Shelby stormed down the corridor. She had been halfway through teaching her first class after lunch when she had been interrupted. She had been told that a call was waiting for her and it was important.
As Shelby continued down the corridor, her mind and heart filed with worry. What if it was Rachel? The girl had messaged her at lunch to say that she was having a good day. That was only ½ an hour ago, what could change so dramatically in this time.
Arriving in the office, her fears were confirmed. It was McKinley High School. They were asking her to go to the school as the police needed to speak to herself and Rachel.
"I've been to the lawyer's office. It is all official" Shelby rambled.
"Don't worry Ma'am, it is another issues that they need to speak to you about" The receptionist explained.
"What is it?" Shelby asked.
"Apologies ma'am, I am unaware what the issue is. They said you must be present" She explained.
"I'm leaving now but I will be about 2 hours" Shelby explained as she quickly signed out and almost ran to the car. She wished that she could hire a plane to get to her daughter quicker.
Shelby drove as quickly as she legally could to Lima. She arrived at the school and through her car into park. She was then met by a police officer who then guided her to the office where she saw her daughter sitting waiting for her. Shelby gave the girl a look and Rachel shrugged confirming what the woman had already assumed, neither had any idea what this was about.
Shelby sat down next to the girl. She didn't want to smother the girl but wanted to be close enough that she could help the girl if needed. Rachel had been with Shelby for 4 days now. It was Friday and they were ready to spend the weekend together. They got on relatively well for strangers but neither of them had entered any depth of conversations about the past or the future which they both knew they would need to do shortly.
"Rachel, do you know where your fathers are?" Officer Henry asked and Rachel shook her head.
"They just said they were going on holiday. For their wedding anniversary or something. They just dropped me off at Shelby's" Rachel explained and the officer nodded.
"Ms Corcoran, were you aware that Rachel was being dropped off at yours?" He asked and Shelby shook her head.
"I had no idea. She wasn't' even dropped off at my house, instead the school I work at" Shelby explained.
"What has any of this got to do with the matter anyway?" Shelby asked impatiently.
"There is currently a search warrant out for Mr and Mr Berry. We have sufficient evidence and we believe that they were aware of this and it is why they have left" He explained carefully.
"Have either of you been back to the house?" He asked and they both shook their heads.
"They took my keys off of me" Rachel admitted. "And well I didn't say before but they also stopped my phone contract.
"Remind me and I'll sort that" Shelby reassured the young teenager.
"What exactly do you believe they have done?" Shelby asked still confused by this situation.
"The list is ongoing. Sexual assault, rape and assault are amongst other charges again them" Officer Henry explained.
"I need more information" Shelby demanded.
"I cannot give you any more than that" He explained.
"No you aren't listening to me. I need it. You have to give it to me" Shelby shouted as she stood up to get her point made. Noticing that Officer Henry was not going to budge she had to use another tactic.
"Can I have a private word" Shelby asked as she went to leave the room. Rachel watched as this man stepped outside the room with her mother. She could tell that Shelby was not happy at all.
"I need to know all the information. What do you mean by rape and sexual assault? I am going to have to go home and have this conversation with my daughter to ensure that nothing has happened to her. I need to know what they have done" Shelby pleaded.
"They set up a secret group at the university. It was for men who was unsure of their sexuality. Once they entered this group, it was impossible to leave. All the men had to admit they were gay and were sworn to secrarcy about this club. They bribed, assaulted, stalked and harassed those who tried to leave" He explained and Shelby nodded.
"Was it just men?" Shelby asked.
"As far as we are aware it was" He explained.
"Please can we go. If you need more from us then please come to my house tomorrow. But just now I need to speak to my daughter" Shelby commanded and the officer nodded. He knew better than to interfere with Mama Bear.
As they entered the room, Shelby grabbed her jacket and bag. She then motioned for her daughter to do the same and Rachel followed.
"Let's get you home sweetie" Shelby said putting her arm around Rachel. Rachel nodded and followed her mother's lead and leant in towards her.
They got to Shelby's car and split up. Going around each side of the car. Shelby looked at her daughter as they put their seatbelts on.
"I'm not going to force you to talk just now but we will be at some point. It will take 2 hours to get home and you can use that time to gather your thoughts but if you want to talk at any time then let me know" Shelby explained putting her hand on top of Rachel's. Rachel nodded and went back to looking out the window.
