Warning for possible triggers
Brittany leaned on the cinderblock wall of the top bunk. Her head rested on the bumpy white wall. She was confined, but she couldn't find it in herself to be sad about it. In fact, a small smirk played on her lips as she remembered how she got here, to this place - in this cell wearing an orange jump suit.
She had heard the rumors but couldn't believe it was true. So on a trip home to see her parents, she drove by the place where the rumors stemmed from. She parked down the street a few houses because, no matter what was going on, it was still creepy to spy on your ex.
It didn't take her long to spot Santana. The other girl walked out of the small yellow house with powder blue shutters. She had large sunglasses over her eyes and a long-sleeved shirt on even though it was hot outside. Brittany's stomach sank. She had heard the rumors, but she didn't think they could be true. All the evidence pointed in the direction that they were, in fact, true. Santana had dropped out. She had bought a house in Lima. She had entered into a relationship with someone else. That someone else was physically abusive. All of these things were true. Of course, it was still up in the air as to who this mystery abuser was.
Brittany was torn between confronting Santana and waiting to see who else was in the house. In the end, her heart led her to following Santana. Santana's beat up little car wasn't hard to follow, and soon, they both pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store.
Brittany parked a few spots from Santana and waited for her to get out of the car. She tried to make it seem like she wasn't actually following Santana, so she looked around - which probably made her look that much more suspicious.
Once inside, Brittany made sure to keep a few isles away from Santana until the brunette stopped in front of the alcohol isle. Santana had her arms crossed, looking at the cooler full of beer.
Brittany walked up next to her and looked at the beer. She wanted to say something because she wanted Santana to notice her, but her ex seemed to be staring really hard at the different kinds of beer. She was so caught up in trying to figure out how to get Santana's attention that she dropped her keys.
The loud clanging of the keys on the floor brought both girls' attention to the noise. Brittany bent down to pick them up and felt eyes on her so she looked up at the reflective sunglasses of Santana. She let out an awkward smile. "Oh, hey."
Santana's head immediately tilted down. "Um, hi."
"How are you?" Brittany asked although she knew the real answer and the lie that Santana was about to tell.
"I'm, uh, good," she mumbled, not looking at Brittany.
Seeing Santana like this made Brittany physically sick. She knew that Santana wasn't good or even okay. She licked her lips and picked up a six pack. "Look, I know you're not okay. I know you, Santana. I'm going to buy this," she guestured to the beer in her hand, "And I'm going to our spot. Come talk to me, okay?"
"I-I can't," Santana shook her head. "I have to take this back to - home." She lifted the food that was in her hand basket.
Brittany shrugged, "I can wait." She stepped up to Santana and carefully reached up to lift Santana's sunglasses. The way Santana flinched made Brittany want to cry, but she lifted them away and saw a light bruise right under Santana's left eye. It was yellowing around the edges, meaning that it was a few days old - maybe a week at the most. Brittany saw Santana's eyes for the first time and the emotions trapped there broke her heart. There was fear, loathing, hurt, and hopelessness. As a film of tears began to form over her eyes, Santana reached up and took her sunglasses from Brittany and put them back on her face.
"Santana," Brittany grabbed the other girl's hand as she started to run off. She pulled Santana back to her. She let go of Santana's hand and stuck out her pinkie. "Pinkie promise me that you'll meet me. I'll wait all night if I have to."
Santana looked from Brittany's pinkie up to her face. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and thought it over. Finally, she hooked her pinkie around Brittany's. "Okay. I'll be there in about an hour.'
Brittany smiled. She used Santana's pinkie to pull her into a hug. She was distraught at how thin Santana felt under her arms but decided that they could talk about it later.
They parted ways, and Brittany made her way to their spot. Their spot was a park that no one ever used. It was a few blocks from a different park that was really great, so no one tended to go to theirs.
Brittany set the beer on the splintering picnic table and walked over to the tree where Santana had carved their initials. She smiled when she saw it was still there. BP+SL with a heart around it. Her fingers traced the letters that Santana made with a nail file so many years ago.
Then she laid down on the top of the picnic table and looked at the sky. The tree over her only partially blocked her view of the perfect, fluffy clouds and the bluest of blue skies.
She didn't realize how long she was laying there until she heard someone walking up to the table. Santana's arms were crossed defensively over her chest. She was wearing the same thing from before, including the sunglasses.
