Disclaimer 1: I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of the characters.
Disclaimer 2: This is a fictional story and is not at all representative of the millions of different experiences one may have with domestic violence.
Rating: Teen, with some chapters heading into the Mature range; additional content warnings will be given at the beginning of each chapter, but the entire story has a content warning for domestic violence.
Chapter 1
Content Warning: Mentions/implied references of domestic violence
Beca has spent the last ten years traveling for work. Across the county, across the world. But for as much as Beca has to be on a plane, flying is, without a doubt, one of her least favorite things to do.
She recognizes that there is something to be said about the quiet that comes along with being so high up in the air. There isn't much that can bother you when you're that far away from land, after all. Yet, there's something else to be said about the fact that being in a giant hunk of metal that is controlled by one, maybe two, people, is not exactly a soothing thought.
And tonight, especially tonight, there's nothing quiet about sitting in the uncomfortable airplane chair, heading across the country. Beca's mind has been racing a mile a minute, and she knows with absolute certainty that it's not going to quiet down any time soon.
Beca lets out a teary sigh, trying to ignore the burning at the back of her eyes, and instead looks down at her sleeping children as the plane slowly starts to circle the runway of JFK. Her son is slumped against her chest, his lips slightly parted with his arms wrapped around the stuffed alligator that she had gotten him shortly after he was born. The two quickly became inseparable; the matted fur is enough proof of that.
Laying with her head on Beca's lap, her legs stretched out on the seat assigned for the seven-year-old, is her daughter.
Using the hand that isn't supporting Henry, she runs her finger carefully through Callie's chestnut curls, the same locks that bare a remarkable resemblance to her mother's.
Callie and Henry were both so confused when Beca had woken them up over eight hours ago after they had been sleeping soundly in their beds. It almost killed Beca, looking into their bleary eyes as they asked where they were going and whether or not Daddy was coming with them. Her heart practically beat out of her chest as she loaded them into Karla's van, the kids barely muttering a 'hello' to the familiar woman, and watched as the house that she has lived in for the last seven years faded into the darkness of the night.
Now, with the sun beginning to rise over the city that never sleeps, Beca's heart is pounding even harder. She can't believe that she's done it. They're here. In New York City. Without Theo.
Jesus Christ.
"Hello everyone, this is your captain speaking. We are currently preparing for our descent. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts for landing." The pilot's voice crackles over the intercom, waking the majority of the plane, all of whom have slept through the entire flight. But not Beca. She hasn't slept in days, and it's doubtful she'll be able to sleep once they get to the apartment.
Beca runs her hand over Callie's head, shifting her legs so as to carefully wake her daughter. The small girl stirs slightly, digging her head into her mother's thigh as she slowly opens her eyes.
Callie's grey-blue orbs look up at the older woman, as she furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "Mama?"
The corner of Beca's mouth tugs up in a small smile, her racing heart starting to calm just at the sight of how content her daughter is. She can't help but be fearful of how quickly that can change. "Hi, baby. How'd you sleep?"
The seven-year-old reaches a shaky hand up in an attempt to pull the black sunglasses off of her mother's face. "Why are you wearing sunglasses still?"
Beca takes Callie's hand in hers, gently bringing it back down to her side. "It's bright in here, silly." Before Callie has a chance to try and remove her sunglasses or the baseball cap that's shoved down over her hair once more, Beca rubs her hand up and down her daughter's back. The sole purpose of the accessories is to disguise the fact that Beca Mitchell, Grammy-award winning artist, is in New York City with two children, both of whom have barely been in the public eye, and without her husband of eight years. It wouldn't do her very good if they were off her face. "Can you sit back in your chair for me? We're going to be landing in a couple of minutes and you have to put your seatbelt on."
"Where are we?" Callie asks as she looks out the window, lifting her arms as Beca brings the strap across her waist.
Beca holds Henry closer to her chest, gripping her daughter's hand when the plane gets lower to the ground, all the while trying to keep her voice upbeat. "We're in New York City. Isn't that exciting?"
Callie scrunches her face. "How come?"
