Chapter 11 – Extending a Hand
Noah Puckerman knew Rachel Berry. He knew when she got excited, when she got worried, when not to mess with her. Therefore, when she screamed "Pull over, Noah. Now," he knew there was no room for debate. To say that he was surprised she'd be willing to stop in this part of the neighborhood, which she loathed – for good reason if he was being completely honest – was an understatement. It took him half a second to realize what was going on and follow Rachel outside of his truck, to ensure that she was safe. He saw run to a young blonde girl, who was barely younger than Bekah and hug her. She must know the girl. Noah thought he'd be concerned as well if his sister was playing alone in this part of town, right by the Reynold's Motel, a crappy motel with a reputation – not necessarily a good one, that is.
"Stacey, darling. How are you? What are you guys out here by yourself? It is not very safe around here," Rachel asked her new singing student she rapidly grew fond of. She saw a young boy by her side, who was slightly older. "Miss Rachel, it is good to see you," Stacey happily exclaimed, hugging her teacher back. "This is my brother, Steve. Steve, this is Miss Rachel, she is my singing teacher at the community center." Rachel waved at Stevie, whose features were oddly familiar although her brain would not make the connection right now, probably too concerned to find two kids playing around this motel. Unless? They could not. She knew Stacey's parents had issues, but they couldn't possibly be living here. She decided to approach the question cautiously. "It is nice to meet you, Stevie. This is my friend Noah. Noah, these are Stacey and Stevie. I give Stacey singing classes at the community center. Stacey, maybe you should also attend the dance classes I give. Noah's sister, Bekah, takes them too. I think you'd be good friends. Don't you think Noah?"
Noah nodded and smiled fondly. He always had a soft spot for kids. These two seemed nice, too nice to be playing around there on their own, without supervision. He automatically took Rachel's hand, his protectiveness showing unconsciously. Stacey picked up on that. "Miss Rachel, is Noah your prince charming, just like in the Disney movies?" Rachel laughed and leaned in Noah's side a bit more. "No, Stacey. He is not. He is my best friend, we have known each other for ever. We're a bit like you and Stevie, only we are not truly brother and sister, but sometimes, it feels like we are." Rachel words' made Puck's heart swell. They were moving forward, past all he put her through. Oddly, it did something to his heart that she referred to them as siblings. Part of it was comfort and relief, the other he couldn't quite figure. He would think about it later, but it did not feel entirely comfortable. Rachel's next question got him out of his own mind.
"Stacey, Stevie, sweethearts. Do you live around here?" She saw both kids tense immediately. As Stacey was about to answer, she saw a blonde woman bolting their way from the motel, desperately yelling "Stacey, Stevie," running for her life. She reached the little group, and Rachel could look at her. She seemed exhausted, desperate and her features, while indicating she was a very beautiful woman, also showed that time had taken a little toll on her. She could read the worry in the woman's eyes as she pulled the two kids behind her. The worry too. "Who are you? What are you doing talking to my kids?" she asked, slightly aggressively. Rachel took a couple of steps back to reassure the concerned mother, and raised both her hands in the air as a calming sign.
"I am very sorry, we did not mean to interrupt or startle you." Before Rachel could finish, Stacey jumped in. Kids always had this impatience in getting people they like, get acquainted with each other, as if they couldn't wait for the tension they could sense, to dissipate. "Mommy, this is Miss Rachel, she is our singing teacher at the community center." Rachel immediately noticed the woman's features soften before she plastered a polite smile. "Rachel Berry," she said, extending her hand to shake the woman's, who took it gladly. She saw the blonde's face slightly change, her brows furrowing, as if she was trying to process Rachel's name. Rachel decided not to mind it.
"I am truly sorry, my friend Noah and I were just driving by and when I saw Stacey playing by herself around the area, I just got concerned, Madam. I mean, it is not an area where you want to see kids on their own." Rachel finished her sentence biting her lip, unsure of whether she'd offended the mother. The woman looked at her with another smile, a sad one. A smile that said, "I know this is not a safe place and believe me, if I could, I would get my kids out of here as soon as possible."
"I always supervise them from the window, I just got a call I needed to take, and next thing I see is my kids speaking with two strangers. I am sorry I came off a bit strong. It is just, I worry so much all the time, and well, it's not easy living… here." The woman motioned to the motel. Rachel's heart tightened at the idea that the beautiful innocent Stacey was forced to live there. She saw that the mother tried her best, that life had made a turn on the family for them to end up here. Both kids were standing next to their mother, on each side, and were looking to the ground, as if they were ashamed of their mother's confession. "I am Amy, by the way, Amy Evans."
