"What criminal history are you talking about?"

"Now it might not mean anything Mr Hummel, I don't want you jumping to any conclusions. I mean after all we haven't even formally identified the man yet".

"Just spit it out" Burt felt his anxiety levels rising.

"One of the men has a long history of violent crime".

Burt waited, knowing that there had to be more to come, something that the detective on the other end seemed reluctant to say.

"The crimes in question, are mostly of a sexual nature".

Burt felt his whole body go cold and he was only vaguely aware that the other man was still talking.

"The thing is Mr Hummel there's quite a large chunk of time unaccounted for in Mr Anderson's statement and in light of this new fact we have reason to believe that something else may have happened that night. So if you could..."

"I have to talk to Blaine" Burt said and hung up the phone.

He couldn't even remember getting into his car let alone the jouney home and yet here he was. He took the keys out of the ignition and walked up to the front door of his house.

As he put the key in the door he heard a truck pull up behind him but he didn't even turn to look, he only had one thing on his mind right now.

"Carole" he shouted into the silence of the house and tried to hold himself together whilst he waited for a reply.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Puck pulled up outside Finn's house they could see Burt opening the door and entering, but he didn't turn and acknowledge them.

"What are you going to do now?" Puck asked hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"I don't know. I need to talk to my mom" Finn climbed out of the truck as he spoke.

"Santana could be wrong, he never said what happened" Finn knew Puck was trying to reassure him, but they were way past the point where they could pretend like this wasn't real.

"I don't think she is, it just all adds up you know" Finn rested his hands on the open window for a minute, because as much as he needed to speak to his mom and Burt he was kind of dreading it too.

"I know" Puck admitted. "This is so fucked up man" Finn watched as Puck hit the steering wheel.

"I've gotta go Puck, I'll call later okay" Finn stepped away from the truck.

"Okay" Puck nodded at him and then pulled away from the kerb leaving him standing there. He took a deep breath and made his way up to the house. He noticed the door had been left open and as he walked in he saw Burt stood in the living room calling out his mom's name. The desperation in the older man's voice scared him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carole pulled whatever it was out of the small space it had been crammed into and carried it out into the guest room, frowning down at what she held in her hands. It took her a minute to recognise what she was holding and when she did it only increased her confusion.

It was the clothes that Blaine had been wearing that night, but why would he have hidden them at the back of the closet, that made no sense. Dropping the items onto the bed she recognised the brown jacket and jeans that the boy had been wearing and looking at the blood that had soaked into both of them she knew that they would probaly need throwing away. Not that she could imagine Blaine wanting to wear them again even if she could get the evidence of that night out of them.

She frowned again when she spotted the t-shirt. It was torn and bloody but how was that possible, he'd been wearing his jacket and other than the cut on his head he hadn't been bleeding from anywhere else. the top should be fine not the ruined mess that it clearly was.

Stealing herself she reached to pick it up and take a closer look, as she did something else fell onto the floor. She blushed slightly when she realised that it was Blaine's underwear. Okay she dealt with boys underwear all the time but this felt different, like she was invading his privacy or something. She bent down to pick them up quickly as though worried someone might catch her in the act but then she stopped. She shook her head at what she was seeing, as though trying to deny the evidence in front of her.

She almost jumped out of her skin when Burt's voice called to her from down stairs. Gathering the clothes up in her arms, with tears streaming down her face she headed downstairs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blaine pulled up behind Burt's car in the driveway, he was a little bit disapointed to see both Carole and Burt's cars there. He had hoped he could avoid seeing anyone just yet. His hands were shaking as he gripped the steering wheel. He just felt so dirty, he really needed to have a shower before he could face anyone. He'd driven around aimlessly for a while before deciding his best course of option would be to go back to the house and return to the hospital when everyone else did. He wanted to see Kurt again more than anything but he was scared to face him alone. He didn't want to lie to him anymore but he felt like he'd backed himself into a corner. No matter what now, Kurt was going to hate him, he'd just made everything worse.

Stealing himself for the inevitable questions Burt would have for him, he walked up to the house. He was suprised to find the front door was open and walked towards the living room slowly, feeling a little uneasy for some reason.

Burt and Finn both spun around to face him as he entered the room and just from the looks on both their faces he knew something was wrong.

"Blaine son" Burt spoke, looking directly at him " we need to talk". The fear he could see in the older man's eyes turned the blood in his veins to ice and he found himself taking an unconcious step back towards the front door.

