Hello everyone! Enjoy!

Chapter 14

Puck groaned as he heard Rachel's cell phone go straight to voicemail the fifth time he called her. He knew she'd react this way when she found out about what he did but he was hoping to tell her on his own in his own time. The fact that his father took that from him infuriated him.

Puck grabbed his keys and got in his car to find James to give him a piece of his mind but he was stopped when David drove up next to him.

"Noah have you seen Rachel?" he asked.

"No, we…" He wasn't sure if they were broken up but he was hoping that wasn't the case. "We just had a fight and she ran off. I figured she went back home."

"No, her and Shelby had a fight too and she ran out. We figured she'd be here with you."

Puck frowned. That explained why Rachel was coming to him when his dad showed up. Now he was worried. "I want to help you look."

Seeing that it couldn't hurt, David nodded and Puck got into his car. As they drove around, Puck couldn't stop feeling like all of this was his fault. If he had just told her the truth in the beginning, none of this would be happening. He would've been her safe place to run away to but instead, she ran away from him too. If something happened to her he would never forgive himself.

"So you and Rachel had a fight," David said, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Must've been a bad one."

"Yeah it was. The fight between her and Mrs. Rose must've been pretty bad."

"Yeah, pretty much the worst one they've had. Rachel found out some stuff that was hard to hear."

Puck's stomach turned hearing this. "Same here. I'm starting to think my being back isn't really doing anyone any good."

"Well despite your fight, I noticed Rachel did seem happy when it came to you," David told him. "And for someone going through what she's going through, it's hard to make them that happy."

"Well I'm not making her happy right now. I know you and Mrs. Rose think I'm some screw-up who went to juvie and broke his mom's heart but you guys have no idea how much I wish I could change what happened."

The older man paused for a moment before responding. "I understand. You made a mistake and you paid for it. No reason you should have to keep paying for it."

Puck stayed silent. Since he came home, it felt like he was still paying for his mistake. His mother and sister barely spoke to him, his father wanted to ruin anything good that came to him, and Rachel didn't trust him anymore. If Rachel truly was done with him, there wasn't a reason to stick around anymore. After he finds out where Rachel is and if she's safe, it'll have to be something he really considers.

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Rachel took a deep breath as she walked to her destination. She knew that she couldn't turn her phone on otherwise Shelby would be able to track her. If she was even looking for her. She was probably happy to be rid of her which wouldn't be surprising to Rachel.

She dropped to the ground in front of her fathers' graves and sighed.

"I don't know what I'm doing here," she said. "I just figured that being here is easier than being…anywhere else I guess. A lot's changed since you've been gone. I got a sister. I was pretty awful to her at first, you guys would've been so upset with me. But I apologized and we're pretty close now."

She paused, thinking about Puck. "And I got a boyfriend. I know you would've loved to be here to meet him. He's been helping me deal with you being gone but now I don't know if he's who I should be with anymore. There are some things about him that even you guys would think is questionable. And I got a mom but you guys already knew about her. I'm trying really hard not to be angry with you for not telling me that you had been in contact with her at one point but it's hard. I've asked you guys questions about her before and you always said you hadn't spoken to her since she gave me over to you. I just want to know why you lied to me but I guess I'll never know."

She sighed, feeling tears falling. "I miss you guys more than you can imagine. I'll never understand why you didn't make it out that night and left me all alone but I'm trying to cope with it. I'm sorry I'm not doing a better job."

"I think you've been doing well," a voice said behind her. Rachel turned around and saw Jeff standing there with flowers.

"What are you doing here?"

"I've been coming here every other week since the funeral," he said, approaching her. "I replace the flowers and just talk to them like you're doing."

"You really think I'm doing well after I was so horrible to you?"

"Well all things considering, yeah I do. Rachel there's no textbook answer how to handle grief. Everyone deals differently and considering the situation you were put in, anyone would lash out."

"I'm so sorry for saying everything was your fault," she frowned. "I was already having a bad day but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have said it and I feel terrible."

Jeff smiled. "Apology accepted. You know I can't stay mad at my favorite Berry." Remembering her old nickname, Rachel smiled back and hugged him. "But I have to ask, how'd you get over here?"

She frowned as she pulled away. "I might've ran away."

"Rachel-"

"Look I found out some stuff that I can't deal with right now and I needed an escape. I can't go back there and I don't want Shelby or David to know I'm here."

He sighed. "How about we go to my house and you can tell me what happened?"

Reluctantly, Rachel nodded and left the cemetery with him. As they rode to his house, she sat in silence and took in her hometown. Everything seemed so different since she'd been gone. It didn't give her a familiar feeling that it should've.

When they got to the house, they went inside and were greeted by his wife who smiled and held out her arms to Rachel. "Hey long time no see."

"Hi Olivia," Rachel smiled back as she hugged her. "It's so good to see you."

"You too. We've missed you around here."

Jeff came out of the kitchen with hot tea for them before sitting in the living room with her. "So tell us what happened."

Rachel took a deep breath before explaining everything that has been happening with Shelby leading up to her discovery. By the time she was finished, Jeff nodded.

"Well I certainly do understand why you're upset," he replied.

"But?" she predicted.

He hesitated. "But your dads had a good reason for not telling you."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "You knew, didn't you?"

