We are now back to the present I hope you enjoyed the last chapter…. HOWEVER I've made this chapter really short compared to others, just because I like teasing you all. HEHE! Jk, Originally this chapter turned out to be super long so I cut it in half. The next chapter shall be the 2nd part. So the faster you review the faster you shall receive the next part.
Quinn slowly closed the book she was reading and glanced down at her phone. It read 10:37 pm. With a heavy breath she got up from the couch and headed up the stairs. Down the hall she could see the light on from her Uncle's office. She made her way to the office and peeked her head in. She found her uncle on the floor with his muscular legs perched up on the wall and his back on the floor. His small reading glasses reflected the dim lighting as his green eyes scanned the book he was reading. Quinn couldn't help the small smirk that crossed her face. No doubt they were related. After a few more minutes he noticed Quinn's appearance and a large smile broke out across his face. He brought the book away from his face and patted the floor next to him. A small shy smile broke out on her face as she sat down next to him with her back against the wall.
"Are you okay? You were extremely quiet at dinner tonight." Cooper started with a gentle tone.
Quinn shrugged her shoulders and casted her gaze away from him. She couldn't lie to him and nor did she intend to. A small smile filled Cooper's face as he nodded. She didn't feel like talking about it and he wasn't one to push it out of her. When she was ready she would come to him. She always did. All it took was patience. So he decided to change subjects.
"Have you talked with your father?" he asked.
Quinn shook her head silently. Cooper nodded his head as he stretched out his legs further up the wall. He placed his arms above his head while his eyes wandered over to Quinn. A small laugh escaped from his lips.
"What?" Quinn asked.
"Did you know that you're father used to sing?" He asked with a wide smirk.
Quinn's eyes widened with surprise. "What?" she asked with a disbelieving tone.
Her uncle let out another long laugh as he nodded his head. "Yepp. It runs in the family." Her uncle replied. "Back in the day when he was in high school he even started his own garage band."
Quinn started laughing. "NO WAY!" She started shaking her head as a vivid image of her father with a band popped into her head. No there was just no way. No matter how hard she tried to picture it, she just couldn't.
Cooper let out a low chuckle. "Way. He was the lead singer/ guitarist for the band. They were called Damaged Poisons."
"I'm sorry but this sounds too… crazy! Even for me! You're trying to tell me that my hard ass, strict, religious father was the lead singer of some garage band?" Quinn asked with a disbelieving tone.
The taller man pinched his lips together to contain himself from exploding. All he did was simply nod. "You're father was a different person back then. He even had the whole motley hair thing going on and everything. You could say that he was the total rebel in the family, the bad boy. Man he always got into trouble back in the days. "
"Are you sure we're talking about the same guy here?"
Cooper laughed. "Yupp. At the time your mother was in the school choir."
At the mention of her mother the smaller girls smile fell into a frown. Her brows knitted together with confusion as she looked at her uncle. "How the hell did those two ever meet?"
Cooper gave a loud sigh. "Honestly I don't have a clue. I mean your father was just a simple guy who wanted nothing more than to become a fisherman. He wanted to spend his entire life on the sea." The older man licked his lips as he stared up at the ceiling as past memories filled his mind. "We wanted to open up our own little shack together up on the coast of Puerto Vallarta."
"What happened between then and now?" Quinn asked as she shook her head incredulously.
"When your mother got pregnant with you in college our father told him that he needed to grow up and find a reliable job to support his family. But your father was so stubborn." Cooper chuckled. "He wanted the three of you to live together on the sea just traveling the world. He was even willing to home school you and teach you everything you needed. As for a job he would start selling and catching fish at whatever dock you landed at."
Quinn narrowed her eyes as thoughts of the sea flooded into her. She shook her head. All of this was new to her. She didn't know how to take all this. She still couldn't believe that her father had other dreams and plans. It just made her feel confused.
"But your mother and father wanted two different things. Your mother didn't want to spend her life on the sea while raising her child. She wanted your father to become a high end lawyer. She wanted him to become a man that could support their family with a big house and expensive cars. They argued about that up until the day you were born. And once your father laid eyes on you….. he knew what he had to do."
The smaller girl sat quietly against the wall. She tightly clasped her hands together trying to slow down the rapid pace her mind was running. The majority of all of this didn't make any sense. It was like everything she had ever known was taken, and then completely thrown out the window. The world she knew was now officially gone. She didn't know what to do, or say. Could she do anything? Probably not, because all of this was in the past. Guilt slivered its way to her gut. It's my fault that my father didn't get to live his dreams. He was forced into a life that he didn't want. All he was trying to do was survive. And-and I made his life a living hell. I remember all the times that I yelled at him for not being a good father. And not once did he say or do anything. He just took it and kept on going. I was so mean to him…. No wonder he turned to drugs. After being trapped in a house with my mother and myself…. I could only be grateful he didn't try to kill himself. He must've been so unhappy. The blonde shook her head as she glared down at the ground.
