You Can Always Come Home

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Stop!" Quinn kicked as hard as she could, feeling his hand wrapping around her ankle. She was losing her strength and focus, but she was determined to get away. She pulled herself on the tile and tried to crawl towards the bathroom door, shaking her foot as hard as she could.

Jesse simply ignored her pleas, yelling and cursing as he flipped her over on her back. Quinn continued to pull herself away, the tears in her eyes running into the blood on her lips.

"Please don't do this!" she sobbed but he continued on, pushing her legs down against the cold tile. Her sobs grew louder as he pinned her hands back and she could feel his hot breath on her neck.

"Quinn." She tried to move her legs but they were useless under his weight.

"Quinn!" She felt his hands on her shoulders now, and she prayed he'd finish soon.

"QUINN! She opened her eyes and sat up, trying her best to remember where she was

She had been living with Puck and Ava for a week now, and she was still having her horrible nightmares. Quinn hadn't expected them to just disappear, but she prayed that maybe they would. She had been up every night, trying to reassure herself things were fine. She must've gotten louder than usual though, as Puck was now sitting on the side of her bed.

"Quinn," he said with his hands in the air, "its ok, its just me." She quickly wiped the tears off her face and ran her hand through her tangled hair.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, "I didn't mean to wake you-"

"You didn't, honest, I was finishing up some paper work downstairs and I heard you." His face was etched with concern and she wished he would leave her alone with her humiliation.

"I didn't wake Ava did I?" she asked frantic.

"No, no Quinn she's out like a light," he assured her, "I'm not worried about her, I'm worried about you." Quinn tried to speak but all that came out were jumbled thoughts.

"Sometimes, I, these nightmares," she stuttered. He scooted closer and placed his hands around hers.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No!" Quinn said quickly, shaking her head.

They continued sitting there in silence, Puck trying to find the right words and Quinn trying to clean herself up.

"How 'bout we go downstairs and get you some water or something," he offered sweetly, "get your mind off this for a bit." Quinn smiled and nodded as Puck helped her out of bed. They walked down the stairs hand in hand, Quinn more than appreciative of his patience.

When they got to the kitchen Puck handed her a glass of water and began making himself a bowl of cereal, making Quinn laugh when he pulled out a box of Lucky Charms. He hopped up on the counter and patted the spot beside him, offering Quinn a spoon. Soon the two were eating and chatting away, as if the incident upstairs had never happened.

"Nice pj's," Puck chuckled, looking down at her bottoms.

"Bunnies are cute," she said nudging him, "Better than your attire." Puck barely even had pajamas, seeing as he was clad in only his sweatpants. It had been hard for Quinn to concentrate on anything but his abs, yet somehow she had managed. Puck playfully dismissed her, fishing around in the bowl of cereal for another spoonful.

"Stop hogging the marshmallows!" he groaned, flicking her spoon away with his.

"Hey! Not fair!" Quinn whined, fighting with him over the last one. He laughed at her expression and let her win, lightly sitting the bowl in the sink.

"So, guess what's coming up soon?" he asked turning to her.

"Ava Marie's birthday," she said casually.

"Very nice," he smiled.

"Mama's know these things," she said winking.

"Yes ma'am. Well, every year its something different with her. This year I thought about the park we've been going to. Get a huge slip and slide and one of those bouncy houses, have a huge outdoor thing, what do you think?"

"Yeah, Puck that sounds really fun!" Quinn said, "She'll love that." Puck nodded and then yawned, stretching his hands and unknowingly drawing Quinn to his biceps.

"Tired?" she asked trying to shift her focus. He merely shrugged, not wanting to leave Quinn awake by herself.

"Puck, go to bed," she said while patting his hand, "You have work in the morning, I don't." He wiped his eyes and then turned to her, acting as if he was wide awake.

"I'll sleep when you do," he said dismissing her.

"Well good thing I'm going now," she said hopping of the counter.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked her concerned.

"Yeah," she replied hesitantly, "I'll be fine." Puck slid off the counter and led them upstairs. When they reached the landing he stopped, turning around and mumbling something.

"I mean, I'm not trying to, like I don't want you to think," he sputtered, confusing Quinn with his gibberish.

"What?"

"If you wanted, I mean not in some weird way, but if you needed to or whatever, you can crash with me." Quinn couldn't help but completely adore him as he waited nervously for her to answer.

"Puck,"

"-and I don't mean in some secret, "I wanna get you in bed" way, I just thought if it would help you rest-" Quinn lightly held his hand and smiled, interrupting his train of thought.

"Thank you," she said softly, and they made their way to his bedroom.

Quinn felt warmth over her whole body as she awoke, opening her eyes and grinning. The sun was beaming through the window and she could see that it was going to be a beautiful day. She went to get up but felt a weight around her chest. She looked down confused, and spotted a large, tan arm across her, reminding her that she wasn't in her bed. She had fallen asleep almost instantly with Puck beside her, not having anymore bad dreams that night. She turned her head as much as she could without disturbing him and found Puck laying right behind her, his arm draped over her protectively. He looked absolutely peaceful, the warm sun making his tan skin shine and his body resting gently against hers. Quinn contemplated moving but decided against it, snuggling back into the sheets and enjoying the moment while it lasted.

Puck pulled his truck into the drive, returning home from picking little Ava up from ballet. He got out as Ava ran down the driveway, meeting Quinn on the front porch with a huge hug.

"How was class?" she asked the little girl. Ava began rambling away, Quinn trying hard to keep up.

"I have to show you my new trick with my baton, come here!" she squealed as she tugged Quinn toward the yard. Her and Puck just exchanged a smile as he headed inside, neither needing to speak about their night.

"See, I twirl it like this!" she yelled, the baton flying out of her hand and across the yard.

"I'll get it, hold on," Quinn laughed, making her way to it. When she had retrieved it and made it back to Ava, she noticed the little girl was preoccupied with something across the street.

"Hey, space cadet," Quinn called lightly while snapping her fingers, "where you at?"

"There's a man across the street," the small child pointed. Quinn followed her finger, only to find a huge tree surrounded by shrubbery.

"No sweetie, no ones back there," Quinn reassured her.

"Quinnie I saw a man over there, he's behind the big tree," she insisted, still pointing in the same spot.

Quinn felt herself grow uncomfortable and began tugging on Ava's hand.

"Let's just go inside hun, I'm sure its nothing."

As they made their way back towards the house, Ava turned to take one last look at the road. From behind the tree that was surrounded by shrubbery, a man stepped out and watched as the pair left, looking at Ava and placing his finger over his lips.