"Well –" Beca stiffens as the plane hits the tarmac, her arm instinctively going across Callie's chest to stop her body from flying into the seat in front of them, as well as her grip tightening around Henry. She squeezes her eyes closed upon impact; her head pressed against the upper part of the seat as Callie laughs in amazement.
"It's like a roller coaster!"
Beca can't help but let out a relieved laugh as the plane starts to slow, turning back to look at her beautiful little girl. "Kind of, yeah."
"Alright folks, for those of you visiting, welcome to the Big Apple. For those of you who have the privilege of living in this gorgeous city, welcome home. Thank you for flying with us today."
It takes a little while, but eventually, people begin to stand from their seats, and Henry curls himself tighter on his mom's chest, the noises starting to pull him from his slumber. Beca helps her daughter unbuckle, all the while asking her to stay in her seat until other people have gotten off.
When Henry fully wakes, he asks the same question that his sister did just moments earlier. "Mama?"
Beca bends down and plants a kiss on top of his growing hair. It's slightly lighter than his mother and his sister's, but Beca suspects that it will turn to match the shade of her own curls as he gets older. "Hi, monkey." A large yawn escapes his mouth, his eyes still heavy with exhaustion, causing Beca to smirk. "It's okay, bud, you can go back to sleep."
Henry nods, succumbing to sleep once more, tightening his grip on the alligator and nuzzling back into Beca's chest.
With Callie focused on watching the people on the tarmac, the airplane empties rather quickly, until Beca and her kids are the only ones waiting to depart. The older woman, now thirty-five years old, carefully unbuckles her own seatbelt and climbs out of her seat. Her legs are stiff and achy, but she isn't in a good position to stretch. Instead, she shifts Henry so that he's comfortably on her hip and uses her free hand to take their two backpacks and Beca's own purse from the overhead bins. She puts Henry's on her back and hands the other one to Callie, who slides the straps on over the small Barden University sweatshirt that covers her torso. She reaches up for her mom's grasp, and the three of them slowly make their way down the aisle.
By the time they're off the plane and heading back through the airport, Beca's breathing starts to return to the racing pace that it had prior to her kids waking up, her mind going through the same mantra over and over again as though thinking it is going to make it easier for them to accomplish: They just have to get to the baggage claim, grab their suitcase, and then make it to a taxi without anybody recognizing her. That's all.
Well… there's also the added concern that Theo could very well be waiting for them as soon as they exit the plane. Beca took every single precaution that she could think of, but the thought in and of itself makes Beca contemplate turning around and running back to Los Angeles. She doesn't even want to think about what might happen if he were to find her right now. She'd be safe until they were back home, but then…
Needless to say, he wouldn't be happy.
"Alright, Cal, you ready?"
Callie moves her small legs as fast as they can go, her mother practically tugging her along. Beca's head is on a swivel, glancing around at all of the airport's early-morning occupants, and watching carefully to see if anyone recognizes her, or if their gazes linger too long on her pajama-clad children. "Ready for what?"
Beca slows her pace slightly, keeping Callie's hand firmly in hers as they approach the escalator. She's flown into JFK before, and she's grateful that the baggage claim isn't far away from where their gate was. "We're going to see how fast we can find our suitcase, okay? It's a big green one that has a blue ribbon tied on the handle. Do you think you'll be able to spot it?"
Callie frowns, not entirely sure about what is going on. "Where are we gonna go after we get the suitcase?"
Beca's eyes flick around the crowd gathered around the baggage claim. There aren't that many people there, and there definitely weren't that many people on their flight, but she keeps her voice low as she answers. "We're going to go to this really cool apartment for the night." Of course, she has no idea what this 'really cool' apartment will look like. All she knows is that it's a two-bedroom, one bath that's close to an elementary school. She had absolutely no say in picking it out, and it's not like she can really complain.
"How come?" The same question that Callie has been asking her since they left LA resurfaces once again, as Beca searches the rotating conveyor belt for their own piece of luggage. She fit as many of her kids' clothes into the suitcase as possible and threw in a few pairs of jeans and a couple shirts for herself. It's not much, but once Beca gets a job and gets back on her feet, she'll be able to get them some more things.
