the brunettes direction before whispering into the man's ear and walking towards her. "Rachel. I think it might be a good idea if you left."
"No. I'm not leaving you here. Not after today. Don't make me leave."
"I'm going to be honest with you, Rachel. I'm about to…do something, and I am begging you to leave. Because if you stay… you're going to see some things. Things that you can't just forget about. You'll see some really fucked up shit." Rachel could hear the strain in her voice.
"I don't care. I'm not leaving. I promised you remember?"
"Forget about the promise, Rach! This is not what you want! You need to get the f-"
"Hey. Don't talk to her like that, Q. She's just worried about you." He stood next to Quinn before addressing Rachel with a huge grin. "I'm Jack by the way. And… Quinn. We can always have her leave the room."
"I don't want her here, Jack. I don't…" She sighed and allowed the room to draw their own conclusions.
Jack spoke. " You don't want her to see…you get high? Or you be high?"
"Both. She just found out and this is really awkward for me. She's seen me high before, but not… she didn't know then."
"Maybe you should let her see. Let her know what she's getting herself into. Either I stay and you do it, or I go and you don't. I don't see her leaving you anytime soon."
"Oh my god. Can we not talk about me like I'm not in the room?!" Rachel rolled her eyes. I should leave. I should leave. This is not where I belong. This is not my world. I need Liza. I need Barbara. And Wicked. And… Julie Andrews. Not some junkie. Rachel almost slapped herself when she caught her own thought. How could she possibly think of Quinn that way? Addict or not… Needle user or not. Needle Junkie was a heavy term, and she knew that if she said it to Quinn it would break the girl. So, she immediately felt on the spot. As if the other two knew exactly what was going through her mind.
"Fine." Quinn walked out into the hallway and down the stairs. By the time the other two entered the kitchen she'd settled on the counter and opened one of the drawers. She grabbed a spoon along with a lighter. "Will be need to heat it or is the acidity tolerable?"
"It's good. Best I've made in a while actually." He took off his belt and handed it to Quinn before taking out a small baggie and dipping the spoon into it. "I'm takin' you right to the edge and droppin your ass off, girl." His laugh was somewhat sinister. "Where's your rigs?" She pointed to a lock box on the counter and he took one out. "You wanna set it up or you want me to do it?"
Quinn grabbed the spoon half filled with white dust and added water that she had pulled up in the syringe. The way she devoted such diligent attention to what she was doing made Rachel curious as to what it felt like.
Would Quinn ever pay attention to her that way?
Eventually Quinn pulled the thick and clear looking liquid up into the rig and handed it over to Jack. "Rachel. You can stay and watch. Or you can leave. Just remember that…" Quinn sighed and asked jack to leave the room for a second before beckoning Rachel with a finger. When Rachel got close, she pulled her closer so that she was standing between her legs, and in act of complete affection, kissed the brunettes temple. "You don't deserve to see this, Rachel. You deserve better than me." The look in her eyes made Rachel blush. She knows.
She echoed one of Quinn's earlier statements. "You don't know what I deserve."
Quinn let out a sorrowful laugh, "You definitely don't deserve someone like me. Rachel, the shit that I've done would disgust you. It disgusts me. You're bound for Broadway. At best, I'm headed for a burial plot somewhere in Lima within the next 10 years. Death at a young age is inevitable for me."
Rachel pulled her closer and leaned her head against the girl's shoulder. "Why can't you just not do it? Why can't you just lay down and go back to sleep? Please… I'm not beneath begging." Quinn had a look that she couldn't quite decipher.
"I don't know what's up with me and singing today, but I blame you" She wrapped her arms tightly around the standing girl and began to sing softly. The first thing Rachel noticed was how bluesy Quinn's voice was now.
Where is the ritual?
And tell me where, where is the taste?
Where is the sacrifice?
And tell me where, where is the faith?
Someday there'll be a cure for pain
That's the day I throw my drugs away
When they find a cure for pain.
Where is the cave where the wise woman went?
