Chapter 14

He'd just begun on lap two around the block. With the rock music blaring in his ears as loud as his phone would allow, he pushed himself around one of the many curbs. As it began to drizzle in the small, cold, and damp town of Lima, Finn lifted the hood from his back and placed it over his sweaty head.

Instead of giving up and going home like he should've done, Finn only pushed himself harder. It'd been this way for the past four years. This was his way to blow off the monstrous amounts of steam that ran through his body after a stressful day.

Today had been no different than the others. In running a bit faster down the pavement, he'd only been trying to relieve the stress and complete anger that the day had brought him. If it wasn't for Shelby and the excessive weight she was shoving on him to perfect things with all of the business people he'd met in the past few months, it was everything going on with his father.

There really wasn't anyone to talk to about things either. Since James returned, he'd helped turn Shelby turn into an ice cold, money-hungry snake, so she was out of the question. Christopher had bigger things on his plate to deal with than Finn's feelings. And Sam, well he was in the midst of planning a wedding with Quinn and starting his own firm after he graduated college this year.

So, Finn was left to his own devices. And to him, this was more dangerous than anything else in his book. That's when he started working out. He was at the gym every other day, and when he couldn't go there, he was running along the streets of the small town. He could clear every thought out of his head, and at the same time, he could offer some kind of friendly greeting to the town's people who usually stopped him to chat.

It paid off, too. He'd noticed that just two short weeks after he began the method. First, it was his cheek bones. They'd become a lot more sculpted than they'd been; more angular and sharp. He then noticed that the muscles in his arms had become a little larger and more defined than they'd been before. The biggest change, however, was below his shirt. In pushing himself as far as he could go, daily, he'd made things better with his stomach. As if out of nowhere, he lifted his shirt one night to see the reflection of a six-pack set of abs looking back at him.

That wasn't all that was different about him, though. He'd gone through a number of mental changes as well.

He'd ditched the 19 year old version of himself for good. Now, at 23 years old, he'd become a changed man. He was no longer that little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. He'd stopped trying really hard to hold things together for other people. He decided that the only way he'd stay afloat was to put him first. With that being said, the guard built around him this past year was made of shield and would never be able to be broken down again.

He'd made things better for him. No one knew a damn thing that traveled through his mind and he worked his ass off to keep it that way. He kept to himself a lot. He'd learned to perfect a poker face and only talked business. It's what kept him perfectly distracted. It's what kept the people around him from becoming concerned for his wellbeing again.

He didn't like to think about it. But, it was times like this when he was truly winded from his workout that he allowed himself to. Out of all the emotions she'd caused him over the years, motivation was what he stuck to.

He thought of that next morning, sitting in his room and sending the first text.

Good morning, beautiful –Finn

If he looked through his phone now, he still had it saved in his conversations. Along with the others he'd sent. That was the day that his life changed as he knew it. That was the day the world stopped spinning on its axis.

He remembered standing outside of that movie theater for about an hour. With the slightest sound of a car door closing in the distance, he remembered jumping. The feeling of idiocy and embarrassment for his own self still moved through his body when he thought about it for too long. Finally, he remembered walking into the house that night.

He was prepared to be reasonable with her. There must've been a reason that she didn't show; a reason why she wasn't answering the large amount of texts and phone calls he'd sent her that day. He knew that. Maybe she'd forgotten to call him. Maybe something happened that she couldn't warn him about in advance. He even felt the fear as he drove in her direction, hoping that nothing had happened to her.

But, he didn't really think that he was ready for what he'd walked into that night. The first thing he'd taken in was his father's face, sitting next to Shelby on the sofa. The woman was drowning in tears, shakily clinging to a few sheets of notebook paper. He knew something serious must've happened to his girlfriend.

His fears came true when his father walked in his direction. He didn't say anything or flash any emotion that could have given him a clue as to what was going on. All he knew was that things weren't on the positive side. This assumption proved itself correct when he handed him the envelope with his name on it and the familiar white box he'd seen the night before.

He remembered the reluctance he felt, ripping through the seal with his fingers. Most of all, he remembered that last moment of ignorance he had before reading the words in her neat handwriting. If he could gain control of anything right now, he'd want that piece of time back; that moment where he had no idea what was going on. It would've spared him an array of drunken nights, a broken foot, millions of shed tears, and three years down the toilet; along with his heart and the dreams he'd shared of their future together.

