Chapter 5: Into the Fire
A/N: Hey guys, not a lot of reviews on that last chapter :( Oh well. Here is the next.
Reviews are so very much appreciated.
Rachel tapped her foot rhythmically against the floor mat of her father's car. When she was nervous, she would tap the rhythm of a heartbeat. It gave her some sense of order in chaos. She could get her racing heart to match up to her created rhythm and it would calm her down. This time, it did not seem to be working. The tapping grew louder and louder as she became frustrated.
This time she was worried for Quinn. She wished she could whisk the blonde away and protect her from everything in the world, but she knew there was no way. Everyone has to face his or her own problems and their own demons. Quinn even wanted to face this one, Rachel sensed. As though Quinn had been waiting, the nerves growing under the surface, ready to explode.
The tapping continued at a steady pace until Rachel arrived home. She was somewhat comforted by the familiar sight. She began to relax. She tried to reason that Quinn's life was not her responsibility, she should not care, and it was not her problem. However, that did not work. She entered the house quietly and headed to her room, ignoring the warm smile of her daddy, sitting on the couch watching TV.
The singer worked out in an attempt to get her mind off the recent happenings. After all exercising released endorphins that acted as mood elevators. Rachel continued to run on the treadmill until her calf's burned and she could barely breathe. She felt dizzy. Light headed, but accomplished.
The brunette checked her phone for messages, but she had none. She decided to hop in the shower to clean up before heading off to bed. She washed down, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and again, checked her phone. It still had the background picture of the Wicked banner starring back at her. No new messages. She turned the volume all the way up and plugged it in on her bedside.
Rachel walked to the stereo and popped in another calming CD. Rachel lay back on her bed, hands tucked behind her head, and stared up at the ceiling, thinking. She stayed awake like that, but not for long. She soon dulled into a fitful sleep, never quite relaxing.
"I said what the hell is the Quinn!"
The cheerleader's father paced in front, of where she was sitting on the couch, hands wringing.
"It's my ultrasound bill…" Quinn answered quietly.
"I know that! What do you think I am, a moron? No, clearly you are the moron here because you're the one who went on and got knocked up!"
At that moment, the front door opened and Quinn and her father both turned to see who it was. Quinn's face full of hope that it would be some knight in shining armor, her father looking ready to grab the shotgun and tell off whoever it was.
Quinn's mother slowly walked into the room, looking confused. When she saw what was in her husband's hand, her eyes grew wide. She looked slowly to Quinn, then turned around and walked out of the room. Quinn looked down, distressed.
The blonde was lost. She felt angry, disappointed, and was starting to believe all her father was saying about her. Maybe she was a moron, a whore, did not deserve to be a Christian or part of this family. She sat quietly, her head hung, hands folded neatly in her lap.
A minute later, her mother came in with a rum and coke in her hand. Her face had taken on an eerie calm. She took a long sip before she spoke. "What's going on?" She asked, looking directly at her husband. Her voice sounded clear, strong, and composed.
Her father had already lost it. "Our idiot daughter decided to go out and get pregnant." He shouted, shooting a look that could kill towards his daughter, or as far as he was concerned, his ex daughter.
"Was that your intention Quinn?" Her mother asked, taking another long, calm sip.
This was the first time Quinn had been allowed to speak. "No of course not. I never intended…I never expected" she stuttered with a begging sound in her voice. Her eyes threatened to spill tears and her voice sounded weak.
"Right" came her mother's reply, accompanied by a small nod. It was not judging or disbelieving. It sounded supporting. Quinn searched in her mother's face for sarcasm, but found none
Her mother approached a nearby table and lowered the drink from her lips. She turned her back to the room and held the drink hovering over the table. She took an inaudible composing breath.
"Your intentions don't matter. Now you are just some slut. Did you expect that?" Her father's voice dripped with cruelty and bitterness.
Quinn's mother released the glass just above the table and it hit on the edge, shattering and raining to the floor. Her mother spun to face her husband, her face still holding a calm expression. "I got a call from your Leading Petty Officer. He said your discharge is complete." Her eyes flashed to the broken glass on the floor, before meeting and holding her husband's gaze.
"What?" Quinn and her father both asked. Her father shot her a glare and the blonde snapped her eyes to her lap again.
"What are you taking about?" He eyed the broken glass as well, it glistened in the light and the ice had already began to melt into the carpet.
Quinn's mother stepped over the glass towards her husband. "You've been discharged, state 'Other Than Honorable'. You couldn't even obtain a general discharge. I asked LPO Davids for answers. He hesitated at first, but told me. Caught in the berthing with a female officer during your last tour aboard the USS Makin Island. Now, maybe you should reprimand your own actions before Quinn's." She finished, she was a calm as she had started.
Everyone was in shock. Quinn's mother had never stood up for anything before. Maybe she had finally snapped.
Quinn stood up and walked out. It was not her fight anymore. She climbed the stairs to her room, ignoring the voices she heard from the living room. Tears still threatened to fall from her eyes, in the way her entire world was falling apart.
She closed her door and collapsed onto her bed, just as her sobs began to heave out. They came out painfully, not flowing and definitely not graceful. They burned as they forced themselves violently from the pit of her lungs, with raking claws dragging through her entire body. She couldn't breathe and she couldn't see. She simply gave into the pain and the brief distraction from the emotional pain.
As her shoulders stopped shaking and her breathe came raggedly, she climbed towards to head of her bed and laid down on the pillow, exhausted. She tried to sleep, but her parents voice's still tore through the silence, threatening the tears to spill again. Quinn knew she had somewhere to go. She grabbed her phone and scrolled through her contacts to Rachel's name. She composed her voice as much as possible.
"Hello? Quinn?" the brunettes sleepy voice answered.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Quinn asked, suddenly feeling embarrassed and foolish. "I'll go"
"No, no. It's fine." Came Rachels quick reply "What is it?"
"I was wondering" Quinn started "if I could spend the night?"
"Yes, of course" Rachel replied, slightly shocked.
"Thank you" Quinn said before hanging up.
The blonde hurriedly threw on sweats and an old shirt. She stuffed jeans into a bag and ran out the door. She didn't bother to say anything to her parents, she just ran.