Chapter 78

Quinn banged her head against the cold metal bars. How did this become her life? There was a time when she was traveling, seeing the world on tour living her dreams and now she was stuck. Perpetually stuck, locked away, again, by Lima's finest. Her long blond hair covered her face shielding her eyes from the abysmal view of her jail cell at the Lima PD. Not that she needed to see it with her eyes. The look of the place was permanently etched in her brain after her last stint in this very cell. But at least behind the cloak of her hair she could pretend she was somewhere else, use that ability she honed since childhood to transport herself from any physical location her mind found too hard to bear. She closed her eyes and imagined a warm sunny beach, with Beth in her lap and Sam by her side. She could feel the breeze on her skin, it was almost peaceful, except for the screeching.

"Quinn I know you hear me. Don't even try to go all catatonic over there. No traipsing off to lala land when all of this is your fault."

Quinn cut her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath. Damn that girl and her nonstop chatter. Maybe if she focused harder she could block out the sound. Quinn closed her eyes once again.

"I will reach through those bars and yank the hair from your scalp. I'm stuck in here when I should be home with my…"

"She's my daughter. Mine!" Quinn responded sharply, unable to take anymore of Mercedes' voice. "I'm so freaking tired of your sainted mother act. You have no claim over Beth, so stop acting like you do."

"I think a court would disagree."

"It's over Mercedes. Sam is awake and he can take care of his baby. Your assistance is no longer needed."

"You weren't saying that a little while ago when I was trying to help you get out of jail."

"Help me?" She let out a disgusted laugh as she shook her head. "I wasn't even locked up! You came barging in demanding I leave with you all while ignoring my repeated questions about where Sam was."

Mercedes had appeared at the door in deep purple trench coat and shades, talking fast and looking nervous. She'd dragged Quinn out of the room and down the hall to a stairwell that led to the back of the police station. Handing Quinn an envelope with money and car keys, Mercedes had instructed her to go to a motel in the next town. Quinn assumed Sam would be there waiting but when she asked Mercedes about it, she never offered a clear answer, so Quinn's internal alarms started sounding as she watched Mercedes run back in the direction they had come. She could have taken the money and run, she had been prepared to do just that the night before, but something wouldn't let her, so she headed back into the station to find Mercedes.

Cold air hit Quinn in the face as she peered around the concrete wall to take in the action of the main area of the police station. All eyes were on the doors, every cop silent as they listened to the tearful words of one woman. Her family had been violated she had said. The security they had painstakingly worked to maintain for her stepdaughter was threatened the previous night when an unstable woman broke into her father in law's home. And the fact that it was a close family friend, her stepdaughter's own mother caused her immense pain, Mercedes had added, with three loud sniffles for effect.

Quinn had been shocked, not only had Mercedes willingly stepped into the spotlight when for the past year she had shunned, but she had done so to dispel lies. If Emma hadn't spotted her in the corner, Quinn wasn't sure what she would have done, but the urge to physically shut up Mercedes was strong, as it still was now.

"Sam is with his father for breakfast."

"Okay but I needed his help." Mercedes stared blankly back at Quinn. "Oh my god you never gave him the message."

"I guess you do have some brain cells left."

"Why the hell would you do this?"

"You called my home at an ungodly hour demanding to speak to my husband. Hell no."

"No I mean why would you come here and help me? I get why you wouldn't tell Sam, you're a bitch, but why are you helping now?"

"Maybe I didn't want Beth to have to spend her childhood visiting you in prison," Mercedes replied trying to sound indifferent, but her voice had a slight waver and Quinn could tell something was up.

"You're lying."

Mercedes shrugged as she leaned one shoulder against the bars to face toward Quinn. "Believe what you want, but I'm just looking out for Beth and my husband."

"Oh lord, here you go with the my husband crap again. No matter how many times you say it, still doesn't make it sound any less false. You don't really want Sam."

"I think all of my actions this past year have proved otherwise."

"Let's not forget the year started with you plotting to leave him on your wedding day and hooking up with another man behind his back. Taking care of him while he was injured from an accident you caused doesn't erase that."

