Unedited. Please ignore mistakes (any big ones, feel free to point out). No notes to self left at the end of this one.
Chapter 21: An End to MadnessWhen the phone rang in the middle of the night, it was rarely a good thing. Shelby's theory would be proven right again that night. She was truly unprepared for the rude awakening that was headed her way.
Jack and Maggie left Friday morning. After a quick breakfast, they really needed to make their way back home. They accomplished what they set out to do. They helped Shelby get things ready for Beth's party. They weren't sure why Shelby was making it such a big thing, but she had made a spectacle of every birthday party.
Jack thought it had something to do with never being able to celebrate Rachel's birthday and getting to throw her a big bash. So they went with it. It was a good excuse to get the family together. This year, Rachel would be there too, and she'd get to meet more of her family. All the more reason to make it a good one.
Besides, they were happy to help, though they wished they got more time with Rachel. After her meeting with the school, the girl made herself scarce. Since they would be back soon and Rachel wasn't responding to any contact, they decided to head home a little earlier than planned. A part of them worried Rachel would try to "run away" again and they wouldn't be there when she showed. They definitely didn't want that.
They were sure to send Rachel a text letting her know they were heading home – partly just to let her know in case she wanted to see them before they left and partly to remind her that she was always welcome in Connecticut.
Of course, they got no response and were sad to leave without seeing her again. Shelby, for her part, tried to call and text Rachel but heard nothing in response. She knew Rachel needed time to process and she was with her friends, so she didn't just show up at the apartment, but she was worried.
Turned out she was right to be.
Sunday morning, Beth had a dance class. Shelby contemplated slipping away to stop by the diner and see if Rachel was working, but decided against it. Rachel was an adult and she was trying to be respectful of that… And by respectful, she was keeping her constant checking in to text rather than drop ins.
It was a quiet, but busy day for the Corcorans. After dance, they went to the party store to pick up the decorations they ordered earlier in the week. The last of the RSVPs were in and it was going to be a full house for the party. Then there was a plethora of mother-daughter activities before they settled in for a quiet night with movies and popcorn.
"Mommy, will you read to me?" Beth asked before bed.
"Go pick out a book and get in bed. I'll be right there."
Shelby quickly changed and washed her face, doing her bedtime routine, before she sat on the bed next to Beth and read her a story.
After finishing their story and releasing a long yawn, Beth asked, "Mommy? Are you adopting Rachel like you've adopted me?"
"What? What makes you ask that, sweetie?"
"She was at Grandma and Grandpa's a lot and you want to spend time with her more and more… I like her, so it's ok if you want to. I want a sister."
"You do, do you?"
"Or a brother, but Rachel's nice, so I'll take it."
"Oh yeah?" Shelby laughed. "Well, that's good to know, and I'm glad you like her, but I'm not adopting Rachel. Rachel is family, though, and when you're a little older, I'll explain everything, but for right now, all you need to know is that I want her to be a part of your life and mine. If you consider her like a sister, she might even like that, but it's also ok to just think of her as a friend. Does that make sense?"
"I guess," she said, letting out another big yawn.
"Alright sleepy girl. Let's save the big conversations for when you can go a full minute without yawning. Get to bed, my love. Sleep tight," Shelby said, giving Beth a big kiss.
"Love you, Mommy."
"Love you too, Bethie."
Shelby pulled the blanket up, tucking Beth in before walking out of the room. She turned off the lights and left the door slightly ajar before retreating to her own room. She climbed in her own bed, quickly sent Rachel another text asking her to call or text back, and then pulled out a book she recently started. She read until her eyes felt heavy and she seemed to be reading the same page over and over. That told her it was time to call it, placing the book on her nightstand and flicking off the book light. She fell asleep soon after, sinking deep into the mattress.
She was in the middle of a dream about winning a Tony, being presenting the Best Leading Actress in a Musical award by Patti LuPone when the phone rang.
"Nooo," she groaned, hand blindly reaching out on the nightstand in search of the offending object.
"Hello," she mumbled into the phone.
"Shelby?"
"This better be important."
"Shelby, it's Kurt…" His voice was quiet and there was something about the tone that had the hair on the back of her neck raised.
"Kurt… What's going on? Is everything ok?"
"I'm sorry to call so late, but I didn't know who else to call. It's about Rachel."
"What happened, Kurt?"
"I think you should come down here. I…"
"Kurt, talk to me. Where's here?"
"I'm at the hospital. It's… Things are a mess."
