5YL Let the Encore Commence

Part 78

Between what Blaine and Sebastian had shared with him, along with his conversation with Carole, Sam didn't feel comfortable leaving the Hudson-Hummel home. So much so, he told Carole he was going to stick around for a bit, not head straight back to Columbus, in case she needed him once again. After checking the time, Sam decided to make a stop at the Lima Bean, before heading over to McKinley to see how Brad was doing with the New Directions since he was in town. Unsure of where they'd be, Sam decided to head to the choir room first, which ended up being not so wise. He'd only reached the doorway when he saw Will, causing him to shake his head. "You're definitely not who I was looking for." At the sound of his voice, Will turned towards the doorway and sighed. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but, I thought you weren't supposed to be here."

"It nice to see you too Sam." Will begrudgingly replied as he continued placing items into his bag. "For your information, I'm merely here to get some of my things."

"Surprised you waited so long."

"I must say, I didn't expect this attitude from you, but…"

"If you even try to blame Blaine or Sebastian for this, I'll lose what's left of the respect I have for you, which isn't much after the stunt you pulled." Sam said as he walked towards the piano. "You, brought this on yourself, this has nothing to do with either of them."

"Sam, it's not that simple."

"Actually, it is. If you'd taught Blaine arrangement the way it was written, none of this would be happening to you."

"The school board will realize they overreacted once…"

"You abandoned your students, they're not going to forget that!" Sam blurted out, not wanting to hear his version of what supposedly happened. "Coach Sylvester of all people saved the day! She had no reason to want to help the New Directions, yet she did."

"She did it to make me look bad."

"No, you did that yourself." Sam countered. "Do you realize the bind you would've put Blaine in if they didn't show?"

"I thought you said this wasn't about Blaine."

"If the New Directions hadn't shown, Blaine would've been in a bit of a bind, yet, he had the intuition to call Mercedes in case you bailed after what happened at rehearsal." Sam said to him. "How do you not get how bad you looked? Seriously, what happened to the man who encouraged all of us. Because if one of us had acted the way you had at rehearsal back in the day, you would've had plenty to say. Instead, you gave your students a shitty example of how to behave in that type of situation."

"Blaine…"

"Blaine handled that situation better than the rest of us would've given how pissed he was."

"I understand you're upset…"

"Upset, doesn't even scratch the surface about how I feel! Whether your behavior was based on some twisted loyalty to Kurt, or your own bruised ego, there's no excuse for what you did, to not only your students, but Blaine, and Rachel."

"Rachel?"

"Oh, Thad made it known what you said to her." Sam said in response. "Here I thought only Kurt would cruel enough to go that low."

"I never should've said that to her, and I intend on making it right."

"Don't hold your breath as she wants nothing to do with you anymore."

"Let me guess, Thad told you that."

"No, Rachel." Sam told him. "She has no place in her life for anyone that would treat her that way.

"I was angry."

"No excuse. You crossed her in two ways that day, you went after Blaine because he dared stand up for himself, then you dared to use Finn against her. I'd bet you even went after Thad to since you seemed to be on a roll."

"Anything else Sam?"

"I don't think so." He then smiled. "You know, it felt good to get that off my chest."

"What happened to you?"

"Me, you should be asking yourself that as I don't recognize you anymore, neither does anyone else." Sam turn to look at the picture of Finn which still hung on the wall. "You might want to ask yourself what Finn would have to say about what you did given he looked up to you." Sam proceeded to check his phone in case he'd missed a text or call from Carole. "I'm going to go see if Brad needs any help."

"Mercedes is with them."

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't expect to see her either, but she decided to stop by since she was in town for some reason." When Sam laughed, Will cocked his head. "Let me guess, you know why she's in town?"

"No, but I've got a good idea considering what happened earlier today."

"What happened?"

"Kurt was in court for once again violating the terms of the protection order against him."

"What?"

"Yep."

"Let me guess, Blaine told you."