"Sam has forgiven me for my mistakes, then and now."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Sam is carrying around some pretty deep seated anger about you. He's told me all about it in vivid detail during those nights we spent together, then and now."

"If Sam is so angry with me why did he stay with me last night?"

"Beth lives there. He came to see his daughter. As long as you have Beth Sam will come around you. Is that why you're holding on so tight Cede?"

"I don't use children, unlike you."

Oh god she hated this bitch. No matter how hard she tried to keep her thoughts objective to be appreciative of all Mercedes had done for her and her baby, she just couldn't, not anymore. Every part of Mercedes was irritating. "I did not use my child," seethed Quinn through clenched teeth and blurring vision. "I had a psychotic break and I did a horrible thing but I never meant to hurt her."

"Did you memorize that from your hearing? Reciting back to me all the bullshit tales your lawyer weaved on your behalf doesn't change the truth. You left your baby to die."

"No," Quinn shook her head words clogging her throat, all the denials she wanted to voice unable to break free.

"That's all you got Quinn? Where's all the excuses now? Turning on the tears won't work with me. Unlike all the men in this town, I don't find you that cute."

Straightening up and pushing past the ugly images in her head of that tree in the woods where she left her baby, Quinn grabbed hold of the bars that connected her cell to Mercedes' and leaned in close. "You're a disgusting, hateful person. You may have everyone fooled but not me, never me. I always knew you were no good. Sam deserved so much better."

"I feel the same way about you. I almost pity him for having to spend the rest of his life tied to you because of Beth, but that's what he gets for sticking his dick down dark holes."

"You think Beth is the only reason Sam has me in his life? He has loved me since high school nothing will ever change that. He can have a parade of wives march through his life, but I'm the one that will always be here after all of you leave."

"Come on now Quinn you don't really believe that," said Mercedes moving close to Quinn and lowering her voice. An eerie calm settled over the conversation as if these were words were too important to be screeched to the entire police station. This was just between them, the two women closest to Sam. "If you did you wouldn't be working so hard to desperately try to hold on to a mentally impaired man."

"If forgetting you counts as a mental impairment, then I think he's come out on top." Mercedes looked a little ill with that but she tried to act unfazed, but as always her emotions were written across her face.

"Even without his memory he wants me," stated Mercedes, clearly faking bravado.

"Are you forgetting the deal he made with his father to use you to save me? Sam will pretend to want anyone to keep his family together."

"I'm his family." Mercedes used a tone much softer than Quinn had heard from her lately.

The cracks in her confidence were showing, and while Quinn wanted to feel some satisfaction with this development. She just couldn't. Sam was her best friend, and so many nights before the accident when they stayed together at the Beacon he had confided in her. Countless hours spent talking about his love for Mercedes and his unending desire to save his marriage. Like a ghostly echo Quinn heard those words in her head now, prodding her to say something to reassure Mercedes of Sam's true feelings for her. If she were a better friend she'd speak up and tell Mercedes all that Sam had told her before the crash. Once Mercedes heard the depths of Sam's love for her back then she certainly would be rid of any lingering doubts. This brave face Mercedes wore like dented armor could finally be discarded and Mercedes would truly realize that there was reason to hope for a future with Sam. If things were different she might have taken that path, but things weren't. She was being pushed even further away from her child, on the verge of being buried and forgotten. Quinn couldn't let that happen, she had to save herself. All she could do was pray that Sam would understand her actions if his memory were ever to return.

"Sure you are. That's why you came down her behind his back with an envelope full of cash and a getaway car because you're family. You are threatened by me and you wanted me gone."

Mercedes angrily brushed down the hairs that escaped her messy ponytail with her hand. "Damn right I do. You're preying on him while he's weak and vulnerable and I'm not going to sit back and watch it happen. I love him too much."

"If you loved him you wouldn't have lied to his face and let him believe you were going to help him keep up his father's deal. You were playing him like you do everyone else, still running cons even after your supposed rehabilitation."

