Warbler Cries

Chapter 9 : Locked in the garage

Chapter 9

A few days later...   

Nick POV

I met Blaine and Sebastian in the cafeteria for lunch. Today was Saturday.

"Where's Jeff?" Blaine asked.

"His dad picked him up for the weekend."

"Oh... You want to hang out with us for the weekend then or just chill alone?" Blaine asked.

"I'll hang out with you guys. Do you have any plans?"

"We were thinking of going to the Lima Bean later. I like to have a midnight snack, so I've been trying to get Seb to have a late night snack with me. So I was thinking maybe we could get something delicious as a late night snack from the Lima Bean," Blaine said.

"That sounds great. I could totally go for a hot chocolate and a cookie or something. How are you guys doing lately?"

"Good, I think. Sebastian has been eating at every meal. Sometimes it's not a whole meal, but he eats at least a little bit of something every time, and I think that's good enough for now. And he's been checking my wrists for cuts every night so he'll know if I do it again, which I haven't. What about Jeff? How's his anxiety?" Blaine asked.

"He was really anxious last night and this morning before his dad picked him up. He didn't have a panic attack, but I could just tell he was anxious."

"And what about you? Are you doing ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I mean, you guys stress me out a little, but I'm fine. I trust you two to look after each other, and I can look after Jeff. Not to make you guys feel bad, but at least being anxious and having panic attacks isn't going to hurt Jeff. But skipping meals and cutting is like actually kind of dangerous."

"I just feel bad for Jeff. Like me and Blaine are doing these self destructive behaviors to ourselves. But Jeff can't control when he gets panic attacks," Sebastian said.

"Do you know why he gets panic attacks?" Blaine asked.

"No. I haven't really talked to him about it because I don't want to make him feel even more anxious. Like if something is triggering them, I don't want to trigger another panic attack for him by talking about what triggers his panic attacks."

"I know, but if you knew what triggers them, maybe you could help him avoid those triggers," Blaine said.

"Yeah. Maybe I'll try to talk to him when he gets back tomorrow."

Jeff POV

"Please let me out! Please!" I cried, banging on the garage door.

My dad got drunk earlier than usual and locked me in the garage. There were no windows. The only light was the light coming in from underneath the garage door, which is going to disappear soon as the sun goes down.

"Please, dad!" I cried.

I heard him turn the tv up. He was watching some sports game.

There's always 2 options of what can happen if dad gets drunk. He will either lock me somewhere, like the garage, basement, or a closet. Or he'll hit me. I almost wished he'd chosen to hit me because then at least I could curl up in bed when it was over. I hate being locked in the garage. There's spiders in here and probably mice too.

I sighed and just sat down on the cold garage floor. I was only wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt. Since it was winter, the garage was pretty cold.

I pulled my knees to my chest. I just want to go back to Dalton. I want Nick to protect me.

Later...

Nick POV

I was sitting across from Blaine and Sebastian at the Lima Bean right now, sipping my hot chocolate.

"Nick, do you think it's weird that Jeff doesn't have a phone?" Blaine asked suddenly.

"Um... Yeah, I guess... I mean, I didn't have a phone for a while because my parents couldn't afford it. Maybe that's just the case for Jeff too," I said.

"Wait. If your parents couldn't afford to buy you a phone, how did they afford to pay for Dalton?" Sebastian asked.

"I got a scholarship. At my old school, I was in the choir. We went to competitions just like we do with the Warblers. And I got the lead for this one song, and we won with it. Later that night, someone from Dalton found me and my parents and offered me a scholarship if I agreed to be in the Warblers," I said.

"Wow. I never knew that," Blaine said.

"Yeah, you should audition for lead roles here. You've never done that, right?" Sebastian asked.

"Nope. Never."

"Why not?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know... There's so many talented people here. I just don't feel like I would get the lead against anyone."

"That's not true. You have a great voice, Nick. I think you just need more confidence," Blaine said.

"Maybe. I don't know... I only did it at my old school because nobody else wanted to do it and my choir teacher asked me."

"Well think about it. We can help you practice if you ever want to audition for anything," Blaine said.

"Thanks. I'll consider it."

"They're still looking for a lead for Teenage Dream, you know," Sebastian said.

"Yeah, but everyone wants Blaine to do it. And you should, Blaine. You'd be perfect for it."

"I missed auditions though. Remember? I ran out."

"They postponed auditions after you left. Everyone wants you for the lead," Sebastian said.

"Really?" Blaine asked, smiling slightly.

"Yes, really!" Sebastian said, laughing.

"Well... Then maybe I will," Blaine said.

"Good," Sebastian said.

"Ok, anyways. Back to Jeff. Do you think we should buy him a phone?" Blaine asked.

"Well I literally have zero money, so I can't really help," I said, feeling kind of embarrassed that I'm broke.

"I'll ask my parents. It's the least they could do after sending me to Dalton so they could pretend they don't have a son," Sebastian said, staring down at the table.

"Sebastian-"

"I'm fine, Blaine. They don't want a son. I was an accident. But they're rich. The least they can do is buy me a phone so I can give it to Jeff. I'll just tell them I broke my phone and ask for some money to buy a new one. We'll pick one out for Jeff and surprise him with it."

"Are you sure you're ok?" Blaine asked, softly.

"I'm fine. I'm over it. Can we go back to Dalton now? I just want to go to bed," Sebastian said.

"Yeah, let's go," Blaine said.

We all know Sebastian's parents don't care about him. Sebastian pretends it doesn't bother him, but Blaine and I can just tell that it does. I feel so bad. It's probably not helping his eating disorder.