“What?!” I threw my towel on the floor as I heard Kurt utter those very words I’d been anxiously awaiting for a month.
“She’s been found!”
“Fuck... thank god... is she okay?”
“As far as we know, yeah. Your Mom and Dad got the call from the police, and they’re all headed to the hospital where Charlotte’s gonna get checked up on, but there’s no obvious injuries or anything.”
“Oh thank god!” I exclaimed, thrusting my arms in the air and jumping into Kurt’s arms in a celebratory hug.
“I know! I’m so happy for you and your family, Blaine! And for Charlotte!...”
I could feel Kurt breathing deeply before realising that he was actually crying. I pulled back and took his hands in mine.
“Baby, are you crying?”
“Yeah,” Kurt said, looking embarrassed, “but only because I’m so happy. I’m so happy that Charlotte’s back.”
“Me too,” I said softly, combing through Kurt’s hair with my fingertips.
We stood like that for a few moments, wide smiles plastered on our faces, before Kurt spoke up once more.
“Your Dad said he’d call after they’d seen Charlotte. Didn’t want to overwhelm her with the whole family there at once, he said.”
“Makes sense. I’m just so happy that we have her back... I can’t believe she was actually gone for a month, you know?”
“Trust me, I know...”
I chuckled nervously, squeezing Kurt’s hands tightly. “Uhm... do they have any information about where she was? About who took her?”
“She’s been silent since the police found her,” Kurt said, starting at his feet. “Another reason why your parents wanted to see her first. They wanted to know if she was okay, but the police hadn’t been able to get anything out of her other than her full name, to identify her.”
Worry flickered in Kurt’s eyes, just as I felt worry eat away at my heart. Knowing Charlotte was back was a major relief, but knowing that she could be hurt inside was just as harrowing as her disappearance. I tried to concentrate elsewhere, knowing that she was in the best hands.
“Do Donovan and Dyl and Katherine know?”
“...shit. I was supposed to tell them, your parents ran into me on their way out and they told me to tell you guys.”
“Well, let’s go tell them!”
Kurt and I half-ran through the house, knowing that Dylan and Katherine were over as they were making lunch for my parents, and that Donovan was probably in his room making out with his Josh (especially considering how OUT he’d been since he’d come out. Like. He was GAY. To the extreme. And if there’s anything you don’t want to know about your brother, it’s the kind of things he does with his tongue. Josh talked a lot.)
As we were running, we ran into Dylan in the hallway.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, taking in our breathlessness and our red faces.
“Charlotte’s been found!” I burst, letting my excitement, happiness and relief overwhelm me as Dylan reacted just as I had, and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.
“Fuck! Yes!” I’d never really heard Dylan swear before, unless the situation was really extreme, so hearing that four-letter word was testament to how important Charlotte was to all of us.
Dylan dropped his death-grip on me before turning around and shouting down the hallway.
“KATHERINE! DONOVAN!”
“What?” Katherine and Dylan’s heads popped out from their respective doorways, both looking confused and slightly worried.
“Charlotte’s been found!” Dylan, Kurt and I shouted in unison, unable to curb our excitement.
Expressions of joy and happiness were evident on Donovan and Katherine’s faces as they immediately ran to us from their rooms and joined in on a big, group hug.
“Thank god!” Katherine said, sighing with relief.
“I can’t believe that we’ve actually got her back!” Donovan said, beaming, with his arms firmly wrapped around all of us so that there was no actual breathing room in this group hug we had going on.
We stood there, laughing and smiling and just basking in the positive atmosphere breaking down the sorrow of the Anderson household. Finally, we had to break the hug (I knew Kurt was getting a bit claustrophobic and slightly territorial over his perfectly-styled hair) and when I took a step back, I saw the state of Donovan’s neck.
“Donovan Edward Anderson, is that a hickey on your neck?”
Donovan turned a bright shade of crimson as he avoided our gazes and shifted in his spot.
