(Put Me Back Together) Empty Hallway (6/?)
Title: Put Me Back Together
Part: Chapter 6: Empty Hallway
Author: Squeeka Cuomo
Rating: PG
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Kurt/Puck, Burt Hummel, Mercedes Jones, Finn Hudson, Quinn Fabray, Emma Pillsbury, Will Schuester, Tina Cohen-Chang, Artie Abrams, Rachel Berry, Santana Lopez, Brittany, Mike Chang, Matt Rutherford
Author’s Note: The title and opening quote for this fic come from the beautiful Weezer song, “Put Me Back Together.” You can find it here.
- I know there are tons of spoilers out for the upcoming episodes. Please don’t post them in the comments.
Warning: This takes place directly after “Sectionals.” Everything up to that point is considered fair game. There are spoilers if you haven’t seen the first 13 episodes.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: All it takes is one moment to break Kurt apart. How many will it take to put not only himself but Puck back together?
Put Me Back TogetherChapter 6: Empty Hallway
In retrospect, the drive to the hospital had been horrible.
At the time, Kurt hadn’t been able to process much more than the fact that there was something very wrong with Quinn and that they needed to get to the ER as quickly as possible. And in the midst of it all, everything had become a hysterical blur of fear and worry.
But after a half an hour of pacing back and forth in the waiting room, Kurt began to remember details that he hadn’t thought he’d noticed.
Puck had ended up driving the Navigator, weaving in and out of the other vehicles with a precision that Kurt couldn’t believe he possessed. And somehow, Kurt had ended up in the passenger seat next to him, but the details on how that had come to pass were still sketchy. All Kurt could remember was someone shoving him in the car. But who that person was, was still a mystery.
Finn had ended up in the backseat with Quinn on his lap. Her pale face had been buried into his chest while her tiny hands had grasped her belly desperately. Kurt could vaguely recall his father in the backseat next to Finn, pressing his hand to Quinn’s forehead and barking out directions to Puck.
And all Kurt could remember himself doing in the middle of everything was clinging to the dash as he had fought back terrified tears.
The knowledge that he’d been too scared to do anything at all made him feel very young and helpless. And it left a sick taste in the back of his throat that burned of bile and disappointment.
As soon as they’d made their way through the sliding glass doors of the emergency room, the nurse at the check-in station had caught sight of the blood on Quinn’s pants. And without a single word Finn and Quinn had been whisked away. But Kurt, Puck, and Burt had been told that they had to stay in the waiting room. The only reason they’d admitted Finn had been because he had been carrying Quinn and the nurse had thought it would be best not to move her to a wheelchair on the grounds that she hadn’t known what was going on with Quinn.
Puck had tired to follow with protests of “But I’m the father!’ But the nurse, a non-descript woman with a severe blonde bob, had shot him a dirty look. And when she’d spoken, her voice had been just as short and blunt as her hair. “Since we don’t yet know if this is pregnancy related, that doesn’t matter. Now go sit down.” Personally, Kurt had thought that she was just being purposely obstinate. After all, how could someone not assume that the blood was related to Quinn’s condition?
Kurt had watched Puck’s face harden as he had taken a seat, pounding his fist on the arm of the orange plastic chair as he’d sat. Kurt had thought about going over to see if Puck was ok, but the next thing he’d known, Mercedes and Rachel had come bursting into the waiting room. And soon after that, the rest of the glee club had begun trickling in.
It wasn’t until Kurt had grown tired of pacing and took a seat next to Mercedes that he realized something. Scanning the room, he quietly whispered to his best friend. “Where are Tina, Artie, and Uncle Mike?” Once again, he’d forgotten about his wheelchair-bound friend. But this time, to be fair to himself, he’d completely forgotten about pretty much everyone and everything. And that included locking the front door.