Sometimes Quinn wondered if Mercedes was even capable of love. How could she be with an upbringing like hers? It was a question that plagued her since the day Sam had told her about his engagement. Quinn couldn't shake the feeling that Sam was making a mistake.

"I can't believe I ever came down here to help you." Mercedes huffed. "I should have let you rot."

"Or you could have just given Sam the message and stayed out of it. This has nothing to do with you. It is pathetic how you're trying to stay relevant by controlling Sam's life. He's only spending time with you because Dwight is forcing him to and he feels sorry because you're always following him around like a sad puppy. You're not Beth's mother, he can't remember you. You're pretty much nothing to him. The only reason Sam's dealing with you at all is because of Dwight."

Pangs of guilt hit her again. Sam before the accident would hate this if he were here. Mercedes had meant everything to Sam and here she was trying to convince the girl otherwise. Mercedes is a user, Quinn reminded herself. Sam deserves better.

Things hadn't been perfect. Quinn had abused his love and taken him for granted so many times in the past. Sam was steady and loyal, a safe place to land whenever her world spun off course, and she'd come to expect him to just be there and he always had been, until Mercedes. Quinn could have been okay with her change in status with Sam, accepted her diminished place in his life with grace, because he had found love and was finally happy, if only it had been with a different girl, a better one, one without a shady past and a track record of an inconstant heart. Maybe she shouldn't have been the one to judge, since she too had a troubled past and a penchant toward inconsistency in love, but it was Sam, her best friend and confidante and she wasn't going to stand by and watch him be used.

Though in the end that's exactly what she had allowed to happen. Choosing to be silent in her doubts about Mercedes and support Sam in his decision to marry the girl. Now Mercedes was trying to claw her way back into Sam's life through the wake of all the pain and destruction she had helped create, looking for a second chance. Even despite Sam's amnesia and his declared desire to get out of his marriage, it looked like Mercedes was going to get her shot at his heart once again. Why should Mercedes have him after she had so callously tossed him aside the first time? This should be their time, Quinn and Sam together again, and no gold digging con should be allowed to ruin it.

"Right Dwight and his sick plots, last night I told him what I thought of his little deal with Sam, how disgusted I was."

"You told Dwight you know about the deal? You can't do that it's against the rules. He'll send me back upstate, he told Sam he'd lock me up. Oh my God." Her stomach dropped as she turned and ran her hands through her hair frantically. "Dwight did this. I suspected but Emma said CPS was involved, but I knew deep down it was Dwight."

"Don't be so hard on Papa D. He was going to give you guys a pass, let this one slide, until I persuaded him otherwise."

Quinn snapped around to face her. "What are you talking about?"

"Little ole pathetic, irrelevant me, got the great Dwight Evans to take care of my problem, namely you." Mercedes pointed a finger through the bars. It took every bit of strength for Quinn to fight the urge to go over there and break it. "So here you are, locked away from my husband, just as I wanted."

"How could you do this to Beth? All your sanctimonious speeches about wanting to do what was best for the baby, you didn't mean a word. You just want me away from Sam." Tears filled her eyes, hot and heavy. "I just wanted a chance to get back my life and my daughter and you're setting me up? You fucking bitch!"

"Would a good mother use that kind of language?" Mercedes cracked a smile. "You better dial it down if you ever have any hopes of getting back Beth."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" asked Quinn rushing toward the bars that separated their cells and grabbing Mercedes by the neck, forcing her head against the iron bars. "No one speaks to me like that."

"Get off me!" Mercedes was screaming for her life, arms flailing in Quinn's direction but nowhere near her target. Quinn continued to hold Mercedes head tight against the iron bars, the pressure leaving a slight dent in Mercedes' forehead. "Help! Help! This crazy bitch is trying to kill me!"

A tight smile spread on Quinn's face as she relished this small bit of power she managed to steal. "Keep screaming Mercedes nobody's coming. In jail no one cares."

"You forget, I've been locked up too," said Mercedes, the strain from her current position evident in her voice.

