The throbbing headache Blaine has when he wakes up isn't entirely unexpected, but that doesn't make it any less awful. Moaning, he forces himself out of bed around noon, lumbering through their long hall until he reaches the living room, where Santana is sitting on the couch with a mug in her head. Tendrils of steam float up from the contents inside and Blaine can smell coffee on the air.
"Good morning, Starshine. Thought you were gonna sleep the whole day away. I was excited," she adds before holding out the mug. "For you, because hungover you is probably the worst fucking thing on earth."
Blaine doesn't know why he just blurts it out, but as he reaches out to take the mug from Santana the words spill out of his mouth in an unexpected rush. "My dad died."
The words hang between them for a few moments, and Blaine wishes that he could snatch them back.
"Dude," Santana says, which means she's at a loss for words. It's a rare occurrence, and if Blaine wasn't so hung over, and if his dad wasn't so dead, he'd be rather proud of himself. "When did this happen?"
"Two..three days ago," Blaine tells her, sitting down in the armchair closest to him. He stares at the coffee in his hands as it threatens to slosh over the sides of the mug, his brows furrowed. "I got a call last night. Someone said she was my sister," he adds, looking up in time to catch Santana arch one brow in surprise.
"You believed her?"
"It wasn't a prank call," he snaps in his own defense, bringing one hand to run it nervously through his hair. "I just...I know she was telling the truth. You know how you can just tell sometimes?"
"Yeah, I do," Santana murmurs, lapsing into a long enough silence that Blaine can take a sip of the bitter drink in his hands. "So, I'm guessing there's a funeral. You gonna go?"
"I don't know," Blaine says honestly. "I said yes, on the phone, but I was drunk and I just...God, he didn't tell me he had a second family. I mean, I know he cheated on my mom. But he never said he had kids, never thought it'd be important to tell me," he adds, letting out a harsh laugh.
"Well, there's no excuse for that. If your dad wasn't dead I'd offer to fuck him up for being such a jackass to you. But, you should go," Santana's voice is surprisingly serious. Blaine wonders if he's caught her in one of her moods.
He sighs, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know if I can."
"You got invited, you've got some money he gives you stored away. Don't even deny it, asshole, I know things," Santana adds before Blaine can interject. "Look, man, you're dad was a jackass. But, you should go. Get some closure or something. Or, you know, at least meet your sister."
"How much of a sister is she really? I mean, we're only related by blood. I didn't even know her name until last night, and I can't remember it now," Blaine tells her, but Santana just shrugs.
"So what. I didn't meet my sister until we were nine. But, you know she exists, so do you really want to walk around wondering about her? Don't you wanna know what she's like?" Santana asks, letting her question sink in before she stands. "I'm not gonna pressure you. This is your choice, and as long as you remain about as mentally stable as you are now, I'm cool with whatever you decide. But, you know me. Gotta make your shit a little more difficult, keep life fun."
Blaine snorts, looking up at his friend. "Yeah, thanks, Santana."
"Anytime," she flashes him a grin. "Now, I've gotta go catch a ride if I wanna get my ass to work on time. You take a shower, Stinkass. We just bought this furniture, we don't need it smelling like you," she says, pointing threateningly at him before exiting the apartment, door shutting quietly behind her.
Looking away from the door, Blaine stares out the window, biting on his lower lip. He knows that he should go, as his father's son. But is it really his father? All correspondences he has ever had with the man are spread out on his bedroom floor in the forms of shitty cards picked up from dollar stores across the country. He never had a father, not really. What he had was a broken bastard lingering behind him, reaching out long enough to shake up his world before disappearing into the shadows again.
Blaine knows that the man he will watch be buried if he goes will just be a stranger, nothing significant.
Still, he has family waiting for him. Or a sister, at least. He's fine with holding grudges against a man that did nothing to earn any respect from him, but his sister (God, he should really try to remember her name again) wasn't responsible for any of that.
And despite the feelings of uncertainty tumbling around inside, Blaine knows he wants to meet her.