Thanks 'AutumnSoleil' for letting me know I called Chuck's dad Victor LOL. Lots of CB angst is coming up but things will get better. You guys have been so great with the reviews. Thanks so much!

Chapter VII

When Blair arrived home, she immediately ran into her bedroom and fell onto her bed. Burying her face in her pillow, she began crying her heart out. Serena arrived minutes later to drop off one of Blair's books and she heard the crying coming from the bedroom. Heading towards it, she walked in and gazed at Blair sadly.

"B, what's wrong?" she asked, rushing to her side.

Sitting up, Blair pulled her into an embrace and began crying on her shoulder as Serena rubbed her back.

"Sweetie, what happened?" she asked worriedly.

Leaning back, Blair tried to wipe her tears away.

"I went to Victrola…," she began quietly. "He was with another girl…they were kissing."

"Oh sweetie," Serena said in sympathy. "I'm so sorry."

"How could I be so stupid?" Blair asked, directing the question more to herself than her friend. "I knew what he was like but I was stupid enough to think he actually cared."

"It's not your fault," Serena tried to comfort her as Blair continued to cry.

"It shouldn't hurt this much," she said before lying back down on the bed and closing her eyes.

Serena was unsure of what to do to help her friend through this pain. She simply touched her shoulder and sat with her until Blair eventually quieted down and fell asleep. As soon as Blair had fallen asleep, Serena gathered her things and rushed out of the door. Catching a cab, she head straight towards Victrola. Once she arrived, she marched inside ready to confront Chuck, but what she saw made her slow down. Chuck was sitting at the bar with a drink in his left hand and his forehead resting on his right palm. He looked devastated and torn; definitely not what Serena was expecting to see. Sighing, she walked up to him and sat down.

"Why?" she said, the single word making him look to see who it was.

"Hey Serena," he said with a smile, sitting up with difficulty and showing that he was somewhat drunk. "What are you doing here?"

"Why'd you hurt her?" she asked firmly.

"Who?" Chuck asked in a serious tone, sipping his drink and looking away from her.

"Chuck, I have half a mind to kill you myself right now, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt," she stated.

"And why would you do that?" he asked.

"Because of how broken you look right now," Serena replied quietly.

Looking at her, Chuck sighed and finished his drink.

"Why'd you do it?" she repeated, suddenly noticing his swollen eye.

"Did Blair do that?" she asked.

"Nate did that," he corrected.

They sat in silence for a minute before he finally spoke up again.

"I've known Nate for such a long time," he began with a sad smile. "We've been best friends for over nine years and we've been there for each other through it all."

Serena sat patiently, giving him the chance to continue at his own pace.

"I wanted to talk to him about us…Blair and me," he continued. "I wanted to tell him how much I cared for this girl. But when I got to my place after lunch, he was already there waiting for me. We got into a tussle and he said he'd never forgive me unless I let her go."

"He was upset when he said that," Serena tried to defend. "He didn't mean for you to cheat on Blair. He would have forgiven you eventually."

"He visited me this morning before our confrontation. He told me that the only way his father would avoid prison would be if Eleanor were to go through with her deal and she was backing out because of the charges. But if Blair and Nate were to get back together, then she'd have to go through with the deal because of her daughter," he explained as Serena sighed in understanding. "He's my best friend…my brother. I can't lose him. He's the only family I've got. I owed him that much."

"Oh my God," Serena said quietly as she sat back slightly.

"So I did it for him. I ripped my own heart out and hurt Blair in the process, but I did it for him," Chuck continued before staring at his glass with a faraway gaze in his eyes. "You know what he said to me? When he confronted me? He said I wasn't good enough for my mom and I couldn't keep her from leaving so I'd never be good enough for Blair."

"He said it in the heat of the moment," Serena tried to explain, but he shook his head.

"You know what's funny? He doesn't even love Blair," Chuck said with a sad smile. "And you know what else is funny? His words hurt me more than my actions ever hurt him."

"What do you mean?" Serena began in confusion.

"You want to know what really happened to my mom?" he asked, his broken eyes staring into hers.

"She died in a car accident," Serena exclaimed but he shook his head.

"That's what my dad wanted everyone to believe," he replied and finished his drink.

"Chuck, what are you talking about?" Serena asked.

"I was eight years old and we lived in Albany. My soccer coach dropped me off at home after practice one day and when I went inside, I heard muffled voices coming from upstairs. I went upstairs and I saw…I saw my mom…"

"She was with someone else?" Serena asked with a frown, but he shook his head.

"There was a man on top of her…raping her," he explained.

Serena gasped lightly at the words and she realized the pain on his face as he told her the real story.

"I ran towards them and I tried to pry him off, but the guy was too big. He pushed me off with one hand and I hit the dresser, hitting my head. I was bleeding from the side of my face but I got up and tried to help my mom again. She kept screaming my name to make me stop, but I couldn't. She looked so vulnerable and hurt. She was my mom," he exclaimed sadly.

Tears formed in Serena's eyes as she listened to him silently. His eyes were cast on his empty glass, avoiding her eyes as he spoke.

