Disclaimer: Glee does not belong to me.
A/N: Hey-lo! Another angsty chappie for you! Enjoy! (Sorry it took a while, busy week!)
BTW: The title of this story is taken from KT Tunstall's Heal Over. It's a beautiful song, and you should listen to it. But read this first.
Finn Hudson isn't stupid. Sure, he thought he got his girlfriend pregnant from a hot tub and he doesn't exactly get the best grades in school, but he isn't dumb. He knows right from wrong and bad from good, even if his judgment isn't always exactly correct. And he knows Kurt. In fact, he knows a lot about Kurt, despite the fact that they've only been living together a short amount of time.
He knows that Kurt secretly likes it when people ruffle his hair- to an extent. He knows that Kurt only drinks weird coffee when he's out with friends; he drinks it black at home. Kurt loves bowties and hates getting his picture taken when he isn't ready. Kurt hates wearing a watch, and he loves suspenders. Kurt is strong, but vulnerable. Kurt is sarcastic and cold, but it's only because he feels that if he lets anyone in, they'll hurt him. He's complex, yet simple at the same time.
Finn knows that it's probably kind of creepy that he knows all of these things, little random things, but it's just something he's picked up from living with and hanging out with the boy. He wishes Kurt wouldn't cut himself off anymore, just let the feelings he'd hidden deep in his heart go wild and free.
But most of all, Finn knows that Kurt cares. He cares about his father, always worrying about his heart and his diet. He cares about Finn, always pressing to know about his relationships and giving helpful advice. He cares about his friends; Mercedes, Tina, Rachel, Quinn, Santana, Brittany hell, even Puck. He cares about New Directions, even though he lost to them at Regionals.
He cares about Blaine.
And that scares the hell out of Finn.
Breakfast is awkward, silent. Blaine doesn't eat; he just stares at his folded hands on his lap. Kurt steals worried glances at him, noticing the sad look on his face. Finn chows down, attempting to ignore the fact that the conversation is empty and quiet, when it's normally full of happy chatter and silly jokes. Burt looks worried too, and eyes Blaine carefully.
"Son, are you okay?" Blaine's head shoots up, eyes wide. Kurt looks surprised too; he'd grown accustomed to the silence.
"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." Blaine smiles tiredly, not quite reaching his eyes.
"Do you need to go to the hospital? Those bruises look like they kill. Are you sure he didn't break a rib or something?" Finn asks, noticing the blue and purple marks all over Blaine's tan skin. Blaine shakes his head.
"No, he never does anything more than bruises. A broken rib would cause suspicion." He says bitterly, and everyone is shocked into silence again. It's a few minutes before anyone speaks again, but Burt clears the silence.
"Well, we're gonna go to your house today. Get some of your stuff." Kurt looks surprised, but Burt ignores the glares being sent his way by both his son and his wife. Finn watches carefully, not wanting to open his mouth.
"What if he's there?" Blaine's voice is small, weak. He looks tired and weary. But mostly, he looks scared. Terrified at the thought of facing his father again.
"Then I'll kick his ass." Finn and Burt say at the same time, relaxing everyone. Well, everyone except Blaine. He knows that it probably would have to come to an end like that, and he's not sure if Finn and Burt would be able to beat his father.
"You'll be fine." Kurt assures, lacing his fingers with Blaine's. He notices his boyfriend's shaking hands, but he keeps quiet about it. He doesn't want to make him even more nervous.
It's four in the afternoon. Blaine's father should be at work. It'll be okay; Kurt, Blaine, Finn, and Burt will just go in and get some clothes and personal items. No big deal. They'll get the stuff and get out, not causing a big scene or any trouble. It'll be fine.
"I'm just scared." Blaine whispers, his hands shaking even more.
"I know." The conversation ends as they pull the car up to Blaine's house. It's not a mansion, but it's definitely bigger than Kurt's house. They step out, making a path through the fallen snow.
The sky is cloudy, letting little light shine out onto the street. A light breeze rolls, making Finn pull his jacket tighter around his torso. The snow is thick, clumping on his shoes and making them heavy. He looks up at the house.
It looks cold, lonely. It's a plain white, and the front porch holds only a single chair and a potted plant. The door is brown, without a doorbell. The windows are dark, curtains shutting the world out. They knock, waiting for the sound of footsteps. When none come, Blaine slowly pushes the door open.
It's silent. The foyer is simple, a few pairs of shoes sitting on a rug to the right. Finn notices that none of them look small enough for Blaine, but dismisses the observation. Blaine doesn't remove his shoes, so it must be a habit.
The rest of the house isn't quite as orderly. They enter a hall, fading on the walls showing that pictures used to be there. Finn notices Blaine's confused look, and he gets a little confused too. The walls must not have been bare last night. They walk down the hall, Blaine leading the pack. He takes a right, and they end up in a large living room. The couch is brown leather, and there's a large rip in the side. The overturned coffee table is lying in the middle of the room, a reminder of something bad. The room is simple, much like the rest of the house.
"Blaine, what's this?" Burt asks, his voice almost echoing through the empty house. He holds up a picture frame, and Blaine lets out a small gasp. Finn moves to get closer, wanting to see what the frame held.
It's an old photo, that's for sure. The sides are yellowed, and there's a small area of the corner missing. The woman in the photo is smiling, looking down at the two smalls boys she holds. Her curly hair falls over her shoulders, framing her face. The boys look like her, one taller than the other, presumably older. One of the boys isn't looking at the camera, instead choosing to beam at the woman. He has the same dark, curly hair, caramel eyes, and wide smile as the woman. Finn looks at the other boy, and notices something strange.
