Open Wounds

by 216BLT

AU: The past is the past. Puck, Santana, & Rachel Corcoran have moved on from theirs, but when their mother decides to take in a teen, old memories resurface. Also, new scars are made as they navigate through adolescence, ones that might not heal.

19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

AN this chapter was difficult in a lot of ways to write. Please be aware that there is a graphic sex scene between two minors and then also a rape incest scene. They may trigger things for people. Also, you may be upset with a flashback of Santana's and or Quinn's. Never hesitate to PM me or ask any questions or voice concerns in reviews. They will be addressed. Please read carefully. I reveal a lot here, but not obviously. I hope you enjoy.

TheTBone – I always love your reviews! You make me smile so much! I loved that you mentioned my ole yeller reference. Please refrain from drinking anything while reading so I don't end up losing one of my best reviewers. Therapy will be coming and ongoing for all – they all need so much of it. Thank you for giving me your highlights as I said before I love your reviews – please keep them coming.

w1cked- Thank you for your review. A very embarrassing situation for Noah, being caught by your mom and your sisters with your pants down! Very bad. Shelby does have her sister.

ReadingTakesYouAway – Thanks for the review.

SparkleInTheSun – Poor Shelby is right. Thank you for review.

amandaes417 – Thank you – I tried to get it out as soon as possible. Poor Noah – he just needs some attention too but I am pretty sure this is not the attention he is seeking. I am working on the update for changes and it should be out soon. Thank you so much for your kind words

piecesofyourheart – thank you so much for your review – I am really glad you are enjoying the story and I am sorry it is pulling you in so many directions. With subjects like these the process to heal is very slow but through love and the right guidance in their lives these kids will see that that can truly grow.

anyonebutpatrick – that statement does say a lot. Shelby does need lots of hugs and she is a very strong woman. I am trying to show how the same trauma can affect people different ways and people have different ways to handle things. They will all be in therapy – therapy is a must for all of them.

IxHeartxGlee – Thank you for reviewing my story. It means a lot.

MaJorReader619 - Happy New Year to you too. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Thanks for the review.

Ryoko05 – you will see how Shelby is dealing with the stress more in this chapter. Thank you for reviewing this chapter

OTHangels – oh those three are in for a big talk with Shelby – let's see how they all handle it! I think unfortunately because they are all teens with strong personalities Shelby is going to have her hands full. Thank you for the review.

Gleek1990 – Shelby certainly does have her hands full but she is a trained therapist so with the years of training and the support she has from others I am pretty sure she can handle things. Thank you for reviewing! It definitely keeps me going!

AcexofxSpades – You're right Puck is pretty much going to be grounded for a long while. Santana has had her issues but as soon as Shelby hears her feelings and attitude towards sex she will help her with that – trauma can do a lot to ones attitude. Thank you so much for your kind words.

sillystarshine – well in some respects Rachel is right and she thought she was doing the right things by handling it by herself but she will have to learn that she will never be alone again. Thank you for reviewing.

tcathing – Thank you for reviewing my story! I am glad you are loving it.

FacingFuture – you are so right – they are all in a boatload of trouble. While apologizing to Jeanie is not easy it will have to be done because it will show Quinn you can't do that to other people. Shitney will get what's due to her. Thanks for your review. I loved it.

broadwaybound2016 – Thank you so much for reviewing. Quinn does think of Rachel as a sister even if she hasn't fully realized it yet.

Renata – I love my Brazilian reviewer! Thank you so much! Shelby will talk to the 3 older ones first because they are old enough for the talk but Rachel will get a talk from Shelby separately because she is only eleven.

NinjaGleek21 – Shitney will get it from all ends so her life just became a little more difficult. Dodgeball was not my favorite game. Thanks for reviewing.

marinka4 – thank you so much for your review and I love that you love this story. I hope you had a happy new year and thanks for continuing to read and review.

TommyH- Thanks for the review

val-cb- sorry for the delay – thanks for the review.

SuzQQ- Thank you for reviewing – Shelby will blame herself for trusting Noah – but she has her hands full with the girls so as good as Shelby is – she is not perfect. Trust me Noah will soon find out that he shouldn't lie to mom. Therapy is definitely a must for this family and it will come.

HIsland429 - thanks for reviewing. They will all be in therapy for a while so they will continue to learn.

dragonrider94 – Dragon- thank you once again for the review! - Shelby really loves Quinn and hopefully Quinn will finally get a loving parent – Noah is the only man of the family so he unfortunately is dealing with everything a little different than the girls but he will come around with therapy too.

Shelby looked through her fingers at the hood of the car that her elbows were resting on. She frowned for a few moments and then gathered up her strength to look at her daughter. What did she just say? It had been a discussion that she was ready to have for some time. She frowned and thought back to her last attempt to have a conversation with Santana and realized what Santana said and what the girl had meant had been two different things.

"Bug, please put that away," Shelby called over her shoulder at her nine year old, who was dragging something out of the pantry. Her youngest had been begging her to make vegan cookies. "We are not making cookies, Rach."

She heard her youngest give a frustrated groan.

Shelby looked over her other shoulder from the sink to see her eldest daughter playing idly with her phone. Santana was turning fifteen next week. She was in her freshman year of high school. Suddenly memories of her experiences in high school and its hormonal craziness flashed before her eyes. She gave a sigh. Shelby needed to buck up and do it. Parents never looked forward to having sex talks with their children. However due to the sex education in school, or the lack thereof, the talks were necessary.

She watched as her son picked up Rachel and swung her around the room. She already had the talk with her son since he started dating that bimbo, …. Shelby grimaced….girl, Whitney… but Noah seemed to like her. The conversation had been awkward but they talked about how he never wanted to bring a child into the world when parents weren't ready. She remembered feeling proud of her son in that moment.

Their pasts all made things like angsty, teenage hormonal drives more complicated. She knew she needed to be aware of that. She finished the dishes she was working on.

"Noah," she said as she dried her hands. She watched as Rachel squealed when Noah threw her into the air. She laughed at her kids, but finally sighed. "Please don't get her riled up. It's almost nine o'clock she needs to get ready for bed."

"Mom! Don't talk about me like I'm deaf. I'm right here! I'm the one being swung!" Rachel pouted as if her life depended on it and stomped her foot on the ground.

Santana eyes became wide and she raised her eyebrows. She turned back to her phone as she said, "Whoa! Someone's tired."

"Then go upstairs and get ready for bed, Rach," Shelby said acknowledging her youngest daughter's frustration. Rachel looked at her family with a huff and left the room. Noah followed her. Shelby took a seat next to her daughter

"What's up her butt?" Santana asked looking up from her phone.

"Santana," Shelby said with a sigh. Her daughter returned to her phone. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you quickly."

"Kay," Santana replied still gazing at her phone. She was chatting with Brittany about something for sure.

"San," Shelby said taking the phone.

Santana gave a sigh, turned and searched her mother's eyes. The older woman continued. "You started your freshman year this year and I think that this conversation is long overdue and –''

"Oh, god," Santana said with her face dropping. "This isn't the sex talk is it?"

"Yes, it is," Shelby said with a smirk at her daughter's look of dread.

"Please, Mom. I know how to be safe?" The teenager rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me?" Shelby asked with an arch of her brow.

Santana saw her mother's serious look. "I … I mean… about condoms and stuff…. You don't have to talk to me about that."

The mother looked at her carefully as she nodded slowly. "That's not all I wanted to talk to you about." She bit her lip. "It is a very sacred thing. It's something that you talk about with your partner." Shelby thought for a moment thinking about her first time. "It might not be perfect the first time or even wonderful, but it's sacred. Because you make a promise to that person. You know what I mean?"

She looked at her daughter. She couldn't read her. The almost fifteen year old girl looked back at her with a mixture of sadness and confusion.

"Santana?" she said carefully.

The girl's mouth was slightly open and her brow was furrowed. "Sacred yeah….." She shook her head avoiding her mother's eyes. "I'm not ready for a relationship. For that… for it to be special….."

Shelby gave her a soft smile and ran her hand over her daughter's cheek. "And that's okay, sweetheart. When you're ready, you will be. You don't have to rush it." She took a deep breath and watched her daughter avoid her. "Santana, you deserve to be loved. So so much."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore, Mom," Santana said in a rushed voice. "I'm sorry. I ….. I can't."

"Okay, that's fine," she said gently.

"Can I go?" Santana asked with pleading eyes.

"You know that you can come to me if you need anything. Birth control or a trip to the clinic. No judgment," Shelby said searching her daughter's eyes.

"Mom, I told you I'm not ready for a relationship." She stumbled over her words. "I'm not ready for that."

"Okay," Shelby said quietly. "I love you."

"Love you too," Santana said hurriedly as she practically ran out of the room.

Shelby stared at her daughter remembering that conversation. At that moment, it hit her. Santana hadn't said she wasn't ready for sex. She had said that she wasn't ready for a relationship. Santana was saying she wasn't ready for love. Shelby squeezed her eyes shut. How could she be so stupid?

…

Inside the Range Rover, Quinn felt like her heart was about to explode. She didn't want to be there. Quinn envied her peers and the ability to have casual sex. She knew that Noah was a flirt but….. She didn't want to think of him that way. She didn't want to think of anyone that way. It wasn't just that it was Shitney or even that it was Noah. It simply was that it was sex. She didn't have that fanciful luxury of seeing its joys and beauty. Sex was nothing to like to her.

Rachel stirred against Quinn. "Where are we?" the tired voice asked.

Quinn didn't want Rachel to be in this moment either. She didn't force herself to really delve into it. Nevertheless, she was too into the moment to even begin to think of how Rachel would react. She knew that it wouldn't be good.

