Mine
Chapter 1
Kurt was loved l from the moment he slid out of his mother's womb. His first word was, "Mine!" Everything within his reach was readily, cheerfully given to him.
"My Mom! My Dad!" He loved to squeal as he was covered in a multitude of kisses from the top of his messy hair to the tip of his slightly crooked tiny toe. His parents, Burt and Elizabeth Hummel, thought his possessiveness was cute. And it was – especially when he was a toddler. Kurt was destined for a life full of love, laughter and happiness.
Everything changed the day his mother died in a car accident.
"Mommy is gone?" he parroted the words that barely made it past his father's lips before the man crumbled into sobs while he grabbed his son and crushed him in his lap; the loss too much to handle for both father and son.
At the funeral he stared at the casket as it was lowered into the ground and it was at that precise moment that something snapped in his 8-year-old mind.
From that moment on Kurt's possessiveness hit an all time high. It took months before he could stand to be apart from his father long enough to attend school. His father was dealing with a grieving son and didn't have the heart to pry himself from his son's side but it was time to start healing. His father thought getting Kurt a puppy might help the process along. Burt really hoped Kurt would focus on the puppy and come out of his shell long enough to start living again.
Kurt loved his puppy. He lavished his little yellow lab with love and affection. He named her Luca and always referred to her as "my girl" or "my Luca." The Hummel men were starting to settle into their new normal and both actually found little things to smile about on a daily basis.
It was a lovely spring evening when they went out for a late dinner and by the time Burt was driving home Kurt was fast asleep. He gently scooped up his son trying not to wake him up. He knew how hard it was for Kurt to sleep without any nightmares on some nights. He struggled to unlock the front door juggling his son in his arms and making sure he didn't knock his head into the door or let the dog out. He kicked the door shut with his foot but he wasn't fast enough. Luca had already bolted out the front door.
He hurriedly placed Kurt on the couch gently and ran to the door ready to track Luca down. He heard the squeal of tires as they locked in place before he had even cleared the porch. Dread pooled at the bottom of stomach as he walked towards the car that was sitting in front of the neighbor's house.
His neighbor, Phil, was gently running his hand down Luca's body when he sensed Burt standing next to him. He looked up at him and sadly shook his head, "I couldn't stop in time. She ran out right in front of me. I'm so sorry Burt."
Burt knelt on the ground and cradled Luca to his body as he gently stood up, "It wasn't you fault. She took off the minute I opened the door. We've tried breaking her of that habit but she loved being outside. Damn! I'm not sure how I'm going to tell Kurt."
"Dad?" Burt whirled around when he heard Kurt's shaky voice. Cursing quietly, he tried to block Luca's body but Kurt managed to get a glimpse of her. Kurt crouched and slid his hands down her body; "I can't have her anymore, can I?"
"I'm sorry bud."
"Is she going to go into the ground with mommy?" his voice sounded flat and devoid of any emotion. Burt couldn't figure out why the sound of his son's voice have him goose bumps.
"We can bury her tomorrow morning. It's too dark right now." Phil helped him wrap Luca's body in a blanket he had stored in the trunk of his car. They placed her in the garage and in the morning the Hummel men buried another member of their family.
Kurt regressed after Luca's death. Any improvements disappeared overnight. He couldn't bear to have his father out of his sight for more than a few minutes. His father was the only thing he had left. His insomnia kicked in and when he did manage to fall asleep his nightmares woke him up. He was terrified that his father would disappear from his life exactly like his mother and his dog.
Burt was overwhelmed by Kurt's needs and he even suggested getting a new dog a few months later but Kurt always shook his head. He didn't like giving up things he loved – it hurt too much.
Chapter 2
Kurt was in middle school when he went to the Spring Carnival. He was with his friend Artie. He didn't like to go to school functions but Artie needed help. Artie had been in school with Kurt since kindergarten and they were best friends. Last year, Artie had been going to the park with his mother when a drunk driver their car. Artie was paralyzed from the waist down and had been in the hospital for months recovering from the accident. It had been touch and go and Kurt had been terrified that his friend was going to die.
The day Artie was released from the hospital; Kurt was beside himself with joy. He attached himself to Artie and became his legs. So when Artie wanted to attend the carnival but needed help, Kurt was right there next to him. After all, Artie was his friend, he belonged to Kurt and Kurt loved all of his 'things' possessively.
They played a few of the carnival games and ate all kinds of sugary treats. Artie wanted to try his hand at the dart game in order to win a giant stuffed animal. He had a crush one, Brittany, one of their classmates and wanted to win the animal as a gift for her. After five unsuccessful tries the only thing he managed to win was a goldfish.
