Dear readers, thank you all so much for your support of this story! I appreciate all of your reviews, and favoriting and alerting this story. It means a lot to me.
I'm not sure when I'll be able to put up the next chapter; I have finals coming up and then some minor surgery. I apologize in advance if there's a lapse in updating.
A MAJOR thank-you to Evie who helped me through some minor writer's block with this chapter.
"Well, I think that's the last of it," Will called out to Quinn as he set down a box on their kitchen table.
She had tried to refer to him as Mr. Schue, but he'd catch her with this awkward look every time, so she decided to comply with his request to be on a first-name basis. Truth be told, she kind of liked using first names; it was an equalizer.
"Awesome!" she heard Lindsey say. "What should we start unpacking first?"
"Well, maybe it would be a good idea to rearrange the furniture. It's so hard to move around in here," David said as Quinn walked back into the main room.
In the nick of time David had been able to secure some furniture for the house they were renting. It had come with the basics, such as a kitchen table and a couch and a bed in the bedroom, but all of the little items that made a house a home were noticeably absent.
It further drove the point home, Quinn thought, that this was only temporary dwelling place and not a real home.
Will and David went to work on shifting the furniture in the living area and dining room around to open up more space, while Quinn and Lindsey unpacked dishes and other kitchenware and set about putting them in their proper places. After a few hours of rearranging the couches that Quinn personally thought had seen better days and of putting utensils in her cabinet drawers (and plates in the cabinets, and groceries in the fridge, and curtains up in the dining room…) she felt that they'd made some pretty good progress. Enough so, that after a brief break where everyone threw themselves on the couches, David and Lindsey excused themselves and went home.
"I'm sorry, I would stay and help y'all out longer, but I've got to get to class soon," Lindsey said apologetically and she and David made their way to the front door.
"I'll call to schedule a check-in in a few days with you guys," he said, shaking their hands. "Just to see how everything's going, give you any updates, the usual."
Lindsey scooped Quinn up into a tight hug, which Quinn returned with equal fervor. They hadn't known each other long, but Lindsey had made Quinn feel safe and at home, which was something for which she would be eternally grateful. Her transition to Stowelee and southern Georgia in general would have been a lot more difficult without her.
"Take care of yourself, okay?" Lindsey asked. Quinn nodded in response. "I'll call you soon to see how you're settling in, and see if I can't find any cute odds and ends for this place. If you need anything, you know where to find me," she said, smiling warmly.
Quinn felt a lump forming in her throat and wondered at the attachment she had formed to someone she had only known a few days. It wasn't as if she had never received any kindness from another person; in fact, she was forever indebted to Mercedes Jones for her kindness and hospitality during her pregnancy with Beth. Nevertheless, the pure kindness from Lindsey was surprising and much appreciated.
Before she knew it, she and Will were watching the Camerons drive away and suddenly it was just the two of them again and she didn't know how to handle it.
Quinn started to panic as the same thoughts ran through her mind over and over again. They were alone, in a house that was hardly theirs, with strange surroundings, and they only knew each other, and they were supposed to be husband and wife, for Christ's sake! There was no way she could pull this off and to be completely honest, there was a part of her that didn't even want to try.
She was only 22. Why did she have to grow up so quickly?
Will cleared his throat and turned to Quinn, as if to say something, but she cut him off.
"I, uh, have to go unpack my clothes. I figured I'd just take a drawer or two in the main bedroom," she said, scurrying past him in haste to get away from what would undoubtedly be another awkward conversation that she was really hoping could be put off until later in the day.
"Okay…" Will replied, trailing off. "Do you want me to do anything?"
"No, I've got it," she called as she took the last few steps to the bedroom.
She took her sweet time unpacking the clothes that she had brought with her from Ohio and the clothes she had bought with Lindsey. She had propped her suitcase on the edge of the bed that, to an outsider, she would be sharing with Will, and started to sift through her clothing, sorting her underwear and shirts and pants and such so she could fit them neatly into the dresser sitting against the wall. As she cleared through her belongings, the familiar scent of her home that had lingered on her clothing surrounded her and she was, once again, hit with a wave of homesickness. Her mood worsened when her suitcase toppled off of the edge of the mattress where it was perched, and her personal belongings scattered about, including her picture of Beth and a drawing that Beth made for Quinn's birthday last year that said "I love you." She didn't get to see her biological daughter often, and although she knew that Beth's and her lives her better off because of the adoption, it didn't change the fact that she cared about the little girl.
She carefully picked up the pictures and placed them in the crease of the mirror frame that sat upon the dresser.
Already struggling to maintain her composure, the final straw came when she realized they had no hangers to use to hang up her clothes.
This isn't a home, she thought to herself. This is a prison sentence! I can't live here with someone I barely know, in this place I can barely stand, without even some Goddamn hangers!
This minor problem, which ordinarily was just a small annoyance, set Quinn off in the way that little things can only do when there are already other stressors, and she promptly burst into tears.
