forever fades away

chapter 30

“Rachel!” Isabel said as soon as she spotted rachel in the far corner of the waiting room. Maria, Michael and Alex all rushed into the waiting room behind her. 

“Isabel,” Rachel cried out as soon as she saw Finn's sister. They held each other tightly before pulling away and allowing Maria to comfort her best friend. 

“Where is he? Why are you out here?” Isabel shot out the questions. 

“You guys want to give Rachel some breathing room?” Drew spoke up when he saw everyone surround Rachel. He knew they were all worried about Finn, but Rachel looked about ready to crack and he knew Finn wouldn’t want anything to happen to her. 

“Thanks, Drew,” Rachel smiled past her tears and then followed him over to one of the chairs in the corner of the room so she could gather herself together. A few minutes later she was ready and asked everyone to come over. Drew sat protectively next to her and waited until she explained what was happening to everyone. 

“They said that it was bad. They don’t know how bad until they go in. They just wheeled him into surgery and when he comes out he is going to be fine,” Rachel stated firmly. 

“But what if they can’t fix it?” 

“Did they say what the chances were?” 

“What if he can’t play ball anymore?” Everyone fired off their questions and Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. They were being negative and she had no room in her heart for that right now. 

“First of all, don’t ask me questions you know I can’t answer. And secondly, Finn will be fine!” Rachel stood and pushed through everyone angrily. 

“Rachel, just tell me, was he okay? You know how he hates hospitals.” Isabel approached Rachel cautiously, knowing that Rachel was at the end of her rope and it wouldn’t take much more to push her over the edge. 

“I know he hates them ever since he was little and had to have his tonsils taken out. He was terrified. He didn’t want me to know it, but he was…and…I couldn’t do anything.” Rachel  looked up at Isabel wearily and then stepped into her embrace. 

“Rachel?” Maria stepped closer not wanting to upset Rachel, but felt like she had to do something. 

“Yeah?” Rachel pulled away and swiped the endless tears from her eyes. “Do you want something to drink? Coffee?” Maria offered softly. 

“Coffee would be great. Thank you.” Maria simply nodded before walking off with Michael to find the cafeteria. 

Rachel was completely restless. She tried to sit but found it frustrating. Pacing, that was what was working for her. She found a quiet spot at the other end of the hall a few minutes ago and was trying to find something think about that didn’t involve Finn. She tried to think of what she needed to do when she got back home, but then her thoughts drifted to Finn once again. What if he needed her here? Would she stay if he asked? Would he even ask? It was useless. Time was against her and she hated it more than anything else. Her thoughts were interrupted by Drew’s voice from behind her. 

“Rachel, why don’t you sit down? You’ve been pacing for an hour.” Drew tried once again to get Rachel to relax as much as possible; she looked dead on her feet. It had been over two hours and Finn was still in surgery. 

“I know…I just don’t know what to do with myself. What’s taking so long?” Rachel asked wildly while running a frustrated hand through her hair. Drew chuckled slightly to himself. She did still love Finn, more than Finn even realized. Finn had told Drew the whole story about him and Rachel, from when they first met until they day she arrived for the game that day. With Michael not being around as much, there were just times Finn needed to talk to someone and Drew was glad that he could be there for him. Like Finn was there for him so many times.