****I was reading this over and remembered I used to write my fanfiction on my cellphone, boy the typos and autocorrects were horrendous. I don't know how you all were able to deal with it***

***Alright for those of you not on tumblr this is my newest obsession. The idea came to me out of nowhere... and if you are wondering I will continue to write the one shot ideas as I do this one. Crazy right. Anyway, I hope you all stick around for the journey as we find out the unspoken truth. I DO NOT OWN GLEE***

Mercedes started cleaning up the classroom as she watched the little girl that sat at her desk coloring. She was a sweet little girl but was definitely showing signs that she may have to do the second grade again. Mercedes tried her best to help the child but she realized that there were more things going on then what she was discussing today with her parents. Especially since she'd been drawing some disturbing pictures. She requested a parent teacher conference when she realized that she couldn't get the girl to speak. And it was almost November!

"Sarah, did you give your parents the letter I gave you?" Mercedes asked looking down at the little girl. Sarah looked at Mercedes with her big emerald green eyes and nodded before dropping her head back down to color again. She was definitely talented in that department though and she spent all day doing it as well. Mercedes sighed and tussled the little girls dirty blonde locks as she looked at the time. "I guess we'll just give them a few more minutes."Mercedes said to herself just as a man ran in.

"Sorry I'm late… traffic and my boss wouldn't let me leave early… but I'm here." Mercedes looked up noticing a male replica of Sarah. He was definitely a looker. She had to catch herself as she admired the smile on his face. "I'm Sarah's father, Sam Evans." He reached out to shake her hand.

"Mr. Evans, pleasure to meet you! I'm Mercedes Jones her teacher."she shook his hand noticing the wedding ring on it. "Is Mrs. Evans joining us?" She asked. Suddenly Sarah looked up and looked at her dad.

"No… No… she's… It's just me today." He replied as he sat down. "She's away at this moment." Mercedes nodded and noticed the frown on Sarah's face.

"Okay well… I just want to start off saying Sarah's extremely talented… especially in art!" Mercedes started as she leaned on her desk. Sam looked over at his daughter and smiled. A quick proud twinkle lingered in his eyes as he watched her color. "The problem is I can't get her to do anything else but draw. She never speaks… I don't even know what her voice sounds like to be honest." Mercedes chuckled before continuing. "I've tried everything I could so now I'm reaching out to you and your wife to see if we can come up with something to help her."

"I see… I…I didn't know this was going on…" He looked over at his daughter again as she looked at him then shamefully looked away. "I work a lot of hours and I don't really have enough time in the day…" He sighed loudly then knelt down to her level. "Sarah, why are you not cooperating with Mrs. Jones?"

"Ms. Jones…" She corrected.

"I'm sorry…" He nodded before turning his gaze back to his daughter. "What's going on, Sarah?" She shrugged and continued to color.

"That's usually all I get from her." Mercedes said walking over. "You said that you're really busy, what about her mother? Is she able to-"

"My mom's in prison!" Sarah said cutting her off. Mercedes was so shocked to hear the little girl speak that she couldn't even respond. Sam looked at his daughter then dropped his head. It was all starting to make sense to her. All the drawings she'd seen Sarah draw of a woman in chains, stripes, sad, crying or herself looking sad.

"Mr. Evans?" Mercedes said. Sam looked up at her with the saddest eyes she'd ever seen. "We can… umm… reschedule this…"

"That would be great. I'll talk to Sarah." He said taking his daughter by the hand and walking out of the classroom with her things in his hands. Once he was gone, Mercedes marched over to the front office right after Sam left. Her mind was wandering and she needed some answers.

"Hey Emma." She said as she entered the office and smiled at the red head. She was wiping her desk down when she looked up to see Mercedes.

"Oh hey Mercedes! What are you still doing here?" She smiled and started taking off her gloves.

"I just had a parent teacher meeting but I forgot something in her files and was wondering if you could help me with it." she lied.

"Oh… what is it? Maybe I can retrieve it for you." Emma smiled.

"Once I see it I'll remember what it was… it slipped my mind…but the emergency contact should have it."

"I know how that is. We have so much we have to remember every day. Password for this and that… remember to feed the cat, put gas in the car…" She continued. "Have sex with your husband." she mumbled under her breath.

"Yeah exactly that!" Mercedes replied shaking her head. "It's Sarah Evans, by the way."

