Jan. 19, 2012, 4:45 a.m.
I Will Protect You: I Will Find You
M - Words: 2,278 - Last Updated: Jan 19, 2012 Story: Complete - Chapters: 4/4 - Created: Sep 24, 2011 - Updated: Jan 19, 2012 555 0 0 0 0
Of course he had considered just not going back to work, but his strict upbringing made it seem like it wasn't an option. He hoped Kurt would be satisfied with staying in his apartment but he knew he wouldn't have been if the roles had been reversed.
Eventually they were both hungry enough to leave the comfort of the sofa, and each other's arms. Blaine fixed the front door, which had been blocked shut, while Kurt fixed them a late breakfast, both avoiding the curtained windows.
As it turned out, Kurt was a pretty good cook. He could fry eggs and bacon well enough, and made good coffee. Once they were both fed they started in on the next set of films, Blaine's eyes flicking to the clock on the TV with increasing frequency at Monday drew nearer.
As they lay in bed that night, Blaine decided it was time to bring up the next day, though he was loathe to burst the little bubble of contentment they had created for themselves.
"Kurt, I have work tomorrow." Blaine's whisper seemed loud in the darkness but it took Kurt so long to reply he thought he might have already been asleep.
"Oh. Do you want me to leave?" Blaine was shocked that Kurt would come to this conclusion, but then, Blaine hadn't been exactly vocal about the jumble of emotions inside him.
"Of course not Kurt." I never want you to leave. "I just wondered what you were going to do with yourself while I wasn't here. There's really nothing interesting in the apartment and you can't leave or Dave will know you're here." Blaine pulled Kurt closer against his side, kissing his hair. "I don't want you to get bored."
They were both silent for a moment, the only sound in the room their slow breaths and calm heartbeats.
"Do you have a computer?" Kurt piped up at last.
"Yeah, it's kinda old but it has the internet and stuff."
"Well then I'll be fine." Kurt leant up on one elbow so he could look into Blaine's face.
"You really want to spend your whole day on a computer? I'm gonna have to work for the rest of the week you know. What will you do then?" Blaine lifted his hand to run his fingers through Kurt's hair, letting them rest on his neck and smiling when Kurt leaned into the touch.
"You know, I haven't had time to just browse the internet in so long. I'm sure I'll find plenty of things on the world wide web to keep me interested for a few hours while you're off being a businessman." Kurt's tone was slightly mocking and Blaine pretended to scowl.
"I'll have you know I'm no ordinary businessman." He pouted. "I am a-"
"Super businessman?" Kurt interrupted, a look of polite interest of his face.
Blaine growled quietly in back of his throat, pushing Kurt back on to the bed by his shoulders and leaning over him.
"You're impossible." He murmured in Kurt's ear before pressing a kiss to the crook of his jaw, trailing kisses down his neck and back up the other side.
Kurt giggled a little breathlessly, one hand coming up to cup Blaine's face and lift it so their lips could connect.
They kissed gently for some time till sleep pulled at their minds. Their faces still almost touching as they dropped into unconsciousness.
Blaine was once again the first one awake the next morning. Lying on his back with Kurt in his arms he stared at the ceiling. His unsettled stomach made him feel uneasy, as if the universe was trying to warn him.
He clutched Kurt tightly, marvelling at how quickly he had become one of the most important things in his life. If anything were to happen to him he didn't know what he'd do.
Eventually he couldn't put it off any longer, and swung his legs off the bed, shimmying out of Kurt's hold and standing up. Kurt made a small snuffling noise and reached for Blaine's pillow, burying his face in it and breathing deeply. He settled again as Blaine's scent surrounded him, breathing deep and even.
It didn't take long till Blaine was ready to leave. He stood beside Kurt's sleeping form, the feeling of unease growing stronger. Kurt looked so delicate curled in the blankets, Blaine had to forcibly remind himself of all he had been through and how strong he had been to get through it.
Too soon he was in danger of being late so, scribbling a short note to Kurt, he left the apartment and descended to his car.
The morning light felt garish compared to the semi-darkness they'd spent their weekend in, and Blaine winced against the blinding light. The drive to work was short but tormented. Everywhere Blaine looked he could see Kurt appearing in front of his car, once or twice actually swerving to miss hitting the hallucinations.
His day was just as bad. When he wasn't completely immersed in documents and emails and meetings his mind would wonder to where Kurt was or what he was doing. He had always been imaginative but the various images of Kurt in horrifying situations that presented themselves to him were getting beyond ridiculous.
Eventually lunch rolled around and Blaine made up his mind on the mental battle he had been fighting. He had an hour and a half for lunch. It took him half an hour to drive from the office to his apartment. That gave him and Kurt half an hour to eat and chat and, hopefully, make out.
Grabbing his jacket he speed walked to the elevator, jabbing the button impatiently. When Karen tried to engage him in conversation he ignored her, diving through the opening doors before him and practically stabbing the ground floor button.
By the time Blaine reached his apartment, he was anxious and impatient. His stomach was twisting nervously, and the feeling that something was wrong that had plagued him all morning was back tenfold.
