Hello. Thank you, again, for all the support and the messages and alerts. This chapter isn't my best and it's much shorter than I wanted it to be. I sped things up a bit just because I am anticipating how much free time I'll have. Sorry for any typos.
School was finally coming to an end and Rachel was in no hurry to leave. She was perfectly fine just staying in school, for once. She hated Kurt for bursting her bubble and reminding her that she had community service and a crash course right after school and she hated that she wasn't going to be able to audition in front of the Jesse. St. James. He had connections and Rachel needed to impress him so if an opportunity came up, he would instantly think of her and bring her name up. But, the girl knew that she had to go to community service, not going was just not an option.
If only I could just talk to him right after school, the girl thought, then maybe I could audition for him at another time...
"Alright, that's it for the day," the teacher said, clearly annoyed that all of her students had their eyes on the clock and not the board, "remember, tomorrow is the last day to turn in all extra credit and judging by most of your current grades, I highly suggest you all take me up on this opportunity. This final could make or break your grades. I don't want to get a dozen phones calls from angry parents at the start of summer, questioning your grades because all grades will be final. You are going to high school next year and no one is going to hold your hand and remind you to hand in papers and study for tests. In fact, most teachers won't even offer extra credit and with that, have a good night and STUDY," the woman said with a sigh as her students gathered at the door.
"Can I go to the bathroom?" Rachel asked the woman.
"May I go to the bathroom-" the teacher corrected.
"May I go to the bathroom? It's an emergency," Rachel said anxiously as she glanced at the clock. She had to speak to Jesse, now. It was now or never. She didn't have another chance.
"Can it wait, Rachel? The bell is going to ring in two minutes. That's not that long of a-"
"I know that," the girl said quickly, "but I have to get a ride with a friend right after school and I don't want to keep him waiting. Besides, if I go now, I can beat the crowd and, you know, that Alex and Keith just love eating each other's faces off right in front of my locker. It's a real hassle."
"Very well. Go ahead," the woman said as she glanced at the clock.
"Thanks!" the girl said as she backed away from the teacher's desk.
The girl pushed her way through the crowd and darted towards the ballet studio. She hoped that no one else would be there because she needed to speak to Jesse. All of Rachel's middle school life, she wanted nothing more than to audition to be in Vocal Adrenaline, but now, she was intrigued by the idea of auditioning to be on Jesse's team. She knew her mother was a terrific coach and heard that some people actually tried paying her to be on the team and that she charged a good chunk of money for a single vocal lesson, but the girl wondered what Jesse could offer her.
"Jesse St. James?" Rachel asked as she popped her head into the studio. It was empty.
"Are you here to audition?" the boy asked as he flashed a showface. "You're early. Trying to beat the crowd?"
"Yes," Rachel said confidently as she held her head high. She needed to make a good first impression. "I was wondering if I could speak to you about my audition,"
"Of course," the boy said as he shook the girl's hand. "What can I do for you?"
"My name is Rachel Barbra Berry," the girl said as she returned the handshake. "I would love to audition to be in your Glee Club, but I am in sort of a pickle. I have another commitment today and it's right after-"
"Miss. Berry," Jesse said as he put down some papers he had in his hands, "if you are as serious about auditioning for my Glee Club as you say you are, then perhaps your prior commitment can wait." He held his hand up to silence her, "in the real world, you have to be on your feet at all times. You have to be willing to make sacrifices, sometimes on the spot, and you have to be willing to push yourself mentally and physically. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and-"
"I understand that," the girl said politely, "but this cannot wait. I-"
"Give me one good reason why I should allow you to audition at a different date," Jesse said as he crossed his arms. "What if every person who walked in here today asked to audition at a later date? Because I am giving up my free time right now and I don't have a lot of extra time to give up."
"Shelby Corcoran is my mother," Rachel said as she looked the boy directly in the eyes.
...
"This is absolutely disgusting!" Rachel whined as she stabbed at a gum wrapper. "I feel gross and we haven't been doing this for that long! Why do I have to pick up after people?"