They arrived home and Shelby had to gain Rachel's attention to tell her that they had arrived and they could go inside now. She instructed the girl to get changed into comfortable clothes and then join her down the stairs. Rachel nodded and entered the house once it was unlocked.
Once they had both changed their clothes, they headed down the stairs.
"This is important" Shelby said and Rachel nodded. She looked up at her mother.
"I didn't know anything. I promise you. I didn't" Rachel begged.
"Hey, I believe you. Don't worry about it. I believe you" Shelby comforted the girl.
"I just need to know that nothing happened to you?" Shelby said "Did they ever hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable"
"What no" Rachel said.
"They never touched you inappropriately or looked where your underwear covers" Shelby tried to ask.
"No you do know they are gay right?" Rachel asked confused.
"Well I just want you to know that if you think of anything that has previously happened and you aren't sure about it then you can speak to me about" Shelby said and Rachel nodded.
"Do you understand what happened in the office" Shelby asked and Rachel nodded.
"I'm here for you. You can talk to me at any point. I want you to feel comfortable with me and be able to speak to me about anything" Shelby explained "I know we have a long way to go in our relationship but I am still here and I promise you Rach, I'm not going anywhere"
Rachel nodded as she listened to the older woman speaking and for once she actually believed every word she heard.
"I think we need to take our minds off this for the evening. So why don't you pick a movie and I'll order a takeout?" Shelby asked and Rachel nodded. That did sound good.
Rachel decided on Chicago and Shelby ordered Chinese. They started the film and then paused it when the takeout arrived. Once they were all settled, they continued the movie again.
Shelby however could sense that her daughter was unsure about everything. She didn't want to push the girl and felt she did not have the confidence or relationship with the girl to be able to pull her onto her knee and hold her. Instead she looked at the girl and smiled softly.
"Do you want to talk?" Shelby asked softly and Rachel shook her head. It wasn't that she was unwilling to talk to the woman, it was that she simply couldn't explain in words what were going on in her head.
Once the movie had finished, Rachel announced that she was going to have a shower and head to bed as she was tired.
"Would you rather have a bath?" Shelby asked softy and the girl nodded. A bath did sound good.
"I have bath bombs if you want one" She said and Rachel nodded. Shelby disappeared to her bathroom and returned with shampoo and conditioner as well as the bath bomb.
"Use this shampoo and conditioner tonight when you have time. Leave it for about 10 minutes and it will make your hair look really shiny" Shelby said handing the hair products over which were especially for dark hair. Rachel nodded and headed to the main bathroom.
Shelby started her marking. She headed to check on Rachel once she had finished. She had some planning to do but would do that in bed. She wanted to check on Rachel first.
"Night, I'm going to bed now but remember if you need anything just come to me. It's the weekend so I'm not going to tell you that you must go to bed now but you do look tired" She said softly and Rachel nodded. She turned her phone off and went comfortable. Shelby kissed the top of the girl's head before turning the light off on her way out.
Shelby changed into her pyjamas and ensured that she was all ready for bed. She then grabbed the planning folder. If she did it now, she would have the whole weekend with Rachel.
By the time Shelby had finished it was after 12 o'clock. She placed the folder back on the floor and heard noises form outside her room. She sat up properly and looked at the door.
"Rach, you can come in" Shelby said softly. She waited another moment, still hearing the girl prancing about outside.
"Come on sweetie, I promise I don't bite" Shelby said and slowly Rachel opened the door.
"Do you want to come in with me?" Shelby asked softly as she opened the duvet next to her. Rachel walked over to her mother's bed and climbed in.
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't sleep" Rachel admitted.
"That's understandable giving all that you have been through. Do you want to talk?" Shelby asked and Rachel shook her head. Now tears were streaming down the young teenager's face.
"Oh sweetie" Shelby said unsure what to do.
"My dads were bad men" She said and Shelby was unable to response. Rachel threw herself at her mother and Shelby pulled the girl into her chest.
She held the girl as close to her as she could. Knowing that this position would not be comfortable for the girl, Shelby moved the girl's legs and pulled her to be sitting on her lap sideways. She held her daughter as close as she could as the young girl sobbed into her chest. Shelby didn't move but mumbled reassuring words into her daughter's ear.
Shelby could fell the girl relaxing and getting heavier so moved to be more comfortable. She let the girl gently fall onto the bed beside her but not once did she let go of her. Knowing that Rachel wanted and needed Shelby made everything feel so much more real for Shelby. They both drifted off to sleep content in each other's arms.