Author's Note: I do not own Glee. I do own Mr Johnson, but actually I don't want neither him nor his awful dog. Also for this chapter I borrowed the awesome and just sooo cute Reed of CP Coulter's "Dalton", I hope you don't mind, but I simply couldn't resist.
Thank you sooo much to all of you who put my story to your favourites and/or on alert. This really means a lot to me!
Please, please take a second to review, let me know what you think! I'm also happy for suggestions and prompts as I'm not sure myself where all of this is heading. I have a couple of ideas, but not sure in which direction I should go. At least, I know where Blaine is, and he will show up soon. Well, maybe not too soon, but eventually in a few chapters ;-) Until then please have patience, even though poor Kurt hasn't.
xxx xxx
"I think he's waking up. Kurt? Kid, can you hear me?"
As he woke up, his vision was blurred, but he recognized the face of his father hovering over him and he felt his dads hand holding his own tight.
"I'm right here with you, Kurt, you're gonna be alright, you hear me? You're safe now."
Kurt tried to get his thoughts together, but everything inside his head was a mess. There was just one question above all that burned him up. He tried to talk, but his throat was sore.
"Easy, son. What is it?"
Kurt swallowed and concentrated hard on getting the words out. It wasn't more than a whisper, but his father heard him anyway.
"How's Blaine? Is he okay?"
"Blaine? He wasn't with you, remember? You were alone. And damn Finn for that! You were supposed to leave together!"
Now Kurt remembered the party at Rachel's and how Blaine was supposed to be there with him, but hadn't shown up, hadn't even called. There was a flash of the concerned look on Mercedes' face as he had left and how he had given her an assuring smile, another flash of thinking about Rachel's fathers and of singing Misery while driving home and then ... just blackness. He knew something terrifying had happened, but he couldn't grasp it. It was as if his mind didn't want to.
"What happened?" Kurt noticed how his dad hesitated before answering.
"We found you on the front steps two nights back. You ... have been attacked", Burt answered with strain in his voice. "There is a police officer with me. We were hoping you could tell us who did this to you."
"Hello Kurt, my name is Marc Williams. It is very important that you tell us everything you remember. Did you see who attacked you?"
Now it all came back to him. The hard punch in the stomach and then in his face, the confusion and fear, how helpless he had felt and the way it had been hard to breathe, how he had waited for it all to be over. He didn't notice how hard he suddenly clenched his dads hand until Burt patted it with his other hand and looked at him in concern. "It's okay, son, it's alright", Burt said softly, clearly in an attempt to comfort him, even though he knew nothing was okay or alright.
"Did you see who attacked you?" Mr Williams repeated his question.
Kurt shook his head slowly. He tried to stay calm on the outside while his heart was bolting inside his chest like a panicked rabbit. "I looked for my keys in my bag while I went up to the front door. When I looked up there was a man standing, he must have hidden behind the bushes..."
"Can you describe the man?"
"He was big, bigger than Finn..."
"Did you see his face?"
"No, before I could take a look at him, he'd punched me and I was ... I didn't … I just couldn't do anything." Before he could hold them back tears were streaming down his cheeks, but his father instantly wiped them away gently with his thumb. "It's okay, Kurt, don't overstrain yourself", Burt tried to calm him down. "I guess we're done here, officer. My son needs rest. We'll contact you as soon as he remembers anything else."
"Alright Mr Hummel. This is my card. Call me anytime. But it doesn't look good. It's unlikely we'll find the guy who attacked your son with as little information as we have here and ..."
"He said my name", Kurt interrupted quietly and both men looked up sharply.
"What did you just say, Kurt?"
"When I reached for the door, I heard someone say my name. That was why I looked up, I didn't notice him standing there before."
"Did he say anything else?" Mr Williams inquired.
"No, nothing else, not a word. But", Kurt took a shaky breath as he remembered, "I guess I heard him pull out a spray. He sprayed something on the door or the wall." Kurt looked to his father in concern. "What did he write?"
Burt shook his head slowly. "Don't worry about it. It was just daub. No words."
Burt shared a look with the police officer who knew he was lying to his son. But he simply couldn't tell Kurt about the words on their front door, two words he would never be able to forget every time he stepped through that door: DIE FAG!
He wouldn't tell Kurt about the hot tears of rage and despair he'd shed while he had scrubbed the wooden door with sandpaper and then painted it over until the abusive words were no longer visible.
He wouldn't tell him how he had been beside himself with rage when Finn had first showed up in hospital, how he had screamed at the boy for letting Kurt leave on his own and, hell, how he had felt guilty afterwards. After all, it wasn't Finn's fault that the world was as cruel as it was.
Burt pressed a kiss on Kurt's right temple, as the left side of his face was bruised. "I love you, son. Now rest. I'll be here, when you wake up."
xxx xxx
Finn was pacing the hospital halls up and down, he just couldn't sit down and keep still. Kurt was in here for two days now and he hadn't had a chance to see and talk to him yet. Burt and his mom told him that Kurt was asleep most of the time mainly because of the meds he was given, so his mind and body could rest and he would not ponder about what had happened all the time. Also with his injuries he wasn't allowed to get up yet anyway.