"Oh god," Kurt said, pinching his nose as he got a whiff of the smell of trash. "This is just absolutely horrible! I smell horrible!" the boy could not believe he was picking up trash in his town, where people he knew would see him. It was humiliating.
"I don't want to hear any of you complain," Dot hollered. "You all screwed up, so this is not my problem," the woman walked around the group of people with her hands behind her back, shouting out commands.
"Hey," Puck whispered to Quinn, "think I can throw this bag of trash into that trashcan from that tree over there?" There was a good 20 feet between the trashcan and the tree.
"I don't know," Quinn said flatly as she stabbed at the ground. Why was this boy talking to her? If he was trying to impress her, he was failing miserably. "You must be Puck,"
"Quinn!" Dot yelled from across the field, "what did that ground ever do to you? Start picking up trash and stop poking holes into the ground or you will be filling them after this is over!"
The boy smiled, "you must be Quinn."
"Don't you dare try anything," the blonde spat. "I'm not interested. It's funny how you think you're impressing me because you're not."
The boy smirked as he ran his hand through what was left of his hair. "Watch this," he said to the blonde.
Quinn watched as Puck jogged up to the tree and tried to throw the filled trash bag into the trashcan like a football. Is he trying to show off? Quinn wondered. Just as he threw it, Dot intercepted and caught it with ease. It was like the woman had eyes on the back of her head. She came out of nowhere. Like a pop-up book from hell.
"Nice try, Mohawk!" the woman screamed. "Give me twenty!" The boy froze. He didn't have twenty dollars on him. "TWENTY PUSH UPS! NOW!" What was this? Bootcamp?
Puck took the opportunity to show off. Twenty push ups, no sweat. Puck did a few extra push-ups just for the heck of it, got up, and then proceeded to do some jump jacks, trying to show off his muscles.
"Show's over, Puck," Dot said. "Get back to picking up trash before I make you clean all the porta potties. Everyone stay focused and no more horse play!" the woman was trying very hard to keep her cool.
Suddenly, Rachel shrieked, "OH GOD! I JUST WALKED THROUGH A SPIDER WEB! UGH! I feel like bugs are crawling all over me! When is this over? I need to shower! Oh god, where did the spider go? Is it on me?"
"Yeah, watch out, it's on your back," Puck called out. "It's going to bite you!"
This only made Rachel screamed louder as she started running around, trying to swat at her back, "KURT! GET IT OFF OF ME! QUINN! HELP! OH GOD! EW! It's going to bite me and I'm going to die! SOMEONE HELP ME! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"
"DIVA!" Dot hollered. She was not happy with this group of people. "Stop that right now. There's no spider on your back! Puck here was just trying to fool around with you." The woman was going to lose her marbles. She was babysitting a bunch of four year olds.
Rachel stopped dead in her tracks and glared at Puck. Jerk. She never liked that boy. He thought he was so cool because he had muscles. Did anyone like him? He was such as asshole. "Good thing I didn't freak out," she muttered as she went back to picking up trash.
The girl wished she was auditioning right now. She hated sweating and she hated picking up trash and she hated nature and bugs, especially spiders. Why the heck did they build their webs right where people were going to walk? She wondered how many people had made the team and if all the spots would be filled by the time she would be allowed to audition. She just hoped she made a good first impression. Damn, the girl thought to herself, I should have given Jesse a tape of me singing. That, would certainly have impressed him. The girl made a mental note to record herself singing and have extra copies to hand out.
"EVERYONE, BACK TO WORK!" Dot screamed. "The next person to open their mouth will be picking up trash in front of all those cars over there where all your friends and family can see. Please, start acting your age, not your shoe size!"
Quinn sighed as she looked at the ground. She didn't want to be here. She hadn't heard from her mother. How was she doing? Was she getting around? Did she get her note and the money? Did she miss her? Doubt it, the blonde thought to herself. The girl kept to herself the entire time. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. She just wanted to get through this and this stupid crash course and then come home and sleep.
