Is This God's Way of Testing Me?
Chapter 1
Set after the ending of PP3. After staying in Paris with Chicago for six months, Chloe comes back to the U.S. pregnant and alone. She goes straight to L.A. and Beca. Beca of course takes her in and promises to help raise Chloe's baby since Chicago wanted nothing to do with either one of them. Chloe's daughter, Sophie, is born, and a few months later, Beca and Chloe reveal their romantic feelings for each other. They got married when Sophie was one year old.
They've been married for two years, and things are going great until Chloe's past comes back to haunt her. Will Beca and Chloe's marriage remain strong or will this be the beginning of the end for them?
Warning: Some angst to start us off (and probably more before all is said and done).
Beca sat in her office, staring at the wall. She should be on top of the world, but things were not going so well for the brunette. She'd won several Grammys over the last five years and was getting to produce more and more, but her career was not the problem. The problems she was having were at home. She thinks back to three days ago. It was just a typical Tuesday for Beca, or so she thought.
"I'm home," Beca called out as she entered the house. She smiled when she heard the patter of tiny feet that came to greet her.
"Mama!" 3-year-old Sophie called out as she jumped into Beca's arms.
"Hey, Soph," Beca said and then peppered the young girl's face with kisses. "Where's mommy?"
"Kitchen," Sophie said, then lowered her voice. "I think she's mad."
"Why do you think that?" Beca whispered back.
"She's got her not happy face on," Sophie said quietly.
"Oh," Beca said, worry lining her face. "Can you go play in the playroom? I'm going to go talk to mommy, okay?"
"Okay," Sophie said, and Beca set her down on the floor. Sophie went running off to the playroom.
Beca let out a heavy sigh and made her way to the kitchen. When she got near the door, she could hear Chloe muttering to herself. Beca looked in and saw Chloe at the stove with her back to Beca. Beca walked up behind her and put her arms around Chloe's waist. Well, she tried, but as soon as Chloe felt her presence, she pushed Beca's arms away from her.
"Don't," Chloe said.
"What's going on, Chlo?" Beca asked. "Sophie said you had your not happy face on."
"Don't pretend like you don't know," Chloe said.
"What now?" Beca asked with a heavy sigh. "Did I leave the cap off the toothpaste again? Or maybe I left a dirty cup in the sink?"
"Don't be a smartass, Beca," Chloe spat at her. She pushed past Beca and picked up a magazine from the counter. She shoved it into Beca's chest and said, "Page 7."
Beca took the magazine and really started to get angry. She threw the magazine in the trash without looking at it. Chloe stood there with her arms crossed in front of her and just glared at Beca.
"Really?" Beca said, trying to hold her temper. "Chlo, this has to stop. I don't know what's been going on with you these past few months, but why are you suddenly worried about some garbage you read about me in a magazine?"
Chloe retained her stance and didn't say anything.
"So, you're going to stick with being mad at me again. And what for? Because of a magazine article? I can only assume that it says I've hooked up with someone who isn't you. Or maybe I'm leaving you for someone else. Or, my favorite is the one where I'm fucking Theo. Good to know you trust me after all this time."
Chloe remained silent. She went to the stove and turned her back on Beca. Beca held her tongue and walked out of the kitchen. She went to the playroom and kissed Sophie on the top of her head.
"I have to go out for a while, Soph," Beca told her daughter. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"You coming back?" Sophie asked.
"Of course, I'm coming back," Beca said. "I promise I will always come back. Mommy and I just need to calm down. I'll be back. I promise, okay?"
"Okay," Sophie said and smiled. "I bewieve you 'cause you always keep your pwomises."
"That's my girl," Beca said and gave her a hug. "I'll see you later. I love you."
"I wuv you, too," Sophie said.
Beca left the house, thinking it was better to just walk away instead of starting another fight with Chloe. She drove around until she found herself at Venice Beach. She parked and walked along the beach for a while before sitting down and just staring out at the ocean. She let the tears fall freely as she thought about her and Chloe. She didn't know how much more she could take of Chloe's accusations that she was cheating on her or that she wanted to.
Beca made her way back home around midnight. She quietly let herself into the house and checked on Sophie before she made her way to her and Chloe's bedroom. She opened the door and walked in only to find an empty bed. She furrowed her brow and checked the guest room. There she found Chloe curled up asleep.
Beca swallowed the lump that was in her throat and walked over to the bed. She got in the bed and put her arms around Chloe.
"Chloe," Beca said softly. "Chloe, wake up, please."
Chloe woke up and turned to Beca, nestling her head under Beca's chin.
"I'm sorry," Chloe mumbled against Beca's neck.
"I know," Beca said sadly. "I think you should go sleep in our room. It's late. I'll stay here so I don't disturb you when I have to get up for work."
