Chapter 36

Blaine had promised Kurt he would maintain control.

And he really didn't want to break that promise.

But, his parents had gone crazy. They had lost their minds.

And the darkness was in an uproar.

Blaine stared at his father. "I'm not going to stop seeing Kurt."

"Now, Blaine..."

"No! And trust me, you can't stop me from seeing him."

James returned to the father Blaine was used to. "Blaine, you will do what you are told. You are to stop seeing that boy now!"

"No." The darkness was starting to build into a strong, hot frenzy.

James looked at Blaine coolly. His voice was smooth and icy. "It will be very, very difficult to drive to Lima without a car."

Blaine closed his eyes for a moment to calm the darkness. He couldn't attack his parents. Well, maybe his dad, but not his mom. But, he couldn't kill him. Kurt would be mad. He had to think of something else.

He opened his eyes and looked at his father.

James took a step back. His son's eyes had changed colors. Dammit. How could he have forgotten about that power shit? Screwing Elaine had screwed up his brains. They should have approached this entire thing differently. How would Phil have handled this?

Elaine was sitting in silent fear on the couch. She hadn't foreseen this. She didn't think James would make such a demand. They had only talked about therapy and she had agreed because she was still sure this gay thing was just a phase and therapy might help, but now things were getting out of control.

Blaine's voice was quiet and menacing.

"You know dad. Let's say Phil did molest me. He molested me lots and lots of times over the years. Let's even go so far as to say you two knew about it and yet, neither of you did anything to stop him. I think a story about that would be a nice follow up piece to the earlier article. What do you think?"

James turned beet red, his fists clenched. The darkness sensed his anger and was having a fit, hoping he would attack. Blaine fought to keep it on lock down. He had promised Kurt.

"Perhaps I should go give Mark Madison a call?"

Elaine looked horrified. "Blaine...you wouldn't?" Things were going from bad to worse. She hadn't meant to cause more trouble in her household. She just wanted her husband to love her again. To forgive her for giving him a gay son.

James was enraged. Fine. His fucked up, faggot son wanted to play hardball? They would play. Evil shit be dammed.

"I hate you Blaine. You're such a fucked up, worthless piece of shit for a son. You and all your gay shit, combined with my father's shit. It's a fucking mess! I'll be so glad when you are out of here! I'm sick of dealing with you!"

"You've never dealt with me dad. You let Phil do all your dirty work for you. You let a pedophile have your son. Senator Gives Son to Pedophile. What a great headline."

James lunged towards Blaine.

Elaine screamed.

Blaine attacked.

Kurt hummed a happy tune as he soaked in the bathtub. He looked at his ring and smiled. He knew he should have taken it off before getting into the tub, but he couldn't bear to. Not today. Blaine had just slipped it on his finger a few hours ago. He didn't want to take it off yet.

He laid back and closed his eyes and thought about the weekend. Despite the attack, it had been a great weekend. He and Blaine had finally talked about the darkness and figured some things out. Blaine had promised they would start researching his grandfather that week. They might even drive up to Columbus, to see what they could learn. Kurt was sure they would find someone who knew something about his grandfather's abilities. Someone who could help them understand.

He smiled. Yes, Blaine was different from other boys and Kurt liked it just fine. He looked at his ring again. It really was beautiful. And so expensive. Blaine shouldn't have spent so much money. Kurt laughed out loud. Yes, he should have. Wait till he showed...

A jolt of force struck Kurt in the chest. His hand flew to his chest. What was that?

James crashed into the wall from the force of Blaine's thoughts. He turned and lunged at Blaine, knocking him into a bookshelf, bringing the entire thing crashing down. Elaine was screaming.

"Stop! Both of you, stop! James! Blaine! Stop!"

Blaine's eyes were burning and he was struggling. Struggling to fight his father and struggling to keep the darkness under control. It was screeching at him, begging to be freed completely. It would take care of James. No problem. But, Blaine knew that once free, it wouldn't come back to him. It had grown too strong. Plus, he had promised Kurt. But damn it was hard. He was so tired. He couldn't concentrate the way he needed to...

Kurt was sitting very still in the bathtub, listening to his mind and concentrating on his body. The second jolt hit him harder than the first.

Blaine.

Something was wrong with Blaine.

Kurt stood up and ran naked and dripping wet to his room. He grabbed his cell phone. By the fifth ring, he realized how stupid this was. If Blaine was fighting or struggling with the darkness, he would not stop to answer his cell phone.

Kurt sat down on the bed and closed his eyes...

"I fucking hate you! We should have sent you to one of those camps or better yet, military school! Maybe they would have beat the shit out of you along with the gay!"

Blaine was on his knees, gasping for air and fighting. Fighting to keep control. The darkness was straining against his chest, trying to break free. Blaine was so tired. Tired from the trip, tired from all the shit he and Kurt had gone through this summer, tired of his father. If he would just let go, he could end this...

