I've read this through to check and edit any mistakes i could find but in the end i'm only human so there are bound to be some mistakes. I try my best but i just can't catch them all. Hope you enjoy this chapter, please leave a review if you have criticism or just a nice comment.
Alone In This House
Chapter Two: Falling Apart
Quinn watched on in silence as Rachel's walls seemed to crumble right in front of her eyes. In a way it was beautiful, poetic even. How she unravelled completely, her everything laid bare for Quinn to see. How she looked so vulnerable in that moment, so afraid yet so calm and content. How tears streaked quietly down the girls face, clinging to her cheek and neck, leaving trails that shimmered in the light, a magnificent reminder or their appearance. In that moment she looked like a beautiful statue, a great masterpiece of art. So full of emotion yet none at all. So alive yet lifeless.
Her face shifted from one emotion to the next and Quinn watched them all play across her face, like a performance, something to be watching and enjoyed. There was confusion, her face scrunched as if she couldn't understand something and a thin veil of frustration at not being about to figure it out. There was annoyance and hopeless acceptance, like a inmate admitted to death row resigning to his fate. But most of all was the pure unbridled hurt, pain that shone like a hot, raging fire, spiting and sputtering embers, engulfing everything around it in its heat.
Quinn watched for a moment, her breathing still. She felt like she couldn't move, couldn't do anything that could possibly break this beautifully tragic moment. She watch Rachel's labour breathing, chest and shoulder heaving with every intake. She watched Rachel's eyes blink away a tear every few seconds.
Eventually her sympathy and need to comfort the girl she loved won out of her awe and spurred her into action.
"Rachel?"
She didn't react and Quinn felt a growing sense of dread gnawing at the pit of her stomach.
"Rach?" Quinn said, her desperation and fear filling her voice.
Rachel still didn't move and Quinn lifted her hand and placed it on the girls shoulder, the action seem to bring back into reality somewhat. Her gaze moved over to Quinn but she didn't do anything for a moment.
Slight confusion came over Rachel's face as she looked at Quinn, as if she couldn't actually believe that Quinn was there, like she had forgotten about the past ten minutes and only remember herself crying, alone, in the middle of the night. She looked like she couldn't fathom why Quinn was there, disbelieving and stunned.
"Rach, it's okay." Quinn said in some attempt to comfort the girl. Even Quinn herself knew it was a pathetic attempt at comfort. She knew it wasn't okay, it was just something people said then they had nothing else. She tried to make her voice sound comforting, soft and gentle but it was hard to force herself out of the façade she had lived by for the past two years.
God she was so messed up. The girl she loved sat in front of her, heartbroken and in tears and she could barely bring herself to comfort the girl because she spent the last three years pretending to hate her. If she wasn't in this situation she probably would have laughed. The laugh would have been bitter and hollow but she still would have.
A sob fell from Rachel's lips and it snapped Quinn's attention back to her. Quinn watched for a moment while Rachel sobbed and whimpered softly. She looked like she wanted to reach out a seek some kind of comfort in Quinn but didn't know if she was aloud.
Quinn wrapped her arms around the girls shoulder and pulled her body flush against her own. For a moment Rachel was stiff in her arms but Quinn didn't let go. For a moment nothing happened and Quinn felt like she had been suspended in time, forced to suffer not knowing whether or not Rachel would return the hug. But after that moment had passed Rachel arms snaked shyly around Quinn's midsection and squeeze for a second before loosening. She felt Rachel release a shuddering, broken breath before fully relaxing in her arms and it brought a small spark of warmth to Quinn's chest.
Quinn held Rachel, the girl of her dreams, and rocked her slowly, rubbing her back in a soothing movement. She whispered calming words, her breath hot on Rachel's ear. She felt Rachel's chest rise and fall against her own with every shaky intake of breath but she forced herself not to think about the little jolts of pleasure it send spiralling through her.
Quinn thought about the position they were in now. To anyone else it would look like nothing but two friends. Because thats all it was really, a friendly hug, one 'friend' comforting another. But to Quinn it was so much more. She was holding the girl loved for the first time in her life and it was almost driving her insane. She realised now that all her fears of becoming Rachel's friend were justified. She realised that she couldn't had been Rachel's friend. It was no secret that Rachel was affectionate every chance she got and Quinn knew that she wouldn't have been able to take it.