Finn had missed the first day of school today. He was still too shaken by what had happened and hadn't slept at all. Although his mother had assured him it wasn't his fault and even Burt had apologised to him for his outburst, he still felt guilty as hell. How could he stand in front of his friends, who all cared so much about Kurt, especially Mercedes, and tell them what had happened and why he hadn't been there?
The angry words Burt had screamed at him still echoed loudly in his ears. "Where have you been? Where the hell have you been?"
Right. Where had he been? Lingering on his girlfriends party for what? Watching how one half of his friends got wasted and the other half of them bored to death until Rachel had announced it was time for them to go. And then he hadn't even gotten the chance to make out with Rachel, but was given a plastic bag to help her cleaning up. For a person so emotional and romantic in song, Rachel could be all businesslike in real life. After all the work had been done, he'd hoped for a cuddle session at least, but all he'd gotten from Rachel was a ride home, a sweet goodnight kiss and the sexiest smile with the remark: "Now you better get some sleep. Dream of me, will you?" This girl really knew how to drive a man crazy.
When he'd stepped up to the front door of their house, he had been weary, but not tired enough to not notice the words sprayed in red on the door. "What the …?" He had stumbled backwards in surprise and not really been able to take the message in for a few seconds. All he had thought about was how to get these words off the door before Kurt could see them. Then he had realized that Kurt must be home already. Just then his mother had opened the door, drenched in tears. "There you are, Finn! I've tried to call you but your phone is off. Are you sober? Good, then let's drive to the hospital at once. I've just waited for you to come home."
"Wait, mom! Hospital? Why? What happened?"
It seemed he always was anywhere but on the right spot when Kurt needed help. This wasn't the first time he had failed to look out for him, but definitely the worst time. He had spend the last couple of days remembering all those countless times he had let Kurt down ever since they were glee club fellows.
Yeah, Kurt had always been apparently different, being obsessed with clothes and show tunes, even at the beginning when he wouldn't admit to be gay yet. His otherness had made him an easy target for guys like Karofsky and, back in the days, Noah Puckerman.
Finn had never stopped Puck and the gang from grabbing Kurt and tossing him into the dumpster, which had happened almost every day. He hadn't liked it, but he had stood by and watched. The only thing he did for Kurt then was holding his jacket, which the strange little boy didn't want stained or damaged. To tell the truth, he had been impressed by Kurt back then, when the boy had refused to let them get to him, when he'd been telling them, they'd be working for him someday. No matter how often he got thrown into that damned dumpster, he would get out of it more fabulous than he went in, his nose even higher, his attitude even more superior than before.
Kurt used to have this wall around him, not allowing anybody to actually approach him. That wall had been up until he had joined the new glee club. Among his glee club fellows he had slowly warmed up and began to show who he really was. He was a caring person, even if he could be bitchy at times. But apart from his diva moments, he definitely was a team player and he would always take one for the team.
Actually, he even had taken a slushy in the face for him. Back then Finn had been twisted between his football buddies and his friends from New Directions. He had been so immature and a complete idiot. His football mates had told him to throw a slushy into Kurts face or else they'd kick the crap out of him. And there he had been standing in front of Kurt with the ice cold slushy in his hand, but he simply couldn't do it. This was not who he was. He didn't want to harm people and he didn't want to insult his glee club friends, but if he wanted to stay on the football team, he had to.
"This is called taking one for the team", Kurt had announced and the moment Kurt took that slushy out of his hands and threw it into his own face, Finn had truly been impressed by this act of selflessness and sheer craziness. "Now take some time to think about whether or not any of your friends in the football team would have done this for you." Yes, he remembered word for word of what Kurt had said to him that day, because it had left Finn feeling like a fool.
Why did he care so much about what those jock idiots said? Why was it so hard to stand up against them? Even at the time when Karofsky had started harassing Kurt, Finn still didn't have the balls to confront the guy, because he was scared to be the next in line. He had wanted to safe his own ass, because let's face it, who wanted to be at the receiving end of a thrown slushy or worse?
Now he was ashamed of what a coward he'd been all this time. When their parents had married, he had promised Kurt to have his back and to protect him no matter what and he had meant it. Sure, he couldn't have foreseen that Kurt would be the victim of such an act of violence that night. But he should at least have suspected it, because no matter the circumstances, a kid like Kurt would always be a victim. He was just too little and fragile to stand up against an attack of that kind and unfortunately there were too many freaks out there to happily throw a punch in his direction.
Finn walked up to the nurse, who just came out of Kurt's room and looked at her expectantly. She smiled kindly at him. "You can talk to your brother now, but not for long. He just got his medication and he needs to rest."
"Okay, thanks." Finn entered the room, feeling more than a bit awkward, not sure how to approach his stepbrother. "Hey there", he said with a soft voice and slowly moved closer to the bed.