“Oh, right.” Mercedes shook her head as if she’d forgotten to relay a very important message. “Tina asked me to tell you that she was going to wait with Artie since everyone was in a hurry to leave. Your uncle said he’d stay there as well, for Artie. And in case anyone else came by.”
Kurt just nodded. So long as Artie wasn’t sitting in his basement all alone, he was fine. And for the most part, he felt like he knew Artie pretty well. So he was fairly confident that Artie would understand why they’d rushed off.
With nothing else to say, Kurt leaned back in his seat. Next to him, Mercedes was jittery, looking from side to side and bouncing her leg up and down. It was almost enough to drive Kurt crazy.
Or in search of a different chair.
He was just about to ask her to stop moving when something else popped into his head. Thankfully, when he leaned over to whisper into her ear, she finally stopped bouncing around. (Kurt could have kissed her for that, but he didn’t.) Instead, he placed his hand lightly on her wrist. “Has anyone informed Quinn’s parents about the fact that their youngest daughter is in the hospital? I know they kicked her out, but this is an… emergency.” Kurt’s voice stumbled over the last word, as if saying it out loud would somehow make it truer than it already was.
“Umh…” Mercedes sounded as if she were trying to remember something that had happened years ago instead of only an hour ago. “I think your dad is trying to get a hold of them.” Together, they looked over towards Burt.
Standing just outside of the sliding doors, the older man had a cell phone pressed to his ear, and he was obviously angry. From the red tinge of his face, his puffed up chest, and the finger he was pointing at an invisible person, Kurt could tell that his father was letting whoever was on the other end of the line have it. And he was beyond relieved that it wasn’t him on that other line.
Oh, they’d had their fights and disagreements, but Kurt was 100% positive that he’d never seen his father that angry before. And he sincerely hoped he’d never see him that angry again.
When Burt finally slammed his phone shut, he stomped back into the hospital, disappearing behind the nurses’ station. Unfortunately, Kurt didn’t get a chance to ask him what was going on.
Pressing his lips together, Kurt scanned the waiting room, looking for Finn. He’d been the one to hold Quinn on the way to the hospital, and he’d also disappeared behind the nurses’ station with her. But as he searched the full waiting room, Finn was nowhere to be seen. Still looking around the room, Kurt gently tapped Mercedes’ hand. “Where’d Finn go?”
Next to him, Mercedes made a big show out of rolling her eyes while sighing dramatically. “I don’t know where he is. I haven’t seen him.” Mercedes gave Kurt a look she’d been giving him a lot over the past few days. It was mixture of anger and pity, and it very clearly said, “You have got to get over that boy.” And Kurt had come to loathe it in a very short time.
Just as Mercedes opened her mouth to (obviously) follow up the evil eye she’d just shot Kurt, he cut her off. “Don’t. Please.” The look on his best friend’s face softened a touch. “Not here. Not now.”
But even though Mercedes seemed to understand what he was asking, she didn’t keep her mouth shut completely. Leaning in, she whispered into his ear as softly as she possibly could. “Here’s a better question for you, Kurt. Where’s Puck?”
It wasn’t until she’d mentioned Puck’s name that Kurt realized he hadn’t been among the sea of students in the waiting room. For some reason, that made every muscle in his body tighten up. And that included the hand he still had on Mercedes’ wrist.
Using her other hand to pry his fingers off, Mercedes hissed in pain. Once her arm was free, she very discreetly pointed towards one of the many hallways that led off of the ER waiting room. This one, thankfully, wasn’t blocked by a nurses’ station. “He went that way.”
Without another word, Kurt pushed himself out of the plastic chair, trying his hardest to seem nonchalant. And praying that everyone was too distracted to notice where he was going, Kurt slipped down the corridor Mercedes had pointed out.
The hallway was long and empty, twisting and turning every once in a while. Occasionally the blank stretches of wall were adorned with a door or a tacky painting, but for the most part, Kurt was surrounded by grey wallpaper. Unlike what he’d expected, there weren’t any patient’s rooms or doctor’s offices. And try as he might, Kurt couldn’t imagine what the hallway could possibly be used for.