And tell me where, where's all that money that I spent?
I propose a toast
To my self control
You see it crawlin' helpless on the floor.
Rachel's heart broke at the sorrow that poured from Quinn's lungs and into her soul. What had happened that was so bad? What was so painful that left Quinn no other way to survive?
Quinn released a breath she hadn't meant to hold. It had been so long since Rachel had heard her sing and she wasn't aware that her voice was too rough to sing until it had been too late. She was slightly embarrassed so she just folded herself around Rachel and buried her face in her hair. Time to be selfless for once in my miserable fucking life. God, she smells like Pumpkin Pie.
Quinn took in a deep breath full of the brunette's scent and kissed her cheek before pulling back. She looked at Rachel affectionately and gently caressed a tear stained cheek before speaking. "I'm so sorry, Rach. I wish I could say that I want to stop, but I've tried, and you have no idea what it's like for me to live without this. There's just too many memories worming around inside of my head and I can't take it. I can't take the guilt or the pain. I'm sorry I'm not who you want me to be. I'm sorry for everything that I've put you through. I know that I've hurt you. I've done some extremely cruel things to you, but I refuse to lie to you about this. I refuse to let you think I might choose you over… well. Meth. Morphine. Heroine… whatever I can get my hands on. I'm a lost cause, Rachel. I've been lost since I was twelve years old and my mother started shoving diet pills down my throat. I might be a terrible person, but I'm not doing this to you. I'm not taking away that shine in your eyes. I'm not letting you see the darkest parts of me. I know you love me. I'm not so fucking out of it that I can't see the way you look at me. But you deserve better than I will ever be able to even attempt to give you. I'm not good enough for you, and you need to come to terms with that, Rachel. I'll probably die with a needle in my arm before I turn 30. I can't allow you to be around when it happens."
She could tell that Quinn was searching her for signs of a reaction, but her mind was numb. What was she supposed to do with this information? Quinn obviously had some kind of feelings for her. If she didn't, she wouldn't care, right? Maybe Quinn was just trying to get rid of her. No. No, that wasn't it. Because there was no way that she could feel so much for Quinn and her feel nothing back.
Maybe she's lying. Maybe things really aren't that bad. Maybe she's just being dramatic. Yeah… dramatic. It was then that Rachel caught a glimpse of the needle and spoon on the counter. She felt as if someone suddenly turned Gravity on high. Suddenly, Rachel couldn't care less about how she felt for the blonde. Before 30? Will she really die that young? Oh, god. Will it even take that long? What if she dies tomorrow? What if she dies today. Rachel became increasingly frantic until she was pacing the living room with her mind full of images of funerals and strong smelling flowers.
When she finally saw the situation for what it was, she turned to the blonde with teary eyes and whispered. "I really hope I never have to go to your funeral."
Without another word, she walked outside and got into her car. She sat with her hands on the steering wheel for at least 20 minutes before she finally cranked up and pulled out of the drive.
By the time she got back to her own home, her fathers were sitting on the couch waiting for her.
Hiram spoke first. "Mr. Shue called. Why weren't you in all of your classes today?"
When she didn't immediately respond, Leroy stood up and walked towards her. "Are you okay, Baby? You look a little shaken up?"
"What did someone steal your solo? That's no ex-"
"Hush, Hiram. She looks like she's about to faint. Come here. Sit down on the couch and let's talk." When she finally walked from the hallway into the living room and sat down, her Daddy (Leroy) placed an arm around her.
"I walked in on a student trying to shoot up drugs today in the bathroom."
They were all shocked at what she had said.
"Holy shit. Are you serious?"
"No, Hiram. She's joking." Leroy shook his head at his husband. Something was off with him today. "Who was it? Did you tell a teacher?"
After much debate, Rachel decided to tell her fathers what had transpired since she walked in on Quinn in the bathroom. Maybe it would help ease her mind.
"Rachel Barbara Berry, I cannot believe you!"
"What? What did I do?" He eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Was her daddy actually accusing her of this being her fault?