She practically jumped out of bed, searching for a quick change of clothes.
"Which hospital? Is Rachel alright?"
He gave the name of the hospital, but didn't really answer her other question.
"Can you please just come here?"
"I'll be there as soon as I can. Please call me if there's any news…"
Shelby was in a state of panic. She had no idea what was happening, but Kurt's lack of detail worried her more than what he was saying. All she knew was that she needed to get there. But there was Beth to worry about too.
"Crap…"
She didn't want to drag Beth to the hospital, but she obviously couldn't leave the child alone. As she changed, she quickly searched her phone for her neighbor's number. Finding her, she called, hoping Laura would answer.
"Shelby," Laura answered. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"I do, and I'm so sorry to wake you, but it's an emergency."
"What is it?"
"Do you remember that young woman you saw loitering outside on the steps…"
"The one that called herself your daughter? That you both said was complicated?"
"That would be the one. Rachel. She is my daughter, biologically. And we've been reconnecting. She's in the hospital. I don't know how bad it is, but I need to get there as soon as possible. Could you come over here and stay with Beth? You can feel free to sleep in the guest room. You might need to get her off to school in the morning, but I'd call and let you know…"
"Shelby, I can come over. Give me a few minutes to get myself together and I'll be right there."
"Thank you so much Laura. I owe you one."
Laura rushed over, and Shelby rushed out.
She drove as fast as traffic would allow and parked in the expensive hospital garage, before practically running to where Kurt said he was.
"Kurt!"
"Shelby… Hi…"
"You look ok… So you weren't hurt? Is she sick? Where's Santana? What happened? Please start talking so I can stop…"
"I don't know all the details," he started. "I got a call from Santana. She and Rachel were attacked."
"What? Where? Who?"
"I don't know everything that happened… Only what Santana told me."
"What about Rachel? What did she say?"
"I don't know. I haven't been able to see her yet."
"What do you mean? Where is she?"
"She's with the doctors. She and Santana are being checked out."
"Kurt, what the hell happened tonight?"
"I still don't have all the answers… I don't know the extent of it. I just know that Rachel and Santana were attacked…"
"You just keep saying that. You don't have answers, fine. Then I need to talk to someone who has answers Kurt. Where the hell are they? I need to know that Rachel is ok. Was she hurt?"
If Shelby took a moment to really look at Kurt, she would see that beyond his relatively calm exterior, he was a mess. He was a nervous wreck looking for the same answers as her. He didn't know much at all, but he needed an adult around. She was who he went to.
"Santana said she hit her head and they were checking on that. Running some scans. But… Maybe you should talk to Santana. The police want to talk to her too, but she needed to be looked at first."
"Was she badly hurt?"
"I don't think so… She was just… upset."
"If I can't see Rachel, I'd like to see her. Maybe we can get some answers. Can you take me to her?"
He silently nodded and walked them toward the exam room. A nurse was still in there with Santana.
"Is it ok if we come in now?"
"I'm all set with her. Santana, the police will want to follow up with you. I'll give them this evidence and let them know you're almost ready for them, but I'll try to buy you a little time with your friends."
"Thank you."
When Santana looked over at the pair, her eyes meeting Shelby's, it was clear she was not ok. Physically, she would be fine. There were visible bruises on her neck and arm, and had a few cuts, but nothing was broken. Mentally was another story. All she did was look at them and she burst out in tears. Neither of them had ever see Santana really cry like that. Shelby ran over to her, wrapping her in a big hug and allowing her to just let it out.
Kurt, feeling like he needed in on the action, joined the hug, telling Santana that everything would be ok… Though he still didn't know what everything was.
"Are you ok?" Shelby asked once the tears came to a stop and Santana calmed.
In a non-answer, Santana said, "I'm glad you're here. Rachel's going to need you."
"Can you tell us what happened? Kurt said you were attacked."
"We were… I'm not sure what happened before I got there, but I can tell you what I know. I think… I think you need to know everything… For Rachel."
They would come to learn everything, starting from the very beginning.
Rachel had come home from her double shift at work. The door was unlocked, but the apartment was dark. She flicked on the lights and headed for her bedroom. She opened the door and nearly jumped.
"Hello, Rachel. I think we need to talk."
Her head screamed at her to run, but her feet weren't moving.
Rachel was frozen in place. She could hear her heart beating, but her body was numb. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe.
"Not happy to see me?" Jasper asked.
The smirk on his face, so smug and taunting, petrified her. She knew that look because now she knew the real him – the darker, haunting version of him.