"Hey," a latino girl said to Quinn, breaking her concentration "hey," she said again, trying to get the blonde's attention.
Quinn looked up, "Hello,"
"Hey, my name is Santana. You look fit. Are you an athlete or something?"
"No..." Who was this chick? And what kind of question was that? Quinn didn't remember seeing this girl at the meeting a few days ago.
"You're going to be a Freshman, aren't you?"
"Yes," Quinn said hesitantly. She did not want to trust this girl. How did she know she was going to be a freshman?
"You should really go out for the cheerleading team," Santana said. "I am because well, I'm going to be head cheerleader, the first freshman head cheerleader in like, over a decade. The head cheerleader right now could seriously use some plastic surgery and a new hairdo. She looks like a man with that cut. We could try-out on the same day. I heard the cheerleading coach is brutal."
"I heard that too," Quinn said, "and that she has never lost a competition and that she starves her cheerleaders."
"Well, it's nice to meet you," the girl said with a smile. "Think about it, okay? We could like, I don't know, do some like bootcamp ourselves to prepare for the try-outs or like hold our own bootcamp for all the cheerleader hopefuls and charge them. Besides, I can already picture myself in that uniform."
"It's nice to meet you too," Quinn said with a light smile. "I'll definitely think about it." She was honored that someone thought she was an athlete. She did want to be a cheerleader. Quinn liked this girl. Santana, Quinn said to herself. What an outgoing girl.
Three hours and twelve trash bags later, the group was finally finished for the day. A few people were laying on the grass in the shade and some were trying to hide away from the cars that were passing by.
"Alright everyone. Good start today," Dot addressed the group as she took off her gloves. "I'll see you all next week, three o'clock sharp. I expect you all to be on your toes next time. Some of the things you were wearing totally is unacceptable. I let some things go today, but I won't next time if things get out of hand. Do you all of you understand?"
"KURT!" the boy heard his father call. Oh god, the boy thought as he saw everyone turn their heads to the man who just called his name out. This was going to go down as one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. "Ready to go?" he called out as the man honked his horn. "I have dinner on the stove! I don't want it to burn."
"You guys ready?" he mumbled to his friends. Did his father really have to do that? Call out his name? He really did not have to acknowledge his presence, he could see his car and that was enough. He told him to pick them up in the parking lot and not here.
"Yup," the two said as they gathered their things. They were more than ready to get the hell away from this place.
"Did you guys make any friends? How was it?"
"Fine," Kurt muttered as he crossed his arms and looked out the window. Just drive, he thought to himself. GO! He felt disgusting and just wanted to go home and shower. He wanted everyone to stop staring too.
"Disgusting," Rachel said as she combed through her hair and then gave it a good sniff. "I need to shower like, now! I smell like a dumpster and wet dog."
"What about you, Quinn?" the father asked as he peered into the rearview mirror.
"It was fine," she replied softly. "Tiring, but fine. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."
"Well, I hope you three are taking notes. All this community service is going to be a good life lesson for you. I know you hate it, but you are still doing something good," Burt lectured as he focused on the road. "While I understand you are all young and yearn for adventure, a line must be drawn..."
Kurt sighed as he blocked his father's voice out. He just wanted this day to be over. He wanted to be finished with high school and just enjoy summer. The boy was also thinking about auditioning for Glee Club. It really did seem like a unique club. Plus, if he made the team, it would count as credit.
"We're here," Burt announced as he pulled into the driveway of what looked like an abandoned death box where people entered and never came out. "Pay attention to the teacher," the father continued to lecture. "I'll pick you guys up in forty-five minutes,"
"Thank you for the ride," Quinn said as she slipped out of the backseat.
"Yes, thank you," Rachel said as she scrunched her nose. She made a mental note to bring perfume to put on after the next community service. She simply could not go anywhere smelling like this. People would shy away from her.
