River Flows In You

Chapter 9 - Broken

Blaine and Kurt text and call each other all through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday morning Blaine sends a text to Kurt.

From: Blaine
Hi Kurt. Good luck on your test today. I'm sure you will do great! Also, we get to hang out tomorrow! :) I miss you.

From: Kurt
Thank you, Blaine. I can't wait until it's over! Miss you too.

Blaine spends the day chasing butterflies and gathering food for dinner. I should make up for being such a bad brother last weekend. Her favorite foods and talking might make her feel better…

Blair loves the dinner Blaine gathered and they talk for a couple of hours.

"I just feel completely empty now that she's gone." Blair says and nibbles on a smooth, yellow fruit.

"I understand. I would too, if Sean moved away from here and into the human world." Blaine munches on a huge, brown mushroom.

"It's not the same…" Blair mumbles, barely a whisper.

"I know it's not. You love her." Blair stiffens slightly at Blaine's words. "You are in love with her, and you have been for a long time."

"How long have you known?"

"Since we were new. Sean knows too, and I am guessing Linda isn't oblivious either. We can all see it."

"See what, exactly?"

"How you act around her. How you look at her. How she can do or say nothing wrong in your eyes. How you have been pursuing other females so intently since she met Patric."

"It's that obvious?"

"It is hard to hide the love that you feel in your heart. It will always leak out through your eyes."

"Oh my GOD, Blaine! You are such a dork!" Blair laughs through the wet trails on her cheeks, where her silent tears have traveled to her jaw.

"Kurt keeps saying that too."

"You should write poetry." Blair brushes her tail down the back of Blaine's head and then wipes at her tears with her palms.

Blaine chuckles at that, but then looks seriously at his sister. "I know that her moving in with Patric has made it hit you that she will never be with you. But Blair, you will find someone like her. Someone better, even."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Blair throws her arms around Blaine's neck and hugs him tight. He pets her head lightly before she sighs. "You should call Kurt. He is probably done with school for today." She leans back and Blaine sees her lower lip tremble.

"I'll go outside and call him."

"Thank you Blaine."

"If you are still crying when I get back-" Blaine points a finger at her. "I will cuddle you senseless, young lady."

Blair laughs. A low rumble, more like their father's laugh then their mother's, when they were still alive.

Blaine goes to sit by the lakelet, and calls Kurt. They talk for about an hour, about their plans for tomorrow. Kurt wants to take Blaine to a place called a "Build-a-bear", which is apparently where you go to make stuffed animals. Kurt giggles a lot and rambles about all kinds of things, like how Glee club went and how easy the test was.

When Blaine gets back home Blair is sleeping. He walks over and kisses her forehead before going to sleep himself. The faster I fall asleep, the faster I get to see Kurt.

Kurt hurries through the halls of McKinley, toward the classroom where he spent last period. You are so stupid! Forgetting a book and coming late for the date. You're not gonna have time to fix your hair! Stupid, stupid, STUPID! Kurt rounds a corner to meet his teacher, just locking the door. He explains to the teacher that he forgot his book and she lets him in to get it before locking the door after him and wishing him a good weekend. Kurt practically runs out toward his car, his messenger bag bouncing on his hip. All other cars are gone from the student parking lot, so Kurt gets to his car pretty fast. He opens the passenger door and puts his bag and book on the empty seat. He walks around to the driver's side that is facing away from the school building and opens his door. He removes his jacket and folds it, leaning over his seat to put it on top of the other things. When he straightens before getting in he feels a big warm hand on his lean shoulder.

Kurt turns around to find Azimio glaring and grinning at him. Something hits Kurt hard in his stomach, making him double over. His ears are ringing and he is wheezing, trying to breathe. Azimio says something about "you waltzing around my school with that other fag last week", but Kurt is in too much pain to try to form any kind of response. He tries to straighten up, but something collides with the side of his knee, making Kurt fall over onto the ground. Azimio is talking again, but all Kurt can make out is "where no one will see". Kurt isn't sure if he means where Kurt should walk around with his boyfriend, or where Kurt is lying on the ground with the car blocking the view from the school. Kurt looks around briefly to see if Karofsky is also nearby, but he sees no one other than the big football player grinning down at him. A red and white sneaker collides with Kurt's ribs, knocking the wind completely out of him. Kurt tries to curl up into a ball and raise his arms over his head. He hears Azimio saying something about "don't worry about your head" before Azimio's foot reunites with his ribs once again. Azimio bends over, pulling one of Kurt's legs so that Kurt is lying flat on his stomach with his arms still protecting his head. He was talking about where he's going to hit me! He then beats Kurt in the back repeatedly with closed fists while stomping his foot down once on Kurt's left knee. There is a loud snap and Kurt's vision gets blurry, and darker. Blaine… Kurt whispers the last word on his mind before everything goes black.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!"