“That’s not a freaking hickey,” Dylan started, an evil smirk playing on his lips, “that’s a freaking train of hickeys. Hickey-train, if you will. HickeyLink, now boarding on route to Slutsville.”
Katherine slapped her husband’s shoulders as we all laughed – Donovan even chuckled a bit, and it was good to see him taking part in a joke at his expense and not taking it to heart like he normally would.
“Things heating up with Josh, I’m guessing?” Dylan asked, a little more serious in his tone this time around.
“Well... yes and no...”
“Out with it, Don,” I said, knowing that with the knowledge of what Kurt and I had been up to, nothing could really shock me that much.
“Uhm. Can we not? Like, I’m cool with you guys knowing about me being gay and all that, and I’m cool with you being really supportive but I really don’t feel like having this conversation with my brothers and their respective partners.”
“Oh come on, we’re probably worse than you!” Kurt interjected, before shying away with his hand on his mouth as if he’d spoken without any intention to do so. The thought made me chuckle.
“...what have you been doing, Blaine?” Dyl asked, suspicion evident in his eyes.
“Katherine’s pregnant, Dyl, so why don’t you tell me what you’ve been doing?” I retorted, slightly taken aback my quick wit but entertained nonetheless when everyone started cracking up and Katherine’s face turned a bright shade of pink.
“I’m married, Blainers.”
“It’s not legal for me to get married, Dyl.”
“Are you saying you would get married right now if you could?” Dylan asked incredulously.
“Of course,” I said, not missing a beat as I replied with complete honesty and certainty, feeling Kurt’s hand reach for mine and squeeze it as he heard what I’d said.
“Whoa. Deep,” Donovan said, staring out our interlaced fingers as I quickly kissed Kurt on the forehead.
“That’s actually pretty damn cute,” Dylan said, smiling.
“Glad to hear it, bro.”
“You two are perfect,” Katherine said, her eyes glistening as they looked at us lovingly.
“Thanks,” I said softly, before Kurt finished for me, saying, “I think so, too.”
Dylan, in his childish ways, started making retching noises as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket before KurtieBear CuddleTime started ringing out. I was desperate to answer my phone just to shut it off, before seeing that it was Mom ringing and answering immediately.
“Hi Mom, how is she?” I asked, looking at the others to try and indicate what was going on.
“Blaine, honey, she’s alright. She’s got a few bruises here and there, a couple of nasty ones, and then this one tiny burn mark on her arm. But apart from that, she’s healthy.”
“Well, thank goodness for that... But... a burn mark?”
“Yeah, it looked really round, so it could have been from a lit cigarette or something.”
“The bastard...”
“Blaine...”
“Oh come on, Mom! We can’t ignore that whoever it was did that to her, who’s to say he didn’t do anything else?”
“We don’t know anything, Blaine. Charlotte won’t talk to us.”
“...she’s not talking?” I started getting worried, knowing that if Charlotte’s usual talkative nature wasn’t even showing itself for Mom and Dad, then something was definitely wrong with her.
“She hasn’t said anything except ‘I love you Mom and Dad’ when we walked in. She leapt out of bed and held on to us, but she hasn’t said a single word after that.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing. But she’s been writing.”
“Yeah?”
“She wrote that she wanted to see and talk to you, Blaine.”
I felt a pang in my heart knowing that Charlotte was reaching out to connect with me. After such a frightening experience, it was expected that she would be feeling out-of-touch with her regular self and her usual forms of communication. But having Charlotte single me out was special, and reminded me of just how close we were, despite our obvious age difference.
“...should I come over?”
“No, she’s about to be discharged, and we’ll be bringing her home within the hour.”
“What can I do to help get her settled?”
“I’m thinking a nice, homey family meal will help bring her some warmth and comfort. Can you make sure her bedroom is ready for her?”
“Sure. Of course. And I might go get some of her favourite ice-cream from her favourite ice-creamery.”
“That sounds lovely, Blaine. She’s lucky to have you and quite frankly, I’m so thankful for you too.”