"Nothin'," Quinn said, surprising herself with the maternal tone of her voice. "Go back to sleep okay?"

Rachel rubbed her eyes. "Where's Sanny?"

Quinn gave a sigh. "She's okay. She's talking to your Mom." She looked at Rachel's eyes. She knew that she wasn't what the girl needed now. "I'll get her for you."

….

"Santana, what?" her mother asked her.

The girl looked at her mother. She looked at her mother with a furrowed brow. "What?" Why did she look even more upset?

Shelby put up her hands. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Santana, it's not just sex and it's not blowing off steam." She tried to keep her voice steady but because it was approaching two-thirty in the morning, she was not holding up well. "We will be talking about this more later but how can you….? Do you really think it doesn't mean anything?"

Santana stared at her for a moment. Sex didn't mean anything, it never really had. Ever.

When you're thirteen and caught between childhood and young adulthood, you feel like you can rule the world. She was at her first sleep away camp, Cheerleading camp at Ohio State University. She was going into eighth grade and she and her friends were the most 'developed' in the class. Beth Marsden had lost her virginity to Todd Baker. Marilyn Cote had lost it to Joshua Perry. Everyone who was anyone at junior high had already lost it. Granted they were all in 'relationships.' Santana sighed. She didn't want love. Love was so much work and required so much of everyone, especially herself. She just wanted to get it over with before she got too old.

She looked around the college dining hall. It wasn't about fitting in, she thought to herself as she pretended to laugh at Tommy's Olsen's joke. She realized it was about what had happened. She knew that she wasn't like the other love struck girls in her class. She didn't want to wait to be in love. She couldn't do that in the least. She had been scarred by what had happened; she knew that. She just…. She couldn't lose it like everyone else. She wanted it to be someone she wouldn't see at school. She wanted it to be someone who didn't and couldn't matter.

"You're not listening," Tommy said in her ear. He was the cutest boy here. He was at the football camp that ran on the fields across from the cheer fields.

They all stayed in the dorms together and did a lot of the same evening activities. Tommy was fun. Brittany thought he was a tool bag, but she tolerated him for Santana. He wasn't in their school district and Santana knew that was the only real reason Brittany tolerated him. It was only one week out of the year they had to see him.

He grinned at her. "Sneak out tonight."

"Sure, Tommy." Santana laughed. "Easy as pie."

"No, I'm serious." He smiled and took moved closer to her. Santana laughed nervously and shot Brittany a look, who seemed to be scowling.

"It'll be fun." He put his hand on her cheek. "I promise.

Santana narrowed her eyes. It was Friday. Camp was ending tomorrow. One last night. One last night and she would never see him again. Maybe this was her chance to get rid of it. Maybe it was her chance to take that meaningless label away. She said yes.

She decided not to tell Brittany. Later that night, she wrapped her coat around her more tightly. There was a patch of woods back behind the door that Tommy told her to meet her. She made her way through the bushes to a slight clearing. She knew what was going to happen. He hadn't said it, but he had been giving hints all week. And like her Aunt Joey said, "Women always know before men." However, she was sure Aunt Joey wasn't talking about sex in the woods.

She took a deep breath when she saw him. He gave her a grin. She felt small butterflies in her chest. However, she felt something else. This seemed too real. Reality was much less tranquil than those movies like The Notebook make it out to be. She frowned. Perhaps it was the absence of the music. In the darkness of the woods, all she felt was dirt. She felt dirty. The movies had lied. This was in no way romantic. It felt out of place and strange.

She tried to refocus on Tommy. He pulled her close into a kiss. She knew how to kiss. She was a great kisser. She kissed back easily. She smiled internally; she definitely could just make out. Maybe they would just make out.

"Come on, take off your clothes," his whispered with an eager grin as he began undoing his belt.

Spoke too soon, she thought. However, she shrugged and reminded herself it was just a physical act. It didn't matter.

She gave a weak smile. She felt a strange nervousness in her chest. She liked him, but she didn't. It was hard to explain.

Once they were off, all she felt was cold.

"Come here," he said pulling him to her. She let him draw her into him arms. She felt exposed but not naked. Again, it was hard to describe. He kissed her softly and she kissed back. His hand ran up and down her bare back. "Lay on the ground," he said suddenly still with his boyish grin.

She scoffed, "I'm not laying on the ground. We're in the middle of the freakin' woods."

"Fine," he groaned impatiently. He sighed. "Just let me look at you." He took her arm and pulled back slightly but still held her close to him. "Whoa!" he grinned. "You look amazing. You're boobs are awesome."

At thirteen Santana wasn't one for romantics, but 'you're boobs are awesome' certainly turned her off.

"Can I touch them?" he drooled.

"Whatever," she shrugged as she looked around quickly making sure they were alone.

He fondled her in the darkness. She felt more like she was fruit at a fruit stand than a lady. She let out a gasp when she felt his palm grope her sex. No one had touched her there since….. Her thoughts trailed off.

He smiled so wide at her that the white of his teeth glittered in the darkness. "This will be fantastic. I promise," he said with a smile. "Here I'll get you ready, if you do me." She could hear the grin in his voice.

He reached in between her thighs and began to probe his fingers around. She let out a soft moan. He chuckled. She reached out and took his shaft as she felt him cup her more deeply. It was physical, that's all it was. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a finger enter her.

"You're wet already," he grinned. "See, I knew you would like this."

She grimaced slightly and forced her concentration back to her hand as she moved it up and down his shaft. She suddenly felt a gurgle in her stomach. Even though this was only physical, imagining him inside her seemed scary all of a sudden. Her thoughts were interrupted again when she felt a tingle in her lower abdomen. It felt good…. Maybe good wasn't the word…. It felt…. It felt like she didn't want him to stop but she didn't think she would miss it if he had to stop. Did that make sense?

"I love your pussy," he said huskily. Santana rolled her eyes. What a way with words. He palmed her breast with his other hand. "Your boobs too. Soooo hot!"

The tingle was increasing in her abdomen. She realized she was moving her hips, grinding into his hand. She did like it, she realized. Right?

"I'm ready," he said suddenly. "You're ready, right? You feel ready."

She looked down. His hand was still buried between her thighs. "Do you have a condom?"

"Of course!" he smiled. "Real men have condoms."

Santana gave a frown. She didn't know that she would realize later that most 'real men' didn't have condoms and that they were also her job to provide. He removed his hand from her sex and managed to put it on.

"Okay," he said with yet another grin. "Bend over."

She frowned. "What?"

"You don't want to lie on the ground so how else are we going to do it?" he said, his grin still intact. "Here, over here. Hold onto the tree."

She frowned but allowed herself to be led over to the tree. As if on autopilot, she bent over at the waist and held onto the tree in front of her. She stared at the dark ground. It was physical. That was it. She felt his shaft at her entrance.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Uh… yeah," she said with a frown.

And without any grace, skill, or warning, he pushed inside of her. While she was wet, her body tensed. She gasped when she suddenly felt a barrier break. He was moaning behind her. This did not feel good at all. He started moving.

"Wait!" she hissed. "Let me get used to….just hold on!"

He held still but he groaned in frustration.

Santana took a deep breath. It's just sex, she told herself. She allowed her body to readjust. She needed to feel this. She needed it to feel how it felt before. She took his hand that was on her hip and brought to her core in front so that his fingers touched her clit.

"Okay," she breathed. "Go."

It wasn't magnificent. It certainly wasn't great. But it was done, she thought. She was losing her virginity. She was losing that terrible thing that loomed above her head. She didn't have to think or feel about it anymore.

"Santana?"

She looked over her shoulder at the car. Quinn had propped the door open.

"She wants you." The blonde looked at her pleadingly.

She turned back to her mother. "I'm gonna go see what's up," she said slowly and turned away from her mother.

"Santana, answer my question," Shelby said rather sharply.

Santana stopped walking, looked over her shoulder but didn't meet her mother's gaze. "Yeah, Mom. It really doesn't mean anything. Only if you need it to."

Without allowing her mother to reply, Santana walked briskly to the car. She opened the back door and saw Rachel leaning with tired eyes on the back middle seats from the far back.

"Sanny, what's going on?" Rachel's voice was a mixture of an exhausted pout and a nervous whine.

"We're picking up, Noah," Santana said gently leaning in over Quinn.

"I'm just gonna…." Quinn said uncomfortably. "Sit up front….." She climbed over the seat to the door where Santana was. "You can um…. You can sit with her."

The blonde reached for the front door but Shelby stopped her.

"Quinn, would you mind sitting in the middle with Whitney? I want a few words with Noah."

At that moment Noah and a still staggering Whitney rounded the front of the car. The boy's hands couldn't be any deeper in his pockets. Quinn could tell that he knew he was caught. She turned back to Shelby and gave a slight nod.

"Sure," she said quietly. She climbed in and saw that Rachel was asleep against Santana.

Quinn moved to the seat near the door as far from the loud sloppy Shitney.

They started back down the road in silence.

"Noah and Whitney, I am very disappointed. Whitney, I will be talking with your parents," Shelby said.

"Both of them?" she slurred.

"Yes," Shelby said as she looked over at her son. She thought for a moment when she looked back at the road. Maybe not at the same time. Whitney's parents were notorious for fighting in public.

"Mrs. Cooooorcorraaaannnn." Whitney's voice was a whine. "I'm reeeeallll sorrrrrrrry."

"Shut up," Quinn and Santana simultaneously hissed.

"No, reallllyyyy. I ammmm," she said leaning forward to the driver's seat.

