Catching up
They sat together on the couch in the living room, Puck's arms wrapped around both girls' shoulders, as they shared their stories. It seemed to Santana that Puck was reluctant to stop touching them in some way, as though if he let go of them for more than a few moments, they might drift out of his reach forever, or fade away and never return. She guessed she couldn't blame him for that; she couldn't bear to be alone or apart from Quinn for a few seconds, let alone for whatever length of time that Puck had been on his own entirely. She didn't really mind that he wanted to keep contact with them both, but she did mind that his hand seemed to be absently running over Quinn's arm, and that Quinn not only didn't stop him, but kept herself pressed close to his side.
She found that she had been tuning out what he was saying and tried harder to pay attention, although she rather suspected that she didn't really want to know what it was he had to share.
"It was my little sister that brought it home," Puck was saying, his voice a little deeper than usually as he swallowed thickly. "She'd been out with one of her friends, or something, and she came home and she was, you know, all nasty, dripping out her mouth and everything. She got our ma, and I had to hold them off, try to get out the friggin' house, get to the car and everything. I haven't seen Jake, he wasn't home so I don't know where he is or if he's all right or not. The car was missing, so maybe…I don't know. I looked for Finn and Kurt, and…"
He swallowed again, shaking his head, and Santana saw Quinn suck in her breath, her nails digging into his arm. "Wasn't good. Ain't gonna tell you anything more than that…just…shit, wasn't good."
"So…you didn't find anyone else? No one?" Santana asked, dreading the answer even before she heard his reply. "Did you look?"
"Yeah, of course I looked," Puck said, sounding indignant as he shot her an annoyed look. "Damn, you think I'd just book it out of town or board myself up like a hermit instead of look for people to hook up with?"
Both girls shot each other a look across him, not responding to that, seeing as it was exactly what they had done. Puck didn't seem to notice as he continued to explain.
"Yeah, I looked. Rachel's house, empty, and knowing her and her dads, you know…thinking it's not good. I looked in Brittany's, San, and yours-"
"I know," Santana cut him off, her voice far sharper than she had anticipated. "I know, so just…I know."
Puck gave her a brief frown, running a hand over her arm that she guessed was supposed to be soothing but just sent a shudder down her spine. After a pause, he went on.
"Didn't bother with Q's, I called and no one answered, so…kinda figured there was no point."
"The phones were wanky," Santana explained, shrugging. "Actually, we were there pretty much the whole first week."
Puck's eyebrows shot up, and he gave a chuckle without any real humor to it, shaking his head and running his hand over his scalp.
"Friggin' figures. Been alone since day three of this shit, and you two were in the one damn house I didn't try."
"Who were you with before?" Quinn asked, the question that Santana had been curious about as well. "You were alone after your own house, so….who did you…"
She trailed off, unsure, like Santana, if she wanted to hear, when it was pretty clear that if Puck had been alone after a few days, there was a pretty dark reason as to why. Puck was slow to respond, shrugging both shoulders and avoiding their eyes when he did.
"Hooked up with Azimio and Karofsky the second day. Dudes could fight, but they run slow as shit."
He didn't need to say any more than that for it to be clear. The three of them were silent, processing this for a few moments, before Quinn spoke up.
"So it's just been you. It's just been Santana and me from the start. Our mothers, her father, and…and Brittany…"
"Gone," Santana finished for her abruptly, unable to stand hearing the word said aloud in the hushed tone that Quinn was using. "They're gone. Can we get off the tragedy train now and attempt not to sink into a threeway depressive coma?"
She stood up, stretching her arms over her head and popping her back as though she were simply restless from sitting too long, but the truth was that she couldn't stand for one more moment to have Puck touching her, to be facing Quinn to see the soft pity in her eyes. She didn't turn around until the other two were deep into an entirely new and neutral conversation, and only then could she rejoin them without the threat of bursting into tears.