"Don't do that." A voice pulled her from her thoughts. Immediately she glanced up towards her uncle. "None of this is your fault. It's no one's fault."
"How can you even say that? You don't even know…."
"STOP!" her uncle raised his voice. At that moment she shut her mouth and casted her gaze away. Small specks of tears threatened to spill out from her eyes. She dug her nails into her palms as she sucked in a cool breath of air. From the corner of her eye she could see her uncle slowly shift himself up into a sitting position. He was staring at her. She could feel his heavy gaze but she didn't dare to look at him. "I may not understand a lot of things Quinn, but for crying out loud why do you keep doing this to yourself?"
A large lump attached itself into her throat. A warm tear slid down her cheek as she averted her gaze to the door, wanting to escape from this conversation. Her heart began hurting unexpectedly. A loud sigh drew from Cooper's lips as he shook his head. He wanted to hit something but he refrained from doing such. "You are such an amazing kid Quinn. And when you do stuff like this…. It breaks my heart! I hate it when you blame yourself for something you had no control over. This was not your fault! Your father made his own choices. You are not responsible for what he does. Understand? Look at me."
The blonde immediately closed her eyes and shifted her head down into her knees. "Quinn." His soft and gentle voice called out. Hazel eyes slowly lifted themselves up and to her uncle and what she saw tore at the edge of her heart. Those usually bright and green eyes were broken and hurt. "Do you understand me?" he asked. She clenched her jaw as she let out a small nod.
Cooper shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. "You don't believe me do you?" he asked with a painful tone.
The blonde didn't respond at first. Her thoughts were rapidly flowing in every direction against her will. But the more she absorbed her uncle's words, the more it made sense. Logically. She knew it wasn't her fault but she couldn't help it. It was programmed into her. But hopefully with more time that wouldn't be a problem for her anymore. "I do." Quinn's soft voice rang out.
"You do?" he lifted a brow. A small smirk crossed the blonde's face. The trademark brow lift. Yes, they were related.
"Yes." Quinn replied with a little more confidence.
The older man continued to watch her to make sure she wasn't lying to him. But after he saw no trace of guilt left in her he began smiling. Quinn used this moment to change the subject.
"Do you sing?" she asked in a low tone.
A smile broke out on his face. He pinched his lips together and slowly peeled himself away from the floor. Once he was on his feet he walked to his office closet and pulled out a guitar case. With a wide smile he pulled out the acoustic guitar from its case. He sat back down on the floor in front of Quinn with a warm smile.
"I haven't played in a long time." He replied sheepishly.
"Come one. Let's hear it." Quinn spoke.
Cooper nodded with a shy smile. "Alright. But I haven't played in a long time."
Quinn rolled her eyes and gave him an encouraging smile. His strong fingers slowly began to strum the guitar with ease. A slow and melodic melody hummed through the room and filled Quinn's ears. A small smile formed on her face as her Uncle's soft voice sang through the room.
Precious and fragile things
Need special handling
My God what have we done to you
We always tried to share
The tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through
The smile from Quinn's face fell as she heard her uncle's voice. Her eyes stared straight into green eyes as he continued to sing. Never once did his eyes ever leave hers.
Things get damaged
Things get broken
I thought we'd manage
But words left unspoken
Left us so brittle
There was so little left to give
Hazel eyes began to deepen with sadness and her uncle could see the hurt and the pain behind them. The blonde was struggling to keep her emotions at bay. But he could see small little drops of tears leak out from the side of her face.
Angels with silver wings
Shouldn't know suffering
I wish I could take the pain for you
If God has a master plan
That only He understands
I hope it's your eyes He's seeing through
Things get damaged
Things get broken
I thought we'd manage
But words left unspoken
Left us so brittle
There was so little left to give
Cooper's soft and gentle eyes watched more tears fall down the blonde's face. He gave her a warm smile as tears of his own dribbled down his face. Neither of them looked away. Both stood before each other fragile, weak, and vulnerable. The both knew and understood what they were going through. Just simple human beings who had been broken, and hurt.
I pray you learn to trust
Have faith in both of us
And keep room in your hearts for two
Things get damaged
Things get broken
I thought we'd manage
But words left unspoken
Left us so brittle
There was so little left to give
When the song was over both of them stared at each other with warm and gentle smiles. Cooper grazed Quinn's cheeks with the touch of his hand and wiped away the tears on her face.
