Chapter Four
Rachel woke up the next morning to the sound of the alarm and changed into shorts and a matching top.
It was about 5:00 am and, although it was Saturday, she liked to get up early. She was inspiring to know that while everyone was still in bed sleeping, she was already awake to do her morning exercises while looking determinedly at photos depicting Broadway and New York.
After an hour passed on her elliptical trainer, Rachel took a well-deserved rest and went down to the kitchen for a glass of fresh juice. As usual, her dads were already awake. One was reading a newspaper and the other was cooking bacon and eggs, even though Rachel didn't approve.
"Morning, Dads!" Rachel said with a perky voice as she walked into the kitchen. "How are you today, Daddy?" She hugged LeRoy from behind while he sipped a cup of coffee and placed the newspaper on the table.
"Much better than yesterday. Must have been your miracle soup that helped me," he said jokingly.
"Princess, could you please check the mail?" Hiram asked, turning around a second before continuing to cook.
"Of course, Papa." Rachel gave her a little mold kiss on her daddy's cheek before heading out the door.
It was a sunny day, but the neighborhood was practically empty. At that time of the morning, only nice elderly neighbors passed who greeted every person, which was kinda cute.
Rachel greeted an old lady who was walking arm in arm with her husband, unable to look away from the enchanted couple in love. Rachel smiled tenderly to them one last time before opening the mailbox.
Bills, bills, bills...
Rachel suddenly stopped when she saw a white letter with her name written on it. The handwriting was his, without a doubt.
But why he had written to her again?
Sure, it had only been four days since the last time he had written but, still.
As hard as she tried, she couldn't hide the fact that a part of her was surprisingly happy.
"Nice outfit."
Rachel turned at the sound of that voice. The boy pointed at her clothing with a smirk, and just in that moment she realized she was practically half-naked in front of him.
Rachel covered her belly, embarrassed, ignoring his comment and glaring at him.
He was wearing a pair of gym shorts and a sweaty, sleeveless shirt that revealed his toned body. From his forehead a few sweat drops that traveled all over his face up to his chin.
As unbearable as he could be, he had a really nice body, something that Rachel would never, ever have admitted.
Rachel stopped to stare when she noticed that that damn smirk was still present and appeared to be even bigger than before.
"Good morning to you too, Finn." She said annoyed before closing the mailbox. "May I ask you what are you doing here?"
"It's called jogging, but I doubt lazy you would know what that is."
Rachel gasped loudly at Finn's teasing before placing her hands on her hips. "If you really want to know, I get up every morning at 5am, 7 days a week to do my morning exercises. Just because I prefer to stay at home to train rather than running around in the street like you do, does not mean that I am lazy!"
In response Finn laughed as Rachel crossed her arms frustrated.
"Pumpkin, why are you taking so long?" LeRoy asked looking out the door. "Finn, boy!" he said when he noticed the tall boy.
"Daddy, you should go back inside if you don't want to get sick again," Rachel said, a little bit annoyed at Finn.
"Hello LeRoy, how do you feel today?" Finn asked, completely ignoring Rachel.
"Daddy, please go inside." Rachel warned when she saw her father walking toward Finn.
"Oh, better, thank you, even though I have a slight back pain right now."
"Well, if you want, I can give you the number of the physical therapist that Coach Beiste has given us," Finn offered.
"Daddy, plea-"
"That would be great! If, in a week, my back still hurts, I'll ask you for the numb-"
"DADDY!" Rachel shouted, unable to endure more to watch the chat between the two boys.
"Rachie, honey, don't shout. Everybody is still sleeping."
"Yeah, Rachie, you should drink some chamomile tea," Finn said mockingly, feigning kindness with amusement.
"I-I.. but I was just..ugh!" Rachel grunted loudly.
"As I said: chamomile tea," Finn whispered amicably LeRoy who laughed merrily.
Rachel hated the way that sometimes it seemed that her own parents prefer to Finn to her. I mean, it was ridiculous to see them joking with him as an old friend, who was kinda was.
"If you two have finished of making fun of me, I'm going to have breakfast." Rachel started to walk away when the sound of her daddy's voice made her turn around abruptly.
"Finn, why don't you join us? You must be hungry."
"I'm sure he's already eat-"
"Of course, thanks," Finn interrupted Rachel and smiled at LeRoy, continuing to talk with him as they entered the house.
"Why don't you just adopt him?" Rachel thought. She stood, waiting for at least her dad to notice her absence, but no, he was too busy talking to that annoying guy. Rachel looked up at the sky and followed them inside.