He cringed every time, picturing her voice, reading the words she'd written to him. Many times after that, he searched desperately for answers that those words would never be able provide him with.
It got to the point where he didn't need to read it anymore. He'd memorized every single word in his head. Without hesitation, he could recite every word if asked.

His blood boiled now as he sat at the edge of the small bench close to the town square. It was pouring, which made things run further in his mind. This was his thing now; the key to the ironic motivation she'd left him with.

When thinking about Rachel, he no longer became sad like he had in the beginning. It'd taken some time, but he'd stopped weeping over the loss. Now, all he had left was a piece of ice sitting in his chest. He'd become so frustrated and angry within a matter of seconds when he remembered the way her cheeks curved upwards in a smile, the way her hair perfectly framed her face when he'd go in to kiss her. Lastly, the thing that sent him off the edge with pure rage most of the time was when he remembered her voice from that previous night.

The more he thought about it nowadays, the more it started to make sense in his head. She'd sent out a handful of signs. Starting from the way she continuously rejected his mother's ring, to the way she told him that she wanted him to know that she loved him no matter what happened.

But, she didn't get to have that much credit; to be the source of all of his emotions. Things at work, Shelby, the condition with his dad; these all seemed to be elements that added to the fire building inside of him.

Standing up from the bench, he knew that he was riled up enough to gain the energy to run back to his home. He'd initially made plans to invest in a small apartment complex by the time he'd graduated from college last year. But, once certain things started up at home, he decided to stay with his father.

When he walked through the front door, he was greeted by his brother. The blonde sported a dark blue business suit, holding a glass of bourbon and staring into the roaring fireplace.

"You're back," he noted. "Good."

"Did anything happen while I was away?" Finn asked, moving over to the bar to fix his own glass.

"Garett called a little earlier and Jesse just left. Dad just fell asleep minutes ago," he informed him. Finn only sighed, holding the glass a little tighter.

"And when I thought I wasn't having a bad enough day," Finn started.

"Well, Shelby and James had their hands full with investors, so I handled most of it for dad." Sam informed him. This made Finn feel a little better. Christopher was in a tough situation right now and didn't need to be dealing with all of these people.

"I just don't understand why he won't give up already, you know?" Finn admitted.

"Garett or Jesse?" Sam wondered.

"Both," Finn replied.

"Well, dad did negotiate a deal with him. And, as for Jesse, I have no idea." Sam moved away from the fire to join his brother's side. "But, Quinn's waiting for me to get home. Tonight we're going over catering." He announced sarcastically with a chuckle. Finn joined him, taking his brother's small issue as a bit of a distraction from the bigger ones at present. "Wish me luck."

Finn only nodded in his direction with a smile before the front door shut and he was left standing alone. Pulling out his phone from the back pocket of his jogging pants, Finn scrolled through his contacts. Ah, he thought when he came across the list of G's.

Garrett Halstead; he was a business man from the South who'd previously moved into their town with his rather large family. Within the two years that they'd been here, they'd already gained an outstanding reputation. That's why his father had come to open his eyes a little in the man's direction. Not only because his company owned a number of restaurant chains along the southern states; but, also because he had a daughter two years shy of Finn. This panned out perfectly because it had already been three years later and his father thought that that was just enough time for him to get back on his feet.

So, the step-in was arranged. At least, that's what Finn referred to the girl as. Haley Halstead was what the girl answered to, officially. And don't get him wrong because she was very beautiful. With blonde hair that flowed below her slim, tan shoulders and hazel eyes that could capture your soul, Finn knew that any guy would easily catch onto her hook. Unfortunately, he could never bring himself to be one of them. Instead, she was just something to look at, as all of the other girls in town were.

This was a shame, too. She was perfect. If not for blending into the lifestyle right away, it was the fact that her heart was pure gold. She'd clearly brought all of that southern charm with her during the move. Another thing that was really clear? She made no effort to try and hide her intrigue the first night that they were introduced.