He stepped up to his front door and experienced a brief moment of not wanting to go inside, of wanting to turn around and go back to the office so he could pretend everything would be fine, but he didn't. Instead he pushed open the front door.
The sight that greeted him brought nothing but horror. A million different scenes flashed before his eyes, all similar with insignificant differences. His home was a mess. The couch on its side, the curtains torn down, even the TV was smashed.
Blaine felt tears burning behind his eyes as he took in the disarray. Taking a deep breath he stepped into the main room and slowly drifted through the war-zone. His heart was beating in his throat and his stomach simultaneously. He looked up as he reached the window set into the wall opposite the door and was shocked to find writing scrawled across the glass.
'I saw you.'
The three words were written in red marker pen and sent shivers down Blaine's spine. He felt exposed, completely naked and as if someone was watching him. Glancing around again he felt panic begin to build.
He continued throughout the apartment, checking every room for he wasn't sure what, and ending up in his bedroom, breath shallow and uneven. He began to feel light-headed and reached out for a hold on his dresser, surprised to find it slick. Pulling his hand away his stomach swooped at the sight of blood.
It took him a moment to even comprehend the red smeared across his palm, but when he did, it hit him hard. His breaths became sporadic and black spots popped into his vision. Eyes fixed on his hand, he backed into the corner and slid to the floor. A small part of his mind registered that he was having a panic attack but mostly he was focused on stopping the darkness seeping through his consciousness.
He couldn't help but imagine all the different ways Kurt's blood could have ended up on the dresser. Of course, he had no proof it was Kurt's, but something in him just knew. There were numerous ways it could have happened, and when he'd finished imagining them he moved onto thinking of all the horrible situations Kurt could be in right now. There was no way Dave wasn't behind this mayhem. Who else would break in to his apartment, write that message on that window and harm Kurt?
It was thoughts of Kurt trapped with that monster that pulled him from his panic stricken state. Thoughts of Kurt, scared and beaten, that gave him the strength to drag his body from the floor and stumble out of the room. He hadn't realised tears where sliding down his cheeks till he rubbed a hand across his eyes and it came away wet. He ignored the tears though, pushing through the sea of his broken possessions on the floor, and begin to pace the main room. There had to be something he could do, anything that would rectify this situation. Of course, any normal person would immediately call the police, but Blaine had been in similar situations before and he knew there was only so much the police could do. There was no proof that it was Dave and if the police got involved now Blaine would be pushed back from any investigation and kept in the dark. No, he would figure this out for himself before he contacted the authorities.
As a lawyer he was pretty good at compartmentalising and so that's what he did. Pushing the panic into a sectioned off corner of his mind he focused on the task at hand, thinking through everything he knew about Kurt's ex-boyfriend. He didn't have much to go on though. Not even a last name to aid his search. His frustration mounted as he continually drew blanks, his pacing becoming more vigorous and forceful. Soon his frustration turned to anger. If only he hadn't left for work, if only he and Kurt had been more careful. However he looked at it, the blame always seemed to land with him. It was too much, all the guilt and frustration, as he turned to back to face the wall opposite his front door, striding forward about to turn again but changing his mind at the last minute. Spinning on his heels he raised his fists so they were level with his head and slammed his forearms and fists into the door of a cupboard unit hanging from the wall.
The doors burst open at the force, file after file tumbling from the shelf and catching on the sideboard below, causing them to scatter across the floor. Letting out a growl of aggravation, Blaine dropped to his hands and knees, trying to retrieve all the files from the broken bits of his possessions covering the floor.
His anger and panic had his hands shaking , causing half the files he picked up to drop back to the floor, papers slipping from bindings and floating off away from him. He continued regardless, making very little progress when something caught his eye. It was a picture of a very familiar face. A face that had Blaine's stomach clenching in anger.
Discarding the papers in his hands, Blaine grabbed the file attached to the photo, flicking through to find a name.
David Karofsky
It was him! Blaine could hardly believe his luck at finding the file and, flicking through it as he got to his feet, he began to recall the case.
It had been back when he was still in college, studying to be a lawyer. In his final year they had spent a lot of time looking at real cases, the kinds of things they would face as part of the job. David Karofsky had been one of them. Charged with assault and suspected manslaughter, David had been found guilty and sent to prison, only to be let out on probation mere weeks later. Blaine had found the whole thing a little suspicious and his professor, a close friend of the family, had later told him a rumour of an alleged bribe that had passed between the accused and the judge, but there hadn't been enough evidence for it to be brought to light.
Blaine knew he had the whole file, he had been sure to keep all the information he could get from his time in college, and so flipping to the back he found the forms detailing the terms of probation for one David Karofsky, including a current address. At least he hoped it was current. It had been a couple of years since the case but the block of council flats where he supposedly lived was not far from Blaine's own apartment and would make sense considering the direction Kurt had been running in the night Blaine had met him.
Blaine allowed himself a small smile as a tiny flame of hope ignited within him. He had a plan and he was damn sure he would see it through.