Kurt gripped the bedspread. His chest hurt. What could have happened? Blaine was supposed to go straight home and go to bed. Kurt felt another jolt, so strong, he fell off the bed. He could feel it. Blaine was starting to lose it. Kurt screamed, "Blaine no! No! You have to keep control!"

Blaine heard Kurt's voice. He opened his eyes and dug his fingers into the carpet. He looked at his father who was still screaming at him. The darkness was competing with Kurt's voice in his head, urging him to attack. Come on. Let's just kill him. Your mother will forgive you. She loves you. Just kill him Blaine. He wants to keep you from Kurt. Are you really going to let him keep you from Kurt...

Kurt was rocking back and forth, tears streaming down his face. He was concentrating with every fiber of his being, his mind screaming. Keep control Blaine. Keep control. Keep control Blaine. Keep control.

"You know what?" roared James, "I'm sick of this shit. I want you out of here, now! Just get out!" James pulled Blaine up from the floor and started trying to drag him towards the door. Blaine wrenched away from him and James punched him. Blaine stumbled backwards and fell. James jumped on top of him and held him down. "I fucking hate you! I know what you did you fucking freak! I know it was you! I can't prove it, but I know! I know!" Blaine just lay there, concentrating on Kurt's voice echoing in his head.

Keep control Blaine. Keep control. Keep control Blaine. Keep control.

At the same time, the darkness was throwing a tantrum. Aren't you tired of getting your ass beat by him? Attack! Blaine punched his father in the jaw and pushed him off. His father lunged at him again and the two started rolling around, each wrestling to gain control of the other.

Elaine was screaming. She couldn't take it anymore. She ran over and tried to pull them apart. At that moment, James swung, trying to hit Blaine. His fist landed against Elaine's cheek. She fell back. Realizing what happened, James yelled and threw Blaine off of him. He scrambled over to Elaine.

"Oh shit! Elaine! Oh, God! Elaine! Elaine, I'm so sorry! Oh, my God! Elaine!"

Elaine was sitting with a stunned expression, holding the side of her face.

Blaine scrambled across the room and practically curled his body into the wall. The darkness was slamming around inside him. He tried to focus only on Kurt's voice.

Keep control Blaine. Keep control. Keep control Blaine. Keep control.

James looked at Blaine.

"I want you out of here! Do you hear me? Out! I don't care where you go! Just get the hell outta my house!"

Elaine jumped up. "No! No! No! He's my son! You can't just throw him out! No!"

"I don't give a shit! I want him out of here!"

Elaine was hysterical. "No! It's not his fault! It's not Phil's fault! It's nobody's fault! It's nobody's fault! If you have to blame someone, blame me but, please, please don't send my baby away! Please! Phil never touched him. He couldn't have. It..it didn't happen."

James looked at her in confusion."But you said..."

"I-I lied James! I lied! I just wanted you to want me again. To look at me the way you used to. I just wanted you to love me again!"

James stared at his wife with a mixture of confusion, anger and repulsion. The repulsion hurt Elaine the most. She grabbed his arm. "Please James? Why can't you love me? I'm still the same girl you fell in love with in college. Why can't you get over it? Lots of people only have one child. Lots of people have gay..."

James wrenched his arm away from her. He looked at her and at his son sitting on the floor and walked out.

Elaine fell on the couch in a puddle of tears.

Blaine was still sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. Once James had moved away from him, he had managed to calm the darkness. He looked at his mother, crying on the couch. So, she'd been willing to sell him out to save her marriage. Blaine felt like this realization shouldn't hurt as much as it did. Why did he still want his mother to love him? Expect her to love him? She had proven over and over again that she couldn't be trusted.

He stood up and stumbled to his room. He was exhausted and his body hurt. Why the hell was he always getting his ass kicked? Shit had to change but for now, he needed sleep.

He fell on to his bed and was asleep in seconds.

Elaine stared at the mess in the living room. Well, that was it. One night of happiness. That's all you get Elaine. One night. James will never touch you again after this.

She stood up and went into the kitchen. She took out a bottle of wine and a half gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream. She collapsed into one of the kitchen chairs and began to eat the ice cream straight from the container while sipping on the wine. She'd been sitting there for 45 minutes when the doorbell rang. Who the hell could that be?

She opened the door to find Kurt standing there.

They stared at one another for a moment, each noticing that the other had been crying.

"Um, hi Mrs. Anderson. I'm...I need to see Blaine."

Elaine just stared at him.

"Mrs. Anderson? Is Blaine here?"

Elaine woke up. "Uh, yes. What are you doing here?"

"I need to see Blaine."

"He's sleeping."

"I don't need to wake him. I just...I just need to see him."