Brittany quickly stood up off of the table and in front of Santana. "You came."
Santana nodded. She shifted her weight and settled on her left foot.
The blonde didn't like this Santana. She was quiet. She was removed and way too guarded. Brittany turned to the table and pulled out a beer. She used her shirt to unscrew the lid and handed it to Santana. It seemed for a moment that Santana wasn't going to take it, her eyes looking the bottle up and down before she actually accepted it.
Brittany opened her own and sat down on the top of the table. Santana sat down next to her, but farther away than Brittany would have liked. She looked over and noticed a bruise on Santana's knee. She reached over to run her fingers over it and, once again, Santana flinched away from her. This time, Brittany pulled away. "It's not right, Santana."
"Look, I don't need this," Santana pushed off of the table and set her untouched beer down on the table.
Brittany quickly jumped up and caught Santana's wrist. Santana yanked her wrist away and whirled on Brittany. The blonde couldn't see through Santana's sunglasses, but she knew what she would find in the brown eyes, and she didn't like it.
"Santana," Brittany said quietly. "Can you take your sunglasses off? I just want to talk."
When Santana didn't make a move to take them off, Brittany gently reached up and removed them. Brittany smiled softly when she could see all of Santana's face. "You're beautiful."
Santana dropped her head and mumbled, "No, I'm not."
Brittany reached forward slowly and picked up Santana's hand. "You're special." She took Santana back to the table and sat her down. "You should be cherished." Brittany set Santana's sunglasses down on the table behind her. "You should be loved - real love."
"You couldn't even love me," Santana's chin was pressed to her chest and Brittany was sure she was about to see tears spilled.
"I never stopped loving you," Brittany offered gently. "I just wanted us to go on a break because we were so far apart. You finally broke up with me, but I never stopped loving you." She gently lifted Santana's chin to look her in the eyes.
Santana looked into Brittany's familiar blue eyes, and she saw it. She saw all the love and the concern. She felt her stomach tie in knots and tears sting her eyes. "It's too late. I'm with-"
Brittany shook her head. "You shouldn't be. Someone who does this to you." She ran her fingers lightly over the bruise under Santana's eyes.
"I, um," Santana ducked her head to gather her words, "I ran into a door."
Brittany shook her head. "I don't believe you." She pushed forward on her toes and lightly kissed the bruise. Then she bent down and kissed the one on Santana's knee. "What happened to you, Santana?" Brittany stayed kneeling at Santana's feet with the brunette's hands in her own and looking up at her face.
Santana took a deep breath. "Nothing happened." She reached behind herself and picked up the beer bottle behind her, rolling it between her hands before taking a sip.
Brittany moved to sit next to Santana. "No one should hit you, Santana. No matter what." She swung her leg over the bench and scooted closer to Santana.
"Sometimes I -" Santana swallowed with tears in her eyes. "I do something -"
"Santana," Brittany pulled Santana to her and felt the girl tense under her arms. She put her head on Brittany's shoulder and closed her eyes. She let herself relax. "Nothing you can do makes it okay for someone to hurt you."
That was when Santana broke down. The tears poured out of her eyes. She allowed Brittany to hold her, to kiss her head and rub her back.
A shrill ring broke through the air after a few minutes. Santana quickly sat up and took her phone out of her pocket. She removed herself from Brittany and took a few steps away. She looked at her phone and shook her head, pocketing it. "I have to go."
"Santana," Brittany stood up and rushed to Santana. She took her hand. "No, you don't."
"I do," Santana pulled away from Brittany. "I have to go."
The blonde took a deep breath, "Can I see you again? Tonight?"
"Um, tomorrow," Santana looked hesitant. She picked up her sunglasses and slid them back on.
"I'll be at my mom's house all day tomorrow," Brittany offered. "Please come see me."
Santana nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "I'll be there in the morning." Her eyes turned up to Brittany's one last time and licked her lips before she turned around and walked off, her head bowed to the ground.
The next day, Brittany waited anxiously on her front porch. She sat in the old wooden swing that she and Santana used to sit on and just talk. She hoped that they could do that again. She wanted to know what was up with Santana. What was really up.
Brittany saw the same beat up car from yesterday pull to a stop in front of her house at 9:21. She smiled as she watched Santana easily and gracefully get out of her car. When Santana looked up at Brittany, she couldn't help but smile. She thought about not coming, but in the end, there was never a time in her life when she didn't want to see Brittany.