He felt terrible. In the months that they'd known each other, he could never really find it in himself to truly open up and give her a chance. They'd talked a lot; that was for sure. He even remembered the one night they stayed on the rooftop until 2:30 in the morning. Bless her soul, because she listened to all of the crap that he spit out without turning her head in disinterest. It was his that messed up the whole situation. He couldn't feel anything inside beside bitterness. So, many-a-days, that's exactly what he left her with when she put in effort to their upcoming marriage, the aftermath of his anger to deal with mentally and abandonment when it came time for decision-making. He knew she didn't deserve it. And if circumstances were different, maybe he'd be able to offer her a little more.

But, make no mistake. These things did nothing to intimidate her. She was a very forgiving girl and no matter how many times he'd tried to push her away, she came back harder. She often stated how she understood where he was coming from and she allowed him all the time in the world to explain what he was feeling to her. She'd then proceed to throw in her two cents if she had any and offer a sense of comfort to him. If it wasn't her attentive listening skills or her reassuring hand, it was the hour or two she'd give him in her bed.

And that worked, for some time. With rolling around in the sac with the blonde beauty, he became easily distracted from reality. It felt good, too; which only added to things. They'd picked up on the routine, doing it at least twice a week, maybe even more on good ones. But now, a year after the arrangement was made, Finn had since then popped the bubble of playing pretend. Like with a lot of things in his day-to-day life, he lost interest. Now, it felt like a part of the political commitment their parents made for them and he wanted nothing more than for it to end; the whole thing.

That's where Garett came in. Seeing as though his father wasn't really up for much business these days, Finn was forced to take charge. He'd been communicating for his father for the past couple of months. Business talk was a lot of what went through the two men. But lately, Garett had been trying to finalize things with the marriage a little too quickly for his tastes.

He expressed that he felt like he was walking into being conned, so he wanted things to take off as soon as possible. With that being said, he'd been calling nonstop these past few days about some sort of contract. It stated that a date was to be set in the short future and that they were to abide by it. There were more statements about money sharing between the two families; Finn just never really paid enough attention to know the exact terms.

He wasn't really up for that right now. Everything was just happening so fast around him at the moment and he needed time to breath. So, he took up a second occupation of stalling. And, he found that he was really good at it so far.

Shelby had even put in a fair share of effort in helping him. Once the woman found out about the arrangement Christopher had made with the Halstead's, she'd cut off all contact with her former best friend. She expressed in many words at how his father betrayed both her and John, lining up another girl to steal the title that their family owned.

Despite the four years that had passed already, Shelby still wasn't giving up on the plans of her daughter walking down the aisle to him. So, she tried her hardest to shut Garett up. It had worked in the beginning. She paid him off a good amount to keep lay easy the first few months he'd spoken to Christopher. But since then, he'd only become more persistent to marry his daughter off, which put a damper on her agenda.

Hitting the call button, he waited through the previous rings. When the stern male voice played through his ears, he cleared his throat and addressed his supposed future father-in-law.

"Finnegan, it's nice to hear from you."

"I heard you called my father's office this afternoon?" Finn replied.

"Uh, yes," he said. It sounded like he was rummaging through paperwork on the other end. "I was meaning to discuss some things on the contract with him. I really need him to sign it before a week or two from now so I can get it finalized."

"You'll have to forgive him," Finn answered, trying to sound more civilized than annoyed. "His conditions are a little rough today."

"Ah, I figured. I'm terribly sorry to hear that." The man sighed through the phone. "Well, will you give him the message for me?"

No, was what he should have said. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to. Instead, he commented with the opposite, before hanging up with the man.

Taking a huge swing of the dark amber liquid sitting on the bottom of his glass, he placed his cellphone on the bar and rubbed his eyes. That solved one of his many problems, he thought; Just one.

His mind then moved onto the bigger issue. Jesse St. James. When thinking of this man's greed, Shelby and James combined could not amount.

He'd known him for some time. They'd met in his final year of college. They shared a math class together. Finn had taken a liking to him in the beginning; maybe even referring to him as a friend here and there. Then, he found out about Finn's status and his true colors were shown.

Finn remembered the night that his supposed friend betrayed him. He'd gone behind his back to talk Shelby into giving him some sort of deal that would guarantee entry into a position like Finn's. Little did he know during that time, was that the brunette male would try and steal his position all together. Though the large sums of money offered, Shelby declined immediately. However, the guy came from a long line of politicians, so no was never an answer. Since then, he'd been visiting Christopher desperately, trying to gain his good graces.

