Predator

Chapter Twenty-Two

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"What the hell?!"

Ice shoots down my spine.

My hands fall from his chest in an instant and so do his from my face. I whip around to find the source of the voice, already knowing who it is with a queasy feeling in my stomach.

Quinn is sprinting over from the opposite side of the parking lot. Oh god! How didn't I see her car over there?! How could I be this careless, now she knows! Aah, she knows!

As Quinn comes into focus, Will and I are both frozen in place. What do I do? What do I do?

Abruptly, she stops when she gets to us, a blank expression splayed across her face. "Oh my god," she breathes. "It was you. The whole time it was you."

Will is more articulate at the moment. "Quinn," he warns, "let's not jump-"

"You son of a bitch!" she screams, giving me a start. "How could you?! You goddamn son of a bitch!"

Before I can react, she shoves into his torso- hard enough for him to slam against the car. Aah! She starts clawing at his face and instantly my adrenaline kicks in, I grab her shoulders and yank with all my might until she stumbles. I wrap my arms around her chest, barely managing to hold her back while she flies at him and screams obscenities.

"Calm down!" I yell desperately. "Stop, Quinn! Stop!"

She gives a final scream before she breaks down, collapsing with a sob against me, limp. Unable to hold her weight, I clumsily lower us to the pavement.

I look back up to Will worriedly as she cries in my arms. His face is scratched raw from her fingernails. He does nothing except stand against the car in awe.

"I...trusted you so much," her voice wavers. "I thought you were someone I could rely on! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

I can't help but be taken aback. I've never heard Quinn curse like this before.

"Quinn-"

"You raped her!" she cuts off. "You committed the most despicable act against a woman that has ever existed! Don't try to stand there and tell me that you somehow made it okay! It will never be okay!"

"I know that, Quinn," he urges, keeping his voice level. "What happened is something I will always regret, it makes me feel like the absolute scum of the earth. I would take it back in a heartbeat if I could, and Rachel knows this. We're able to move past it."

Quinn laughs bitterly. "Then why don't you think about her for a change? Do you have any fucking clue about what she's been through?! What kind of trauma you've caused her? All the pain and humiliation and anxiety? I would know, I've actually listened to her, unlike you!"

"I know what I'm doing, Quinn," I plead. "I'm okay! I need Will in my life just as much as this baby does, trust me!"

She shakes her head, standing up from the ground. "Screw that. I'm calling the cops."

"No!" I shout, standing as well. "No, Quinn! I swear to god, if you call I won't ever forgive you! Don't do this to me!"

"You don't need him!"

"Yes I do! You don't understand, Quinn!" I'm crying now, hiccuping embarrassingly. "I know what he did! It's in the past! If you take him away from me, I can't do this! I can't handle this without him! Quinn, don't do this to me!"

"But-"

"Don't!" My breathing is hitched as I try to steady it, wiping my face pitifully. "Don't. Please."

She presses her lips into a thin line, looking at Will and then back to me. "Fine," she spits coldly. "I won't. Not today. I swear to god, Schue, if I ever hear about you-"

"It won't happen," he assures hurriedly. Oh thank God!

Quinn grabs my wrist tighter than necessary. "We're going back to your house," she announces. "We need to have a long talk about this, Rachel."

I nod my head silently. Her gaze shifts back to Will and I watch her eyes narrow into sinister slits. She takes a step toward him, his stone expression twitches.

"You. Are. Nothing. To me."

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"Yes, I'm so sorry Paula," I say into my phone. "What kind of family emergency? Well I don't have permission to disclose that information. Trust me, I swear it won't happen again. Alright. See you tomorrow."

I snap it shut as the call ends. Glancing back at Quinn, I'm afraid to begin this conversation.

"What are you feeling?" I ask tentatively. She laughs breathily.

"Betrayal," Quinn answers. "Utter betrayal. It's like getting the wind knocked out of you."

I nod dumbly. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have found out this way."

"Rachel, what the hell are you thinking?" she demands. "I can't believe you can just forgive and forget like this! And on top of it, aren't you the tiniest bit concerned for your safety? The safety of your baby? He is a dangerous man!"

"When he's drunk," I counter. "And it only happened once. He keeps swearing to me that he'll never do anything like that again, and I'm kind of inclined to believe him because that wasn't who he was! That night in October, it wasn't him. I guess the whiskey took over or something, but that was not him, trust me."

She groans. "God, Rachel, why do you have to make everything so difficult for yourself? How long has this been going on?"

"It hasn't," I say truthfully. "We only just decided on the car ride back. Why were you still there?"

Quinn looks at me like there is an obvious answer. "Why do you think? I wanted to be there for you if the baby didn't end up okay. And thank God she is okay, but if things went differently, what kind of friend would I be if I wasn't there?"

"Thanks," I smile. "I would have done the same, you know."

She sinks back into my bed, exalting a hybrid of a groan and sigh. "I just can't believe it's him. It all makes so much sense now, with the little things you told me. I can't stop thinking about how I was so willing to give that man my child."

"Will is a good guy, Quinn," I attempt. "He just made a mistake. Everyone does."

"Yes, Rachel, I suppose he did, but when most people talk about mistakes, they mean silly little choices like smoking pot or skipping an English assignment. You know, something not entirely catastrophic to another person's life," she retorts.

"He loves me," I try. "Quinn, no one has ever loved me. How can I just forget that? This might be my only chance at finding love in this world, and it might as well be with the father of my child."

She laughs lowly. "Rachel, you can be so clueless."

"Says the girl who decided to cheat on her boyfriend and have unprotected sex with Noah Puckerman," I mutter.

Quinn sits up, cocking her head into a glare. "I don't need this!" she fires back. "Rachel, I'm not getting the authorities involved, but that does not mean I think you are any less stupid for getting yourself into this situation! This story has been told too many times for you to think it will turn out well! A man twice your age, this infatuated with you? You listen to me, this is bound for disaster!"

Like a burst of wind, she picks herself up from my bed and slams the door behind her.

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