Brittany let herself slip back into her 16-year-old mindset. She set her morning tea down and trotted over to Santana. She picked up the smaller girl and twirled her around, causing Santana to laugh like they were kids again.
"C'mon," Brittany said excitedly and took Santana's hand after she set her down. She had a bad feeling that Santana wasn't going to show up before. So she eagerly pulled her inside, leaving her coffee on the front porch.
Brittany didn't stop until they were up in her old room. Santana giggled the whole way and allowed Brittany to sit her down on the bed. Lord Tubbington's mass was sitting in the middle of the bed, and he immediately waddled over to Santana and rubbed his head against her.
"He missed you," Brittany grinned and got up to close her door.
Santana smiled at the cat, "I missed him too."
Brittany leaned back on the door and smiled just watching Santana pet her cat. It was just like high school. Except it wasn't. Her smile faded as she could see the bruise from yesterday almost gone under Santana's eyes, but it was still there.
The blonde felt an overwhelming urge to wrap her arms around Santana and hold her, not letting go until she was all better. Santana looked up at her and her smile faded when she saw Brittany looking at her.
Santana's eyes met the floor, and her head dipped down.
"Don't do that," Brittany whispered. She didn't mean to whisper, but she couldn't speak louder.
Santana struggled to level her chin and clear her throat, "Do what?" Her voice was raspy as she asked.
"Stop looking down," Brittany pushed off of the door. When Santana's eyes started to fall again, Brittany sat on the floor in front of her. "I'll just sit down here then." She folded her hands up in her lap and just gazed at Santana.
Santana bit her lip as she looked down at Brittany, "Why do you look at me like that?"
"Like what?" Brittany asked.
Santana shook her head and averted her eyes, "I don't know. Like - like you feel sorry for me."
Brittany licked her lips and drew on all of her knowledge of Santana to carefully word what she was about to say. "I care about you. I don't understand why anyone would want to hurt you. Especially like that." She didn't gesture to Santana because she knew it would only rub the other girl the wrong way.
"I - ran into a shelf," Santana quickly sputtered, "I already told you that."
"You told me that you ran into a door," Brittany answered quietly. "You don't have to lie to me, Santana. I love you. I won't judge you."
"You love me?" Santana asked, looking at the blonde girl on the floor. When Brittany nodded, she asked, "How?"
"Like I always have. I never stopped," Brittany answered earnestly. She looked up at Santana. The window behind her seemed to create a halo around her. It made her smile for the briefest moment. She took a deep breath, "What's happening to you is not okay."
"It's - I," this time Santana couldn't come up with an excuse. Lord Tubbington nuzzled against her arm and she let him distract her from the conversation.
"What happened, Santana?" Brittany asked. "Did you graduate?"
Santana shook her head, her eyes still on the cat as she scratched behind his ears.
"Why not?"
"I was't smart enough."
"Yes you are," Brittany frowned hard at her words, "You got a scholarship."
"I lost it," Santana huffed, her shoulders slumping.
Brittany rubbed Santana's shin, the warm skin warming her fingers. "You could have finished."
"I'm not smart enough."
Brittany pushed up on her knees and put her hands on Santana's thighs. "You are smart enough. You're beautiful. You're amazing." She could see the tears accumulating in Santana's eyes. "You're so smart, Santana."
Santana started to look away, but Brittany took Santana's face gently in her hands. She wanted Santana to look in her eyes. To see that she meant everything she was saying.
That caused the tears to overflow from Santana's eyes and trickle down until they disappeared into Brittany's hands. Brittany couldn't control herself anymore. She pushed up and pressed her lips to Santana's. She wanted to draw all the pain away. All this self-loathing and sadness needed to be wiped away and she didn't know how else to do it, so she kissed her. Santana used to say her kisses fixed everything. She hoped it was still true.
Santana pulled Brittany up, off of her knees and fell back on the bed with Brittany on top of her. She tugged on Brittany's shirt which the blonde was happy to remove. She held herself over Santana as she kissed her lips and her cheeks and her neck. She pulled Santana by her shirt as she pulled it off and was shocked at what she found. The once beautiful tan skin was marred with bruises all over. On her ribs and her shoulder - her bicep had bruises in the shape of harsh fingers.
"No. Don't cry," Santana took Brittany's face in her hands. It was then that Brittany realized the tears that were pouring down her face.