Beca just shrugs, giving her daughter's hand a soft squeeze. "Because we're taking a trip."
Callie looks up at her mother, her eyes droopy with exhaustion but still shining with the same youthfulness and vibrancy that Beca loves about her. "A trip?"
"Mhmm. What do you think? You up for it?"
The seven-year-old considers it briefly, before nodding her head vigorously. Beca's mouth tugs up into a small smirk, and she hopes, that, even with the sunglasses still covering half of her face, Callie knows just how proud she is of her. "That's my girl. Okay, now we have to watch the belt very carefully for our suitcase."
As Callie focuses all of her attention on the suitcases that have started to come out of a back room of the airport, Beca takes the time to once again examine the other people around her. Most of them seem to be businesspeople, all wearing various suits and earpieces that certainly cannot be comfortable to wear on a red-eye flight. Everyone seems to be consumed with their own thoughts, and Beca doesn't find one person that is staring at her or pointing a camera in her direction. So far, so good.
"Mama, I see it!" Beca's attention is pulled at her daughter's exclamation. Sure enough, following the direction in which her small, slim finger is pointing to the conveyor belt, their suitcase is coming around the corner.
"Good job, Cal! Wanna come help me get it?" At Callie's affirmation, Beca leads her over to where her bag is quickly making it around. She grabs onto the handle, and while Callie's hand lays on it lightly and she doesn't do much, Beca is able to pull it off and stand it upright on its wheels without dropping the suitcase or her son. "Phew! Thank you for your help, kiddo."
Callie grins, gripping the handle of the suitcase next to her mom's hand, and starting to walk past the other people waiting as the bag rolls behind them. "Mama?"
Beca keeps one finger delicately on her daughter's. She doesn't want her out of her sight. Beca leads them towards the taxi pick-up, praying that there won't be any surprises when they leave the security of the airport. There had been a different offer for transportation, but Beca couldn't imagine having that kind of…reunion… after a night of traveling and in the middle of the airport parking lot. In her experience, taxi drivers can be pretty discrete; it was a risk she was willing to take. "Yes, baby?"
Callie rubs her eyes with one of her hands, "Is Daddy coming on the trip with us?"
It takes everything in Beca to keep her face as neutral as possible. She ignores the tightening in her chest, the way her breath catches in her throat at the mention of their father. She ignores how her palms start to sweat and how she subconsciously looks around them once again to see if a certain brown-haired man with a thick British accent is watching them from afar. Instead of acknowledging any of her stress-responses, Beca just smiles down at her daughter. "No, Cal. He's not."
For what feels like the hundredth time tonight, Callie's eyebrows furrow together in confusion. Her gaze falls to the ground in front of them as they quickly approach the exit of the airport. "How come?"
Beca has done her best to hide the truth from her kids. It doesn't work all the time, and there are certainly instances where she questions how much Henry and Callie know – especially with her seven-year-old being as inquisitive as she is. But, more than anything, she wants to keep them as blissfully ignorant as possible. It's not fair to put that kind of stress on them. They don't deserve that. "Well, he has to work. Mama has some time off right now, so I can take you on this trip."
Callie considers this briefly, before asking, "How come Daddy couldn't get time off?"
Beca walks with her daughter up to the side of the curb, the sun starting to rise over the NYC skyscrapers. She sets the suitcase on its wheels, placing her hand on Callie's head. She hates lying to them, but she also doesn't want to deal with a meltdown right here in the middle of the airport. Especially when she still doesn't know how to tell her that, if it was up to Beca, they'd never see Theo again. "I don't know, kiddo. But it's okay because we're going to have tons of fun on this trip, right?"
A small grin starts to spread on Callie's face, starting to come around to this idea of the trip. She hasn't really been on a lot of trips before. Sometimes Karla will take them to the library, and some of her Mama's work friends will take her to the park or to a house where she can play with other kids, but other than that, she and her Mama just play a lot at home. "Right!"