She wouldn't have been able to take it without pouncing on the girl, or y'know asking her out like a normal person. And that could have gone two ways, heartbreaking rejection or Rachel would have said yes. Both would have been equally bad in Quinn's eyes. She knew that if she had given in and asked Rachel out a year ago and she had said yes it could only have ended in disaster. One year ago she hadn't been ready to admit to anyone bar herself that she was attracted to Rachel, that she was attracted to another girl. Two years ago she hadn't even been ready to admit it too herself and would have denied it till her dying breath.
She felt ready now. She had felt ready earlier but her fears had gotten the better of her for a split second and she had messed it up. Maybe it was because just they were so close to that school, that place. Just outside the doors of William McKinley High where she had to be Head cheerleader Quinn Fabray.
Heartbreaking sobs broke her out of her thoughts. She looked down to the girl in her arms and she felt tears burning behind her eyes, which she quickly shook off. Rachel didn't need her cry too right now. She needed to be there for Rachel.
"Rachel, sweetie, is there anything I can get you?" Quinn asked gently, hoping the girl wouldn't just suddenly lash out at her for just being nice.
It felt odd, being nice to Rachel. She had spend so much time doing exactly the opposite of that and now being kind just feels...odd. It feels like she doesn't deserve to be kind too Rachel after everything she had put the girl through.
"Water, please." Was all the girl managed to gasp out between sobs.
Quinn nodded, sure that Rachel could feel the action and got up off the couch. She made her way into the kitchen and rummaged around the in the cupboards, opening a few without any luck. Rachel much have heard the slamming and figured out what was wrong.
"Top cabinet next to the fridge." She called out from her spot in the living room.
Quinn smiled slightly as she made her way over to the cabinet Rachel had pointed out and she opened it up to find a bunch of glasses. She grabbed the biggest one she could find, just in case, and filled it to the brim, tapping her foot impatiently for all of the two seconds it took. Quinn walked back to Rachel as fast as she could manage without spilling the drink and placed it into Rachel's waiting hands.
Rachel took the glass and eagerly took a drink, downing almost half of the glass in a second. Quinn watched Rachel's throat bob with every gulp of water and became entrance by the movement. Her eyes greedily traced the line of the girls neck, taking in all the tanned flesh that was on show.
With the glass still half full, Quinn watched as Rachel swirled the glass in her hand slightly, gently rocking the water inside. Rachel seemed hypnotised by the calm waves and silent ripples create by her movement.
"Thirsty?" Quinn joked, trying to lighten the mood at least a little bit. It seemed to work because Rachel lifted her head and shot Quinn a sombre smile before going back to looking at the water in her glass.
"No not really." Rachel said with a sad, fond smile resting on her lips, as if she was remembering something.
Quinn quirked her eyebrow in question but didn't actually say anything. She didn't want to push Rachel into talking about anything she didn't feel comfortable talking about.
Rachel though, seemed to catch the action.
"My daddy always used to tell that whenever I was sad I should go get a glass of water. I don't really know why, probably just because he told me it would make me feel better, but its usually helped." Rachel explained, her somber smile from earlier fading away towards the end of her sentence.
"Usually?" Quinn questioned.
"It isn't doing shit right now." Rachel mumbled bitterly and brought the glass up to her face, inspecting the cup curiously as if it should be something more than just a glass. For a second Quinn tensed, thinking that Rachel was going to throw the glass across the room in anger but after a moment Rachel just sighed and lower the object letting it drop to the floor the remaining water spilling out onto the carpet.
Quinn watched as the water seeped into the beige carpet, darking the affected areas. She didn't really worry about it too much, after all it was only water, no damage was done. What she did worry about was the girl sat on the couch, barely managing to keep her eyes open, looking completely fed up. Fed up with holding the glass, fed up with this house, fed up with everything.
"I think you need to go to bed Rachel." Quinn said, rising out of the seat she had taken and making her way over to the girl. When Rachel made no move at all, Quinn just leaned down, hooking one hand around the back of the girls knees and placing the other on her back.
