CHAPTER 22

Two weeks later, Finn was about to spend his first night in his house alone since Carole died. Santana had moved back into her parents' house a couple of days before, and George and his family were going back to Canada that evening. Although George was technically staying in a hotel in Columbus with his mom, he spent every day with Finn, and usually ended up crashing at Finn's house. Finn was so grateful for both George and Santana. They had truly helped pull him out of the deep depression he was in. He had now finally stopped drinking copious amounts of alcohol like he did when he first found out about his mother's death, and he was starting to prepare himself for what was to come. A Will Executor was coming the next day to discuss Finn's future. Although Finn already knew that he couldn't claim anything until he turned 18, he had no idea what the future had in store for him. His thoughts were interrupted by George's voice echoing up the stairs.

"Hey, Finn! Where are you at? I've gotta go now!" He called. Finn got up from his desk chair and walked downstairs. He didn't know when he would next see George, so he wanted to say goodbye. Finn gave his friend a bro hug and smiled at him.

"Dude, I can't thank you enough. I don't owe you one: I owe you a thousand." Finn said. George shook his head.

"Finn, come on. You don't owe me anything. It's what brothers do. And I know you would have been there for me if the roles were reversed."

Finn smiled at his friend. No, they weren't friends. They were more than that: they were family. Finn waved as George got into the passenger seat of his mom's car and Finn watched as the two of them drove away. Watching George and his mom made Finn's heart ache, as they reminded him of himself and Carole. He missed his mom so much. The night went by excruciatingly slowly, and it was almost a relief when the doorbell rang and the Will Executor walked in.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hudson." The man said, smiling kindly at the teenager. Finn nodded.

"Hey, how's it going? Can I get you something to drink?" Finn asked. The man shook his head.

"I'm good, thank you. Are you ready to start?"

"Yeah, let's do it."

They walked into the living room and sat down. They spent the next little while discussing what Carole had left him, and when he could claim it. Carole and Finn didn't have much money. She had around 20 thousand dollars left in her bank account that would be transferred into his account upon his 18th birthday. Carole didn't own any property, and their current house was rented to them until the end of the month. Over the course of the past two weeks, Finn had sold most of the furniture in his house, earning him an extra 10 thousand dollars. Finally, the last thing to do was to discuss where he would be next year.

"So, Mr. Hudson, the last thing we need to talk about is where you're going to be living next year. On Monday, we will transfer you into the Connecticut foster-care agency, who will be responsible for you until your 18th birthday."

Finn couldn't breath. He felt like his throat was closing up. Foster care? No way! Never again! If he went back into foster-care, he would basically be setting himself up for a life of crime, and quite possibly, suicide. He wasn't going to put himself through that, not again. He would rather take his chances on the streets than go back in foster-care. It technically wasn't illegal for a child to run away, so he had decided to do that if worst comes to worst. He could busk on the streets to earn him some extra cash as well. Finn turned to the man next to him.

"Excuse me, this is a lot to take in. Is it OK if I run to the bathroom and wash my face real quick?" Finn asked. The elderly man smiled sympathetically at him. Finn almost felt bad about what he was about to do.

"Sure, I know it's a lot to take in. And I'm really sorry that this is all happening to you." He said. Finn politely nodded and walked away. He quickly climbed upstairs to his room, which now only consisted of a suitcase containing clothes and other essentials. He also had a couple of photos of him and his mom; George, Liam and Harry; and the New Directions. The final item in his possession was his guitar, resting peacefully in its case. He quickly scribbled a quick letter and addressed it to Mr. Schuester. Then, Finn grabbed the bag and the guitar case and then jimmied the window before climbing out, into the night below…

Hey New Directions!

It's Finn! There's no easy way to say this, but I'm gone. I don't know where, and I don't know when and if I'm coming back. I'm really sorry for leaving you so close to Nationals, but the government wants to put me back in foster care. I can't go through that again, I just can't. Last time I was in foster care, after all the times I was physically assaulted by gangs, I actually climbed up on the ledge, and it took everything I had to let myself down. After everything that happened with my mom recently, I just don't think I have the strength to get myself down if I climb up again. I don't know what state I'm going to. Or, when I turn 18, I might even leave the country. I'm sorry everything has changed so suddenly. Thank you everyone for everything you did for my mom's funeral - especially you, Santana. I'm glad everything worked out with your parents. You deserve all the happiness in the world. You all do. I'll never forget you guys.

I love you all so much,

Finn

Mr. Schue read the letter from top to bottom for what must have been the fifteenth time. When Finn hadn't emerged from the bathroom in ten minutes, the Will Solicitor went to look for him and found the letter lying on the floor of the abandoned room. He immediately delivered it to Mr. Schuester the next morning, who was getting ready for the first Nationals preparation session.

