"Oh, no . . . I'm so sorry," he whimpered, covering his mouth with a shaking hand and looking up at Terri's shocked face with tearing eyes. "I didn't mean to!"
Terri gulped, fighting back the urge to start screaming at him. After all, he hadn't known it was going to happen and he had at least managed to spare her bed. It was just bad luck – horribly, wretchedly, revoltingly bad luck – that she had been dumb enough to stand right in the line of fire.
"I know," she grated, doing her best not to look down or breathe in. Terri had always been a sympathy puker. Thank heaven she had been wearing boots - unfortunately cute and fashionable ones - so none of the mess had been able to reach her skin, or else she would have returned the favor for sure. As it was, she had to get herself cleaned up and the area rug he had just ruined had to be disposed of pronto, before she accidentally went all Mt. Vesuvius on her guest. Tightly, she asked, "Could you . . . just go back into the bathroom and wait until I come get you?"
Kurt nodded, right hand remaining as a guard over his mouth while he scooted off the bed, careful to avoid the spoiled rug. Terri's irritation faded a bit as she watched the concussed boy weave uncertainly as he fled from her sight.
As quickly as she could manage, given her unwillingness to actually touch the spoiled footwear, Terri removed her boots and slacks and bundled them into the small bedside rug. Hurrying into a pair of jeans and slippers, she dashed into the kitchen for a garbage bag and a set of rubber kitchen gloves, transporting the messy bundle into the bag and hurrying it out to her small balcony. It wouldn't be pleasant to remove later on, but at least it was out of the house where she wouldn't have to smell it. Burning it was unfortunately not an option, and there was no way she could make it all the way out to the community dumpsters in all this snow.
A powerful gust of wind ripped through her, making Terri shiver from head to toe. The way the temperature was dropping she wouldn't be surprised if the garbage froze. At least it would be less messy to transport that way!
Gathering some paper towels and a bottle of spot cleanser from the kitchen, she returned to her bedroom and scrubbed the now-empty floor next to the bed until everything both looked and smelled fresh again.
Stripping off the gloves inside-out, Terri then put away the cleaner and tossed the gloves in the kitchen garbage. There! Everything was good as new now. No need to panic. Who said Terri Schuester did not know how to handle an emergency?
Humming to herself, she put some freshly ground beans and water into the coffee maker, thinking that a nice warm cup of coffee would be just the thing for such a cold and nasty day. Maybe a grilled-cheese sandwich and some of those little cookies to go with it. After all, she had not had lunch yet and it had been a very trying day.
Why did she feel as if she was forgetting something . . . ?
A small thumping noise caught her ears and Terri gasped. The boy!
Hurrying back and bursting into the small bathroom, she immediately winced at the sight that met her eyes. Poor Kurt was sitting on the closed toilet lid, his body tightly hunched over with one arm wrapped around his ribs, trying to muffle pathetic hitching sobs in the bandaged palm of the other hand.
"Oh, no. Sweetie, I'm sorry I took so long. Please don't do that. Don't cry. I'm sorry!" Terri babbled; crossing over to him and putting out a hand, but then drawing it back again, not sure if he would react well to a touch. "I didn't mean to get mad at you. Really! I was just shocked, that's all. Everything is okay now."
"S-s-sorry," he gulped, shaking his head but not lifting it from his hand. "I c-can't seem to s-stop!"
Feeling pity pour through her, Terri moved closer to him and perched on the lip of the bathtub, daring to pat his shoulder.
"Hey, I understand. I've been there," she said quietly. His eyes finally lifted to meet hers, but there was clear doubt reflected in their watery depths. She smiled at him, allowing honest sympathy to shine through. "Believe me. I know exactly how it feels to be scared and hurting and confused, having no idea what you're supposed to do next or who to turn to for help."
Surprise gleamed in his eyes and he nodded. "N-not to mention freezing and totally embarrassed," he added, struggling to get the words out. Finally, he sighed and rubbed at his eyes, dashing away more tears as he mumbled, "Can't even believe that happened again."
"Again?"
Bright color instantly suffused his round cheeks. "Um, last year . . . school . . . I-I sort of got drunk . . . and I puked on Miss Pillsbury."
A startled laugh burst from her lips at those shamefully whispered words.
Kurt frowned; confused by the reaction, and suddenly Terri no longer cared about the ruined shoes, the soiled area rug, the fear and worry, and the trouble this boy might still put her through. He had avenged her against Will's red-headed trollop and for that, she could forgive him anything.
