Chapter 52
alopez208- Santana's story in this chapter was especially heartbreaking. Sorry for upsetting you. Thanks for the review.
Cookie07 – Well welcome back and thank you for the review. Congrats on your first full time teaching job! Yes San is going through a very very hard time right now and the family is there to help her through it. She learned to cope one way and it wasn't necessarily the right way – but it seemed like it at the time.
Iuterpi – I tried to get this chapter out ASAP – it maybe a little shorter but I wanted to post something on mine and my beta's anniversary – Thank you for the review and I hope you like it.
Skyler – Thank you for the review – although I am not sure what the last part meant.
Renata – My dream is to get published one day and my betas tell me all the time. Thank you for believing in me. You bring many smiles to my heart.
thelastcenturian – You have mentioned it before and I am so grateful for it. Thank you so much for reviewing and the kind words. It is because of reviewers like you that make me keep going.
littleredwritinggleek – They are all very young with very adult things happening to them. Thank you for reviewing.
Marti – Shelby will NOT be happy at all with Q-bear if she goes through with the tattoo. Quinn will continue to act out a bit because this is all new to her and she is frustrated and filled with emotions so even though she wants to be good – there is a very mischievous streak inside her. Noah is hurting and all he wants to do help. Little Rachel is always challenging to write but I do enjoy it. Thanks for the review.
Fangirl44- Yes as much as Noah wanted to get to the prison and have a talk with the monster – he is not ready for it. Thanks for reviewing.
marinka4 – a nice light hearted chapter – hmmm- not sure one is coming up anytime soon. That was one of my favorite scenes too with the girls getting a piece of themselves for Shelby to have while she was away from them. Thanks for reviewing.
Renata – Yes Noah would have loved to speak to the monster but he wouldn't be allowed and in the end it is much better. His words would have just hurt Noah. Rachel is not getting a pet anytime soon especially after Rachel's description of Charlie. Thank you for reviewing as always.
Defygravity09 – I don't know how soon Shelby will get full custody but Quinn is never leaving – she is Shelby's 3rd daughter in every way and although she will act out- Shelby will be always there to catch her. Thank you for reviewing.
Drea LuRuiz – San is really hurting. And she finally has to confront her own demons and stop hiding behind Rachel's. She has to start to fix herself before she can move forward and its going to begin now. As far as Ms. Quinn sometimes she acts out in a big way and thinks of the consequences later. And you are right it is very hard to get something past Shelby so Quinn missing history and possibly getting the tattoo – Momma Bear is going to find out. Thank you for reviewing.
FlatWeasley – I can see why you would freak out if you did not see the italic on that dream. It was emotional for me to write. Thanks for the review.
Ryoko05 – Yes Santana is regressing but Santana always buried things so that she could appear healed for Rachel and Noah – yes she acted out a lot but now it is time for her to truly deal with her fears and feelings so she can truly heal. Thanks for the review.
lovecanbesostrange - I love the length of your reviews. You always give an indepth analysis of everything the chapter is about and pick out some parts that are my personal favorites. I always feel when people review at this length I should address every point but you have such a great grasp of what has gone on I feel like it is repetitive. So I just want to say thank you so so much for the reviews. I love them always.
NinjaGleek21 – Thank you for the cookie. Prison is too good for people like Hiram – he can never suffer enough in my eyes for the harm that he did to these kids. Thanks for the review.
Scout88 –Your review was awesome. So thoughtful and amazing. I love that you can recap the chapters and I always love hearing from readers what their favorite part of the chapter was or what annoyed them in the chapter. It definitely helps me make sure that I stay true to each character. So thank you so very very much for that - Your time and effort to write that inspires me more than you know.
OTHangels – Thank you – I can't believe I have 51 chapters and the story is still going strong. I wish I could personally thank all my readers.
Lolathe17th – Santana is just in the beginning process of truly healing. She has built so many walls and sealed her feelings that she never wanted to share. It will take some time but they will get there slowly but surely. Thanks for the review.