This angered him. He'd already warned him weeks ago to stay away. Then, Sam told him about his visiting earlier today. His father did not need this right now. Grabbing the keys from the dish by the door, Finn moved to his yellow Ferrari in hurried pace. Despite having consumed hard liquor, he was determined to drive to the other end of town to blow off some of the steam he couldn't release with his workout session.

The man was at a strip club of all places. How he knew this, people wondered. It was the car that gave it away. The bright blue Camaro could be spotted from all the way across town.

Quickly zooming into an opening in the parking lot, he slid on his dark-shaded aviator sunglasses and placed his black hood over his head before storming into the building. It took a moment of moving past every fully concentrated pervert before spotting the guy. He was in the corner receiving his own private show. At least he found ways to spend all that extra money given to him by his dad, Finn thought with disgust.

When he noticed him walking up to him with his hands in his pockets, he casually waved the half-naked woman away. Standing up, he straightened out his suit.

"Finn," he greeted before he cut him off.

"Outside, now," Finn growled.

"Here," he said, handing him a small shot glass. It smelled like vodka. "My treat," he smiled.

Throwing it to the ground, he closed in on the guy. "I'm not going to tell you again. Do as I say or so help me God…"

He held up his hands in protest before turning toward the back exit. Once they were in the alley way of the place, Finn got right to the point.

"Today was your last time inside of my house, you understand me?" He pointed his index finger, getting into Jesse's face.

"I'm assuming Sam informed you." He replied.

"You're only lucky I wasn't there to greet you myself." His teeth were clenched. This was a fight they'd been having for months. "You want to steal my job? Fine, you take that up with me, or Shelby, or James. You don't go around my father again."

When Finn saw that Jesse wasn't really paying that much attention, he smacked him upside the head. "Hey, you hear me?"

"If you wanted to fight, Finn, you should've just picked one in there instead of dragging me away from Corinne. That was fifty bucks wasted." Jesse smirked with a slight chuckle. "But, I do admit, you seem pretty convincing. Did you recite that all the way here?"

"You think I'm joking?" Finn asked.

"No, I believe you. It's just that you're not really one for strip-club brawls. So, what are you really doing here, Finn?" "It'd be a shame for the shiny new mayor to return to dad with a bruised up face…"

Before Finn knew it, Jesse was throwing his fist back before colliding it with his face. This brought him to the damp concrete. Jesse only gained access of his sides then. That was when he felt the multiple blows to his ribs.

And, he didn't stop him either. Blow after blow, he allowed himself to take it. In a way, it made him feel good. Well, obviously not good, but better. The physical pain made up for every bit of the mental.

Rachel; He'd gone long enough to try and prove that he was okay. He stopped talking about her to the people around him. He'd even made a point to get rid of everything that reminded him of her. That was where the story of his broken foot came in.

He trashed her room one evening. Taking every picture down from his walls and dresser, he brought it to the Berry household one afternoon while Shelby and James were out. Bringing a hammer out of his father's shed, he got out all of his lingering anger. This was a year or so after she left. He took out her dressers, her desk, the lamp on it, and the back board to her bed with the object. Then, he retreated to their photos and mementoes.

If you walked in there now, you'd still have to be cautious of the few specks of glass that were lodged into the carpet. That was when he'd come to his drawing point. When the tears finally seeped through to his eyes, he took his left foot and slammed it into one of the closest walls. Where the pieces of the wall fell to the floor, so did he. On his trip down, he'd also cut his palms landing on the shards.

He'd been brought to the hospital that night. An understanding Shelby and an angered Christopher waited out in the hallway while his cast was being placed on. Christopher paid for the repairs while Finn hopped on crutches for the next couple of months.

Compared to that, the pain he was feeling right now was nothing. He chuckled nonchalantly through his bloody teeth before slowly lifting himself. "Is that all you've got?"

"Nope," the man said before bringing his fist back again. This time, however, Finn kneed him in the gut before he could continue. Falling to the grown, Finn pinned him there. Straddling the man, he began delivering blow after blow. When he'd knocked him out on the third punch, he retrieved his broken sunglasses and limped away.