She leaned forward, this time kissing Santana with all the love in her. She was going to remind Santana what real love was like. What it was like to be cherished and cared for like she was the most perfect person on earth, because in Brittany's eyes, she was.
Santana came with tears in her eyes and her hands pulling Brittany as close to her as possible. Brittany rolled off of Santana and laid down next to her. Santana cuddled against Brittany's side, her head resting on Brittany's shoulder.
Brittany pulled the blanket up over Santana's shoulders and kissed her head.
"I forgot what it's like," Santana murmured against Brittany's collar bone.
"Forgot what what's like?" Brittany asked, brushing Santana's hair away from her face.
Santana took a deep breath, "What it's like to be loved."
"I love you," Brittany said into the brown hair against her lips, "I love you more than anything."
In her cell, Brittany looked at the cracked ceiling. She remembered the affair that they kept up. For a week, Santana would sneak out of her house and meet Brittany wherever she could. They would spend every second together possible. But when the phone would ring, Santana would run off.
"I want to be with you," Brittany told Santana one night on the hood of her car in the middle of a field.
Santana smiled against Brittany's chest, "I am with you."
"No," Brittany tightened her grip on Santana, "I want you to come with me back to New York. You can live with me."
Santana froze. "I - I don't know."
"Why not?" Brittany asked. But she knew why. Santana was petrified of her boyfriend. They'd had a talk about why Santana was with a guy in which Santana got defensive telling Brittany that maybe Aaron was different. Brittany went on to prove that even if he was different, he was no Brittany.
Then one day, Santana didn't show up. They were supposed to meet for coffee and Santana wasn't there. After half an hour, Brittany decided to go find her. She drove slowly up the street in front of Santana and Aaron's house. At first, nothing looked out of the ordinary. The house just stood there, no movement inside or out. The sky crackled and popped over her head with the beginnings of a storm.
But as she started to pass the house, she finally noticed the sign on the street. The house was for sale. Brittany threw her car into park, left it running in the middle of the street, and ran to the house. She knocked on the door – slow controlled raps with her knuckles turned into frantic bangs with her fists. She hopped down off of the front porch and peered through the front window. She felt her stomach drop when she found the small living room completely barren. No furniture, no pictures... it was empty.
Brittany ran to her car and hopped in the driver's seat. Brittany sped all the way to Santana's parents' house in the beginning sprinkles of a downpour. Her frantic knocking at this house was answered by Mr. Lopez. "Brittany?" he smiled, "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were in town."
"Where's Santana?" she asked, completely ignoring everything he said to her.
"Birmingham," He paused, "I haven't seen her in a while, but her mother talked to her last night. Aaron got a job with a company there, and they needed him right away."
"Birmingham?" Brittany felt like she was about to cry. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "I have to find her. Do you know where she lives now?"
He shook his head. "I'm sure she'll send us her address in a few days."
"What's Aaron's last name?" Brittany asked.
"Are you okay?" he asked, reaching forward to feel Brittany's forehead with the back of his hand.
Brittany pulled away, "What's his last name?"
"Wilkerson," he answered with a confused brow.
Brittany nodded and ran back to her car, not even noticing the rain pounding her face.
Brittany looked over at her cellmate, making sure that she was still asleep. She liked to talk a lot, and if she saw Brittany was awake, she'd talk forever. Brittany loved this silence that she had in the small jail. She kicked around her shoe on the floor as she remembered how she found them in Birmingham. She had to ask around a lot and finally got a call from Mrs. Lopez telling her where Aaron got his job at. It's like she knew what Brittany was going to try to do and wanted to help her.
Brittany sat outside the factory waiting for Aaron to come out. She'd never seen him before, but she figured she could spot him. And she did. His arrogance was apparent in how he walked. His shirt perfectly tucked into his dress pants. He was handsome, but Brittany knew the monster that lurked beneath.
She followed him to an apartment complex a few miles away. She parked on the other side of the lot and carefully watched as he walked up the three flights of stairs and down a hallway. Brittany watched the hallway carefully trying to decide what to do next.
She only had about fifteen minutes to think about it because Aaron walked back out of the apartment in designer jeans and a vintage t-shirt. He ruffled his brown hair and got into his car. When he drove off, Brittany sprinted across the parking lot, up the stairs, and down the hallway. There was only one door at the far end of the hallway so she walked right up to it and knocked. There was no answer though. She knocked again, praying that Santana was in there.
