A/N: It would be an understatement to say this update has been a long time coming. I have been on a very long hiatus but it was something I needed. I am very happy to be back. I said when I stopped writing this story that I never wanted to leave it unfinished and I hoped to come back to it. I do hope you will enjoy this very late update. As always your feedback is greatly appreciated. You can leave me a review or comment here or send me a message on Tumblr (shesamarshmallow). If you're still reading my stories after all this time I just want to say thank you, it means a lot and you are awesome.
The brunette watched as rain beat down fiercely on the windows of her condo. It was the type of rain that made it impossible to see anything beyond the glass. It had been raining for days but it felt somewhat appropriate as the weather reflected Beca's mood. She sat and stared for a little while longer as there was nowhere to go. It was Saturday so it wasn't like she had to be at work. Besides, Beca is her own boss and she can do what she wants as long as everything runs smoothly. The sound of rain has always comforted her and right now she needs nothing more than that. Her calm is broken abruptly by the sound of footsteps and the voices that precedes their arrival at her seat.
"Are you still moping around Beca?" Jesse's words are harsh but his tone is caring, like Beca has always known him to be.
"It's raining, I'm just enjoying the weather," she quips, never one to let on more than she wants anyone to know.
"So the answer is yes then?"
"I guess."
"I thought you were planning on finding her. All you've done since we got back is sit around this condo and mope."
"You were right, all I have is two first names and a very broad general area. I'll never find her."
"I wasn't right. It's 2014 Beca anyone can be found."
"Not if they don't want to be," Beca sighed, thinking back to the afternoon the cruise ended and Chloe's dismissal of the idea of seeing each other again.
"Who says she doesn't want to be found? Just because she said she didn't want a relationship doesn't mean she was telling the truth. Why would she have hung out with you in the first place if she wasn't into you?"
Jesee's words brought little comfort to Beca. Maybe the redhead was just a player, someone who really just wanted a little fun and never had any intention of being with Beca. It baffled Beca that someone could be so cruel but she wouldn't put it past anyone. The world sucked sometimes and Beca was always telling Jesse that they just had to accept that, even if she wasn't as quick to swallow that pill herself in moments like this.
Across town the same rain pelted the windows of Chloe's run down apartment hard, with the speed of a bullet and the calm of a fierce lion. Everything outside was soaking wet and the rain showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. The red head wore the same sullen expression as Beca as she sat in her living room watching television with Thalia. It was mid-afternoon and Chloe normally enjoyed her Saturdays a lot more than this one. She would spend as much time as possible with Thalia laughing and playing and teaching her how to read before she had to go to work that night. Saturdays were her favourite days because she didn't have a second job to get to; it was sort of like her day off even if she did have to be at work by 11pm.
"I thought you didn't care to have a relationship with her Chloe?" Aubrey piped up, not at all into whatever children's show they were supposed to be watching.
"What are you talking about?" the indignation on Chloe's face was evident but Aubrey was never one to back down.
"Hey Thalia, would you mind if your mama and I went to go talk in the kitchen for a couple minutes?"
"No, that's okay," the little girl answered, barely turning her head to look at the two women, eyes still focused intently on the strange show.
Chloe reluctantly got up from her spot, kissing Thalia on the head before she followed her friend and took the few steps to the small kitchen in her apartment.
"What Aubrey? Do you want to lecture me some more of have you had your fill of that over the last week?"
"I'm not lecturing Chloe. I just want you to be happy. All you've done since we got back is sulk but you were the one who told Beca you didn't want a relationship."
"I'm not sulking and I don't want a relationship," the red head was losing her temper with Aubrey but she kept her voice down so Thalia wouldn't be startled.
"You haven't had a relationship since Tom. Don't you think it's time you got back out there?"
"You're right, I haven't had a relationship since Tom and look where that got me. Pregnant and living in a crappy apartment working two jobs Aubrey, why is it I should start a new relationship?"
"Chloe I am sorry you lost Tom, that accident was a tragedy but you don't have a to punish yourself forever. He had too much to drink; he never should have been driving."
Chloe choked back tears, she already remembered the night of the accident far too vividly. She didn't need a reminder.
"He left because we had a fight Aubrey, because I yelled at him and blamed him for everything that was wrong with my life and our relationship. He never would have left if I hadn't yelled. He would still be right here. He'd be telling Thalia corny jokes and laughing right along with her. I don't know what would have become of our relationship but he'd still be here for her Aubrey and that's what hurts the most."
Chloe couldn't hold back the tears anymore and they flowed over her reddened cheeks as she tried to take a deep breath. Chloe still had nightmares about that night, about Tom walking out the door of their apartment and never coming back.