She lifted the girl up and cradled her to her chest. Rachel really wasn't that heavy and Quinn was in pretty good shape. It felt like years of torturous physical training with the cheerios had all been leading up to this moment, all be conditioning her just to do something as simple as carry Rachel up some stairs.
Quinn felt like it was worth it.
"Come on, time for bed." Quinn said, as if she was speaking to a small child. She watched with amusement as Rachel huffed defiantly, maybe because of the bed time or because of the way Quinn was speaking to her, but turned her head to rest on Quinn's shoulder none the less.
She watched as Rachel's eyelids fluttered closed and her breathing evened out. She watched the gentle, calm, rise and fall of the girls chest and she could feel Rachel's hands grip to her jumper loosely. In that moment Quinn thought that the girl in her arms looked so beautiful and she thanked God for giving her this moment. All the way up to Rachel's room, what Quinn suspected was Rachel's room if the gold star on that door was anything to go by, Quinn's eyes never left the girl. She was just thankful that she didn't trip on the stairs.
She lightly kicked open the door, not willing to remove her hands from Rachel for fear of dropping her. She made her way over to the bed and gently laid Rachel down on it, watching as the girl buried herself beneath the thick covers, curling into their warmth.
Quinn allowed herself a second to just look at her. Even when she wasn't trying, even when she was so vulnerable, especially when she was so vulnerable, Rachel Berry was so, so beautiful. For Quinn it was almost painful, looking down at the girl, her being so close, just within reach, yet not being able to do anything. Not being able to kiss and hold her, not being able to comfort her like she needed right now.
After that second passed Quinn forced herself to look away. She was already starting to feel like a stalker, stood over the sleeping girl, nothing else holding her thoughts other than wondering how soft Rachel's lips were.
She left the room, letting the door softly fall closed behind her. She padded her way down the stairs and made her way back into the living room and survey the mess that had been made. She peaked down the hallway and looked at the shattered glass all of the floor next to the door. She shook her head in mild annoyance.
She had decided that she should clean up, no matter how much she didn't want to. She realised that Rachel probably didn't want the reminder of this night when she woke up in the morning. And that thought was all it took to get Quinn moving.
She went over and picked the forgotten glass up from the floor and went and put it into the sink. She rummaged around the cupboards looking for something she could use to clean up. She found a large cupboard full of cleaning supplies and found a dustpan and brush in there.
She went back into the room and knelt down beside the small pile of glass from the picture that Rachel had thrown at the wall. She picked up the biggest shards, carefully, making sure not to slice open her hand and dropped them into the dustpan, then used the brush to sweep up the smaller pieces. She dumped the glass in the bin and then went and did the same over by the door.
She looked down into the trash can, seeing the photograph of Rachel and her fathers resting there covered in the glass that Quinn had just dropped in there.
Quinn had an idea and she made her way over to the door and went outside. She went down the drive to her car and opened the trunk, pulling out her Cheerios duffel back that she thankful left in there. She emptied the clothes and shower stuff into her trunk, not really caring about them at the moment and shouldered the bag.
She quickly made her way back inside the house, rubbing her palms together from the cold.
She went over and picked up the picture and the frame, shaking off the small shards of glass that clung to it. She put the picture back in the frame, just to hold it in place and dropped it into the bag. She then walked into the front room, her eyes scanning the walls and surfaces around the room that were littered with either family photos or photographs of the two Berry men.
Quinn made her way around the living room, picking up every photograph she could find and dropping it into her bag. She only glanced at the photos for a second before dropping them in, her eyes shining with curiosity and subdued sadness.
What happened to this happy family? She thought to herself. She could remember the way Rachel used to brag about her father, so bright and excited. Now she realised that Rachel would usually just repeated the same things over and over again, like a set speech she had for whenever her fathers were brought up. She remembered the way the girl used to recite this speech with forced enthusiasm but none of that Rachel Berry sparkle in her eyes.
She made her way down the hallways and up the stairs, picking up the few photographs that lingered about the home but most of them had been crowded in family room. She placed them all in her bag, trying not to thinking about the smiling faces within each of the images.