His best guess was that it was a passage the hospital used to move patients from the ER to the patient rooms. But as he rounded another sharp turn, Kurt forgot all about the hallway and its uses.
Because the moment he spotted Puck sitting on the floor, elbows on his knees and forehead in his hands, every sense Kurt possessed seemed to sharpen. The sterile chemicals used to clean all of the hospital surfaces began to sting his nose, and the dim fluorescent lighting caused Kurt’s eyes to burn slightly. And the sip of Coke he’d had earlier seemed to coat his mouth, making him feel as if his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth. As he walked, his footsteps felt heavier, as if he were wading though quicksand.
But of all the sensations bombarding Kurt, it was sound that was the strongest, the most potent. And the harder he tried to be quiet, the louder everything seemed to get. The hum of the overhead lights had become so deafening that Kurt would have sworn he was being followed by a swarm of monster bugs. And his heart was pounding so hard that Kurt found it impossible to believe that the racing lub-dub of it wasn’t echoing through the halls. The strange cacophony of noises was accented by the sharp halting sound of his dress shoes clacking against the pale grey tile.
And when Kurt stopped and stared down at Puck, the chaotic symphony of sound grew to a deafening pitch within him. It was almost as if all of the noise had filled his body, replacing all of his organs, bones, and blood. But just as quickly as the noise began, it stopped, leaving Kurt in complete silence.
The other boy didn’t look up or ask what he wanted. In fact, Puck didn’t acknowledge Kurt’s presence at all. Instead, he just sat there in the same exact position, his only movement the rhythmic contracting and expanding of his ribs as he breathed.
Kurt thought about calling out to him or whispering his name in the deserted corridor, but somehow he knew that Puck wouldn’t respond if he did. So instead, Kurt did the one thing he wanted to do the least.
Turning his back to the wall, Kurt cringed as his brand new Calvin Klein sweater came in contact with the (most likely staph-riddled) wall and let himself slide down. When his butt finally touched the floor, the coolness of the tile seemed to seep through the fabric of his pants. And he couldn’t help but send a little prayer to the fashion gods that his favorite pair of skinny jeans would walk away from the experience unscathed.
Finally seated on the floor, Kurt pulled his legs into the same position as Puck’s. It wasn’t comfortable by any means, but Kurt couldn’t bring himself to sit with his legs stretched out. Whether it was because he was trying to minimize the contact his pants had with the floor or because it just felt wrong to be comfortable at such a time, he didn’t know. But either way, Kurt settled, his butt aching from the pressure of bone against tile and his spine jutting painfully into the wall.
Kurt was just about to ask Puck how he was when his cell phone began to chime, blasting out some terrible song Mercedes had programmed into it. Reaching into his sweater, he pulled the cell out of the pocket to his button-down shirt. The ring was loud and obnoxious, and he was desperate to get rid of it as soon as possible. When he finally managed to answer the phone, Kurt practically whispered into the receiver as he said, “Hello?”
“Hello, Kurt. It’s Artie?” Artie’s voice sounded hesitant, worried. “I just wanted to let you know that I called my dad. He’s on his way to pick me up. Your uncle is still here so… we should be able to manage. Somehow.” He sounded embarrassed, as if the prospect of “managing” wasn’t a happy one.
“Oh, ok. I’m really so-” Kurt wanted to apologize for leaving him behind, but Artie cut him off.
“It’s ok, really.” Artie sounded as if he really meant it, and for that, Kurt was grateful. “Is, umh… Is Quinn ok?” His voice had dropped, becoming low and serious.
