Bumps in the road | J. Puckerman (1)

The Truth

TW: Domestic violence

Glee was so much more fun now that I had more friends in it. I felt like less of an outcast and like I actually belonged somewhere. Blaine and I had talked about it, and he agreed. He wasn't the biggest fan of Jake, probably because he could see that I clearly had a crush. He was okay with it though because he did like my happy face and Jake did make me happy. Our little corner of glee club was perfect. We had a place we belonged, a place that was safe, unlike our home.

My thoughts were quickly interrupted with a slushy to the face, "What the hell?" I yelled running to the bathroom to clean my face.

"Ems? Hey!" Marley called running after me.

"Just a second!" I called back trying to clean my face off and reapply makeup to my face, "I've got it!"

Marley walked in with a warm voice and a washcloth, "just let me help you, sweet girl," she laughed moving my face to look at her "oh Emily" she said her voice much softer. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing, nothing. It's fine. I just... I tripped into a door and hit my eye on the doorknob, no biggy. It's nothing new."

Only part of that was a lie. The doorknob part, Blaine and I's brother had come back from New York and decided that he and my dad got to use me as their rag doll. It wasn't anything new, so I wasn't lying about that part. I had put makeup on it to hide it from Blaine, he tried so hard to keep me safe from our brother and father. It would hurt him to know that this happened to me. I started replaying the words he said to me while Blaine was in the shower. I kept my door locked so they couldn't get to me but they still did. 'I never wanted a sick little sister, time to make my dreams come true I played in my head over and over again quickly holding my hand to my eye and the other to cover my throat. "Blaine." I cried.

"Blaine did this to you?" Marley asked totally shocked, she knew how close Blaine and I were and that he would never do anything to hurt me.

I shook my head, keeping my hands on my eye and neck. "No, no, no-no-no. Just... need." I cried, trying so hard to get my words to work the way I needed them to.

Marley nodded and called Blaine, softly rubbing my back and telling me that I was going to be okay and that I was safe. I knew that she was right. I knew that I would be okay because it happened all the time and I was always okay, and I knew that I was safe because Cooper was back in New York and my father was out of town with my mom on a work trip so I knew I was safe.

Blaine walked in the door, slowly and softly then he opened his arms for me to melt, which I did. "I'm right here Nugget, I'm right here baby sister, you're okay," he soothed.

"I tried" I sobbed "I tried and I I I-" I couldn't get any words out. It was too hard, it was too scary and my brain was moving too fast.

He pulled me closer kissing my head and softly putting his hand on my eye, "you tried and did so good Em, I am so proud of you. I'm right here, just breathe and tell me what happened when you can."

I gasped when I heard the door open then close again, but it was just Marley leaving. She was giving us space. She knew that the person I needed at that moment was Blaine so she let me be with him. Despite the speed my brain was running I forced myself to remember to thank her. To thank her for being so helpful, for doing everything right, and for not judging me.

Blaine sat and held me for about twenty minutes. Softly rocking me back and forth and telling me that we were okay and he was real. He ran his thumb under my good eye as a sign that he was okay. Sometimes Blaine would get lost in the words that our family told him and be scared to touch me because he didn't want to hurt me. His touch and seemingly slow brain helped me get calm enough to tell him something. "Cooper."

His eyes widened, then he slowly nodded. He wasn't shocked, just hurt. "Okay Nugget, deep breaths. We can do this, I'm so sorry" Blaine said, he was blaming himself the way I knew he would.

Blaine and I had the same brain. Being the black sheep in the family was hard but having each other made it better. We could almost always tell what the other was thinking. It was nice and annoying at the same time.

I tried to explain to Blaine that I was okay through sobs, I did everything I could to tell him it wasn't his fault, getting the occasional "not you Bug," or something of that nature out.

Realistically it was just screams and sobs that I was getting out, but we really are the same person, so he knew what I was trying to say. He slowly nodded and kissed my head ever so often, making sure that I was comfortable and that my head wasn't flopping around on the off chance I fell asleep.

'I never wanted a sick little sister, time to make my dreams come true.' The words played in my head again. I couldn't even sleep like a normal person. My stupid chronically ill body decided that I wasn't allowed to have a normal about on muscle tone, so that meant if I were to fall asleep in a car or sitting up my neck would just kinda flop to the side like a baby's would.

"Stay with me Nugget," Blaine whispered knowing that I was getting lost in my thoughts and that the thoughts weren't the ones that I needed to be thinking. "I'll sleep in your room tonight, in your bed so you can feel me real or on the air mattress just so you have a person."

I nodded. I liked the plan but I didn't want to try to say anything and risk crying again.

He smiled, still holding my neck "we can even invite Marls, Sophie, and Jake" he said, making his eyes a little bigger when he said Jake hoping to get some laugh from me.

"Mmmhmm" I said, with a tiny smile on my face "Sam too" I decided, making my eyes bigger the same way Blaine did.

"Whatever you want, baby sister. We can invite all of them to our fancy plan"

He helped me stand and stretch out my legs after being so folded. We tried to avoid letting me get all 'foldy or floppy" but when my brain is speeding that's the least of our worries. I just know that I have to do a little extra physical therapy and the Blaine would have to help straighten me out and stretch me. I hated when Blaine had to break me and he hated causing me pain, but we both knew that it was what I needed.

We had been in the bathroom for almost an hour trying to calm down and feel safe. Marley walked in the door to check on us with a, "Hey Ems, Blaine. Just checking in on you. I was worried about you and Jake is worried about you too, mostly Em I think but definitely both of you."

"I know he cares about her," Blaine said with a light laugh. "Do you want to go home or back to class, baby sister?"

"Home. And then tomorrow we get our fancy plan."