Finally when she had gotten all of them she made her way back to her car and open the back door and tossed the bag into the back seat, cringing with the contents of the bag clattered inside. She shrugged it off, realising that Rachel probably wouldn't mind too much considering she herself had been throwing them at walls earlier.
She made her way back inside and couldn't get over the weird feeling of just walking in and out of Rachel Berry's house like it was nothing. Quinn made her way over and collapsed and the couch.
She thought about what to do then. She was alone, with Rachel, well in Rachel's house. The girl was upstairs asleep, and would probably sleep soundly throughout the night if how exhausted she seemed earlier was anything to go by.
All logical thinking told her that she should leave, that she should never had been here in the first place. But something in her gut, some foreboding feeling deep down, something that seemed primal, instinctual, told her that she should stay.
The look on Rachel's face earlier, that look of utter and completely loneliness, told her that she needed to be here when the girl woke up, that she wouldn't want to be alone. That look of bitter sadness with underlying confusion and anger, told Quinn that Rachel needed someone.
After all she had been in a similar place once. Twice actually. Once when her father had kicked her out and another which didn't really have defined start point. A time before she realised who she truly was, behind all the HBIC façade. She could remember a feeling that could be liken to a gaping whole in her chest and she could never shake the feeling that something was just missing. She remembered being confused at why when at a glance she was perfectly fine. She remember being angry, frustration at not being able to figure out what was wrong with her. She had felt broken, damaged.
Then Rachel had changed all that. Made her realise, slowly, the lies that she had been telling herself.
What others think is important Quinn.
Yes you need to be on top Quinn.
Being popular is more important than anything Quinn.
No you didn't just stare at that girls lips Quinn.
You're attracted to guys Quinn.
You don't like Rachel Berry Quinn.
She shook herself out of the ravine she had ventured into. She needed to focus on Rachel right now, not think about her long winded journey to self discover, as she so often did, always ending up just going in circles around her own head.
She thought about what Rachel had said;
I don't know.
She didn't know what that meant. She didn't know? What does that even mean? How could she not know where her fathers were? Quinn's head started to throb. She realised that she wouldn't have any answers for herself. She would just have to ask Rachel tomorrow when the girl awoke.
She settled down on the couch, propping a cushion up against the arm and laying her head down on it. It wasn't the most appealing place to sleep, especially when Quinn knew that there were beds just upstairs. But she figured that it would do. She already felt like a creep.
She pulled the blanket that Rachel had been curled up in earlier over herself and cocooned herself in its warmth. Her eyes fell shut and because of the emotionally exhausting day she had it didn't take long to fall into into a troubled sleep.
Rachel woke up feeling slightly dazed and confused. She groggily looked around her room, feeling the fog of sleep lifting from her slowly. She scanned her room for the seconds time, as if she was looking at it for the first time, not actually sure how she got there.
All she remember from last night was crying, shattered glass and blonde hair before passing out.
Panic flared up inside her when the events of last night came rushing back to her. She remembered Quinn coming to her house, she remembered the photograph soaring across the room, she remembered the sting of tears, she remembered the water.
She felts tears sting her eyes, thinking about all the trouble that could come from what happened.
She imagined returning to school, or logging on to facebook to find comments like 'You gunna cry some more manhands' or 'god, you're such a freaking even your dads didn't want you.'
She felt her heart clench painfully when she thought about how that second would have been true.
She didn't want to think about it. She had a long time before school started back up and she could just avoid social media all together. Maybe, if God decided to have some mercy on her, Quinn would just forget by the time they get back to school.
She forced herself up from her bed and took a glance at her alarm clock for the first time. She realised that it was eleven and scolded herself for getting up so late. She left her room and started down the stairs.
She paused when she heard movement coming from her kitchen, the opening and closing of cabinets and plates moving around.
Was she being robbed? Was the first thought that shot through her mind. She had no idea who else would be in her house other than a robber or an axe murderer.
Good thing she planned for this.
She ran upstairs and quietly as she could. She opened and closed her door softly, making sure not to make any noise. She went over to her draws and opened up the bottom one and move some of the clothes out of the way to reveal a Glock 22 pistol and a loaded magazine.