Next to him, Kurt felt Puck shift as if he were waiting for an answer to Artie’s question. Their knees were now touching, and Puck’s shoulder was pressed against his. But unlike when Puck had grabbed him mere hours ago, this felt natural and comfortable. And suddenly, Kurt felt nervous. He wasn’t sure if it was because of what Artie had asked or because of just how… right it felt to have Puck leaning against him. But either way, he had a hard time keeping his voice steady when he finally answered. “We… We haven’t heard anything yet.”
At the other end of the line, all Artie was able to say was “Oh.”
Kurt paused, unable to think of anything else. And when nothing came to him, Kurt remembered why Artie had called in the first place. He wanted to go home, and Kurt was pretty sure his uncle and Tina would want to as well. “When you leave, would you please be sure to lock the front door. Or have Uncle Mike lock it? There’s a spare key under…” The nerves that began only moments ago seemed to intensify when he mentioned the spare key.
It had nothing to do with the fact that his dad had told him that the key was for “emergencies only.” (This was after all, an emergency.) Instead, it had everything to do with Puck who had shifted, ever so slightly, closer to him. And for just a second, Kurt was reminded of how apprehensive he’d felt about Puck taking one of the flyers with his phone number on it.
But Artie wanted to leave and he needed to lock the door behind him. So, Kurt swallowed down his worries, promising himself that he’d move the key as soon as he got home. “Under the mailbox in a little magnetic box. Just make sure to put it back when you’re done.”
After saying goodbye, Kurt hung up his phone but didn’t slip it back into his pocket. Instead, he held onto it as if it were a lifeline. He was just about to ask Puck if he was ok again when the other boy spoke.
“What was it like when your mom died?” Puck’s voice was hard and serious, as if he were trying to stop himself from saying more.
The fact that Puck knew about his mom didn’t surprise Kurt. After all, they’d gone to the same grade school. And given what was happening and where they were, he wasn’t all that shocked by the question. But what did surprise Kurt was that he wanted to answer, needed to answer.
And the only other person he’d talked to about his mom, other than his dad, was Finn. At the time, he’d felt awkward about opening up, but he’d been glad he did. It was an intimate moment that Kurt cherished.
But sitting alone with Puck in the empty hallway, Kurt felt safe and like he could finally help. Even if he had fallen apart when this whole nightmare had begun.
“She… She died of cancer so we, I, had some time with her before she died. The doctors found it really late though, so there was nothing they could do.” Kurt’s voice was calm and surprisingly steady. “My parents tried to explain what was happening, so I would understand and be able to say goodbye. But I guess I never really believed them…” Kurt’s voice was barely above a whisper as he remembered his mom and dad trying to explain to him what was going on.
And he’d understood what death meant and that it was permanent, but when his mom had died… “Losing her, it… it felt like someone had pulled out a part of my heart. And I was left with this giant, aching hole.” Absentmindedly, Kurt placed his hand over his heart. What he didn’t tell Puck was that the part of him that had been ripped away when he was six had never grown back.
He wanted to say more to Puck, about how things would be ok, that Quinn and his baby would be fine. But deep down, Kurt didn’t really believe that. There had been so much blood that it seemed impossible that everything would work out all right. So rather than say anything else, Kurt fell silent, thinking about Quinn and his own mother.
When the phone in his hand began to buzz, letting Kurt know he had a text message, he felt relieved to finally have something to do. The uncomfortable silence that had built up between them was becoming unbearable. But when he read it, Kurt felt his stomach drop, and he wished that he could return to the uncertainty of what to say to Puck.
The message was from his father, and it read, “Get back here now. Bring Puck.”
Squeeka Cuomo’s Notes
- The title and opening quote for this fic come from the beautiful Weezer song, “Put Me Back Together.” You can find it here.
- To everyone that didn’t turn their back on this story after the last chapter… I thank you.
- Quack: Thank you for all your help.
- Reviews are love.