"You just left? After saying that? My God. How terrible Quinn must feel right now…"
Finally Hiram had something helpful to say. "I know that you were probably just in shock or trying to protect yourself, Sweetie, but think about it from her perspective. You're the only person who has actually tried to be there for her and help her. Even if she didn't let you. Maybe you didn't know what was going on until today but you're probably the only one at the high school who thought enough of her to actually speak to her. She's had a lot of people leave her alone in her life. Maybe what she needs to help her quit using is someone who cares enough to stay."
"She told me she wanted me to leave, and I can't just be there and watch her do drugs! I don't want to see her do that to herself. What if she dies?" Her lip started to tremble.
Leroy was the next to speak. "Hunnie, he's not saying that you should have stayed and let her do it in front of you. He's just saying that you should have maybe said something a bit more tactful and compassionate before leaving her there. People in her situation need people who care about what's best for them. Do something to help her."
"What should I do? What can I do? Tell her father? I'm sure he either knows or wouldn't care. He's never around. He probably hasn't been in town for months. Should I tell the school? What If she gets expelled?" Then an idea finally struck her. "Should I try to convince her to go to rehab?"
Hiram spoke with knowledge. "That might be a good start. After an apology. You have to approach this very gently, Rachel. She'll be defensive, even though she's told you she can't quit, she'll most likely try to convince you otherwise. Imagine that you told someone you could never stop watching Funny Girl and then they challenged you and try to convince you to go somewhere that won't allow you to watch it. What would you do?"
"Insist that I could stop whenever I wanted to in order to avoid a situation where I wouldn't be allowed the choice." It was then she realized that Quinn would be fighting for drugs while Rachel fought for Quinn. "This is going to be hard isn't it?"
Leroy sighed. "Exhausting, devastating, heart breaking… you name it. Just remember, we're not saying that you should be her crutch or that you should enable her by continuing to be there for her. If it goes too far and it starts stressing you too much to be there for her, you'll know. Don't let it go a single step further, Babygirl."
They both wrapped her up in a tight hug. Eventually they would both have to explain why they had so much advice to give her.
"I'm going to go ahead and go back to her house. Maybe I can catch her before she leaves." They nodded and said their I love yous as she walked out the door.
Rachel took a deep breath as she stepped up onto the porch.
*knock knock knock
"No answer. Fuck."
*knock knock knock
"Quinn are you in there?!"
She knocked again, but as soon as she heard a thud come from upstairs she burst into the house and ran up to Quinn's room.
She could feel that something wasn't right and she feared the worst.
The sight that lay before her on Quinn's bedroom floor caused her to vomit. She had fallen out of her chair and was lying there with a loose belt around her bicep and the needle still hanging out of her arm. The girl wasn't moving.
"Quinn..." Rachel shook her repeatedly and eventually slapped her. "Baby, wake up!"
When Rachel reached into her pocket for her phone, she realized she'd left it at her house. "Fuck. Where's your phone?" She started running around Quinn's room and finally found it on her bed. She dialed 911
"911. What's your emergency?"
"I'm at 207 West River Road. I think my friend just overdosed on drugs." She was frantically grasping at Quinn and took the needle out of her arm and the belt off. Surely Quinn wouldn't want people to see her like that.
"Okay, ma'am. I need you to check her pulse and see if she's breathing while I dispatch an ambulance."
Rachel began searching for a pulse but had a hard time finding one. "It's barely there. Her heart's barely beating." Rachel put the phone and speaker and sat it down. She gently caressed Quinn's cheek and began to cry.
"Okay , and what's your name?"
"Rachel. Rachel Berry."
"Okay, Rachel. Is your friend breathing?"
"Her name is Quinn." Rachel checked to see if she could feel and air coming from Quinn. "And no. No she isn't." Rachel started to cry harder, but somehow managed to pull herself together just enough to really pay attention the woman on the phone.
"Do you know how to administer CPR?"
Rachel immediately sprung into action.