She put the envelopes she'd taken from the mailbox on the table of the entrance, remembering the letter addressed to her.
Rachel stood at the kitchen door and saw her dad and Finn already sat down to eat and enjoy a nice chat.
It kinda bothered her that those three guys were so close, but at the same time, she couldn't understand why she felt as if something warmed up inside her when she saw them so happy.
She paused for an instant to look at the youngest among the three.
Finn was a mystery. Sometimes she loathed him enough to want to give him a kick in the balls, and other times, instead, she just wanted to thank him for being so kind and caring, just like the night before.
They had talked, no, she had talked, but he had listened truly interested and it was nice to know that he could be serious when he had to.
"Princess?"
Rachel snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her papa, Hiram. She hadn't even noticed she was still standing there so she quickly sat right in front of Finn, the only empty chair.
"Is there something wrong?"
Rachel clutched the letter, shaking her head, still immersed in her thoughts and smiled as the answer to her papa's question. She took a sip of orange juice from her glass noticing the look of the guy sitting in front of her.
"Any new mail?" asked Hiram while he was eating his breakfast.
"Uhm, you know, bills, bills, a letter for me, and bills again," she replied, trying to sound indifferent.
"A letter for you?" LeRoy asked grinning. Rachel knew she shouldn't have say it, but she couldn't lie to her dads either. "Your secret admirer?"
"Daddy," she closed her eyes, embarrassed.
"Wait, what secret admirer? The one who sent you romantic letters since freshman year?!"
Hiram was undoubtedly the most protective between the two and didn't accept that her baby girl was no longer a child.
"Look honey you need to be careful about this guy. Although this seems to be quite serious, we all know that boys have in mind only one thing."
Finn was about to choke on the juice he was drinking, continuing to cough, while slightly striking his chest.
Rachel wasn't the only apparently embarrassed, but she knew the reason why Finn was uncomfortable was the comment of Hiram about the way of thinking of the boys.
Hiram immediately corrected himself by saying that Finn was a special case when he noticed the boy's reaction.
Rachel didn't want to dismantle her papa saying that, according to her, Finn was not so prudish as they thought, so she bit her lip to keep from laughing.
"Hiram, you shouldn't worry about our Rachie. She's a big girl now, plus she also has a great guy who has her back, right Finn?" LeRoy said patting Finn on the shoulder; he was about to choke a second time.
"Y-yeah, sure." Finn said, pulling out one of his famous crooked smile before continuing to eat.
"Alright, so Finn, why are you awake at this hour?" Hiram asked, finally changing the subject.
"Well, I jog every Saturday morning to keep me in shape." He answered proudly.
Rachel let out a chuckle and could not help to whisper pretending displeasure, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's not working."
Finn took a quick look at the bust that was visible of the girl and faked a smile. "You know, maybe you should do it too, considering that you need to exercise more than me."
"That's a great idea!" LeRoy shouted enthusiastically.
"What?!" Finn and Rachel responded simultaneously as they exchanged a look shocked.
"Rachie, maybe Finn is right. Though you're a great dancer, PE has never been your forte and, perhaps, some training with him will be useful to you." Hiram said, taking a sip of coffee.
"With all due respect, I really was just kidding." Finn said, mortified.
"Well, we aren't." LeRoy turned to his daughter whom had an air not very content. "Look, we don't want to force you okay? But maybe spend some more time outside in the open air will be good for you, and since Finn jogging almost always is perfect as a "helpmate."
"Do it just for this fall, and then if you want, you can stop. Only if Finn has no objections." Hiram looked at the boy amicably, hoping that he would agree.
"I-I.. uhm, no. I'll be happy to have some company," Finn said, smiling awkwardly.
"So what do you say, Rachie?" LeRoy asked.
Rachel looked around, noticing her dads. She hated to disappoint and certainly didn't want to contradict them.
At that moment, she felt resigned.
A few months of jogging would not hurt, would it? Although the company wasn't exactly her favorite.
"Fine."
That simple word was enough to make the two dads cheer happily. It was funny how they were creating a furor for so little. It was a long time that they were trying to convince her to go out and they finally had succeeded.
Rachel laughed, and when she heard that Finn was laughing too, her smile softened.
It would only be for a few months. She would survive.
Rachel closed the door of the bedroom behind her and sighed loudly.
It had been the longest breakfast ever, and she could only be relieved that it was over.
