Broken
Chapter 22- Maybe it's True I Can't Live Without You
A/N: Here's the next chapter! Thank you to the few people who reviewed on the last chapter. I know it was awhile in between updates for a long time, but I promise I'm back and here to stay! I had over 200 people view the last chapter, but not a lot of feedback. Please let me know what you think about this chapter.
New York City
Finn sat in his apartment staring at the black TV screen, wondering when things in his life started to go so wrong. Was it when Rachel moved in? Was it when she started dating Jesse? Was it when she was attacked? Was it when she started dating Puck? Was it when she moved in with Puck, Finn had what seemed like a thousand questions running through his head, even though he knew the truth about the real moment his relationship with Rachel became strained, the moment I decided that seeing my sister in pain was too much and just walked away from her without so much as telling her that I would miss her, he thought to himself as he scrubbed his hands over his face. As he was getting up and walking into the kitchen to make himself something to eat, his cell phone rang. He looked at the screen and seeing Quinn flash across the screen, answered the call. "Hello," Finn said slowly.
"Hi Finn, how've you been? I haven't talked to you in a couple of days," Quinn began nervousness clear in her voice.
"I've been good. I got into a little fight with Rachel, and I've been trying to deal with that. What's up?" He didn't mean to sound as cold and detattched as he did, but since their fight in Ohio, things between Quinn and himself hadn't been that great.
"Not much. Just wanted to check in. You haven't told me if anything else has happened with Jesse, and I was getting a little worried."
"No, nothing is going on with him. Why," Finn asked hesitantly.
"Oh, no reason. Just wanted to make sure he hadn't gotten Rachel's new number."
Finn shook his head, and sighed into the phone, "No, Quinn, he hasn't. Look, I'm kind of busy right now; I'll talk to you later. Bye." He hung up the phone, not hearing Quinn's response.
…***...***...***
"Did you tell him," Santana asked, glaring at her roommate with her arms crossed.
"No, I didn't get a chance too. He said he was busy and hung up," Quinn replied quietly, looking down at the floor. "You're not going to tell him, are you? I know it was wrong, but if you do, it'll ruin everything."
Santana scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You have until Puck and Rachel get back at the end of the week and if you haven't told him by then, I will."
…***...***...***
Westerly, RI
Puck pulled into the narrow driveway leading to the law office. Rachel looked around a little wide-eyed. She hadn't seen this part of Westerly the last time they were here. Off in the distant was a large yellow building, with what looked like a park next to it.
"Noah, what's that building and that over there?" Rachel pointed over her shoulder to her right.
Puck glanced over that way seeing Wilcox Park and the library. "Well babe that would be the public library and the park. It's really nice in the spring; there are cherry blossom trees, and a really nice cobblestone bridge. I promise that we'll visit the library before we leave and we'll come back to see the park." Puck smiled looking at the excitement on Rachel's face.
Climbing out of the SUV, they walked hand and hand into the law office. "Good morning, how can I help you today?" The secretary asked with a kind smile.
"We are here for the reading of the Puckerman will." Puck squeezed Rachel's hand. The subject was still a hard one for Puck to swallow.
"I'll have you wait over there," the secretary pointed to a couple of chairs over their shoulder, "and only people in the Will can be allowed into the office."
Puck nodded, glancing at Rachel, leading her over to the chairs, sitting down in the only two seats available. "I'm sorry babe; you'll have to wait out here." He said apologetically.
Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay. I'll still be here for you when it's all over. Then you can take me to the library." She glanced over at him, a smirk playing on her lips.
Puck laughed out loud, throwing his arm over her shoulder. "You wanna stay at Nana's house tonight? I'll take you out to dinner and then we can head back there and watch a movie or two." He felt Rachel nod against his shoulder.
"Is it just you, your parents and your sister, Noah," Rachel asked quietly, curious as to who was going to be there for the Will reading.
Puck thought about Rachel's question, as far as he knew, it was just the four of them. "I think it's just us babe. Nana has a brother, but they had a big falling out about twenty years ago. No one has really heard from him in awhile. I don't even think he knows she died." Puck shrugged and glanced at his watch, wondering where his parents and Bridget were.
Just as he was getting ready to call Bridget to find out where they were, he heard the front door open and looked over to see his mom, dad and a very pissed off looking Bridget.
"I don't even know why I have to be here, mom. It's not like I'm getting anything. We all know that Nana liked Noah best," Bridget snapped at her mother.
"Now Bridget," Hanna began placating her daughter, "You know that's not true. She loved the both of you the same." She ushered her daughter over to where Puck and Rachel were sitting and smiled at them, "Are you ready, Noah?"
