Chapter 2
The first three days were uneventful. The two families spent their time exploring the small town and trying out local restaurants. Rachel broke her vegan diet to sample the local fresh fish since it appeared that her dads were right and there wasn't going to be much in the way of vegan cuisine. Quinn still wouldn't speak to her and Rachel saw more than once a look of almost-hurt in the blonde's eyes when Judy would engage Rachel in conversation about something. Despite her several attempts to get Quinn to join in on any conversation, Rachel was always met with silence.
Thursday evening, after dinner, Rachel curled up on the couch with the book she'd started on Sunday and focused on its pages. She heard a few murmurs and glanced up to see her dads heading toward the front door as they announced that they were going on a walk by the beach. Judy called out for them to have a good time; Rachel jumped up off the couch to join her dads.
"Rachel, sweetie, you're more than welcome to stay here with us!" Judy said from the kitchen. "I'm sure Quinn wouldn't mind. We could have some girl time. I brought my entire spa case!"
"Mom…" Quinn growled.
Rachel looked up at Michael and Bruce, both of whom shrugged. She contemplated the offer for a few moments. She really didn't feel like going out very much and she did need a facial; her strict skin care regiment couldn't be shoved on the back burner just because it was vacation. Also, Judy sounded like she'd keep Quinn in check. With a deep breath, Rachel nodded.
Fifteen minutes later, Rachel found herself sitting on one of the dining room chairs that had been placed in the Fabray's bathroom with Quinn sitting on the countertop staring down at the floor. Testing her father's hope that Quinn's mood might be a bit lighter in this different environment and because she'd had time to adjust, Rachel spoke first.
"It's a rather unlikely situation we've found ourselves in, isn't it?" she asked, her gaze focused to a picture of a tree hanging behind the toilet. She braced herself to be told to shut up or to get the hell away.
"I guess."
The uncharacteristic soft response made Rachel flinch a little more than if she'd been told to shut up. She proceeded cautiously with her follow-up.
"It could almost be a plot for a mediocre comedy film."
"Until the part where I throw you in the lake for talking too much," Quinn mumbled.
Ah, familiarity. Rachel swallowed hard and took another deep breath. "You know, Quinn, no one would have to know if you decided to be civil toward me this summer. You could even be a little friendly. I promise I won't tell any of your friends. And to spare you the snide comment, I'm aware that none of your friends would ever speak to me, let alone believe me."
"Or I could ignore you and you could stay out of my way."
"I'm not sure why you insist on treating me like this, Quinn. I have nothing you want anymore, do I?"
Judy chose that moment to come into the bathroom with her large case and start rambling about makeup and makeovers and how she used to turn her bathroom into a makeshift spa back in high school for her and her girl friends to use. Rachel sat quietly as Quinn grabbed everything she needed for a pedicure and moved to the edge of the large bathtub to soak her feet. Judy smiled and showed Rachel the organic facial kit with a broad smile.
"You have beautiful skin, sweetie," Judy said. She grabbed a wash cloth and ran it under the warm tap; Rachel took it with an appreciative smile and cleaned her face. "Do you do this with your dads? The gays are fond of grooming, aren't they?"
Rachel blinked a few times; Quinn groaned.
"I…no. The only time I've ever done anything like this with anyone else…well," Rachel sighed, "it was a rather embarrassing hoax that I'd rather not discuss." She darted her eyes to Quinn, whose gaze was fixated on the bathtub faucet.
Judy nodded and motioned for Rachel to tilt her head back while she spread on the facial mask. She continued to engage Rachel in conversation about her dads and Rachel had to giggle at the shocked expression when she revealed that Bruce was manager/part owner of Lima Lumber, Inc. and Michael worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Department and that they weren't fashion designers, interior decorators, or cosmetologists. It was the first time Rachel noticed that it was strange how she easily slipped into conversation with Quinn's mother when the younger blonde was so hostile. Rachel let herself, though, since Quinn didn't seem interested in speaking to either of them.
