Chapter 11

[A web of lies]

Mercedes grabbed what she could, heading for the door. She had given her now ex boyfriend what he wanted and now that he was asleep, she was gone. She had never been one to be a pushover or to not fight back, but she wasn't stupid either. The man had 100 pounds on her and she wasn't about to piss him off even more. Besides, she was never coming back anyway. She stared at the note in her hand, making sure she had everything written down that she wanted to say and placed in on the side table close to the door and left. As soon as she stepped outside, she felt relief wash over her. She seemed to always feel this way every time she would walk out on a man, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. There was only one time that it had hurt her enough to make her cry.

She waved down a taxi and hopped in, taking off towards Rachel and Finn's place. Rachel and Finn were probably the closest friends she had right now. They had been there for her for the past few years, making sure she had food to eat when she was just starting out and she always knew she had a place to stay. The first several months before her career took off were the hardest months of her life and she knew there was no way she would have ever gotten through it all without them. But lately, Rachel had been acting very strange. She kept brushing off her suspicious thoughts, wondering if it was just Rachel being Rachel. But, she had never acted this way...so mysterious and skittish, like she was hiding something. After the bizarre phone call they had just shared, Mercedes was definitely a little more than suspicious.

"Rachel...you have got to stop pacing. Please!" Finn sat on the edge of the bed watching his wife pace back and forth in front of his, talking to herself with her hands in her hair. She stopped suddenly and turned to face him, a look of panic on her face.

"What are we going to DO?" Rachel threw her hands in the air and caused Finn to lean back a little in fear. "Mercedes is on her way now and she has absolutely no idea that Sam is staying here or even that we know he's in town!" She picked up her hairbrush and started running it through her hair frantically all over her head in a superhuman speed.

"Rachel...what are you doing?" Finn looked at her in the mirror, making eye contact with her before she spun around, throwing her hairbrush in the floor making him jump.

"I HAVE NO IDEA!" She frantically ran to the bathroom, shutting herself inside of it before turning on the water doing God knows what with it. Finn stared at the door for a few minutes, frozen and numb with his eyes wide open. If they could spend one day without some crazy happenings going on, it wouldn't be normal he supposed.

Finn's eyes darted towards the living room as he heard someone knock on the front door. His heart dropped and he started to feel cold. Rachel flew from the bathroom, darting to get to the door before anyone else could open it, hoping that Sam wouldn't emerge from his room. She opened the door, planting an obnoxiously large smile on her face as she greeted Mercedes.

"Come in, come in! Sorry the place is a little messy, that's why I was so jumpy on the phone, I tried to speed clean!" Rachel laughed in a way that Mercedes had never heard her do before and she raised an eyebrow looking from Rachel to her surroundings.

"Rachel...the apartment is spotless like it always is." She dropped her bags and crossed her arms, giving Rachel the look that usually broke her. "What is going on with you? You have been actin' weird for days, now tell me what's up." Rachel nervously looked around, trying to find words to say and opened her mouth to speak before Finn walked in, coming up behind Mercedes and embracing her in a hug, trying to distract from the situation.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking at her with concern before leaning down to pick up her bags. Mercedes looked back at Rachel then focused back on Finn, relaxing her tone.

"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry...I'm done with Terrance. He's never been like that with me before, it surprised me. But, I'll be okay. Another hurdle I'll overcome, right?" Finn smirked at her response and looked over to Rachel, a look of concern in his eyes when he remembered that Mercedes couldn't sleep in the guest room...it was occupied.

"Uh...Mercedes, we're gonna let you sleep in our room tonight. You've had a rough day and our bed is more comfortable. We don't mind to take the guest bed." Finn smiled and headed for their bedroom, suitcases in hand. Mercedes looked back at Rachel, a confusion still brewing in her eyes. She wanted to protest and pry for information, but she honestly was too exhausted to be persistent tonight. She followed Finn into their bedroom and Finn came out shortly after, scratching his head while closing the door.

"Finn! What are we supposed to do now? We can't sleep in the guest bed, what am I supposed to do, sleep in the tub?" Rachel snapped, her hands on her hips.

"I was going to suggest the couch, but if you want the tub, you can take it." Finn smiled at her, making her crack into one right after. "Listen, we'll have to tell her the truth in the morning, there's no avoiding it. Let's just let her rest up and have a good night's sleep tonight, she needs it."

"Fine. I just hope she doesn't like, hate me. I should have just told her from the start," Rachel moped over the the couch, plopping down on it beside her husband, laying her head on his shoulder with a pout.

"Everything will be okay, I promise. Let's get some sleep." Finn leaned over to switch off the table lamp, letting darkness fill the living room as he pulled the decorative throw down off the back of the couch, using it to cover them up as they shut their eyes.