House of Puckerman

23

Puck called Beth to say goodnight before turning in upstairs. He checked on his dad, throwing him a water bottle before going to his room.

Puck laid awake for hours. He had gotten so used to having Quinn curled up on his chest that he had forgotten what it was like to sleep alone.

In the morning, Puck headed downstairs and found his dad in the kitchen.

"Morning." Puck muttered, walking to the fridge.

"I called my sponsor this morning." James said as he looked at his son. "I'm starting a new program for sobriety."

"That's a start." Puck nodded as he grabbed the egg carton from the fridge and closed it. He stood at the counter barely looking at James as he started making breakfast.

"Noah." James muttered. "I messed up, but I'm trying to fix it."

"Good for you." Puck said as he looked at James.

"I'm sorry." James apologized.

"If you break your sobriety again, I'm kicking you out of here." Puck told James. "I've been good to you and the first thing you do to thank me is attack me."

"I'm sorry." James repeated.

"And you did it with my daughter right upstairs." Puck added. "You know I can't see out of my eye, right? Like, at all."

"I said I'm sorry." James said again. "Is your daughter okay?"

"She's with her mother." Puck said. "The two of them are staying with our friend for a while."

James nodded slowly.

"Why were you drinking?" Puck asked.

"I went out." James said. "I was so bummed out after work, and I was weak."

"Did you take money from Quinn?" Puck wondered. "Tell me the truth."

"No." James shook his head.

"Where'd you get the money for the booze?" Puck demanded.

"Work." James said.

"Don't lie to me." Puck replied. "She's missing five hundred bucks."

"One of your rules was not to touch her stuff." James reminded Puck. "I've obeyed that one."

"Okay." Puck said. "Look, we can talk more later. I have to go."