AN: Reviews are greatly appreciated. Enjoy the chapter. :)
Disclaimer: The characters from Friends do not belong to me.
The woman stood from her seat on the couch and began to stride towards Ross and Rachel. Ross closed the front door behind Rachel with a thud. Rachel stood in the entrance of Ross' apartment as the woman beamed a huge smile extending her hand to greet her.
"Hi, I'm Phoebe! I'm one of Ross' friends," Phoebe said cheerfully. Rachel took her hand and shook it. The look in Phoebe's eyes was unlike anything Rachel had ever seen. Her eyes alone were full of friendliness and enthusiasm.
"I'm Rachel," She replied. Phoebe smiled again from ear to ear.
"Don't worry, I know," Phoebe responded, giddily. Ross abruptly cut into their conversation.
"Um, so I'll see you later, Pheebs?" Ross interjected, his voice full of panic. Phoebe gave Rachel a quick wink. Rachel didn't have a clue what all that was about, but she timidly smiled back at Phoebe.
Before Rachel had arrived Ross had been telling Phoebe about his feelings. Phoebe now knew about Ross' high school crush and the fact that he still had feelings for her.
"Yeah, it's getting late, isn't it?" Phoebe asked as she gave Ross an amused glance. Ross shifted his gaze to the floor, trying to pretend not to notice Phoebe's stare.
Phoebe had told Ross to ask Rachel out again, but Ross had decided not to since she needed him to be there for her right now. Phoebe tried to convince him to ask her anyways. Ross had been so lonely lately, he needed a relationship. What could be more perfect than him asking out his high school crush? That is, if he could build up the courage.
"Bye Phoebe," Ross said before giving his friend a hug.
"It was nice meeting you," Rachel said to Phoebe.
"You too. Bye now," Phoebe responded before opening the apartment door and leaving. When the door swung shut behind her Ross turned to Rachel.
"I'm sorry. When you called she was visiting-" Ross began, before Rachel interrupted.
"No really, it's fine! I mean I just kind of sprung this on you," Rachel said enthusiastically.
"Do you want to sit down and we can talk?" Ross asked, gesturing to the couch.
"Yes thank you," Rachel responded. The two made their way to the leather couch and took a seat a few feet apart.
"So you left your husband?" Ross decided to get right into it. Rachel nodded.
"He cheated on me," Rachel explained, she looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. Tears threatened to fall as looked away from Ross.
"Hey, hey don't be upset. He is obviously a jerk, he doesn't deserve your tears," Ross said softly, he reached across the distance between them and gently put a hand on top of hers.
Rachel peered up at Ross and smiled slightly. His sincere words warmed her heart. He removed his hand from hers and shyly smiled at her.
"I didn't leave him only because of that. I also just didn't love him. He worked all the time leaving me at home and I couldn't live like that anymore," Rachel explained. Ross listened intently, watching her face as she spoke.
"That's really brave," Ross responded. Rachel looked up at him with glassy eyes. His soft brown eyes held her focus. As they sat there a shiver trembled down Rachel's body, partly due to Ross' thoughtful words, but mostly because she was cold and soaking wet from head to toe.
Ross noticed the tremor shake Rachel's small frame.
"Do you want to change into something dry?" Ross asked.
"I would but I kind of didn't bring anything with me," Rachel replied, kicking herself for forgetting to grab a change of clothes before she left. But another shiver rippled through her body.
"I'm sure I can find you something to wear. Come with me," Ross stated, confidently. He got up from the couch and Rachel followed him like a lost puppy. They walked past the kitchen and bathroom door into another doorway leading to a small hall outside the bedrooms.
Rachel trailed a couple of steps behind Ross as they entered his bedroom. The walls were a warm gold colour adding to the comforting vibe the room gave off. Ross walked over to his dresser and searched through a few drawers. Then he finally found what he was looking for.
Ross held out a white t-shirt to Rachel.
"Um, this shirt is too small for me so I'm sure it will fit you nicely," Ross explained.
"Thank you," Rachel replied with honesty. She took the t-shirt from Ross. "Where can I change?"
"You can use the bathroom," Ross said pointing out the door in the direction of the bathroom.
"Okay, thanks," Rachel responded, before she turned and headed for the door. Ross went back into the living room and sat on his couch again, trying to occupy his mind with anything but Rachel.
