Author's Note: I made one of Rachel's father's a lawyer since that seems to be a popular choice on here. Plus, it goes with my story so...yey creative license! Also, I realized I did not make it clear that this takes place immediately after Regionals, so taking Mr. Schue's comment into consideration (about enjoying their upcoming summer) this takes place during "finals week".
Terror
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
-From Maya Angelou's Still I Rise
Rachel wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually she heard Brian moving about his room. When she finally was allowed to emerge, she realized that it was well into the afternoon. She was staring at Brian uncomfortably until he asked her what she wanted in an aggravated voice.
"I need to use the restroom," she whispered.
"Oh. Uh...come this way," he said awkwardly. He led her down the hall and motioned to a door on the left. She looked at him uncertainly.
"Do you think you could take the tape off?" Brian sighed as he ran a hand over his face. He went into the bathroom and came out with a pair of scissors, snipping through the tape around Rachel's wrists. She was slightly disappointed to see that there was no window, dashing her hopes of making an escape, but all she was concerned about was relieving herself after waiting for so many hours to use the bathroom. She moved quickly, not wanting to make her captors angry. After washing her hands she splashed her face with water and then exited the bathroom, immediately coming to a halt when both Brian and Todd were waiting for her. She felt her body tense when she realized she was being led back towards Brian's bedroom. Immediately, the possibilities of what was about to happen to her began to fly through her head and she couldn't stop herself from starting to cry. She was shocked into silence when Brian gave her a gentle push back towards the closet. She lowered herself to the floor and tried to focus on the faces of her kidnappers through her tears. Brian knelt down as Todd left the room.
"The plan has changed. Your face and your car are all over the news, and there are cops everywhere. We're not going to leave today. We need to switch your license plate first with another one, but neither of our cars are registered so it's going to take some time. Todd ran out to McDonald's before and he's going to grab your food, okay? We're not going to hurt you, Rachel," he said softly. Rachel nodded and wiped the tears from her face. If he knew her name he must be telling the truth, there were people looking for her. Todd returned a moment later and thrust a bag and cup at Brian before leaving the room again. Brian sorted through it and then handed Rachel a cheeseburger. He looked at her questioningly when she didn't grab it.
"No thank you," she said quietly. Brian sighed and lowered himself to the floor, sitting against the doorway in front of Rachel.
"I know you're hungry, and it's going to be quite a while before we go anywhere. You need to eat something."
"I am hungry, and I appreciate that you thought to get me something to eat, but I can't eat that. I'm a vegan. It's fine. If I could maybe just have a glass of water? Maybe an apple?" Rachel looked at Brian hopefully, but frowned when he didn't say anything, instead biting into her cheeseburger and chewing thoughtfully.
"I'm really sorry about all of this. I know I said it before, but I am. Could you at least eat the french fries? I'll look but I doubt we have anything that you would be willing to eat." Rachel nodded and gave Brian a half smile as she accepted the fries he handed to her. To her surprise, he left the closet door open as he went to find suitable food for her. He returned a few minutes later and gave her a grateful smile when he realized all of her fries were gone and she hadn't moved from her spot on the floor. He handed her an apple with a few brown spots and frowned when she eagerly bit into it. She chewed quickly and swallowed, and decided since he hadn't closed the door on her, it was okay to indulge herself in talking to another person, even if it was a burgling kidnapper. So many hours alone in the dark closet had done nothing to quell her fears. She had seen on a show once that if you talked to your captors and made them see you as a person, they'd be less likely to hurt you. It couldn't hurt to try.
"Do you realize I'm going to have to use my elliptical for an extra 30 minutes when I get home? Not to mention what the salt on those fries could do to my vocal chords. I'm an exceptional singer, you see, and I take the..."her voice trailed off when she realized he was looking at her with an amused expression on his face. She immediately regretted rambling on about herself but defiantly stuck out her chin.
"You think it's funny, do you? Well listen and tell me if my voice is funny," she said. She stood up, and took a tiny step out of the closet so she wasn't mushed against all of the clothes. She stood with her spine straight, her shoulders back, and let the first few notes flow effortlessly from her lips.
On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone, I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me
In the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me for ever and forever
And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say, there's a way for us
I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone, the river's just a river
Without him the world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers
I love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life I've only been pretending
Without me his world will go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known
I love him
I love him
I love him
But only on my own
Brian was staring at her, dumbfounded. Rachel was almost embarrassed to note that Todd was standing in the doorway of Brian's room, a look of shock on his face. Quickly, his features hardened.
"Don't let her do that again," he said, before turning and walking back down the hallway.
"That was beautiful, Rachel. They said on the news that you were an aspiring singer, they even showed one of your videos from Myspace. You sound so different in person," Brian said. "Todd probably doesn't want any of our neighbors to hear you, so just keep quiet, okay?"
"I understand," she said softly as she returned herself to her spot on the floor of the closet. She locked her arms around her knees, relieved that they hadn't retaped her hands. "When can I go home?"
"As soon as the license plates come, I promise."
After a moment, he gave her a little nod and then closed the closet door. She heard a little bit of rustling outside, not nearly what Brian did the first time he closed her inside. If she wasn't in this predicament she would like Brian, she was sure of it. As it was, even in her predicament, she couldn't help but be glad he was with her, a buffer of sorts against the intimidating Todd.
A little while passed, and Rachel could no longer keep her eyes from closing. She reluctantly took the pillow Brian had offered her the day before and laid down. A few seconds later, she was asleep.
Author's Note 2: Next up, the moment you've all been waiting for (at least, I think so). Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. I'm sorry it's short, but I wanted to at least get a little something up for you all. The next chapter is much longer, but I am working another 52 hour week next week (same as this week, which is why the update sucks a little bit.) It will probably be up on Sunday, that seems to be my lazy day where I can finish my chapters up. As I said in the previous chapter, this is my first INTENTIONAL multi chaptered fic, so I'm not going purely on inspiration, I'll probably hit some bumps along the way. If you have a suggestion or a request, let me know and I shall try to incorporate it if I can.