"Thanks dad," Kurt grumbled. He was miserable and showing it and didn't care.
The three were not looking forward to this crash course. They already had to spend seven hours in school and now they had to spend an additional forty-five minutes learning about things they already knew.
"Well, this can't be worse than school," Quinn said as they entered the building. "I mean... they can't assign us homework, right? Like... they are just going to lecture us and like, show powerpoints."
"I hope so," Kurt said as he straightened his back. "I don't want to have homework to worry about this summer. I plan to just enjoy myself."
"There's summer reading," Rachel chimed in.
"Great," Quinn mumbled. Rachel would bring that up.
...
"Five, six, seven, eight..." April counted off as she paced back and forth in front of the group.
Tomorrow Vocal Adrenaline was going to perform at the middle school. It wasn't a huge gig, but the woman wanted to treat every performance as their last. These students were supposed to be role models. After yesterday, the woman picked Blaine as the soloist. He really shined and proved himself worthy of a solo. Lexi and Nicole were the favorite, but the woman didn't want to conform. She wanted to give other students a chance. Of course, the woman got a load of crap from the group, but she assured them that if they worked hard they would all have a chance in the spotlight.
The song the woman picked was Phil Collin's Son of Man. It wasn't a current favorite song and it certainly wasn't played on the radio religiously, but April wanted the middle school students to understand that if they wanted to be in the group, they had to be willing to broaden their taste in music. And, who didn't like Tarzan?
"No, just stop!" April yelled as she rubbed her temples. None of them were getting it right. It wasn't that difficult compared to other numbers Shelby had put together. "You all look like a bunch of elephants on crack. You guys are going to need to do a whole lot better than this if you want to win another title this year," the woman said with her hands on her hips as she walked back to the director's table. "There are teams out there who are going to beat you if you don't pick up the pace. Just because you guys are undefeated, doesn't mean you get to slack off. That is not how this works! From the top!"
The woman shook her head as she watched some students struggle. Not all of them sucked, but some looked as though they were messing up on purpose. This was not the same team Shelby had coached.
"I am going to start cutting people from this number if you don't start kicking those legs higher and hitting your turns!" April yelled from the director's table.
April hoped to bring a whole new element to this team... something to make the judges really open their eyes. Vocal Adrenaline was expected to win going into every competition, but the woman was sure there were stronger groups out there who just hadn't competed against them. Groups that competed with them, just to beat them.
The woman leaned back in her chair and scanned the group of students. It was like they lost their spark. April needed to think of a way to be the new Shelby, yet at the same time, not her, in a way. She needed these students to trust her and want to learn from her. She needed them to want to try new things and allow others to take the spotlight. It was like they shut off because Shelby wasn't there. April did have a lot of pressure on her shoulders to make sure this team won and brought home a trophy. But, it wasn't just about the big trophy and winning first place and that was what April wanted to teach them.
"That's a little better," April said. "Everyone take five and make sure to cancel any additional plans you had tonight because until this number is perfect, none of you are leaving!"
"This woman is crazy," Nicole muttered as she sat down. Her feet hurt like a bitch.
"That's what you said about Shelby," another girl named Andrea said. "Just... give April a chance. She is different, yes, but she is trying. Besides, what if she helps us win? I mean, Shelby did that and more. I just think that this woman knows what she is doing,"
"Well, she is crazy for giving Blaine a solo," Nicole said bitterly. "That should be my solo! I deserve that solo! First, Lexi takes my solo and now Blaine! This is going to be my last year at on this team. I want people to remember me."
"It's not your solo, so suck it up," the girl said back as she massaged her feet. "Just be patient and just stop fooling around and actually try. Everyone knows you're the whole holding us all back. I'm tired and I want to go home. Your stubbornness is going to get us nowhere."
"Breaks over!" April called out. "Everyone take your places! And Nicole, please try to look like you're having a good time. You look as though you don't even want to be on this team because if you don't want to, I'm sure there are other-"
"That won't be necessary," Nicole said through her teeth. "I want to be here." She was sure she could see Andrea gloating.