Will cautiously walked into the room not thirty seconds later, and if she weren't so distressed she would have laughed at the look of confusion on his face. As it was, she was barely managing to contain her sobs.
"Quinn? What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"We don't even have hangers!" she exclaimed. His brows knit in confusion, until it dawned on him that this wasn't the real problem. He awkwardly sat down next to her by the foot of the bed and gingerly placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I, uh, picked up some hangers the other day when we went to the store. You can use some of mine until you can go pick up more," he offered once her crying had diminished to a few sniffles.
"Thanks," she said, taking his offered tissue and wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry," she laughed helplessly, "I'm not usually this emotional, it's just..."
"A lot to take in," he finished for her. He stood up and gave her time to collect herself, and he wandered over to the dresser. She followed and stood next to him, the two of them staring at the pictures in the mirror.
"Wow, baby Beth got so big," Will noted. Quinn nodded in agreement.
"She's a beautiful little girl," Quinn said, admiring the photo in which she and a six-year-old Beth were posing by Shelby's pool.
"She looks just like you." The of course she's beautiful was left unsaid.
When the familiar wrench in Quinn's insides became too uncomfortable to bear, she slipped out of the room, telling Will she would try and make some dinner while he unpacked.
Their options were limited to what was in the fridge and could be put in the oven on a baking sheet, so Quinn ended up making a salad and a frozen pizza. Surprisingly, she found the slicing and dicing of vegetables cathartic and got lost in her thoughts as she prepared the meal.
Preparing dinner went smoothly except for one instance; Will had walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water, and when he reached around her to open up the cabinet his arm accidentally brushed against hers and heat flooded her face as she realized that he was right behind her. When he muttered an apology, she simply nodded her head, afraid to speak.
They ate dinner in relative silence, with most of their conversation consisting of Will explaining that he would be gone for a few hours tomorrow for job interviews. Quinn told him about her decision to try and work somewhere on the island, maybe as a waitress somewhere.
He cleared the table and washed the dishes, keeping the work even, Quinn guessed. For a lack of having anything better to do, Quinn stayed in the dining room and looked, really looked, around at her new house. It wasn't a bad place, really. Aside from the furniture that she didn't particularly care for, the walls were a light orange color that brought warmth to the room in the living area. The walls in the dining area were a cream color and instead of being washed out, they contrasted nicely with the dark wood of the dining table and chairs. There was a small bookcase that was empty at the moment, but could look nice with some books or pictures in it.
It wasn't a bad house, and it was by far the best from the selection that she had reviewed with Lindsey. But that didn't mean that it was a home by any means. She wouldn't walk in and see Karen sitting at her desk sketching various designs for her fashion portfolio, and she wouldn't be able to go next door and take care of Mrs. O'Grady's cat Sprinkles, and she wouldn't be able to sing in the shower. She wouldn't be able to look up at her ceiling and stare at the glow-in-the-dark constellations left behind by a previous tenant.
Will walked into the dining room and cleared his throat nervously, snapping Quinn out of her reverie.
"I thought that I'd sleep on the couch tonight since there's only one bed. I'll get some blankets and stay out here for now," he said quietly.
"No, you shouldn't have to; I'm smaller and younger and I'd be completely fine with taking the couch," she tried to protest, but he wouldn't listen to her.
"It's fine. It's only for a few days until we can buy a cheap bedframe and a mattress. I can tough it out until then." She knew he was claiming the sofa to be considerate, but it just made Quinn feel horribly guilty. He'd sacrificed so much as well; he'd left behind all of his family and friends, and his job, to have to start over with her of all people. Taking the bed just seemed like one more slight against him.
"But, um, before you head to bed I need to shower, so would you mind giving me fifteen minutes?"
"Not at all," she said, surprised that he would even feel he had to ask. "I'll just… stay out here."
He eyed her strangely but went ahead and showered anyway. Quinn idly leafed through an old magazine that had been left in the house, and glanced back up at Will when he returned, wearing shorts and a tee shirt and carrying with him some blankets and a pillow. Quinn's mouth went a little dry.
"The room's all yours," he said, walking past her to the sofa and laying out a sheet on the cushions. "I hope you don't mind, I put away a few of my things in the medicine cabinet."
Quinn struggled to find her voice. "That's, uh, that's totally fine," she said with a vigorous nod of her head that she felt embarrassed about immediately. "Goodnight, I guess."
Will gave her a soft look. "Goodnight, Quinn. I'll see you in the morning. And it's my turn to cook – so expect some pancakes."
Quinn smiled in response, when a thought struck her.
"How long do you think we'll be here?" she asked quietly, looking down at her hands.
Will paused and appeared deep in thought.
"I don't know," he replied honestly. "We'll just take it one day at a time, that's all."
She slowly left the room and walked into her new bedroom – or what should really have been their bedroom, of which the thought was enough to freak her out. She changed into her pajamas, suddenly exhausted, and laid under the bedcovers. However, she found that no matter what she did, she couldn't get comfortable in the bed. She tossed and turned, staring up at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity before she finally drifted off to sleep.