Chapter 3 :
Kurt was calling him. Puck quickly took the call.
"Kurt ? Are you alright ?" He asked quickly.
"Puck, why did you call me ?" Kurt asked.
" I left juvie yesterday night and I just learned you've left." Puck explained.
"But why did you call me ? You're the last one I'd have expected to call me and in reality you're the third one." Was Kurt serious ? Only three people had tried to call him while he had left ?
"Look Kurt you can't give up now, I know you've been through hard stuff but you can stay still and go on as you did before." Puck told to the boy.
"No I can't, I've been doing so for 17 years, I can't do this anymore. And why do you tell me that ? You're the one, for the most part, who's been bullying me." Kurt asked.
"I know and I'm sorry for that, I feel terrible. But in in juvie I kinda changed and realized I had been an ass." Puck explained vaguely. The boy would freak-out if he told him everything that happened.
"that's good to know" Kurt said.
"Where are you ? I know you don't wanna come back but where are you now ?" Puck tried his luck.
"Puck if I don't want to come back I don't want anyone to find me either."
"So you'll never come back ? That's it, you've been proud of yourself for seventeen years, you've fought to be accepted and now you just give up all that ? You've been fighting all these years for giving up in the end ?" Puck said.
"Puck you have no idea what I've been through and-"
"Yes I have an idea, I'm the one who put you through most of it. And I know that if were you I'd be gone for long. But you are the strongest person in Lima you've never given up, never cried because of what happened and now you give up ? You prove all the fuckin' homophobic right in leaving. You tell all of them "You're right I have no right to be here". You also let all the other gay guys coming being treated the same as you were. People will think that they managed to get rid of one so they will do the same to all the others." There was a little sob at the other end of the line.
"Why do you tell me all that, you've never given a damn about me." Kurt said between sobs.
" I tell you that because that's the truth and you know it. You know what ? I've been through terrible things in juvie, I won't ever tell anyone about them but everyday I thought that I had to be brave to face the following day and I thought of you because you went through hell everyday and you always came back with your chin high and proud. And now that I have to face the real life haunted by what happened, the one person that gave me the strength to go on has given up and has left. I fuckin' know I'm not brave enough to go through this." Puck said. He had never wanted to tell anyone about that and had promised himself to keep it a secret, but here he was telling all that to Hummel.
"What happened to you Puck ?" Kurt asked softly.
" I'll tell you if you tell me where you are" Puck decided even if he knew he'd never tell what happened.
" I can't tell where I am I don't want people to come and drag me back in this cow-town." Kurt explained.
" I won't tell anybody I promise. All I want is to see if you're alright and you to tell me how you went through all that shit for years. I swear I won't try to talk you into coming back." Kurt sighed.
"You're about to give up too aren't you ?" Kurt asked.
" I don't really know how to deal with that" Puck admitted.
"You can't blame me for giving up if you do the same." Kurt told him.
"Yes I can because you're the bravest and if even you give up I know I can't be braver everyone's a coward down here." Puck explained.
"You should talk about what happened to you to someone. I don't know what it is but don't let it break you." Kurt said.
" I can't talk about it to anyone, but I'm ready to tell you if you tell me where you are and promise me you will tell me how to get through this" Puck told Kurt. He had never really talked to the boy and here he was, ready to tell him his darkest secrets. Kurt sighed.
" I've been talking to some guy on the internet who lives in San Francisco, I'm in the bus to go there now."
"What ? You don't even know the guy he could be a perv or something like that !" Puck said.
" I've been talking to him for one year Puck, I'd know by now if he was a perv." Puck was not convinced but at least he knew where he was.
"Okay, I'll join you here." Puck said "D'you want me to bring some of your stuff ?" He added.
"No I took some it's okay. Please Puck don't tell anyone where I am." Kurt almost begged.
" I won't. I'll call you when I'm in SF." Puck said.
"Bye Puck." And Kurt hung up.
Puck hadn't felt like telling Kurt that his dad was devastated. He had promised him not to try to talk him into changing his mind and he wouldn't.
He stood up, filled his bag with some clothes, grabbed the hunting knife he had stolen one month ago and put it in too. He looked in his wallet to see how many dollars he had and decided it was enough for the ride. Once there he would find a job or something to come back.
If he ever came back. He threw his bag through his bedroom window and went into his sister's room. She was doing her homework laying on her bed.
"Hey sis' !" He told her. She raised her head to smile at him.
"Hey Noah ! Will you help me for my homework ? I can't understand this stupid math exercise."
"I think you're better than me in maths Sarah." He said seriously. His sister was ten but she was very clever. And Puck had always been a zero in maths.
"Oh ..." She looked disappointed. Puck walked to her and took her in his arms.
" I'm gonna leave for a little while, mom doesn't know yet, don't tell her anything, I'll call her when I get there."
"Where are you going ?" She asked curiously.
" I can't tell you but I'll call you very often don't worry" He said hugging her. "Take care of mom for me okay ?" He told her.
"And who's gonna take care of me ?" She asked sadly.
"Don't worry baby you're old enough to take care of yourself." He told her smiling. She smiled back and hugged him.
"You'll bring me a souvenir from there ?" She asked.
"Sure I will. I gotta go." He stood up, kissed her forehead and left the room.
He said bye to his mother from the living room and left the house. There were two buses to go to SF, one to go to Columbus and get the second to SF. It was going to be a very long trip but Puck didn't care. He had never left Lima and needed it like very much. He needed to discover different things and forget about what burned inside him. He needed to move on from what had happened and it was the only way he could. He walked to the bus station and jumped in the bus for Columbus that was about to leave.