“It’s nothing, Mom, I just wish I’d been there for her through it all.”
“We all do, honey.”
I heard some murmurs and whispers through the phone line.
“Blaine, I’m gonna have to go now, your sister’s just been discharged. We’ll be home in about forty-five minutes.”
“Okay. I love you. And tell her I love her, too.”
“I love you too. And I will. See you soon.”
With a click, Mom had hung up and I found myself giving everyone a quick run-down of the situation. They were just as bewildered by her silence as I was.
“If anyone will get her talking, Blaine, it’ll be you,” Dylan said, patting me on the shoulder.
“That’s what Mom said.”
“It’s true,” Donovan piped up. “Charlotte’s always loved you the most.”
“Oh, guys, she loves you...”
“Yeah, but not in the same way. You’re close. You’ve formed this secret bond, this friendship thing – and quite frankly, you two are dangerous around each other.”
I laughed, “No we’re not!”
“I do remember, the first time Dylan brought me home to meet you all, there being a bucket of flour and a bucket of water teetering on the edge of the top of the door as I walked through,” Katherine said.
“Yeah. Should’ve known it wasn’t going to work, and that Dylan would have pointed out our booby trap before you guys copped it.”
“After growing up with YOU and then knowing that you influenced our dear, innocent little sister? I knew not to trust you,” Dylan said, laughing as we reminisced over good times.
“Well, you can trust me now, but we better get working on getting our ‘Welcome Home’ hats on and making this house presentable.”
“I’m sorry,” Donovan chuckled, “’Welcome Home’ hats?”
I could feel my face getting warm and reddening, realising how lame I must have sounded.
“I... you... shut up!”
Everyone laughed again before eventually planning our jobs and how we were going to get everything ready for Charlotte. It only took a few seconds for everyone to get going, rushing to get their jobs done and have the house perfect for Charlotte’s arrival.
As I promised Mom, I went out to buy Charlotte’s favourite ice-cream. I knew it wasn’t going to automatically make things better, but I hoped it might bring a sense of comfort and familiarity to my broken sister.
Kurt didn’t leave my side as we worked through our jobs, just smiling at me occasionally and whispering ‘I love you’ and ‘I’m proud of you’ and ‘You’re amazing’ in my ear randomly. He was giving me that small amount of comfort and in some ways, was reassuring me that everything is okay. As happy as I was, there’s no denying that I was indeed worried about Charlotte, but having Kurt there was just what I needed to focus on the task at hand.
We’d all finished our jobs a lot sooner than we’d expected – perhaps the anticipation of having Charlotte home was too much for us, urging us to work faster without us realising it. Charlotte was undeniably one of the most important figures in all of our lives, so it wasn’t entirely unusual to be sitting in the living room on the edge of our seats, silent and waiting for the hum of an engine to sound in the garage as Mom and Dad brought Charlotte home.
Eventually, we heard the unmistakable sounds of the car driving in, and we all leapt to our feet. We didn’t race to the door – we’d already agreed not to pounce on Charlotte, so that we could make the transition as easy as possible – instead, we stood there, linked to our respective partners, plastering welcoming smiles on our faces and waiting for them to enter.
The sound of keys jingling and high-heels tapping against concrete grew closer. The door unlocked with a jolt, opened wide and there stood Dad with his arm wrapped around Mom and Charlotte, clinging to Mom desperately as if she feared she’d be taken away again.
“Welcome back, honeybee,” I said softly and warmly, kneeling down and spreading my arms open wide as she ran towards me. I swept her up into a hug and felt her heavy breathing and her tears seeping through my shirt.
“Blaine,” she mumbled, face deeply buried into my neck, “I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetie. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I needed you,” she sobbed, clinging to me even tighter, desperation clearly evident through her voice and her tight hold. “I needed you, Blaine. I screamed out for you... and you weren’t there... and I was hurting and I was alone and you weren’t there...”
“I know, honeybee, I know,” I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead and trying not to let my own tears fall anywhere near her or have her hear the sadness in my voice as I started crying too. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. I love you, okay? I love you so much. And I’ll never let you go like that again.”