Put Me Back Together
Chapter 1: Kiss Me Goodbye
Chapter 2: Of Soirees and Sarongs
Chapter 3: Not So Subtle
Chapter 4: Late Arrivals
Chapter 5: Breaking Point
Part: Chapter 6: Empty Hallway
Author: Squeeka Cuomo
Rating: PG
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Kurt/Puck, Burt Hummel, Mercedes Jones, Finn Hudson, Quinn Fabray, Emma Pillsbury, Will Schuester, Tina Cohen-Chang, Artie Abrams, Rachel Berry, Santana Lopez, Brittany, Mike Chang, Matt Rutherford
Author’s Note: The title and opening quote for this fic come from the beautiful Weezer song, “Put Me Back Together.” You can find it here.
- I know there are tons of spoilers out for the upcoming episodes. Please don’t post them in the comments.
Warning: This takes place directly after “Sectionals.” Everything up to that point is considered fair game. There are spoilers if you haven’t seen the first 13 episodes.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: All it takes is one moment to break Kurt apart. How many will it take to put not only himself but Puck back together?
Put Me Back TogetherChapter 6: Empty Hallway
In retrospect, the drive to the hospital had been horrible.
At the time, Kurt hadn’t been able to process much more than the fact that there was something very wrong with Quinn and that they needed to get to the ER as quickly as possible. And in the midst of it all, everything had become a hysterical blur of fear and worry.
But after a half an hour of pacing back and forth in the waiting room, Kurt began to remember details that he hadn’t thought he’d noticed.
Puck had ended up driving the Navigator, weaving in and out of the other vehicles with a precision that Kurt couldn’t believe he possessed. And somehow, Kurt had ended up in the passenger seat next to him, but the details on how that had come to pass were still sketchy. All Kurt could remember was someone shoving him in the car. But who that person was, was still a mystery.
Finn had ended up in the backseat with Quinn on his lap. Her pale face had been buried into his chest while her tiny hands had grasped her belly desperately. Kurt could vaguely recall his father in the backseat next to Finn, pressing his hand to Quinn’s forehead and barking out directions to Puck.
And all Kurt could remember himself doing in the middle of everything was clinging to the dash as he had fought back terrified tears.
The knowledge that he’d been too scared to do anything at all made him feel very young and helpless. And it left a sick taste in the back of his throat that burned of bile and disappointment.
As soon as they’d made their way through the sliding glass doors of the emergency room, the nurse at the check-in station had caught sight of the blood on Quinn’s pants. And without a single word Finn and Quinn had been whisked away. But Kurt, Puck, and Burt had been told that they had to stay in the waiting room. The only reason they’d admitted Finn had been because he had been carrying Quinn and the nurse had thought it would be best not to move her to a wheelchair on the grounds that she hadn’t known what was going on with Quinn.
Puck had tired to follow with protests of “But I’m the father!’ But the nurse, a non-descript woman with a severe blonde bob, had shot him a dirty look. And when she’d spoken, her voice had been just as short and blunt as her hair. “Since we don’t yet know if this is pregnancy related, that doesn’t matter. Now go sit down.” Personally, Kurt had thought that she was just being purposely obstinate. After all, how could someone not assume that the blood was related to Quinn’s condition?
Kurt had watched Puck’s face harden as he had taken a seat, pounding his fist on the arm of the orange plastic chair as he’d sat. Kurt had thought about going over to see if Puck was ok, but the next thing he’d known, Mercedes and Rachel had come bursting into the waiting room. And soon after that, the rest of the glee club had begun trickling in.
It wasn’t until Kurt had grown tired of pacing and took a seat next to Mercedes that he realized something. Scanning the room, he quietly whispered to his best friend. “Where are Tina, Artie, and Uncle Mike?” Once again, he’d forgotten about his wheelchair-bound friend. But this time, to be fair to himself, he’d completely forgotten about pretty much everyone and everything. And that included locking the front door.
“Oh, right.” Mercedes shook her head as if she’d forgotten to relay a very important message. “Tina asked me to tell you that she was going to wait with Artie since everyone was in a hurry to leave. Your uncle said he’d stay there as well, for Artie. And in case anyone else came by.”
