Rachel stirred in bed when she woke up, but immediately she was aware of the body next to her that refrain her movements. While they were sleeping, Quinn had managed to wrap her arms in her waist, bringing her back closer to the slightly taller frame of the blonde. She shifted lightly, so she could take a glance of Quinn's sleeping features. An angel. Rachel couldn't think in a better description of Quinn at the moment. The blonde looked so peaceful and calm that simply drew her to stare at her, completely hypnotized by the ethereal beauty of the ex-cheerleader. It seemed amazing how Quinn looked so beautiful after almost seven hours straight of crying. By now, Rachel would have started her morning routine, but being wrapped around Quinn's embrace was enough to decide to stay in bed and lured herself to sleep again while feeling the steady breathing of the blonde near the back of her neck.
Hours later she woke up again, but this time she was alone in her bed. Rachel jumped scared at the absence of Quinn, and rushed out of the room. She found herself relaxing at the sight of the blonde in the kitchen of her apartment. To her surprise, Quinn was cooking, and she looked completely relax; in contrast, with the mess of a woman she was the day before.
"Quinn?" Silently, Rachel approached the blonde, who turned to look at her with a soft smile drawn across her face.
"Good morning Rachel." Rachel at first doubted that everything that happened yesterday was true. She even considered the possibility that she was dreaming when she saw the calm demeanor of Quinn, but seconds later she recognized the falseness in the blonde's eyes.
"What are you doing?" Rachel asked with concerned eyes.
"Making breakfast." Quinn rapidly said brushing away Rachel's intrigue. However, the blonde stiffened as soon as she saw a deep frown in the singer's factions. With a defeated sigh, Quinn erased the false smile from her face and looked at Rachel with complete honesty. "I can't cry anymore. I need to stop. I know I'm probably just running away from my problems, but now, it's the only thing I can do. That's my MO. I will pretend as nothing happened until one day, I will realize that my life did not stop because of this. I will realize that I can smile, laugh and be happy again, and that day I will be able to talk about what happened."
"So are you just going to pretend nothing happened? Go back to Yale and forget about everything." Rachel asked with an angry voice. She did not like the idea of forgetting about what had happened. Rachel felt a weird urge to keep Quinn near her right now, to protect her, but she would not be able to do it if Quinn went back to New Haven.
Quinn sighted again, she looked beaten and Rachel was able to see a glance of the Quinn she had held yesterday while she cried. Quinn walked towards Rachel, and when she reached her she grabbed hold of the singer's hands and dragged her to sit with her in the couch. "I know you expect me to be stronger Rachel, but I can be that person now. In fact I can't go back to New Haven, even if I wanted to." Quinn said flatly while Rachel frowned this time in confusion.
"Why not?"
"I don't have money to buy a plane or train ticket, nor rent a car, for that matter." Quinn confessed with sorrow.
"I can lend you money." Rachel spilled out before she could stop herself. She did not want Quinn to leave, but when she saw the hopelessness in Quinn's eyes she couldn't help but say something to sooth the blonde's concerns.
"Thank you Rachel, but I'm afraid that won't help me. You see, I want to ask you to lend me money, but not for a plane ticket."
"What for?" Rachel prompted with intrigue. Quinn sighed again, not sure where to start her explanation. Rachel noticed Quinn's hesitation, so she grabbed one of Quinn's hands between hers and started to rub little circles in the back of her hand to encourage her. Quinn smiled at the gesture and squeezed Rachel's hand as a sample of gratitude.