Getting home minutes later, he headed for his upstairs bathroom. He let the hot water of the shower trickle down his shoulder blades for a long period of time. It was another hour before he wrapped a towel around his waist and strolled into his room to find clothes.

He decided he'd check up on his father afterwards. Moving down the stairs, he made his way to his father's room. It was dark, but Christopher's figure was made visible by the light of the television. He seemed to be flipping through the channels. He stuck with one when he realized his son's presence.

"Finn," the man greeted him.

"Hey dad," he smiled, sitting at a chair at his bed side.

"You've been here long?" he wondered.

"No, I actually just got back. I came earlier when you were sleeping. I had to run… errands."

"That would explain the bruises all over your face," he replied, sarcastically with a bit of laughter. A fit of coughing filled the room afterwards. Finn moved forward to rub his father's back.

"Have you taken your medicine since you've been up?" Finn wondered, tracing his hands over the orange pill container. "You know the doctor said three times a day."

"Yes, I did, Finnegan." He sighed, with a slight grin on his face. "I thought I was the dad here. Hand me my oxygen mask, would you?"

Doing so, he helped Christopher slide it on. "I'm sorry, dad. I just worry about you."

"Well, you shouldn't. You've got a lot of things going for you and I need you focused."

He shook his head and chuckled at his father's stubbornness. He knew he'd never waiver his mind; no matter how many times he lectured him. Christopher liked to do things for himself. He'd help others but hated when they tried to return the favor. That was just the way he was. Finn thought it was funny and at the same time, admirable; selfless even.

Knowing that he didn't stand a chance in arguing with him, he looked around to change the subject. "Damn, you really are a pack rat." He laughed, standing up. "This place is a mess."

"It's me, son. Did you really expect anything else?" he joked. "They've got me in this bed all damn day, I can't do anything."

"I've got it." He wouldn't accept an argument. Stepping to the other side of his father's bed, he began to remove the cups and plates stacked on the night stand. After bringing them to the kitchen sink, he returned to remove all of the dirty clothes from the floor.

He figured then that he'd leave his father to his own devices for a while. It turns out he was a bit of a hypocrite earlier in lecturing his father on the condition of his room. The living room and kitchen were no different. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd been really busy and didn't have enough time to straighten things up, it was that Haley hadn't been over in a few days. She usually took care of these things without being asked; another reason why she fit perfect into the category of the Mayor's wife.

It was another hour before the kitchen was somewhat tidied up. He slouched on the couch afterwards, flipping through the channels before finding a football game. It was closing around 7 when his phone started to ring.

"Hey," he said after reading the caller id.

"Question," she began with her thick southern accent. "What do you say about driving over right now?"

"Why do you ask?" he wondered.

"Because Momma gave me a really hard time today and I want to clear my mind. Plus, I bought some new silk sheets since the last time you've been over and you really need to try them, with me." She added, chuckling through the phone.

He chuckled a little before regaining his previous composure. "Not tonight, Haley."

"Aw, really? Why not, Finn?" she whined.

"Dad's not doing so well right now," he admitted, lowering his voice. This reality made him angry too; his father's plummeting health. "He developed a cold last night with the weather and we're just keeping a close eye on him."

"I'm so sorry," she breathed through the phone. "Do you need me to come over and help with things?"

"No," he stopped her more quickly than he'd like. That was honestly the last thing he wanted. His solitude was the only thing keeping him sane right now. "But thank you, though. It means a lot."

"Anytime," she answered. "Just, let me know if there's anything that y'all need me to do."

"I will," he said before hanging up. After he'd spent an hour on his laptop, he decided to check his social media before going upstairs to see his dad one last time before bed. While there, he couldn't stop himself. The cursor lingered over the search box. Then, he couldn't stop his fingers from typing.

Her page hadn't changed since she updated it four years ago; which was understandable, seeing as though she was in hiding and didn't want to be traced. However, that didn't stop his mind from running in this moment.

He wondered what she was doing. Was she looking at his page? He knew that was highly doubtful. Wherever she ran off to, he figured she was already moved on. It didn't seem to take her a lot to pack up and leave everything behind.

He refocused his mind after this. He wondered what her life was like now. Was she different? Was she following her dreams? Did she have a boyfriend and a dog to come home to everyday? Most importantly, did she ever think of him? All of these thoughts ran through his head looking at a picture of her in the bright red cap and gown, holding up her diploma with a huge smile on her face.

