"You ready?"
"Yeah." Quinn sighed, sweeping all the books she had into her bag and standing up, smoothing out her clothes. "How do I look?"
Puck leaned against the arch, eyeing the blonde and smirking. Quinn huffed at the boy, rolling her eyes and brushing past him. She knew that Puck wasn't actually hitting on her, and even though he had been nothing but a gentleman the last few days, any other reaction from him would have been insincere. The boy allowed her to sleep in his bed while he took the couch and even made her meals when he was home, but he didn't ask once for any details about the incident, which Quinn appreciated. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet, even though he saw what had happened. They got into Puck's jeep and headed for school.
A few minutes later, they arrived and Brittany was waiting outside for Quinn. The taller girl looked puzzled when she saw her friend and the mohawked boy get out of the same vehicle. Puck smiled briefly to the girls as he made his way into the building.
"What was that?" Brittany whispered, eyeing Quinn. "And didn't you wear that Friday?"
The shorter blonde looked over her outfit and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so? I'm not really sure." Brittany didn't seem convinced. "Look, something happened and he-"
"Tell me you did not sleep with Puckerman! All weekend, yet!" Brittany stiffened up, shocked.
"Lower your voice, Britt!" Quinn pulled on the other girls shirt, bringing her away from the crowd. "And it isn't like that."
"Then what is it?" Brittany furrowed her brow; her curiosity taking over more and more.
Quinn's eyes flicked back and forth at the taller blondes before she lowered her head. Just as she was about to speak, the final bell rang and allowed Quinn to breathe again.
"I'll get you to tell me sooner or later." Brittany smirked as she went inside for class.
Quinn slowly followed. She's right… the shorter blonde thought to herself. It was only a matter of time before she had to tell someone, other than Puck, about what happened. She didn't want to tell Santana first because she knew the girl would go Lima Heights right away and the blonde wasn't really close to Sam anymore… That leaves Brittany. she thought, turning the last corner into her first period class.
x
Santana walked up to Brittany before lunch with her hands folded in front of her. "Look, I thought about what you said and I-I don't want to be fighting anymore. The fact is, I'm not ready to… publicly admit my feelings for you… If it's okay, I'd like to be friends still. You know, until I'm ready." Santana let out a deep breath and whispered. "Just… please don't date anyone else?"
Brittany let out a laugh, causing Santana's nervousness to go away and a smile to stretch across her face. "Deal." she said as she winked at the other girl. The pair pinky linked and began walking down the hall when they bumped into Quinn.
"Hey Q." the pinky linked pair said in near unison and Brittany sent a smirk to the other blonde.
"Oh no…" Quinn mumbled under her breath.
"What?" Brittany chuckled playfully and nudged the other girl as they headed for the lunch room. "I wasn't going to ask about your sleep over with Puck."
Catching Santana's attention, she whipped her head toward the other girls. "Wait, you slept with Puckerman?" she whispered.
"For the last time, I didn't sleep with Puck!" Quinn glared at Brittany. "Don't bring it up again."
Realizing the other blonde was serious, Britt left her alone and focused her attention back on a confused Latina.
Quinn tried her best to get through the school day as quick as she could and was in a hurry to find Puck after the dismissal bell rang. Instead of lounging outside surrounded by younger girls like usual, he was alone and waiting by his Jeep. Maybe he knew I'd want to leave right away… the blonde thought to herself as she ran up to him and offered a small smile.
When they arrived at the boys house, Quinn spoke softly. "I-I know I'm a little taller, but do you think your mom has any clothes I can borrow for school?" Puck looked over to her with a thoughtful look on his face. "Yeah, sure thing." he said before disappearing toward his mothers bedroom.
Minutes later, he came back with a few pairs of jeans and some of his mothers more form fitting t-shirts. "Will this be okay?" he asked, handing what he found to her.
Running her fingers over the clothes, the blonde nodded. She paused for a moment before looking back up at Puck. "T-Thank you." she said quietly.
"Don't mention it." the boy smiled as he started past Quinn toward his room, but she stopped him.
"I'm serious." Quinn said, looking directly into his eyes. "Thank you for everything you've done the last few days. You really didn't have to… do what you did… But I honestly couldn't tell you where I'd be had you not come back and-"
Quinn sniffled a little and cleared the straying tear that was on her cheek. Puck offered another smile as he brought her in for a hug. Having gone through something similar, he knew she needed to talk to someone about it eventually, but wanted to wait until Quinn spoke about it first.
"Look, I know I may not look it, but I don't allow that kind of shit to go down." he softened his tone as he continued. "How long has he-"
"My dad has always been strict to my sister and I… But then, Frannie got pregnant in high school and he flipped." Quinn breathed in deeply. She hadn't told anyone about this part of her life before, but for some reason, she felt like Puck would understand. "Dad kicked her out and disowned her. Before her pregnancy, she was a straight A, athletic student. As far as I know, her grades didn't suffer but she had to quit the sports she was in and my father… he just didn't want his child to be the way she was becoming… He started drinking shortly after she was gone. I guess I was nine or ten?"
