Not as Strong as You Think

Chapter 27- The Trial

His name was Samuel Thompson. It was such an average name for someone who's done such terrible things.

Kurt imagined that when he was young, his friends called him Sammy, and when he got older, wanted to be called Sam instead. He thought that maybe he hated when people called him Samuel, because it was too boring, and didn't like Mr. Thompson, either, because that was his dad. Kurt imagined that Samuel Thompson was a real person, had real feelings, real ethics, real family, and it only made things more depressing. The man with feelings, ethics, and family was the one who raped him and changed his entire life.

"That's him," Kurt whispered, eyeing Samuel Thompson as he walked through the doors. Aside from his change of outfits (now he was in a nice suit) and his shaved beard, everything else was the same. Everything was the way it was.

"Blaine," he said, tears starting to prick in the back of his eyes as if it meant something like 'the pain is too much, help me'. And once again, more desperately. "Blaine."

Blaine reached up to touch his shoulder, drawing his hand back when he noticed Kurt shivering at the slightest hint of his fingertips on him. His eyes were still on Samuel, and he couldn't take them off even though his heart rate increased with every second passing. He could feel the sweat on his forehead and his hands shaking at his sides.

"Kurt," Blaine tried, resisting the urge to spin Kurt around himself. He knew better than that. "Hey, hey, hey. Look at me." Kurt finally broke the gaze and turned to look into Blaine's eyes instead. Blaine's beautiful, hazel eyes that winced when they saw Kurt's red, glassy ones.

"You're safe, okay? I'm not going to let him touch you, and neither will anyone in this room. Never again. Now go up there and put his ass in jail where he belongs."

Kurt smiled at the little pep talk, "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

He went to sit down at the desk in front next to Mr. Lynch, Blaine finding himself right behind him in the first row.

A lot happened, and Kurt is only vaguely aware of what's going on. He knows that he rose while the Judge entered, he knows that the lawyer on the other side said their opening statement, and so did his own lawyer. But still, he tunes everything out, and only focuses when his name is mentioned and when he senses that a pair of eyes are on him, in which he'll swiftly turn to look around, and see nobody.

"Your Honour, I would like to call Kurt Hummel to the stand," Mr. Lynch said in front of the room.

Showtime.

Kurt stood, just like he rehearsed, and stepped towards the spot where he would testify and possible change his entire life. He put his hand on the Bible, said what he needed to say mindlessly, and sat down quietly, except for his heavy breathing.

Mr. Lynch paced in front of him, smiling reassuringly when nobody else could see. Though it didn't help, Kurt appreciated the effort.

"Could you please tell everyone what happened on the night of November 13th?" he asked Kurt, waiting for him to recite exactly what he was supposed to say. Not because he was lying, just because it had to be perfect up there.

Kurt looked up into the back of the room, seeing only the faces of Rachel, Mercedes, Sam, Artie, who came for support, and most importantly Blaine before his eyesight didn't allow him to see any more. He tried to avoid Samuel with his eyes, just keeping his focus somewhere else, in case he broke down completely.

"I was walking home from an internship at around 8:00 and I saw a man who...who appeared to be homeless so I thought I would give him some spare change. When I bent down he...he, uh..." he took a deep breath and wiped under his eyes with the back of his hand, "grabbed my wrist and hit me in the head with a glass bottle so I fell... And then he... "