"Another reason I want Beth away from you. My baby can't be raised by a felon." Quinn screamed releasing her hold on Mercedes to massage her sore hand. "You bit me? I'm going to knock your teeth out."

"Please do it Quinn," she said rubbing her neck. "So they can lock you up for years. I'll even step closer so you can get your shot off."

"And people say I'm crazy, look at you willing to get beat down just to get rid of me."

"Pain doesn't scare me. I've faced worse than you. I will do anything for my family. So hit me Quinn." Without thinking Quinn slammed her fist into Mercedes face through the narrow space between the bars. Her knuckles cracked, thin trails of blood sprung on her pale fist. "Thank you," said Mercedes stepping back rubbing her cheek, a bruise already starting to form. "In a little while my lawyer will get me out of here and you'll be staying right where you are. Since you're dangerous after all."

"You think Sam will let that happen? Sam will never leave me in here. You got that lump on your face for nothing."

"I think Sam can be persuaded to see things my way."

"Really? Because the way I see it Sam has already got me out of the hospital, brought me back to Lima, and told me he'd leave you for me."

"Maybe he said all that, but things have changed."

"Agreeing to help him with his dad is not going to make Sam choose you over me. He values you're loyalty and thinks you're a good friend." Quinn fought back the urge to gag. "But I'm the one he wants to be with."

"Maybe you're right, I'm probably being a fool. I know Sam would never want me over you. You're his oldest friend, his first love, Beth's mother, and I'm just an obligation he doesn't even remember. I guess I should ignore all the things he said to me this morning. Ignore how he begged me to take him back and let him move into the house with me and Beth."

Quinn swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. "That's for his father. He's doing what Dwight wanted."

"Could be, but somehow I doubt Sam was thinking much about Dwight when he was making love to me."

Audibly gasping, she held on to the bars for support. "You're lying Sam would never."

"Now you and I both know that Sam absolutely would."

Yes she did know Sam would.

He had come to her door that night swaying on his feet smelling like whiskey, damp from the steady rain that had been falling all day, his usually bright green eyes dulled by unshed tears. He was saying he needed to see Puck but Quinn barely heard him, transfixed by the sight before her. Sam had been this way before, she had been the one to do it, and here he was now the same desolation marring his face but this time she wasn't to blame. Mercedes. Always Mercedes now.

Settled on the couch, whiskey replaced by wine, he talked while she stroked his dirty blonde hair that looked so dark when wet, and listened.

"How could she do this to me Quinn? Doesn't she know how much I love her? I'd do anything for her. She's my whole world, and she's leaving me for him?" A sob caught in his throat causing him to sputter and cough. Quinn rubbed his back soothingly while a rage built inside her.

"Sam, she doesn't deserve your love if she can throw it away like this. No one in their right mind would choose another man over you."

He turned to look at her, almost through her. "You did," he said steady and unwavering, never looking away.

It was the truth, she had chosen someone else. "I was young and stupid then," she said quickly, eyes averting to her lap.

"She's young too, almost the same age as you were. I knew I shouldn't have pushed her into marrying me. I should have given her more time to get over Shane."

Quinn let out an annoyed sigh. Ever since finding out that Mercedes had planned to leave Sam at the altar her patience with the girl was shattered. What kind of person would want to do something so cruel?

"If she wanted Shane she should never have married you."

"So you think she wanted Shane this whole time?" asked Sam, his voice small like a timid child.

"I think Mercedes wants it all. Your money, your name, a doctor falling at her feet."

Sam shook his head as he poured another glass of wine. "No I'm not buying it. She loves me. What we have is like you and Puck. We're real."

"Then why is she leaving you for Shane?"

Sam flopped back on the couch, the red wine sloshing dangerously in his glass. "What do I do Quinn? I can't get the image of them together out of my head."

Taking the glass from his hand and placing it on the coffee table in front of them she said, "Close your eyes." Sam raised an eyebrow in question but compiled, closing his eyes, dark lashes on his pale skin. "Think about something good."

His face scrunched, distress clouding his features. "She was the only good thing."

"No she wasn't. You have so much in your life."