Chloe pulled back with tears in her eyes. "Beca, no," she said. "I don't want that."
"I think I need it for tonight," Beca said. "We can talk more tomorrow when I get home from work. But for now, we both just need to get some sleep."
Beca let go of Chloe and climbed off the bed. Chloe sat up and just looked at Beca as tears ran down her face. "Please, Chloe. Just for tonight?"
Chloe nodded her head and got off the bed. She leaned in to give Beca a kiss and Beca moved her head and the kiss landed on her cheek. Chloe sniffled and left the room. Beca got back into the bed and laid there for a bit before she finally fell asleep.
Since then, Beca has spent several nights in the guest bedroom; she was still undecided on if she even wanted to move back into her and Chloe's shared room.
"Beca?" A voice slowly penetrated through her brain. "Beca!"
Beca turned to see her best friend, Stacie, standing in front of her. She was so far into her own head that she had forgotten she was giving Stacie a ride home since her car was in the shop.
"Are you okay?" Stacie asked.
"What? Oh, yeah," Beca said. She frowned when Stacie handed her some tissue until she realized she was crying. "Thanks." Beca took the tissue and wiped her eyes and down her face.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Stacie asked.
The tears fell faster and Beca cleared her throat before she started speaking. It was like a dam was opened as she talked about how Chloe had been on edge for several months now but wouldn't tell Beca what was bothering her. She also told Stacie how Chloe seemed to be more jealous over nothing but pictures and innuendos that were written about her being seen with other people. She swore to Stacie that she hadn't cheated on Chloe and would never do that, but Chloe still would come at her over some stupid photos and media stories. It was like she was using those stories to pick a fight so they wouldn't talk about what was really going on.
"I don't know how much more I can take," Beca said quietly. "I have done everything to prove to Chloe that I love her and only her. I make sure I'm home by six for dinner every night. We try to have date nights at least once a week. I'm so tired because I don't know when she's going to pick another fight."
Stacie knew Beca had more to say so she just sat and waited for her to continue. Beca wiped her face and began talking again.
"A couple of days ago she started again over some magazine article," Beca said. "I didn't even read it. I just left to cool off. When I came home she was asleep in the guest room. I went in to check on her and she said she was sorry. She's always sorry but she'll do it again when another story or picture comes out. I told her that I needed space and that she should go back to our room while I stayed in the guest room. I told her it was just for that night, but I've been sleeping in the guest room since."
"Is that what you want?" Stacie asked softly.
"Yes," Beca said. "No. Maybe. I don't even know anymore. I haven't really been sleeping. And when I go home Chloe doesn't say much to me. We only talk about things Sophie needs or what bill needs to be paid. It's like we don't even know how to be just us anymore. I don't know what I have to do to get her to trust me."
"It's Friday night, Stacie said. "Brey and I will watch Sophie so you can take Chloe out on an impromptu date. How does that sound?"
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Beca said.
"Surprise her," Stacie said. "Make her feel special. Take her out and show her she's the only one for you."
Beca thought a minute and then slowly smiled. "Okay," she told Stacie. "If you're sure it's okay with Aubrey."
"I'll call her now," Stacie said. "And, I'll have her meet me at your house. That way you and Chloe can leave when you're ready."
~Is this God's Way of Testing Me?~
"Chloe?" Beca called out as she and Stacie entered the house. "I have a surprise for you."
"Mama!" Sophie squealed as she ran to Beca. Beca grabbed her up in a hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Aunt Tacie!"
"Hey, Soph," Stacie said and tickled the girl causing her to squeal and squirm out of Beca's arms.
"Where's mommy?" Beca asked as she set Sophie down.
"Your room," Sophie said.
"Okay," Beca said as she knelt to talk to Sophie. "Soph, can you stay here with Aunt Stacie for a minute? I need to talk to mommy."
"Are you gonna yell?" Sophie asked quietly.
It broke Beca's heart to see the sadness on Sophie's face. It took everything Beca had in her to hold back her tears.
"No, baby girl," Beca said and pulled Sophie tight to her. "I'm sorry if you heard us yelling. I promise there won't be any more yelling. Okay?"
"Okay," Sophie said, and just like that her smile was back on her face.
"Stacie, do you mind?" Beca asked, nodding toward Sophie as she rose to her feet. "I'm going to go talk to Chloe."
"That's what I'm here for," Stacie said. She took Sophie's hand. "Let's go color while we wait for your mommy and mama to come back down."
"Yay!" Sophie squealed.
Beca took a deep breath and headed upstairs to her and Chloe's room. She stopped in the doorway as she watched Chloe putting away the clean laundry. Beca leaned her shoulder against the doorframe and couldn't help but smile at how beautiful Chloe is, even putting away laundry.