She picked the gun up and slipped the magazine into the grip and locked it into place. The gun was heavy in her hands but she was used to it by now. She pulled the slide back and heard the soft click meaning that they was a bullet loaded into the chamber. She left the safety on as she made her way out of her room and back to the stairs.
She silently crept down the stairs, still hearing the noises coming from her kitchen. Once at the bottom she skirted along the wall towards her kitchen before pausing at the door. She knew she was being slightly dramatic but she was Rachel Berry, when wasn't she dramatic?
She took a deep breath before spinning around corner, gun held confidently in her hands.
"Hands up!" She screamed, pointing the gun towards the person in her kitchen.
She was met with the sight of an incredibly confused and scared Quinn Fabray. The girls hands instantly shot up in the air, not knowing what else to do.
"HOLY SHIT BERRY!" She shouted back at the girl holding a gun to her face.
It took a moment but once Rachel realised exactly who she was pointing the gun at she relaxed.
"Oh my god, Quinn." She said lowering the gun and sliding the magazine out. She cocked the barrel back, releasing the bullet from the chamber of the gun, before setting them down on the island that was in the kitchen.
"Quinn what are you doing here? You scared me." Rachel said, meeting the girls gaze to see that she had slightly relax but was still eying the gun warily.
When it seemed that Quinn registered Rachel's words her eyes snapped up to met the other girls.
"I scared you? You just pointed a gun. In. my. Face!" Quinn said, her terror over the situation that had just passed evident in her voice.
"Oh please, I never would have actually shot you. The safety wasn't even off and I'll have you know I have excellence reaction time and can easily make split second judgments, add that to the fact that my control over my firearms is immaculate and you really had nothing to worry about." Rachel said, waving the girl of like it was nothing
"Although I guess I should apologise. There was no way for you to know of my skill with a gun and i'm sure you must have been pretty panicked." Rachel said as she took a seat the breakfast bar, frowning slightly.
"Panicked doesn't really begin to describe it Rachel." Quinn said, her tone light and slightly amused, clearly not holding any grudges towards Rachel.
Rachel smiled momentary at the way Quinn had said her name. Quinn had never said her name before, not to her knowledge anyway. She may have said it the night before but Rachel couldn't remember, which wasn't much of a surprise considering how all over the place her emotions had been that night.
"Yes, well, like I said I'm sorry. But Quinn you really shouldn't have been in my kitchen, which leads me to the question of why you're here?" Rachel asked.
She watched Quinn fidget for a moment before looking up and meeting Rachel's eyes.
"I just thought...that after last night, you would want to wake up to an empty house." Quinn said sheepishly and Rachel would pretty sure it was the first time she could have used nervous to describe Quinn Fabray.
She let Quinn's words sink in and she felt grateful. Happy even. So happy that she felt tears swimming in her eyes.
"Oh, god. Rachel, please don't cry. I'll leave. I'm sorry, I should have known you wouldn't want me here." Quinn said, already making her way to leave.
Rachel quickly stopped her, a gentle hand on her wrist.
She stood up and quickly tugged Quinn towards her before the other could protest. She felt Quinn stiffen for a moment but Rachel just ignored it, feeling the need convey to Quinn just how wrong she was with that last statement, just how happy her being here made Rachel. After a moment Rachel felt Quinn sink into the embrace and she found that she had to hold back a squeal of happiness.
She was engaged in a hug with Quinn Fabray.
Safe to say Rachel felt quite excited.
After a long moment Rachel pulled back and looked the girl in the face. She saw something cross Quinn's face. Something indescribable and something so, so intense. Rachel had to swallow down the lump in her throat because of the look Quinn was giving her. She was so wrapped up in just staring into Quinn's eyes she didn't realise that her hands had slide down from the girls neck to hold onto her hands and that Quinn was returning the gesture.
She again thought about how happy she was simply that Quinn was here. Quinn Fabray, the girl she had offered friendship to countless times. Quinn Fabray, the girl everyone in school envied, the girl everyone looked up to or feared.
Her thoughts drifted back to was she was thinking the moment she woke up. How she thought that Quinn was use this to humiliate her, to demean and insult her. She felt a spike of guilt and dropped her gaze and hands away from Quinn's, taking a step back.
"I feel that I have to apologise Quinn." Rachel said, taking her seat again and watching as Quinn took the opposite seat.