"What are… What are you doing here? How did you get in?" She stuttered out, slowly and covertly trying to back away.
"You should really lock all the locks," he menaced. "Anyone could find their way in here. You're lucky it's just me."
As he took a step forward, she took another back until she hit the wall. Suddenly, he was right in front of her, chest to chest with his arm keeping her trapped against the wall.
"Not trying to leave, are you?"
"Jasper… You need to leave. Please let me go and leave."
Her face turned to the side, cheek toward him as he moved his face closer, mouth to her ear.
"Not going to happen."
"Please… What do you want? What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, of course. How did you like the show? Did you get in trouble for the pictures? I thought you looked beautiful in them. I look at them all the time."
She felt utterly disgusted. She knew he was messing with her, taunting her, but there was no denying it was working. He could just look at her and it put her on edge.
"Why did you do that?" She cried, temporarily trading her fear for anger. "Why did you take those pictures?"
"Why did I take the pictures? That's easy. You were beautiful that night. We had such a good time, and I wanted to remember it. Why did I post the picture? Well, I didn't. I just happened to send it to a buddy of mine and told him you were easy, but trying to make it seem like it was more than it was… Told him he could share it if he wanted… I did warn you, Rachel, and you told anyway."
"I didn't. I swear."
"Oh Rachel… Rachel, Rachel, Rachel… I know you did," he said, caressing a finger along the side of her face making her squirm. He seemed to like that. "And I told you what would happen if you did. I don't lie, Rachel. I hope you see that now. Besides, your little friend gave you away… again."
"What?"
"Yeah, that Satan chick. She showed up at my work every day for the last week. Started spreading rumors about me. I got fired tonight."
"That's not my fault."
"No? It's not your fault? You didn't open your mouth and get your guard dog to go after me?"
"I didn't… I didn't. Jasper, please, please," she begged. "Let me go. I didn't do anything. I promise I didn't tell anyone that it was you."
He used both hands to grip the neck of her shirt, shaking her just a bit and pushing her back into the wall.
"You did. Apparently my first warning didn't get through to you. If you want to tell people I raped you, I might as well make it true."
"No. No!" she yelled, though she knew no one would hear her.
"I like it when you scream," he whispered before forcing his mouth to hers.
Tears were already flowing, but her mind was telling her to fight. She wasn't drunk or drugged this time, she could fight. She knew she could. Another part of her, though, was telling her to just crawl in a ball and die… Let it happen and disappear. She hated that part of her brain, but it was there.
That moment of hesitation allowed him to get the upper hand… more of the upper hand. His weight pressed against her, pushing her harder against the wall while leaving his hands free to wander.
She was suddenly acutely aware that she happened to be in her work uniform, a short dress. His warm hand landed on her cool thigh, snaking up the hem of her skirt as his mouth continued to assault hers despite her attempts to move her mouth away.
"Come on, Rachel. Be a little livelier this time. By the time we got to the fun last time, you were basically a corpse."
"Please, stop."
"I'll make it good for you."
"No!"
"Keep wiggling. It's only turning me on more."
Rachel stilled.
"Aww, come on now. It was just getting good. Hey… What time does your roommate get home? Think she'd like to get in on the action too?"
That was it. That was the trigger that set her off.
Her foot blindly kicked out, hitting him in the knee. It loosened his grip on her, but he ended up enraged and falling into her until they both tumbled down.
"Don't you ever kick me again," he hissed grabbing a fistful of her hair and slamming her head into the ground.
She cried out in pain, but it only egged him on.
She could feel the blood on the back of her head, warm and dripping.
He was so angry at her. It showed in every movement he made. He towered over her pinning her to the ground. When she tried to fight back, he hit her harder and harder each time.
"Please Jasper. Don't do this. Not again."
"Shut up," he said through gritted teeth.
He clamped his legs around her thighs and used his hands to cuff her arms until she was stuck – unable to wriggle or fight.
"What are you going to do now, Rachel? Scream?"
He said it with such a smile, wicked and ominous.
She wasn't sure how it happened, but the next thing she knew, she was being dragged back to her room and thrown onto her bed.
This is it, she thought, he was going to do it again… A part of her hoped, if he managed, he'd kill her just to stop the pain she knew would follow. She wouldn't survive it again.
It felt a lot like she was watching a movie of herself, watching as Jasper manhandled her, shoving her face into the mattress to the point that she couldn't breathe. Everything was happening without her say so. She was powerless as he flipped her over. No attempt to stop him was fruitful and no call for him to stop did a single thing to deter him.
