So here it is y'all.

The final installment of Scars & Burns. I became extremely attached and devoted to this story, and I hope you did, too! As always, self-injury is not something to joke about and should always be taken seriously. If you or someone you know is suffering from scratching, cutting, burning, an eating disorder, or anything else, get help. I promise that it's for your and their best interest.

Epilogue

In 20 years, Blaine Anderson had not picked up a blade. He had not burned or cut himself since high school, and he was proud of himself for overcoming that. He would never have been able to do that without the love and support of Kurt, his father, Finn and his mom, and all his friends at Dalton and McKinley. So when he found out his daughter's best friend was cutting, he completely lost his mind for a few days. He couldn't eat or sleep and spent a few hours taking swings at the punching bag in the basement.

Why was the world such a cruel place? Why did society make this girl feel as if her only choice was to hurt herself? It took a few days, but finally he calmed down.

The next time his daughter's friend was at their house, his own daughter had to run across the street to walk the dog she was pet sitting. He took the opportunity to talk to the girl and to try and help her.

"Hey, Bree." He said cheerfully as he sat down across from her at the kitchen table.

"Hi, Mr. Anderson." She said quietly, looking down at the table. He sighed. There was no beating around the bush with something like this—He had to just come out at say it.

"I want to talk to you about something. Something personal. Eliza told me what you…Do to yourself." Bree's face paled and she looked away. Tears had started falling from her eyes. Shit. He didn't want to make her cry.

"No, no, sweetie don't cry. You're not in trouble or anything. I want to help you." The girl turned to look at Blaine. She tried to make her face angry, but it didn't work.

"I don't need any help!" She tried to get up and leave, but Blaine put a hand on her arm.

"I can't let you leave, knowing what you could do when you get back to your house. And, I'm telling this because maybe it'll convince you to let me help you, I hurt myself too, when I was in high school." Maybe it was something about the honesty of an adult, but the young girl broke. Sobs racked her tiny frame, and Blaine wrapped her in his arms.

"Shh, honey. It's okay. It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay."

When Kurt got home from work, he found Bree and Eliza cuddling on the couch, watching Legally Blond 2. Nothing about this was out of the ordinary, except for Blaine standing in the doorway, watching them a little too intently to be considered fatherly love. Kurt raised an eyebrow, and made his way through the den to the kitchen to see his husband, pausing only to kiss both girls on the head. Both squealed at the same time.

"Daddy!"

"Mr. Hummel!"

Bree had been Eliza's best friend for nearly 10 years, she was like family. Her parents were divorced, she lived with her father, step mother, and half siblings, and her estranged mother lived down in Arizona. Despite how the Hummel-Anderson's house was her second home, she still called Blaine and Kurt Mr. Hummel and Mr. Anderson. Both of them shrugged off the politeness, some kids were just like that.

"So…What's going on?" Kurt asked Blaine as he dragged the shorter boy into the kitchen, out of ear shot of the girls. That's when he noticed the table was covered in printouts. Articles about teenagers self-harming, what you could do to help, help hotlines, support groups, therapists, and even a pamphlet for an institution. Kurt's heart jumped into his throat.

"Eliza-" He choked out. Blaine's eyes widened and he put an arm around Kurt's waist.

"No, god no! I'm sorry this scared you, but she's alright. A little shaken, but fine." There was a pause while Kurt had a realization.

"Bree…" He mumbled quietly. Blaine nodded.

"I've known for a few weeks. Eliza let it slip one night when she was upset. Today, she was here alone and I talked to her about it. She's…agreed to let me help. I'm going to talk to her father." Blaine sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's not going to be easy, but it needs to be done. I can't…let a kid go through that. I just can't." Kurt nodded solemnly. He knew that was excruciatingly hard for Blaine.

"I'm so proud of you. So proud of how far you've come."

And Blaine was proud of himself, too.

Self-harm was a never ending cycle, but he was determined to break it.