"For what? Other than pointing a gun at me?" Quinn said but her tone wasn't accusatory, merely teasing.
"Quinn, the first thing I thought about when I woke up this morning was how to were probably going to use last night against me, how when I next saw or heard from you next it would be some venomous insult about my fathers and then when I get downstairs I see that you're here and just wanted to make sure I was okay." Rachel looked up to Quinn and she could see the hurt on the girls face for a split second before Quinn lowered her head and face out of Rachel's view.
"I assumed the worst Quinn and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry and I thought that you at least deserve honesty." Rachel reached across the table and clasped her hand around Quinn's, squeezing gently. The action caused Quinn too look up and she studied Rachel's face a moment and she seemed to notice the worry that was there. She gave Rachel's hand a soft squeeze back accompanied by a small smile.
"You shouldn't apologise Rachel. It's definitely something I would have done." Quinn said bitterly, hating how true her words were.
"Exactly Quinn. It's something you would have done, would have. Not anymore. That shows just how much you've changed in the time I've known you." Rachel said sincerely.
Quinn looked up and Rachel could see tears brimming in her eyes. She got about two seconds of a completely vulnerable Quinn Fabray. She looked happy at Rachel's words and she couldn't believe the affect her words had on Quinn.
In that moment Rachel thought that nothing could be more beautiful than the girl sat across from her.
The moment past and Quinn pulled her hand away from Rachel's, using it to wipe furiously at the her eyes.
"So, why the hell do you have a gun." Quinn said.
Rachel knew it was a blatant change of subject but she let it go. Despite what other people may think she knew Quinn Fabray. And she knew that if she pushed the girl on whatever emotions she was feeling Quinn would push back, ten times harder.
"A girls gotta protect herself Quinn." She said with a slight smirk.
"Yeah but a gun? Is that dangerous?" Quinn said, again eyeing the gun nervously.
"Not when you know how to use it properly." She said picking up the gun and turning it over in her hand.
She noticed Quinn visibly flinch with every turn of the gun and Rachel could help but laugh at the girl.
"What?" Quinn demanded.
"Quinn the gun isn't going to hurt you. Its not even loaded!" Rachel said, pulling the trigger over and over again, only being met with a dull click.
Quinn still looked unsure.
"The only way I could hurt you with this now is if I threw it at your head and while I may be a great shot, my arm is terrible." Rachel said and for her effort she received a laugh from the other girl. Rachel couldn't help but smile.
"Do you want to hold it?" Rachel asked. If it was loaded she would never even think about handing it over to Quinn, but as it is, not loaded and the magazine next to her, nothing could go wrong.
"Are you sure?" Quinn asked but Rachel could see the curiosity in her eyes.
"Yeah, here." Rachel said holding it out for Quinn to take.
Quinn reached over and tentatively took the gun. As soon as Rachel let go and the gun was fully in Quinn's hand her hand dropped slightly, not expecting the weight of it. She then held in it two hands, getting a feel for holding the gun. She started turning the gun slowly in her hands, just as Rachel had done a moment ago, looking at it intently.
Rachel watched on as Quinn's full concentration was on the weapon in her hands. Rachel couldn't help but think that Quinn looked like a child who had just gotten a new toy that they didn't quiet know how to work yet. Like an infant trying to figure out why the cube wouldn't fit into the circle shape hole. Then she realise how terrifying the thought of an infant with a gun was and promptly shook it anyway.
Rachel watched as Quinn tipped the gun forward slightly but lost her grip on the handle, the weight of the barrel bringing the gun further away from the girls grasp before Quinn could recover. The gun fell to the floor and hit with an dull thud instead of the clack that she suspected.
She figured out what was going on when Quinn shot up from the chair with a gasp.
"Son of a bitch!" She yelled, limping over to the counter top and bracing herself on it.
Rachel got up out of her chair and made her way over to where Quinn was, seeing the tears of pain in the girls eyes.
"Quinn! Are you okay?" Rachel said, placing a comforting hand of the small of the girls back, rubbing in what she hoped was a soothing manner.
"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine." Quinn said, trying to breath through the pain. Her foot was throbbing uncomfortable, sending jolts of pain through her every time she even thought about putting weight on it.