TommyH – A little more of Shelby and Noah this chapter. As always – thanks
look4me – I am so happy I could keep you away from that terrible show known as glee. Haha – I never thought about the 52 chapters in one year. I have to say that it has been an amazing year for me regarding this story. It has brought me places that I can't explain. I met one of my beta's shortly before this story launched. Noah drove that way but it wont be for nothing. There be something in it for him in the long run and it shows that he will do anything to protect his sisters. Thanks for the review.
A C one – sorry for making you wait. Here is the next chapter a little sooner this time too. Thanks for the review.
Kimberlli – oh you are so right a quiet Quinn is trouble brewing. You will see what she is up to real soon. I hope you consider a "tangled mess of emotions" a good thing. – Thanks for the review they are always appreciated.
dolphinluver46 – I think all your questions are answered in this chapter. I hope you like it. Thanks for the review.
justanotherreaderr – you are correct this is one step closer to healing for everyone but they all have their own pace. Thank you for reviewing.
Rachel frowned and squeezed her closed eyes shut even tighter, blinking out the sleepiness. She wrapped her arms around Santana and frowned. What was that? Santana didn't break her arm. Did Quinn cut off the cast and put it in Santana's bed? She frowned again. Would Quinn put the case in Santana's bed? Were they fighting? Rachel finally conceded to her questions.
She opened her eyes.
"Quinn!" she said abruptly.
"What?" she groaned. The older girl opened one of her eyes a crack and looked at her clock. 5:05am. She squeezed her eyes shut. Was the sun even up?
Rachel shifted and pushed herself up using Quinn's stomach. The blonde let out a grunt.
"What am I doing in here?" Rachel asked with a frown.
"I don't know," Quinn moaned again in frustration. Her eyes remained closed and she turned into the wall, tucking herself in. "I just know that I woke up almost an hour ago because you kicked with your knotty knees."
"Sorry," Rachel muttered.
"It was fine. I went back to sleep," she muttered. "Until now."
"Sorry," Rachel mumbled again.
"Forget it," Quinn groaned. "Just... sleep okay?"
Rachel gave Quinn a tiny hug causing the older girl to jump.
"Do you miss your lamb?"
"Rachel, it's sleepy time which is quiet time," she said with a sign.
"I miss George," she said, now fully awake.
"Rachel," Quinn groaned suddenly wishing that she took more sleeping pills.
"Your bed is really high," she said with a smile as she looked over the edge. "Have you dropped your lamb before? You never told me about your lamb. "
"Firstly, go to sleep. It's not even light out," she frowned. "Secondly, you shouldn't be watching VH1."
"I have to go find Santana," she whispered loudly. "Do you want to stay here? I can come back and get you."
Quinn groaned. "Bug," she hissed. "New rule. No talking before 10am."
"That's actually an old rule," Rachel said with a roll of her eyes. She frowned and looked at Quinn whose eyes were still closed. "There's something wrong with her, Quinn. She's really sad and angry and I'm scared for her."
The blonde leaned back into her pillow. Suddenly, in awe at how Santana slept with Rachel on a regular occasion.
"Rach," she whispered. "Santana will be okay, but you need to give her space to be sad and angry. Just because she is doesn't mean she'll not be okay."
"Is that a double negative?" Rachel asked.
"I'm trying to make you feel better," she said with a sigh.
"I'm have to go find her. Are you going to stay here?" Rachel asked as she climbed over Quinn's body.
"Yes," she muttered pulling the blankets around her.
Rachel carefully maneuvered down the ladder. She bit her lip. She wanted George.
"Quinn," she asked.
The blonde let out another moan. She loved Rachel but this is ridiculous. She sat on up on her elbows and looked down at Rachel. She threw her pillow down at Rachel.
"Here," she said more roughly than she intended. "Just... Hold this til you get George back."
"What will you sleep on?" Rachel asked picking up the pillow.