Kurt just nodded. So long as Artie wasn’t sitting in his basement all alone, he was fine. And for the most part, he felt like he knew Artie pretty well. So he was fairly confident that Artie would understand why they’d rushed off.
With nothing else to say, Kurt leaned back in his seat. Next to him, Mercedes was jittery, looking from side to side and bouncing her leg up and down. It was almost enough to drive Kurt crazy.
Or in search of a different chair.
He was just about to ask her to stop moving when something else popped into his head. Thankfully, when he leaned over to whisper into her ear, she finally stopped bouncing around. (Kurt could have kissed her for that, but he didn’t.) Instead, he placed his hand lightly on her wrist. “Has anyone informed Quinn’s parents about the fact that their youngest daughter is in the hospital? I know they kicked her out, but this is an… emergency.” Kurt’s voice stumbled over the last word, as if saying it out loud would somehow make it truer than it already was.
“Umh…” Mercedes sounded as if she were trying to remember something that had happened years ago instead of only an hour ago. “I think your dad is trying to get a hold of them.” Together, they looked over towards Burt.
Standing just outside of the sliding doors, the older man had a cell phone pressed to his ear, and he was obviously angry. From the red tinge of his face, his puffed up chest, and the finger he was pointing at an invisible person, Kurt could tell that his father was letting whoever was on the other end of the line have it. And he was beyond relieved that it wasn’t him on that other line.
Oh, they’d had their fights and disagreements, but Kurt was 100% positive that he’d never seen his father that angry before. And he sincerely hoped he’d never see him that angry again.
When Burt finally slammed his phone shut, he stomped back into the hospital, disappearing behind the nurses’ station. Unfortunately, Kurt didn’t get a chance to ask him what was going on.
Pressing his lips together, Kurt scanned the waiting room, looking for Finn. He’d been the one to hold Quinn on the way to the hospital, and he’d also disappeared behind the nurses’ station with her. But as he searched the full waiting room, Finn was nowhere to be seen. Still looking around the room, Kurt gently tapped Mercedes’ hand. “Where’d Finn go?”
Next to him, Mercedes made a big show out of rolling her eyes while sighing dramatically. “I don’t know where he is. I haven’t seen him.” Mercedes gave Kurt a look she’d been giving him a lot over the past few days. It was mixture of anger and pity, and it very clearly said, “You have got to get over that boy.” And Kurt had come to loathe it in a very short time.
Just as Mercedes opened her mouth to (obviously) follow up the evil eye she’d just shot Kurt, he cut her off. “Don’t. Please.” The look on his best friend’s face softened a touch. “Not here. Not now.”
But even though Mercedes seemed to understand what he was asking, she didn’t keep her mouth shut completely. Leaning in, she whispered into his ear as softly as she possibly could. “Here’s a better question for you, Kurt. Where’s Puck?”
It wasn’t until she’d mentioned Puck’s name that Kurt realized he hadn’t been among the sea of students in the waiting room. For some reason, that made every muscle in his body tighten up. And that included the hand he still had on Mercedes’ wrist.
Using her other hand to pry his fingers off, Mercedes hissed in pain. Once her arm was free, she very discreetly pointed towards one of the many hallways that led off of the ER waiting room. This one, thankfully, wasn’t blocked by a nurses’ station. “He went that way.”
Without another word, Kurt pushed himself out of the plastic chair, trying his hardest to seem nonchalant. And praying that everyone was too distracted to notice where he was going, Kurt slipped down the corridor Mercedes had pointed out.
The hallway was long and empty, twisting and turning every once in a while. Occasionally the blank stretches of wall were adorned with a door or a tacky painting, but for the most part, Kurt was surrounded by grey wallpaper. Unlike what he’d expected, there weren’t any patient’s rooms or doctor’s offices. And try as he might, Kurt couldn’t imagine what the hallway could possibly be used for.