"Very good," April said as she clapped her hands together. "From the top!"
...
"You ready for bed?" Shelby asked from the doorway.
Rachel was just sitting in bed, staring off into space. She had washed her hair five times before she was satisfied. The girl also disposed of the clothes she wore that day. They were ruined and would never be worn again.
"How do you do it?" Rachel asked, still staring into space.
"How do I do what, sweetie?" Shelby asked as she sat on the corner of the girl's bed. The woman reached out and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her daughter's ear.
The woman really hadn't gotten a chance to speak to Rachel after Hiram dropped her off. Shelby wanted to talk to Rachel, but at the same time, she didn't want to push her. Hiram wasn't far away and it wasn't like he was leaving her forever, right? She was sure he told Rachel that he just needed to figure some things out.
"Mom," Rachel said as she met the mother's eyes, "how did you come up with such brilliant numbers? How do you- where do you even begin?"
"Well," the mother said as she tucked Rachel in, "all the numbers I've put together have been pulled from inspiration and that can be anything from say... a controversial issue or a song from an artist who has died. The sky's the limit,' the woman said. "You can do it too, Rachel. Start with an idea and build on that. You like Barbra, right?" the girl nodded as she cracked a small smile. "Well, if I wanted to do a tribute to the woman, I would do a lot of research on Barbra and pick her staple songs for example, Don't Rain on My Parade or Funny Girl. That's where everything starts. You need good music and a talented group of people. Really, it's not me, it's the students who bring the ideas to life."
Rachel nodded. She would love to choreograph her own number. Maybe, the girl thought, if I make Jesse's team, then I could co-coach with him. The girl wondered if she didn't have to go to Carmel to be on the boy's team.
"You're brilliant, mom," the girl said with a big smile. "I can't believe you don't want to coach anymore."
"I do want to coach," the woman confessed, "but I would give it up in a heartbeat for you. I love you, Rachel," Shelby said. "I will never regret the decision to stop coaching. I want to get to know you more. I want- I want nothing more than for you to be happy. Seeing you happy... seeing you doing what you love to do means more to me than you will never know."
"I love you, mom," Rachel said as she sat up to kiss her mother on the cheek.
"I love you too, sweetie," Shelby said as she tucked the girl into bed again. "Sweet dreams."
"Mom, wait," Rachel said as she reached for her mother's hand. "Will you sing to me, please? I just-"
"I would love to, sweetie," Shelby said as she snuggled close to her daughter.
The mother pulled her daughter close and closed her eyes, thinking of the perfect song...
Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
Then you should always know
Wherever you may go, no matter where you are
I never will be far away...
Shelby lingered in the doorway until she saw her daughter settle into a slumber. The woman then went to check on Quinn. She knocked lightly on the door, unsure if the girl had fallen asleep. When the two had gotten home, they had dinner and then the girl went straight upstairs and hadn't made an appearance since then.
One down, the woman sighed. Everything seemed off today. The house was quiet and that seemed unusual. Just the other day, Quinn and Rachel were bickering about finals and today, nothing.
"Quinn?" the woman said from the other side of the door.
The blonde was in complete shock. Her mother had called her while she was at school, but since the girl had her phone on silent, she didn't get her mother's message until after the fact.
"Hello, Quinn. This is your mother. I just thought I'd let you know that I'm on a little vacation right now... a much needed vacation. I hope you are doing well and that you are getting your work done. I want to see straight A's on that report card. I am out of the country, so don't try contacting me. I don't know how long I will be gone, but surely you had heard already that I am with Leroy. Take care."
That's it? Quinn was furious, probably more furious than upset. Her mother actually left her! And with Leroy? Did Shelby know? What about Rachel and Hiram? The blonde was one hundred percent sure that no one but herself know. So many thoughts began to run through her mind. Was her mother seeing Leroy? The girl knew that Russell hadn't been in her life for some time, but... the girl shook her head. She was confused and needed answers.