Kurt opens one of his eyes and realizes that he is still on the ground, but is now on his back. He sees a big figure running towards him, dressed in red.

"GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE OR KILL YOU MYSELF!" Kurt realizes that it is Karofsky screaming.

Kurt hears footsteps thudding against the asphalt. He whispers Blaine's name again.

"No, Kurt. It's Dave." Karofsky kneels on the ground next to him. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Kurt whispers and tries to move, but his body is not cooperating.

"Lie still. I'll check on you." Karofsky raises his hands and Kurt can see that they are shaking. "I'll have to lift your shirt, but I'm not making a pass at you or anything."

Blaine. "Blaine…"

"Do you want me to call Blaine?"

Kurt shakes his head. He will kill Azimio if he finds out.

"Okay." Dave nods and Kurt can feel the cold autumn air on his stomach.

That feels kind of nice.

"Wow, Kurt. You're full of purple marks. Some are almost black." Dave's eyes look wet. "Kurt, I'm gonna touch you now, to see if any of your ribs are broken. Okay?"

"Knee…" Kurt says, his mind and eyes less foggy now.

"I'll check on that next." Dave pushes a few fingers at the top of Kurt's chest, just below his nipple. "Does this hurt?"

Kurt shivers from Dave's cold fingers but shakes his head. Dave presses a bit lower and Kurt shakes his head. Dave continues down Kurt's ribcage and down to the top of his pants. He then starts on the other side, and the first two light pushes are fine. At the third one, Kurt yelps in pain and suddenly his arms are working again. He brings one hand to his mouth, biting down as hard as he can on his knuckles. Dave looks Kurt in the eyes and nods. The next push is ever worse and tears are streaming down Kurt's cheeks into the shells of his ears. Two more pushes make Kurt feel like he is going to faint again, but after that the rest of the pressure isn't bad.

"You have two broken ribs, I think. I'm not a doctor but I've seen some stuff over my years of playin' football." Dave pulls Kurt's shirt back down. "Which knee?"

Kurt bends the leg that feels fine and breathes "the other one". Karofsky nods and touches Kurt's calf and then moves his hand slowly over the back of Kurt's knee. Kurt winces and bites down on his knuckles harder. Dave removes his hand when he reaches the bottom of Kurt's thigh.

"This is going to hurt like hell, okay?" Dave says and places his hand below the front of Kurt's knee.

Kurt nods and stares at him. Dave nods and moves his hand to squeeze at Kurt's kneecap. Kurt can taste blood in his mouth and realizes it is from his hand so he removes it from his mouth and smashes it onto the asphalt. Another squeeze and Kurt shrieks, throwing his other arm out to sink his nails into Dave's arm.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt." Karofsky looks Kurt in the eye then, and Kurt sees that he is crying. "I can't believe he would do something like this! You should go to the police and report it. I'll be a witness. Anything, Kurt." He removes his hand from Kurt's leg.

"What's the verdict?" Kurt asks between gritted teeth.

"Can you bend your leg?" Dave sniffles and drags the back of his hand across his face.

Kurt uses all his strength and smashes both hands onto the asphalt, but he manages to bend his other leg too.

"Can you stand if I help you?"

Kurt reaches his arms out toward Karofsky, who grabs his wrists and pulls Kurt to his feet with surprisingly little effort. Kurt wobbles slightly but manages to stand on his own when Dave lets go of his wrists. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? I can take you to the hospital."

"That won't be necessary. I'll drive myself." Home.

Kurt sits down in his seat, with both legs still outside the car. He grabs his thighs and pulls his legs into the car.

"Well, I think your knee will be fine. I think it was just dislocated, not shattered."

"And ribs heal on their own?"

"I guess…"

"Then I'll be fine. But thank you, David. Really."