Elaine looked at Kurt closely. He looked determined. Oh, well. What did it matter now? James hated her. No reason why her son shouldn't be happy.

"Come in."

Elaine followed Kurt as he ran up the stairs to Blaine's room. He opened the door and sighed heavily in relief at seeing him sprawled across his bed. Elaine stood in the doorway and watched curiously as Kurt undressed her son down to his boxers and carefully rolled him under the covers. At one point, Blaine stirred and opened his eyes for just a moment. He looked up at Kurt and said, "I love you beautiful." Kurt caressed his hair. "I love you too." Blaine went back to sleep instantly. Kurt kissed him softly and walked out of the room.

Once they were back downstairs in the kitchen, Kurt stood there feeling awkward.

"I-I just had to make sure he was okay."

Elaine looked at him. How did he know what had happened?

"I'll be going now. Thank you."

Elaine was suddenly hit with a rush of desperation. She didn't want to be alone.

"Wait! Um...uh...do you want something to drink?"

Kurt looked at her in surprise. He studied her face. She looked so sad and desperate and her face was bruised. Did Blaine's father hit her? Kurt felt sorry for her. He couldn't help it. She was Blaine's mom and looking at her always reminded him of Blaine.

"Um...okay."

"Is wine okay?"

"I-I'm only 18."

Elaine shrugged. "This is my house. You have my permission."

Kurt looked at her. Was she serious?

"Okay."

They sat down at the table. Kurt took a tiny sip and was surprised that he actually liked the taste. He took another small sip and looked at Elaine.

"What happened?"

Elaine sighed. "What always seems to happen in this house. James and Blaine fighting."

"About what?"

"James told Blaine he couldn't see you anymore."

Kurt gasped. Elaine was amused by his reaction.

"Don't worry. Blaine made it clear that he would continue to see you."

Oh. That explains Blaine almost losing control. If he had, he would have killed his father. Kurt shuddered at the thought.

Elaine looked at him. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

"What does your mother think of your being gay?"

"She died when I was 8, but I don't think she would have cared."

"Oh." Elaine suddenly felt sad for someone other than herself. A little boy with no mother. That was heartbreaking. For the first time, she looked at Kurt as someone other than the boy ruining her son.

"Does your father mind?"

"No. I'm sure it wasn't easy for him at first, but he's always been supportive and loving."

Elaine nodded. So different from James. Elaine looked at Kurt. Her voice was almost a whisper.

"You really love my son...don't you?"

Kurt looked straight into her eyes. "I love your son more than anything in the world. I would do anything for Blaine. Anything. I love him so much that...some days...I almost can't stand it. My love for him overwhelms me."

Elaine looked at Kurt. She knew he meant every word. No wonder Blaine threw such a fit when James said he couldn't see him again. Despite the fact that it was a boy, Elaine felt a touch of happiness. Happy that someone loved her son. The kind of love she wished she had. It would be better if Kurt was a Kate but nonetheless, it was love and she wanted Blaine to have love.

They sat in silence, sipping wine until Elaine noticed the ring.

"Your ring is beautiful."

"Thank you."

Kurt felt a rush of panic. He quickly put his hand in his lap.

Elaine thought that was odd.

"May I see it?"

"What?"

"Your ring? May I see it?"

Kurt slowly moved his hand towards Elaine. She looked at the ring closely.

"It really is exquisite. Where did you get it?"

"Tiffany's."

Elaine raised her eyebrows. "You bought if for yourself?"

Kurt felt trapped. He didn't want to lie. Not about something that meant so much to him, but he wasn't sure how Elaine would react.

"It was a gift."

Elaine looked at him closely. Kurt put his hand back in his lap.

Elaine looked at the table. She finally looked back at Kurt. Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

"It's from Blaine, isn't it?"

Kurt nodded slowly.

"An engagement ring?"

Kurt just looked at her.

Elaine said nothing else. She stood up.

"You'd better go home."

Kurt stood up quickly. "Okay. Thank you." He practically ran out of the house.

Elaine stood in the middle of the kitchen.

So, her 17 year old son gave an engagement ring to his 18 year old boyfriend.

Won't James be pleased.

Tasha McNeil did not like working at We Clean Services. Who the hell wants to clean other people's disgusting mess? But, it was a job and every once in a while, they would clean the home of someone rich or famous and then there would be good stuff to steal. Plus, that guy from the newspaper had offered her $100 every time she could get him into the home of someone good.

Tasha gave him a call.

"Mark Madison."

"Hey Mark. It's Tasha from We Clean."

"Hey girl! What's going on?"

"Listen, I don't know if this guy would be of any interest to you, but I recognized his name from that big fire at that senator guy's office. On Friday, we are cleaning out the condo of a Phil Williams. Would you be interested in tagging along?"

"Absolutely."