By Sunday, it seemed as if the whole thing had blown over. Kurt was almost ashamed of the panic he had gone through Friday night after dinner, when he had raced up to his room to see if Karofsky had called. He almost sobbed with relief when he was greeted with the blank screen of his phone, and a quick scan of his missed calls revealed nothing from an unknown number.
Needless to say, he did not sleep well that night.
But on waking up Saturday and going to the park with Finn, Puck, and his dad to play touch football – okay, so he spent more time daydreaming about seeing "Wicked" on Broadway than actually playing, but they needed equal teams and it meant he got to hang out with Dad and Finn – and then helping Carole make dinner that night, the phone call seemed further and further.
Not that any of that stopped him from jumping three feet in the air when his phone unexpectedly rang on Sunday morning.
He sighed with relief upon seeing the caller ID, "Hey, Mercedes."
"Hey, Kurt. My parents say I can go shopping after church today. You up for some quality time with your fabulous best friend?"
"Absolutely," Kurt laughed in a way that he hoped was not as desperate as it sounded, "Let me just ask my dad." Kurt leaned over the railing, pressing the phone to his shoulder to muffle the sound, "Hey, Dad?"
"Yeah, Kurt?" His dad's voice floated up from the living room. He and Finn were watching some sporting event; Kurt could hear the cheering over some goal scored in the background.
"Is it okay if I go shopping with Mercedes later today?" Kurt put on his usual 'I'm your firstborn son, don't you want me to have a happy childhood?' smile, more for show than anything. His father couldn't see it, but that was no reason to slack, and his dad knew that it was there, anyway.
His father grunted, mulling it over for a moment. "I think that'll be okay, Kurt. Be back by six though, or call me if you're gonna be late. I want to see you one last time before you head back to Dalton for the week."
"Yeah, dad." Kurt pulled the phone back to his ear. "I have to be back by six."
"That's okay," Mercedes said, "I'll be there to pick you up around one, okay? You can call Blaine and see if he wants to come." It was an obvious effort for her to offer, and Kurt appreciated it.
"No, that's okay. I think I want to just hang out with you, today." He could practically hear Mercedes beaming on the other line. He failed to mention that Blaine was going to be busy studying for his chemistry test all day.
"Oh, my gosh, Kurt, we are gonna - "
"Yeah, Mercedes," Kurt said, "Can I talk to you later? My dad wants to talk to me. Thanks." Kurt gently pressed the off button on his phone. His dad was indeed standing in his doorway, waiting patiently for Kurt to finish his conversation.
"You didn't have to hang up with Mercedes on account of me, you know," Burt said, looking aimlessly around Kurt's room, not sure what to settle his eyes on first. Burt always seemed to have that lost look, stepping into Kurt's room. "I coulda waited."
"No, it's fine. Mercedes and I haven't talked since Friday. It would probably have been a long conversation." Kurt flopped back onto his bed, "Yeah, Dad?"
"I just… Kurt, do you have anything to say to me?" Burt asked, "About what's been bothering you lately?"
Burt had been trying, in his own clumsy way, to get Kurt to open up about what had happened Friday night. Kurt didn't tell him about the phone calls; at best, it would make him sound paranoid, not to mention worrying his dad over nothing. At worst… Kurt didn't want to think about if the calls were real.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Dad. I'm fine." Kurt said, smiling brightly at his father for emphasis. Burt grunted and began turning away.
That, of course, was the moment Kurt's phone chose to ring.
"Aren't you going to answer it?" Burt asked, turning back into the room.
"No!" Kurt said it a little too quickly. Time for the disarmingly casual laugh. He already saw the flashing 'unknown' on his cellular screen. "I mean, it's an unknown number. Probably just some sales call or something." He tried to ignore his heart's terrifying beat in his chest. 'It's nothing,' he told himself. 'Karofsky's being a creep. I can't let him rule me like this.'
Kurt's dad watched him warily from the doorway. "Okay, then. Carole's making some chicken salad downstairs. You want to have some?"
"Sure," Kurt said, bouncing from his bed and after his father. The ringing from his bedside table stopped.
Kurt was halfway down the stairs before it started again.
…..
"Alright, so how do I look in this?" Mercedes asked, twirling expectantly before him. Kurt scanned the scarlet top with a critical eye. His phone was in his bag; Kurt had turned it on silent after the fourth phone call. 'I won't answer it, I won't play that psycho's game,' he told himself. But his hands were itching to check his phone all the same.
"… It's great," Kurt finally said, taking just a moment too long delivering his verdict to give himself time to calm down. "Fabulous." Mercedes grinned as she checked the price tag.
"And for only 10 dollars. Am I amazing or what?"
"Amazing, definitely," Kurt nodded.
"I think I'm gonna try on that blue one, next. What do you think?" Mercedes could tell he was distracted. Not good. Kurt took a careful second to scan through the options.
"I think the goldenrod one has more potential, to be honest."
Mercedes pulled the yellow top off its hook obligingly as she shut the door. Kurt leapt for his phone the moment the door was shut, his heart dropping as he read the screen. Seven missed calls since he'd silenced it. Kurt closed out the screen only to find another beneath it.
1 voice message.
Kurt pressed the button, trying to keep his hands from shaking, coming up with nonchalant mutterings in response to Mercedes chattering as she tried on the shirt.
"We need to do this more often, white boy. I swear, Kurt, I never find this many deals when you're not around. I think you must be my good luck charm."
"Yeah…" Kurt said softly as the message started.
"You didn't answer my calls, Kurt. I'm very disappointed, where's your sense of adventure? No matter. Since you chose not to play this round, I had to come up with a… new source of entertainment."
The message cut off, and Kurt had to force himself to laugh.
"Lay off, Karofsky," Kurt muttered, faking more nonchalance than he had.
He shook it off, listening absent-mindedly to Mercedes, "Oooo, this is it, Kurt, you were so right." He checked the rest of his phone, more to calm himself than anything else. He had a text message from David. Kurt sighed with relief as he clicked on the screen. This should be entertaining.
The text was only two lines long. It took a second for Kurt to read it, half a second for his heart to stop. His phone hit the floor.
"Kurt, are you okay out there?" Mercedes called. Kurt wasn't listening, his mind stuck on the same ten words.
You need to get back to Dalton, Kurt. Something's happened.