When there was no answer, she tried one last time, this time using the secret knock that she and Santana had made up when they were kids.
This time, the locks tumbled back and the door slowly creaked open. Santana squinted against the light and Brittany gasped when she saw her. A fresh bruise was prominent on her slender cheek. Her left arm that was on the doorframe was under a white cast.
"Oh my god, Santana," Brittany breathed out.
Santana threw her arms around Brittany and started sobbing, "How did you find me?"
"I'll always find you," Brittany whispered into her hair. She quickly pulled away when she heard footsteps.
Santana yanked her inside and closed the door. As she locked it, she pointed to the kitchen. Brittany trotted across the room and slipped into the pantry, leaving it open a crack so she could see and hear what was happening.
The locks fell back on the door and it opened. Aaron walked in straightening out his shirt. He walked into the living room where Brittany couldn't see either one of them anymore. "Hey, where's my kiss?" he asked in a sickeningly sweet and completely fake voice.
There was a pause and Brittany almost threw up thinking about what they just did. She could vaguely hear Santana asking if he was going to stay in tonight.
"Some of the guys from work are taking me out," Aaron answered. "I forgot my wallet."
Some shuffling around and Santana said, "Here it is."
"Thanks babe," he answered, "Make sure to get this place cleaned up before I get back."
"Okay," Santana softly replied.
"I'll be back late," he stepped back into Brittany's view near the front door, "But when I do, make sure you still have some energy." He smirked suggestively and Brittany watched Santana force a smile.
He kissed her one last time before he left and Santana locked all the locks before turning around. Brittany stepped out of the pantry and walked over to Santana, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl. "Let's get out of here."
"What?" Santana asked.
"My car is outside," Brittany urged her. "Get what you need and we'll leave."
Santana looked hesitant, but as she did, Brittany pressed their lips together. She had to show Santana what real love was like again. She needed Santana to truly remember.
As her cellmate started to wake up, Brittany hopped up onto her bunk and laid down. She wanted to finish going through this story, so she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep as she remembered her and Santana's hasty escape.
They made it all the way out to the parking lot and to Brittany's car before they both froze in place. Aaron was sitting on the hood of Brittany's car. Brittany's fingers that were laced through Santana's flexed.
"C'mon," he smirked condescendingly, "The car has Ohio plates, and I could smell this little bitch's perfume in our apartment." He looked at Santana and pointed to Brittany.
Brittany reached next to her and pulled Santana behind her. "Get off of my car."
"Oh yeah?" he asked. He slid off of the car and turned around, kicking the right headlight, shattering the plastic. "Like that?"
Brittany narrowed her eyes. She knew people, and she knew emotions. He was angry and scared and he was trying to intimidate her. So she quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, like that."
He blinked once before starting to walk to them. "Santana, go back into the apartment."
Brittany felt Santana shift around behind her, but she used her thumb to rub the back of Santana's hand. She hoped it was enough to reassure her that this was worth it.
Santana's hair fell over her left eye as she met Aaron's eyes over Brittany's shoulder. She looked away and bit the inside of her cheek. She hated being this girl - and the worst part was that she knew she was being this girl and she couldn't seem to spot herself.
So she drew on Brittany's strength and shook her head. "No."
"Excuse me?" he asked, taking a few steps towards them, his eyes locked on Santana. He was about to raise his hand when a graceful and well placed kicked to his nuts sent him crumbling to the ground. As soon as his knees met the pavement, Brittany rushed Santana around him and into her car.
As they pulled away, a banging on the back of the car startled them both. Brittany looked back and saw Aaron was banging on the back of her car so she pressed down the gas and watched him fade in the rearview mirror.
They drove as far as what was left in Brittany's gas tank would take them before stopping at a diner outside of town.
Brittany's quick escape from Lima made her completely forget her wallet. She had some cash in her pocket and hidden about her car, but it was enough to get her to Alabama. Not enough to get back. She also had enough for dinner, and Santana looked like she hadn't eaten recently.
"He has all my money," Santana sighed.
"Don't worry about it," Brittany looked down at the menu. She put a smile on her face and asked, "Do you wanna split chocolate chip pancakes?"
Santana smiled and shook her head, "How do you do that? Make me feel like everything will be okay?"