Soon Rachel emerged from the bathroom. Ross' shirt that said "Frankie Says Relax" hung loosely down to her mid-thigh. Ross swallowed hard. Never could he have imagined that Rachel would be in his apartment, wearing his shirt. She looked absolutely incredible with her wet hair and shy smile, as she sat next to him on the couch once again.
"Thanks for letting me stay here," Rachel said, breaking the silence.
"It's no problem Rachel. You can stay as long as you need to. I know how it feels to be in your position, and knowing that you don't have anyone to turn to like I did… It has to be hard," Ross said, timidly.
"It's a lot less hard now that I'm here with you," Rachel answered. She looked into his eyes; something about them just drew her in like a moth to a flame. As she stared at him she subconsciously leaned in a bit.
Rachel was only a foot away from Ross' face. She bit her lip as she lost herself in the moment. Ross too gazed at her eyes, noticing her leaning closer to him. He knew the look in her eyes; she was going to kiss him.
For a second, he considered closing the gap between them to fulfill his teenaged self's fantasy. How he had longed to kiss her for so long. He could only imagine what it would be like to have her soft, pink lips against his own.
But the logical side of him won over. He knew Rachel was probably just upset about her divorce and seeking comfort.
"We should, um, get to sleep. It's getting late," Ross commented. Rachel nodded as she backed up. She was amazed at how much of a gentleman Ross was as she realized he didn't take advantage of her moment of weakness.
"Where should I…?" Rachel asked wondering where she would be sleeping.
"Why don't you take my bed? I'll sleep here on the couch," Ross responded, knowing exactly what she was going to ask.
"Are you sure? Because I would happily take the couch. I mean, you took me in…" Rachel replied.
"You've had a long day. Please, take the bed. I insist," Ross stated. Rachel opened her mouth to speak but closed it again as she lost her nerve. She was too tired to argue.
"Thank you," Rachel answered, sincerely. She hesitated a moment before she stood up. "Goodnight, Ross."
"Goodnight," Ross replied, softly. Rachel headed to Ross' bedroom and climbed under his red comforter. She exhaled a drained sigh as her head rested on the soft pillow.
Rachel lay awake for a while, thinking about her day. She finally felt free of the chains that held her prisoner in a world she detested. Even though she still had a long road ahead, she was glad she had done what she did before she lost her mind.
She inhaled deeply smelling Ross' scent all around her. It comforted her and soon she dozed off into a deep sleep. Finally her future looked brighter.
…..
Rachel woke the next morning to the unfamiliar room and quickly remembered where she was. She was so happy that the whole thing wasn't a dream. She sat up in Ross' bed and looked around. She smiled when she saw a few dinosaur knick-knacks; she recalled how much Ross had always liked dinosaurs.
Rachel noticed a folded piece of paper on the bedside table. It had her name written across it. She picked it up and unfolded it.
Rachel,
I didn't want to wake you, but I had to go to work. I have a few lectures to give, so I'll be home around 3:00pm.
Please help yourself to anything you want for breakfast and lunch.
-Ross
Rachel smiled to herself and placed the note back on the table. She decided to have breakfast and then go back to her apartment to grab her belongings.
…..
On his lunch break, Ross logged onto his email. He was disappointed to see that there was still no new email from his friend. Ross was concerned about her so he decided to email her again.
Hi,
I hope everything's okay. I'm just worried that you haven't contacted me yet, usually you reply within hours.
Please let me know what's going on. We can talk about your decision to leave your husband. Plus I have a new roommate that I want to tell you about. She's that girl I met recently that I liked back in high school. Anyways, email me back.
…..
Rachel sat in a taxi and watched as the city flew by her window. She had changed into the clothes she wore the previous night, which were now dry. She couldn't help but feel nervous when the taxi pulled to the curb in front of the old apartment she had once shared with Barry.
Rachel tensely climbed the all too familiar stairs and arrived outside of the apartment. She knocked on the door hoping someone was inside to let her in.
Soon the door opened and Barry stood there looking at her in shock.
"Have you changed your mind?" Barry asked hopefully.
"No, I've come for my things," Rachel replied. Then she walked past Barry and headed straight for her closet. She began to pack a few bags with articles of clothing and a few personal belongings. Barry stood in the doorway of their bedroom and watched.
Barry held a little hope that he could change her mind about the divorce. He had been in hell for the past day. Rachel's father was absolutely fuming when he entered the cabin without Rachel. When he explained that she left because she didn't like her life, Leonard became even more infuriated.