Immediately after he had finished eating, Finn returned home after receiving a phone call from his mother, who was waiting for him anxiously.
LeRoy had gone to the office to make up the lost day even though Rachel had begged him to stay at home. He was really stubborn.
Hiram had gone to court instead. He was a lawyer and was responsible for most of the cases involving family problems, but nothing too serious or severe.
Rachel was finally alone in the house and fell on the bed. She still firmly held the letter in her hands, feeling nervous to read the contents.
With a firm tug, Rachel opened the envelope and sat with her legs crossed. Her hands were shaking with nervousness, which was stupid because it was a simple letter. Rachel swallowed hard and finally opened the letter folded in half.
"Dear Rachel,
I'm sorry if I didn't write to you recently. I was afraid to disturb you or choke or seem nagging and I can assure you that this is just the reason why I haven't written. But you must know that it is hard for me not to. It's not easy to explain (also because I've always sucked at words), but even just through a simple letter I can somehow feel like closer to you. Not in a manic sort because I'm not. I'm not a maniac. Maybe I shouldn't have write this part."
Rachel giggled.
"See you soon. I hope.
Love, your secret admirer"
Ding.
Rachel's phone uttered the sound that signaled the arrival of a message. The girl put the letter in the drawer of the nightstand where she kept all the others hidden, and took the phone. She rolled her eyes when she read the name of the sender.
Saturday at your place. 5:00am. - Finn
Rachel sighed.
Do we really have to? - Rachel *
Yup. ;) - Finn
Rachel felt the need to scream with frustration. It was all his fault! Well, not entirely; Rachel had a little guilt, too, but for the most part, was Finn's fault.
She trained well enough alone, and now she had to do it with Finn.
It was an injustice. Her dads had practically forced her. Sure it was only for a few months, right before the beginning of the winter, but it bothered her anyway.
Alright. - Rachel *
Rachel waited a few seconds before receiving a response.
I know you want to do this as much as I want, but remember that your dads have "organized" everything and you know I cannot say no to them. - Finn
Yeah, I'm aware of that. - Rachel *
I promise to behave myself. Or I'll try at least. And to wait for you if you can't follow my step. ;) - Finn
How chivalrous. - Rachel *
Rachel waited for an answer, but nothing. Maybe he hadn't received the message, or simply didn't know what to reply.
Rachel didn't understand why she was waiting so impatiently for an answer. It was Saturday, she was bored and if Finn could keep her company then, why not?
20 minutes. 20 minutes had passed and still nothing. Usually Finn was always quick to write a message, even with those thick fingers of his.
Are you still there? - Rachel *
Suddenly her cell phone vibrated and Rachel chuckled when she read the text.
Sorry I was searching on the dictionary the meaning of "chivalrous". Lol - Finn
The phone vibrated again a few seconds later and Rachel smiled involuntarily.
Found it! Chivalrous: adj.
1. Having the qualities of gallantry and honor attributed to an ideal knight.
2. Of or relating to chivalry.
3. Characterized by consideration and courtesy, especially toward women.
Yup, that's totally me. ;) - Finn
As hard as she tried not to, Rachel left out a slight laugh. Sure, he annoyed her like no other, but in concordance, he also put her in a good mood. And that wasn't a completely horrible thing.
Neither of them realized that it was almost dinner time since they had started exchanging messages, and neither of them had even had lunch. Of course, Finn blamed Rachel, but he had done it jokingly.
If Rachel was able to spend a whole day texting with Finn, some mornings jogging with him shouldn't be too terrible.
A/N: Hello everyone!
Thank you so much for your continue support towards this story. It is really important to me because I wrote it last year when it hadn't happened what happened to Cory.
I'm sorry for the long wait and the short chapter, but hopefully, the next one will be longer. I know perfectly well that this story is not up to others and not as good as many written here on , but thank you anyway for reading, and I hope that you have a little time to review it, because I really do appreciate it.
Personally, I do not like to rush things, which is why for now nothing much is happening, but I assure you it will improve.
Thank you, thank you very much and especially thanks to Rebecca Ripple, as always. I'll never get tired of saying that you're a wonderful beta!
A few days ago I received a necklace in the mail that says "Monteith" and I can say with certainty that it is the most beautiful thing I have, which also reminds me that I thanked everyone but the most important person, to whom I dedicate this chapter: Cory.
I know that you'll always be with us, and I really hope to keep your memory alive even if it's just with this story. I miss you so much, angel.