Kurt's POV

When my phone rang I had no idea how much my life was fixing to change, what the demons of someone else would do to me.

I looked at the screen and saw Noah's name and number. I remember how the meltdown, the talk in the truck and the fact that I am the one that put my number in his contact list.

I answer it not sure what I am going to say or what he is going to say to me. The voice on Noah's phone is not though, its his younger sister Becky. Her voice is full of fear and concern as she asks me if I can come over; Noah needs me.

Noah needs me?

My thoughts become jumbled for just a moment, is this a trap? Is this some cruel joke? Does he really need me? Why is his sister calling me? I am starting to panic.

I ask her what is wrong and she gives me the one answer I hadn't thought of, Noah's hurt. The fear in my chest swells, I feel like I am on the verge of fainting and that would not help anyone.

I take a really deep breath and tell her I will be there in a couple of minutes. I push the end button, grab my keys running up the stairs to tell my Dad that I would be back later.

He asked me what was wrong and I stopped long enough to tell him that a friend needed me and that I call him later to check in with him. As always I got a be careful and love you son before I walked out the front door.

I almost dropped my keys, my hands were shaking so bad, but I finally get my Navigator started and back out of the driveway. I take several deep breaths to calm me as I drive, I know its not far but I also know that most accidents occur a half mile from your home or something like that distance.

I pull my Nav into their driveway, and park out of the way. I have never been to Noah's house. I walk to the back door as I see the kitchen light is on and so is the back porch light. I knock and Becky answers the door. She has blood on her shirt, hands, and more importantly the rag she holds in her hand is covered in blood. I am suddenly calm and simply ask her where is Noah.

She grabs my hand and pulls me into the kitchen. I notice that her face is stained from tears and by the look in her eyes she could start crying again. My eyes start searching for Noah and then I see him.

He is sliding down the stairway railing that leads upstairs. We both run to him, barely catching him before he hit's the floor. I see the shock in his eyes at seeing me and then I notice the way he is breathing, gasping for air. My eyes follow from his eyes to his lips, they are covered in blood and still freely bleeding down his chin. The blood spatters on the front of his shirt and the tops of his boots.

He doesn't look at me, not really look at me. It is almost like he is sleep walking, there is no light in his eyes only despair.

We help him upstairs to his room. I ask Becky if they have a first aid kit, she goes to the upstairs bathroom to get it. I kneel in front of Noah and ask him if I need to get his mother and the reaction really frightens me.

He shakes his head violently and through his bloody lips tells me, almost screams at me, no. I see the tears that are falling from his hazel eyes and I see the look that my own eyes have mirrored so many times. The look of a scared little boy that is afraid of being hurt again.

My breath catches in my own throat. The bully, the badass that has tortured me for years looks like his soul is broken.

Becky comes back into the room just as their mother announces she is leaving for work. She sounds strange as if she knows nothing about the shape her son is in, she yells to Becky that she loves her and will call later to check on her. She never mentions Noah and I see his shoulders suddenly start shaking violently, he is sobbing.

I ask Becky about the first aid kit and she shakes her head no, tells me that it was empty. She hands me a wet wash cloth, her eyes are full of tears for her brother. I watch as she slips her arms gently around Noah and tries to calm him. She tells him to let me help him, he holds his head up without looking at me.

I gently wipe the blood off his face only for it to be covered again. I ask Becky to go set some ice in a bag. She tells Noah that she will be right back, he simply nods his head.

I gently lay my hands on his shoulders talking to him, letting him know that I am not trying to hurt him I try to get him to lay back on the bed but he only grips his sides tighter, telling me it hurts too much to lay down.

Noah is scaring me now, he is gasping harder for each breath. I tell him that I am going to raise up his bloody shirt to see how bad it is and he holds his sides tighter shaking his head no at me.

When Becky walks back into the room and gently as possible place the ice pack on Noah's split lip. He groans in pain as the cold touches his throbbing lip.

I ask her if there is anyone besides his Mom that they can call about getting Noah to a doctor. Noah hears the word doctor and really starts fighting us. He tries to push us away from him, but it only makes him gasp in pain and he doubles over. She says that her Nana is too old to help and she will side with Mom anyway.

Unable to hold back the questions any longer I ask her what really happened tonight. She looks at Noah and tells him it is going to be okay.

She looks me straight in the eyes and tells me their mother did this to Noah. She starts telling me about how her mother hits Noah and treats him like he was nothing. How sometimes it doesn't matter what Noah does she still abuses him.

Noah hears Becky talking to me and tells her to be quiet. She tells him that someone needs to know what their Mom is doing to him. He begs her to just leave it alone, that she doesn't really mean what she does to him.

I sit back on my heels and just take in all that Becky is telling me about the abuse, the way she only uses Noah for the money he was making before that girl got pregnant. She keeps going telling me how tonight their mother told Noah he was just like his father and that was why the girl gave up the baby so the baby couldn't know Noah.

My heart is breaking and I can feel the tears make their way down my cheeks. I wipe at them trying to regain my composure. So much of Noah's behavior is being explained to me by an eleven year old girl.

She tells me that the reason Mom went off on Noah tonight was because his probation officer hung up on her after telling her that Noah had a job interview tomorrow and the money would be paid to the store for the damages. Mom thinks that money is hers for her drinking and that Noah owes her for having to put up with him.

I ask Becky if she still has the phone number for the guy, Mr. Watson, and she tells me she has already called him and he is on the way to the house. She called him while she was in the bathroom.

Puck starts to really freak out, trying to get up trying to leave before Mr. Watson gets there to the house, but it is too late as they hear the doorbell ringing in the quiet house.

Lone Ranger by Mark Salling

Like legends before him

Aspired to be like them

But legends burn so bright

And they often do

Are quickly put out