Thank you so much for the reviews. I'm so happy you enjoyed last chapter.
Disclaimer; I don't own Friends.
Picking Up the Pieces
Chapter 11.
Monica sighed when she once again got the voicemail.
"Hi this is Rachel. I can't pick up the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll probably call you back! Unless I don't like you.. Which I probably does… Bye."
Biiiip.
"Hi Rach, this is Monica again. I was just wondering, if you got my other messages? Just if you did, why don't you call me back? I would just like to know if you were okay, but I guess… Well, call me, please?"
She hung up.
Why didn't it feel right?
--
"Mom, what are we gonna do?" Ashley asked, "We can't stay here forever."
"No." Rachel said, "I'll have to go home and talk to your dad soon."
"What about me?"
"I'll find you a place to stay." Rachel said, "How would you like Ben's place? I'm sure I could arrange with Ross and Carol that you and Ben could be at Ross' place?"
"I would love that, mommy."
"Okay," Rachel said, "Let me just set everything up."
--
"Well then." Ross said, closing his cell, "Rachel is brining Ashley over tonight, and Carol is brining Ben."
"Rachel?" Monica asked.
"Yes, she's gonna suck it up and talk to Barry. I guess she just don't want Ashley to be there."
"Okay." Monica said, "Should I make some dinner?"
--
"Are you ready mom?" Ashley asked.
"Yes, two seconds." Rachel smiled, signing the papers she'd just written.
"What's that?" Ashley asked.
"It's important." Rachel said, placing the letter in an envelope. She turned to Ashley, "Here." she said, handing the envelope to her daughter, "Don't look at this Ashley. It's for Ross or Monica."
"What is it?"
"It's a letter." Rachel said, telling the obvious, "If I haven't come to see you in two days or haven't called… If you haven't heard from me at all in two days… You give that letter to Ross or Monica, okay? Can you do that?"
"Yeah." Ashley said.
"It's important that you promise." Rachel said.
"I promise."
"Okay then," Rachel said, "Let's go."
--
"Okay, can you be good Ashley?" Rachel asked.
"Of course mom." Ashley smiled.
"Thank you for taking care of her Ross." Rachel smiled, "I just need to fix all this."
"I understand." Ross said, smiling at her. She was kinda cute.
"Okay," Rachel turned back to Ashley "Give mommy a hug."
Ashley hugged her mom.
"Remember." Rachel told her, showing two fingers, "Two days."
--
Rachel opened the door with a stern look on her face.
She was expecting Barry to jump on her, and she knew it was gonna be painful.
But although she was scared to death, she walked with calm steps into living room where she found Barry in his favourite chair.
"Hi." she whispered.
Barry looked at her with hateful eyes.
"Where have you been?" he asked.
"Around." Rachel swallowed a lump, "Have you been here all the time?"
"Yes." Barry said, getting up, "Where is Ashley?"
"At a friend's place." Rachel answered, following his ways with her eyes, "I didn't want her to see this."
"Clever." Barry said, "'Cause you know what's gonna happen, right?"
"Right." Rachel said.
"And if she was here, I would probably not be able to not hurt her too." Barry said.
"She's your daughter, Barry." Rachel said, turning her head around because he was now behind her.
"How do I know?" Barry asked, placing his hand on her shoulder, "How do I know that she ain't some guy's?"
"I would never do that to you, Barry."
Another swallow.
"You wouldn't?" Barry asked, now before her, "Then maybe I've gotten this all wrong? You didn't sleep with a guy named Joey?"
"I'm sorry, Barry." Rachel said, "But I was so angry with you… I-"
Barry slapped her, "Shut up!" he yelled, "You don't speak, I speak!"
"Yes." Rachel whimpered.
"How could you, Rachel?" Barry asked, disgusted.
"I don't know." Rachel cried, "I love you."
"I love you too, baby," Barry said, "But you gotta understand; I can't stay married to a slut. What would that do to my business?"
"I'm not a slut!" Rachel whispered, looking him in the eye, "It was one time! And I'm sorry."
"I don't believe in divorce, Rachel." Barry told her.
"I don't wanna divorce you, Barry." Rachel said, "I've never wanted to."
"No." Barry said, "But as I just told you, we can't stay married either."
"Then what do you want?"
"Well…" Barry sat in his chair again, "We can't divorce, and we can't stay married… That's why it's so neat with the whole ´till death do us apart´-thing." he paused, "We could use that one."
"No, Barry." Rachel said, "We have a daughter, you're not gonna do that to her! She's gonna be without parents!"
"Oh no." Barry said, "You've got it all wrong. She's not gonna be without parents. She's gonna have me!"
"No, Barry…." Rachel sobbed, "Please don't kill me."
"Maybe you should have thought about your lust to live before you cheated on me?" Barry suggested, "Could that have been an option?"
Rachel found him so irritating and annoying, but she didn't dare tell him back, "I'm sorry." she cried, "Give me one more chance. I wont do it again, I swear."
"I'm gonna miss you a lot, Rachel." Barry said, "I just hope Ashley will be okay after all this. I wouldn't want to hurt her, but if she's being too stubborn I might have to slap her once in awhile, but hey! That's life for all kids!"
"You are sick!" Rachel yelled, her anger getting the best of her.
"Excuse me?"
"How can you even talk about hurting a little girl? Your mind is twisted! I can't believe I married you! Bastard!"
"I think that's enough, Rachel!" Barry said, totally calm, "You don't wanna say something you might regret, do you?"
He took out a gun from his back pocket and placed it at her chin.
She looked at it, watching his fingers very closely for any signs of movement.
"It would be so easy..." Barry smiled, "To just press my finger down, and everything will be over with."
"Don't." Rachel cried, tears streaming down her face, "Please don't, Barry. You'll be going to jail."
"Oh no!" Barry said, "I'm so scared!"
He laughed.
"But on the other hand…" he said, lowering his gun, "I would like to make it more painful… You know, you deserve it, honey."
"Barry…" Rachel trailed off.
Barry looked at her and took a few steps back. He ended in the other end of the living room, still face to face with her.
Then he lifted his arm, and pointed the gun right at her.
Rachel looked at him, scared to death, and thanked God that Ashley was a place she was safe, and with people Rachel trusted.
With no more words, Barry pressed the bottom, and the bullet hit Rachel in the stomach.
She stood there for a second, taking in the pain, and then she collapsed on the floor.
"Remember," Rachel told her, showing two fingers, "Two days."
Ashley had to give Monica or Ross the letter in two days.
She would be safe.
With those last thoughts, Rachel felt the blood stream down her stomach, colouring the floor.
Dun-dun-duhn! Sorry, couldn't help it. Maybe you find this a little overdramatic, but hey! - my story! Please, be my loved ones, and leave me a review. Thanks, Stessa.