"Hey yourself", Kurt replied with a weak voice and turned to look at him. Finn had been warned that Kurt's face was bruised, but he hadn't imagined it to be this bad. The left half of his face was covered up with band-aid, but not enough to hide away the sight of how his skin had turned violet. Finn tried not to look shocked or repulsive. Not knowing what to say he said the first thing that came to his mind.
"So, how are you?" Finn immediately bit his lips and wanted to slap himself. "Uhm, sorry, stupid question."
"Hell, yeah, I've felt better", Kurt said with a faint smile.
Finn sat down in the chair next to Kurts bed. "Listen, I'm really, really sorry, Kurt. I should have left with you. I shouldn't have let you go on your own. Even when you said you'd be okay, I should've insisted."
"It's not your fault, Finn." Kurt could see that his stepbrother felt responsible nevertheless. So he smiled at Finn, trying to cheer him up a little. "You know, I will never forget the day you came and rescued me from Karofsky all dressed up in a glaring red shower curtain. I just thought, oh my god, this is my hero! Not in the slightest ashamed to wear an awful outfit to come to my aid."
"Oh yeah, hell, I was ashamed I can tell you!"
They both laughed at the memory, but then Kurt winced at the sudden fierce pain in his chest and suddenly it was hard to breathe.
"Hey, you okay?" Finn stood up and came closer. "Does it hurt?"
Kurt nodded, trying to steady his breathing.
"Should I get the nurse?" Finn sounded anxious.
"No", Kurt whispered. "Just stay with me for a sec."
He closed his eyes as he tried to regain control over his breathing abilities. Funny how you never appreciate your body functions until they give you a hard time. Kurt never would have thought breathing could be such a challenge.
Finn watched him with clear sorrow on his face. He felt helpless and awful. Not knowing what else to do to help, he took Kurts hand and squeezed it assuringly. Kurt opened his eyes in surprise and Finn smiled down at him. "You know, I just wish I could've been your hero two nights back, red shower curtain or no."
"No time for regrets, Finn", Kurt said under his breath and squeezed his hand back.
After a moment Kurt's breathing was back to normal again and he visibly relaxed.
"Have you heard something from Blaine?"
"Uh, no. I have tried to call him, but it seems he has a new phone or something. The number I have is no longer available. But Burt has called your school, so I guess your friends at Dalton should know what happened by now."
"When you talk to Blaine, please tell him I need to see him, okay?"
"Sure, no problem. I will tell him. How about someone else? Mercedes and the others might want to pay you a visit."
"No, I don't want them to see me like this. I know Mercedes would bawl her eyes out and I …", Kurt's voice trailed off and suddenly his eyes got heavy. "Gosh, I don't know what those pills were they gave me", he muttered, "but I feel so ..." He was asleep before he could finish the sentence. Finn hoped dearly what Kurt meant to say was peaceful, because anything else would be just unfair.
xxx xxx
"He has a serious concussion, two broken ribs and several ugly bruises, also in the face", Finn tried to sound matter-of-factly as he told his friends from New Directions about Kurts current state, but everyone could see how upset he really was.
"He was hit in the face?" Rachel exclaimed with pure shock of that kind of violence. She sat next to her boyfriend and held his hand tight. Now she looked desperate around at their friends. "Who would do this to him?"
Mercedes and Tina were holding hands and weeping, their faces red and tear-stained. Brittany was close to tears, too, and bit her nails.
"Yeah, who did this to him?", Puck inquired with clenched fists. "Just say a name and I'll be on my way with my baseball bat and an unstoppable fury!"
Finn blinked, surprised by Pucks offer. About a year ago Puck had been one of the guys in lead to shove Kurt into lockers and toss him into the dumpster. Today he was the first in line to start a fight in Kurt's defence. It seemed glee club had an influence after all.
"Kurt doesn't know who did this to him. But it was definitely someone who hates gays", Finn now told them. "The guy sprayed something at our door that says so much." Finn bit his lips and hurried to say: "But please don't ever tell Kurt about it, all of you! Burt made me swear not to tell him. There is no need to upset Kurt more than he already is about this."
His friends solemnly promised not to tell Kurt. Mercedes shook her head in disbelief and wiped at her eyes as even more tears were streaming down her face. "Can we go and see him in hospital?"
Finn made a face. "No, not right now. Sorry, but Kurt doesn't want to see anyone, at least, until he feels better."
"I just can't imagine anyone hating him that much", Artie now said with a frown. "Except maybe..."
"Yeah, Karofsky. It sounds just like what he'd do to him", Sam confirmed Arties thought.
"It wasn't Karofsky", Finn said with a helpless sigh. "Kurt didn't see the guys face, but he could say was that it was a tall white man, no teenager."
"He went to Dalton to run from bullying and then he is beaten up right on his doorstep? I've never heard of something like that happening in Lima before", Artie shook his head. "I just don't get it."
"People like Karofsky don't need a reason to beat someone up. They do it for fun. And being gay makes Kurt an attractive target", Santana said dryly. "Get this: Some guy coming from a New Year's Party, drunk, aggressive, and there Kurt walks by, all alone, no one else is on the street. Who could resist an opportunity to start the new year by beating some gay dude up?"