"I was about thirteen, but Jake was seven or eight when our father left…" Puck finally admitted. "I thought for a while that him and my mom were just always arguing, but I came home one day and caught him… you know." the boy took a breath. "He whooped my ass for two or three years before I finally stood up to him."
"How'd you do that? You were only a kid…" Quinn curiously asked.
"He raised his fist to my brother." Puck paused before continuing. "I know my mother only married him because of being pregnant with me and I knew she wasn't strong enough to leave… So we had to live with him and deal with his anger… I managed to get his focus off my mother and onto only me, but when he tried to move on to my brother, that was the last straw."
"My point is, Quinn… Showing someone that you're scared of them gives them power. I stood my ground, he left and my mother got a restraining order. Four years later, here I am. Sure, I don't have much to be proud of, but I'm… We're alive."
Quinn felt goosebumps crawl across her skin with those last words Puck spoke. Just looking at the boy, you could not know he had such a horrific past… Then again, only looking at Quinn and you couldn't tell, either. It was a reality check hearing him say that they should be glad they are alive. Russell had hurt Quinn badly before, but it never quite occurred to her that her father could have crossed the line too far and…
The girl began shaking the thought out of her head when Puck reached into his bag and pulled out a book. "I-I wanted you to have this." Taking the book and turning it over, Quinn knew exactly what it was.
"It's about a guy named Dave who was… He was abused, too… But he made it out alive like we did and he's famous now… Anyway, I thought you'd like it because you read all the time and it has a happy ending and-"
"Yes, I know him." Quinn smiled at Puck's gesture. "Thank you, again."
"Yeah." the boy shrugged in response. "Don't mention it."
x
Gathered in the choir room, Mr. Schue looked over the attendees to make sure everyone was there. "Noah, if you will." the older man said, handing the floor over to the mohawked boy. It was his turn to sing a song to Quinn for their assignment.
Puck jumped down off of the risers, picked up an acoustic from along the wall and spun it around his back. He walked over to the piano and sat down, nodding at the band as his fingers began gliding over the keys.
You showed him all the best of you but I'm afraid your best wasn't good enough
Switching instruments, Puck stood in front of Quinn and strummed the guitar softly as he maintained his focus on the girl.
He's not worth all those tears that wont go away, I wish you could see that
The boy used the chorus to engage with the rest of the Glee Club, who were swaying back and forth, intrigued with Puck's performance. He brought himself to Quinn again, kneeling in front of her as if he was about to speak instead of sing.
And now you've grown up with this notion that you were to blame...
Standing up, Puck sang with such feeling that you could see his vein pulsing in his neck.
You were his daughter but the blood in your veins, as you carry his name, turns thinner than water…
Swinging the guitar back over his shoulder, he sang the remaining line so soft that it was almost a whisper.
I promise, it was never your fault…
Inside, Quinn was shaking and wanted to bury her face into her hands and cry, but on the outside she was only barely tearing up. She slowly applauded the boy for his performance as he put the guitar down. He placed a light hand on her shoulder as he stepped past her to take his seat in the back row again.
x
Quinn stayed quiet for the first few minutes while Puck started driving toward his house. The blonde finally spoke up.
"Can you take me home today?"
"A-Are you sure?"
"You've been really generous, but I can't stay with you anymore." Quinn sighed.
"But what about…" the boy said, clearly upset.
"Puck," The blonde looked over at him and placing a hand on his. The boy was roughly gripping the steering wheel, but loosed his grasp with Quinn's touch. "Please?"
Turning his head just enough to look back at the girl, he let out a heavy sigh and directed his car toward Quinn's house.
"Thank you." she said, resting back into the passenger seat.
Puck parked in the Fabray's driveway moments later. He gave another concerned look toward the blonde as she got out of his Jeep and started for her house. Puck pulled out his phone and made sure the volume was all the way up, just in case he thought as he pulled away.
Quinn slid slowly through the front door and closed it softly behind her. While the driveway only had her Bug in it, her fathers car could be tucked away in the garage. The blonde was able to make it all the way up the stairs before she heard footsteps approaching. Picking up her speed, she flew herself into her room and closed her door all but a small crack.
She honestly didn't know how her parents would react to her finally coming home. Quinn had never stayed out for days without her parents permission, but given the situation, the blonde thought there was a chance they would understand.
"Quinnie?" the door began to creep open more. "Quinn, honey, where have you been? Your father and I have been worried about you…" the woman kept her voice soft as she approached her daughter, placing her hand on the girls back. Quinn quickly moved away at her mothers touch and didn't respond, keeping her back toward Judy. The blonde couldn't bring herself to look at her mother yet.
"O-Okay then. Dinner will be ready at five." Mrs. Fabray breathed as she backed into the hallway with her hand on the door knob. Pausing for a moment, the older woman whispered, "I'm glad you're home" before closing the door and making her way back down the stairs.
The blonde pulled her phone out of her bag and decided to text Puck that everything was fine. For all she knew, the boy was sitting around the block with a baseball bat ready to burst in the house.
Hey. Wanted to let you know I'm fine. - Q
You sure? - P
Yeah, you can go home now. - Q
I don't know what you're talking about. ;) - P
The girl let out a small laugh. She was positive now that if she looked out her bedroom window, she would see his Jeep at the corner.