His best guess was that it was a passage the hospital used to move patients from the ER to the patient rooms. But as he rounded another sharp turn, Kurt forgot all about the hallway and its uses.
Because the moment he spotted Puck sitting on the floor, elbows on his knees and forehead in his hands, every sense Kurt possessed seemed to sharpen. The sterile chemicals used to clean all of the hospital surfaces began to sting his nose, and the dim fluorescent lighting caused Kurt’s eyes to burn slightly. And the sip of Coke he’d had earlier seemed to coat his mouth, making him feel as if his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth. As he walked, his footsteps felt heavier, as if he were wading though quicksand.
But of all the sensations bombarding Kurt, it was sound that was the strongest, the most potent. And the harder he tried to be quiet, the louder everything seemed to get. The hum of the overhead lights had become so deafening that Kurt would have sworn he was being followed by a swarm of monster bugs. And his heart was pounding so hard that Kurt found it impossible to believe that the racing lub-dub of it wasn’t echoing through the halls. The strange cacophony of noises was accented by the sharp halting sound of his dress shoes clacking against the pale grey tile.
And when Kurt stopped and stared down at Puck, the chaotic symphony of sound grew to a deafening pitch within him. It was almost as if all of the noise had filled his body, replacing all of his organs, bones, and blood. But just as quickly as the noise began, it stopped, leaving Kurt in complete silence.
The other boy didn’t look up or ask what he wanted. In fact, Puck didn’t acknowledge Kurt’s presence at all. Instead, he just sat there in the same exact position, his only movement the rhythmic contracting and expanding of his ribs as he breathed.
Kurt thought about calling out to him or whispering his name in the deserted corridor, but somehow he knew that Puck wouldn’t respond if he did. So instead, Kurt did the one thing he wanted to do the least.
Turning his back to the wall, Kurt cringed as his brand new Calvin Klein sweater came in contact with the (most likely staph-riddled) wall and let himself slide down. When his butt finally touched the floor, the coolness of the tile seemed to seep through the fabric of his pants. And he couldn’t help but send a little prayer to the fashion gods that his favorite pair of skinny jeans would walk away from the experience unscathed.
Finally seated on the floor, Kurt pulled his legs into the same position as Puck’s. It wasn’t comfortable by any means, but Kurt couldn’t bring himself to sit with his legs stretched out. Whether it was because he was trying to minimize the contact his pants had with the floor or because it just felt wrong to be comfortable at such a time, he didn’t know. But either way, Kurt settled, his butt aching from the pressure of bone against tile and his spine jutting painfully into the wall.
Kurt was just about to ask Puck how he was when his cell phone began to chime, blasting out some terrible song Mercedes had programmed into it. Reaching into his sweater, he pulled the cell out of the pocket to his button-down shirt. The ring was loud and obnoxious, and he was desperate to get rid of it as soon as possible. When he finally managed to answer the phone, Kurt practically whispered into the receiver as he said, “Hello?”
“Hello, Kurt. It’s Artie?” Artie’s voice sounded hesitant, worried. “I just wanted to let you know that I called my dad. He’s on his way to pick me up. Your uncle is still here so… we should be able to manage. Somehow.” He sounded embarrassed, as if the prospect of “managing” wasn’t a happy one.
“Oh, ok. I’m really so-” Kurt wanted to apologize for leaving him behind, but Artie cut him off.
“It’s ok, really.” Artie sounded as if he really meant it, and for that, Kurt was grateful. “Is, umh… Is Quinn ok?” His voice had dropped, becoming low and serious.
Next to him, Kurt felt Puck shift as if he were waiting for an answer to Artie’s question. Their knees were now touching, and Puck’s shoulder was pressed against his. But unlike when Puck had grabbed him mere hours ago, this felt natural and comfortable. And suddenly, Kurt felt nervous. He wasn’t sure if it was because of what Artie had asked or because of just how… right it felt to have Puck leaning against him. But either way, he had a hard time keeping his voice steady when he finally answered. “We… We haven’t heard anything yet.”