"The guy grew tired of me, I guess, so he removed a knife and he stabbed me twice," he said before lifting the bottom of his shirt to reveal two stitches on his lower stomach.

"Oh my God," Serena said sadly. "You said you got that on a hunting trip."

"I lied," he said with a fake smile. "My mom kept screaming for me and managed to break free of the guy. She ran over to me and that's when I blacked out. I woke up in the hospital three days later with my mom sleeping in a chair by my side. They arrested the guy but to save my mom from having to deal with a bunch of questions, my dad paid the right people and they revealed to the press that the guy was being charged for breaking and entering. When we went home, I had lost the feeling in both of my legs so I had to take physical therapy to learn how to walk again."

"Chuck…," Serena cried, but didn't know what to say.

"My mom blamed herself for what had happened to me. She was really depressed and started talking medication. After a few weeks, I finally started walking again and when I got home with my dad after my session, we saw my mom lying in the bed with an empty pill bottle in her hand," he said, tears streaming down his cheeks. "They tried their hardest to revive her…but she was already gone. Every time my dad looks at me now, he sees my mom. A part of him blames me for what happened to her. That's why our relationship is as bad as it is."

Motioning for the bartender to pour him another drink, Chuck drank half of it and wiped the tears from his eyes before rubbing his face.

"When you're an eight year old kid, you kind of don't forget any of that," he said quietly.

"Chuck, I am so sorry," she exclaimed, placing her hand on his shoulder in comfort. "I never would have guessed."

"Like I said…my dad paid the right people," Chuck replied and looked at her. "Besides my dad and I, no one other than Nate knows. He knows how much losing my mom cost me. I tried talking to my dad about it at first, but he simply yelled at me and changed the subject so we'd never talk at all. I kept everything inside until a few years ago when I told Nate. It was such a lift off of my shoulders to talk about it with someone, but of course my dad overheard and he forbid us from discussing it any further. And so we didn't."

"That's why you go from girl to girl and can't commit to any relationship," Serena declared, her remark aimed at herself rather than him. "I can't believe this.

"Nate saw me cry for her all those years," Chuck replied, wiping his eyes again. "So when he said what he said today, it was as if someone had sliced me in half. It was the most painful and sensitive subject of my life and he threw it in my face."

Finishing his drink, he placed the glass down and buried his face in his hands, unable to hold the tears in any longer. Seeing him break down in front of her, Serena leaned in and embraced him tightly from the side.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered in his ears as he continued to cry. "Chuck, let me talk to Nate."

"No," he said, leaning back and shaking his head. "What's done is done. Just leave it be."

"Why do you have to be the bad guy in this?" she asked, staring into his red, blood-shot eyes. "All you did was fall for a girl that Nate's ignored all these years. He had no right to say what he did to you; I don't care how angry or betrayed he felt."

"Serena, let it go," he stated firmly. "Anyone who looks at me thinks I'm a self-absorbed jerk so this would be nothing new."

"Why do you always have to be made out as the villain? You're a good guy, Chuck," Serena declared in defense. "I always thought you had a good heart, despite how you treated people or acted. Nate's the one that's wrong here, not you."

When he remained silent, Serena pushed on.

"I just came from seeing Blair. She was crying so hard," she exclaimed.

Chuck shut his eyes and cringed at the thought.

"It's not as if we were in love. It had only been going on for a few days," he stated, trying to make light of the feelings they felt for one another.

"Chuck, the two of you have been into one another for so long," Serena said, her words making him frown. "Whenever you began your playful, flirtatious banter, it was as if no one else was in the room…including Nate. You do love her, I can tell by the broken look in your eyes right now. And I know she loves you too. She wouldn't be hurting this much if she didn't."

"Serena…," he tried, but she was on a roll and wanted to get everything out in the open.

"Four years she was with him, and she only cried after he and I…," she said, her sentence running off. "Three days and I've never seen her cry this much over anyone. She loves you, Chuck. Go to her and tell her the truth. Tell her everything you told me."

"The damage has already been done," he replied.

"It can be undone," Serena said firmly. "Chuck, I know that you and I haven't been the best of friends over the years, but I hope you know that I do care about you. And I care so much about Blair. She's my best friend and she's hurting right now over you. Go to her and tell her everything."

"So Nate's dad could go to jail?" he asked angrily. "So I'm supposed to choose the girl I love over my best friend?"

Serena smiled sadly for he had just admitted that he loved Blair even though he didn't realize it himself.

"Nate's wrong, Chuck," she tried for the last time, but it was useless.

"I made my choice," he said and got to his feet. "Not a word of this leaves this room."

With that, he grabbed his jacket and left the club as Serena watched him go. Once he was gone, she turned back to the empty glass and sighed.

Chuck Bass...the notorious bad boy who lives life on the edge, is actually a heartbroken boy who has been through the worst pain of all…losing a loved one in such a tragic way. Knowing everything she does, will Serena simply sit back and let this love go to waste? Or is she going to be the one to finally knock some sense into Nate? XOXO, Gossip Girl