“Daddy guess what?” Kurt grinned and jumped on his father’s lap.

“What?” Burt smiled and wrapped his arms around his son. Even though he still missed the confident sixteen year old boy who could conquer the world if he wanted to, he still loved the Kurt that liked to cuddle up in his lap. It made him think of all the things he wished he could change between his and his sons relationship. The confident sixteen year old boy would rarely sit down with him and talk about his day, and he knew that it was partly his fault. The two had grown apart once Kurt had started high school, and that was one of Burt’s biggest regrets in life.

“I played with Blaine at the park today.” He grinned and bounced in his lap excitedly. “We were pirates, and there were monsters and we played tag. And he held my hand and it was nice.”

Burt nodded slowly, “He held your hand?”

“Yes. Like this.” Kurt grinned and reached down to his father’s hand and held it tightly. “It made me feel safe, like holding your hand makes me feel safe too.” He cuddled his head into his father's chest and yawned.

“All that running around has made you feel tired. Bath time then bed time.”

“And then tomorrow I get to go to the centre and see him?” Kurt whispered.

“You do.” Burt smiled. “Now go run your bath.”

Kurt nodded and kissed his dad's cheek before jumping off his lap and running to the bathroom. After Kurt’s bath he skipped to his and Finn’s room and jumped in his brother's bed. “Finn.” He whispered, nudging the football player who was falling asleep.

“Kurt?” Finn yawned.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.” He giggled and poked his side.

“Then why are you poking me awake?” Finn smiled, opening his eyes. Kurt was laying on top of him, his head on Finn’s chest looking up at him with large blue eyes.

“Because.” Kurt nodded and snuggled against him. Finn chuckled and wrapped his arms tight around his little brother. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Finn slowly falling back to sleep but Kurt started to talk once again, waking him back up. “Finn,” he whispered. “I didn’t fall down the stairs, did I?”

Finn opened his eyes as though he wasn’t just falling asleep, he felt wide awake. “What?” He whispered.

“I was thinking while I was in the bath.” Kurt said sitting up a little. “I remember hurting myself lots, but I don’t remember falling down the stairs.” He looked down at the thin sheet and started to pick at it. “Sometimes when I’m asleep I see weird things.”

“What kind of weird things?” Finn asked, though he was too scared to know just what his brother saw. He didn’t want him to see anything that could hurt him, and if felt wrong talking about it after Kurt had such an amazing day at the park today.

“Like shadows.” Kurt whispered. “Shadows reaching out to me and then I wake up and feel ouchy. In the same places that hurt when I woke up from falling down the stairs.” He says and looks up at Finn confused.

“When you’re ready, your brain will tell you what the shadows are. But for now, just believe that you fell down the stairs okay.” Finn pleaded. He didn’t care if it was the wrong thing to say. He didn’t care if it meant keeping Kurt like this a little longer, he didn’t want Kurt to hurt.

“Okay Finn.” Kurt whispered, resting his head on Finn’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

“Don’t worry about it, you can wake me up any time if you want to talk.” Finn smiled, pulling him closer. “About what you said earlier, do you really love Blaine?”

“I do.” Kurt whispered. “He makes my heart jump. And he makes my tummy go funny. And he makes me so happy. Is it wrong to love Blaine?”

“No, Kurt. It’s not wrong to love Blaine. If he makes you smile, and happy and he makes your heart jump then you can love him all you want.”

“Do you think Blaine loves me back?” Kurt whispered.

“I think he would be an idiot not too.” Finn smiled, playing with his hair.

“Blaine’s not an idiot. He reads big books.” Kurt grinned and snuggled against him before falling asleep.

Blaine's POV

Strong hands pushed him against the wall, his head connected to the stone with a hard thump and he felt the blood trickle down his skin, warm and sticky. A hand gripped his hair and smashed his head against the wall once again. Screams fell from his lips before a large hand covered his mouth. A feeling of suffocation spread through him and he tried to squirm away, only to find the grip tighten on him painfully. Pain ran throughout his whole body as he was pushed against the floor, he felt someone straddle the back of his legs and fear raced through him. What was he going to do? His shirt was pushed up and he tried to squirm away again, but a hard blow to the center of his spine made him fall forward, his body too weak to move. Something cold touched his skin and as it pushed into his skin, he screamed, pain overtaking him once again. He felt the blade slice through his skin and all he could do was pray for it to be over. He lost himself in his screams, he screamed louder and louder hoping, praying that someone would hear him, that someone would come and save him. His voice failing him for the first time in a long time and all he could do now was wait until it was over. Once the blade pulled away from his skin, the figure crouched down next to him. “Just a reminder for what you are, what you always will be.” He sneered, a sharp blow coming to his right eye, punching him hard, making him see stars. The hand moved down to his neck and gripped hard, squeezing out the breath from his lungs. “If you say a word to anyone. I will kill you.” He smirked and kicked him hard in the back before walking away.

Blaine woke up, his mouth open as though he was screaming but no words came out. Sweat trickled down his body and he sat up and rushed to the bathroom, throwing up hard into the toilet. He let his body sink to the floor. Tears falling down his cheeks as his hands punched at his knees. He was tired of being terrified. He showered, ice cold water pounding onto his skin. He pulled on a shirt before he could see the marks on his back. He got dressed quickly and went and sat on his bed, he grabbed one of his books and started to read, letting the words wash away everything he was feeling. He looked at the clock, he had two hours until he had to be at the centre, he felt a small smile reach his lips, he’d see Kurt soon and he knew that the smiling boy would make him feel better, would make his nightmares go away.