"Come in," the girl said evenly. She couldn't tell Shelby or Rachel, not now, or ever. She didn't have the right to say so since she didn't really have proof.
"How are you doing, sweetheart?"
"Fine," the girl lied. She wasn't okay. Was anyone these days?
"You must be exhausted," the woman said as she pulled the girl's covers up.
"Yeah," Quinn said as she bit her lip. Why was Shelby doing this?
"Well, if you need anything, I'm right now the hall, okay? If you can't sleep, don't be afraid to wake me up, I'm a light sleeper."
"Okay," Quinn said as she rolled to her side. "Thanks."
The woman nodded and lightly kissed the girl on top of the head. "Goodnight."
Once the woman left, Quinn flipped on her back. Judy and Leroy... Leroy and Judy. It couldn't be possible. Judy loved... or did love Russell, but of all people, Leroy? Could two people actually love each other? The blonde shook her head. Quinn thought about calling her mother back, but she didn't know how much an international call would be, plus she would have to wait until school to make the call. The girl had no other choice but to confront Hiram. I mean, he of all people should know Leroy best, the girl thought. However, she was also confused as to why Rachel was staying at Shelby's. Yes, she was her mother, but what about Hiram? Quinn shook her head. It was starting to hurt and she kept on thinking in circles.
"Can you sleep?" a small voice said. It was Rachel.
"No, not really." Quinn said.
Rachel stepped farther into the room. "I don't know why I can't sleep. I was exhausted a few minutes ago, but now, I am wide awake."
"Yeah, me too," Quinn said as she stared at the ceiling. "My mom left me,"
"My dads left me," Rachel said as she flopped next to Quinn.
"This sucks," Quinn whispered.
"Yeah, it really does."
"You know... I was thinking about auditioning for Glee Club."
Rachel sat up and looked at the blonde. "Really? I thought-"
"Yeah, I want to cheer too, but Glee Club is like, a class, cheer is after school."
"That's really great, Quinn," Rachel said with a smile. "You know, if you need help picking an audition song, I could help you-"
"I would really appreciate that," Quinn said. "Now, get out of here. I'm tired now and I'm not interesting in sleeping with you."
"Goodnight," Rachel said as she got up from the bed.
"Night,"
The girl didn't know what to do now. This was horrible, the blonde thought to herself. The girl needed to know what was going on because Rachel deserved the know the truth, but Quinn didn't want to be the one to tell her. Hiram needed to be the responsible parent and tell her because if he didn't, Rachel was going to blame herself for the rest of her life. Quinn tried to convince herself that she wasn't the cause of her mother's poor actions and why her father left them, but she couldn't think of a different reason.
...
Russell sat with his head in his hands. He knew this was coming. He knew Judy was going to leave, yet he didn't want to believe it and he didn't think this was going to happen so soon. He knew he had lost his wife a long time ago, but he was in denial. He kept on telling himself that things would get better, but they didn't.
The man had no doubt that Shelby would be an excellent caretaker, but he wanted his baby girl, but his job simple wouldn't give him the time. Russell needed to continue working if he wanted to support himself. All he wanted to do was call Shelby and ask how Quinn was doing. If she was okay, if she was nervous about starting high school, and if she was going to go out for cheerleading. The man shook his head. He couldn't do that. He couldn't just call and ask about Quinn. What if she picked up the phone?
The man took out a piece of paper and a pen and starting to write a letter to his daughter, for the hundredth time. Every time he tried to write Quinn a letter, nothing seemed right and he couldn't find the right words to tell her.
Dear Quinn,
I hope you are in good health. I think about you everyday and I miss you so much. This is not easy for me and I hope you read this letter all the way through. I have tried writing to you so many times... so many times and yet, I can't find the right words to say. I wish I had a good explanation for leaving you and your mother, but I don't. Well, I do, but you are too young to know. When you turn eighteen, maybe I will tell you, but it's best you never know. I don't expect you to ever forgive me, but know that I love you and nothing you say or do will make me love you any less.
