Chapter 6: Bad and Worse
At that moment, everything stopped moving except the heads of those involved. Neither of Sara's suitors spoke, at a complete loss for words. They couldn't believe what they'd just heard. Rory collapses back into his seat, staring straight ahead into the abyss. Ryder also sat down rather roughly, but he still had to be careful since he was holding Julia. Both began hyperventilating, their minds racing back to the nights they spent with her… how gentle and how soft she was. How she seemed to meld into their arms and how she seemed to cry in happiness at the intimacy.
"Oh Ryder…" and "Oh Rory…" was crooned several times as they passionately spent the night together. It was the greatest moments of either of their lives and thought that she'd finally chosen between the two.
The nurse continues to look at the two teenagers, waiting for some kind of response. Finn, who is equally as shocked, shook the astonishment off to face the medical professional.
"A-Are you sure she's pregnant?" he asks.
"100% certain. She's about a month in development now. However, it is unlikely we'll know if the embryo even survived the fall down the stairs. Also, her body is very frail and weak. The bruises and cuts we've found elsewhere on her body are in various phases of healing. It is apparent to most of us that she is enduring harsh treatment from an individual."
"Y-You mean she's…" Ryder mutters. He looks down at the sleeping child in his arms. He lifts the sleeve of her shirt to show various bruising, also seeming to heal… "They're being abused?"
"The injuries on her body are consistent with those of domestic abuse. Which is why we are finding the need to call child protective services and are notifying the police immediately."
"It's not them!" Finn says quickly, derailing the implications that the nurse was suggesting. "They are the least violent people you'll ever meet." Which was mostly true. Ryder did have a temper and he did fight Jake on several occasions when he liked Marley, but neither boy would ever lay a hand on a woman, let alone Sara, the most gentle soul he's ever known.
"Well, unless Sara Walsh plays contact sports, the injuries on her body indicate mistreatment and cruelty, mostly physical in nature."
"It's not possible…" Rory says to himself. He wipes a few tears from his eyes. He looks at the bruises on Julia's arms. They had the distinct patterns of handprints like she'd been grabbed roughly or slapped… He'd seen those patterns too, all over Sara's body. It now explained why she wore long-sleeved shirts, even in hot weather and how when they'd slept together, she looked like she was in pain more often than not.
Ryder is having a similar reflection, wishing that he'd noticed sooner. He didn't protect her like he should have. He wants to punch the wall, but with the child in his arms, it's nearly impossible. He grinds his teeth together and looks over at Rory.
"Could you please give us a few minutes?" Finn asks the nurse. "We have some things to discuss."
"Certainly, but please let me know when they are ready for blood tests…"
When the nurse walks away, Finn sits down in front of the guys. He gives them a very stern and worried look.
"Okay, you two need to start talking right now. Which one of you slept with Sara?"
"I did." Both say at the exact same time.
They each suck in a sharp breath and look at each other. Their first reaction is to glare at one another, anger beginning to boil inside them. Ryder grasps the armrest of the chair tightly and grinds his teeth some more. Rory bounces his leg up and down but continues to stare at his rival.
"What the hell? You both did?! When?!" Finn gasps.
"A month ago," Rory answers.
"A month ago…" Ryder says and he swallows again. He jumps up with Julia in his arms. Finn reacts immediately and puts his hand on his student's shoulder to prevent him from doing something stupid or hurtful to Rory. The Irish student flinches and stands up, taking a step away, not wanting to fight.
"OH GEEZ!" Finn says, also feeling frustrated. "And let me guess, neither of you used protection…"
Both boys look at their choir leader and then at each other again.
Finn takes in a very deep breath, feeling just as angry as the boys, but for other reasons. He'd been through this with Quinn, he knew what being a father could do to either of these boys. It was stressful as hell, it would also destroy Sara's life, leaving her unable to graduate or with a future… It's also so much more complicated with Rory living in Ireland, the cousins being involved and the quite possible homicidally enraged brother named Joe… He can't imagine what could happen. Plus, with the baby unlikely to survive because of Sara's beating and her body is so fragile, it would make everything worse knowing that it killed an innocent baby as well.
He takes his arm off Ryder and goes towards the wall of the waiting room. He stares at it for a few moments before pounding his fist against it several times. Not hard, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling. He feels responsible for this somehow… he needed to fix it and protect Sara and her cousins.