"No, something's wrong here", Finn shook his head. "It was no stranger. Kurt said the guy was waiting for him, hiding in the bushes next to our door, and he said Kurts name."
"Okay, so it definitely wasn't Karofsky, because Kurt would have recognised his voice", Rachel said, "and Karofsky wouldn't have asked if his name was Kurt Hummel."
Santana narrowed her eyes. "But, are you saying, someone might have sent that guy to your house on purpose? Maybe even paid him to beat Kurt up? Who'd do that? Who would make such an effort to get to Kurt?"
"So it could have been Karofsky after all!" Puck punched his fist into his hand. "He sent one of his buddies, someone who's not from our school."
"But since Kurt left McKinley, Karofsky's done with him. What reason could he still have to harass him?", Rachel asked.
"Well, no matter what reasons he has, at least Karofsky knew Kurt would spend New Year's with us at your place", Artie said with a low voice.
"How would he have known?", Finn inquired stunned.
"Well, actually, he asked", Sam admitted guiltily. "The day before Christmas break he overheard Artie and me talking about the party and asked in his sneering way if Kurt would be spending the night with the other gays of the gay school and we told him, no, Kurt would be with us."
"So he knew Kurt would definitely be in town", Artie reasoned.
"This reminds me", Mercedes held her hand up to get attention. "I was telling Tina about how I went shopping with Kurt a few weeks back and suddenly Karofsky was standing behind us, having overheard our conversation and making silly comments."
"Yeah, right", Tina chimed in. "And he wanted to know what kind of fancy clothes Kurt had bought for himself."
"Wait. Karofsky asked for Kurts clothes?" Finn sounded incredible.
"Karofsky came to me yesterday and asked me about Rachel's party", Brittany now told them. "I told him it sucked. Then he asked me if Kurt had dressed up like a peacock again and I told him no, and he asked me to I describe Kurt's clothes to him, so I told him that Kurt had looked rather hot and it was a waste that he was gay, but then the goodlooking men always are gay, right?"
Everybody was staring at Brittany now.
"It's true, you know", Brittany went on. "Because gay guys know how to use the magic comb, but they won't tell anyone else. It's a secret. Right, Artie?"
"Ladies and gentlemen, will you please excuse me", Puck now said with a freaking creepy smile on his lips. "My baseball bat and me have an appointment with Karofsky."
"No, wait", Finn stopped him. "I'll have a word with him. If he has anything to do with what happened to Kurt, I will find out."
"We can back you up", Sam offered. "In case he refuses to cooperate."
"I'm not afraid of him!", Finn told them. "If he has messed with Kurt, he should be afraid of me!"
He headed out of the room, but turned again to address Mercedes: "Could you please try to contact Blaine, Mercedes? Maybe write him an e-mail? 'Cause the number I have is no longer available. And Kurt is worried, because he hasn't called yet."
"You mean, he still hasn't called Kurt?" Mercedes was stunned by this news. "Does he know what happened to him?"
Finn shrugged. "Burt has informed Dalton, but I dunno if the teachers tell the students why one of them is missing."
xxx xxx
When Burt returned home from another visit in the hospital, he looked over at the only house in the neighborhood he hadn't been yet. It was the one right across the street and that was most likely to have witnessed anything.
He had asked the police officer if he would go from door to door and ask if someone had seen something. When Mr Williams had answered that the police would just ask for witnesses via the local news, Burt had taken it on himself to pay each of his neighbors a visit. By now he had talked to anyone living in the street, but apparently all his neighbors had spend New Year's Eve either fast asleep or at the park festival, where he had been with Carole, too. No one has seen a tall stranger or a strange car in the street that night.
He saw that Mr Johnsons car was in the driveway, home at last, so Burt took the opportunity and hurried over the street and up onto the porch of the house. He rang the doorbell and instantly the black little but very noisy dog started barking in an aggressive way behind the door. He stepped back as Mr Johnson opened the door, holding his dog at the collar. "Ah, Mr Hummel, right?"
"Yes. Sorry to disturb you, Mr Johnson. Could I please talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure." The old man stepped outside and shoved his dog inside the house, closing the door in the nose of the dog, that was still barking crazily. "What can I do for you?"
"I don't know if you heard yet. My son had been attacked on New Year's Eve between midnight and one o'clock right in front of our house and I wondered if you had seen anybody ..."
"Your son?" Mr Johnson asked and sounded a bit confused. "Well, I heard in the news that a seventeen year old boy was attacked and hurt severly in our street, however it didn't occur to me they were talking about that little fag living in your house. But now it actually makes sense."
Burt looked at him stunned, not sure if he had heard right, while he felt his heart beating faster. No, he definitely hadn't imagined the insulting way Mr Johnson had just called his son a fag.
"So, you're saying that kid of yours got beaten up? No, haven't seen nothing, but if so, I might've applauded. Some people just deserve a good punch. And to tell the truth, I don't like that nose of your kid very much."