Of course Barry was smarter than to mention his cheating with Amy and Mindy. He even acted completely normal when Amy's husband returned from his evening ski trip.
After a while Rachel had everything she needed. It was tough to see her entire life with Barry packed into a few suitcases. But, the sooner she could leave, the better. Rachel couldn't take another minute of Barry's sad eyes watching her every move, willing her to stay.
Rachel carried all of her bags towards the door. Barry followed her closely. Rachel had to put a few bags down to open the door. When one of her shoulders was bare Barry grabbed her arm, his vice-like grip made her turn back around.
He pulled her against him so fast she barely had time to register what was happening. Barry locked her in a tight grip as he assaulted her lips with his. Barry's lips pressed against hers longing for her to kiss him in return, but Rachel's lips did not move.
After a few seconds Rachel was able to get him off of her. She looked at him with disbelief. Did he really think a kiss like that could solve their problems and make her stay? Rachel shook her head disgusted with the feeling of Barry's crushing mouth on hers.
"What the hell was that Barry?" Rachel shouted as she backed away from him.
"Please Rachel, don't go," Barry pleaded, looking at her with a pained expression on his face.
"I have to," Rachel responded, more calm.
"Please don't. I'm sorry for cheating," Barry said, practically begging for forgiveness. He wanted her to stay, he couldn't imagine the feeling of being alone and facing the repercussions.
"Barry an apology is not enough. I'm not leaving you because you cheated, I told you, I can't live this way anymore. This is not me," Rachel explained.
"What about the life we had planned. We were going to stay married forever, what happened to that promise?" Barry asked.
"Barry, when I promised you those things, I didn't know what I was promising to do. I thought this life would be different, but I'll never be able to explain how it feels to have the only purpose of keeping up an image," Rachel disclosed.
"Please just stay, we can work things out. Just think of all the people we'll disappoint if you leave," Barry explained.
"Why should we go on living this lie for them?" Rachel responded.
"Because it will cause chaos if we don't," Barry said. "Think of how this will ruin my life when you escape it."
"You don't care that I'm miserable? You just care that the name you live up to will be dragged through the mud," Rachel accused, angered by Barry's self-centredness.
"But face it Rach, you're letting down your family and mine. Please just consider that for a minute," Barry reasoned. Rachel did take a second to understand what Barry was saying. But when she thought of spending another day home alone, or faking enthusiasm at a party, she stuck to her decision.
"I can't do this for them. I have to think of myself for once. All my life I've been living with the fear of endangering my family's image. I just can't take another day of it," Rachel explained.
"You can't leave. What am I going to do? Did you ever think of what this will do to me?" Barry asked again, bitterly. Rachel was shocked to hear his egotistical thoughts on the matter at hand.
"I can't believe you would say something like that," Rachel said, angrily. "Can't you think of anyone other than yourself for once? Can't you see how unhappy I am?"
"Why can't you consider my point of view? When you leave, I'm going to be the one dealing with the massacre," Barry stated.
"I'm sure if you tell them what happened they'll understand," Rachel pointed out.
"Rachel I'm sorry about cheating and I'm sorry you don't love this lifestyle but can you please try once more," Barry pleaded again. Rachel shook her head.
"It's not only this life, or that you cheated on me with two other women. Barry, face it, we have nothing in common. Part of the reason I can't stand this marriage is that we don't love each other. Our parents practically pushed us into this marriage for their own benefit, and we just went along with it," Rachel explained.
"Why didn't you ever say something? We could have fixed this. I mean, I was dealing with it just fine," Barry stated.
"That's because you were cheating on me with Mindy and my sister," Rachel clarified. "Plus I didn't want to fix it; I only want to leave this for something better."
Barry looked at the ground, he knew she was right. He didn't deal with it because he thought cheating would help get him through it.
"So I guess this is it," Barry said, breaking the tension-filled air.
"I'm going to go," Rachel said, softly. "Before I do, I'd like to return these." Rachel slid the wedding band and engagement ring off of her left ring finger. Barry looked at her with a hurt expression, as he held out his hand.
Rachel placed the rings in his palm.
"Thanks for giving these back," Barry said sincerely.
"I'll talk to you soon about the arrangements for our divorce," Rachel said, Barry nodded. Then she picked up her bags, once again, and left the apartment. Barry couldn't help but feel upset, but he also felt happy. At least Rachel would be able to live the life she wanted.
When she exited the building, she inhaled a deep breath of air. These steps were steps into a whole new life.
She was free at last.