You were the most sweetest baby. You were so smart... so smart. You surprised me everyday and taught me so much. You taught me to always keep my chin up and never give up. You taught me how to laugh again and you taught me how to let people in again.
Quinn, you are a terrific girl and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You are loved. You will always be loved, whether your mother and I didn't show it enough or not. I am sad... heartbroken that I won't be able to see you grow up. I wish I could walk you down the aisle at your wedding and watch your graduate high school and I wish I could have taught you how to ride a bike.
Keep going and don't stop, Quinn. I love you. I can't wait until I hold you in my arms again. But, in the meantime, if anything should happen, I made it clear that I want you to be left in the hands of a wonderful woman, Shelby Corcoran. Please, give her a chance. She has a big heart that is overflowing with love. She can give you something that I can't. She is also an extremely talented singer. Shelby has some wonderful stories to share with you. Just be happy that I never had to sing you to sleep because your ears would bleed. Oh, and watch out, Shelby cannot cook. Don't let her burn down the house, okay?
I love you, sweetie. Don't ever forget that. I love you more than all the grains of sand in the bottom of the ocean.
Love always,
B.B (big buddy... lame, I know...)
Daddy
Russell leaned back in his seat and read over the note three times and crumbled it up. No. A note was not enough to fill that gap in his heart. Nothing would heal what he had broken. He wanted to tell Quinn that he left because he screwed up his relationship with Judy. He wanted to tell her that he left because he did something horrible and unimaginable and that if Quinn knew, she would judge him for the rest of her life. She wouldn't see him as her father, she would see him as a murderer.
...
Shelby stretched her legs out as she glanced at the time. The girls would be getting up in about an hour. The woman wanted to get up early and make the girl's a healthy breakfast. She simply wasn't going to let him skip the most important meal of the day, that just wasn't an option. Shelby knew her high school students always skipped breakfast because it was too early, there wasn't enough time, they weren't hungry... the excuses went on and on.
The woman quickly showered and peeked into each of the girl's room as she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She was going to let them sleep for another half hour before she woke them up.
As Shelby was cracking open a few eggs, the phone rang. Now who could that be? the woman thought to herself. She checked the caller ID. Why was Hiram calling her? The woman reached over the stove and put the phone on speaker so she could continue to prepare breakfast.
"You're on speaker!" the called out.
"Hey, Shel," Hiram said. "Shelby, can you stop moving around for a second?"
"Yeah, sure," the woman said. She could sense something was off. She knew that tone of voice meant he was about to tell her something serious.
"Shelby... I found out why... well, Leroy- he... I think," the man cleared his throat. "You know how Leroy has been- well, you know how he has... how he has tried to keep Rachel away from you?
"Yeah..." Shelby said hesitantly as she sat down and stared at the phone.
"Well, last night... last night a whole- a lot of stuff came back. A lot... and I think- it explains a lot."
"Talk to me," the woman said seriously. "What's going on?"
"Don't freak out, okay? Don't interrupt me because I have to get this out. I have-"
"I'm listening," Shelby said as she bit her lip.
"Okay," the man took a deep breath. "Remember when... well, remember that night when we... when we... when Leroy was out and we-"
"Oh god," Shelby said as she covered her mouth. "Are you telling me-"
"Yes," Hiram said as his voice cracked. "Rachel is ours... not Leroy's. We thought that our... we thought- but it was really from..."
Shelby must have forgotten the phone was on speaker because Rachel heard the entire conversation. She heard it loud and clear.
Once again, thank you and so so sorry for any typos. I read through this a few times, but after a while I got sick of my own writing. If I can get my act together, I might have one more chapter out before I move. College is getting closer and I'm getting super anxious. It's hard saying bye to all my friends. Like I said before, you can PM me or contact me via tumblr if you have any questions. Thank you and I'm not giving up on this! I promise!