He blamed his lack of winning on his wheelchair and begged Kurt to give it a try. Kurt reluctantly threw his three darts in quick succession without even focusing on the target. They were both surprised when Kurt hit the target all three times winning the giant animal. He graciously offered the stuffed animal to Artie and ended up with a goldfish as a consolation prize.
Annie, the goldfish, soon found herself swimming in a 10-gallon tank in Kurt's bedroom. He fed her, talked to her and kept her tank clean. She happily swam in and out of her fairy tale castle that sat in the middle of her tank.
Kurt was a freshman in high school when he came home from school and found Annie floating belly-up in her tank. He decorated a small box and the Hummel men buried Annie right next to Luca. Burt was worried about Kurt but his son didn't look fazed by the death, which helped ease his worries.
After the funeral, Kurt went upstairs and sat on his bed. He thought about his mother, Luca, and Annie. He didn't like the fact that he had lost all of these loved ones to death but accepted the fact that the only reason to lose a love one was to death. Death was an absolute. No other reason for loss was acceptable.
When his mother was alive, she had bought him a beautiful, leather bound picture album with MINE inscribed on the cover. Kurt had pictures of his mother, Luca & his recently added picture of Annie. He reverently stroked each picture before whispering, "Mine," as he shut the album and fell asleep.
Chapter 3
At the end of his junior year Kurt met Blaine. He had just transferred to McKinley and they hit it off immediately. Artie was still his best friend and Kurt was still devoted to him but Artie was spending a lot of time with his girlfriend so Kurt was able to spend time with Blaine.
It wasn't long before the two were officially an item and Burt was beyond ecstatic. He didn't mind that Kurt had reduced his hours at the garage to go spend time with Blaine. Even though time had passed Burt knew that his son spent so many hours at the garage to keep an eye on him and his health. He was happy to see his son in love and living life to the fullest.
The boys were joined at the hip and before long it was the end of July. Blaine's family was going on a European vacation and would be gone for 3 weeks. The first week he was gone, Blaine called and emailed every day. The time difference was a bit challenging to figure out but eventually they set up a schedule that worked for them. The second week the calls and emails slowed down but Kurt wasn't worried. After all, Blaine was "his" so there was no reason to worry. Both boys were committed to each other and had shared all of their firsts with each other before Blaine left on his vacation. He figured the family was busy and he religiously counted down the days on his calendar until his boyfriend would be back by his side.
Chapter 3
Kurt ran around the house excitedly making sure everything was in place. Blaine had called and said they had just gotten home and he was on his way over. Blaine sounded odd but Kurt put it down to jetlag. He was happy. His boyfriend was back to where he belonged; next to him.
Blaine dragged himself from his car. He was dreading the moment he knew he would shatter Kurt's heart. Blaine loved Kurt. He really did. He wasn't even sure how everything went out of control but he didn't believe in lies. He needed to confess to Kurt and hope that Kurt would understand. Life happened and sometimes it didn't go along with your plans. He hoped Kurt would understand.
The door was wrenched open before Blaine even touched the doorbell. Before he knew it he was engulfed in Kurt's arms and was being kissed passionately.
"God, I missed you sooooo much," mumbled Kurt as he slid his arms around Blaine.
"I missed you too," this of course, was not a lie. "Kurt, please can we sit down for a minute?" Blaine grabbed a hold of Kurt's hands and led him to the couch.
"Is something wrong?" asked Kurt. He was confused by Blaine's behavior.
"I'm not sure how or where to begin," stammered Blaine.
"Well, start at the beginning. You are starting to scare me Blaine. Is everything ok? Are your parents okay?" Maybe something had happened during their vacation.
"Ok. You know we went to Europe because my dad had some business in London."
"Yes, I know."
"Well, my dad's business partner had a son that is our age and they asked him to keep me company while our parents attended some of the business dinners. They figured I would be bored. Kurt, I'm not sure how to say this," Blaine stopped talking for a minute to gather his thoughts.
"Just say whatever it is you need to tell me," insisted Kurt. He slowly let Blaine's hands go and sat back a bit.
"We went out a couple of times with some of his friends to clubs all around London. I guess I had too much to drink one night and before I knew what happened I woke up next to him."
Kurt needed to hear him say the words. "What happened Blaine?"
"We hooked up, Kurt!" exclaimed Blaine teary eyed.
"Get out."