Rachel smiled as Judy talked about hanging out with her girl friends in high school and college as she filed away at the brunette's nails. All Rachel heard out of Quinn was a few yeses and nos when her mother would ask about Santana or Brittany.
"So, Rachel, are you seeing anyone?"
"Mom!" Quinn yelled before Rachel had a chance to answer. "God, you barely even know her and I don't want to hear anything she has to say."
"Quinn, that's extremely rude."
"I don't care."
Rachel looked up to see Quinn glaring holes right through her. It wasn't hate in the blonde's eyes, though. It was…jealousy?
"Quinn," Rachel straightened herself up a little, "I apologize if you've felt alienated from the conversation. I'm certain it was never your mother's intention-"
"Shut up, Man Hands! I don't care."
Rachel pulled her hands away from Judy's grip as Quinn stormed out of the bathroom.
"Rachel, I am so sorry…"
"It's alright, Judy," Rachel said softly. "It's nothing I haven't heard before. However, I do feel that this is a situation I should discuss with her. It's been almost painfully obvious that Quinn disapproves of our acquaintanceship."
"She's always treated you like this?" Judy asked as she carefully wiped the mask away from Rachel's face.
"Like I said, it's alright."
With her face clean and a few deep breaths to get a little bravery, Rachel put on her shoes and set out to find Quinn. She didn't have to go far; she found the blonde sitting underneath a large pine tree just out of sight of the cabin.
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Quinn gritted her teeth as she listened to Rachel talk, just like she had been all week. When her mother asked about who Rachel was dating, though, that was the final straw. Not only did she definitely not want to hear about Rachel's relationship with her ex-boyfriend, she didn't want to hear Rachel discussing it with her mother. Quinn slipped on her sandals and grabbed flashlight before storming out of the cabin to go somewhere to think. She selected a large pine tree just far enough away from the cabin that she couldn't see it but not far enough away that she couldn't find her way back.
It wasn't fair. It really wasn't. Rachel had taken Finn (although Quinn had kind of forgiven her for it; Finn, while good for her reputation, just wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed) and now she was chatting it up with her mother. Chatting it up and smiling and laughing and doing all of the things Quinn wished she could do with her mother. She picked at the dead pine needles on the grass until she heard a crack. Her head snapped up and there stood Rachel with her hands nervously clutched in front of her and worrying her lower lip between her teeth.
"Quinn, whatever I did, I'm so so-"
"Save it," Quinn mumbled. "I don't want your sympathy. Let's just…go back inside and pretend everything's fine." Quinn stood and headed back for the house but was stopped by a hand on her arm.
"I think we need to talk about this instead of shoving it under the rug. My very sharp sense of observation mixed with my sixth sense tells me that you may be slightly jealous of my communications with your mother."
"I don't want to talk about this." Quinn tried to pull away but Rachel held on strong. "Let go of me, midget!"
"Why don't you want to talk about this?"
"Because," Quinn growled, ripping her arm out of Rachel's grip, "because that's not what Fabrays do, alright? We don't talk about it. We wait for it to go away; and in your case it'll be either when I kill you or this hell of a vacation ends, whichever comes first!"
"Quinn if my spending time with your mother is going to cause any further rift between the two of you then I will back off."
Quinn shook her head and felt her eyes burn. Her body started trembling as a sob escaped her mouth. She was angry with Rachel, angry with her mother, angry with everything. The rage ripped through her body and replaced the sob with a snarl. She snapped her head up, looked Rachel directly in the eyes, and growled. What fell out of her mouth next was quite possibly the cruelest, most horrible thing she'd ever said to anyone in her almost seventeen years of life. And the look on Rachel's face made her immediately regret it.
"Just because your mother didn't want you doesn't mean you have to take mine."
Rachel took a few steps back; her eyes were wide with absolute shock and Quinn saw the girl start shaking. She'd not only crossed the line but set it on fire in the process. She'd seen Rachel get a hundred slushie facials, her heart broken by Finn, say goodbye to her mother, egged by Jesse St. James, and coming incredibly close to losing glee club. Quinn had seen Rachel upset so many times but this? What she'd just said? Never before had Rachel looked completely and utterly ripped to shreds.