"I did but not until you were about ten or eleven. I was helping your dads clean out the garage and found the letter Shelby wrote to your dads telling them not to send her anymore pictures. When I asked them about it, they told me everything."

"So what was the good reason for not telling me they knew where my mother was?"

He sighed. "Your dads knew that if they had told you, you would feel exactly how you feel right now: that she doesn't want you. No parent wants their child to ever feel unwanted so they chose to protect you from that. Rachel your dads loved you so much and wanted the very best for you. I know it may hurt right now but they had the best intentions for not telling you the truth."

"This is so unfair." She closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks. "I can't even be mad at them because I know they had good intentions. Just like how it was when they were here."

"Yeah you never could stay mad at them for long," he chuckled.

"I want them back. More than anything I just want them here."

As she started to cry, Jeff wrapped his arms around her. "I miss them too. No matter how many therapy sessions I go to, I will never understand why things like this have to happen. But I do know that your dads would want you to be happy."

"I thought I was getting there but the one person who was really helping I found out I can't really trust him either. Everything is just a mess right now."

Olivia gave a small smile and put her hand over Rachel's. "Everything does seem like a mess but it will get better. You just have to hang in there. Running away doesn't really solve anything does it?"

"It gets me away from everyone." When Olivia raised an eyebrow, she sighed. "No it doesn't solve anything. But how am I supposed to go back to someone who doesn't want me?"

"When I came to see you, I had a chance to talk to Shelby," Jeff told her. "She didn't seem like someone who didn't want you. She seemed like she just wanted to learn how to make you more comfortable."

"Well obviously it was an act."

"Look I know this isn't the easiest situation. But you have a chance to get to know the woman who gave birth to you and helped give you the life you had with your dads. That woman that I met wanted answers to how she can be someone you admire. I know it may not seem like it but she is trying. You have to give her a chance though."

Rachel frowned and looked down. Maybe she hadn't given Shelby a fair chance since she'd been with her. But how could she forget that she wanted nothing to do with her at one point in time?

Deciding to change the subject, Jeff smirked. "So who's the boyfriend?"

She rolled her eyes as Olivia's jaw dropped. "What? You have a boyfriend?"

"I guess. I'm not really sure the state of our relationship right now. In addition to finding out about Shelby I found out something he was keeping from me too. It's like no one wants to tell me the truth anymore."

"Well is what he kept from you breakup worthy?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know. I can't really think about it right now with all this stuff with Shelby still lingering."

Jeff and Olivia nodded in understanding before going on to catch up about their lives. For the first time all day, Rachel felt calm and safe with the people she was with.

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Shelby sighed as she got off the phone with David. He still hadn't found Rachel and was going to just come home for the night. It worried her that she had no idea where she was and it was all her fault.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Marley walk in. "Hey honey."

"Did he find her?" she asked, sitting across from her. Her mother shook her head and she sighed. "You know this wouldn't have happened if you would've told her the truth."

Taken aback by Marley's tone, Shelby shook her head. "It's too complicated for you to understand."

"What I understand is that Rachel's somewhere heartbroken because you lied to her and constantly prove that you really don't want her."

"That's ridiculous, of course I want her. I wouldn't have taken her in if I didn't."

"Or you just did it out of guilt. Taking her in was more about you than it was about her and you know it. And now even Rachel knows."

Without another word, Marley went upstairs to her room leaving Shelby speechless. She and Marley never argued and she never expected her to be like this towards her. Now both girls wanted nothing to do with her at the moment and she couldn't feel worse.

Her cell phone rang and she frowned when she saw an unfamiliar number. "Hello?"

"Shelby, hi. It's Jeff, Hiram and Leroy's friend."

"Right Jeff, I remember. How are you?"

"Better than you probably are right now. Don't worry, she's here with me and my wife."

Shelby breathed a sigh of relief. "So she's safe."

"Absolutely safe. Broken, but safe."

"I don't know what to do. As you see I'm failing miserably with her and I just don't know how to fix it. Do I just have my husband go get her now or do I give her space? I'm at a loss."

He paused. "You want my advice?"

"Please."

"My wife and I managed to calm her down so I think it's best you confront this issue head-on. It's the only way you two will be able to move on."

She thought about it and sighed. "You're right. I'm on my way."

After she got the address, Shelby sent a quick text to David letting him know she found out where Rachel was and was going to get her alone. As she drove, she just hoped that Rachel would give her a chance to explain herself.

Meanwhile, David sighed in relief when he read Shelby's message of finding Rachel.

"She's safe," he told Puck. "She's at a family friend's."

Puck felt a weight lift off his chest. "That's great, I'm glad she's okay."

"So I guess after she and Shelby work things out, you two can talk."

"I doubt she'll want to talk to me. I messed up pretty badly. Kind of like how I always do."

The older man frowned. He didn't know Puck well but he did know that Rachel seemed very happy with him and that meant something. "Everyone messes up Noah. Doesn't mean you should give up."

"I don't think of it as giving up. I think of it as helping her get better options."

Not knowing how to respond, David stayed silent as he drove them home. Now that he knew Rachel was safe, the idea of leaving Lima behind was becoming more and more appealing to Puck. He could disappear and not tell anyone where he was going, especially his father. Then he would have a real chance at starting over again. The only thing wrong with that idea is that it doesn't give him Rachel.

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