"Go sit down on the couch, i'll just go put the gun away, because clearly it doesn't like you." Rachel said, trying to joke to lighten to mood. It seemed to work some because she received a half smile from the girl.
She quickly made her way upstairs and put the gun back in its place, making sure there was no lose bullets. She then quickly made her way downstairs to find Quinn sitting on the couch just like she had asked.
She made her way into the front room and took a seat opposite Quinn in the loveseat. She instantly noticed that Quinn wouldn't look up from the floor. At first Rachel thought that maybe the girl was just inspecting her foot but when she noticed Quinn nervously clenching her hands at her side Rachel just had to ask.
"Quinn?"
Still the girl didn't look up and Rachel just looked around the room, looking for anything that could give her a glue as to why Quinn was acting like this.
She took in the surprisingly bare walls and empty table tops and she knew what had changed about the room.
"Quinn? Where are all the photographs?" She asked, not exactly angry, just confused really.
"There in my Cheerios duffel bag. In the back seat of my car." Quinn explained.
"Okay. Why?" Rachel asked.
"I just thought...that, I dunno, you seemed pretty angry yesterday when you were throwing them around and I figured that it has something to do with whatever happened with your dads. I took them all down because maybe having that reminder wasn't that good for you..." Quinn finished, still not raising her eyes too look up at Rachel.
Rachel knew that Quinn was right. She knew that the photos that would have been all around were just a constant reminder of what had happened. They hung on the walls, taunting her, mocking her. She just hadn't had the heart to take them down. Despite everything that had happened she still loved her dads.
"Thank you Quinn. That's very thoughtful of you." Rachel said, her tone smooth and soft, genuinely grateful that Quinn had done something like that. It may seem small and insignificant but to Rachel it meant everything.
Not only had Quinn done something that Rachel didn't think she would have been able to do on her own, just the fact that Quinn had thought about her like that, had realised that they were something that bothered Rachel, meant a lot.
No one was ever so considerate of her, not anymore. No one ever seemed to care this much, yet here was Quinn.
It still baffled Rachel.
Quinn lifted her eyes to met Rachel's and gave the girl a smile.
"Rachel, what did you mean yesterday when you said that you didn't know where your dads were?" Quinn asked quietly.
Rachel winced at the girls question. She had knew it was coming but that didn't mean it stung any less. She didn't really want to answer and she knew Quinn would respect that and if she just said she didn't want to talk about it Quinn would just drop it. For a while at least.
But after the show she had put on for Quinn yesterday and how caring the girl had been since Rachel had woken up today she felt that she owed Quinn something.
"I can't go into all the details. Not right now, maybe not ever. But I'll tell you all I feel ready for."
Quinn just nodded her head. She knew that was way more than she deserved.
"I-...I meant exactly what I said yesterday Quinn." Rachel said, her eyes flitting to the floor. This was hard for her to talk about, hard for her to relive, even if just through memories.
"I don't know where they are. And I haven't know for three years. I've been here on my own since I was fifteen." Rachel said, her voice breaking multiple times throughout the sentence. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to look at Quinn.
Quinn was just sat there, stock still. She looked absolutely mortified and Rachel didn't really understand it, but she appreciated that Quinn seemed to care so much.
"I-" Rachel tried but she just ended up choking on her own words and cutting herself off.
Quinn seemed to snap out of her trance at the amount of emotion in Rachel's voice. Quinn quickly made her way to sit next Rachel, arms tugging their bodies together, her head going to rest on Quinn's shoulder. She felt arms around her shoulders, holding her firmly, comfortingly and Rachel relaxed slightly.
She wasn't crying yet but she knew when she manage to force the next sentence out of her then it wouldn't be long.
"I- I just woke up one day...and they were gone." Rachel said and she fought to keep the sobs and tears inside her but it wasn't a battle she couldn't win. She tried so hard no to cry but she just couldn't help it.
She had been abandoned by the two most important people in her life and without them she just felt so lost and alone. But then she remember that right now she wasn't alone. Quinn. Quinn was her with her, comforting her, holding her, whispering that it was all going to be okay.
For the first time in three years, she thought that maybe it would be.