"Carole actually."

"She and Burt have got to be upset."

"Why, because the judge dares to hold Kurt accountable for his actions?"

"Sam."

"Are you seriously trying to defend him after what he's done?"

"Sam, you don't…"

"Oh, I know more than I care to, and Kurt deserves everything, that's happening to him! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see the New Directions, along with Brad, and Mercedes." Before Will could even respond, Sam turned on his heels and was on his way out the door, causing Will to run his hand over the back of his neck.

"If I had to guess, that reaction was brought on by Sam." Emma said as she walked into the room, earning her a nod. "Can't say I'm surprised, he is Blaine's best friend."

"I almost expected you to say I deserved whatever he said." When she merely sighed, Will sighed. "You agree with him, don't you?"

"I'd have to know what he said to agree. But if he defended Blaine, and Rachel, then yes." Emma replied before looking about the room. "Do you have everything?"

"Almost. I can't believe it came to this."

"I can." She admitted. "I still have problems wrapping my head around it, and by that I mean you ditching the kids."

"Sam said I abandoned them."

"He's right."

"Emma, I never thought…"

"That's the problem, you never thought through how your actions would play out." Emma interjected. "Right now, you should be grateful they didn't fire you. With that said, you better hope none of your former students show up to the follow up hearing. It's going to be bad enough trying to explain yourself to your students' parents. You don't need the alumni piling on since most were there and witnessed your behavior firsthand."

"Did you know Kurt had another hearing today?" Emma nodded. "How did you know?"

"Mercedes mentioned it was why she was here."

"Don't you feel Blaine and Sebastian are being unfair?"

"This has nothing to do with Blaine and Sebastian, it's about Kurt."

"But…"

"No, as Carole told me Blaine and Sebastian have little to do with what's happening." Emma told him. "Most of what's happening, is because Kurt won't listen. The judge has made it clear what's expected from Kurt, but he doesn't do as he's told."

"It's not right."

"Maybe, but what he's doing to Blaine and Sebastian isn't right either. Kurt's broken the law, it can't be over looked."

"Couldn't it have been dealt with differently?"

"You sound like Burt, but according to Carole, Blaine tried to handle it differently, but Kurt left him no choice."

"So, Blaine did put this in motion." Will replied.

"No, his lawyers did."

"One who happens to be Sebastian's father."

"Yes, but he's also excellent at what he does." Emma reminded him. "Remember, if there was no justification for their reaction, the judge would've thrown it out. Also, from what I've been told, the basis of it was terms agreed to when they divorced."

"None of this makes sense."

"Now that, we can agree on." She told him. "Yet simply because we don't understand it, doesn't change that it is happening." Emma then glanced at the clock. "You better finish up, as Principal Figgins only gave you so much time to get your things."

"I don't want this to be the last time I leave this room, Emma."

"I know, and I don't want that either, but…"

"I screwed up." She nodded in response. "See you at home?"

"Yes, once I'm done here." Emma was about to leave, when she looked back at him. "What's Sam doing in town?"

"Don't know, but he did mention something about talking to Carole." In response, Emma shook her head. "What is it?"

"I need to make one stop before coming home."

"Let me guess, you're going to check on Carole."

"Do you mind?"

"No, as I can only imagine how all this is affecting her and Burt."

"If you only knew." Emma said quietly to herself before leaving the room, eager to finish up in order to check on Carole, as it couldn't be good if Sam was in town.

By the time Burt got home from the shop, Carole was waiting for him in the family room, and it only took one look at her to know she wasn't happy. "Can we not do this right now?" Burt said to her as he took his hat off.

"And why would you like to do this?" Carole replied. "We can't ignore what happened today Burt."

"I know, but right now I just want ot relax as I had to listen to Kurt complain about how unfair the ruling was."

"What was it?"

"She fined him another five thousand dollars, which he doesn't have." Burt told her.

"He should keep that in mind next time he's tempted to talk about them."