Puck just nodded, "Yeah. Let's get this over with."
…***...***...***
"Of course you got everything in her Will, Noah. She liked you more than me. Ugh, seriously, I get her China Set? You get the house in Texas, the money for the Beach House, two cars, all of her CDs and her bank accounts and what do I get? I get a lousy China Set, a BMW and a Trust Fund I can't touch until I'm 21. How is that fair?" Bridget stormed out of the lawyer's office, ranting at the way Nana Puckerman distributed her estate.
"Bridget," Puck sighed, annoyed with his sister, "First of all, lose the attitude young lady. Second of all, she loved you just as much as me. I'm sorry that you feel like you were shortchanged, but getting a $90,000 car is more than most people get from their grandparents when they pass away. Third, she gave me the money to pay the taxes on the Beach House because that's not a responsibility that a fourteen year old needs to have. I plan on staying in New York, even after I graduate, so the house is yours if it really means that much to you." Puck stalked over to Rachel, and grabbed her hand, gently pulling her up.
"Did things not go well," Rachel asked timidly, looking from Puck to Bridget.
Bridget scoffed and glared at Rachel, "Obviously not, Rachel," she raised her voice and continued glaring, taking her anger out on Rachel.
"Bridget Anne Puckerman," Aaron scolded his daughter, "Go wait in the car young lady, and apologize to your brother and Rachel."
Bridget rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Sorry Rachel, sorry Puck," she told them in a snotty tone before storming outside.
Aaron rubbed his forehead, a headache forming with all the drama. "Well," he cleared his throat, "Noah, I really hope you don't allow what happened to your Nana all those years ago happen to you and your sister."
Puck shook his head, "If I can prevent it, I will. But she has to understand, I didn't force Nana to write what she wrote." Puck pulled Rachel into his side, placing a kiss on her head. "God, I can't believe Nana really left me all that, I feel like, I don't know, bad?"
Hanna placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't feel bad, Nana loved you, and really wanted you to marry apparently." Chuckling to herself. Aaron just laughed and shook his head.
"Wait, I don't get it." Rachel looked up at Puck, waiting for him to answer.
Puck exhaled loudly, rubbing a hand down his hair. "Well Nana made it a stipulation that I could only get the second half of my inheritance when I get engaged and then when I marry."
Aaron laughed out loud, "So, Rachel, do you like spring or fall weddings?"
Rachel felt a blush rising to her cheeks. "Um, what?"
"He's kidding babe, it's not the right time for us yet." Puck assured her.
Yet. Rachel heard that word loud and clear. Was he really thinking about that with her? Laughing nervously, Rachel nodded, "Right, I knew that. But kind of awful she's holding that over your head. What if you never met the right person?"
Puck just shrugged, "I'm not going to really think about that. But there's a lot we need to talk about."
"Like do you want the Audi or do you prefer the Bentley?" Aaron said with a huge smile on his face.
"Excuse me?" Rachel squeaked out.
"God dad! Can't you leave one thing for me to break to her?" Puck shook his head, leading his girlfriend to the door. "We're leaving now; I'm taking Rachel to dinner."
"Somewhere nice young man! You can more than afford it now!" Hanna called after her son as he walked away as fast as he could. "Love you both!"
"Love you too ma!"
...***...***...
"What was your father talking about Noah? Why would I have to decide if I want an Audi or a Bentley," Rachel asked once she and Noah had arrived at dinner and sat down with their menus in front of them. She had spent the entire car ride to the restaurant in North Providence worrying about making such decision. "I can't afford either one of those cars. I don't need a car. Actually, I don't even have my driver's license."
"First of all, we'll work on getting you your license. Second of all, I really don't need three cars. I have my Escalade and that's more than enough. Now, which car do you want?"
"Well," Rachel began, biting her lip and looking up at Puck nervously, "I kind of like the Escalade."
Puck threw his head back and laughed, "Perfect! We'll trade in the Bentley. I fucking hate that thing babe. Makes me feel like an old man driving it."
Rachel smiled brightly, "Really? You'd do that for me?"
"Of course I would, babe. Now, we need to discuss a few things about the Will," Puck told Rachel, "Pretty soon, we're going to need to go to Austin so the ranch hands…"
"Wait? Austin? Ranch hands? What do you mean?" Rachel cut Puck off, confused at what he was saying.
