I woke up the next morning completely exhausted. I carefully got out of bed, as to not disturb the sleeping boy next to me, and went downstairs. I was greeted my whole family sitting at the table. I was surprised to see Finn up this morning.
"Hey kid, Blaine up yet?"
I shook my head. "He had a nightmare last night. We stayed up for awhile." I said rubbing my sleepy eyes.
As if on cue, we heard a bloodcurdling scream come from upstairs. I immediately ran up the stairs hearing someone following me as well, and raced into the room. The sight in front of me was completely heartbreaking.
He was sat up, hunched over, his hand over his chest, trying to catch his breath. His whole body was sweating and it was quite obvious he couldn't breathe. His eyes were red and puffy, his cheeks red and wet from the tears he had been shedding.
"Oh Blaine," I whispered as I went to sit next to him. I tried my hardest not to break when he leant into my chest and wept. His hands covered his face as his whole body shook and tears stained my flannel pajama pants. I only wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer and resting my chin on top of his head. I looked over to see my dad only staring at the sight from the doorframe. He looked like he was going to break any second.
"Blaine, what happened?"
"I-I-I don't want t-t-to talk about it. P-p-p-p-pleasssse. I can't." He said only crying harder.
My dad must have not been able to take it anymore because he walked over and pulled Blaine up from the bed and into his arms.
"Blaine, you need to talk bud." I could only stand there, and rest my hand on his back, making small, hopefully soothing circles.
"Please baby." I whispered into his ear.
His crying finally slowed and soon enough he pulled away, his cheeks redder then ever from crying. He gasped for a breath as I continued to rub circles into his back.
"Not now. Later. Please." He said, still trying to get a proper breath in.
I only pulled him in, whispering comforting words into his ear. After awhile my dad cleared his throat and spoke.
"Blaine, we need to talk to you about something… very important. Can you join us downstairs?"
Blaine nodded and we made our way to the table where Carole and Finn were still seated. Carole was immediately up when she saw Blaine but my dad motioned for her to stay, knowing that she couldn't do anything. She hesitated at first but sat down again. We took our seats next each other and I rested my hand on his thigh, a quiet reassurance that I was right there.
"Blaine, the whole family has discussed this and we have all agreed. Blaine, we would like to adopt you into our family. We don't have to become your parents; Finn and Kurt don't have to become your new brothers. We just want to be here for you."
Blaine only sat in silence, his mouth opened a little. He finally let his head hang.
"You talked to them, didn't you? They don't care about me anymore. They just want me out and disconnected. They put you up to this."
My dad was immediately squatting by his side, hand on his shoulder.
"Blaine, look at me." He did. "Blaine, I'm not going to hide anything from you. I did talk to your mother. She called to make sure you were alright. But then said that they didn't want any connection with you. But the whole adopting you… that was way before that. She, in no way, put us up to this. This was our own decision. We know you still have a year before you're 18 and we just want to be there for you and support you. But only if you let us."
He threw his arms around my dad's shoulders, almost knocking him over and I swore I could hear him whispering "thank you" over and over in his ear. My dad only smiled, embracing him back. Blaine pulled back and looked around the table, tears in his eyes.
"I-I don't know what to say." I gave his thigh a slight squeeze, letting him know it was alright. "I would love to be part of this family. You guys are really the best family I have ever known."
Carole stood and walked over to him, pulling him up and into a hug.
"Oh honey, we are so glad that you can be a part of this family. We will be proud to call you our son." And all at once we all surrounded him, pulling us all into a famous Hummel group hug we rarely had.
"Ok kid. We'll get everything in order. It might take awhile, but you don't have to worry about a thing." He leant in and whispered into his ear and I could make out most of it. "You don't have to see them again. You don't need to worry anymore."
He only nodded, smiling. A sense of relief washed over his face and I knew that he was truly going to be happy here.
We were sitting on my bed, thinking about this morning. We sat Indian style facing each other, our hands joined in the middle, but our eyes never left the sight. I finally spoke up.
"Talk to me."
He only let out a sigh and scooted back towards the wall, so his back was against it. He motioned for me to do the same. I joined him and wrapped my arm around his shoulders, drawing him in close, him wrapping his arms around my middle. I kissed the top of his head and waited.
"It was like all of the other ones. He's drunk and he beats me until I'm on the floor and then he pulls out a knife and I wake up."
"Blaine… you've never woke up screaming though. There has to be more."
He clenched his fists around my shirt and tightened his hold around my waist.
"H-he- I didn't wake up when he pulled the knife. I thought he would slit my throat and it would be over, but he stabbed me all over and I felt everything. But I couldn't escape." I felt a tear land on my shirt and soak through to my skin. "Why do I keep having these dreams? He only slapped me… which is nothing compared to what I've been through. Why am I so stupid to have these dreams?"
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, wondering where to start.