"Rachel…Rachel I didn't mean it. I'm so s-sor-"
In an instant, Quinn found herself backed against a tree with Rachel's tear-filled eyes very, very close to her own and swimming with not only hurt but rage as well. She'd pushed Rachel's destruct button and knew she deserved whatever was coming to her.
"At least my parents actually love me," Rachel hissed.
If Rachel felt a fraction of what Quinn felt in that moment, the blonde wondered why Rachel hadn't just killed her right then and there. Whoever said that words didn't hurt was a lying sack of shit and Quinn hoped they were rotting in Hell right then. The look on her face must've said the same thing to Rachel as Rachel's said to her because the brunette immediately backed away and took off running for the cabin.
Quinn stayed where she was for a few moments, trying to catch her breath and figure out what to do next. She slowly made her way back to the cabin and was greeted with her mother and a concerned expression when she walked in the back door.
"Quinnie…What happened? Talk to me, baby, what happened?"
Quinn shook her head. "It's nothing."
"Sweetheart, this isn't your father's house. You can talk to me. You can tell me things; tell me anything."
Again, Quinn shook her head. She wanted to kick herself for wasting this opportunity with her mother. The woman was practically begging her to talk, to have a conversation, and all Quinn could do is retreat to her bedroom and slam the door. The last words she heard before the loud bang were, "I love you so much, Quinnie."
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"Just because your mother didn't want you doesn't mean you have to take mine."
The phrase shot through Rachel like a red hot bullet. Straight through her heart. Quinn had hit her where it hurt the most and it was obvious that the blonde realized it. Rachel's heart was beating so hard and the blood was coursing through her body so quickly that she barely heard the stuttered almost-apology. She could take slushies and eggs and little verbal taunts but this? Quinn had crossed the line. Normally, Rachel would take a few seconds to compose herself; she'd take a few deep breaths and get her look of confidence back before walking off to lick her wounds. This time, though? This time she let the rage take over and she reacted in a way that she didn't know she was capable of.
Rachel quickly had Quinn pinned against a tree and she glared into the blonde's hazel eyes, now wide with fear and regret, and she opened her mouth to speak. She almost didn't say it but when what Quinn had said echoed through her brain again she felt the overwhelming urge to make the blonde feel even just a fraction of the pain.
"At least my parents actually love me," Rachel hissed with as much venom she could possibly conjure up. She didn't believe it, in all honesty. She knew Quinn's mother loved her. Her father…well…she knew he had to love her, right? He was her father and he had raised her. How could anyone just stop loving their child that they'd raised?
The look on Quinn's face said to Rachel that she should've just left it alone. She should've walked away. But she hadn't. And now Quinn was standing in front of her, tears spilling over and trembling. For a split second Rachel tried, she really tried, to think of a way to soothe the blonde but instead she took off running back to the cabin. She heard Judy call to her as she went in through the back door and straight to her bedroom. A few minutes later she heard Judy's voice again and another door slam and then it was quiet.
Rachel fumbled for her phone to see she had no missed calls or texts at all from the day. She sighed. She hadn't told Finn that the Fabrays had shown up. He hadn't asked how her vacation was going, he only told her what level of some game he was on and one night he attempted sexting but that went horribly wrong, in Rachel's opinion, due to Finn's complete lack of grammar and spelling skills (i want 2 b inside u rly bad was really, really not what was going to turn her on; not at that moment and not ever). She wanted so badly to call him and tell him that she was hurting and regretful and all of these things…but he'd never understand and, in all likelihood, he wouldn't care. It sucked on more than one level; Rachel didn't have anyone to call and Quinn had at least four people she could call to get sympathy from which was probably what she was doing at that very moment. Rachel shook her head at the thought, tossed her phone back onto her nightstand, rolled over, and cried herself to sleep.