"You can call me if you need me. Or if Azimio does anything else to bother you." Dave turns away but looks back at Kurt. "I'll have a talk with him on Monday…" he mumbles. "Bye Kurt. Be careful."

Kurt closes his door and watches David Karofsky walk away. When he is out of sight Kurt lifts his shirt and tries to get a look at the bruises. Just like Dave said, some are almost black. He touches his ribs lightly with his fingertips and it already feels better. They probably aren't broken. I'm just not very tolerant of pain. He pulls his shirt back down, fixes his hair in the mirror and checks for cuts or bruises on his face and neck. Nothing. Then I'll be able to hide it. No one but me and David will know… He starts the car and uses his leg with the bad knee to push on one of the pedals. The knee feels better too. I might even be able to go on the date later… Kurt drives very slow and carefully back home.

He limps out of the car and up the stairs to the house, holding his things in his hand instead of throwing the bag over his shoulder. Carole is standing in the doorway between the hallway and the kitchen when Kurt closes the door behind himself.

"Hi, honey. What happened to you? You are really pale."

"I don't feel very well. I think I'm sick. I'll just stay in my room." Kurt puts his messenger bag on his shoulder and winces, but his stepmother doesn't seem to notice.

"Okay, honey. I'll get you some soup later."

Kurt waits until Carole returns to the kitchen before he walks slowly up the stairs, digging his fingernails into his palms. When he enters his room he drops the bag on the floor and crawls into his bed fully dressed.

Ring, ring, ring… "Hello?"

"Hi Blaine..."

"Hi Kurt! I'm so excited! I've picked out a great outfit for tonight and-"

"Blaine, I'm sorry. But we can't go out tonight. I am sick."

"But… You weren't this morning."

"I know. But I had to leave school early to go home because I'm sick."

"What kind of sick?"

"I threw up. Have done a few times now, actually. So I probably won't be able to see you in like another week."

"WHAT? But, Kurt…"

"I know. I'm so sorry."

Blaine is silent for a while. "Don't be sorry. It is not your fault that you are sick."

"Thank you, Blaine. I really miss you."

"I miss you too."

Carole knocks on Kurt's door and enters the room with a tray with a bowl of soup and a bottle of water.

"I have to eat something now, Blaine. But I'll talk to you later." Kurt sighs.

"Okay… Bye Kurt…"

"Thank you Carole." Kurt says to his stepmother after ending the call to Blaine.

"You were supposed to go out tonight, right?"

"Yes."

"Oh, okay. Well, enjoy your dinner. Hope you'll feel better. I'll bring you some medicine." Carole leaves the room again and Kurt eats his soup.

When he is done he drinks the whole water bottle together with some pills that Carole brought him in the middle of the soup. Kurt decides to take a shower so he limps into his bathroom and locks the door behind him. He gasps at his reflection in the mirror when he removes his clothes and then pokes at his body, at the big purple bruises.

MOSS! How am I supposed to survive another week without seeing Kurt? Okay calm down. You met him like two weeks ago and you were fine before that. I should get him flowers! Yeah! I will pick some flowers and bring them to him. I don't care if I get sick. I probably can't, since I never have… Blaine paces back and forth by his bed and decides to go pick flowers. Blair has already bound his tail so he walks out of the house and into the forest.

Blaine stands on the front steps of Kurt's house with the bouquet of flowers he picked in the forest. He knocks on the door carefully, he doesn't want to wake Kurt incase he is resting. Carole opens the door. "Oh hi, Blaine. What are you doing here?"

"I came to give Kurt these flowers. We were supposed to go on a date tonight, but since he can't I thought I would come here. I don't care if I get sick."

"Ah, young love." Carole sighs happily and lets Blaine in. "He's upstairs. I think I just heard him take a shower."

"Thank you, Carole."

Blaine walks up the stairs and he can hear Kurt moving around inside his door. The door is closed so Blaine knocks gently.

"Go away Finn! I'm sick!"

Blaine pushes the door open and says "It's not Finn. It's me, Blaine. I came to give you the-"

Kurt is sitting curled up on his bed in just his underwear, purple and black bruises all over his back and abdomen. His hair is wet and there is a fluffy white towel on the floor by the bathroom door. He turns his head to look at Blaine and Blaine can see that Kurt is crying. Blaine rushes over to him and throws the flowers on the floor.

"What the hell happened to you?" Blaine says and cradles Kurt to his chest.