Evans. Rachel looked at her with bulged eyes. Evans. Those shiny blonde heads. Stevie's adorable oversized mouth. Stacey's superb vocals. It couldn't be. It was just a coincidence. Her head was twirling around. She needed to know. This couldn't be happening, but she needed to know. She shot a look at Noah, who had the exact same question swimming in his mind. In a silence, they agreed they both needed to know. "Mrs. Evans, please excuse my curiosity. Do you happen to have other kids, beside Stacey and Stevie?" Amy looked at her questioningly, and the walls of suspicion were back on. After all, she did not know the girl who, in turn, seemed to know quite a bit about her family. "I do, yes. Why?"
Rachel could not back down, now. Her heart was throbbing in her chest, so hard that she could feel it in her ears. "Yes, please accept my apologies. I was not specific enough in my request. The reason why I ask, is that Noah and I go to high school with Samuel Evans, and the name, coupled with the fact that he looks like you, Stacey and Stevie, well I was just wondering…" The woman in front of her immediately relaxed, and could not help a little laugh. "Well, apart from his grandmother, no one calls him Samuel, but yes, Sam is my son too." That is where Sam lived, Rachel thought, her eyes unable to keep her tears at bay, which silently rolled on her cheeks. Stacey timidly asked. "Miss Rachel, do you know Sammy?" Rachel smiled at all the love that transpired from Stacey's tone when she mentioned her brother. Sammy. He must be a good brother. Knowing him, there was no doubt he was.
"Yes, I do, sweetie. We go to school together. We used to be in Glee Club together, before I left. Your brother has a lovely voice, you know that? So do you." She then looked at Amy and Stevie, again. She knew there was just one thing she could do. She excused herself for a minute, left the family with Noah in order to make a quick call. She then came back, with a radiant smile. "Mrs. Evans, can I please talk to you, in private? Noah, would you please keep an eye on our two gorgeous little friends?" Stevie stomped his foot on the ground. "We're not little, Miss Rachel! Sammy always calls us that too."
Amy Evans loved her children. She knew she was not doing right by them, having them live in this awful motel. When this brunette girl asked her to talk privately after she made a phone call, she couldn't help her mind think the worst. What if she called social services? What if they took her kids away from her? "Rachel, you have to understand…" Rachel took the woman's hand in hers, as she was her getting nervous. "Mrs. Evans, we'll have plenty of time to talk about this, and for us to understand what happened. We all have difficult times in life. But now, I was going to ask if you had boxes. We need to pack." Rachel smiled, as Amy's face turned into a questioning one, again.
Rachel exhaled. "Amy, I can't stand the idea of you and your family living, well, here. Stacey is an adorable little girl, and Sam and I know each other. So, I called my fathers and explained the situation to them. We have a guest house and we will be more than happy for you to stay there as long as you need to get back on your feet. It is comfortable and has all you need; all your kids need. The only adjustment we'll need to do I suppose, is have Samuel sleep in the guest room in the main house, so that he can have his own room. I take it Stevie and Stacey can room together?"
Amy was taken aback. She did not know what to say. Here was this young high school girl offering her family a shelter, a much more decent one her and her husband were able to provide to their children. "Rachel, this is way too much. It is incredibly kind, but we cannot accept. I mean…" Rachel waved her hand in the air. "It was not a question, Mrs. Evans. My fathers and I won't take no for an answer. The only question was whether you had boxes so that we can pack as early as now, because there is no way you're staying her any longer, not if I can help it." Amy just smiled, nodded and hugged Rachel tightly, whispering "thank you" at her ear.
A few moments later, Rachel, Noah and the Evans were putting the last boxes of the family in Noah's truck. When she told Noah about her idea, he readily supported it. "Rachel, you really are something else. You know that, right?" he had told her. He recognized the selfless, generous Berry's that had helped his family throughout all these years. "Mrs. Evans, would you please communicate my address to Mr. Eva ns. I take it Samuel is still at work. Noah, he works at the comic books shop nearby the Lima Bean. Can you go get him and bring him home, please after you drop us off? I am sorry to ask you, and I can call Deborah, if needed."
Noah smiled at her, fondly. Rachel always worried about not bothering others. "Don't sweat it, Rachel, it'll be my pleasure. Now, everyone in the truck. We'll have to squeeze in for a little, but it won't be for too long." They all drove in comfortable silence, Amy thanking Rachel once again, Noah simply in awe of how his best friend handled the situation, although a bit worried at how living with the Evans – with one Evans in particular – would impact Rachel. As they arrived, Rachel was showing around the Evans and after they visited the guest house, she welcomed them into the main house, where both Rachel's fathers greeted the newcomers.