"All I see is him touching her. I should have killed him. Why didn't I bust through the door and put my fist down his throat?"

"Because fighting over a woman is unbecoming for an Evans."

"I'm always fighting for a girl. You, Britt, even Rachel and her judgmental dads, but Mercedes was supposed to be mine. She said I had her whole heart but now she's with Shane and I can't…" He covered his face with his hands not completing his sentence.

Quinn rubbed slow circles along his thigh unable to come up with the right words to comfort him. "I'm sorry," she managed.

Tears glistened on his face when he finally removed his hands and looked at her. "I just want to forget. You got anything stronger?"

"No because I don't want Puck to relapse. With all that's happened lately, me telling him about the miscarriage and my imaginary pregnancy, I'm worried that he might."

"Right. Right I get it," he picked up his glass of wine and finished it in one swallow before pouring himself another one. "But I thought Puck was handling all of that pretty well and you guys were helping each other through it."

Quinn took a sip from her long neglected glass. "I don't know how he's handling it. Puck has basically shut down on me. He doesn't talk to me, barely looks at me. We're practically roommates at this point."

Sam hugged her around the shoulders, pulling her closer against his side. "Quinn why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to pile my problems on you. You've got enough of your own."

"Not for long," he said under his breath. "You know what? I'm the one that shouldn't be unloading on you. My wife is leaving me for another man, there's nothing left for me to do there, but you and Puck…" He paused midsentence and sighed, patting her knee reassuringly. "I'll just take this and go." He rose to his feet bottle in one hand, patting himself down for his keys with the other.

"Go where?" she asked standing too. Sam shrugged. "I'm not letting you drive," she said taking the bottle from him and placing it back on the coffee table.

"Quinn," he pleaded his shoulders falling as if a weight were on them. "I need to get out of here." He ran his fingers through his damp hair. "To escape," he added looking away.

"Escape with me." Her fingers intertwined with his tightening her hold when she felt him pulling away.

Hazy green eyes met hers, red and glassy, but still so beautiful. "Where are we going?" he asked somewhere between a whisper and a rasp.

His other hand found its way to her hair, tangling in its length. Quinn closed her eyes memories of being with Sam rushing through her. She had forgotten what it was like to be touched this way by him.

"Anywhere you want."

He'd kissed her after that, his tears wetting her face, and then he pulled back, hair falling into his face. And he gave her this look, like it was high school again and she was struggling to keep her virginity intact with each touch in the back of his car. It all fell away and in that moment it was just them, Sam and Quinn the way it used to be, the way she sometimes wished it were now, before all the loss.

"You're disgusting, using sex to keep Sam trapped."

"I can take that." Mercedes lifted her shoulders nonchalantly. "Since you would know all about it, when you screwed my husband on Puck's living room floor. You trapped Sam nice and good."

"Is that your plan? Get yourself pregnant and force him to stay with you?" asked Quinn not even bothering to control her anger.

"You're not hearing me Quinn. Sam doesn't need to be forced. He could barely tear himself away."

Shaking her head, she backed away. "I don't believe you. Sam had planned to spend the night with me after the party. He was going to meet me at the Beacon. We were going to celebrate his birthday together."

"Plans change." Mercedes shrugged. "Sam was more than happy to spend his birthday with me and Beth. Finding out you left his daughter to freeze must not have been much of a turn on as you hoped."

Mercedes watched Quinn, a smug smile on her face. Any sympathy Quinn had felt for the girl had vanished, Mercedes was enjoying this a little too much. "Sam was hurt and you took advantage. Right now Sam thinks you're all wonderful and amazing, the perfect wife that saved him with Dwight. Not for long though, I'm telling him everything."

Maybe Mercedes had slept with Sam, maybe she hadn't. It didn't matter either way. Whatever bond Sam and Mercedes had suddenly formed would be destroyed once he found out all that Mercedes had been up to behind his back. Sam might have lost his memory, but Quinn was pretty sure one thing remained true - betrayal would not be tolerated. Mercedes would be cut out of his life head spinning fast once he learned the truth.