"Sit back, Whitney and buckle up," Shelby said dryly. "I know you're sorry, but I think you're simply sorry for getting caught."

"Nooooo, I—''

"Whitney, shut up," Noah hissed. "Just shut up."

He caught Santana and Quinn's eyes briefly. He asked them silently with a tired glance if they told. Quinn shrugged. Santana shot him a look that said, 'What the hell was I supposed to say?' He turned back heavily in his seat.

"Please tell me Rachel's asleep… That she slept through this," he said to the silent car.

"She's asleep," Santana said without emotion.

"I'm reallllyy—'' Whitney started again.

"Shut up!" the four said together, but not loud enough to wake Rachel.

When they pulled up to Whitney's house, Shelby gave a heavy sigh. The teenagers waited patiently for her to make the first move.

"Stay here," Shelby said to the car. "I will be right back. Let's go, Whitney."

Quinn watched out the window as Shelby marched the still swaggering girl to the front door. Shelby rang the doorbell repeatedly and the lights slowly flickered on.

Santana watched her mother yell short sentences at Whitney's father. She didn't need to hear what she was saying. She knew by the man's look that he had no idea that Whitney wasn't in her room, nor did he seem to care she was drunk. He simply looked too tired to deal with it all. She pulled Rachel closer and combed her hand through her hair. She looked at that back of her older brother's head. She attempted to lighten the mood.

"I can't believe Mom's freaking. I mean it's just sex."

Quinn tensed slightly. She looked over at the boy in the front. Noah frowned deeper. His jaw tightened. He shook his head. "Don't say that kind of shit, San." He frowned in a low voice. He turned to her suddenly. Aware that Rachel was sleeping against her, he looked at his sister and said quietly but accusingly. "You didn't say that to Mom did you?" He met his sister's eyes in the dimly lit car. His eyes widened. "Are you kidding? San!" He tried to keep his voice down. He shook his head again and turned to look forward. "I know I've turned a blind eye to a lot."

Santana said lightly, "Liar, pretty sure you've pummeled every guy I've ever slept with." She was confused by his anger.

He shook his head. "What I mean is, San, I know you and you can't possibly think it is just sex."

Santana's face faltered in the back. No one saw because of the darkness. "It is, Noah. That's all it is."

He shook his head and folded his arms. "Stop lying to yourself, damnit."

Shelby walked to the side of the car. "We will be speaking to her and her parents tomorrow."

The mother put the car in gear and they all drove silently home. When they pulled into the garage Shelby was still fuming. Her hands hurt from gripping so tightly onto the steering wheel. She finally forced herself to take a deep breath. She looked over at her son. He knew he was in trouble; that was clear on his face. However, what was even clearer was his regret. It was as if he had a secret life that was just now being exposed. He climbed out of the car and walked slowly into the house before she could stop him.

Shelby took a breath and climbed out of the car. Santana managed to lift Rachel out of the car without waking her. As Shelby rounded the car, Santana was lifting Rachel into her arms. As the tiny girl moved her head on Santana's shoulder, she let out a quiet whimper. Shelby squeezed her eyes shut. Dodgeball. She had almost forgotten.

"Let me take her," Shelby said reaching for her youngest.

"Mom," Santana started.

"Bed, now," Shelby said taking the girl from her arms. Santana frowned but went into the house.

"Ihadabaddream," Rachel muttered into Shelby's ear.

"Okay, bug," she muttered. She was about to close the door when she noticed that Quinn was still in the vehicle. At first she thought she was asleep but then she realized that Quinn was simply staring ahead. "Quinn?" The girl didn't move. "Quinn, sweetheart, it's late. Please get out of the car and go to bed," Shelby said readjusting Rachel on her shoulder.

Quinn seemed to snap out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, um…. yeah," Quinn said as she climbed out of the car.

Shelby carried Rachel into the house as she followed behind Quinn. "Ihadabaddream," Rachel muttered sleepily again as they walked up the stairs. Shelby glanced at the clock. 2:54am. Jesus Christ, she thought. "I know, bug," she whispered.

Santana watched her brother disappear into his room and she did the same. What just happened? The whole night had been crazy. She walked idly into the bathroom and Quinn was standing there staring at herself in the mirror.

"Oh, sorry," Santana said backing out.

"Oh, um…. you can use it first. Sorry…" Quinn walked into the other bedroom.

"Quinn, I …. Gah," Santana said with exhaustion. She watched Quinn close the door behind her.

…...

Quinn left the bathroom quickly. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think about any of this. It just …. It just hurt. Some people talk about it as fun. Some recognize it as sacred and meaningful, even special. It was never that for her and it never would be. Since she saw Noah and Whitney, she couldn't get that night out of her head. Hearing Santana talk about the absence of its meaning, made her want so badly for the simple mention of sex not to remind her about that night.

She sat on her make shift bed in the corner. She always thought that losing her virginity would be special. It wasn't. It was anything but. And now in the darkness of this late night, the only place her mind was was in the darkness of that night.

Quinn couldn't sleep. She didn't feel like something was bad was going to happen or that she forgot something. She simply couldn't sleep. Her mind wasn't full and mulling over some important world issue. She lay in the darkness of her bed staring at the ceiling. Being a freshman at McKinley hadn't been too hard, especially because she was on the Cheerios. It was February and the school year wasn't too bad. She could make it through high school. She was now dating the starting quarterback, Finn Hudson. She was a shoo in for head cheerleader next year. She could make it through. Her parents weren't perfect, but whose were? She would be out of Lima. She would escape and be happy and her childhood would be a distant memory. Childhood was the first eighteen years. There were at least sixty to seventy more to live. Her philosophy said you don't even remember the first three to five years and so you're only left with thirteen to fifteen years. She had convinced herself that those first years didn't matter. She was fifteen. She only had three more years.

Her door creaked open causing her to stop her thoughts. She looked over at her close 2:34am. She frowned and stared at the figure in the doorway. They were silhouetted by the darkness of the room with the soft, gold glimmer of the hall light.

"Quinnie," her father said huskily.

She tried to steel her face in the darkness. Her father had been coming to visit her in the night since she was thirteen. It was right after she started her period and Frannie left for school. He always touched her, caressed her or had her touch him. It made her sick, but if there was a sick comfort in the consistency that she knew she could never quite explain, not even to herself.

However, this moment was different. There was something in his voice and the way that he approached the bed that she knew tonight was going to be different. He closed the door bringing the room to darkness again safe the moonlight that shown through her window. He approached the bed quietly. She shivered as she felt his hand run through her hair. She could smell the alcohol on his breath as he kissed her forehead softly. He allows his hand to wander as his lips lingered on her forehead. She was wearing her button up night shirt and matching pants, a present that had been given to her last year for Christmas. He undid the top too buttons and groped her braless chest. She whimpered slightly under his touch.

"Be a good girl, Quinn, and hush," he ordered before his lips met hers. She didn't kiss him back but she didn't struggle. "Stand up," he said suddenly as he simultaneously dragged her off of her bed. He sat down and had her stand in front of him between his legs. He rubbed her shoulders softly. "My pretty girl," he whispered as he unbuttoned the top. She shivered as it fell open. He didn't remove it right away, but allowed it to drape loosely over her body as he felt her breasts again. Her head was bowed, ashamed.

Suddenly, his rough hands were removed and she felt him loosening the draw string on the front of her pants. They fell and pooled around her ankles leaving her in her underwear in front of him.

"Rub yourself, go on get wet for me," he order quietly.

She looked at him in the eye. She trembled. He had never told her to touch herself. Ever. Her brow knitted together and her stomach clenched. Everything that they had done together had been terrible and wrong, but this felt even worse. This felt like a sentence. She felt his hand grip both of her shoulders and bring her face close to his.

"Do it," he ordered menacingly.

"Daddy, p-p-p-please," she begged. She just realized her cheeks were wet with tears.

"Fine," he said roughly. "I'll do it myself."

"No!" she whimpered.

She suddenly felt her underwear being ripped off and her shirt being pushed to the ground. She almost even felt like she was flying through the air as her father lifted her and pushed her back onto the bed. She was pinned, naked beneath him. She heard him unbuckle his belt. He ground into her body roughly. He brought one hand to her breast and another to her core.

She whimpered as she felt his fingers probe her folds and his thumb knead roughly against her clit.

"P-p-please," she begged. "D-don't."

He palmed all of her in his hand, his fingers still moving vigorously. "It's time for you to become a woman, Quinn." She shuddered and felt her tears fall as she felt a familiar tingle in her stomach. No, please no. "See? You're already wet for Daddy."

"P-p-please," she cried. She didn't manage to finish when she felt two fingers enter her.

Shamefully, her father had done this before a few weeks ago, but this was the first time that Quinn ever thought he would go further. He pumped his fingers into her as his thumb continued to stimulate her clit. She hated her body. She hated everything about it.

"I think you're ready," he whispered with his other hand still squeezing her breast. "Hold still."

She let out a gasp as he removed his hand. She heard him slamming his hand down his length readying himself. She barely had time to catch her breath when she felt the tip of him at her wet entrance. With one hand clamped over her mouth, the other guided his shaft into her. She screamed at the intrusion but it was muffled. She felt something break inside her and something seep out. Blood, she thought. Once he was in he brought his other hand back to her chest where he continued to fondle her now betraying erect nipples. He pumped into her with forceful grunts. The sharp pain became a dull ache as he moved in and out of her. She only was crying softly now. He moaned into her and increased his pace. She hated herself and sobbed harder into his hand as her body reacted more. The build in the pit of her stomach taunted her.