"Mrs. Evans, it is so good to have you among us. Please make yourself home and consider this your home for as long as you need. We have an extra car your husband or yourself can use at will, we have also extra keys for the family." Hiram said. As Amy was about to speak, Leeroy chimed in. "Please, there is no need to thank us. I understand you thanked Rachel well beyond reason already," he smiled. "We all go through tough times, and as a community here in Lima, we have to stick with each other." Stacey shyly approached Leeroy who immediately took her in his arms, which made her giggle. "Look at you, you're adorable. I am Leeroy, Rachel's Dad, and this is Hiram, Rachel's Daddy. You can call us Leeroy and Hiram."
"I am Stacey. You said we were going through tough times. It is true, Mr. Berry. But Rachel taught me that tough times never last, but tough people do." Amy mouthed a "thank you," yet another, and Leeroy smiled at the little girl clinging at his arm. "She is right, and you, Stacey, are the toughest." As the two families where getting acquainted, time was passing by. Rachel had an idea in mind, remembering what Stacey had told her during their singing lessons.
"Alright, now, let's let the Evans settle in. Noah, why don't you go and collect Sam? I understand that Mr. Evans usually does that, but he can directly come here, and Noah can fill in the duty. Right, Noah?" Puck immediately nodded with a smile. "Meanwhile, Stacey and I, have a little something to do together," she added, winking at the little girl, but not willing to give more details. "Well, if that is okay with you, Mrs. Evans?" Rachel rapidly added, not wanting to feel too comfortable with taking away the little girl. Amy was prompt to answer. "Of course, Stevie and I can manage. And please, call me Amy." Rachel smiled before she mysteriously left with Stacey. Those two seem like two partners in crime, thought Amy.
Later that day, on the other side of Lima, Sam was getting out of work and while he expected his father to pick him up, he found Puck waiting for him. To say he was surprised was an understatement. As he looked questioningly at the guy with a mohawk, the latter said: "Get in Evans. I am under strict instructions to collect you tonight. Instructions from one Miss Rachel Berry, if you must know." Sam was not sure why Rachel had asked Puck to get him from work, or how she knew at all where he worked and at what time he was supposed to be done for the day. He hopped in the truck and before he could open his mouth, Puck beat him to it. "I can't say anything, I have just been asked to get you to the Berries, dude. But you have nothing to worry about."
The traffic was light and so the ride was not that long, which is good thought Sam who felt a bit uncomfortable being handled this way by Puck – and Rachel, by proxy – having no idea what to expect. The man driving by him side was simply humming to the music on the radio, harboring his signature smirk. As they pulled in the Berry driveway, the first he noticed was his truck. What was his truck doing here? "Puck, what the hell is going on?" He got no answer. As he was about to pop off, he saw Rachel on the porch. She was softly smiling and was holding Stacey, his sister, in her arms. Stacey felt all too comfortable in Rachel arms. Who wouldn't, he thought.
He got out of the car and his sister hopped from Rachel's embrace to go and hug her brother. "Hi Sammy! I am so happy to see you. How was your day at work?" He smiled at his sister as he told her that his day was ordinary, and that he had made good sales at the comic bookstore. "How was your day, princess?" Stacey beamed at her, she seemed overexcited. She did not know where to start.
"We moved out the motel, and Mom, Stevie and I have spent all the afternoon packing. Well, Rachel and Noah helped us as well! Rachel's Daddies are letting us stay here, isn't it great Sammy?" Sam felt like he was living in a parallel world. How did Rachel find out about their situation? How did everything happen? As if she guessed his questions, his mother got closer to her children and after she hugged Sam, she began explaining. "Rachel saw Stacey and Stevie playing nearby the motel, and she recognized Stacey immediately since she gave her singing lessons." Sam did not even know Rachel gave singing lessons, and definitely not to his sister. Then, while his mother was filling him in, he remembered that evening when Stacey was gushing about her teacher. She hadn't said her name. "So, when Rachel told them, Leeroy and Hiram very kindly and readily offered that we stay at their guest house until we get back on our feet. Your father knows. He will be joining us later tonight."
Sam could not believe what the tiny brunette in front of him had done for him and his family. It only took an afternoon for her to help them and get them out of a situation they have been stuck into for almost two months. He had a hard time keeping his emotions at bay. He jogged to Rachel and held her in a tight embrace. He was happy and relieved when she hugged him back. He murmured in her ear: "thank you so much Rachel." Never had she felt so moved by a simple expression of gratitude. She wasn't sure whether it was the hoarseness in his voice, the vulnerability, the hot breath coming out of his mouth – his incredible mouth assorted with very soft lips I got to feel on mine once, she internally berated herself for thinking about this– or if it was just the effect Sam Evans was doomed to have on her, but she could feel herself shiver at his whisper in her ear.