Kurt wraps his arms around Blaine's back and Blaine doesn't care what Kurt can feel there because he needs to hold Kurt close. He needs to comfort him and make him feel loved and protected.

"Azimio." Kurt manages to get out before sobbing into Blaine's red t-shirt.

"Shhh." Blaine whispers into Kurt hair. "You're okay. I've got you. He will never touch you again. I'm right here. Have you told anyone?"

Kurt shakes his head and squeezes Blaine harder. Blaine starts running his fingers through Kurt's soft hair and looks at Kurt's bruised chest.

"I assume you don't want to either?"

Kurt sniffles and looks up and Blaine. He stares him straight in the eyes and shakes his head.

"So…" Blaine begins and rocks Kurt back and forth a bit. "What are you going to tell them?"

Kurt has calmed down enough to answer him now. "That I'm sick."

"So you'll stay home from school for a week or two saying that you are sick. Then I will come with you to school every day."

"I don't… I just…"

"I understand. I'm here. I'll stay as long as you want."

"Can you go get my dad?"

"Sure." Blaine wipes away Kurt's tears and kisses the tip of his nose. "You get in bed and I'll get him."

Blaine watches Kurt get under the covers and then walks down the stairs into the living room.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Blaine, you can call me Burt." Burt says with eyes still glued to the TV. "What's up?"

"Kurt would like to talk to you."

Burt is off of the couch and up the stairs in a flash. Blaine walks after him up the stairs but stays outside the room.

"Hey kiddo. Blaine said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Hi dad. I- I was wondering if Blaine could s- stay here for a couple of days?"

"But you're sick."

"I know. But he doesn't care. And I just… I just-" Kurt starts sobbing and he knows that it is pathetic to use his tears to get what he wants.

But he really, truly wants Blaine to stay. And he feels like shit. So he lets the tears fall. Burt sits down on the bed and takes Kurt's chin in his large hand. He looks into Kurt's wet eyes for a while, while Kurt continues to sniffle and his tears continues to fall. "Okay, kiddo. He can stay over the weekend. We'll see what happens after that." Burt can't help it. He just has to give Kurt what he wants when he gets like this. He knows he shouldn't, but it happens so very seldom now that Kurt is getting older. And usually when he is sick Kurt just shuts everyone out until he is better. Him wanting Blaine there while being sick is huge, Burt knows that.

"Thank you, dad."

"Are you gonna tell me what happened?" Burt lets go of Kurt's chin and leans back.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you aren't just sick. You don't even look sick. Did Karofsky do something?"

"No, dad. Karofsky did nothing. I just don't feel well."

"Okay, fine. Just tell me or Carole if you need anything."

"Okay. Thank you, dad. I love you."

"I love you too, kiddo."

Burt walks past Blaine in the hallway. "You can stay." is all he says before walking down the stairs.

Blaine walks back inside Kurt's room and sits down on the bed next to Kurt.

"Babe, I need to go home and get some things. Okay?" Blaine asks.

Kurt sits up. "What did you just call me?"

"Err… Babe?"

"Why?"

"It just… felt right." Blaine blushes.

"Will you come back?" Kurt shrinks down under the covers again.

"Of course. I will be back in like 20 minutes, tops!"

Blaine runs back home as fast as he can. He leaves the door open in his haste to get his things.

"What are you doing?" Blair asks while Blaine grabs some clothes and a pair of pajamas that he got from Sean from his shelves.

"I'm staying at Kurt's over the weekend. So I need some stuff."

"Why?"

"Something happened and he needs me."

"What happened?"

"I can't tell you, Kurt doesn't want me to."

"Tell me."

"Have you seen my calendar?"

"TELL ME!"

"WOW! Calm down." Blaine says and finds his calendar under his bed. "Fine, I will tell you. Kurt got beaten by Azimio, one of the football players at his school. He is scared and hurt, so I need to be with him right now."

Blaine storms back out the door, leaving Blair gaping after him.

Blair knocks on the door violently.

"Oh, Blirette! To what do I owe the honor of your presence?" Sean says as he opens the door.

"I need your help, Selorean." Blair grits her teeth.

"Come on in." Sean ushers Blair up the stairs to his room and plunks down in the chair by his desk.

Blair stays standing in the middle of the room.

"What do you need?" Sean asks and smiles at her, stretching his legs out.

"I need to find someone."