Burt was clenching his fists by now and inhaled deeply to calm himself and not respond with violence to the provoking way that man talked to him. "Nobody deserves to be beaten up. And we're talking about a grown-up man attacking my kid for no reason. My son has two broken ribs and he's..."
"Come on, broken bones? Back in the days I got my bones crushed in a football game and I was a hero. Those were injuries one was proud of. But then, you gotta be a real man to be able to stand up again and shake it off. I like to tell anyone how I'd gotten my bones crushed and won the game for my team. It's one of my best stories."
"But this is no game, Mr Johnson."
"You know what? You're right! This is not a game, this is how the world works, but obviously your kid lives in another dimension. You saying your kid's not old enough to receive a punch? But old enough to show the world what a fancy fag he is? If you really cared for your son, you would've beaten the gay out of him a long time ago. Best to learn the lesson from his own father than from a stranger, right? But I bet you're the kind of daddy who never raises a hand against their child, so they get the illusion they can walk about and do whatever they want without consequences."
Burt swallowed hard, before he replied to this speech of hatred. "Yes, my son is gay, and I won't tell you what a wonderful person he is, 'cause clearly my words would be lost on you. Do you have children? Because if you had, you wouldn't talk like this."
"If I had children, I wouldn't allow them to leave the house dressed up like a drag queen and stuck their nose so high in the air."
"You better watch your mouth, Mr Johnson, before you say something you might regret", Burt now growled at him.
"No, actually I haven't even started, Mr Hummel. Ever since you've moved into that house, that little fag's a pain for my eyes. I cannot sit peacefully on my front porch anymore without having to look at all those gays coming in and out of your house. It's disgusting."
"Just so you know, we live in a free country. If you cannot tolerate people who are different than you, I feel sorry for you. You are free to think of my family whatever you like. But", at this Burt raised his fist and glowered at the man, "if you should ever speak to my son and insult him, no matter how or why, I will be right back and give you another story to tell about some kid's furious father who broke your nose."
"Are you threatening me?", Mr Johnson asked with a challenging edge in his voice.
"Yes, indeed I am. Just keep your filthy mouth shut when my son is around and we'll get along."
xxx xxx
"What's wrong?" Carole asked the instant Burt entered the house and shut the door with a deafening bang.
"Don't ever speak a word again to that moron living across the street", Burt told her. "He's a worst case of homophobe! Just told me he'd have cheered if he had seen Kurt being beaten up!"
"No", Carole exclaimed. "That Mr Johnson? He seemed so nice when we moved in. He even helped me carrying some boxes."
"Well, carrying boxes can't make up to abusing a kid. You should've heard what he said about Kurt. He doesn't even know him, he just went on about Kurts clothes and made it sound like Kurt was a drag queen. I mean, sure, I know I'm used to Kurts outfits by now, and even though some of them are quite extraordinary none of them are this bad."
"Hush, baby." Carole stroked his arm. "I know it's hard, but just forget about whatever he said. We've got more important things to take care of now. Tell me, what did the doctor say today?"
"Kurt can come home by tomorrow." With a sigh he sat down on the couch.
"This is finally good news." Carole rubbed his back as she sat down next to him.
"He isn't well, though", Burt added with a frown. "I don't know if it's the meds, but when he's awake he's confused and moody."
"That is just normal. You can't expect him to be himself again after a couple of days. He didn't have time yet to cope with what happened at all."
Burt shook his head and rubbed his face, looking tired and exhausted. "He was all upset today when I came in. About that bracelet Blaine gave him."
And he told her.
Kurt was up and rummaged in the closet when Burt stepped into the room. "Hey kiddo, what are you doing up? You shouldn't be out of bed."
"Where is my bracelet?" Kurt had a wild look in his eyes as he turned to his father. "My bracelet is gone, dad, I can't find it anywhere!"
"Calm down, I have it here…" Burt fingered his shirt pocket and got the golden bracelet out.
"Why did you take it from me?" Kurt sounded angry, a tired kind of angry, and swayed over to him on bare feet.
"I didn't. The doctors did when you were treated. They gave me all properties you had on you."
"But now I can have it back, right?" Kurt held out an inquiring hand. Burt gave it to him with a concerned look. Kurt took the golden thing and inspected it as if expecting a piece of it to be missing.
"Now lay down again, will ya? You really shouldn't be up." He tried to usher his son back to bed, but Kurt resisted and looked at him with pleading eyes.
"I want to go home, dad. I feel much better already. Please, must I really stay here any longer? It's just, I don't feel ... safe." The last word came out as a whisper. For a moment they just stared at each other and Burt had to resist the overwhelming urge to pull Kurt into a tight hug and take him home at once. But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't do either thing. With his broken ribs a hug would be hurtful instead of comforting and the doctor who treated Kurt had made it very clear that the boy should be under medical observation for at least one or two days longer.
"You don't need to worry, Kurt", Burt tried to assure him. "No one can walk in without the nurse noticing. Also the staff has instructions to not tell anyone your room number without contacting me first."