Beca bends over to press a kiss into Callie's hair, "That's what I like to hear." With Callie pressed back up against her side, Beca waves down a taxi that starts to come down the driveway. He immediately pulls over, and Beca doesn't waste any time in loading the suitcase into the trunk with one hand. She slides into the back seat after ensuring that Callie is safely secured in the seat next to her. The inside smells of stale cigarettes and Lysol, which is not the most pleasant combination. As she buckles Callie in, Beca tells the driver the address that she memorized before leaving. She didn't want any sort of paper trail, so once Karla got the call, she memorized the street, apartment, and apartment number, and told her to burn the slip.
With Henry growing heavy in her arms and Callie leaning up against her side from her seat in the middle, Beca is perfectly content with staring out the window and taking in the city in the early morning light. She's done a few shows here on tour, but Theo never lets her stay for long, most likely because he knows how much she likes the city. The last time that she actually got to go out and explore, was when she was living here with Fat Amy and Chloe right out of their senior year of Barden.
The reminder of the two Bellas brings a wave of sadness over the brunette. She hasn't talked to them in years. The girls that were once her best friends, quickly became nobody under the influence of her producer and husband. It kills her to think about how she just abandoned them, practically cutting off all communication with them shortly following the move to LA. She catches herself thinking – not for the first time since she made contact with a certain blonde and asked for her help – about what the Bellas are up to. Whether or not Emily went on to get her PhD. What did Amy do with all that money? Did Cynthia Rose really join the Air Force? How are Stacie and her daughter, Bella?
Most importantly, though, Beca finds her mind wandering to the effervescent redhead that consumed most of her life from her freshmen to senior year of college, and the few years afterward that they lived together. Chloe had always been special; she was the one person that Beca felt connected to, the one person that always knew what to say and what to do. She seemed to know what Beca was thinking before she even thought it, and, more times than not, Chloe managed to keep Beca's head on straight. She made Beca happier than anyone else, and, back then, she couldn't imagine not having her in her life after being friends for so many years.
Last Beca heard, Chloe was in Georgia, but who knows what has changed in the last decade. She doesn't even want to think about it.
If only Beca had said something to Chloe about how she made her feel before the USO tour. Before Chicago and before Theo. Before everything went to hell and she couldn't even have Chloe as a friend.
Before she made the biggest mistake of her life.
Beca shakes her head, trying to rid that beautiful face with her perfect smile and bright, vibrant baby blue orbs, from her mind. She lets out a sigh, sinking deeper into the backseat of the cab, and holds her kids close. They're safe now, that's all that matters.
It takes almost a half-hour for the cab to make its way through the various streets of the city, beeping his horn every once in a while, before he pulls in front of an apartment building with the same name as the one of the address she had given him. As the driver gets out to get her suitcase, Beca struggles to get herself out of the cab, with Callie now sound asleep leaning against her side and Henry getting heavier and heavier by the minute.
Beca brings her hand up and down the side of Callie's arm, "Hey, Cal, you need to wake up for me, kiddo." Callie groans, protesting slightly and trying to settle back into her slumber. "Callie, come on, sweetie. I can't carry you both."
When Callie sits up, she narrows her eyes at Beca, reminding the older brunette so much of herself that it's almost comical. Taking her silence as an answer, Beca leads her daughter from the cab, quickly pushing the slim amount of cash that Beca has on her into the driver's hand, before turning to face their new home.
Despite herself, Beca gulps. This is it. They've made it this far.
With Callie's hand in hers, she makes her way into the building.
A few blocks over, as Beca and her kids head up to go to sleep in a bed that none of them have slept in before, Chloe Beale rolls over on her own mattress to the sound of her alarm going off. She rubs the sleep out of her eyes, practically slamming her hand down on the button on her phone. As much as Chloe is a morning person, she still doesn't enjoy the actual act of getting out of bed.
But, while she despises it, she knows that if she doesn't get up now, she's going to be late for her fifth graders and that is just not okay with her.
Chloe plugs her phone into the speaker, queuing up her Spotify playlist and letting the music flow through her body as she starts to dance around her room. She gathers her clothes off the door from where they are hanging, and slips into the shower, completely losing herself in the hot water and the upbeat songs that vibrate throughout the apartment.