She looked right into his eyes and squeezed his hand. Sam thought he could literally melt at the gesture. Leeroy and Hiram got out on the porch, which ended the moment between him and Rachel. At the same time, his father arrived and while adults were making presentations and giving their thanks and, Sam and Rachel were able to find a moment to talk. "Why didn't you tell me?" Rachel asked, with a soft voice, not an ounce of reproach in her voice. "I would have been able to understand, I mean…"
Sam cut her off before she could finish her answer. "That's precisely why I didn't. Because I knew you'd try to find excuses for my deplorable behavior. See, I learned a word from you, deplorable," he laughed nervously. "Anyway, I didn't want what my family and I were going through to be used an excuse. I have no excuses. I hurt you in the worst possible way. I was mean, and I let my anger and insecurities get the best of me, and I can't tell you how sorry I am. You, avoiding me over the last few weeks, it was torture. I need you, Rachel. Not just as my tutor." He remained silent looking expectantly at her.
"I understand, Samuel. I can only imagine how hard it must've been. This is your home and you can stay as long as you want to. I hope that you enjoy your time here. As for us, I appreciate your apologies and regrets. I hope we can move on from what happened and be friends again." Sam's heart sank when she said the word "friends." The reality is that he never stopped thinking about Rachel ever since he kissed her and he didn't want to be her friend. "Why, Rachel?" he breathed. "Why did you decide to help me and my family, while I was awful to you? You didn't have to."
She knew that if she was honest with him, there would be no turning back. "Well, it was unhealthy for Stacey or Stevie to grow up in that type of environment. It was part of it. The other part, was you, Samuel. Let's not play dumb. I care about you. You must think I am ridiculous, caring for people who hurt me at the first occasion," she smiled sadly. Sam wanted to burry himself in that garden where they were roaming. If she could see in the night, she would've seen that Sam's eyes were swimming in tears. "Rachel…" he whispered, as shame, regret, desire, longing and a dozen other feelings were invading his body and mind.
"That's fine, Samuel. We're expected for dinner anyways." The dinner was joyful, jokes firing from everywhere in the table. Puck was seated next to Sam, and noticed that he wasn't the most cheerful. "All good, Evans?" All Sam said was "Rachel," and Puck nodded. He knew his best friend could hold a grudge and make you feel like shit about it. When time came to go to bed, everyone got up and the Evans headed to the guesthouse. Sam was however interrupted by Hiram.
"Samuel, you can of course accompany your family to the guest house. But we thought, if it is alright with you, that you'd be sleeping here in the main house with us. Like this, you could have your own room and bathroom. A young man like you should have his privacy and we're sorry, there isn't just enough space for that in the guest house." Sam looked at Rachel's father and nodded. "Thank you so much, Mr. Berry." Hiram smiled and told him. "It's upstairs, it is the third door to the left, wooden door with nothing on it. It's next to our room, and Rachel's room is on the other hand of the hallway."
After spending some time with his family in the guesthouse, again trying to wrap his head around the idea that they would be living in an actual house, with nice generous people that agreed to help them, he retreated to the main house where it seemed like the Berries had already left for bed. As he entered the room that was assigned to him, his eyes settled on the closet where his mother had already put most of his stuff. Then he saw it. It couldn't be.
In the corner of the room, against the wall, was his guitar. It wasn't any guitar. It was his. He could recognize it among thousands. He had to sell it to help support a bit his family. He also saw there was a small post-it on it. "Welcome home, Sam." At that very instant, he broke down and burst in tears. All that had unfolded during the evening, the new "home," Rachel's words, her kindness, everything came crashing down. He had barely any control on his legs when he went rushed to Rachel's room, knocking furiously, hoping she was still awake.
"What is it, Samuel?" He entered without invitation, but at this point he didn't care. He couldn't go on like this, being barely on speaking terms with the girl that had done so much for him already, without expecting anything from him; the girl who believed in him when nobody did. "Rachel, how did you know about the guitar?" She smiled. "I have a new partner in crime in the house," was all she said. "We've been in Glee together, I could see how much this guitar meant to you. It belongs with you. You had to have it back."
As she said those words, Sam thought that the exact same sentence to apply to Rachel, to a T. Rachel means so much to me. She belongs with me. I have to have her back. "I am at loss of words with you Rachel, so all I'll say is, once again, thank you." He knew he did not deserve Rachel's kindness or generosity. She's always been perfect to him, and the repaid her by hurting her, insulting her, all because he couldn't stand the idea of her with another man. That hadn't changed. Is that Jesse kid still in the picture?
She waved her hand as a way to say that he shouldn't mention it. "I meant what I said in the post-it. You're home, Samuel." She walked him back to her door, before she added. "As such, of course, you can bring Santana around if you'd like." Sam was taken aback by Rachel's sentence. He and Santana had broken up a few days after the kiss. He was too much of a dork according to her. He didn't even spare a thought for Santana if he was being honest, a eye-browned brunette occupying his thoughts. "Rachel…" She interrupted him. "Good night, Samuel. Rest well." Then, she closed her door at him.
Rachel, please…