Charlotte just nodded into my chest, refusing to relinquish her hold on me.
Dylan and Katherine stepped forward, wanting to welcome Charlotte back too.
“Char?” Dylan moved forward slowly, before waiting for Charlotte to turn her head slightly to look at him before continuing. “We missed you so much. Can we say hello?”
Charlotte just nodded, refusing to say anything. She slid down, feet flat on the floor, and moved forward to hug Dylan and Katherine at the same time, all the while holding my hand and refusing to let go. Donovan stepped forward as Dylan and Katherine stepped back, offering his arms in a hug also. Josh stayed back, understanding this was a family moment. I made a mental note of his gesture before turning my attention back on Charlotte, who had now come back to me and attached herself to my side.
“Charlotte?” Kurt asked softly, calm and warmth evident in his tone, “I’d just like to say... I may not be your brother, but I really missed you too. And I’m glad you’re back.”
Charlotte let me go immediately, stepping towards Kurt and embracing him in a hug so tight, it almost resembled the one she’d choked me with when she’d entered the room. Though it may have been a bit shorter, it still displayed great feeling nonetheless and I saw Kurt’s confusion come through a bit in his delayed reaction. It took a few seconds for him to register that Charlotte had come to him and embraced him more so than she did her other siblings. He soon regained composure and went back to his calm, collected self, but he gave me a quick look containing a million questions. I looked at him, hoping that he could see in my eyes that we’d talk about it later. He nodded, and I turned my attention back onto Charlotte once more.
Charlotte leant up and whispered in Kurt’s ear, “Thank you,” before creeping back over to me.
She spent the rest of the night attached to me, only ever speaking through me. She ate her meal in silence, though I saw a small smile when I told her that I’d bought her favourite Ice-Cream for dessert. She was so quiet, so out of character, that I felt myself hurt inside at just how hurt she must have been to be feeling that way.
Her broken personality was painfully evident when Mom suggested she go to bed. Within seconds, Charlotte’s arms had wrapped around my neck and her face had become buried in my chest. It took me hardly any time at all to realise that she was crying again.
“What’s wrong, honeybee?” I asked, treading carefully.
“I... can’t... bed...”
“Char?”
“...will you sleep in my room tonight, Blaine?”
My heart sunk at those words. She was broken so much so that she needed me to sleep in her room? Did she feel like she needed protection? Or did the concept of bed have some negative connotations attached since her disappearance?
I had to erase those thoughts from my mind and concentrate on Charlotte.
“Of course I will, sweetie. Anything you want, I’m here.”
“Thank you,” she sniffed, before turning her head slightly to face Kurt.
“Can you come too? Please?”
Kurt just smiled. “Of course. I’d be honoured.”
“I don’t want Blaine to cry when I cry,” she said slowly and softly, “so you can be there for Blaine and Blaine can be there for me.”
“I’ll be there for you, too, Charlotte,” Kurt said, reaching out to hold Charlotte’s hand.
“Thank you.”
“Charlotte? Would you like a hot chocolate before bed?” Mom asked warmly.
Charlotte just shook her head and refused to look at Mom, Dad or anyone besides Kurt and I. I was nonplussed – what could cause her to react that way? Sure, Charlotte and I had a closer relationship. But she’s always been so friendly and so loving with our parents and siblings. She had many private jokes with Dyl, she often had staring contests with Donovan and she loved her ‘girl talk’ with her sister-in-law, Katherine.
Charlotte’s silence was disturbing, to say the least. Her reaction to the concept of ‘bed’ was concerning, and her overall disposition had us all very frightened.
Kurt and I tucked her into bed and waited for her to drift off before sleeping ourselves, on her bedroom floor with the Disney Princess nightlight on. Watching Charlotte sleep fitfully with tearstains on her cheeks broke our hearts, and we knew we had to get some answers, if not for our sake, then for the emotional well-being of my poor, broken honeybee.