When she was with Chicago, during the few times that he was actually in the states, he used to get so annoyed when she played music this early in the morning. That was just one of the things on the long list of disappointments that came along with that short relationship. Although it lasted almost two years, Chloe was happy when she finally gained the courage to break up with him and move back to the city after spending the prior years in Georgia. They ended things amicably, but Chloe definitely wasn't upset to see him go.
Once finished in the shower, Chloe gets ready in her bedroom, preparing herself for a day of teaching fifth graders about both English and history. She loves her job more than anything. She tried the whole vet school thing and made it past the first few months before realizing that teaching was – and still is – her passion. There's nothing better than seeing her students' faces light up when they get a question right or watching them grow into successful little kids. Each one of them is special, and they all hold an equally special place in Chloe's heart.
Chloe pads quickly out into her living area, working her way into the kitchen to make herself a smoothie for breakfast. It'll need to hold her over until lunch today because her prep period is going to be spent working with a little boy named Isaiah on a particularly challenging math unit that he has been struggling with. He didn't want to ask his math teacher for help, but Chloe is glad to step up.
As she scoops some yogurt into the blender and starts to pour in some mixed berries, Chloe's eyes wander around her apartment and land on a framed picture of her and the Bellas on stage at the Worlds. It's one of her favorite pictures of all time; everyone looks so happy and carefree. They had done some pretty amazing things during their time at Barden, and the success that she had with the Bellas will always be a point of pride for the redhead.
Chloe's attention turns to one Bella in particular, just like it always does whenever Chloe sees a picture of Beca. It doesn't matter if it's on television or in the tabloids on the side of the road on the way to work. Whenever Chloe sees that same lopsided smile, and the dark eyeliner – yet not as dark as Freshman Year Beca – surrounding those stormy blue orbs, Chloe can't help but stop and stare. There's always been something so captivating about the brunette, hence the reason Chloe busted into her shower just to make Beca sing with her. It was a bold move, but one that Chloe has never regretted – not for an instant. That wave of courage gave her one of her best friends in the entire world, the one girl that seemed to understand Chloe better than anyone, and that Chloe would do anything for.
Well, they used to be best friends. Chloe hasn't heard from Beca since she left for LA after the USO tour. There had been an occasional phone call at first, but nowhere near as frequently as they had promised each other. The trips that they planned to come out and visit never came to fruition, and as the texts and calls dwindled down to a nonexistent level, Beca seemed to disappear from Chloe's life.
Chloe had tried. She had tried so hard to maintain contact with the brunette. She called and left voicemails, she tried getting in contact with her father. She texted constantly, practically begging her best friend to answer. But, eventually, she stopped. Clearly, she was either too busy or just didn't want to talk to Chloe – or any of the other Bellas for that matter.
It was almost as though Beca dropped off the face of the Earth.
Except for the fact that every single one of the Bellas knew that that wasn't true. Shortly after the USO tour, Beca Mitchell became a household name. As Theo had promised, he had turned her into a star. Four albums, countless awards and accolades… Chloe still watches every performance, every interview, every award ceremony – anything so that she can catch a glimpse of the girl that was once one of the most important people of her entire life. It hurts her to do so, but Chloe can't bring herself to stop. Doing so would mean that Beca is officially out of her life forever, and Chloe can't even fathom accepting that fact.
So, instead, she reads the various articles about Beca's latest achievements. She scrolls through her Instagram account, which is most definitely just used for professional reasons, periodically at best. She tries not to get upset when she sees the occasional photo of her and Theo with their arms wrapped around each other and smiling like they're the happiest couple in the world, matching wedding bands on their fingers. She ignores the pain in her heart every time she hears Beca singing on the radio, and turns up the song anyways, wondering how in the world Chloe managed to allow the most amazing girl to slip through her grasp.
It's a constant cycle, one that Chloe hopes that one day, she'll be able to end. At this point, though, Chloe isn't sure that that will ever happen.