"My other pillow or my arm." She turned and grumbled into her pillow.
Rachel didn't responded so she opened her eyes and looked down at the little girl, who was hugging the pillow tightly. Quinn sighed again and sat up. "Go find her and if you're upset or you need me, come back okay? And we'll do whatever you want."
The girl nodded slightly and walked through the bathroom and into Santana's room. It was empty. She held the pillow tighter and went down the hallway to her mother room. Not there. She frowned and stopped in Noah's room, knowing deep in her stomach that her sister wouldn't willfully step in there. She peeked in. She wasn't there either. She finally looked in her room, where Nana had been sleeping. The bed was unmade, but other than that, no one. Where...? …. She felt her heart speed up.
She raced downstairs. Maybe she was downstairs. She looked in the study and then the living room and then the dining room. She looked in the kitchen. Nothing. Nothing and Nothing.
She looked around and tears began to flow. She was so busy crying she didn't hear her name being called. She held the pillow closer to her chest. Santana left. Noah left. Her mother left. She couldn't find anyone. She was scared to go back upstairs and find that Quinn was gone too.
She felt arms wrap around her and she let out a panicked sob.
….
Santana stared at her milkshake. The condensation on the glass had made a puddle on the table. They had been there for awhile. Joey knew there wasn't a lot to say, which she was thankful for because there wasn't much she could think of this early in the morning. Santana had asked her after almost thirty minutes of crying in the brush in the woods, if they could go somewhere. The girl had been shivering and Joey too had been cold. Knowing that the brunette would find a way to leave if she didn't take her, the two ended up at Milly's Diner downtown. The only 24 hour diner in Lima. Joey thought for a moment. It was the only 24 hour anything in Lima.
They had been here for almost a half hour. Joey didn't have anywhere to be, but she kept catching herself wondering how Shelby would have handled the situation. She looked at Santana quietly and reached over taking one of Santana's uneaten fries. The girl looked at her with a frown.
Joey shrugged. "You weren't eating them."
She heard a buzz in her pocket and pulled out her phone. She frowned at Bear's text and replied, letting him know they were still at the diner.
"What?" Santana asked folding her arms.
Joey shrugged. "Nothing. Just Bear telling me he's awake. Married couple stuff."
"You don't sext do you?" Santana asked, but held her hand up. "Don't answer that." She thought for a moment. "Rachel woke up, didn't she? That's why he's texting you, right? She's freaking out." Santana began to pull on her coat. "We should go."
"No," Joey said quickly. "Let's stay here until you're ready. Rachel's fine. You're not the parent, Santana. She's fine. Stay here and take some time for yourself."
Santana looked at her. "No," she felt silly as it came out more like a whine. "No," she said more firmly. "I'm not her parent but right now she's my responsibility."
"And why's that?" Joey asked. "Did your grandmother suddenly forget how to be a grandmother or my husband, your uncle forget how to be a parent? We've done pretty well so far."
"If you're using Griffin as an example we should have been home a long time ago," she hissed. She shook her head. "You and Mom think that you know what's best." She pointed to her chest. "She's my sister." She shook her head indignantly. "You don't know anything."
Joey arched her brow. "Wow," she said with a frown. "We're back to this argument." She leaned closer to her across the table. "Yes, we weren't in that apartment. Yes, I know that I don't know what you saw, heard and felt, but that doesn't mean that you know better than we do." She paused and held Santana's gaze. "And that certainly doesn't mean that we haven't allowed you to hide behind Rachel for nine years." Santana broke her gaze and looked away. Joey went on. "Yes, Rachel needs you. Yes, she loves you like no else, but hiding behind her because you don't want to deal with you? We don't encourage it, but we know that that is what you have been doing. You need to know that we know it."
"Why have you let me then?" Santana asked with her arms across over her chest as her eyes began to pool with tears.
"Because you need her just as much as she needs you," Joey said softly. "But that doesn't mean that you should continue to put your emotions on hold for her."