"Don't until I tell you," he ordered. He didn't say what, but they both knew and Quinn hated herself even more. She hated herself for being pleasured by this. Losing her virginity was supposed to be magical and with someone she cared about, who would save her. But this moment, in the darkness of her bedroom on a cold February night, was far from that. It was dirty, ugly, and naked. There was no magic or hope. It was just bodies smashing together hoping to find release. It was shame married with detest and hatred. Skin on skin felt distant and not her own, but at the same time it was blaring and in her face.

The feeling deep in the pit of her stomach pressed against her as she let out a moan into her father's hand. His pace quickened.

"Good girl, good girl," he said hurriedly with sweaty pants. "Alright," he moaned and then said huskily, "Go ahead."

She let her body go in that moment as the shame ran out of her, hoping she could fly away from that moment. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt pressure inside of her and she knew he had also released. She kept her eyes pressed shut. She didn't want to open them to this moment; she didn't want this moment to be real.

He rolled out of bed without a word. He fastened his pants and walked silently out of the room leaving Quinn exposed and naked on the bed, trembling and sobbing for all that she just lost.

…...

Santana went to the bathroom quickly and washed her hands. She wanted to open the bathroom up for Quinn. It was just an evening of awkward and she realized that Quinn must be feeling something. Sex was more to her than just physical. Santana was different like that. She wasn't like other girls. Quinn was one of the others. Santana rethought. Or maybe she wasn't… Sex might not even be physical to Quinn… it might be terrible.

She opened the bathroom door slowly and peered in.

"Quinn, I'm finished," Santana said quietly. "The bathroom's open."

She spotted the blonde tucked into the corner of the room on the floor. Her knees were pulled up to her chest. She didn't hear Santana come into the room. The brunette stepped forward and the blonde jumped. She wiped her tears furiously. Santana could see though that she was shaking. She didn't need a crystal ball to tell her that Quinn was thinking about her father.

"What?" Quinn asked with an angry frown.

Santana chewed her bottom lip and watched Quinn tiredly try to steal her face away. The brunette wanted to comfort her. She could still see that the girl was shaking. She didn't know what to say though. Santana never had a way with comforting words.

"I said, 'What?'" Quinn asked as she shot her one of her patented glares.

"You're shaking," she finally said as she grabbed a deck of cards from the bookshelf.

Quinn's angry brow faded. "No, I'm not." She looked at her hands. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Yeah..." Santana said. She didn't want to talk about it and she knew that Quinn wouldn't either. So she offered the only thing she could: Comfort not in words, but in company. "I can't sleep," she said quietly as she sat next to the girl on the floor. "Do you know how to play Poker?"

Quinn scowled. "What?" she asked heavily.

"Poker," Santana shrugged. She caught Quinn's confused look. "Sleep's overrated."

Quinn watched her for a few moments and then took the deck of cards. "Fine." She started shuffling the cards. She chewed her lip for a moment. "Thanks," Quinn said.

Santana met her eyes quickly and then looked away. "Yeah…." she mumbled. "Five card stud?"

The blonde gave a slow nod.

"Sure..." Her eyes lingered for a moment on Santana. She knew that the moment wasn't about poker or even about comfort. Instead it was about forgetting. Quinn watched the brunette deal. It was for both of them. They both couldn't be in that moment. They played because they were both trying to forget about their pasts, their present and future. They couldn't be the people they were. So instead they played poker because sleeping and thinking was too scary, but gambling was easy. Gambling was all they knew.

….

Shelby walked quietly into Rachel's room. The girl had fallen asleep from the car to the walk upstairs. Get her in bed and then done. Shelby thought. Then this day would be over. She carefully laid Rachel down in her bed. The girl stirred and Shelby squeezed her eyes shut. Damn it, spoke too soon.

"Mom?" Rachel said clinging tighter to her mother.

"Shhh," Shelby said soothingly. "Go back to sleep." She rubbed the girl's back instinctively.

"Mmmmm," Rachel whimpered. "Ihurt…"

Shelby sighed. The light on the nightstand was already on from when Santana woke Rachel up. She sat on the bed with her daughter on her lap. The tiny body was draped on her, exhausted. Tomorrow wasn't going to be pretty. She lifted the nightgown and looked at her daughter's back closely. Bruises and reddened marks peppered her back. God she hated dodgeball. It looked like it ached. She sighed and lowered the nightgown again. "I'm sorry, bug," she whispered as she carried Rachel into the hallway to the medicine cabinet. She managed to get the girl to take some junior Tylenol before heading back into the room. She laid her down and was about to let her go when Rachel said again in a tired voice, "Ihadabaddream."

Shelby's mind seemed to trigger. Rachel had a bout of bad dreams the last time she said she had been injured in dance about a month ago. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. It had probably been dodgeball and not dance that had triggered the injury. Goddamnit, she thought to herself. She felt like an oblivious failure. She refocused, what was dodgeball triggering?

It's three in the morning. Her tired brain screamed.

"Sweetheart, tell me about the dream in the morning. Nothing will happen to you," she said as she laid her into the bed. "Mommy's right here."

"Staywithme?" Rachel asked gripping onto Shelby's hand.

Shelby gave in. She was too exhausted to fight and in that moment she needed to be there. Rachel needed her; she was hurt and tired. Shelby had realized in the past eight hours how she had messed everything up by not looking. She had missed vital pieces and hints that her children were hurting. She wouldn't walk away from them. She couldn't let the four of them down.

…

Rachel woke up the next morning and her mother was in her bed. She wasn't sure but she felt more tired when she woke up than she did when she went to bed. Her eyes flickered open. She looked over at the other warm body in her bed. She frowned in surprise. She was never awake before her mother unless it was Christmas… Or… Rachel couldn't think of another time.

"Mom?"

Shelby groaned slightly in her sleep. Her arms were draped protectively around her youngest daughter. She rubbed her eyes and put her hand on her forehead. She felt as if she was hung over. She was exhausted and just wanted to stay in bed. She didn't want to think about the previous night. She rolled onto her back and pulled Rachel close and ran her hand unconsciously through her hair. She took a deep breath. Today was beginning and she had a feeling that it was going to be worse than the day before.

"Mom?" Rachel murmured from her chest.

"Yeah, bug?" she muttered with her eyes still closed.

"Shouldn't we get up?" she asked quietly.

Shelby's gaze shot to Rachel's alarm clock. 7:07am.

"We need to get up and go," she said hurriedly. She sat up quickly and swung her legs over the side as she stood up… She heard a whimper, the tiniest whimper. She stopped. She turned and took in her youngest. She hadn't seen her look so tired, alert, and weak for years and she knew that it wasn't just the dodgeball. It was all of it; it was being exposed. She listened quietly to Rachel's breathing.

Shelby frowned. "You should do a quick treatment, bugs."

"Mom—''

Shelby already managed to pour the tiny bottle into the mask and put the mask's strap around Rachel's head. "Mom," Rachel tried again.

"Not now, bug," Shelby said sharply but gently. "We're going to be late." She met her daughter's eyes. "You're finishing all of this."

Rachel frowned, but leaned back as Shelby turned on the machine and left the room.

Shelby burst into Santana's room and was surprised to find it empty. She walked through the bathroom and into Quinn's room. She was shocked to find the girls leaning against the bed. Santana was leaning against the wall and Quinn was across from her leaning against the bed. They were asleep in upright positions that told Shelby that they would be sore and exhausted today.

She clapped her hands smartly, before she could really wonder what they were doing there.

"Girls! Girls!" she said. "We're going to be late. Quickest showers on earth please. In the car in twenty. No ifs, ands or buts. Go!"

The girls looked tiredly at her. "Girls! Let's go," she said. She helped them up and ushered them into the bathroom. She turned on the shower. She handed both of them their toothbrushes as they continued to look at her with dazed looks. Shelby put toothpaste on Santana's and then ushered the girl and her toothbrush out of the bathroom. "Quinn, hop in the shower. Quickly, please. Santana go brush your teeth in my room and then check on your sister. Quinn you have six minutes to be in and out of that shower."

Shelby rushed out of the bathroom. Santana caught a glance at Quinn and smiled as she began brushing her teeth. "She just hasn't had her coffee yet."

….

Down the hallway, Noah sat up in bed. His body told him that he should be awake. However, his aching brain had been screaming at him for the past hour. He had been awake, mulling over his indiscretions. It felt like a bad dream coated in dread. It just wasn't something he wanted to be a part of.

"Noah," Shelby said quietly with a barely-there knock. "Get up please—Oh, you're awake. Great. Can you shower please. I know we'll have three back to back showers, but I think if I can convince Rachel to let me do her hair we'll be good and…" She sighed. "Just get ready. We're going to be late."

"Is that all you're going to say to me?" he asked with a frown as he sat up on the bed.

Shelby sighed and didn't turn around right away. She put her hand on her forehead and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"For now? Yes, Noah," Shelby said with a sigh. "However, I will have plenty to say this evening but now isn't the time to get into this. I'm disappointed in you but I have a feeling not as much as you're disappointed in yourself. Right? I just…" She waved her hands in the air. "I just can't believe you. What could you possibly be thinking? That girl was inebriated! She was your ride home, Noah! What in the name of everything sober could you have been thinking?" Shelby sighed. She put up her hand on her forehead. "Don't answer that. You have crossed the line mister. This is unacceptable. I don't care that you are eighteen, you are my son and what you did last night was not only irresponsible and reckless it was stupid. We don't have time for this, Noah. But don't worry. You'll be making up plenty of time with me starting tonight. Things are going to change!"

She started out of the room.