"I still can't believe it." He murmured to himself. As quickly as Finn had arrived, he had gone, quite possibly forever. Suddenly, Mr. Schue heard movement coming from the choir room next door and, looking out the window, he saw Brittany, Tina, Mercedes and Santana walk in. Santana!

'She was going to be devastated!' Mr. Schue thought. Oh well, no point peeling off the bandaid slowly. Might as well rip it off. Mr. Schue took a deep breath and walked into the choir room.

The whole Glee club - minus Finn - were already in the room. As soon as Mr. Schue entered the room, Rachel jumped up.

"Mr. Schue! Are we starting Nationals prep today?" She asked. Everyone noticed the grave expression on the teacher's face.

"Mr. Schue, are you OK?" Mike asked.

"And, Santana, where the hell is Finn?" Mercedes asked her friend. Santana shrugged.

"I don't know. The last time I saw him was like 3 days ago. He was with one of his friends from Canada. I haven't heard from him since."

"Well, if you haven't heard from him, I feel like nobody has." Puck said. Mr. Schue closed his eyes quickly, and then opened them.

"I have." He said, quietly. Everyone turned to him, confused.

"Um… okay? Where is he?" Quinn asked.

"Finn… he… um… he's gone." Mr. Schue said. Nobody spoke.

"He's dead?!" Mike exclaimed.

"YES!" Sam shouted in Glee. Everyone knew how much Sam hated Finn, and it was only made funnier by the fact that Finn couldn't care less.

"No, he's not dead. But he's gone. Here, listen to the letter he left."

Mr. Schue read the letter aloud to the Glee club. They were all silent for several moments after Mr. Schue finished reading the letter.

"So he's gone? Just like that? Right before Nationals? What a jerk!" Rachel cried. Santana glared at her.

"Shut up, Manhands. Listen to the letter. He didn't want to leave! He didn't have a choice." Santana spat at the smaller girl. Rachel crossed her arms and slouched in her seat. She knew that Santana was right, but she was still angry for selfish reasons. Finn was their key to winning Nationals! He was the straight, star-quarterback who could sing like a god. And winning Nationals would bring her closer to NYADA, and therefore closer to Broadway and her Tony.

Nobody knew what to say. A huge member of Glee was gone, and this time, he wasn't coming back. Santana didn't know how to feel. Part of her was in denial, part of her was crushed, and part of her was angry. How could Finn leave forever without saying goodbye? After everything they went through!

"Maybe it's a prank." Puck suggested reasonably. He could be right. Finn could be pranking them, and be walking through the choir room doors at any moment.

"Why don't you call him, Santana? If he were to answer to anyone, it would be you." Mr. Schue asked. Santana nodded and left the room, her phone in her hand. She walked to the lockers and bumped her head against the lockers. She started to hyperventilate. This couldn't be happening! She had just found a guy who genuinely cared about her more than her own family, with no intention of hooking up with her, and it had all been ripped away so quick. She didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. Suddenly, Finn's words to his mom in the hospital morgue came echoing through her ears. She finally began to realise how Finn felt about his mom's death. Suddenly, someone placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and Santana spun around. It was just Brittany. Santana relaxed a little.

"Hey, are you okay?" Brittany asked. She knew how much Santana loved Finn, but wasn't at all jealous as she knew that Finn and Santana's friendship was completely platonic. Instead, Brittany felt nothing but sadness and empathy for her girlfriend.

"What if he never comes back?" Santana said in an unusually quiet and unsure voice. "What if I never see him again? He changed my life. Me and you wouldn't be dating right now if it weren't for him spending a lot of time talking to me and convincing me to be myself. And although my parents haven't admitted it, I know that Finn went to talk to them after his mom died and convinced them to take me back."

Brittany felt so bad for her friend. She knew that, for Santana, it was like a family member had died.

"Santana, he's going to come back." Brittany said, simply. "You know Finn. He goes and does something rash, only to realise that Glee is exactly where he wants to be."

Santana shook her head.

"Not this time, Britt." She whispered.

"Just call him. Only one way to find out" Brittany replied in the same tone. Santana nodded and immediately found Finn's number in the Favourites section of her contacts. She called the number, only to eventually be greeted by the voicemail service.

"No answer." She told Brittany.

"Try again." Brittany suggested. Santana nodded and clicked the call button once again. The phone beeped a few times before automatically switching to voicemail.

"DAMN IT, FINN! PICK UP!" She screamed at the phone. Brittany hugged her girlfriend tightly. "Please pick up." Santana begged the unforgiving phone. She called him one more time and to her surprise, he answered…