"Kurt, wait. It was just a one-time thing. It was the alcohol. I swear it didn't mean anything," Blaine desperately watched Kurt as he stood up. He walked to the door and silently opened it.
"I need you to leave. You are no longer mine."
Blaine slowly walked towards the door, "I'm sorry," he whispered and walked out the door.
Kurt slowly sank to the ground and cried. He didn't know how long he lay on the floor. He slowly got up and walked to his room. When his father came home he noticed that Kurt's door was closed. He knocked on the door and walked in. Kurt was asleep so Burt turned off the light and closed the door.
Chapter 4
School started and Kurt dreaded running into Blaine. He hadn't spoken to Blaine in the two weeks since they had broken up. Blaine tried to text him and called every day but Kurt just ignored all the attempts at communication. Life was black and white to Kurt. Blaine was no longer a part of his life and yet he couldn't get his brain to accept this fact.
Life went on. It was the week after Thanksgiving when Kurt saw Blaine's mother dropping off her car to be serviced. He saw his father speaking with her and wondered what they were talking about. He had just finished with an oil change and was writing up the bill when his dad and Mrs. Anderson walked into the office.
"I'll just pick up the car tomorrow. I actually need Blaine's car serviced. He is going out of town this weekend and I want to make sure his car is fine."
"How is Blaine?" asked Burt.
"He is doing fine. He is actually going to meet his new boyfriend's extended family next weekend for the first time," she must have realized Kurt was standing nearby as she awkwardly tried to finish the conversation. "Well, I have to run. It was nice seeing both of you."
Burt looked at Kurt, "Bud?"
"I'm fine dad. It's been over for a long time between us. I'm fine really," he smiled and walked out into the garage.
The next day, Mrs. Anderson dropped off Blaine's car as promised and Burt worked on it immediately. He didn't want to see his son's expression when he walked into the garage that afternoon and saw his ex-boyfriends car parked in the bay. Burt was getting ready to go home for the evening when he realized that Kurt had not shown up for work.
He got home just as Kurt was heading out the door. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"Artie and I are going to the movies. I forgot he had asked me to go tonight. Is that okay? He needed help with a film project that is due right after the holidays and I wasn't able to go into the shop today. I'm sorry I didn't call."
"No, that's fine. Go and have fun," Burt was glad Kurt hadn't been in to work after all so he didn't press the issue. He watched Kurt walk out the door and wished things had worked out between the boys. He really liked Blaine. He wasn't sure what had happened. Kurt wouldn't speak about Blaine and Burt finally let the issue drop when he saw how upset his son would get at the mention of his ex-boyfriend.
Chapter 5
Kurt was in school when he heard the news. Artie found him studying in the library after lunch. Ms. Pillsbury had broken the news to the Glee club and Artie knew he had to find Kurt before someone else told him the news.
"Kurt, I need to talk to you."
"Oh hey Artie, what's the matter? Do you need help getting through the snow in the quad?"
"No. I was in Glee Club and Ms. Pillsbury came in to talk to us."
"About?" Kurt had no interest in Glee Club but he knew that Artie really loved that class.
"She told us that there was an accident this weekend. Some cars lost control in the snow and there was a big pile-up on the freeway."
"Wow! I hadn't heard. Hopefully no one got hurt too badly," said Kurt.
"Kurt, someone did get hurt. Blaine was in one of the cars," he looked at Kurt hoping like hell that he didn't have to say the words. Kurt continued looking at him and he finally said it, "Blaine died. Ms. Pillsbury said that the investigators believe he lost control of the car in the snow and ice."
Kurt got up and walked out of the library. He ignored Artie calling his name. He drove home and walked up to his room. He sat on his bed and opened his nightstand. He grabbed the picture frame and slowly slid out the last picture he had taken of Blaine before he went to Europe. He pulled out his photo album and added the picture to the album.
"Mine," he whispered as he slowly fell asleep peacefully. Death had set his world back on track.
Later that evening Burt rushed into the house. The police had been at the shop asking about Blaine's car. Was it possible there was a mechanical issue with the car? Burt had assured them that he had personally worked on Blaine's car and that everything was in perfect condition. He had changed the oil and filters but the Anderson's were meticulous about keeping their cars in mint condition so a mechanical issue was certainly not the cause of the accident. And he had personally locked up the garage so there was no way anyone could have tampered with the car.
He rushed up to Kurt's room and saw Kurt holding the photo album in his arms. His tear stained face was sleeping peacefully. Burt turned off the lights and shut the door.