"Why did you bring them?" he asked incredulously. She stopped in her tracks.

"Really? I had no idea where you were. Santana knew. I didn't know how to get there. I was not going to leave Quinn and Rachel here. No, absolutely not. What did you expect?" Shelby suddenly frowned when she read his face. "Oh," she said with a dry laugh. "You think I should have left them here. Well, let me inform you about something, young man. Being an adult and being a parent means that you can't just leave your children at home. You can't forget about responsibility. And what you did so irresponsibly last night can lead to children." She shook her head furiously. "You know what, Noah? I'm not arguing with you about this." She continued to shake her head. "No, I am the mom. End of discussion." She looked at her son. "Now hurry up and get ready because we need to leave."

Without another word, she left the room.

Noah stomped around the room. This was ridiculous. He grabbed his clothes and began to get ready.

…

Shelby reentered Rachel's room to see her youngest had quietly lied back down with the nebulizer still on her face. She gave a sigh.

"No, sweetie, you can't go back to sleep. You need to wake up," Shelby said pulled Rachel up to a sitting position. "We cannot sleep right now. We need to leave."

Shelby saw that the medicine was almost finished. She looked at her daughter's tired eyes. She grabbed her favorite skirt and shirt combination that she knew of, some underwear, and a loose training tank top. Rachel murmured underneath the mask. She turned as she set the items on the bed.

"What, bug?" she asked as she removed the mask and turned off the nebulizer.

"I don't want that. I want to wear the bra. The training bra," Rachel said insistently.

"No," Shelby said. She combed her hand through her daughter's hair and began to put it up. She knew it would hurt her back. Her daughter wanted to grow up too fast and she didn't want to aggravate her back.

"But Mom," Rachel began.

"No, Rachel," Shelby said seriously forcing Rachel to look down in defeat. Shelby somehow managed to pull Rachel's hair into a French braid. "End of discussion. Now get dressed and get down stairs please. We are late."

Rachel watcher her mother leave the room then looked into her vanity mirror. Her braid was lopsided.

She pulled on her clothes. She wasn't sure what her mother was going to do today, but she had the face on. The face that Santana called: the war face. It was never a good sign. She could hear hairdryers going in her mother and sisters' rooms. Meandering down the hallway she walked into her brother's room as he pulled his jersey over his head. She forgot; it was game day.

"Noah?" she asked quietly.

"What, bug?" he said with annoyance.

She frowned. "Are you still angry that you missed curfew?"

The older boy turned and looked at her with a confused look. "Yeah, something like that."

His head was pounding. He was so hungover and dealing with this wasn't what he wanted to do.

Rachel watched him. She remembered waking up slightly in the car and having Quinn cover her eyes. And in the car…her brother smelled like the smells in New York. She frowned in realization.

"Were you drinking?" she asked. "Is that why Mom is so mad?"

"Rachel, I'm not talking about this with you," Noah said storming past her.

Her little legs managed to keep up with his as she followed him downstairs. Why would they cover her eyes? She watched her brother bang cabinets shut in the kitchen. Whitney was in the car she realized… She smelled too….

She frowned in horror and confusion. "Oh my god, were you having sex?" she asked him with a horrified look.

Noah froze with the cereal cabinet open.

When he didn't answer Rachel went on. "Why would you do that? … You were drinking and having sex?"

Being Rachel and being eleven she didn't see that as compelling or tempting in anyway.

Noah slammed the cabinet door shut and turned to his sister. "We're not doing this, Rachel." He started to storm out of the kitchen.

"But Noah—''

She followed close behind him. He turned sharply and cowered over her, looking her straight in the eye, accidentally knocking over one of the bar stools. "Rachel!"

When it clanged as it hit the floor, he seemed to snap out of his tantrum. However, the noise and the look he flashed at her still lingered in his face and caused her to jump back from in, afraid. The boy immediately knew his mistake. He reached out to her. "Rach, I'm sorry," he said gently. His heart broke more because when he reached out, she flinched.

Rachel looked up at her brother with trepidation and then quickly looked away. She knew it was her brother and she knew she was safe, but her instincts, the ones that she was forced to build were telling her otherwise. They were screaming. She chewed her bottom lip as she unconsciously took a step away from her brother. She didn't want to look at him. She couldn't. She just... couldn't. She squeezed her eyes shut and she could hear her heart thumping against her chest as if it were about to explode. She didn't know what to say or how to process.

"Rachel?" she heard her brother whisper.

She felt a hand on her arm. She flinched away.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she remembered Hiram's big shoes and her arm being grabbed and being pulled into the room. She hated that room. It was dark and it was where she hurt. She could hear echos of his screaming in her ear.

"Rachel?" Noah said again gently. She felt him bring her into a hug and she tried to push him away. Again her instincts were kicking in. Her shallow breaths forced her eyes to remain shut. She wasn't in the moment. She felt a hand clamp down on her arm. She didn't realize that she was remembering instead of actually feeling it.

"Bug," Noah whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry. Okay?"

Rachel bit her lip and her eyes flew open. She looked at her brother who was now kneeling at her level. She backed away from him. She failed to see the distress in her brother's eyes. She didn't feel as if she was in the kitchen anymore. She felt stuck.

Noah stared at her. He knew what was happening. She was not just panicking. She was remembering and he had forced that on her. He was responsible.

Nine year old Noah rubbed his eyes. His back hurt from the beating the night before for doing something that he couldn't even remember, all he knew was that it was wrong. He needed to get up. He needed to get up before that carpet muncher woke up. He and Santana realized that Hiram tended to sleep late and it was the prime time to use their skills to take food. However, it had to be sneaky. They could only take a few slices of bread at a time and some stale crackers. They wanted to take a sleeve, but they learned the hard way that that was too noticeable. He sighed because for awhile now, Rachel stopped eating. He sat up and watched his sisters sleep soundly in the bed. She didn't talk much anymore either. He frowned. Both of them were different.

Noah stood up and looked at his youngest sister. He found the binkie laying on his make-shift bed. It must have fallen off the bed during the night. He picked it up. His father had been a weird germ person, but he remembered how Rachel used to drop her binkie all the time when they were out running errands at the store or the studio. His dad had said, "Your germs are better than the ground's germs." Noah then remembered watching in utter horror as his father put the binkie in his own mouth before giving it back to Rachel. "See?" His father had said. "Germs be gone." Noah knew that germs didn't work that way and had made sure to tell his father so. However, his father was gone and he was here. He stared at the binkie and put it in is mouth. Noah germs were better than floor germs.

"Here, bug," he murmured as he took out the pacifier and put it to Rachel's mouth. Even in her sleep she sensed it and opened her mouth, took it and moved closer to Santana, who wrapped her arm around her possessively.

He rubbed his hand over his face and walked quietly from the room. He made his way silently into the kitchen and his heart fell. He hadn't woken up early enough.

"What are you doing up?" Hiram growled. He looked even rougher than usual. There was a glare in his eyes that told Noah that he meant business.

"I just... woke up," Noah said quietly heading back to the room. His heart speed faster. He heard the footsteps behind him. Crap. He was following him. Could he run ahead and shut the door? No way. That wasn't an option. Why was he following him? Noah went into the room quietly and tried not to open the door all of the way. However, Hiram wanted the door open apparently.

The man put his hand on the door and swung it open with so much force that it slammed against the wall behind it. Noah saw both of his sisters jump awake and scoot toward the head of the bed. Rachel's binkie fell to the floor. Noah frowned; he would have to clean it again. Santana wrapped her arm around Rachel, trying to hold her close.

"I just need to change her diaper," Hiram said gruffly.

"I can do it!" Santana and Noah chirped.

"No," he barked. "Rachel, come here!"

Rachel looked at Santana then Noah and up at Hiram. She gave a slight shake of her head. "I dry. Don't need," she said to Santana. There was a tremor in her voice. When she spoke the gripped tighter to Santana as she looked down.

Hiram seemed to roar like an old car engine. "You're a baby. What do you know?" He reached across the bed and clamped his hand around Rachel's upper arm in a way that even caused Noah to flinch. "Come on," he urged as Rachel practically flew in the air and onto the floor. Noah frowned he wanted to stop it but he was afraid of making it worse. It was just a diaper change, right?

"Rachel!" Hiram screamed as he practically dragged her to the door. "What did we say about being a good girl!" The tiny girl didn't answer she just bowed her head trying to hide her tears. His large hand was still clamped on her upper arm. He shook her with one hand and took his other hand and slapped the side of her head with his open palm. "What did I say?" he barked. His voice shook as he shook her because he was moving so much.

"Good girls listen," Rachel whispered.

"That's right," he barked and started to drag her down the hallway. Her tiny miss-matched socked feet could barely keep up with him, so her body was literally being pulled down the hallway.

Noah saw Santana move out of the corner of his eye to follow them. He stopped her. "Don't," he said. He gulped as they disappeared into the room at the end of the hallway. "It's just a diaper change. Don't make it worse."

He looked over at his sister. She was frowning. "He always takes a long time."

"Well, he doesn't know what he's doing..." Noah said.

His sister turned her frown to him. "No, shit!" she said angrily. He could see that she was breathing heavily. She was nervous. They both were, but Rachel never made a noise when she was in the room. He frowned. It was just a diaper change, he told himself. Otherwise, she would make a noise, right?

"Let's move it," Shelby said grabbing a box of granola bars from the kitchen cabinet. "Quinn, Santana!"

Noah watched his sister for a moment and tried to approach her again but she backed further away.

"Rach, take this," Shelby said holding Rachel's bag. She saw her youngest daughter's head bowed. She frowned and looked at her son. "What happened?"