"The Judge told him the same thing."

"Guess now you can't say the judge holds a grudge against him, since this was a different judge." Carole said in response.

"The ADA…"

"Was doing her job, whether you agree with it or not." She chimed in. "The judge, the ADA, they're all doing their jobs."

"I know, but the ADA crossed a line." Carole couldn't help but laugh in response. "Really?"

"After the testimony Kurt gave, are you serious? He did everything Mr. Jones asked him not to do, just one more person he doesn't listen to. No wonder he's so frustrated with him." She then dumped the envelope out on the table before him once again. "This right here, is who Kurt is. He abandoned Blaine, but only gave a damn again once he thought he could benefit from what was going on with him."

"You don't know that?"

"And you don't know it's not." Carole replied. "The timing of his reappearance is questionable."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want you to see who you're trying to defend. Do you really think so many of Kurt's former friends would've turned their back on him, if they didn't believe it all to be true?" She told him.

"They're basing it on what Blaine's told them."

"Are you forgetting what Rachel said, or Santana about what happened to Blaine. He became withdrawn, yet no clue why it was happening."

"He could've…"

"Just stop already! Listen to me, Blaine was pretending, he was suffering from depression."

"You don't…"

"Kate told me, point blank he was suffering from depression when he left Kurt."

"Yet he still did."

"Yes, because in a moment of clarity, Blaine realized he needed to, in order to save himself."

"Carole, she…"

"Don't, just don't. How can you blindly ignore what Blaine's been through?"

"How can you take Kate's word over Kurt's?"

"Because she hasn't lied to me over and over the way Kurt has." Carole replied, causing Burt to rub the back of his neck. "Burt, he's lied to us time and time again."

"I know that, but what do you expect me to do?"

"Hold him accountable like we talked about. Stop making excuses for him."

"I'm all he has left Carole."

"And what do you think Elizabeth would say about her son right now?"

"You have no right to bring her up, you didn't know her!"

"But it's okay for you and Kurt to use my son as a weapon?" She said to him before taking a deep breath to compose herself. "I simply asked what she would think of all this, because from what you've told me, she'd be disappointed." When he reached out for her, she pulled away.

"Carole, I'm sorry, I…"

"I know, but sorry doesn't change what's happening between us."

"What do you mean?"

"You can't keep making excuses for him Burt."

"I know that, but…"

"I know none of this easy on you, but you're not helping him by making excuses for him."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Stop pretending he hasn't done the things he's accused of."

"I don't."

"You do, and it breaks my heart watching him play you."

"He's not playing me." He then watched her sift through the pictures for the one she was looking for.

"This was taken on his and Blaine's first wedding anniversary, the very night Kurt proclaimed he waited at home all night for Blaine to come home." Carole said to him, holding the picture before him which showed another young man kissing Kurt on his cheek. "Did you bother asking him about this?"

"No."

"And why is that?"

"Because I knew he'd lie to me, that's why!" Slowly she lowered the photo before dropping it back onto the pile. "Feel better?"

"Not really, but it's the first time, in a while, you've acknowledge he's lied to us." She then looked over his shoulder where Kurt and Finn's graduation portraits hung. "He's not sorry for what he's done."

"He's sick Carole."

"And once again, you're making excuses for him. Dr. Brady told us his diagnosis doesn't mean he doesn't know right from wrong, just that he's always going to put himself first, look out for his own best interest above all else."

"That's not normal." Burt told her.

"No, but it doesn't excuse his behavior either." She replied. "And you're doing everything you promised not to do."

"I can't turn my back on him Carole."

"Instead you've turned your back on everything you once believed in."

"That's not fair."

"None of this is fair, but you're sacrificing yourself for your son, who doesn't care how his actions impact you, us." Burt then happened to look to the side and saw a bag against the wall.

"Carole, don't do this."

"I'm not doing this, you are."

"I can't turn my back on him." Burt replied.

