Thanks all! I am really sorry this took so long to get up, but I've had some troubles with my computer and it didn't save this chapter and when I came back to it IT WAS ALL GONE! It was miserable :( But anyways, review, subscribe, tell me what you wanna see and any ideas :) Love you guys! Kurt had to remind her after they got gas. Or rather demand. It was pretty clear that she didn't want to talk about it, but she had to. It was important, and she promised. So after asking for the third time, since she avoided it the last two. She sighed and pulled over, got out, and opened the passenger door. "Time for you to drive. I don't think I can tell you this story and drive at the same time." So they switched spots. Kurt wanted to make this as easy on her as possible, the poor child. "Kurt, you have no idea how lucky you are. You've been through quite a bit at your old school, but Blaine had it hard at home. I hope you realize that my parents were awful, unaccepting, homophobic . . ." she trailed off swearing under her breath. "My father in particular was terrible. You know those guys that believe extremely in the Bible? He's one of those ignoramuses. So that was the environment that we grew up, and so when he enrolled in Dalton, he didn't come out for almost a year. He was really traumatized by what had happened with our parents. Our father was very clear that if he acted upon his feelings he would regret it. But none of us thought . . . "He thought it was his fault. He thought that it was normal to have parents that were so unloving. We both lost a lot of love the night that he came out to our parents, him more than me, but I was certainly affected. Not that I'm complaining," she added hastily, "But he felt guilty for, in his opinion, ruining my life as well as his own. He blamed himself. He always has. He takes everything on his shoulders, makes himself responsible for everything in his world. It's one of the reasons that he feels responsible for you. Not all of it, but a contributing factor. He was in one bad relationship, a secret from our parents, more as a brief act of rebellion than anything else. But it was a terrible relationship and it only added to his insecurities. Every mistake he made just added to the deterioration of his confidence. "Blaine's not very good at secrets. The fact that he's kept so many from you, and Wes, and even David surprises me. Gah, never mind, he's totally good at secrets. He has to be, I guess. He just never keeps them from me. When he met y- someone special, he told me almost immediately." Kurt's heart sank. So there was someone that Blaine liked. Focus, he told himself. "He seemed to know, though, that it was a bad idea to tell our parents, to even hint at it. So he didn't. But if I had only seen what was coming, this could have been prevented. "I was skipping school today, oh don't look so shocked, and decided to, you know, take a drive around town. And I saw Blaine's car parked just a couple of blocks from our house, so I dropped by. It would be worth a little trouble to see my brother again. But when I walked in-" she broke off with a shudder. There was a long pause, and Kurt glanced over to see that there were tears rolling down her cheeks, and that she was looking extremely pale, her eyes seeming distant, like she was there again. "He was bleeding," she whispered after a couple minutes. "He had cuts and bruises all along his face, and his shirt had blood stains on it, and my father was hitting him over and over and over. Screaming about how God hates him and swearing at him, and-" she let out a sob. "I was completely shocked. I could have tried to do something, but I didn't and he grabbed a lamp and pulled off the shade and started batting at him with it and it was awful!" she was really crying now, her cheeks soaked in salty water, her eyelashes damp, and her nose running. Kurt was again reminded that she was only sixteen. "I finally got some sense in me and weakly tried to pull him off, but he slapped me. Not that hard, though. I called 911 and my mother restrained him just enough so that he didn't do Blaine any really life-threatening damage, but . . . it was awful. He's been arrested, thank goodness, and I got to ride in the ambulance with him, but-" she choked on her words. "It's all my fault. If I had just stepped in sooner, or better yet, seen it coming that he was going to tell them, if I were stronger-" "Stop it," Kurt said firmly. "Virginia, you're doing what Blaine does. You're taking responsibility for something that is not your fault. It is the fault of your father for doing it and of your mother for not having intervened as soon as she saw what was going on. This was out of your control, and you did what you could." They were silent for a few minutes. "You . . . you called me Virginia," she broke the silence quietly. Kurt smiled. "Well, I certainly didn't see Karmina just now," he stated. "Karmina is just part of you, and it's a part that I love, but it's not all of you. I saw the young Virginia who doesn't quite know what to do, who's broken and been hurt. Karmina is just the stronger reaction." There was silence for a couple more minutes. "You know, Kurt, Blaine really cares about you. I see why he likes you." And Kurt felt his heart flutter in an unfamiliar, but beautiful way. -_-_-_- Karmina's POV She had just exposed practically her entire being and much of her story to someone she'd known for less than two hours. But she didn't really care as much as she thought she would. She saw how good Kurt was, and certainly knew now that he was perfect for Blaine. She let her mind wander months back to the hours on the phone and occasionally in person with Blaine where he was talking about Kurt. His smile, his laugh, his hair, his lips, his eyes. Oh, lord, the hours that he had spent trying to describe Kurt's eyes! She glanced over. Hm. He really did have pretty eyes. Oh, they were going to be great. And she noticed how every time she said Blaine's name, Kurt's face softened, and how every time he said the name he said it like a caress. Oh yes, she couldn't wait for them to get together. Wes and David complained day in and day out about the sighs and looks of longing from both parties. But they would probably need a little push. She was so glad that Blaine was going to be okay, because he had to see how much people loved him. She hadn't brought Wes and David along for a reason. They would overreact. Also, they had not been the ones that Blaine had asked for. She glanced at the clock. It had been five and a half hours since the incident, and yet it seemed like it had been a lifetime ago. She thought about how Blaine had said Kurt's name while he was being beaten by their father, how he had said it several more times after, and even more in the ambulance. When he said it again in his sleep in the hospital, she knew that she had to go and get him. And, truthfully, she was glad that she had. -_-_-_- Kurt's POV Karmina was a good kid. Rebellious, yes, but she was really quite balanced. She reminded him very thoroughly of her brother. Blaine. He knew that there was more to him than he let show. That beautiful boy that was playing the role of Yoda, or Dumbledore, who has been through more than he lets on. And the fact that he sees himself as a coward for running from the pain was not okay. He had been through as much if not more than Kurt, which just kind of shook him. How did he see Kurt as brave? Unless there was even more to this than Kurt was getting from this . . .