Noah stood up but didn't break his gaze from Rachel.

"Nothing," Rachel whispered as she took her bag from Shelby's hand and walked past them to the car.

Shelby turned to her son and arched her eyebrow. "Explain."

"I yelled at her," he muttered.

Noah didn't think his mother's face could get any tighter with anger. "You yelled at her?" she asked with frustration.

"Yelled at who?" Santana asked as she and Quinn rounded the corner

"Car. Now," Shelby said. She turned back to her son. " Noah you are lucky I am even allowing you to play in that game tonight. You will apologize to her." Shelby shook her head. "I know you're pissed. I get it. I really do, but she can't take this. And quite frankly neither can I."

The car ride was silent. Rachel was tucked in the very back seat staring out the window. A river of guilt ran through Noah even deeper than the one before it. His mother was barely talking to him. His sisters wouldn't look at him. It was just a mess.

Shelby put the large vehicle into park in front of the high school.

Noah, Santana, and Quinn all reached for their respective doors to escape the tension of the car.

"Now," Shelby's voice said with an eerie cheer that reminded Noah of the Stepford Wives movie that Whitney made him watch. "Enjoy this last day at school to its fullest, kids." She tilted her head to the side and met the eyes of three older kids in the car. "After the game tonight, you are all indefinitely grounded. I'm your new best friend."

Quinn arched a brow and gave a snicker as she got out. Santana smacked her on the arm. "It's not that funny because it's true," the brunette hissed as they walked toward the school.

"Oh Quinn!" Shelby called from the car. The girls looked back and Shelby had a paper in her hand. "This is for you."

Quinn walked back to the car and looked at the paper. It was a grid with all of her classes on it and a space for her teachers to sign. There was even a column for comments. The blonde gave a deep breath. She met Shelby's eyes. The woman was giving her a smug look.

"Thought I forgot, huh?" Shelby straightened in her seat and looked into the rear view mirror. "Rach, come sit in the middle please. I'm not a limo driver." She turned her attention back to Quinn. "Don't worry. I faxed Figgins a copy. Your teachers will have extra in case this one gets lost for some reason, but I know that won't happen, will it?" Shelby smiled. "I love you. See you at the game. Please behave today." The woman gave one last wave and drove off.

Quinn watched in surprise. She turned and Santana and Brittany were beside her. One on either side.

"Mom-zilla?" Brittany asked.

"Oh yes," Santana said as they watched the Range Rover disappear, not really registering that it was Brittany, the same Brittany she kissed the day before standing next to her.

"Unquestionably," Quinn said with a shake of her head.

Brittany looked at the blonde.

"So what did you do?" Brittany asked as they headed into school.

"Oh you know," Quinn said as they walked into the busy halls. "Gave some she-bitch eleven year old an accidental black eye during a clean game of dodgeball."

Brittany looked forward and continued to walk. "Classic."

Santana frowned. "Classic?" All of yesterday was flooding back. She didn't want it to. She needed to block it out.

Brittany smiled and nodded. "Classic."

Santana turned away from Brittany. Don't smile at me. She's so distracting. She couldn't face her. The brunette turned to her new poker mate. "So…. What exactly happened?"

Brittany snuck a glance at Santana trying to catch her eye to signal that they needed to talk. Per usual, Santana refused to look at her. For most people, it was forgive and forget. Brittany watched the brunette talk casually to her new housemate. The one thing that Brittany learned about Santana was that she focused more on the forgetting part. She chewed her lip and lowered her gaze as the three of them walked down the hall.

…...

Shelby pulled up to Warren G. Harding Junior High. She looked into the rear view mirror and Rachel was still looking quietly out the window.

"Rachel, we're here," she said tiredly. She hadn't even had time to grab her morning coffee.

The tiny girl continued to look out the window. Shelby unbuckled and turned to look at her daughter.

"Rachel?"

"Thanks for the ride, Mom," Rachel said quietly as she reached for the handle.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Shelby said. "Stay there please."

The woman climbed out of the drivers seat, walked around to the opposite side of the car and opened the car door to the back seat. Rachel watched her with a frown.

"Mom, I-" Rachel looked around the parking lot. Her peers were being dropped off by the bus and their parents near the entrance and here her mother was getting in the backseat with her? Could she get any weirder? "What are you doing? I need to go."

"Rachel," Shelby said gently. "In a few minutes, I'm going to go in with you. If you want we can wait until after the bell rings." Rachel nodded. "But first I wanted to talk to you." She caught and held her daughter's gaze. "What's going on?"

She looked at her mother with hesitation. She didn't want to be rescued. She didn't want to be a victim. She looked down at her hands. But here she was, still scared, and still in the backseat being taken care of.

"Why are going in with me?" Rachel asked.

Shelby frowned. That wasn't the response she had been fishing for. She was hoping the dam would break. Instead it was building higher.

"Rachel, what happened during gym wasn't okay," Shelby began. "And..." She trailed off as she suddenly remembered what Quinn had said. Rachel didn't know. She didn't know that Quinn had defended her. "We need to sort this out. And before we go inside, I need to know what's going on in that head of yours."

"Nothing," she muttered.

Shelby gave a sigh and lowered her gaze to try to catch her daughter's bowed head. She squinted her eyes and allowed herself to really rewind over the last twenty-four hours. Something stuck out more than the other things.

"Can you tell me about your bad dream?" Shelby asked.

Rachel shook her head. "No, I don't need to," she whispered. "I don't want to anymore."

Shelby frowned. "Anymore?" She watched her daughter look up with the bravest face the tired girl could manage to put on. "Rachel, we're going to go into school and I'm going to talk to your principal about what's been going on. I would really like your perspective first. Here's your chance."

The small girl smoothed out her skirt and played with its pleats. "People don't like me because I'm different Mom."

"You're special, Rachel," Shelby said in the mom tone.

Rachel frowned. "Noah, knocked over a stool this morning and I froze up. I can't handle that and he's my brother... You can't possibly think my classmates are full of support." She seemed to recoil slightly from the outburst. "I don't want to be special, Mom. I want to fit in. This was me trying to fit in and not have my head-bitch-in-charge-Mom come strutting in-"

"Excuse me!" Shelby said in shock.

Rachel's jaw dropped slightly. "I didn't say it. People say that. It's a common phrase... like 'Bless you.'"

Shelby shook her head in confused shock. "I'm sorry, who exactly is calling me a... "

"A head-bitch-in-charge isn't the same thing as a," Rachel leaned forward and whispered, "Bitch." The girl frowned. "It's what Sue Sylvester is. You know? It's someone in command. Quinn's a -"

Shelby put up her hands. "Okay... Maybe you can explain to me the derivations of that colloquial term later."

Rachel searched through her vocabulary words to decipher what her mother just said. She shrugged. "It was just dodgeball, Mom."

There it was. The heart of the matter. "Rachel, it's not just dodgeball or just a game. It's the fact that you accept this that I don't like."

Rachel took a deep breath and wrung out her hands. "I'm not big, fast, strong, or witty. I don't want to stand out. I want to be in the crowd."

"That's not true, Rachel. You want to go to Broadway. You're one in a million."

"No I'm not..." she whispered. "There's one of me every ten seconds." It came out as a whisper.

Shelby frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I read it somewhere." Her voice faded slightly as she turned from Shelby forcing the mother to lean closer.

"What?"

"Every ten seconds in the United States a child is abused, raped, or killed." Shelby felt like her heart was beneath the car at the moment. She watched her little girl look up at her with tired eyes. "I don't want to stick out, Mom...Someone came to school and did a presentation...They asked if we knew anybody...Please don't go in there, Mom. Please just let me cope with this."

"Rachel, there's no one out there like you, not every ten seconds, not ever." Shelby steeled her face and forced her tears back in. "You are strong and incredible. That's determined by your unceasing love and you contagious laugh. You're not a victim, my darling girl. You're not a number and neither is anyone else you know or will know. You are you and they are them. What's happened to people doesn't define them." She saw Rachel's brow furrow in confusion. "What I mean is it helps them become who they are." She took her daughter's hand in hers. "You're growing up. You're learning how to get through. Please don't try to blend in when you're meant to stand out."

She looked down at her hands and away from her mother's affectionate gaze. "I don't want to be strong. I don't want to be incredible. I want to blend in."

Shelby squeezed her eyes shut. "Why?"

"Because I already feel like I stick out."

Shelby realized in that moment that she wasn't getting far. "Well, Rachel. I'm the Mom. And I'm going to say this again and again until you get it. You deserve better and this is not okay. I will be civil but this is not okay."

Rachel's shoulders sagged. She felt like she wasn't being heard.

Shelby sat with her jaw dropped. Just ten minutes prior, she was coming in to the office ready to have a conversation with the administration. She managed to send an email demanding a meeting with the principal, Rachel's teachers and the superintendent. They all responded. However, this conversation was not in any way what she expected.

She put up her hands up. "I'm sorry. Let me get this straight. You're all aware of this policy and you tolerate... No! Accept it?" She was beside herself.

"Yes, that's correct," one of the teachers said.

"We have you sign a waiver at the beginning of the year," Coach Carter said.

"The one titled, 'Ping Pong is a Professional Sport'?" Shelby asked with confusion. She shook her head. She pointed over her shoulders. "My daughter is out there in the hallway, covered in bruises from that damn game!"

"You didn't seem to have a problem when it was your other two children throwing the balls," Mrs. Kamm, the vice principal, said with a cheeky grin. "What do you think we told the other children's parents? Same thing we are telling you right now."