"Ok, Blaine one, you're definitely not stupid. You're like the smartest guy I know. Hell, you're in a senior math class with Puck and Finn, yet you get higher grades then both of theirs combined. Secondly, I honestly don't know why you are. I can take a stab though. You've been bullied since middle school. You're dad laying a hand on you only brought back the horrible memories and you're mind is playing silly tricks on, making you believe that it was something more." I moved so he was looking at me and my heart melted at the sight of his bloodshot eyes and wet cheeks. "Blaine, no one is going to hurt you. I won't let that happen and my father sure as hell wouldn't. He would be the first one to throw the punch if anyone even made a threat. We care about you Blaine."
He leaned into my shoulder and I felt his body relax against mine.
"I hate this." He mumbled, his voice monotone.
"I know sweetie." I replied, rubbing small circles into his back. "It will get better, I promise. You just have to trust us.
He nodded into my shoulder and I closed my eyes, wishing there was something more I could do for the broken boy.
"Blaine, I really think you should talk to someone about this. I hate to use your own words against you, but you really need to talk to an adult about this. It's not healthy for you to have these thoughts or dreams."
But I realized by the time I said this he was already asleep, his body more relaxed then I had ever seen him. I leaned back, moving both of us into a more comfortable position, hoping to not wake him. I reached for his hand with the one that was not around his shoulder and rubbed my thumb over his knuckles.
I closed my own eyes, trying to take advantage of this moment. I only started the nap with thoughts of how broken Blaine was and how I couldn't do anything to fix it.
I woke up to no one beside me and I opened my eyes quickly scanning the room but seeing no one. I walked slowly to the door, rubbing my tired eyes and moving into the hallway to hear talking from downstairs.
"I'm really worried about you, kid. You shouldn't have to go through this… not alone at least." There was a small pause before he continued. "I really think you need to talk to someone. Maybe that guidance counselor at school? I'm always here, but I really think you need to talk to a professional." I scoffed at the thought of Ms. Pillsbury being a professional, but I continued to listen to the conversation.
"Really, sir, I'm fine. They'll go away with time… I'm sure of it."
There was a pause but I really had no way of knowing if it was awkward or not. I moved to go into the room until he spoke again.
"Sir? Do you really want to adopt me?"
"Ok, first, none of this sir business. Whenever I hear "sir" I turn to look for my father. Call me Burt… or anything you like really. Just not sir or Mr. Hummel. Got it? Of course we want to adopt you. We love you Blaine and we want nothing but the best for you. And you're certainly not getting that from your parents."
There was another pause before Blaine spoke.
"Can I call you dad?"
And with that my heart just broke in two. I knew that asking him that was hard for him, but I knew that he wanted a father. His own dad didn't love him so he never had a real father. Until now.
"Of course kid. I would be proud to call you my son."
I decided that was a good moment to walk in. the sight in front of me made my heart leap with joy. My dad was sitting at the head of the table, Blaine on his right. My dad's hand was on the back of his neck; he only did this when he was trying to get a point across, and I knew he was being serious. Both of them had tears in their eyes until they finally pulled each other into a hug.
"Hey guys," I said, trying to not let my voice break.
"Hey kid, how's it going?"
"Oh it's going." I moved to sit next to Blaine and placed my hand over his, giving a tight squeeze of assurance.
"Well, I'll leave you two alone. I need to go fix the radio in the car." My dad said somewhat awkwardly as he left the room.
"Hey." I whispered, placing a kiss to his cheek, catching a salty tear.
"Hey." He said smiling.
"Still getting over the initial shock?" He only nodded, leaning his head on my shoulder. I stroked his loose curls as his body shook. But, for the first time in a long time, he was laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"Not funny, just… I'm happy. I don't know."
I sighed in relief. "I'm glad you're happy Blaine. How about we go for ice cream. My treat."
And with that he looked like a five year old in a candy shop, pulling out of the embrace.
"Really really reeeeaaallly?" I only nodded, laughing at how childish he was being. "And and and can I have sprinkles and chocolate and everything?"
"Yes Blaine… you can have anything you want. Now go change. I'll wait."
But I was too late. He was already running up the stairs and closing his bedroom door. I smiled to myself as I thought his bedroom. I got up from the table and went to the garage. I leaned against the doorframe as I watched my dad work on the car.
"Hey dad."
"Oh, hey kid. What's going on?" He asked as he moved out of the car.
"I just wanted to say thank you. You really don't know how happy he is. I haven't seen him like this in a long time." He only nodded, staring at a distant wall. "Hey dad?" He looked my way again. "I need to ask you something, you're not going to like it but just hear me out." He nodded, agreeing. "I want to sleep in Blaine's room. At least until his nightmares are gone. He seems to sleep better when I'm there with him."
He hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I couldn't agree more kid." He paused. "I'm really worried about him."
"I am too. But, I think knowing that he's safe here is just the thing he needs. He really does need this."
"C'mere kid." I walked over and into his open arms. He rested his chin on top of my head sighing. "I'm really proud of you Kurt. Know that you will always have a place here no matter what." I nodded into his chest as his arms tightened around my shoulders. "I love you Kurt."
"I love you too Daddy."