"Oh, yeah. About that…" Puck trailed off; looking at Rachel nervously, "Remember how I said my family came from old money?" He waited for Rachel's nod, and when he saw it, he continued. "Well, my Nana's family came into their money because of the Oil Rigs in Texas. There's still a ranch there and it was left to me." Puck sighed, casting his eyes downwards. "That's how Nana lost contact with her brother. There was a huge argument over the house years ago with her brother. Their parents didn't leave the house to either one of them, but Nana invested her money better and of course her husband, my Papa, had a lot of money from the stocks. So they could afford the taxes and what not on it.
"Papa and Nana would go down there for vacations. It has horses, and it's own lake, with a boat house. It's wonderful and I love it down there. But when Papa passed, Nana didn't want to travel down there anymore. She hired two ranch hands, built them their own house, and paid them to be there 24/7 to keep up her home and all the land that came with it. Now that she left the house in my name, we have to break the news to them that Nana has passed but they won't lose their jobs. I need to finish school first, and I want you to decide if we stay in New York after or live in Texas." Puck drifted off, hoping she understood the seriousness of this conversation.
Rachel stayed silent. Her head reeled at the thought of making such a huge decision. It would take her away from New York and where her brother lived, and further away from her fathers. But at the same time it would give her an even fresher start that she desperately longed for. "Can I think about it for a few days? Is that okay?" Rachel looked at Puck, searching his face for any sign of disapproval.
"Of course babe, take your time. Talk it over with Finn and yours fathers if need be. But remember that we have private jets at our disposal so if visiting is an issue, don't let it be. The second you want to visit them, I'd have one fueled within an hour for you. Can I ask how you feel about going to visit? It'd be just for a weekend." Puck asked gently.
Rachel opened her mouth to speak when the waiter stopped at the table, getting their order before scurrying back towards to kitchen area. It gave Rachel a few moments to think about his last statement. While he said the decision was hers, he just made it sound that the decision was already made. "I need to think about it. Just...just let me think please. As far as visiting... I think I'd love to. You know, before I met you, I'd never been outside of Ohio? Now I'm talking about going to Austin, Texas..." Rachel said with amazement in her voice.
Puck laughed, shaking his head gently. "I know, I know."
…***...***...***
Back at the Beach House, Puck had just finished giving Rachel the "official" grand tour. Sure, she had been there in December, but then Puck was more nervous about her meeting Nana Puckerman, and then well, he was more focused on the fact that his Nana had passed away. "So, what do you think of the place, Rach," Puck asked nervously.
"I like it. It's very large." She took in her surroundings, and it finally registered to her just how much money her boyfriend and his family had.
"I know, but Nana's philosophy was that if you work hard in life, you should be able to buy yourself nice things. So, that's what she did. She worked and saved her money so she could have everything she wanted, with or without her parents' money," Puck pulled Rachel closer to him and kissed the top of her head, "I like to think she was a smart lady."
"She was a smart lady, and she helped to raise a very smart grandson." Rachel leaned back into Pucks chest, looking out the huge picture window; seeing the moon reflecting off the top of the water. "Did you ever dream of just sitting here and taking in this view? How did you ever leave?" Rachel sighed, not pulling her eyes off the view.
Puck nuzzled his face into the crook of Rachel's neck. "I do love it here. This is where I have some of the best memories with my Nana. I can leave because I know I'll always come back." Puck placed a gentle kiss to her neck making Rachel quietly moan.
"Noah," she sighed. "Hey. You never took me to the library."
Puck laughed out loud, thinking after he paid attention to her neck, the one thing she could point out was the library. "Babe we have time, we'll go tomorrow." Puck leaned back in, placing open mouthed kisses along her jaw. Rachel squirmed in his arms, trying to get him to let her turn around. Puck held her a little tighter, giving her neck a little more attention.
Rachel allowed Puck to continue his ministrations thinking back on how it had already been five months since they started dating. And while they shared a bed, Puck never let it go past heated make out sessions. And even then he felt he went too far. But she loved him, and something about being in this home, with only their future ahead of them made her want to take charge and bring this into the bedroom. "Noah..." Rachel moaned again, feeling him gently nip at her neck. She moved her head to the side, giving him more room. Feeling bold, Rachel rolled her hips against Puck's, feeling his arousal immediately. She took a shuddering breath before pushing back, making him moan loudly.
"God Rach..." Puck rested his head on her shoulder trying to breathe deeply as his girlfriend continued to roll her hips against him. She has never been bold enough to do this. Sure, she started some of their make outs, but he's never seen her like this. "Baby, we need to cool it down a bit."
"Why?" Rachel turned in his arms, finally being able to press her lips against his. "We've been dating for five months Noah. I trust you with me life, I love you. I'm ready for this. I'm ready for you."
A/N: ...what will he say? What will happen? Leave me some love with what you think. Title of the chapter comes from Two Is Better than One by Boys like Girls