"You're kidding me," Shelby scoffed. She looked at the faces before her. "My daughter -''

"Has been given so many free passes. We have been more than generous in accommodating Rachel's needs," the principal said.

"Accommodating?" Shelby asked with an arch in her brow. "You're joking, right?"

"Her not eating with all the other children. Notifying her and then removing her before the fire alarm goes off. Having her sit by herself on her little machine if-"

"Excuse me, I don't appreciate your tone," Shelby interjected. She shook her head. She was not only being met with a bit of resistance but a wall. "If my child chooses not to participate, I do not want her flogged with balls. End of story. It's not happening."

"Ms. Corcoran," the principal interrupted. "We have gone above and beyond for Rachel."

"I have to disagree," Shelby gritted her teeth.

"We are aware that Rachel may have some issues." The room seemed to still.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It's no secret to not just this town but the country that your children have faced some hardship back in New York. However, you have failed to ever provide information about it to us."

Shelby's heart was furiously beating in her chest. This school had put up a fight when Noah and Santana attended. She was always able to find some sort of compromise, but this was low. They had never brought in what happened especially in such a malicious way.

"Because it's never been any of your business," Shelby spat. "Has it ever interfered with her learning?"

"That's what we're trying to explain, Ms. Corcoran. I believe it has."

There it was. She went in her ready to demand that this bullying stop and they were basically telling they wanted more information about Rachel's past because it was interfering with her. Why were they putting up such a resistance now? It was as if they read her mind.

"With your two older children, we had our hands full, but socially that didn't provide as much constant attention as Rachel." Shelby frowned. "Have you ever considered alternative schooling for Rachel?" Shelby squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm sorry. Let me get this straight. My child comes home with bruising and you're telling me not only will you do nothing about it, but you want her to go elsewhere for school?" She was met with silent nods. She closed her eyes in frustration. She remembered the calls she received about Jeanie Marks.

Shelby turned with an angry brow to Rachel's teacher who had called her about the lollipop incident. "Did you fail to tell me about how Jeanie Marks treats my daughter on a normal basis?"

"I didn't believe it was necessary to -"

"Yes or no?" Shelby hissed.

"Yes, Jeanie and Rachel do not get along. However, I was not made aware of the egg incident until -"

"What?" Shelby's voice froze the room.

The teacher looked at her colleagues and then back at Shelby. "The incident where the class placed eggs in Rachel's backpack," she murmured.

"And what, may I ask did you do once you found out about this 'incident?'" Shelby asked through gritted teeth.

The woman visibly gulped. "I allowed Rachel to rinse out her backpack during recess."

Shelby gave an icy laugh. "You 'allowed?' How generous of you." The woman stood from her chair. "We are finished here. Rachel will be collecting her things now. I'm withdrawing her from this school. You will be hearing from my lawyer."

With that, Shelby left the room and looked at her youngest with a heavy sigh. Rachel was sitting outside the office with her head drooping hugging her bag to her chest. She looked up at her when she heard the door open.

"Can I go to class now?"

…..

Noah charged into school. He was sure he pushed more than his normal quota of losers into lockers in his hunt. He spotted Whitney at his locker. Waiting.

"What the hell!" she scolded. "Do you have any idea how much trouble I'm in?"

Puck took her hand and pulled her into the empty gym.

"You told me last night that I would be home by curfew. To trust you since your damn clock was broken," he said in a low, frustrated tone.

"Oh, please," Whitney said. "It was your birthday celebration. What's the big deal?"

Puck slammed his hand against the wall. "The big deal is my family saw us having sex, you idiot! You think you're in trouble. Let me guess you can't what? Go to the mall after school? Give me a break, Whitney!"

"Don't yell at me," she screamed. "This isn't just my fault."

Puck shook his head. "My sisters saw us."

"Oh, tough shit," Whitney scoffed.

"Hey!" he scolded. He leaned closer to her. "This isn't okay. This isn't about getting privileges pulled. This actually has thrown them all for a loop."

Whitney laughed. "What? Seriously? Like Santana and Quinn, have any reason to be 'thrown' after walking in on some hot sex we were having."

She leaned forward and stroked his arm. He pushed her away. She was surprised when she met his eyes. They were furious.

"Are you even sorry?" he shook his head. "You know what. Fuck this shit. We're done."

"Excuse me?" Whitney scoffed. "We have built something for over a year, Puck!"

"Really?" he asked with a glare. "What's that? Name one thing? Because I'm pretty sure I've never given you a thing?"

She shot him a furious look. "I know and I forgive you for that. Nothing on anniversaries. Rarely any phone calls that aren't asking if I'm up for sex, a party, or a make out sesh. You gave me a cupcake from the cafeteria for my birthday. It's like you don't care."

"I don't, Whitney," Puck sneered. "What we had was just casual. I never hid that from you. You're the one who gave us labels, not me!"

"Are you serious right now, Puck? Are you telling me what we've been doing has barely even been a fling? You've never had feelings for me?"

"It was fun, Whitney, but we're over. I'm done with this," he said walking away.

"Don't you dare, Corcoran. You and your family -"

"Stop," he said. "We're done."

He walked away.

"We're not over! You hear me?"

…...

Shelby looked in the rear view mirror. Rachel chose to sit in the far back. She had looked at her in shock when Shelby told her. She helped her daughter in silence collect her things. She hadn't said a word.

"Did I do something wrong?" Rachel asked quietly from the back seat.

Shelby turned and looked at her. "Sweetheart, no."

She looked up with tears running down her cheeks. "Then why are you punishing me?"

Shelby pulled over to the side of the road. She turned and looked at her daughter. "Honey, what they did and how they treated you wasn't acceptable. It was terrible."

Rachel looked at her angry. "I hate you."

Shelby looked at her shocked. "Rachel..."

"I'm sorry...I just... I'm mad."

"It's alright to be mad," she assured. "Do you want to talk about what happened? We can go for lunch somewhere? Get something to eat and -"

Rachel looked at her hands. "Are Aunt Joey and Bear going to be at the game?"

Shelby frowned. "Of course, they always are."

"I want to stay with them tonight," she said quietly.

"Rachel, we're going to talk about this," Shelby said.

The girl wiped her tears. "I don't want to." She looked at her hands. "Are we going to your office? I have a book. I can read."

Shelby was confused by her daughter's stand-offish attitude but she wasn't surprised.

"It's okay to be angry, Rachel. When you're ready to talk, let me know."

….

Brittany spotted Santana at her locker at the end of the day. She knew that the girl had been avoiding her for most of the day. Literally avoiding her. Brittany was sure she saw Santana do a duck and run at one point.

"Can we talk?" Brittany asked as she leaned against the locker.

"About?" Santana asked.

"Don't do that," the blonde said quietly.

"Let's forget it happened," the brunette whispered. She caught Brittany's eye and looked away. "Please?"

"I can't forget," Brittany said. "I really -"

"Hey whores!" Whitney said marching up to them.

"Hey, Shitney," Santana scoffed. She was thankful, she needed a pick-me-up. "I knew your ass was huge but man oh man."

"You would be still remembering my ass wouldn't you?" Whitney hissed stealing a look over to Brittany.

Santana laughed. "Yeah right. I'm pretty sure I would catch the clap from just touching your car."

"Careful, Corcoran. I could make your life hell especially now that I don't give a fuck what your brother thinks."

She laughed again at the bimbo's attempt to intimidate. "Really? He finally saw you as a fuck carpet." She gave a mock pout. "Bummer."

Quinn walked past the group of them. She caught Santana's gaze and then broke it and continued to walk. Something was up. Santana turned to Whitney again.

"Get out of my face, Shitney. See you on the field."

She gave a quick nod to Brittany and followed after Quinn. Brittany watched her leave before turning to Whitney.

"I don't have to remind you what I have on you," Brittany told the senior.

"I don't care anymore now that I lost Puck," Whitney said. She smiled. "You should be worrying more about what I have on you."

Brittany's eyes narrowed. "I'll tell Coach about the crabs and the hockey team. You'll be off in a heartbeat I guarantee it."

"You're bluffing," Whitney hissed.

"Care to test that theory?"

Brittany turned and walked away from the fuming girl.

…...

Quinn walked quickly to her locker. She hated having history with Finn. She shook her head. Literally, she had US history with him. He was still badgering her. The class had been brutal he had been trying to write her notes all day. She had been ignoring him. She had been trying to avoid him, but couldn't. Her day was already obnoxious because of that stupid paper she had to get signed. Her teachers all looked at her with this weird sympathetic glare when they signed it. In those moments, she studied her pencil. Now that her last class was over, she knew every curve, crack and mark on that damn pencil. Finally, she reached her locker. The day was over.

"Quinn!" he heard him yell from down the hallway. She deflated. She hated talking to him. She couldn't be around him. Not after last night. She tensed.

"Can we talk please?" Finn asked leaning against the locker next to Quinn's.

The blonde tried to put on her head-bitch-in-charge face but even that was weak today.

"About? Finn, we're not together and haven't been for awhile. The only reason you're talking to me now is because I'm living with Puck," she hissed as she retrieved her books.

"Yeah, explain that. I saw your mother at the store while I was with my mom and she looks -"

"Franken-stalk!" Santana's voice suddenly rang. "A word!"

"Well, I'm busy," Finn said standing closer to Quinn, who winced.

"Doesn't look like she wants to talk to you," Santana hissed as she stepped in between them.

"How would you know?" Finn spat.

"Because I have eyes," Santana barked. "Now get lost. Shouldn't you be practicing for the game tonight? You might forget how to walk and you're required to run."

"Fuck you, Santana," he barked as he moved away from the girls.