"I've never asked you to, but I can't stand by as you make excuses for him and attack those he's hurt any longer." She said before going to get her bag. "LeRoy and Hiram said I could stay with them for awhile."

"Carole, please, don't do this."

"I don't want to, but I need time to think, so do you." She replied before walking towards him to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you in a couple of days."

"Carole, please, we can fix this."

"That's what I hope for, but we can't until you realize you're not doing him or yourself any favors excusing his behavior." Carole told him. "There's dinner in the fridge." As he bowed his head, she lowered hers, not wanting to see him like this. Once she started walking towards the door, Burt reached out and took her hand. "Don't make this any harder than it already is."

"Please, Carole, there has to be another way."

"Nothing I've said has gotten through to you, it's not going to change."

"I will, just don't go."

"I want to believe you, but you've told me that before, only to blindly defending, even with all you know." Carole then took another deep breath. "Goodbye, Burt." She was walking down the front steps when Emma came walking up, seeing her bag.

"Where are you going?"

"LeRoy and Hiram said I could stay with them."

"Do, do you want to talk?" Carole nodded, as Emma handed her a tissue to dry her tears, before looking towards the door where Burt stood. "Are you okay to drive?" She nodded once again. "I'll follow you." Emma looked towards Burt once again, and her heart broke, as she couldn't believe it had come to this.

Even as Carole pulled out the driveway, Burt didn't move from the doorway, merely watching in disbelief as his wife drove away. Tempting as it was to follow her, Burt knew Carole well enough to know he'd only push her further away in that moment, which was the last thing he wanted. Little did he realize, Emma wasn't the only one that knew Carole left, Sam saw it all play out as he was pulling up to the house as it occurred to check on her before heading home. If circumstances were different, Sam wouldn't hesitate checking on Burt, but things had changed, in a way he wished they hadn't. Instead after checking the time, he decided to send Blaine a text, letting him know to expect a call from him in the morning as the situation there wasn't good. Not expecting a response, he was about to pull back onto the road, when he received a text from Sebastian, asking what was going on, as Blaine had left his phone on the counter. After a bit of internal debate, he sent Sebastian a response which was straight to the point, that Carole had left Burt.

"And how do you know this?" Were the first words out of Sebastian's mouth after Sam answered his phone.

"Because I just watched her leave with a bag, followed by Emma." Sam told him.

"B said she called you, did she say anything about this to you?"

"No, but I could tell what happened in court today pushed her to the limit." Sam replied. "Do, do you know what happened?"

"Not completely, as when I called my Dad he was busy, so I got the condensed version of events." Sebastian then raked his fingers through his hair, knowing this was the last thing Blaine needed to hear. "After what happened at the benefit, I've got to say, I'm surprised she's going with Emma."

"I don't know if that's where she's going, just that she was there." Sam told him. "Are you going to tell Blaine?"

"Hell no, at least not right now."

"What's going on Sebastian?"

"Jeff and Morgan are on their way over, and I don't want this ruining his mood, and you know it would. Regardless of how Burt's acted, he'd never want this to happen."

"I know, so how do I tell him?"

"Do you have plans tonight?"

"Outside of a quiet night at home with Courtney, no, why?"

"Let me tell him, then we'll call you for details, sound good?"

"That works, but Sebastian…."

"I'll text before we call, because I know all too well what can happen during a quiet night in." Hearing Sam laugh, Sebastian smiled. "Guess that's where you were going with that?"

"Yea."

"Nothing wrong with that." Sebastian told him. "Just expect a call from B first thing in the morning, if we don't get to talk."

"Understood, and Sebastian, thank you."

"Don't mention it. Now get home to that beautiful girlfriend of yours and, try not to think too much about what happened."

"I'll try, but I won't make any promises."

"That's all I ask." Sebastian replied. "Now, I've got to go as I need to give my Dad a heads up before Jeff and Morgan get here. Bye Sam."

"Bye Sebastian."