Before trailing off thinking about how much he missed that smile and torturing himself some more, he slammed the computer shut. Holding a pillow to his face, he groaned as loud as he could, feeling the anger bubble in his chest. He wanted to punch or kick something in, but he knew that he'd be covering all expenses in damages and medical bills this time. So, he contained himself.

Walking back to his father's room, he stuck his head in the door one last time before heading to bed. He smiled to himself when he found that his father had fallen asleep on the hunting channel. Christopher would sooner turn off the TV before falling asleep on his favorite channel. Finn knew this. He also knew that with everything going on with his father, it was understandable that he was too exhausted.

Earlier in the year, he'd gotten a really bad cold and after a simple check-up at the doctor's office, it was revealed that Christopher had Stage 4 lung cancer.

It'd been really hard for all of them to accept, especially him. But, once Christopher did, his mind was made up. No matter how hard they all tried to argue with him, he stood with the decision to refuse treatment. He said he'd lived the life that he needed to and was ready to be reunited with Carole.

This was what added to his anger a lot from over the years. Along with Rachel Berry being the heartless bitch that she turned out to be in his eyes, he had this to push him a little further over the edge. He'd gotten over the initial shock of Christopher giving up on things, but he hadn't been able to accept it yet. What he also wasn't able to get past was the fact that he'd be losing his father. As he got worse, he knew that it was coming soon. He just didn't know if he was prepared. The mere thought of standing at a funeral, giving a Eulogy to a bunch of people who only knew him for his title in the town scared the crap out of him.

But, he would amend himself for some things. Even if he hadn't brought himself to accept it all just yet, he'd gotten pretty good at keeping things together. He had to; for his little brother. Sam would need him to man up and be the rock that held all of them down. And this was very important to him. After all of the loss he'd had to go through, his brother was the only thing keeping him from drowning in the despair. He'd already shed a lot of tears over this and he knew that there would be pools to come, but he wouldn't let it show.

Looking for the remote in his father's bed, he found it underneath his sleeping figure. He hated himself for doing this since the man looked so peaceful. But, he wanted to turn the TV off so he would have a good night's sleep.

He began shaking at his father's exposed arm. Sighing, he knew he'd have to apply more force.

"Dad, I need you to wake up for a second. You're on top of the remote." No answer.

"Dad," he shook him a little more. It didn't take long, but when the realization overcame him, his heart dropped to his toes.

"Dad?" he choked over his words as his breathing became heavier. "Dad, open your eyes!"

By this time, he was shaking him violently enough to injure him. It'd been a matter of two minutes already. Stopping, he fell to his knees. Brushing his hands against the sides of his head, he felt the tears fall down his cheeks. He gripped his hair as tight as he could, he took in his father's image through the television-lit darkness.

"God, this isn't happening." He held his stomach. "Daddy," he hadn't used this term since he was a little kid.

He didn't know how long he'd been like this; pacing up and down the waiting room of the hospital that night. All he knew was that he was alone in the beginning, and now he had a full crowd around him. Quinn sat with arms wrapped around a shaken Sam; Shelby sat hand-in-hand with James… Last, Haley stood in the corner of the room, biting her nails as she watched him pace with a look of concern on her face.

It didn't take long, really. He estimated that it was only one thirty in the morning when the doctor came out and gave them the news. In finding out that Christopher had passed, Finn watched all of their faces, making no note to what his looked like.

Sam fell to the floor as Quinn wrapped him in her arms, Shelby cried while James hugged her, and the last thing he remembered was Haley walking towards him with tears falling from her eyes. His face, however, stayed pretty much the same. Even with the impact of his fiancé's embrace, he kept it straight, looking in the doctor's direction.

"I'm truly sorry for your loss," he told all of them before walking away.

They allowed him to go into the room to collect any items left behind. Now, sitting on the stripped clean hospital bed, he moved his father's golden wedding band around in his fingers. His attention was not interrupted until a slight knocking presented itself at the door. Looking up, the blonde waited for approval to enter the room.

"You can come in," he whispered, turning back to what was in his hand. Sitting next to him on the bed, they lingered in silence for a few moments before she finally spoke.