"Ewwww, I would stab myself in the eye," she sneered. "Get lost."

He stomped down the hallway like a petulant child.

"I don't need you to stick up for me," Quinn barked slamming her locker shut.

"I didn't," Santana shrugged. "I just don't like him. And tough shit, because I will."

The blonde tried not to look surprised at Santana's relaxed grin. The brunette shrugged. "I mean, I have to. You and I share a bathroom. It's required that I stick up for you. It's under the same clause that says you're required to change the toilet paper roll when it runs out." She looked at her hands. "Plus... I didn't thank you earlier about what you did for Rach...I would have done worse."

Quinn shook her head with a small grin. "No, you wouldn't."

"Yes, I would. My game wouldn't have been dodgeball. It would have been how many punches can you take?"

Quinn smiled. "Sure, Sanny," she mocked in a baby voice.

The two of them walked toward the locker room to ready for the game, somehow relaxing into a normal exchange.

…...

Shelby spotted her older sister on the bleachers typing furiously on her phone as she held a small puppy in her lap. She looked at the sidelines. Her brother-in-law, Lawrence or "Bear" was pacing already. The man's obsession with football was borderline ridiculous. She ushered Rachel over. He smiled immediately at them.

"There they are!" he said as he walked over to them. He picked Rachel up and threw her in the air before either could protest. Rachel gave a small cry. He frowned and set her down gently and immediately knelt in front of her. "What's wrong? Are you okay? What happened? You're hurt? Who did this?"

Rachel looked up at Shelby and then at her uncle and then at the ground. "I don't want to talk about it," she murmured.

"Go up and see Aunt Joey," Bear said kissing his youngest niece gently on the head. "Take that darn phone away from her okay? She brought Charlie with her, see?" Rachel nodded and walked up the bleachers. Bear watched her just as closely as Shelby. "What happened?" he asked still watching the girl.

"Something happened at school and I went to talk to the administration. They were terrible and cold, so I pulled her out of school."

Bear frowned. "Did they beat her up?"

"Twenty-three kids threw dodgeballs at her," Shelby said with a sigh.

"Are you kidding me?"

"I wish I was."

A few minutes later, Bear was still pacing on the sidelines cheering at Noah and yelling out plays the game hadn't even started yet. Rachel was sitting quietly next to her aunt and mother.

"Can I go walk the puppy, Mom?" Rachel asked.

Shelby frowned. "Twenty minutes," she said. Rachel looked relieved and climbed down the bleachers with the little pug.

Joanne turned to her as soon as Rachel was out of ear shot. "What's going on? I got your texts."

Shelby looked at her older sister. "This has been the longest twenty-four hours of my life."

When Shelby finished filling her in, about everything from Quinn's dodgeball to Noah's drunken night plus Rachel leaving school, her sister just looked at her.

Joanne was sighed heavily and shook her head. "I'll make some calls tomorrow. We've been wanting to get that superintendent fired for awhile."

Her sister was one of the most respected women in the community. She was one of the few lawyers that people didn't hate but instead went to for advice. She represented anyone who mattered in Lima.

"Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to take Rachel tonight?"

Shelby frowned. She didn't want her daughter to feel as if she was abandoning her. However, she thought about the only conversation she had with her tiny girl today. She sighed and looked over at Joanne. "She knew you were coming tonight. She asked if she could go over tonight."

"She did?" Joanne laughed.

Shelby shrugged. "Yeah? She said that with the new puppy that you and Bear needed her...and ….."

"... And the fact that she's pissed at you because you pulled her from school," Joanne finished with a grin.

Shelby grimaced. "Is it bad that it's convenient because I need to have a sex talk three different times tomorrow morning with the other kids." She put her head in her hands.

Joanne shook her head. "Lucky you."

…...

The game was about to start. Santana spotted Finn getting a drink of water and she thought she would take the opportunity.

Finn took a swig of water. His heart beat fast in his chest because he had heard there were recruiters here. It didn't matter that they weren't there to see him, because he was sure he would win them over with his skill.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to you earlier," a voice said behind him.

He turned with a grin, but it instantly faded when he saw it was Santana.

"Go away," he barked.

"No," she said standing in front of him. "I have something to say to you so listen up." She stepped close to his face.

"You're nothing. What you make Quinn feel is exactly who you pretend not to be. You act like a big man, because you can't help it, because you're the beanstalk. Sometimes I get distracted and think I see a small boy trying to climb you in search of a hen that lays golden eggs, but that's beside the point. Let me chop you down, gi-gantasaur. You're a loser. You'll always be a Lima Loser. Quinn is not only too good for you, but so is that rock over there. Deep down you know that too in the roots of your stalky being. You need to back off and settle in, because you're here to stay, homeboy. Maybe your stepfather will let you lick the floor of his shop. But that's only if you're lucky. So don't talk to Quinn anymore because you've already wasted not only her time and energy but you've also scarred her simply with your foul stare and jutting jaw, which make you look like you're passing gas. So hunch down, Quasimodo and look around you. This right now, you as a barely mediocre player, and that's being nice, this is the HIGHLIGHT of your life. Don't talk to Quinn. Ever. Maybe if you're lucky, she'll wipe her feet on you later." Santana plastered a smile on her face. "Bring it home, quarterback! Go Titans!"

She walked away from him. He was stunned. He didn't want to admit it but she had gotten to him.

"Hudson!" Beiste yelled. "Get on the field."

He shook his head and ran out. He told the play to the line and they got in position. He snuck a glance over into the stands at the recruiters and then somehow Santana's face on the sidelines popped out at him. The play ran. He fumbled the snap.

After the fourth snap that he fumbled, Beiste pulled him out of the game and put in Sam. He was furious. How had she gotten to him? How had he...

"Ahh!" he screamed kicking the bench over. "Damn it!"

"Angry, much?" a voice said behind him.

Whitney stood there in her Cheerios uniform with her hands on her hips.

"What would you know about it?" he yelled.

She scowled. "More than you know."

…...

Rachel rounded the corner. Charlie was the best distraction. He was cute and soft and snuggly. She frowned. And now, he was pooping. She looked around. She didn't have a bag, but she just couldn't leave it there in the parking lot.

"Here," said a familiar voice and a plastic bag came into view.

She gave a small smile. "Hi, Mr. Schuester."

"Hi, Rachel," he grinned. "Who's this cutie?"

"This is Charlie," Rachel said as she picked up after the dog and threw away the bag. "He's my aunt's dog."

"Oh, Joanne?" he asked curiously. Rachel nodded slightly confused. "I went to school with them, remember?"

"Oh yeah. I need to go wash my hands," she said quietly.

"I'll come with you," he said. "I haven't seen you in a few days and I miss my favorite student."

Rachel smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Schuester."

They walked down the quiet hallway together.

"You seem kind of down, are you alright?" He put his hand on her back and she flinched at the contact on her bruised skin.

"I just...I just had a bad day," Rachel said.

"Yeah?" he took a turn down the hallway. "Here let's use the one down here. No one else will be here." Rachel frowned. "The dog," he said casually. "Most people don't like dogs in restrooms with them."

"Oh, that makes sense," she shrugged.

"So tell me about your bad day," he said as they washed their hands next to each other.

"It was just kinda bad..." Rachel said. Somehow the damn broke and she began talking about the kids at school and how she was taken out this morning because of her mom. "I don't think she understand how upset I am."

Rachel dried her hands.

"Do you mind if I look at your back?" he asked her.

She looked at him. "Why?"

"Because as a teacher I can see if your mom was over reacting," he said casually.

Rachel bit her lip. She wanted someone to listen to take her side. Wasn't that what he was doing?

"Okay," she said quietly.

She turned and stood in front of him. She jumped when he felt his hand untuck her shirt and undershirt from her skirt in the back. His hand grazed the waist line of her skirt.

"Shhhh," he soothed. "Just a quick look."

Rachel nodded and he lifted up her shirt and undershirt. "Man, Rach, these look pretty bad," he said quietly as he ran his hand down her bareback. For some reason her heart was beating rapidly.

"Here why don't you tuck your shirts back in. I'll hold the dog."

Rachel took a step away from him and tucked in her shirts. That wasn't weird, right?

"Rachel," he said seriously. "We're friends right?" Rachel nodded silently. "Well, I'm gonna say that I have to side with your mom here. They're pretty bad. She's just trying to protect you. And …. well... she has to..."

The girl looked at him as they continued back into the hallway once her shirts were tucked in. "What do you mean?"

"Well, everything that happened to you guys-"

His causal air caught her off guard. "You know about that?"

"Of course." He continued. "She needs to make the right choices Rachel, because if you get hurt in any way or your siblings do. You will be taken away again."

Rachel stopped walking. "What?"

She was grateful that he was talking to her like an adult, but this was news to her. "Don't you see, Rachel. Your mom can't let bad things happen to you. If the police found out about something, they would take you kids away."

"Really?" she asked quietly.

He gave her a playful nudge. "Would I lie to you?"

She smiled as they returned out to the field. "No," she admitted. "And I appreciate that. No one talks to me like you do. You don't treat me like a kid."

He laughed as they walked to the bleachers. "And I never will." He smiled. "I'm here for you, Rachel. Always"

She smiled. "Thanks. I have to go back. I'm sure my twenty minutes are up."

"Good plan," he smiled. "See you next week for lessons!"

She waved and pulled the puppy with her. "Bye."

Alright everyone, 38-pages in Word and 15,000+ I hope this chapter tides you over until I finish the next Changes chapter. Don't worry, I hoping but no promises that the next one will be up in a week. Please review.