"Yeah, right, no need to worry", Kurt replied sarcastically while his eyes showed his disappointment. "Who would possibly attack someone in a hospital? Well, who would attack someone right on their doorsteps for that matter? No need to take me home. I'm sorry to be such a bother for you."
"Kurt, come on! You know, you're not a bother to me! I'll take you home as soon as the doctor says you're ..."
Just then Kurts knees gave away and he practically fell into his fathers arms. "Steady, there." Burt caught him and directed him back to bed, making him lay down and wanting to call for the nurse, but Kurt held him back. "I'm fine, dad, just a bit weak on my legs from staying in bed all the time. You know, I can lie in bed at home, too."
"I just want what's best for you, you know that, don't you?", Burt said with a sigh.
Kurt nodded at this, but his eyes were so sad it nearly broke Burts heart. Then Kurt lifted his hand and opened it. In his palm lay the golden bracelet. "Can you help me put it on again? I want to wear it in case Blaine comes to see me."
"Sure, give me your hand." Although it took some time until he had closed that tiny lock with his thick fingers, at least this was something he could do for his son. "Before I forget, a friend of yours from Dalton has called and is on his way to see you."
"Who is it?" Kurt asked, although he knew it couldn't be Blaine, because his dad wouldn't have called Blaine simply "a friend of his".
"Someone called Reed?"
"Oh, yeah, he's my roomie. Why didn't you tell him he shouldn't come all the way to see me?"
"I did, actually, but he said he was on his way already. It is okay that I answer your phone, right?"
Kurt nodded. He wasn't allowed to have his phone in hospital, but he didn't want to speak to anyone yet anyway. Talking to Reed would be okay. However ... "Dad, could you make sure Reed's okay, when he arrives at the parking lot? You know, the underground garage of the hospital can be really scary and ... well ... Reed's gay, too. Well, undetermined at the time being, but the tendency goes to positive, I guess."
"Sure, no problem", Burt replied, trying to sound casual, as if escorting a gay teenager had not all of a sudden become a necessity. He made sure not to show it, but he shared the same fearful feelings. He had asked Mr Williams if some police officer could stand guard outside Kurts room as long as the boy needed to stay in hospital. But Mr Williams didn't think such an effort was needed, assuring Burt the guy who had attacked Kurt was unlikely to be sneaking into a hospital to finish what he started.
"I'm not risking my son's life on your opinion that another attack is unlikely", Burt had growled at the man.
"Most offenders are cowards, Mr Hummel. They like to attack a victim that is weaker and no match to themselves and they don't like witnesses. I would assume your son's attacker is no longer interested in him at all, unless you tell me your son has a stalker, who has threatened him before?"
A fleeting second Burt had thought of Dave Karofsky then, but Kurt would clearly have recognised the boy, so he had shaken his head. However he was angry with Mr Williams. Apparently he just didn't want to supply an officer to watch out for Kurts safety day and night.
The first 48 hours Burt hadn't left Kurt's side anyway. He had slept in a chair in front of the door at night. If anybody would've entered the room the door would have banged against the chair and woken him up. Kurt hadn't seen him doing so, because the boy had slumbered the last two days away due to the strong pain meds he was given. But then Carole had reminded him that he needed to take care of himself, too. Stuff like showering and shaving and eating. And then he had been on his mission to talk to all his neighbors. And to add one more thing to his stressful to-do-list, he needed to check on the garage. Jeremy, his help at the garage, had taken care of everything so far, but he couldn't expect him to do so for a whole week. After all, life went on mercilessly, even though right now for him it felt like the world had stopped turning.
Burt squeezed his wife's hand. "I'm heading right back to the hospital. I just wanted to check on you and the house."
"Don't worry, the house and me are just fine", Carole assured him. "You're staying for the night again?" Her voice was soft and understanding. Burt would never mistake her question as a sign of disapproving. He nodded at her. "Anything if it makes him feel safer."
Carole kissed his temple and smiled encouragingly at him, even though he could see his own sorrow mirrored in her eyes.
"Well, I better go. A friend of Kurt from Dalton is coming to see him and I want to make sure... well, I just want to be there."
"Just call me, if you need me, love. Anytime. I love you."
"Not as much as I love you." Burt kissed her, before he left.
xxx xxx
Finn decided to calm down before he confronted Karofsky. It wouldn't be wise to just burst out at him. He needed to approach him carefully. So he waited until after school and made it look like he accidently bumped into him on his way to the parking lot.
"Hey, there. Happy new year", he said with a nod.
"Yeah, happy new", Karofsky returned.
"Well, not so happy on this end", Finn sighed.
Karofsky gave him a sideway look. "What? Girlfriend-trouble?"
"No, no!" Finn turned to Karofsky with mock-surprise. "Haven't you heard about what happened to Kurt at New Year's?"
"What? He turned into a girl at midnight and lost a glass shoe?" Karofsky laughed.
"No, he was beaten up." Finn looked directly at Karofsky and didn't miss how his face changed. What was that expression? Shock? Concern? No, couldn't be.