That was until the apartment door opened.
"Rachel? You home?"
"Ah, the fun begins," he whispered, quickly putting his hand over her mouth. "Scream and I go after her."
That silenced her.
"Rach, come on, I know you're here. Don't make me chase you down."
In the living area, Santana threw her coat on the couch and plopped down beside it, expecting Rachel to come out and yell at her for putting her shoes on the coffee table. When that didn't come, she got worried, especially when she heard a noise from Rachel's room.
"Rach, you ok? I thought I heard something fall," she said as she walked toward the room.
What greeted her was a shock.
"Welcome home," Jasper said, holding Rachel in a chokehold of sorts, arm wrapped around her neck with her back pressed against his front.
Santana was like a deer in the headlights.
"Don't try anything, or I'll kill her. I won't hesitate," he said, noticing Santana inching away.
No, Rachel thought. She wasn't going to be a doormat. She wasn't going to let him touch Santana. Without thinking, she swung her head backward, butting Jasper in the chin.
"Run," she yelled to Santana, but the other girl wasn't going to leave without her.
Jasper's response was to punch Rachel square in the face, knocking her down and out. Santana used that moment to charge at Jasper. She would not let him do anything more to Rachel. She wouldn't let him do anything.
It became a battle of strength and wills. The upper hand was often lost and won. In the end, Jasper was taller, heavier, and stronger. Just like with Rachel, he had the power. He got the lead.
Holding on to Santana much like he was holding Rachel earlier, Jasper leaned to talk right in her ear.
"If you wanted a turn so badly, why didn't you just ask? I can show you what a real man is like? Is this the real reason you've been stalking me this past week? You just wanted a taste?"
"Get off me, you asshole."
"Come on, are you wet for me already? Your mouth could probably do a number?"
"You have that much of a hard time getting a girl you have to force her? That's sick, Jasper. You're sick."
"Let me show you how sick I can be," he hissed, kicking at her heels to move her forward.
"Let her go," Rachel said, surprising them both.
The harsh, commanding tone in her voice was a drastic change for her. The fact that she somehow stood there, bloodied, bruised, and holding a knife was as scary as it was amazing.
"I said, let. Her. Go."
"Now Rachel, what are you going to do with that? Stab me? Really? Look at me, I'm quaking in my boots."
"I won't let you touch her. I won't," Rachel said.
Sensing that Rachel wasn't really Rachel – wasn't really in that moment with them, but somewhere or some time else.
"I won't let you do this again."
"What are you going to do about it, Rachel?" Jasper stupidly taunted.
"I don't want to hurt you, I just want you to leave. Let her go and leave."
Jasper just laughed, offering her a real slap in the face. While he did let Santana go, he didn't leave. Instead, he approached Rachel with slow, calculated steps. Santana didn't know what to do or how to react. He let her go. She could run and get help, but she wouldn't leave Rachel alone either. She was stuck watching the trainwreck.
He stopped when he was at arm's length.
"Do it, Rachel. Use it
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!"
Then it happened. He lunged and she lunged and Santana tried to make heads or tails of any of it. The rest of it was a whirlwind of noise and silence. They fought and then it was just over. Both Rachel and Jasper were lying on the ground.
Blood seemed to be pooling around them.
Santana ran to them. Rachel moved just a bit, leaning against the wall with her knees pulled up to her chest and body curled in as tightly as possible. She was practically shaking.
"Rachel? Rachel, talk to me. Are you ok? Did he hurt you?"
"I… I think I killed him."
Rachel's eyes were unfocused and she had a faraway look.
"Look at me Rachel. Can you focus? Are you hurt?"
She couldn't respond, or wouldn't. Santana wasn't sure which it was. Out of obligation, she went over to check on Jasper. Sure enough, Rachel got him right in the chest. There was a lot of blood everywhere, and he was out, but he was still breathing.
Santana eyed them, noticing for the first time how dishevled and worn Rachel looked. She didn't blame her. She had no idea how long Jasper had been there before she arrived… Everything was just a mess. She had no desire to help Jasper, but because she knew Rachel would have trouble living with the guilt, she tried to put some pressure on his wound before searching for her phone to call 911.
That brought them to the hospital. Rachel had yet to say a single word since then and they hadn't been able to see her after arriving. They were monitoring her head injury and looking for any permanent damage.
"I don't know what happened before I got there. I don't know if he did anything, but they just told me that Jasper is dead. Rachel… Rachel killed him."