Santana looked up at her with a deep set frown. "I want to... I don't want to be like this... And I wasn't... but..." She steeled her jaw. "This isn't anyone's fault."
" I didn't say you wanted to be like this, San," she said quietly. "And I never said it was anybody's fault."
Santana looked away. "I ...I don't want this for her... I don't want... her to feel so out of control..." She looked down. "I don't know how to move on though... I don't even know where to begin..."
"You don't have to," Joey said quietly.
Santana shook her head. "Everyone gave me my own space when I got back... when …. we got my mom back..." Joey looked at her patiently. "Everyone was so careful around me... Different than they were with Rachel and Noah."
"We couldn't read you as well, San," Joey remembered. "You were an unpredictable spit fire before," she chuckled. "You still are but... you had a new passion in you that we just... we didn't understand completely...In hindsight, us walking around on eggshells wasn't good for you either."
"Didn't you tell everyone that?" Santana asked with a frown. "Mom's apartment wasn't soundproof. We heard you talking all of the time," she muttered. "Mom not as much, but you were always wicked loud."
Joey shrugged. "Yeah... I just... You were still and always will be Santana to me and what happened didn't change that." She looked at her niece. "It changed a lot of other things. I changed and in a way you were different, but you were still you. You know?"
"That makes no sense," she muttered. "What I'm saying is … It's like everyone expects me to do things at my own pace."
"You do," Joey said with a frown.
"Because, that's the only pace that's been set," she said. She shook her head. "I don't want... I hated going to therapy but if I went... it felt as if my mom thought I was getting better."
"But you never felt better?" Joey asked.
Santana frowned. "It's not that..." She thought for a moment. "I just... I didn't know where to begin." She gave a scoff. "I didn't want to get back to how we were … before... because we weren't those people anymore..." She frowned. "I'm never going to be that person who thinks crap like 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. I'm just that person who gets through crap and is that person that I am after that crap."
Joey frowned. "Okay... noted, but just to let you know I never thought of you as and inspirational speaker. You're just you and are awesome naturally and put people in their place if they need it." She smirked at her niece, watching her carefully. "So what changed?"
Santana shrugged. "The dreams began to get more frequent...and..." she trailed off.
"And what?" Joey asked after a moment of silence.
Santana paused. "Rachel got older," she muttered. She looked at her aunt and then looked at her hands. "I … I'm not stupid..." she whispered.
"I never said you were," Joey interjected.
"What I mean is that, I knew what I was doing. I knew that I was hiding behind her and using her as an excuse..." Santana frowned. "Just like..." She lowered her head more. "Just like... I knew sleeping with those guys... did matter... and meant something deeper than what I wanted it to mean..." She chewed her lip and tried to will the tears that were filling her eyes to empty. "I knew about Brittany... I just... I don't know how to fix that... to own up to it."
Joey smiled. "You already are, San. You stopped making poor choices with those boys. You are honest with Brittany and you let Rachel be -"
"And she was hurt by that bastard." Santana looked at her hands. "I can't protect her from anything... " She squeezed her eyes shut. "I want so badly for us to be okay. I don't like not wanting her to go get a box of cereal in the grocery store. I hate that I scream at people when I can't see her. That's not who I want to be... but I can't... I just..." She bit her lip. "I keep having the dreams... and tonight I had one and he came back and he..." she bowed her head and looked at her melted milkshake. "Noah went to see him... and I can't even... I can't even put myself back together after a dream about him."
Joey took her hand from across the table. "That's okay, Santana," she whispered. "I don't think I would be able to see him again."
Santana just bowed. "I … just... I don't want to keep having these dreams... and waking up thinking that we're not going to be okay."
Joey looked at her softly, knowing that Santana probably didn't realize how big of a step she was truly making simply by admitting that.
….