"Would you like to take a hot bath?" she offered warmly. "I'm sorry I don't have a shower, but there's plenty of bubble bath if you like to use some, and I'll see about finding you some different clothes. I still have a box of Will's old things that accidentally moved with me when we separated. And if your stomach feels up to it, I could fix you some hot soup and crackers!"
Kurt looked completely baffled by her sudden shift in mood. He squinted one eye shut; face scrunching as he studied her smiling face through the other eye, clearly trying to make up his mind if the problem was with her or with his own confused brain.
"Yes, please," he said finally, giving up the battle as another hard shiver overtook his body. He picked at the tape and gauze fastened to his right knee. "If you don't mind."
"Oh, I can redo those bandages in two seconds! After all, I'm a nurse!"
Looking doubtful, he blurted, "Really?"
Terri blushed. She remembered the speed of gossip at a public high school. If even one student had found out about her lack of credentials for playing school-nurse at McKinley, the entire student body would have known by the end of the day.
"No . . . not really. But I've treated injuries for my nephews plenty of times. There are three of them and they're always getting into trouble and needing medical help." She frowned, thinking about Kendra's insanely rambunctious trio of redheaded sons. "Like . . . a lot."
The boy smiled, the first one Terri had seen on his face and she felt herself smiling in response. "My dad used to threaten to buy stock in Band-Aids." The smile dropped away, replaced with an anxious expression as he rubbed one temple with the pads of his fingers. "I can't remember. Did . . . did you say my dad was coming? Will he be here soon?"
Terri sighed. She was glad to hear her young guest making more sense now that he was fully awake and starting to regain his emotional equilibrium but it was clear that he was still a bit confused. And he clearly still had only one thing on his mind.
"I didn't actually speak to him," she admitted. "I just left a message on his answering machine and then my phone service was interrupted."
"Oh." He considered this. "Maybe I could try."
Terri's brow wrinkled into a frown, only then realizing, "I didn't see a phone. Or a wallet, or even car keys!" She had put his jeans and other wet clothes into the lower half of the tiny stackable washer/dryer in her kitchen before making her calls and she was sure there had been nothing in the pockets. "Maybe they're in your coat?"
"Putting stuff in the pockets ruins the lines," he objected automatically.
"Then where else . . ." Terri gasped. "Oh! Were you mugged? Is that how you hurt your head? Who would do that to a poor little boy caught out in a snowstorm? I should have called the police instead of talking to Will! The thieves could still be out there, robbing other boys and girls! They could have stolen my car when I stopped to help you! My goodness!"
Kurt inched away as she started to ramble, shoulders striking the wall next to the toilet and halting the instinctive movement. His big blue eyes held that unfortunate 'back away from the crazy person' look that a lot of people seemed to develop around Terri for some reason. Kendra got it even more. They never had figured out why . . .
"Um . . . maybe I left my bag in the car?" the boy interrupted when she stopped to take a breath. "I wasn't really thinking straight."
"Oh . . . right," she said. That made a lot more sense.
Kurt nibbled his lip anxiously as a new thought occurred to him. "Hope I didn't leave the engine running." Worry darkened his eyes. "What if Dad calls me before he gets your message? If he can't reach me . . ."
"Then he'll check his messages and come here," she said confidently, deciding to keep to herself that she was not sure how much of her message had actually made it into the answering machine. That was one extra worry this poor kid did not need right now.
To distract him, she turned and twisted the knobs to get water flowing into the bathtub. "This may take a couple of minutes to heat up. The bottles of bubble bath are in that cabinet under the sink. I have jasmine, lilac and orange-honeysuckle. Do you need help getting into the tub?"
His eyes went wide, fingers clenching convulsively around the lapels of his borrowed bathrobe. "No!" he squeaked, then coughed a little in embarrassment as he amended in a slightly lower voice, "I mean, I'm fine."
Terri doubted that claim but let it go, more than happy to take his words at face value. After all, there was being a Good Samaritan and then there was being a Cougar, and that was not a line she was looking to cross!
Noticing that the boy was squinting against the stark lighting in the bright-white bathroom, she asked gently, "Is your headache getting worse? Would you like some Tylenol?"
"Yes, please," he agreed instantly, the relief in his voice giving her a good idea just how badly he must be hurting.
Terri pulled the drain-plug closed to let the tub begin to fill and rose to rummage in the medicine cabinet. She administered two headache tablets with a glass of water, then gestured to the cabinet under the sink. "Any preference on the bubbles?"
Kurt had not actually stated willingness to use any of the floral scented bubble-baths, but Terri wanted a nice thick coat of foam standing between them if any more emergencies arose. Kurt apparently concurred, for he said, "Honeysuckle sounds okay."