At the other end of the line, all Artie was able to say was “Oh.”
Kurt paused, unable to think of anything else. And when nothing came to him, Kurt remembered why Artie had called in the first place. He wanted to go home, and Kurt was pretty sure his uncle and Tina would want to as well. “When you leave, would you please be sure to lock the front door. Or have Uncle Mike lock it? There’s a spare key under…” The nerves that began only moments ago seemed to intensify when he mentioned the spare key.
It had nothing to do with the fact that his dad had told him that the key was for “emergencies only.” (This was after all, an emergency.) Instead, it had everything to do with Puck who had shifted, ever so slightly, closer to him. And for just a second, Kurt was reminded of how apprehensive he’d felt about Puck taking one of the flyers with his phone number on it.
But Artie wanted to leave and he needed to lock the door behind him. So, Kurt swallowed down his worries, promising himself that he’d move the key as soon as he got home. “Under the mailbox in a little magnetic box. Just make sure to put it back when you’re done.”
After saying goodbye, Kurt hung up his phone but didn’t slip it back into his pocket. Instead, he held onto it as if it were a lifeline. He was just about to ask Puck if he was ok again when the other boy spoke.
“What was it like when your mom died?” Puck’s voice was hard and serious, as if he were trying to stop himself from saying more.
The fact that Puck knew about his mom didn’t surprise Kurt. After all, they’d gone to the same grade school. And given what was happening and where they were, he wasn’t all that shocked by the question. But what did surprise Kurt was that he wanted to answer, needed to answer.
And the only other person he’d talked to about his mom, other than his dad, was Finn. At the time, he’d felt awkward about opening up, but he’d been glad he did. It was an intimate moment that Kurt cherished.
But sitting alone with Puck in the empty hallway, Kurt felt safe and like he could finally help. Even if he had fallen apart when this whole nightmare had begun.
“She… She died of cancer so we, I, had some time with her before she died. The doctors found it really late though, so there was nothing they could do.” Kurt’s voice was calm and surprisingly steady. “My parents tried to explain what was happening, so I would understand and be able to say goodbye. But I guess I never really believed them…” Kurt’s voice was barely above a whisper as he remembered his mom and dad trying to explain to him what was going on.
And he’d understood what death meant and that it was permanent, but when his mom had died… “Losing her, it… it felt like someone had pulled out a part of my heart. And I was left with this giant, aching hole.” Absentmindedly, Kurt placed his hand over his heart. What he didn’t tell Puck was that the part of him that had been ripped away when he was six had never grown back.
He wanted to say more to Puck, about how things would be ok, that Quinn and his baby would be fine. But deep down, Kurt didn’t really believe that. There had been so much blood that it seemed impossible that everything would work out all right. So rather than say anything else, Kurt fell silent, thinking about Quinn and his own mother.
When the phone in his hand began to buzz, letting Kurt know he had a text message, he felt relieved to finally have something to do. The uncomfortable silence that had built up between them was becoming unbearable. But when he read it, Kurt felt his stomach drop, and he wished that he could return to the uncertainty of what to say to Puck.
The message was from his father, and it read, “Get back here now. Bring Puck.”
Squeeka Cuomo’s Notes
- The title and opening quote for this fic come from the beautiful Weezer song, “Put Me Back Together.” You can find it here.
- To everyone that didn’t turn their back on this story after the last chapter… I thank you.
- Quack: Thank you for all your help.
- Reviews are love.
Put Me Back Together
Chapter 1: Kiss Me Goodbye
Chapter 2: Of Soirees and Sarongs
Chapter 3: Not So Subtle
Chapter 4: Late Arrivals
Chapter 5: Breaking Point