(Un)Happy Family

49

When they got back to the Puckerman house, Puck unloaded the car. Quinn had tried to help, but Puck refused to let her and (politely) told her to go sit down instead.

Puck put everything away in his room before returning to Quinn in the living room.

"What do you want for dinner?" Puck asked.

"I'm not hungry." Quinn replied.

"When we were in the store, you said you were starving." Puck told Quinn.

Quinn shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"Yeah, you did." Puck replied. "So why don't you want dinner?"

Quinn bit her lip.

"Quinn." Puck said.

"Look at me." Quinn muttered as she started to get upset. "I'm gross and fat. My feet are swollen, and the other day, I couldn't even reach to tie my shoelaces."

"Q." Puck said softly as he knelt down in front of her and took her hands. "You're not fat. You're beautiful and pregnant, and it's almost over."

"I know, but..." Quinn shrugged. "I hate what my body looks like."

"You're carrying our baby and you're beautiful. Pregnant or not, you're so beautiful." Puck assured Quinn.

"You don't understand." Quinn shook her head.

"Understand what?" Puck asked as he joined Quinn on the couch and squeezed her hand.

Quinn took a deep breath as she looked at Puck. "Do you remember when I told you that my first name is Lucy?"

Puck nodded. "Yeah, you didn't tell me why you don't use it."

"The summer before I moved to Lima, I did cheer camp." Quinn began. "That's where I met Santana and Brittany."

Puck nodded slowly, wanting to hear more.

"When I got there, I quickly realized that I was the only fat girl there." Quinn informed Puck. "Santana and Brittany were the only ones who would talk to me, so I introduced myself as Quinn for the first time in my life and I decided to get myself in shape."

Puck looked at Quinn.

"I wanted to put Lucy behind me." Quinn went on. "She was severely overweight and had acne and glasses and horrible red hair."

"So what'd you do?" Puck wondered.

"I worked myself so hard that entire summer." Quinn continued. "There were some days where I'd skip meals and go for runs. Because of cheer camp and Cheerios, I've always had a bad relationship with food."

Puck didn't say anything. He just waited for Quinn to go on.

"Before I got pregnant, I would skip a meal if I gained a pound." Quinn told Puck, wiping tears from her eyes. "I used to hate myself for eating a cookie."

Puck took Quinn's hand and looked at her. "You're gorgeous, Quinn. And I'm sure you were back then, too."

"I wasn't." Quinn shook her head. "And I'm never going back to being Lucy again."

"You won't, but you have to eat for yourself and for the baby." Puck responded.

"I know." Quinn nodded. "I've been forcing myself to eat so much these past few months because I never want her to experience what I've experienced."

Puck smiled slightly. "You're gonna be such a good mom."

Quinn bit her lip and looked at Puck.

"It's okay." Puck said as he wrapped his arms around Quinn. "You're okay."

Quinn instantly broke down into tears in Puck's arms. She let him hold her while she cried.