10 Years Ago
Beca glances around the apartment that she has shared with Chloe and Amy for the last few years, the once cramped space feeling much more empty with her belongings already in boxes and on their way to Los Angeles. Theo wasn't kidding when he said they were going to fly her out to LA – they just got back from the USO tour about two weeks ago, and Beca already had time scheduled at the recording studio. It is all happening so fast.
Beside her, Chloe takes her hand, tears already swelling in her eyes. "You're going to be amazing, Bec. I already know it."
Beca takes a deep breath, turning to face her best friend. Chloe's bright blue orbs are even brighter with the tears swirling in them, and just the sight of Chloe being sad brings her to tears as well. "Don't cry, Chlo. Please don't cry."
Chloe forces out a small laugh, the same melodic laugh that makes Beca's heart swell every single time she hears it. "They're happy tears, I promise. I'm just so proud of you." She wraps her arms around the shorter brunette, bringing her in for a tight embrace. Beca's always given the best hugs, even if she hates them.
The brunette settles into Chloe's arms as a million thoughts run through her head. She could tell Chloe, right here, right now, everything that she's been feeling since her freshman year of college. Since the moment that she met her at the Activities Fair, to now. How she doesn't want to live in LA without her, how she doesn't want to do anything in life without her by her side. How, even though Chloe's been excited about Chicago and the prospect of having a hot military boyfriend, Beca can think of a much better partner for the redhead to commit herself to. Every feeling that Beca has felt for Chloe over the last seven years has been weighing heavily on DJ Khaled's newest-signed recording artist. She has so much she wants to tell Chloe, but every time she goes to tell her, the words seem to disappear from the tip of her tongue.
"And you'll call, right? Every day? And text all the time?"
Beca lets out a teary laugh, tightening her hold on Chloe. "I promise. I'm going to call and text you so much that you're going to get sick of me and change your number."
Chloe shakes her head against the crook of Beca's neck. "Not a chance." She breathes in the smell of Beca's perfume, the one that still clings to the fabric of the sweatshirt that Chloe stole from her during their senior year. "And I'm going to come visit you. As soon as everything is settled with you, and with school… I'm going to come out to LA and you're going to show me all the sites and introduce me to all of your famous friends."
"Deal." Beca sniffles slightly, her chest so tight with pent up emotions that she feels as though she might burst. "Plus, who knows. After you graduate, maybe you can move out there. You've never liked winter here anyway."
Slowly, Chloe pulls away, effectively ending the hug, her soft skin blotchy from the crying. "Sounds like a plan."
She knows that all she needs to do is say it. To just tell Chloe how she really feels. Instead, she sticks with the current conversation, the truth rolling back inside of her like the receding tide. Just like it has for as long as Beca's known her. "I'll miss you, Chlo. So much."
Chloe nods, squeezing her eyes shut so that more tears don't fall. When she opens them, the prisms dancing in her orbs match the ones in Beca's. "It's not goodbye, right? Just see you later?"
A soft laugh escapes from Beca's lips. "Exactly." Say it, just SAY it!
Chloe forces a small smile on her face, taking Beca's hand in hers and interrupting the brunette before she can say anything. "Alright then. I'll see you later, Bec. Call me when you land?"
Beca swallows her emotions, managing a stiff nod and a slight squeeze of Chloe's hand. "Definitely. See you later, Chlo."
If someone had told either one of those girls that that would be the last time they would see each other, both the girls and their friends who had watched them dance around their feelings for each other for years, they would have thought that they were crazy.
Hello everyone and welcome back! Thanks so much for checking out this new story (which originally was supposed to be posted on Sunday the 30th which is not a thing in my time zone so we're going with Saturday the 30th instead!). I have been working on it since last summer and have finally gotten around to editing it/posting it now that LULY is complete. I know this is a tough subject, but I hope you'll stick around for the happy ending :)
As was the case with LULY, I would love it if you left a favorite/follow/or a review. I will respond to all comments, questions, predictions, concerns, critiques, etc. at the beginning of each chapter. Thanks so much for reading Chapter 1, and I hope you enjoyed it. I will be positing the next chapter on Friday, EST. time! See you then!
