Chapter 14

Finn looked over at Rachel, who stared out the window. They were sitting in the school parking lot working up the nerves to go in. Well…Rachel was working up the nerves. Yesterday had gone terrible and today was going to go just as bad. And it was only Tuesday, which meant they still had a whole week ahead of them. "Rachel, we can't just sit in the car the whole day. I'll take you home if you want."

"No, I have to go. I can't let them get to me." Rachel took a deep breath and attempted to throw the door open, but failed. She was still weak and sore and it was making her frustrated. "If only I could open the friken door!"

"Rachel, calm down. The weakness will go away in a few days." Finn said as he hopped out of the car and opened the door for Rachel.

"If only everything else I was feeling would go away with it." Rachel sighed as she held onto Finn for support. They walked into the school together and the comments and looks started again.

Rachel gasped and flinched as someone lifted her dress and revealed her lacy, but innocent purple underwear. Finn grew angry and looked for the person who did it, but it could have been anyone. "Did you see the person?"

"No." She shook her head as she looked around self-consciously to see if anyone saw. But they were all staring at her, some laughing and others calling out sexual comments. "But you can't keep punching everyone who bothers me. You're going to end up punching everyone."

"Well someone should do something about this. The teachers have to know that this harassment is going on. And not even just to you. This school is terrible with bullying and nobody does anything about it."

Rachel shrugged and continued the way to their first period class. The beginning of the day was much like yesterdays. One guy had passed her a note in class saying he wanted to sleep with her, except he had written it in a rather insulting and vulgar way.

Rachel once again dreaded lunch. The entire glee club sat together again and put in their best effort to comfort Rachel. But they had failed. Well…it wasn't that they were doing a poor job, it was just that Rachel was far too broken for them to fix.

Rachel was suddenly startled at the sound of a Cheerio's voice. "Ya know for someone, who is a vegan, you sure suck on a lot of meat." Her voice was loud and followed by the snickers of other people in the cafeteria.

Rachel turned to look at the girl before turning back around and ignoring her. The girl stood there awkwardly waiting for Rachel to be insulted, but Rachel looked as if she was not fazed. The comment did feel like a slap in the face, but Rachel was an actress and was able to hide her emotions.

The girl waited there for another moment before storming off furiously. The glee club carried on with their conversations until a football player interrupted. He slid his chair between Rachel and Finn like the other jock had done yesterday. His arm looped around Rachel and her body tensed. "Hey Rachel. That dress looks really good on you, but I think I'd look better on you." His hand reached down to grope her breast, but Finn and Puck threw him away.

"Don't touch her!" Finn yelled infuriated. The guy left to his friends, finally leaving Rachel alone. "This is ridiculous!"

"I…I can't do this anymore." Rachel whispered and her voice shook as if she were trying to hold back her tears.

"Maybe we should take this to Figgins. This is getting a little out of hand now." Sam suggested as he frowned at the hopeless girl before him.

"Yeah, I think…" Finn started.

"No, it's only going to make things worse. And what is he going to do about it? Like Puck said, he can't suspend the whole school."

"Yeah, but Rachel there are boys touching you."

Rachel closed her eyes to stop the tears from exploding. "Please stop." Rachel begged and her eyes flew open. She began to gasp for air as her heart pounded in her chest. "I…I can't…I…can't…breathe." Tears rapidly flew from her terrified eyes as she wheezed.

"Should I call 911?" Quinn asked nervously, catching the cafeteria's attention.

"No, it's a panic attack. She's been getting them a lot." Finn said and he turned Rachel's chair to face his. "Breathe Rachel. Just breathe. You're okay, just breathe. Breathe Rachel, breathe."

Rachel clutched her chest as she continued to struggle to breathe. "I…I…"

"Shh, just breathe." Finn whispered. "Fall go on and fall apart. Fall into these arms of mine. I'll catch you every time you fall. Go on and lose it all. Every doubt every fear. Every worry every tear. I'm right here. Baby fall" Finn sang soothingly as he took her hand and gently rubbed it. She caught her breath, but the tears continued to fall from her eyes.

The entire cafeteria went silent as they watched in puzzlement. Rachel noticed everyone's eyes on her and began to tremble and she quickly wiped her tears. She scrambled to her feet, stumbling. A whimper escaped her lips as she collapsed on the floor, feeling her entire body throb in pain. Finn helped her up and quickly brought her out of the cafeteria. The second she left, she broke into sobs, falling against his chest. "I can't do this. I can't do any of this anymore. I…I…"

"Shh, it's going to be okay. We will get through this. And I'll be with you every step of the way."

"But I don't want to live anymore!" Rachel shouted.

Finn stood speechless as he gawked at her. The words hit him like a bullet. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't something Rachel would say. She was always so happy and had so much to live for. She had always talked about her future. But here she was saying she no longer wanted that future. "You…you don't mean it."

"What do I have to live for besides you? He took everything away from me! I can't have kids and I'm worthless now. I'm not good enough for Broadway anymore." Rachel choked out as her cheeks dampened from fresh tears.

"Stop. Don't say that." Finn's voice was unsteady as he struggled to fight back the tears. "You have so much to live for. You're worth so much. You're talent is…it's overpowering and there is no doubt you'll be on Broadway. And I told you, I promise you we will have kids. We'll do what we have to. You…you can't leave me. Rachel, I love you more than anything. You…you are everything to me." By now he was sobbing and he pulled her into a hug. "You can't leave me. I love you."

"I love you too. But…I don't think I can get through this."

"Rachel, you're the strongest person I know. Of course you'll get through this. And like I said, I'll be with you every step of the way. Okay? Together we will do this." He gently rubbed her back, taking in the vanilla scent of her soft curls. She nodded, but didn't speak. "Let me take you home. I'll text Puck and tell him to tell Mr. Schuester."

Rachel nodded again. She didn't want to argue and she did want to go home. She couldn't stay here any longer. "Okay."

Finn took her hand and helped her out to his car. The car ride to her house was silent. But then they both gasped as they arrived at her house. Spray painted in large, red letters across her driveway was the word whore.

"Oh god." Rachel whispered as she brought a hand to her mouth. She gaped at the letters and soon felt tears slid down her face.

"It's okay. We can paint over it. I'll call Puck to do it. He's good with stuff like that." Finn said as he helped her out of the car and in to the house. "Do you want something to eat?"

Rachel shook her head as she plopped herself down on the couch.

"But you've barely eaten in like two weeks." Finn said concerned.

"Sorry that I don't have an appetite, but it's a little hard to have one when you see…it happening over and over again in your head." Rachel spit out bitterly. "Sorry, I…I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's fine." He whispered and sat down on the couch, pulling her on his lap. He gingerly kissed her head and held her close. He never wanted to let her go. He just wanted to hold her forever.

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving! Review!

P.S The song that Finn sang to Rachel is called Fall by Clay Walker.