Chapter 49

Kurt awoke crying, biting down on his fist hard enough to draw blood as the sobs quickly became hysterical. He carefully pried himself out of Karofsky's grip and tried to stifle his whimpers as he waddled out of the room.

Collapsing on the couch, he winced and shifted so he could rest on his side, giving his abused flesh a break. For a few good hours he sat, barely blinking, barely breathing as he waited. Just waited.

Finally, Dave came trudging down the stairs, stopping to stare at him curiously.

"You okay, Fancy?" he asked, blundering into the kitchen to get some food. Kurt let out a tired sigh before fixing his mask once more, sliding down to kneel by the couch as usual.

"I'm fine Sir, still just a little sore." He answered quietly when Dave sat on the couch with a bowl of porridge.

"Well, that's too bad." Dave said, a contemplating look crossing his face. Kurt waited for a few seconds for the jock to explain himself, but no such explanation came.

"Sir? May I enquire as to what exactly you mean?" he phrased the question carefully, not wanting to set him off.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking that since it has been a month and hardly anyone thinks you're alive, we could be a little reckless."

"I... Sir, I'm afraid I still don't quite understand."

"I was thinking we could go to the mall. But if you're too sore..." Dave said bluntly. Kurt froze instantly.

The mall. Main mall. What day is it? Friday? Depends on when we get there, we stay there for a few hours... Mercedes always goes to the mall. His brain raced, instantly thinking of how he could get away, if he even could.

And what would you do if you escaped? A snide voice in the back of his head commented. Go back to Blaine? Your parents? Who would want you?

Shoving his insecure thoughts away, he smiled 'lovingly' at Dave. "I would love to."

*break*

They were far enough away that it wasn't until eleven that they arrived. Baseball hat in place, Kurt wobbled after Dave into the food court. They ate in silence, not much needing to be said. Dave thought Kurt was just deep in thought, which he was; Kurt was thinking of different ways to murder Dave with the plastic fork currently stabbing his salad.

He played his part well however, laughing and pulling Dave into all his favorite stores, whittling away the hours while trying to explain the different designers to him. All the while he kept his eyes open.

Finally, Dave insisted that they leave. It was only two thirty, not enough time for school to get out and have someone who recognised him arrive. He sighed in defeat.

They passed through the food court again to get to the doors, when something caught Kurt's eye... A red and blue blazer.

It just had to be him didn't it? He thought to himself as the boy finished his food and got up, veering for the restrooms.

"Sir? Would I be able to just use the bathroom quickly? I think I drank a little too much water, and it's a long ride home." He asked quickly, schooling his features to look innocent. Dave smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, sure. I'll meet you outside the doors, okay?" Kurt nodded in understanding, forcing himself to walk calmly instead of running like he truly wanted to.

"Jace? Are you here?" he whispered, looking around the white bathroom hopefully. As he spoke, the Dalton boy who had caused so much trouble in his life stepped out of a stall, freezing in shock when his eyes landed on Kurt.

"Kurt? Holy fuck you're alive!" he practically screamed, tackling Kurt and lifting him off the ground in a bear hug. Kurt cried out in pain, hissing at him to shut up and put him down. Jace set him back on the ground quickly.

"Look, I need you to help me." Kurt muttered quickly, looking around nervously. "Call the cops, call Blaine, anything."

Jace pulled his cell phone out of his pocket quickly, dialling 911 without a word. Kurt was close enough to him that he heard the conversation, still keeping his eyes open all the while.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"Yeah, hi, um I've got Kurt Hummel with me; he disappeared about a month ago?"

"One moment sir. ... Yes, we've got him in the system. Is the subject harmed at all?" the operator said calmly. Jace spun to eye Kurt critically.

"He seems fine, just skittish." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Alright. Sir, I'm going to need your location, we're sending officers out."

"Yeah, uh we're at Lima Shopping Centre. Sho- what?" he cut himself off when Kurt whimpered in fear and hid behind him. He looked toward the door where Kurt was staring, eyes widening as they landed on a bulky man loomed over them.

Jace cried out in pain as he was shoved to the side, a foot crushing his phone as it skid away from him. Kurt backed away, tears spilling as he hit the wall. He was thrown to the ground by Karofsky, the jock stomping on his forearm viciously. Kurt screamed as he felt it snap.

Karofsky was yelling at him, insulting him and making threats that Kurt had no doubt he would carry out. Out the corner of his eye, Kurt saw Jace pull himself back to his feet, looking dazed even as he threw himself at Dave, knocking him away from Kurt.

His vision danced for a moment, the edges getting blurry as the sounds around him became distant. He heard a strange sobbing sound as he let himself fall into unconsciousness.

*break*

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Kurt groaned. He was resting, who the hell was making that noise? He tried to move his arm, to hit in the general direction the noise was coming from, but he couldn't move his arm.

His eyes snapped open.

If the gown, the antiseptic smell, and the horrid colour of the walls were anything to go by, Kurt was in a hospital. One of his wrists was attached to the bed, as if they thought he'd try to escape or hurt himself. The other hung in a sling, a cast firmly in place. Looking to his right, Kurt saw his father had fallen asleep slumped back in his chair. On his left, was Blaine. Jostled awake by Kurt thrashing when he awoke, Blaine was staring at him with bleary eyes.

"Kurt." He choked out, his voice rough as if it hadn't been used in days.

"Master." The porcelain boy whispered, tears welling in his eyes.

END