A little over an hour later, Quinn heard her father come home and her mother whisper some things to him. To the blondes surprise, Russell didn't come upstairs. Instead, it sounded like he started watching tv while Judy continued clanging around in the kitchen.
When it was time for dinner, Quinn hesitantly walked down stairs to her parents sitting around the dining table. Russell had already begun to eat and Judy was dishing her daughter a plate. The blonde could feel a fire burn deep inside her. She was angry because her father nearly put her in the hospital as her mother watched just days ago, but they all sat at the table like nothing happened.
Judy smiled gently and leaned over the table to hand Quinn her dinner, but the girl tuned out to remember what Puck had told her. If she didn't confront them now about what had happened, Russell would think he had won and the next time Quinn might not get out alive…
"No." the blonde said softly at first, but lifting her gaze to her parents, she put more body behind her voice and repeated herself.
Judy's smile faded as she lowered the plate to the table and Russell didn't look up at his daughter, but he stopped eating immediately. Quinn could feel the tension grow the longer she stayed quiet.
"Mom, dad…" the blonde breathed in and out. "We need to talk about this."
Without glancing up from his food, Russell coldly replied. "Remember your place, Qui-"
"For Christ's sake!" Quinn screamed at her father, startling Judy and causing her mothers eyes to grow wide. Russell shot up from his chair and stared down his daughter, whose hands were now trembling and her lip began to quiver as she stood her ground. "I'm so tired of how we push aside any bad thing that happens in this house and act like if we don't talk about it, then it doesn't exist. Frannie still exists-"
"Don't you dare turn this on her! YOU are the disappointment here!" Russell bellowed, face turning bright red.
"Because I'm not a cheerleader anymore? Because I joined Glee Club?"
"Please, can we just stop and-" Judy's pleas were quickly interrupted by her husband, who spun in her direction. "What are you going to do?" he half laughed and half scowled.
"Nothing." Quinn mumbled softly. Judy looked at her husband and then back at her daughter. The younger girl spoke again. "She's going to do nothing, because if she wanted to do something, she would have when she first found out that you were coming home drunk and abusing me!" The blonde focused her full attention to her mother. "I needed you! I needed my mom!" she yelled, tears coming down her face.
Russell threw his chair back and rushed toward Quinn. His arm was raised behind him in a fist; his teeth were gritted and exposed. But this time, the girl didn't move or flinch. She stood her ground and looked up at the tall man before her, watery eyes focused on his. Her father coldly returned the stare and slowly lowered his arm to his side. "Who are you?" He whispered in a tone unfamiliar to Quinn as he took a few steps back. "I don't recognize you anymore."
"I'm your daughter… Who loves you…" the blonde said, realizing that this was a different side to her father that she may be able to connect with. "And I know this must be really hard for you, but I'm not my sister and… And all this time, I've just needed my daddy to hold me and tell me he loved me and that I was perfect the way I am… That just being me was good enough. That's all we both ever needed."
Mr. Fabray stood still, rubbing his thumb and index finger together as if he was fully soaking in everything his daughter had just said. Judy was broken down in tears on the far side of the room. It destroyed her realizing how much she let her baby girl down.
Quinn didn't know what her father was thinking. She was uneasy about the amount of silence that was filling the air, so she decided to approach Russell and try again. "Tell me…" she began, reaching her hand out to his. "Tell me I'm perfect the way I am… Tell me I'm enough… Please…"
Russell allowed his daughters fingers to graze into his hand slightly before he leaned away and muttered, "No." His voice was cold and the farthest thing from what a father should sound like. He began to slowly walk toward his study when he turned over his shoulder with his eyes lowered and said, "I'll give you 30 minutes. Pack what you can, take the car for all I care… Just… Get. Out."
Judy's eyes left the floor and clued in on her husband. Quinn felt her heart drop inside of her as her tears began to silently fall again. She was only sixteen years old and her father was kicking her out of the house. How could a man do this to not only one of his children, but to both of them? Quinn's sadness quickly turned into anger as she followed him down the hall; her mother was close behind.
"You're pathetic, you know that?!" She yelled as loud as she could at the man walking away from her. "You're pushing away everyone who ever loved you, no matter what you did to them!" Pausing at the archway to his study and watching her father circle around to behind his desk, the girl continued. "And even though you'll have my mother here to keep you company physically, you're going to be miserable and alone for the rest of your life." Still waiting for a response, but soon realizing that she wasn't going to get one, Quinn took one last look at her father before she ran upstairs to begin packing.
It took her less than ten minutes to grab all she needed from her room and head for the door. Picking up her keys from the hook, she heard her mother behind her. "Quinnie…" the woman said, soft and seemingly pleading for forgiveness.
Quinn turned the knob and stepped outside to their porch, but before she shut the door, she faced her mother. There was no emotion on her face. She loved her mother with all of her heart and hoped some day she would come to her senses and leave Russell, but in that moment, Quinn knew this would be the last time she would see or speak to her mother.
But Quinn didn't say a single word as she closed the thick, wooden door. There was nothing left to say.
x
