Silence [Discontinued]

III

Kurt woke up to the sound of crying. For once, it wasn't his own.

He blinked tiredly, feeling sore and achy. Somehow he didn't seem to have a hangover.

"Kurt?"

"Dad? Where am I?" Kurt asked softly.

"The hospital. You've been out for 52 hours, Kurt. I've been worried sick."

That would be why he didn't have a hangover. He slept through it, he guessed.

"But what happened? Where did all these cuts and bruises come from? What were you wearing? Why was there so much alcohol in your system?" His father's voice was unsteady, breaking towards the end.

Kurt made himself sit up despite the pain it elicited, leaning his back against the headboard. He knew he had to be honest. "Jake."

"What do you mean?"

"The injuries, they're all from him. He picked out the costume and I was afraid to argue. He forced me to drink. And the whole thing, it was his idea. He said he wanted to see how much I could take." Tears were falling from Kurt's eyes. He just sold him out.

"Kurt, why didn't you tell me?" Burt asked brokenly. "I never want to see you hurt."

"I was afraid of what he'd do to me," Kurt admitted.

There was a silence, and Kurt cleared his throat to speak again.

"Can I switch schools? McKinley- well, everything in Lima, really- reminds me of him."

"Of course."