The other boy's smiling face has been cut out, leaving a hole in the middle of the picture. And then it dawns on Finn. This is Blaine's mother, and the face cut out of the picture is Blaine himself. Finn's heart breaks with a sickening crack.
"That is-was- a picture of my mother, my brother, and me. I guess he decided it looked better without me." Blaine's voice cracks, and the tears that pour down his cheeks fall to the floor silently.
"I didn't know you had a brother." Kurt comments, and Blaine smiles and wipes away his tears.
"You would have loved him. His name was Danny. He loved music, and he was an amazing artist." Blaine smiles at Kurt again, and Finn notices that this time it's genuine. "He, uh, he died with my mom."
Burt sets the photo down, and leaves the room. This confuses Finn, because Blaine was in the middle of a story and that's really rude. He follows the man, watching Kurt engulf Blaine in a hug as the shorter boy begins to cry again.
He finds Burt in an empty room. Like, actually empty. The walls shows have nails and pieces of tape on them, small edges of paper still stuck to them. There's a bare bed in the corner, stripped of its sheets. The closet door is wide open, also empty.
Burt is crying. Shoulder shaking sobs that Finn has never seen come out of this man before. But they are now, and it scares Finn. He knows that Burt definitely is not a crier, and here he is, in an empty room in an equally empty house, sobbing his eyes out.
"Burt, are you okay?" Finn voice startles himself, the words coming out louder than he had planned.
"I'm okay." Burt collects himself, wiping the tears from his eyes and straightening his shirt. Finn's not convinced, but he lets Burt believe that he is.
"Alright." Burt sighs, and looks around the room.
"Whose room do you think this is?" Finn shrugs, thinking it's probably just a spare room and they should go try to find Blaine's room to get his stuff. He hears the padding of feet down the hallway, and he turns to the door as Blaine walks in.
"Kurt's gonna-" Blaine starts, but his voice is cut off as he stops dead in his tracks in the doorway. He shakes his hand, covering his mouth.
"What's wrong?" Kurt says from the hallway, coming to a stop in front of the empty room. Blaine's entire body is shaking, his breathing becoming short and erratic. He turns and runs out of the doorway, sprinting down the hall. Kurt and Finn quickly run out as well, following Blaine into a small bathroom. Blaine is kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet, dry heaving into it. Tears run down his face, and his back shakes.
Kurt kneels down next to him, rubbing his back calmingly. Finn doesn't know what to do, so he grabs a towel and throws it into the sink, letting the water soak into it. He takes it and wrings it out before handing it to his brother. Kurt takes it and presses it to Blaine's forehead, mumbling words into his ear. Blaine stops dry heaving, letting his body sink back onto the floor. Kurt props the boy onto his chest, leaning against the tub. He holds onto Blaine tightly, rocking back and forth slowly.
"He emptied my room. He got rid of all my stuff. He officially kicked me out." Blaine's voice is hoarse, and the tears that run down his cheeks clog it. "I didn't think he was serious. I didn't think it was permanent." He shakes his head again, and if Finn's heart hadn't already shattered into a million pieces, it would have broken all over again at the sight of this broken boy.
"Let's just go home."
"Blaine, why don't you go take a nap. You look dead tired." Carole urges, and Blaine complies. He slowly ambles up the stairs, Kurt following behind. Carole waits until the boys have gotten all the way up before turning to her son and husband. "What happened?"
Finn looks at the ground, hoping that Burt will take the explanation for this one. He waits, but Burt doesn't say anything. He cast his eyes up, and sees that Burt has started to cry again.
"That poor kid," He stutters uncharacteristically. "His mother and brother are dead and his father emptied out his damn room. That bastard blames the boy for the death of his family, and it tears Blaine apart. I know what Kurt was like after his mother died, and I don't want any other kids to ever go through that like he did. And not only did Blaine lose a mother, he lost an older brother. I don't know how that kid does it.
"His father is a complete jackass. He took down all the pictures in the halls, cutting Blaine's little face out of all of them. He took Blaine's stuff, Carole. He threw it out. He doesn't care that Blaine's his son, he hates him anyway.
"Blaine is an amazing kid. He's smart, funny, talented, and has such a loving heart. And his father stomps all over him. Just because he's gay! And I thought I was a heartless bastard because I though it was a little strange at first. This man beats his son. His own son. And I can't believe how anyone could do that to a kid. To their son. To anyone." Burt takes a shuddering breath, leaning against the wall.
Carole is crying now too, pulling her husband in for a tight hug. Finn can't help the tears that prick at his own eyes, and he finds himself running off to his room.
He slams the door and flops down on his bed. He groans, trying to work through the confusion in his head. He stays laying there for a long time, trying to sort through all the emotions and thoughts in his head before finally coming to a consensus.
He's going to help Blaine. No matter what it takes. He's going to protect the kid, always helping him. He needs to do this, for himself and Blaine and Kurt. He needs to show that he is a good brother, and he needs to make sure that Blaine's father will never do anything to him again.
Because Kurt's his little brother. He loves Kurt, and Kurt loves Blaine. So that means Finn loves him too. And Blaine needs people to show that they love him.
So that's what Finn's going to do.
A/N: So, there you are. Sorry it's so short, I have more planned out for the next chapter and this one is kind of a lead-up. Kind of. *leshrug*
BTW: Somewhere Only We Know? I cried the first time I heard it. I've had it downloaded since Sunday night and guess how many times I've listened to it. 77. Kinda a new record for me.
It's so amazing! I love it so much! And it's such a beautiful song, and I hope the scene that accompanies it is as equally beautiful. Because Kurt deserves it.
lessthanthree,
Max