"Oh isn't she a lovely precious child… won't say a word." Emma said as she searched for the files in the file cabinet. Mercedes looked around and tapped her nails on the desk as she watched. "Here it is!" She smiled and pulled out the folder. Sarah Evans… so what did you need?"

"The emergency contact form." Mercedes replied. Emma handed it over to her watching as Mercedes looked it over. "Oh…OK…I had the right number for her dad… but I was trying to reach her mother. Do you have that number on file?" She asked trying to remain neutral.

"Oh no… all we have is her dad's number but her mother's name is here… it's uhh Penelope Evans. Pretty name, huh?"

"Yeah… thank you, Emma!" Mercedes said handing the form back after memorizing Sam's cell phone number. "And Emma…tell Will I said hello OK?"

"Oh I will!"

Once Mercedes got home, she quickly threw some leftover lasagna in the oven and pulled out her laptop. She had really slow internet connection so she got settled in while it booted up. By the time she was done showering and her dinner was heated, her computer was ready for her to do her thing. She typed in the search engine for Penelope Evans in Lima Ohio, and ate her dinner as it loaded.

"Ugh… I hate this area I get no signals here!" She vented to no one in particular. She clicked enter a couple times having absolutely no patience. "Stupid computer!" She shouted. Suddenly her phone rang and she picked it up knowing it could only be one person calling her at this time. "What Tina?"

"Mercedes, you won't believe who I ran into today." Tina said not giving Mercedes a chance to speak as she continued. "Mike Chang… Football player Mike Chang… Dancer Mike on…"

"Oh my God, we had a God awful crush on him junior year, didn't we?" Mercedes asked remembering how they used to talk about him ask the time. Tina and Mercedes had been best friends since junior high school and occasionally shared crushes thru out the years.

"Yes…I was just leaving the mall, I saw this cute top that I just had to buy…" Mercedes zoned out as she scrolled thru the search list of anything that stood out. "So we're going on a date tonight and I need you to watch Zoey for me."

"Uh are you crazy this is a school night!" Mercedes said into the phone. Tina, who recently just went thru a divorce also just recently had a baby who of course was Mercedes goddaughter.

"Tonight is my only night off, Mercedes! And she's already asleep." Tina pleaded.

"You work from home as a customer service Rep."

"Please… I have no days off the rest of the week."

"Alright! Alright! Stop begging!" Mercedes said. "You owe me big time, know this!"

"Okay well open the door 'cause I'm already here." Tina said.

"You've got to be kidding me." Mercedes said hanging up and walking over to the door and opening it.

"Thank you, you're a life saver." Tina said as she walked in with the baby in her stroller. "Here's her bag but I doubt she'll bother you till I'm back."

"That's what you said last time." Mercedes frowned and took the bag that was heavier than it needed to be. She looked her friend up and down. "You brought out the freakum dress, I see. Your mommy trying to find you a new daddy." Mercedes smiled as she took the baby into the room she had specifically for her. Laying her down then walking back out to find Tina on her laptop.

"Look, Zoey will always have Brody as her daddy and I'll have Mike as my daddy." Tina sang. "But, hey, why are you looking up this woman?"

"No reason."

"Well I thought you were looking for that sex offender up in Dayton. She was a school nurse that had an affair for like a year with a teen." Tina added. Mercedes shook her head, she should have known Tina would of known. "It was all over the news or whatever. Story's crazy." Tina added walking to the bathroom.

"I try not to watch the news." Mercedes confessed.

"I can understand that." Tina nodded as she checked her make-up in the mirror. "It was sad. Her poor husband was all naïve and said he didn't think she was guilty."

"That is crazy!" Mercedes said out loud as Tina walked out.

"Well wish me luck."

"You're going on a date not an interview, child." Mercedes said following her to the door.

"Isn't it the same thing?" She smiled as she walked out the door. "I'll be back before midnight, I promise."

"I hear ya." Mercedes rolled her eyes as she closed the door. She knew Tina wouldn't be back till the morning, which is why she packed a bag as big as she did. She walked back and typed Sam's name with his wife and the first thing that came up was a video. She clicked on it and watched as they questioned Sam.

"Mr. Evans, did you know your wife was having an affair?"

"No… I still don't believe she ever had an affair." He replied calmly. Mercedes shook her head as he continued to deny everything.

"Mr. Evans have you ever met the student that your wife was accused of having a sexual relationship with?"