Shelby had left Mike with her father back at the hotel. Mike had been remorseful since they had arrived, but knew that he was not a silent partner with Shelby instead of the frontman with Noah. The mother was grateful she had packed Noah's jacket because the crisp air of the city bit them hard. The wind was blowing subtly but other than that it was as if the city that never sleeps wasn't there.
They had been standing at the grave for almost ten minutes in silence. Noah didn't stand let alone stand silently.
"It feels different," he finally said burying his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah?" Shelby asked staring at the grave. She had been there everyday when the kids were gone. She visited there so often simply to remind herself that he was gone. However, it didn't go as planned because she talked to him so much it was as if he was still there. She even admitted to her therapist that it was almost as if she could see him and that he was talking back. She was so angry at him but more than anything she just wanted him back.
Shelby stared at the grave. She had been so focused on bringing Noah here that she hadn't thought about what she would feel. When she and finally gotten the children back, the kids never wanted to go visit him. Santana especially. She had spent so long being angry at him … Shelby thought or a moment as she realized Santana had always been angry for things she couldn't change and in reality, so had Shelby. That's why they were so angry... they couldn't take them back. She sighed remembered that their last few days in New York she had encouraged the kids to take a trip to see Leroy's grave once more. Santana finally conceded but then she refused to get out of the car. Shelby frowned...Santana actually locked Shelby out of the car...It hadn't been a good day at all. Noah stuck by his sister though. Looking back on it, Shelby realized that Noah probably wanted to go, but because Santana didn't he always opted out. And then there was Rachel who was always along for the ride as long as she was with everyone. Shelby had made a one trips with Rachel alone. However, Shelby spent most of the time at the grave. Seeing Rachel there next to Leroy's headstone had been too much.
"Yeah," Noah replied. "I just... it was bigger then..."
Shelby smiled. "I actually think that you would be about his height."
"Yeah?" Noah smiled.
She nodded. "I used to come here a lot." She shook her head with a toss of her head. "You guys were in school. Rachel would be with Nana." She looked at her son and then back at the grave. "You would be very proud of your son, Leroy."
Noah looked around. "Mom, who are you talking to?"
"I always used to come out here and chat with him," she said casually.
Noah chewed his bottom. "Does he talk back?"
"I could hear him in my head," she said wrapping her arm around his broad shoulders.
"You just knew what he was going to say," he muttered. "I don't know what he would say."
"I could tell you," she offered.
He frowned but looked back at the grave. "Kay...Hey... um... well... It's me..."
"He knows who you are, bud," she smiled.
"Well, I just... I wanted to say that I .. um... I miss you... I think..." He looked at his mother and then back at the headstone. He gave a shrug. "I don't know... what to say..." He looked at the stone. "I play football... I don't play hockey anymore, even though they still call me Puck. Wouldn't have guessed that, huh?" He chuckled and looked at his feet. "San's pretty good. Crazy... but she's good... She's um... She's Taz, you know." Noah felt himself smile at the thought of her. "I'm really worried about her. So if you could put in a good word for her... You know... I just want to get her spot reserved for heaven...She's a good person, yeah know... She just... She might not come off as heaven material. So if you could save a spot for her... in like... um... " Noah started counting silently in his head. "Like 90 years? that would be great. I know she was your favorite-"
"Noah, that's not true," Shelby interjected. "Your father loved all of you. Plus, why are you reserving a spot for Santana in heaven."
"Everyone else is a shoe in. San, needs a little back up," he shrugged.
"Noah, you're very sweet, but you're here for you," Shelby said. "Vouching for San in heaven can be done another time... but we should discuss why you think it's necessary later."
Noah nodded. He smiled a goofy grin. "Rachel's gotten so big...well, not really but bigger than two...She's really great you'd like her."
"I know he would love her," Shelby smiled. "And would have spoiled her rotten."
"Like he did to San?" Noah asked.
"Sorta but he would have wrapped her in a plastic protective bubble," she chuckled. "He said so himself when she was born."
"Yeah," Noah said thoughtfully, "because she was in that box."
