Something - Quinn Fabray

Chapter 19

The next day Ryan woke up disoriented. That wasn't his ceiling. And he wasn't in his bed. Then the memories of what had happened last night came back. Right. He was in his mom's house, since his dads didn't want him anymore. Perfect. He checked his watch. 5:42. He just lay there for a few minutes, trying to decide what he wanted to do.

Yesterday had been...bad. He is not our son...you can have him. Leroy's words rang heavily in his mind. Ryan had known for a long time that his dads weren't exactly happy. He'd known for about a year that they weren't his biological parents. But it was one thing to suspect that your parents weren't happy, it was another thing completely to hear them say that they didn't want you.

And then there was Shelby. She'd finally confirmed what he'd figured out last year, that his dads weren't his real dads. In the biological sense anyways. He still thought of them as his dads, even if they apparently didn't return the sentiment. They hadn't even tried to find him last night, whereas Shelby had apparently spent almost an hour and trying to find him, and then even took him home with her for the night.

His mom wanted him. She wanted him to come live with her. Ryan had been wondering about his mother for ages, ever since he was old enough to figure out that most of the other kids at school had a mom. Even after two months it was still surreal sometimes that they'd found each other. And she'd been wondering about him too, all this time.

Sighing, he got up. He fished his phone out of the pocket of his jeans, which were lying on the floor. 15 messages. He winced as he scrolled through them, seeing that most of them were from his mom, the last one telling him to text to tell her he hadn't died. There was one from Quinn, just a quick hello. He'd figure that out later. And one was from his dad, and it simply said, Where are you?

He scowled at the short text message. What did he care? They'd basically given him away. Then he stood up resolutely. He needed to talk to them. A few minutes later he was dressed in his own clothes, ready to go home and talk to his dads. He'd even made the bed, fixing up the room so it looked exactly like it did when he first entered, not wanting to inconvenience his mom any further.

Stepping out of Shelby's guest room he looked around. Judging from the quiet, his mom was still asleep. For a moment he debated whether to wake her up or to just sneak out, before he decided to compromise by leaving a note in the kitchen. Shelby had told him he wasn't a bother, but he knew he was. Everyone treated him like one anyways. Quickly writing a few lines to his mom, he quietly crept out of the house, starting the walk back to his own home.

Less than half an hour's walk later he was standing outside his dads' front door. Pulling his keys from his pocket, he entered the house quietly. Walking slowly across the corridor to the stairs, he froze abruptly as he saw Leroy on an armchair in the living room.

The two stared at each other for a few moments, in the style of deer caught in the headlights. Finally Leroy said awkwardly, "I didn't think you'd be back so early."

Ryan simply gazed back at him, jaw clenched, trying to get his thoughts into order when all he could hear were Leroy's words from the other night.

Clearing his throat, Leroy tried again. "Your dad should be down in a while. Why don't you sit down."

Ryan finally managed to get his movements into gear, walking slowly toward the couch farthest away from Leroy. Right on cue, Hiram came into the living room. "Oh, Ryan. You're here," he said, sounding surprised.

"Yes, this is my home, isn't it?" Ryan said softly.

His fathers looked at each other. "Yes, of course," Hiram answered as he sat down opposite Ryan. The three of them sat there uncomfortably for a moment. "Where were you?" Hiram asked.