"Umm… yes… He actually used to cut our grass and other things I couldn't do because I was working." Sam replied. Mercedes shook her head again. "That student was laying the pipe down while you were working." She thought to herself again.

"What was your reaction to her video recording confessing that she fell in love with the student and was planning on divorcing you?" That question seemed to have hit him hard as tears weld up in his eyes. He looked down and fiddled with his wedding ring and looked up at the camera smiling as a single tear fell down his face.

"No more questions, please." Mercedes paused the video as he stared at the camera. This was the same sad look she saw earlier. Why did she look this up? How was she going to help Sarah now knowing all this? She's a teacher! All she needed to do was teach! Yet, looking into his eyes right now, she felt she needed to do more. How in the world can she help him?

Sam was beyond frustrated with his life. Work was killing him and now it was affecting his daughter in school. He walked into their apartment almost tripping on a basket full of dirty clothes that he was supposed to wash the weekend prior.

"Hold on, Sarah, let me grab that!" He said bending down and throwing his work bag on top of the basket and letting her in. "Lock the door for me."

"Got it daddy!" She replied pushing the door with both her hands and locking it. Sam sighed as he looked at how messy the place was. "What are we having for dinner, daddy?" She asked jumping into her seat at the table. Sam loosened his tie as he walked into the kitchen.

"You want corndog or nuggets?" He asked looking at the TV dinner options he had in the fridge.

"Corndog!" She shouted with excitement. Sam smiled as he looked at her bouncing in her seat.

"Corndog for you…and this turkey dinner for daddy." He said placing them in the microwave. "You got any homework?"

"I did it all with Ms. Jones." She smiled proudly. "It was easy." Sam smiled as she explained in great detail what the homework was about. This is why he was shocked that she wasn't talking at school, he couldn't get her to stop at home.

"If you know all this why don't you ever answer Ms. Jones?"

"You told me not to talk." She reminded him. She was right! After they relocated to Lima from Dayton he told her not to talk about her mother. He didn't know that she'd stop talking altogether. And the moment she decided to speak, she mentions her mother.

The microwave timer went off so he got up to get their dinner. He had to figure a way to explain to her what he really meant. Explaining this to a seven year old wasn't going to be easy at all. He sighed as he opened the microwave and pulled out their dinner.

"Daddy, when mommy comes home am I allowed to talk then?" She asked innocently. He looked down at his wedding ring, still unsure why he had it on. Penny had filed for a divorce way before she was caught with their teenage Gardner Puck. And it was finalized a couple months ago, but he couldn't get the strength to remove the ring.

"Sarah, when I said don't talk in school I meant don't talk about your mother. When she gets out she's going to have her own home, remember?" He tried to remind her of the conversation they had a few months ago.

"Why?" She asked as he tried his best to explain the divorce to her. She nodded sadly as if she understood as she ate her corndog. "Do you still love mommy?" She asked. This was a question he'd asked himself daily and sadly he always had one response.

"Yes, I'll always love your mommy." He replied. They ate in silence but he could clearly see she was letting all the information sink in.

"Can we stop eating these box dinners?" He laughed when she asked that. He wasn't expecting it at all as she ate the brownies that came with it.

"I thought you liked them." He laughed. "I can always pick up a cookbook I guess… just daddy is really busy with work…"

"You say that a lot." She cut him off. She was right again. "Maybe you should hire a new mommy!"

"You mean a nanny?" He corrected her. She looked at him as if he was correcting her with the wrong word. "They cost a lot of money… but I do need help around here and with you…" He said more to himself then to her.

"You should hire Ms. Jones, she baked our class cookies once. They were yummy! And she's really nice and pretty! Don't you think so, daddy?" She looked up at him almost pleading for him to agree.

"Yes she is pretty but she's your teacher, not a nanny! Now finish up your dinner!" He added changing the subject.

After Sarah had been put to bed, Sam started cleaning up the place a bit. Then took his shower and started laundry before sitting down to watch his wedding video. Penny looked so happy as they said their vows to each other. In the video, he thought they'd love each other forever. She stopped loving him but he never stopped. He knew it but didn't want to admit it. He thought he could make her fall in love with him again. Remember their vows. But she didn't. She embarrassed him in front of all of America.

He looked down at his wedding ring and slowly pulled it off. It was time he moved on, and the first step was removing the ring.