"An incubator," Shelby corrected.
Silence fell on them again. Noah stared at the grave. "This isn't the same, Ma," he whispered. "I can't even imagine what life would be like with him now because remember what he was like …. feels like a dream or something..." Noah shrugged. "I miss him so much but I know that missing him won't make things better. I've always known that..."
"Noah, that doesn't mean you can't miss him. Or be lonely without him-"
"Ma, I don't... I don't dwell on that stuff. Sometimes I feel mad... and I miss him, yeah, I do... but not like Rach and certainly not like Sanny or you do..."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You and San miss him all the time," he said softly. "We all see it. We all know that you watch those videos on your computer." He looked back at the grave. "I thought that I needed to say goodbye, but... it feels like I need to do something more..." He frowned. "He can't get close to them. I don't want him sending them mail or contacting them at all."
Shelby nodded. "We will work with Joey and our lawyer and we will figure something out," she assured. "I do miss him alot. He was my best friend."
Noah nodded. "I know." He frowned and looked back at the grave. "I thought I wanted to be in this spot. I thought that I needed to say goodbye... and … I think I already did..." He looked sideways at his mother and then looked at the ground. "I didn't need a grave to talk to him... I talked to him in my head...I didn't know you did too... I just assumed my answers weren't accurate." He looked at the grave. "I guess... I didn't need to come here like I thought... Other stuff of his means more to me...Is that bad?"
"What do you mean?"
"I have a football he gave me when I was ten and his old baseball glove... I feel closer to him using those than... being here..."
Shelby smiled gently. "That's perfectly okay."
Noah took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Ma," he said honestly. "I'm sorry for taking off thinking that I could … that I could fix this."
"I'm sorry, you did too, Noah," she said just as honestly. "I'm proud of you for loving your sisters as much as you do, but you don't need to do this. I know eighteen feels old, and you've always taken a lot of responsibility, but my biggest regret for you is if you don't live your life. Just think about it. Okay?"
"I am," he said looking at her. "I um... I think I want to be a police officer."
Shelby looked at him in surprise. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yeah," he smiled. "I just hope I can do well at it..."
She pulled her tall son into a hug. "I know you will," she smiled. "But I would never stop worrying about you." She smiled into his shoulder. "Your father thought you would be a firefighter."
Noah pulled away with a smile. "He did?"
Shelby smiled. "Yeah," she nodded as she remembered linking her arm with her son's as they walked away from the grave. "You were always climbing trees to save cats or go on missions with your friends."
Noah grinned at the memory. "We were the Avengers. I don't think we knew what we were doing... we were just... avenging stuff."
She leaned her head against his shoulder. "That makes sense."
…..
Rachel's chest heaved against Bear's as he tried to calm her. She had been so scared when he finally picked her up. It was as if she didn't know where she was.
"Rachel," he said gently. "you're okay."
"Where's Santana? Where's my sister?" she sobbed. "Where is she?"
"She left a note, bug," he said softly. "She's with Joey."
She pushed away in his arms. "I want to be with Joey. I want to be with Santana. Is she okay?"
"She's okay," he said again. "Calm down. You're okay."
Rachel relaxed slightly in Bear's arms. "I need … I need to know if she's okay. I need to make sure she's okay." She felt another sob swell in her chest. "She's not okay and I need to be with her. I have to. I woke up and she wasn't here. I …. I … I don't know the last time that happened. I can't wake up and not know where she is..." She looked at her uncle. "Where is she?"
"She's with Joey, honey," he said. "She's alright."
"I promised my mumma that I would take care of her," she said sitting up. "Please," she said as the tears welled up in her eyes again. "What happened?"
"I don't know, bug," he said tenderly. "But she's okay. That was very grown up of you but you need to let your aunt and I handle it."
"And Nana too," Rachel said leaning back. She paused still feeling the tension in her chest. "San and I have always taken care of each other."