"And how is he?", Karofsky asked rather casually, but he had stopped walking and met Finn's eyes, obviously interested for the answer.
"Bad. Pretty bad. He's still in hospital."
"Who did it?", Karofsky asked through his teeth, looking around the parking lot. Was he afraid somebody might overhear this conversation? Finn narrowed his eyes at him. Did Karofsky really clench his fists?
"I don't know, I thought maybe you could tell me", Finn said challenging.
Karofsky turned to him and made an indifferent face. "It wasn't me if you're asking that."
"So, if it wasn't you personally, then maybe you set someone up on him."
"Geez, keep your imagination down, will you? What kind of monster do you think I am?"
"Monster enough to scare Kurt away from this school. Monster enough to threaten to kill him!"
"Yeah, I get your drift, Hudson." Karofsky put his cool face on again. "But it wasn't me. I wouldn't hurt him." At Finns incredible stare, he added, "At least not like this."
"And you expect me to believe you?"
"Hell, yeah. I've gotten into trouble because of him once, I don't want that to happen twice. He's not worth it." Karofsky shook his head, looking at Finn in an arrogant way.
"And why have you been asking for him over the past weeks? My friends told me so. Sounds like you're missing him."
"Missing him?" Karofsky laughed at this. "All I miss is the fun I had with him! He was quite entertaining, seeing his freaky clothes every day, yeah, that kinda made my day, man! So what if I ask around what freak show he is up to nowadays? It's gotten boring at school since that little fashion queen is gone. Makes me almost regret I've scared him away."
Finn didn't know what to respond and just gaped at Karofsky.
"So, can I go now? Interrogation's over?" Karofsky punched Finns shoulder like they were friends. "Say hello to the little one, will ya? I would bring him some flowers, but I don't like hospitals very much and I'm not sure he'd truly appreciate it if I paid him a visit."
With this Karofsky casually strolled away. Finn gritted his teeth, but let him go. He believed that Karofsky's reaction to hearing that Kurt had been attacked was genuine. No, Karofsky didn't know anything about it. But something about the way Karofsky talked about Kurt seemed odd. Finn just didn't know what to make of it.
When Finn reached his own car, suddenly Jacob was by his side. The curly head boy eagerly grabbed the sleeve of Finn's jacket. "Hey Hudson, you're interested in Karofsky?" Jacob pushed his glasses up his nose and blinked excitedly at the bigger boy.
"What?" Finn inquired baffled.
"I saw you talking to him."
"Get lost, Jacob!" Finn turned away from the annoying boy who sold his soul for a good story on his blog.
"No, wait! I have some information on Karofsky you might be interested in."
"I'm not interested in Karofsky."
"Oh well, I thought you might want to hear this, I mean, since you're Kurt Hummels stepbrother that is."
At this Finn turned around. "Okay, I'm listening. What is it?
"No, no, no, this information is not for free. And it's not cheap either. If Karofsky finds out I told you, I'm dead. Deader than dead. Really dead. Awful damned dead."
Finn rolled his eyes. "I understand. So what do you want?"
"Well, the only thing worth to risk my life for is … Rachel Berry's undies. I thought you might be able to get me some of those."
"Forget it!" Finn shouted at him in disgust.
"No, no, no, please! I swear to you, my information is valuable."
Finn considered this for a second. "Give me a hint."
"Okay, alright, just so you know I'm an honourable journalist I will give you a hint. My information is about something I provided Karofsky with on a regular basis over the last year. You want to know what, you bring me Rachel's undies and bra. Worn! The red pair, if possible."
Finn narrowed his eyes. "How do you know Rachel has a red pair of bra and undies?"
At this Jacob suddenly fidgeted. "Uhm, how about I don't have a camera in the girl's locker room?"
"Geez, Jacob, you're sick!"
"Maybe", Jacob replied with a shrug and a grin. "But remember: worn! At least a whole day long."
xxx xxx
"Hi Kurt, can I come in?" A strawberry-blond boy stuck his head through the door.
"Reed! Sure you can." Kurt smiled faintly at his friend who came in and instantly stumbled over his own feet. With an ugly bang he fell faceforward down on the floor. Kurt couldn't help but roll his eyes at his friend's clumsiness. "Reed? Have you hurt yourself?"
"Uh, no, nothing happened. I'm fine!", Reed assured him as he scrambled up to his feet again and brushed his clothes off.
"Watch your feet or else you'll end up in a bed next to me."
"No, no, I'm fine, really! You know I just have two left feet and ... oh my!" Reed stopped in front of Kurts bed and stared at him. Kurt noticed how Reed's expression changed when his eyes fell on Kurt's face, well, the left side of his face. Instantly Reed's brown kind eyes were brimming with tears and he put a hand over his mouth. "Oh, Kurt, I'm so sorry! I just can't believe this happened to you on New Year's Eve!"