"Hey," Beca said just loud enough for Chloe to hear.
"Hey, yourself," Chloe said, looking over her shoulder.
"So, um, Stacie's here," Beca said. Chloe stopped and looked at her. "I wanted to surprise you by taking you on a spontaneous date tonight and she offered to babysit so we could go out."
Chloe bit her lip and seeing Beca's hopeful look, smiled and said, "I'd like that."
"Yeah?" Beca said, straightening her stance. "Great. Aubrey's going to come over to help but Stacie said we can leave whenever you're ready. I didn't plan anything fancy. Just something casual and lowkey. Unless you want to do something fancy. I mean, I'm good either way. I just didn't know what you might want to do. So, whatever you want to do, we'll do."
"Beca," Chloe said, walking to stand in front of her. "Casual and low key is perfect." She gave Beca a quick kiss on the lips. "Thank you for this. I just need to change."
"Okay," Beca said. "I'll meet you downstairs in 20 minutes."
"Deal," Chloe said and skipped over to the closet.
"Maybe this was a good idea after all," Beca thought as she made her way downstairs. Aubrey had arrived and was standing next to Stacie with Sophie in her arms.
"Hey, Aubrey," Beca said. "I want to thank you and Stacie for doing this."
"Are you kidding?" Aubrey said. "We love babysitting our goddaughter. And we're going to have so much fun. Aren't we, Sophie?"
"Yes," Sophie laughed and clapped her hands.
Beca pulls out some cash and holds it out toward Stacie. "I figure you guys could just order some pizza for dinner."
"We can do that," Stacie said, pushing the money back at Beca. "But you don't have to pay for it."
"It's the least I could do," Beca tells her, holding the money out.
Stacie ignored it and started talking to Sophie and Aubrey. Beca sighed and put the money back in her wallet.
"Chloe should be down any minute," Beca said. "I'm going to freshen up just a bit."
Beca hurried upstairs to the guest bathroom to brush her teeth and run a brush through her hair. She spritzed on a bit of perfume that she knows Chloe likes and checked herself in the mirror. Once she's satisfied she heads back downstairs. Beca chatted with Aubrey and Stacie until Chloe came down a few minutes later.
"Hey, Brey," Chloe said, giving her a hug. "Hey, Stacie, where's Bella?"
"Birthday sleepover," Stacie said.
"Ready?" Beca asked, brazenly checking out her wife.
"Yeah," Chloe said with a smile. "Okay, munchkin, mommy and mama are leaving. Give us kisses."
Sophie squirmed and Aubrey set her down. She gave Chloe a hug and Chloe bent down to kiss her on the top of her head. Beca knelt down in front of Sophie.
"Be good for Aunt Brey and Aunt Stacie, okay?" Beca said.
"I will," Sophie said and hugged Beca. As Sophie started to pull away Beca grabbed her and peppered kisses all over her face.
"Mama, stop," Sophie said, giggling the whole time.
"Okay," Beca said, laughing as she let Sophie go. "We'll see you in the morning. Love you."
"Wuv you, too," Sophie said.
Beca and Chloe just stood there watching Sophie play with Aubrey and Stacie.
"Will you two get out of here," Stacie said looking at them. "We've got this."
"Right," Beca said, holding out her hand to Chloe. "Shall we?"
"We shall," Chloe said and took Beca's hand.
~Is this God's Way of Testing Me?~
The waiter set their wine down in front of them. Beca told him they weren't ready to order just yet and the waiter left them alone.
"We haven't been here in a while," Chloe said looking around the little French bistro.
"I know," Beca said. "And that's on me. I kind of got stuck in the parent trap of only going places that are kid-friendly. I forget that we're adults and can pretty much go to nicer places without a kid sometimes."
"Thank you for bringing me here," Chloe said as she sipped her wine. "It hasn't been just you and me for a while."
Beca's face fell because she knew it was true. And she also knew that she had a big share of the blame for it.
"I'm sorry," Beca said as she looked at Chloe. "Our date nights have been a little crowded lately."
"Beca," Chloe said. "I'm not blaming you for that. I mean we have a kid for goodness sake. Sometimes, time for just you and me is going to be pushed to the back burner and that's fine. It would be nice if other times, like this, it could be just you and me."
"I'll make sure that we have more time for just you and me," Beca said. "I thought maybe after this we could head to Venice Beach and go for a walk. And, um, maybe talk."
"I'd like that," Chloe said. "There is something I need to tell you."
"Oh, um, okay," Beca said, reaching for her menu. "Let's order."
