Disclaimer: Do I even have to say it? All I own is Ava!
Author's Note: Review, review, review, review!...Please? We're at 148; my goal for this chapter is 158. So please review! Who do you think Ava's dad is, who you think it isn't, who do you want it to be? ~Jackie PS: Sorry for not updating in ages, I started this on my mom's computer and just never had the time (or the energy, honestly) to get it off.
"So, I let Quinn stay at my apartment and we quickly became best friends. It was like the Quinn Fabray I used to know was someone totally different. She was happier, nicer, sweeter," I explained.
"Well, I'm glad you and Auntie Quinn became friends," Ava told me. "So, what happened next?"
As we sat on my couch, me comforting Quinn as she held a pillow and a package of tissues against her chest and drinking the cup of hot tea I'd brought her, I decided to ask her about what was going on back home in Lima.
"Kurt's coming up next week, but I'm sure you already know that." She began. "He and Blaine wanted to spend some quality time together before they were separated for a year. And guess what? Brittany got a scholarship to this really prestigious dance academy in New York, so her and Santana are moving down here in a few weeks." Quinn smiled and so did I, it was like she had completely forgotten about the pain she'd been in a moment before. "Won't it be fun, Rachel? All of us taking on New York together?"
I squeezed Quinn's hand. "Yeah, yeah it will," I paused and met the pair of hazel eyes staring at me.
"Is something wrong, Rachel?" Quinn asked, concern creeping into her voice.
"No, it's just…" I thought of how to phrase my question without sounding like a stalker. "What's up with Sam, and Finn?"
Quinn looked down at her cup of tea nervously and began to play with her spoon, making swirls in the drink. "I don't know where Sam is," She confessed. "He left before graduation, took his diploma and ditched I guess. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye or anything, but I heard a rumor he went down to his parents' house and told them he was leaving. Like, forever," Quinn frowned. "I saw Mary Evans on my way out of town, and she looked really depressed. She didn't even make eye contact with me."
I gulped. "What about Finn?"
Quinn bit her lip, she looked like she might cry. "He's gone too, Rachel." She told me sadly. "He broke up with that new girlfriend of his suddenly, who I didn't like whatsoever anyway, and enlisted, even though we all told him not to. He had to fly out for training right after graduation. Me, Kurt, Blaine, Brittany, Santana, Tina, Mike and Puck were all there at the airport to say goodbye. I left right after he did, like I said before it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I guess I just felt like there wasn't anything left for me in Lima anymore, you know?"
"I know," I said. "Because I felt the same way,"
"I heard about you and Sam, Rachel." Quinn blurted out, tears in her eyes. She reached into her pocket and pulled out something: the ring Finn had used to propose to me with. "Finn gave this to me before he left, he said he trusted me with it, he trusted I'd find a way to give it to you." A drop of wetness fell down Quinn's face as her tears began to make a reappearance. But this time she wasn't weeping dramatically like a heartbroken girl, she was quiet, calm, solemn. "I think you did the right thing, not marrying him. I understand how awful, and conflicted, you must feel. I've felt that way plenty of times before." Quinn slid the ring onto my palm and I closed my fingers around it, pressing so tightly I swore the jewel would make an imprint on my skin. "But you will always love him," Quinn finished. "And deny it or not, like it or not, he will always be your soul mate. Not mine, or that girl's, or anyone else's."
I nodded, because I knew Quinn was absolutely right.
I didn't realize I was crying at the memory until Ava reached out and dried my cheek. "It's okay," She comforted me, resting her head against my chest. "That was a long time ago, it's over,"
"It's never over," I whispered without thinking. Ava smiled and scribbled my words down on her notepad. I wiped my eyes and stood up. "Bed time, Ava Bear,"
Ava put the notepad back on her nightstand and climbed under her blankets. "Hey Mom?"
"Yes sweetie?"
"Do you think I could have some pictures of the four?" She asked. "Just so I could know what they looked like?"
"…Sure," I said, once again not thinking. "You still have that picture of Jesse from after your dream, so I'll go get photos of the rest of them. Wait right here," I went back to the hall closet and got the same cardboard box down. I opened the scrapbook again and flipped through it, looking for my favorite photographs of Finn, Sam and Puck. Then, I found the perfect one. It was me, Finn, Puck, Sam and Quinn on the streets of New York. I remembered that photo, we'd been at Nationals, junior year, and I'd asked Mr. Schue to take it for me. Smiling, I brought it back to Ava.
Ava grinned as I handed her the photo. She studied it for a brief moment, and then propped it up on her nightstand. "That sucks," She said to herself.
"What?" I asked as I turned off the light.
Ava shrugged. "I don't really look like any of them, now that I think about it."
"Well, I guess you just inherited your mother's good looks."
At this statement, Ava laughed.
Review? And sorry, once again.