When he turns around he looks at Rory and Ryder. Both were still glaring at each other. They were angry, not just at each other, but Sara as well. They couldn't believe she slept with both of them, probably within a week or days of one another. How cruel could she be… If Kitty were here, she'd call the girl a slut and other insulting titles. They might want to too, but something was stopping them. The love they felt for this girl. They'd never have thought that she'd string them along like that… if at all. They knew she had to make a decision about which one she'd want to date, but using them and taking away their virginities to do it. It was so wrong. Little did either of them know, that guilt had eaten away at Sara for what she'd done. She never planned to sleep with either of them at all, but the nights, though passionate, were a bit of blur. They can't remember if alcohol was involved… they couldn't be sure now. She avoided them, trying not to face what she'd done, but both pursued her, pushing her to the almost limit. And now either of them had impregnated her, all their lives were not basically over. Although it was the boy's fault for not using protection, she shouldn't have slept with them in the first place unless she loved them.
Finn texts Quinn to bring everyone back upstairs. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain this to the group, but more than anything else, they had to keep it a secret. He knows what happened to Quinn's life while she was pregnant, the last thing Sara needed was to be ostracized at school. Not with so much else going on.
…
When Quinn and the rest of New Directions came back up, they see all three men in comatose like states. The blonde alumni's heart pounded. She was scared to hear the news. Finn's text was very vague. Maybe Sara had HIV or suffered brain damage… was she dying? Most of all, she's afraid of what to tell the cousins. Katlyn still holds onto Quinn's hand, giving her a very worried look.
"What's wrong Quinn?" she asked.
The blonde tried to smile down to comfort the girl.
"It…It'll be okay Kate… the-the doctors just came by to tells us about Sara."
"Is she gonna be okay?" Madison asks. Sam has picked up the nine-year-old to carry her. Surprisingly, she wasn't that heavy for her age.
"I don't know yet…" is the response.
"Is she dying?" Katlyn asks.
"No, she's not dying," Jake says quickly, sounding surer than he felt.
When Quinn approaches Finn, she gets right down to business.
"How bad is she?"
Finn looks into her eyes and swallows.
"She's not good," he begins. "She's still in surgery. She has a broken leg; her wrists are both banged up; she's got a black eye and a slight concussion and… she lost a lot of blood."
"How?" Blaine asks.
"She has a big slit in her stomach and that's where she lost a lot of blood."
"How did she get that?"
"Because of what Joe did," Madison blurts out.
Every head turns to the young girl in Sam's arms. Something in Finn's head clicks. He turns around and grabs Maddy's sketchbook. He flips to the page with the bloody knife. He goes over to the girl, as Sam puts her down. He gets down to her eye level and holds up the picture.
"Did…Did Joe do this to her?"
Maddy just nods before starting to cry and shrinking behind Sam's legs. Many of the members gasp. Finn feels that same fury rises up inside him again. What kind of monster does this to an innocent girl?! He wants to strangle this Joe now, wanting him to feel the pain that Sara must be in. He grinds his teeth again
"That bastard!" Finn hisses, knowing that there are children present.
"How did they…" Unique began.
"Oh my God…!"
"Who could do…"
"God almighty…"
Everyone's voices get overlapped in a flurry of confusion, but only one speaks everyone's thought.
"Someone has to call the police," Tina says loudly, saying what everyone was thinking.
"The nurse already called them. Sara also had a lot of other wounds, ones that show signs of abuse…"
Quinn gasps and looks down at Katlyn. She too looks very scared and is close to crying. The blonde kneels and pulls up the girl's sleeve, revealing the bruises. Blaine goes down next to Maddy and does the same. Everyone in the group goes very, very quiet. The tension could not be cut with a knife. The atmosphere was thick with anger, shock, sadness, and fear.
"That's not everything is it?" Quinn asks, quietly.
"She's pregnant…" Finn admits in a hushed voice.
Everyone gasps again and look over at Ryder and Rory, both have not moved since they'd sat down again.
"W-What?" Artie stammers.
"She's a month into her pregnancy… but that's not the worst part."
"What is it?" Sam says.
"We don't know who the father is…"
No one moves another muscle, still staring over at the two potential fathers. All their heads are spinning with confusion and anxiety, everyone, except one person in the group. This person was thinking quite clearly. The one person who had suppressed anger and who still didn't like Sara, despite how nice she was to them. The one you'd least expect it to come from, the one who picked up their phone and sent a single text to a friend… three simple words that could shatter Sara's innocent and friendly personae…
Who do you think would reveal Sara's secret? Also, check out the cover I designed for this story. Please Read and Review