Beca called over their waiter and the couple ordered. They chatted about mundane things and then Beca started telling a story about one of the artists she was working with. They both had tears in their eyes from laughing. Beca hadn't felt this good being with Chloe in quite some time.
Beca and Chloe smiled at each other over the rims of their wine glasses. They set their glasses down and Chloe clears her throat.
"I'm sorry I've been out of sorts for the past couple of months," Chloe said softly.
Beca started to ask why that was when she caught something in her peripheral vision.
"Oh, my god," Beca said, frowning. "Seriously?"
"What's wrong?" Chloe asked.
The question was barely out of her mouth when she saw the camera flashes. She gave a heavy sigh and looked at Beca.
"I'm sorry," Beca said. "I don't know how they found us."
"Maybe we should just go home," Chloe said.
"Chlo," Beca said, reaching across the table to take Chloe's hand. "Let's not let them ruin our night. We can still take that walk on the beach."
"They'll just follow us," Chloe said with a small smile. "It's okay. Plus, it's probably better if we talk at home anyway."
~Is this God's Way of Testing Me?~
"I'm really sorry our night got cut short," Beca said as she drove them home.
"I meant it when I said it was okay," Chloe said. Before she could say anything else her phone pinged with a text. She pulled out her phone and read the message.
"Shit," she muttered.
"Everything okay?" Beca asked, giving Chloe a side glance.
"Um, oh, uh, yeah, everything's fine," Chloe said. She quickly typed out a response and hit send.
"Are you sure everything's-" Beca was interrupted by Chloe's phone ringing. Chloe saw the caller ID and closed her eyes before answering.
"Hello," Chloe said. She glanced over at Beca. "No, I can't right now. Beca and I are on our way home from dinner." Chloe lowered her eyes to her lap; she spoke softly into the phone. "We're about fifteen minutes from home and I can't really talk right now. We can talk about it later." Beca sees a tear fall down Chloe's face. "Yeah, mm-hmm. Okay, bye."
Chloe ended the call and looked out her window. She wiped the tear from her eye.
"Hey," Beca said, quickly glancing at Chloe before turning her eyes back to the road. "Who was that? Is Sophie okay? What's going on, Chloe?" No response. "Babe, please say something because you're scaring the shit out of me right now."
"I'm sorry," Chloe said, wiping her eyes again.
Nothing more was said as Beca pulled into their driveway and the car's headlights caught someone on their porch. It looked like they were talking to Stacie and Aubrey; the person turned and stared at the car as if waiting for its occupants to get out.
Beca thought she was imagining things until the person turned toward them and the porch light showed his face in full view. Beca felt her anger begin to boil when she clearly could see who it was.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Beca mumbled as her body became rigid and she turned to glare at Chloe. "What the fuck is he doing here? Is he the something you had to tell me about?"
"Beca, but it's not what you think," Chloe said.
"Get the fuck out of the car!" Beca snapped at Chloe. "Get out!"
"No!" Chloe said and looked at Beca "Beca, please, let me-"
"Get the fuck out of my car," Beca said through gritted teeth, barely containing her rage.
"Beca, please. It's not what it looks like," Chloe said as tears streamed down her face. "Just listen to me for a min-"
"I don't want to hear anything you have to say right now," Beca said, glaring at Chloe. "Just get the fuck out of the car."
"NO!" Chloe yelled at her as tears streamed down her face. "Not until you let me explain. He-"
Beca took off her seat belt and Chloe leaned into the door as Beca reached toward her. Beca unhooked Chloe's seatbelt and then reached over to pull the door handle. The door opened and Beca said, "Get out!"
At this point, the door was pulled completely open and a man's voice joined in. "What's going on? Chloe, are you okay?"
Ignoring the person who spoke, Beca, with tears streaming down her face, looked at Chloe and quietly said, "Chloe, please, just get out of the car."
Stacie and Aubrey made their way down to the car but stood off to the side unsure of what to say or do.
Chloe looked at Beca, still pleading with Beca to let her explain. Beca turned and stared out the front window of the car, watching Stacie and Aubry and ignoring Chloe; Chloe let out a sob and got out of the car. As soon as Chloe was clear of the car, Beca backed out of the driveway and with tires squealing, drove away from the house.
"Beca!" Chloe screamed and fell to her knees in the driveway.
Stacie and Aubrey ran over to Chloe. Aubrey helped her to her feet as Stacie told their unwanted guest that he should leave.
"I'm not leaving until I'm sure Chloe is okay."
"I'm fine," Chloe said, her voice thick with tears. "Please, just go, Chicago."
A/N: Before you all jump on me, this is NOT a Chloe cheats on Beca story.
A/N2: I don't know how many chapters this will be in total, but I will be posting a new update on Wednesdays until it's completed. Thank you for reading and see you next week.