"Finn, you can cry if you want to. No one's going to judge you." She assured him, taking his hands in hers. He followed with something she was used to by now. He mentally pushed her away, pulling his hands out of hers.

"I'm sorry, Haley," he said, looking toward the plain white tile on the floor. "I just really need to be alone."

"Of course," she nodded before standing up.

"I mean, like for a couple of weeks or something," he explained further.

Getting to the doorway, it took her a moment before she responded. "Take all the time you need, darlin'. I'm not going anywhere." He hated how graceful she was being. It made things harder.

When Sam and Shelby greeted him moments later, he shoved the ring in his back pocket. Finn moved to his brother to take him into a hug. "I can't believe he's really gone, Finn." He blonde sobbed into his shoulder. He didn't know what to say to that, so he only hugged him tighter. Then he came up with something. He didn't know if he truly believed it yet, but it was something to calm down his brother. "We're going to get through this. It may take some time, but I promise that we will."

That was the only time Finn remembered breaking down as hard as he had.

As the grey sky dwelled above, laughter was the only thing that could be heard for miles. Sitting on a bench in Central Park, Rachel chuckled as she watched Cleo run around in the snow.

Since she had no classes today and Santana had a daytime shift to attend to, she'd been stuck with babysitting duty. She wasn't up for it in the beginning, but watching the two year old run around the vast whiteness along the ground, she'd come to regret her earlier feelings.

Hopping up from the bench, Rachel ran forward, picking up the little girl in her arms and twirling her around in the cold air. Her heart fluttered as the girl's giggles filled her ears. Putting her down, she allowed herself to make snow angels with the brunette.

When it was getting late and time to go home, it was safe to say that they'd had an amazing day in the park. Throwing the toddler over her shoulders, she stood at the foot of the stairs to their apartment.

"You ready, cookie?" Rachel asked. "You gotta hold on really tight!"

"Ya!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms tight around Rachel's neck. She could only laugh when Cleo pressed her ice cold cheeks against her own, looking up at the staircase. "On the count of 1, 2…"

"Twee!" she exclaimed. With that, Rachel ran up the stairs as fast as she could to the girl's delight.

They were both giggling when they walked into the unlocked apartment. Rachel assumed Santana must've gotten off a little earlier today. That or their apartment had been robbed. She cleared her head knowing that she shouldn't joke about something like that.

Placing the girl on the floor, she closed the door behind her. Helping the little girl to remove her beanie and coat before she removed her own, Cleo made Santana's presence known.

"Mamma!" she exclaimed. Once she was finished hanging everything on the coat rack by the door, Rachel turned to greet Santana hugging her daughter.

"Hey baby doll," she smiled. There was something a little off with her appearance, Rachel noted. However, she brushed it off. It was her turn to cook tonight, so she decided once the girl was out of hearing range, she'd ask her friend what she wanted to eat. Crossing her arms, she smiled as she watched the two.

Pulling out of the embrace, Santana looked to her daughter with a serious expression. "Daddy's sitting in the living room. Why don't you go say hi? Mommy and Laurel need to talk about a few things."

When the girl nodded and headed out of the room, Rachel walked forward to take in Kacie's face, sitting on the couch, when his daughter rounded the corner. Then, she turned to Santana.

"What's he doing here?" she wondered. "I thought you said he didn't get her until this weekend?"

"Rachel, I'm going to need you to sit down before I tell you what I have to," Her friend's face concerned her.

"Is everything okay? I feel like something happened." Her heart started to pound when the girl didn't say anything. "Santana, what's wrong?"

"Something did happen, Rachel."

"I told Kacie about us," she admitted.

"What?" she exclaimed low enough that no one could hear. "Santana, what the hell were you thinking?"

"He's the father of my kid, Rachel. He should know. Anyways, that's not it." Her expression darkened. "I asked Kacie to pull up your mom's page on his phone. I was really curious to see if she'd posted anything about us."

"Okay?" Rachel said. "So, by the look on your face, she did? Are they here?" Rachel grabbed her friends arm with the sudden outburst.

"No," Santana replied. "But, she did post something this morning."

"Rachel, Finn and Sam's dad died last night."

Not really sure when i will be finished Chapter 15, but hopefully i will be able to post it soon. I hope you are all okay with this one...