"I know," he said carefully. "But you and San are still kids and I know that sometimes we don't treat you like kids and you certainly don't feel like kids." Rachel looked up at him with tired eyes. "But you are."
Rachel bowed her head. "It doesn't feel like that..."
"Well, everyone here is for you and San and Quinn and Noah too. We'll always be here to catch you if you fall," he said as he rocked her softly.
Rachel sat up slightly. "You think that … that we're going to fall."
"It's not that we think that it's going to happen," he said honestly. "It's that if you do we're here."
The eleven year old sorted through his words. "But you expect us to … to have a hard time because of what happened and then what happened... with … with my teacher..."
He looked at her carefully. "I know that I would have a hard time with it, Rachel... It doesn't make you weak. It just makes you human."
Rachel leaned back against him, deep in thought. "I don't want to... I don't want to fall apart."
"Rach," he began.
"I won't,"she said looking up at him. "I might have a hard time... during the trial... but I... I won't fall apart," she muttered more to herself than anything.
"Rachel," he said quietly. "I don't think you will."
She bit her lip because she knew she may.
…...
Joey pulled up in front of the address that Quinn had gotten from Dylan when she talked with her on the phone. Quinn looked at the house. It seemed pretty typical for Lima. It wasn't extravagant; it was modest.
"Do you have everything that you need? Where's your book?" Joey asked.
Quinn pointed to her backpack. "It's in my bag."
Joey nodded. "I'll see you in three hours alright? You have your phone so that you can call the house or me if you need anything?"
Quinn nodded. "Thanks for doing this," she said honestly. "I didn't want to do it at the house... with everything going on."
Joey gave a slight nod. "I understand that but that doesn't mean you're chopped liver."
"I really don't know what that means," she muttered.
The woman smiled. "We still care about you and love you."
Quinn looked at her softly. "I know... Me too. I just want to get this finished," she said motioning to her bag. "It's important for me to get it done." The girl was about 98% sure that she wanted to go ahead and do this. She wanted to have something that would always be with her forever linking her to the Corcorans. However, there was a 2% in her head that was telling her it was a bad idea and was hoping her insecurity about the choice would be heard in her vague answers.
"You're so studious," Joey said approvingly, interrupting her thoughts.
"I just don't want to have to worry about it," she said quietly. "Once Noah gets back and … everything..."
Joey nodded. "What is your project on again?" A BMW drove by and the driver waved at Joey. Joey rolled her eyes. "That was Mrs. Belvin. Do you know her?"
Quinn shook her head. "No." She thought back to the car. "Germany. The project is on Germany's role in the First World War."
"That's a big project," Joey said with big eyes. "Germany played a pretty big role."
Quinn looked at her and nodded. She gave a nervous smile. "Thankfully, this is a project that millions of other students have done before me. The internet is full of information and our book is pretty detailed about it. It's just an oral report."
Joey nodded slowly to Quinn's rushed answer. "You could practice at home later if you want." She gave a girl a little nudge. "Plus Shelby will want to take a look at it."
"Yeah," Quinn said rolling her eyes and looking at the house. "My mom is obsessed with checking at our work." Joey gave a slight nod, unsure if Quinn was sure of her slip up. The blond looked at her. "See you later?"
"Absolutely," Joey said as Quinn climbed out of the car. "Oh, and don't forget, I'll have a snack ready for you on your way back so if you plan to use to excuse that you ate at Dylan's it won't work. Oh and do not even think about leaving this house, Quinn. No walks. Nothing. I'm serious."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "Bye, Aunt Joey."
"We're trusting you, Q-bear," she said with a bit of a smile. "Please behave."
"Promise," she smiled. "Thanks for driving me, Aunt Joey."
"Anytime."
The older woman waved and watched the girl disappear into the house.
This is the shortest update ever. However, I wanted to do a small update in celebration of the one year anniversary of Open Wounds. Thank you so much for loving and following this story. It truly has inspired me and helped me more than you know. I am forever grateful.