Quinn was tidying up the papers on her desk getting ready to leave for the day. There was a knock at her door.
She looked up to find Eva Dawson stood in the door way. She smiled at her and waved her in.
"Hi Eva" She greeted her with a smile "Is there something I can do for you?"
Quinn had taken on multiple roles at the school she was working at. She was a part time English literature teacher and a part time guidance councillor. She also helped with a few of the after-school clubs when she had time. Which was usually whenever her own daughter Beth was staying with her father and his new wife.
"I kind of need some advice" Eva told her taking a seat.
Quinn liked Eva. She was a bright, sweet girl. But Quinn had seen a lot of her since her parents had gotten divorced. It was hard for Eva who was only fifteen years old. She knew she had a younger brother as well. Eva had confided in her that they were both finding things difficult and were terrified of causing even more arguments between their parents. But equally they were sad that their Mom wouldn't let them visit their Dad.
It was a tough situation for any family to be in.
"What's going on?" Quinn asked her.
"My Mom has a new boyfriend" Eva told her "And he really doesn't like us"
"I'm sure that's not true" Quinn replied.
"No he told us" Eva said shaking her head "I know I'm fifteen and I can stay home alone, but she goes away for days at a time when he wants to take her off travelling, so it's just me to take care of Diego and I don't know what I'm doing"
Quinn's heart broke for her. She knew what it was like to be a teenager with no parent around and having somebody else to take care of. But Diego wasn't Eva's child he was her brother.
"Eva honey I really think you need to call your Dad and tell him what's going on" She told her "And I think you should tell your Mom how you feel"
"He's just going to get mad that I didn't tell him before" Eva said sinking down in her chair.
"Why don't I call him for you?" Quinn suggested.
She knew she shouldn't get so involved, but she did feel worried for those kids.
"Thank you Ms Fabray" Eva said standing up to leave.
"Do you need some extra time for your assignment?" She asked as Eva was leaving.
"No I've almost finished it" Eva replied.
Quinn didn't doubt it. Eva was a very intelligent girl and had a real talent for writing. Quinn always looked forward to reading her essays and stories.
Quinn knew Puck had Beth for the next week before he was being deployed so she decided to take the time to call Eva's father now that she didn't need to rush home. She pulled up Eva's file and looked for her emergency contacts.
She went back to her desk and dialled the number on the file. It went straight to voicemail so she decided to leave a message.
"Hi Mr Dawson" She said "This is Ms Fabray, I'm Eva's teacher, I was hoping I could talk to you about your daughter, she's not in trouble, I just had a few concerns"
She decided to grade some papers while she was at work still. She hated going back to an empty house. It felt strange when Beth was with Puck. Not that she would have it any other way. If it hadn't been for him and her Mom stepping up she never would have gotten to Yale. She would always be grateful and he was a good Dad.
She decided to call Beth just to check in on her. Puck's phone rang a few times before he picked up.
"Hey private Puckerman" She greeted him "Can I speak to my daughter please?"
"Sure Q" He replied passing the phone over to Beth.
"Hi Sweetie" Quinn said "Are you having a nice time with your Dad and Isabelle?"
"Yes" Beth replied "I'm not supposed to tell you that we're having pizza again for dinner tonight"
"Oh you're not?" She laughed shaking her head "You tell your Dad he better get some broccoli on that pizza"
"Eww Mom" Beth complained, Quinn could practically hear her rolling her eyes.
"Love you" She said smiling.
"Love you too Mommy, see you soon"
"Bye Baby" She said hanging up the phone.
Quinn's stomach growling made it clear that she would need to give in and go home, to make dinner if for no other reason.
She hung her jacket up on the coat rack in the hallway, flicking on the lights as she shut the front door behind her. Beth had left her books out on the coffee table. Quinn busied herself tidying up before going into the kitchen and see what she had left in the house. She was overdue to go grocery shopping. She threw together the chicken and vegetables she had left into a make shift stir-fry. She knew she should sign up to one of those pre-packaged meal delivery services but she always convinced herself she could be organised and do a full food shop on the weekend and meal prep for the week ahead. It never happened.
She got changed into her sweatpants and took her dinner into the lounge. She sat back on the couch and put on Breakfast at Tiffany's. She fell asleep on the couch, waking up just after midnight. She took herself to bed. The house was always eerily quiet when Beth wasn't here. She was not a fan of living completely alone. She was still happy they had moved to Chicago. Puck had moved when he got engaged to Isabelle. He had met her at a wedding and fallen for her hard. He asked Quinn if she would consider relocating because he didn't want to miss out on time with Beth. Quinn had never wanted to stay in Lima and she didn't have any other family. All she had was Beth. She decided she owed It to Noah to give him the chance to be happy. They had never tried to make things work between them, and she had never wanted that. Their friendship was amazing. They had their own little sense of family that worked for them. Quinn had been very happy in the city. She felt like she had truly come into her own with her own home, work and making new friends.
She set her alarm and settled down to try and sleep.