Aubrey wrapped her arms around her friend tightly and just held on. She didn't say anything else. Nothing she could say at this moment could comfort Chloe and she had already said too much. She didn't mean for their conversation to turn into this when she brought up Tom. She should have known it was a bad idea. Tom was Chloe's first love and Thalia's father and for better or for worse he had always been there for her. She got pregnant in their 3rd year and Barden and he stuck by her as she tried to navigate the world as it was crumbling down around her. Tom was far from perfect but he was the imperfect piece that fit Chloe's imperfect puzzle of a life.
"I'm sorry," Aubrey whispered in her friend's ear, still holding tight as Chloe cried in her arms.
After a few more minutes Chloe took a deep breath and stood up straight. She wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to make her way back to Thalia on the couch.
"Wait," Aubrey called out, "I don't mean to push you. I just want you to be happy. I want you to find love again Chloe, that's all."
"I know," Chloe replied with a small smile, her heart still heavy with the pain of remembering Tom.
Days passed and the weather outside got nicer but Beca's mood did not improve. She was still sulking and Jesse was at a loss for what to say or do to help her.
"The sun is shining today Beca, what do you say you, me and Stacie take a walk to along the boardwalk and get ice cream."
"It's Wednesday afternoon Jesse, shouldn't you be at work?" Beca's tone was coarse; her annoyance with Jesse's "helpful" behavior was overflowing.
"Shouldn't you?"
Beca lobbed a pillow at the man standing in her doorway. He had been there every morning since they got back and Beca wondered when he was going to give up. The only thing that would cheer her up right now would take a miracle and Jesse was a good friend but no miracle worker.
"Hey, I don't deserve your fluffy violence," Jesse quipped, delighted when he saw a small smile play at the corners of Beca's lips.
"A walk along the boardwalk sounds nice. I assume Stacie is already waiting in the car."
Jesse nodded sheepishly, "she's been here with me every day. She cares about you too you know. She's not just all about nails and celebrity gossip, that girl has a heart."
"And a nice rack, all the reasons you love her right?"
Jesse elbowed his friend playfully at the suggestion. He had met Stacie at a party thrown by one of their clients. A gorgeous tall brunette was all he saw originally but Stacie was driven and savvy and very sweet and he learned all this after he woke up in her bed the morning after that party.
"Hi Stacie," Beca said politely, smiling at the other woman as she got in the backseat of Jesse's Lexus.
'Hey Becs, how are you today?"
"Better," was the brunette's one word response, it was to the point she thought and Stacie would get it. She loved celebrity gossip but she was never one to pry into Beca's personal life.
"Good, I've missed hanging out with you. You know someone needs to curb Jesse's enthusiasm when he gets on a lengthy rant about film scores and how he could have done it better."
Beca chuckled, she knew how Jesse got and she would be a terrible friend if she didn't save Stacie from a fate not quite as bad as death.
The three of them walked along the boardwalk, window-shopping and sometimes actually shopping as the peered into the funky stores that line the street. Jesse looked ridiculous in almost everything he tried on but Beca recognized the effort to make her laugh.
As lunchtime rolled around they found a little Mexican place and stepped in. It was surprisingly quiet but as Beca had pointed out earlier it was Wednesday afternoon. They were among the few who had the luxury of not being at work in the middle of a weekday. As they sat down an awkward silence fell over the table. No one was sure where to start even though there was just one topic on everyone's minds.
"So," Jesse started, "the guacamole here sure is delicious isn't it?"
Stacie nodded along with her husband, "just the right amount of lime."
Beca's grin faded at the talk of guacamole; of course the guacamole was good, it was guacamole.
"Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do here, you want me to talk about her and I don't want to."
"We just want to talk about your plan to get her back," Stacie informed her friend.
"I don't have a plan, I have a name. A freaking useless name; Chloe," she said with a deep sigh.
"You have two names and hey that's better than nothing. As long as she gave you a real name than we should be able to locate here," Jesse was confident.
Beca just gave him an indignant look. She hadn't even considered the possibility that Chloe may not have used her real name. Who gives a fake name to someone they meet on a cruise. A dirty rotten player that's who, that's all Beca could think as Jesse and Stacie continued to converse. They were coming up with a gameplay but Beca wasn't interested. All she wanted to know now was if Chloe had been honest with her when they were together. If it was all just an act she didn't want to find the red head anyway. If that were the case she wished she'd never met her. Beca had no way of knowing of course since all she had was one, sorry two lousy names. Chloe and Aubrey. Beca sat quietly eating the rest of her tacos mulling the two names over in her head.
"I'm home," Chloe shouted down the hallway of her apartment.
Thalia normally came running but today there was no pitter-patter of little feet at the sound of Chloe's voice.
"We're in here," Alison called back from Thalia's bedroom.
When Chloe made her way into the tiny bedroom of her little girl she could see her fast asleep. It wasn't her naptime so Chloe was confused but she waited for her sister to explain.