"Does it make a difference when someone is beaten up?", Kurt couldn't stop himself asking.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"Please, stop apologising, Reed. And don't you dare crying!" Kurt warned him as Reed already wiped at his eyes. "If you start, I'm gonna start, too, and I can't, because right now sobbing is very painful for me." Kurt gestured to his chest and Reed nodded gravely.
"I'm sorry, Kurt, I promise I won't cry!" Reed held his left hand up and put the right one on his heart, ready to swear an oath if necessary.
Kurt sighed and smiled at his friend. "I'm glad you came, but you shouldn't have come all the way by yourself."
"Oh I didn't. David and Wes came along to keep me company and I think to watch over me? They're worried there might be a serial offender on the loose in Lima. So they're with me, but your dad didn't allow all three of us to storm in on you, so they're waiting outside and talk to your dad, while I see you."
Kurt was relieved to hear that Reed wasn't alone, but he didn't say so. He made a mental note however to thank Wes and David properly for being such caring sweethearts.
"Anyway, thanks for coming all the way to see me, Reed."
"Anytime", Reed replied with a kind smile, but then he went pale and stammered: "That doesn't mean I want you to be in hospital anytime again! No, I don't want you to be in hospital at all, never! I just meant I would come see you if you were, but hopefully you'll never need to again, never ever, and ..."
"It's okay, Reed, I know how you meant it", Kurt interrupted his ramble. "So, what about Blaine? Does he know I'm in hospital? I would've loved to see him, too."
Immediately Reed's face went even a whiter shade of pale. "Oh, right, you don't know yet...", he whispered.
At the sight of Reed's horrified face, Kurt's heart started pumping in panic. "What is it?"
Reed hesitated and shook his head. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you. I mean, you're sick and everything and I don't want to upset you."
"Just tell me, Reed, please. What about Blaine?" Kurt urged him on while his fingers clutched the sheets.
"Well, David and Wes and I were wondering where you and Blaine were, because usually both of you would return to the dorm the day before school starts. Then we noticed two men in Blaines room, with big moving boxes, they packed all his stuff. Everything Blaine owned is gone, his room is completely empty now, except for the bed and the desk."
"Why would they do that?", Kurt asked, though fearing the answer. Usually when someone's room was emptied, wouldn't it mean that the occupant was ... dead? No, no, no, this couldn't be. Kurt was swallowed hard, dreading and needing to hear what Reed had to say.
Reed was fidgeting and avoiding Kurts intense stare. He had to clear his throat before he went on. "We were asking them what that was all about. They wouldn't tell us, so we went to the principal's office. At first he wouldn't tell us either, but we insisted and wouldn't leave, until he finally told us why you and Blaine weren't back. Oh Kurt, when we heard you were in a hospital we were all so upset. And don't be angry with us, but we stalked the principal until he told us, why you were in a hospital. And this is so dreadful. I still cannot believe this really happened to you. David and Wes and all of the other boys send their regards by the way. We're all with you!"
"What about Blaine, Reed?", Kurt asked him again, his patience growing thin.
"Oh right, sorry! Now, Kurt, prepare for something really bad. Gosh, I wish I wasn't the one to pass these news to you." Reed inhaled deeply before passing on the bad news. "Blaine has transfered to another school. He won't come back to Dalton."
Kurt didn't know what to say. He just shook his head in denial. Okay, this was better news than what he'd dreaded. But still bad enough. Why would Blaine change schools all of a sudden and without any explanation whatsoever?
"And Shane doesn't answer to any of my emails or text messages. Looks like he's got a new phone. The number of his old one is no longer available. He just stopped seeing me without a word." Now Reed really started crying, but turned away and said over and over again: "I'm sorry, I'm not crying, sorry, Kurt, I'm not crying, sorry!"
"Just like Blaine...", Kurt murmured, trying to think, but his head was swimming.
"Well", Reed continued and hastily wiped away the tears that fell down his cheeks. "At least Shane hasn't changed schools. He is still at the same school, it is just Blaine who transfered to another private school. I emailed with one of Shane's school mates and he told me, that Shane is acting different since he got back from Christmas break. He wouldn't talk about what he did on Hawaii or else during the holidays and he wouldn't talk about anything else much either. I asked him to tell Shane he should contact me and I gave him my number in case Shane has lost it. He promised me he would tell him. But Shane hasn't called me yet."
Again there it was, this strange feeling. Something was wrong here.
Blaines younger brother was crazy about Reed. He wouldn't just let him down like this. Neither would Blaine. There was no apparent reason why Blaine should change schools in the middle of semester.
"I guess we'll just have to wait for Blaine to contact us sooner or later", Reed said, still sobbing. "There is nothing else we can do."
Kurt nodded at this calmly, while everthing inside of him was in a turmoil. There was nothing they could do except wait for Blaine or Shane to contact them? Oh, how he hated to be waiting for something!
xxx xxx
Next chapter: Kurt finally gets to leave hospital. But his condition gets worse and his worry over Blaine is killing him. Meanwhile, Finn is on his mission to get Rachel's undies.
Please, please R&R! Your reviews really mean a lot to me! :)