A noise from above them drew all of their attention to the stairs and as all three of them watched Carole came into view, something clutched tightly in her arms and tears streaming down her face.

"Blaine" she said his name as though it hurt her to speak and he found his eyes wandering down to what she had in her hands. As he took in the blood stained clothes he began to shake his head from side to side.

He started to back away slowly until his back hit the door frame and when it did he turned and ran for the car.

It was all falling apart and there was only one place he could go.

He'd been stupid before to be scared because he realised now there was only one place he'd ever felt safe.

Only one place he would ever feel safe again and he couldn't think about anything else as he drove like a madman, tears streaming down his face.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kurt sat and stared into space. His tears had dried up a while ago and after several attempts to get Blaine to answer his phone he'd given up. Now he sat and and tried to focus everything that was going on in his head.

Blaine's outburst earlier had scared him, he'd never seen the other boy so out of control before. He wanted, needed to see him. He needed to let him know that it was okay, that he wasn't angry with him.

He couldn't get the image of that man kissing Blaine out of his head, the fear in his boyfriend's eyes. He couldn't believe that he hadn't said anything, that he'd suffered all this time in silence.

But he still couldn't understand why the other boy hadn't told the whole truth about what had really happened. Sure it was horrible and even a little bit embarrasing in a strange way but that didn't really explain it.

Unless he was lying to Kurt.

What if those men hadn't just ran off like Blaine said. Kurt wanted to believe that's what had happened but it was getting harder and harder to convice himself that that was the case. If Blaine had lied to everyone else about what Kurt knew had really happened then who's to say he wasn't still lying now.

But why would he do that, who exactly was Blaine protecting.

Kurt felt sick as another thought occured to him.

Blaine thought he was protecting him.

He had to find Blaine now. He started to push himself off the bed, fully intending to go find him no matter what it took but then the door to his room opened and it didn't matter anymore. Because there he was.

Blaine stood in the doorway with tears streaming down his face and Kurt found his own eyes filling up at the sight of the broken boy before him.

Kurt held his hands out and Blaine walked slowly over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to it. He grasped one of Kurts hands in his and then let his head sink onto the bed next to him so that his face was buried in the mattress. Kurt put his other hand on the curly mop of hair and he could feel the silent sobs that shook Blaine's frame.

He knew then that everything he'd been thinking, everything he'd feared was true.

He couldn't hear the words at first but as he strained to listen he heard what Blaine was whispering repeatedly.

"I'm so sorry, I've ruined everything".

He sensed rather than heard the others enter the room and looking up he saw the concerned faces of his family looking back at him. Looking at his father he pleaded with him silently for help and Burt took a few steps closer to the bed, not wanting to startle Blaine.

"Blaine" Kurt spoke gently.

Blaine didn't respond but he stopped repeating the phrase from a moment ago.

"I need you to be honest now" Blaine's shoulders tensed up. "Did those men hurt you?"

Nothing at first then a nod, barely there, but Kurt felt it under his hand. He tilted his head back as the tears came thick and fast now.

"What did they do to you Blaine?" he didn't want to ask the question, didn't want to hear the answer but he knew there was no other option now, he had to see this through.

"I can't...I don't..." Blaine's words we're muffled by the bed but everyone in the room could hear the anguish in them.

"Please Blaine, I can't help you if you won't tell me" Kurt was pleading now, the hand that was in Blaine's hair gently stroking.

"I can't. Don't make me say it" Blaine was pleading back.

Burt stepped forward then and put a hand on Blaine's shoulder gently. Blaine flicnched from the contact but Burt didn't remove his hand.

"Blaine I think you need to say it" Burt said.

Blaine didn't seem suprised that the others we're there, in fact he didn't seem to care.

"I can't" one more plea, but this one was much quieter than the last, lacked the strength that the others had.

Kurt looked around the room, at the people who were in there. Everone was crying now even Finn who stood next to his mom, his hand tightly clenched in hers. Burt stood with his hand on Blaine's shoulder and looked at Kurt nodding at him to carry on.

Kurt took a deep breath and spoke one last time.

"Please Blaine, for me. Tell us what happened".

Even though they all knew what he was going to say, it didn't lesson the impact of hearing those words come from his mouth.

In the moment that he spoke all of there worst fears we're realised.

Three words that changed everything, whispered quitely and with such pain.

"They raped me".