"She's not feeling well. Some sort of stomach bug I think. She was throwing up all morning. No fever yet but she's tired."
Chloe leaned down and pressed a kiss to her young daughter's head.
"My poor baby, I hope she feels better soon."
"She will, I made some chicken soup for her to eat later if she's feeling up to it."
"Thank you Ali, you know I can't thank you enough for being here for Thalia when I can't be.
"I wouldn't be anywhere else Chloe. I know how hard these last few years have been on you, anything I can do to make it easier."
Chloe smiled a small smile as the two women walked out of the bedroom leaving the little girl to rest. It was always a comfortable silence between the sisters, even when they were apart for years when they came back together it was as if nothing had changed. They were as close as two people can possibly be for 15 years and while that relationship was broken for a little while, everything was healed now. It was too hard to stay away from your sister when she needed you most.
Chloe had always been the one to butt heads with their parents. They disagreed on how Chloe dress and what she should do with her life after high school. They hated her boyfriends and her friends and any mention of a career in music set them off. Chloe didn't mean to be but she had become a rebel in her own family just for being herself.
Alison was the polar opposite, the honour student, the one who wore whatever her parents deemed acceptable and the one who never dated. Chloe was sure she was still their parents' favourite. She had a real job as they would call it, she had gotten married a year ago and just a few months ago she announced that they were expecting their first child. Alison was 25 and it this was the appropriate path for a young woman to take, at least that's what their parents thought. Alison had never looked down on Chloe for her choices in life, but at 16 she couldn't defied them as Chloe did.
Chloe was that girl who ran off with a boyfriend at 16 and never looked back. She couldn't live under her parents' roof anymore and it seemed like the only way out. She had no problem leaving her parents behind but leaving her childhood home before also meant leaving her sister. Alison felt abandoned and the rift between the sisters had only been mended when Chloe called her in tears telling her she was pregnant and didn't know what to do.
"This came for you," Alison piped up after a few minutes of silence.
Chloe took the letter from her sister's hand and scanned it, shocked by the return address. It was from Tom's mother whom she hadn't heard from since his death. Not that she had been close to Tom's parents when he was a life. They were about as approving of their relationship and her pregnancy as her own parents. To see a letter from her was something Chloe had never expected. She wasn't sure if she should open it. Nothing good could come of it right, nothing good ever had some of her relationships with parents, not her own and certainly not someone else's.
After lunch Beca, Jesse and Stacie all piled back into his car. The afternoon out had done little to lift her mood but the little it had done was good. She knew Jessie and Stacie were just trying to be food friends and help her. She couldn't hold that against them no matter how annoying she found it. As much as she hoped Jesse was right and that in 2014 two names could help them find Chloe she was an eternal pessimist. Not to mention there was also the fact that she very much doubted Chloe wanted to be found and she was almost certain the redhead didn't want to see her.
"Can I expect you back at work tomorrow Ms. Mitchell?" Jesse said playfully.
"Very funny Jesse, if it wasn't for me there wouldn't be a work to be at would there now."
Beca was as confident as every even if she was a little down. She had built that company from the ground up and she was proud of it. Her brain had been a breeding ground for ideas since her parents' nasty divorce. All she could do to keep her mind off of their problems and to drown out their fighting and think. She must have scribbled down hundreds of ideas over the years. Hundreds of ideas for startups both good and bad had poured out of Beca's brain in her anguish. She had thrown most of them out but she knew at least a few of them were gold and Jesse believed in her too.
"Very right Ms. Mitchell," Jesse smirked.
Beca punched him lightly from the back seat, "you can stop calling me that now," Beca chided.
Jesse didn't respond though or even react to the punch, he didn't even move when the light in front of them turned green despite the honking.
"Jesse move," Stacie said, worried about her husband.
"That's her," Jesse managed to get out, almost stumbling over his words.
He made a sharp turn and pulled over, getting out of the car without explaining. Beca and Stacie had no choice but to follow him.
"That's the girl from the cruise," the man shouted, pointing at a park bench that sat in front of them.
"Aubrey Posen," Stacie read, "the best choice to find your next home."
Beca gaped at the picture on the bench. There it was in front of her eyes. Aubrey Posen, Chloe's best friend. The bench had both a phone number and an address for Aubrey's office. This was what she needed. Who could have known they wouldn't even need the technology of 2014 to track her down. All she needed was right in front of her.
Stacie snapped a picture of the bench when she could tell Beca was too stunned to do anything.
"Let's go," Jesse shouted again grabbing Beca's arm and pulling her back towards the car. "It's just 6 blocks south of here, we can make it before the office clothes this afternoon."
Beca sat still shocked that she actually had a chance to find Chloe. They had found Aubrey and Aubrey was the gateway to Chloe. Maybe, just maybe Beca still had a chance with the girl she had fallen so hard for on that cruise.