"I'm here when you're ready to talk." He replied with a warm tone.
Quinn nodded as she threw herself into a hug with him. More tears leaked out from the sides of her face as she held onto him tighter. He was her support. Her stone. She just held onto him and he let her. Both not caring about the evading time.
Friday- 4:35 pm
"Come on! I'm not stupid!" Mandy's voice rang out as she slowly pulled up to Quinn's house.
"Nothing is going on." Quinn sighed as she grabbed her bag from the back seat.
"I see the way he looks at you. He's got those smoldering eyes every time you come around. Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about." Mandy threw back.
The blonde ran a hand through her hair and gave her best friend a pointed look. "I'm not ready for a relationship."
"I'm not talking about marriage or anything like that. Just two people who get together and fuck every once in a while."
Quinn's eyes widened and her jaw fell open. The red headed girl threw her head back in laughter as she playfully slapped the smaller girls shoulder. "I'm just fucking with you Q!" The blonde shook her head as a light blush filtered onto her cheeks.
"But I think you should at least give him a chance." Mandy sighed.
"I don't want to hurt him." Quinn stated with exhaustion.
"And what makes you think you will?" The other girl asked sincerely.
"Because that's what always happens." Quinn muttered.
Mandy let out a small smirk. "Well you never know until you try right? And besides, sometimes life can still throw you a few surprises every once in a while you know. So why not? You've got nothing to lose. What is it that you're so afraid of?"
Quinn shrugged. "I don't know."
A few minutes later the blonde trudged up the sidewalk with her school bag in hand. Once she opened the door she heard voices coming from the living room. That was odd. Did her uncle have company over? Leaving the front door open she took a peek into the room. "QUIINN!' Duke shouted as he ran to her with a wide grin. The boy tackled her legs with a blunt force. A smile lit up her face as she wrapped her arms around the small boy. When she let him go that's when she finally glanced up at her new guest. Immediately the smile from her face fell. Her hazel eyes widened with fear as Rachel Berry quietly stood in the middle of her living room. At that moment her whole body felt like it dropped 30 ft below ground. Unconsciously her jaw fell open. The school bag in her hand faltered through her grip and fell loudly to the floor. All the air escaped from her lungs. Brown eyes stared at her with a bitter sweet smirk.
What the hell is she doing here? How- how did she find me? Holy shit! Fuck… Rachel Berry is standing in my living room. FUCK! What the hell am I going to do? What- HOW DID SHE FIND ME?
After a few mesmerizing minutes Quinn slowly came back to life and did the first thing she could do. Without even thinking about it she ran out of the door with a full speed. The bright sun rained down on her as her feet hit the sidewalk with a fury. Seconds later the brunette was chasing her down in a vengeance. Taking a quick look back she saw the other girl pursuing her. This made Quinn push herself even harder. The blonde's body ached and burned in places she hadn't felt in a long time. Her body was screaming for air but she ignored her body's complaints and pushed harder. However the small brunette wasn't fazed at all, in fact she seemed to be gaining on her. Within seconds the brunette tackled the blonde onto a neighbors green luscious yard. Quinn rolled the two of them over until she was on top but somehow the small girl was able to flip them back over with ease. Again Quinn tried to get the other girl off of her but surprisingly she couldn't move underneath Rachel's position. With one hand her arms were pinned above her head while Rachel straddled her stomach and somehow pinned her legs with hers. With another failed attempt at escaping, Quinn huffed out a sigh of frustration. She felt helpless. Finally she gave in to the small brunette. Rachel had on a victorious smile across her face as she stared into the blonde's hazel eyes. She finally had control. In the matter of a few seconds her victory smile disappeared and was replaced with an angry scowl. Rachel's free hand quickly balled into a fist. She arched her fist back from her head. Quinn's eyes widened with fear. She knew what was about to come.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't break that pseudo nose off of your face." Rachel stated with an angry low tone.
Quinn didn't say anything. Instead she slammed her eyes shut and waited for the pain to come. Rachel's breathing quickly picked up as she tightened her fist. She bit her lower lip. Fury was taking over as she let out a loud frustrated yell. Then she slammed her fist into the ground beside Quinn's head. She couldn't do it. And that fact pissed her off.
"FUCK!" Rachel shouted out as she rolled off the blonde.
Didn't expect that now did you? No? Of course not. Stay tuned for the next chapter and give me your thoughts about what you think will happen. Who's side are you on? Berry or Fabray?