"Because it will be," Brittany smiled fully at the girl across the table.
And it was. Brittany smiled against her jail-issue pillow remembering what happened next. She remembered calling her cousin in Baton Rouge and managing to pay for two train tickets there with four dollars left over. She called her cousin who said she was more than welcome to stay with him and that he would call her parents and have them meet them there. Right before they left for Baton Rouge, Brittany sold her car and pocketed the money.
"You didn't have to sell your car," Santana told her as she rested her head on Brittany's shoulder.
Brittany put her arm around Santana. "I don't really use it much anyway. I usually take the subway in New York." She looked down at Santana. "Do you want to move in with me? I mean, you don't have to."
Santana smiled and hugged Brittany around the waist, "I missed you."
"I missed you too," Brittany grinned. Even though she didn't really get an answer, she was okay with it because they were safe.
Brittany stretched in her bunk. She knew she needed to go to sleep because her hearing was tomorrow, but her mind kept running through the story. The train ride was easy, but things went downhill in Baton Rouge. They got one good night's sleep, tangled in each other on Brittany's cousin's pull out couch. But the next morning when they went for breakfast...
"Since we're here, we should have Cajun food, right?" Brittany answered, swinging hers and Santana's intertwined hands between them. "Do they have Cajun breakfast?"
Santana chuckled. She didn't really know, and she didn't really care. She just felt like she could breathe for the first time in years.
They ate breakfast and decided to walk around for a while in the downtown area. Brittany bought Santana a simple silver necklace with a small heart charm dangling from the delicate chain and a goofy trapper hat for herself.
As they walked down the old street, chatting, Brittany felt Santana freeze in the middle of the sidewalk. She turned to look at Santana and saw her eyes focused in on one place across the street. Brittany turned her attention across the street and felt her blood boil. Aaron stood across the street in the same clothes he was in the day before. He scratched his five o'clock shadow and looked both ways before crossing the street.
Brittany pulled Santana into motion in the opposite direction. She pulled Santana down the block to a much more crowded area. She pulled Santana up in front of her as they ducked into a restaurant. She guided Santana through the restaurant and out onto the large patio where a band was playing. They stopped at a bar on the side of the patio and sat on the stools.
"Are you okay?" Brittany asked, sure that they had lost Aaron.
Santana blinked a few times. Her hands visibly shook as she set them on the bar.
"It'll be okay," Brittany offered. She was so wrapped up in comforting Santana that she didn't notice a man take a seat next to her.
"I will always find you," a chilling voice captured both girls' attention. They both looked next to Brittany at Aaron. He flagged down the bartender and ordered a whisky.
"Leave us alone," Brittany narrowed her eyes at the man next to her.
He didn't seem to acknowledge her at all. He turned his head towards them, but his eyes were still on the bar. "You know, Santana, when this girl realizes how much trouble you're not worth, you'll be alone again."
"Don't say that," Brittany stood up and blocked Aaron's view of Santana with her body.
He looked up at Brittany, aloof and nonchalant. "You haven't seen her in a few years. She's really not good at much. She can't cook for shit. She can't clean all that great. I mean, I have to point out everything that she needs to do. But that mouth of hers is fucking talented. I mean this one time I told her to get on her knees and -"
Brittany couldn't take anymore. She swung at Aaron. She struck him once in the stomach, but as she swung again, Aaron caught her wrist. He stood up, at least four inches taller than Brittany and held her wrist.
"Let go of her," Santana wailed, pulling on Brittany's shoulder. She was frantic, and tears had already started trickling out of her eyes.
"Hey," the bartender slid over the bar and pulled Aaron away, "Get out of here."
Aaron looked over the bartender's shoulder at Brittany and Santana who were watching him be escorted out. "I'll always find you," he locked eyes with Santana then looked to Brittany before finally being pushed out the door. "I'm at the Radisson when you decide that you're done with her and want to drop her off."
Brittany called her cousin to come pick them up and made sure that Aaron wasn't on the street waiting for them before escorting Santana to the car.
Brittany's cousin checked all of his windows and doors before walking Brittany and a shivering Santana into their house.
On the pull out, Brittany tried to put her arms around Santana, but the shorter girl flinched away and curled up into a ball. So Brittany settled for placing her hand on Santana's ankle, gently stroking it with her fingertips.
Santana sniffled and wiped at her eyes, "He's not gonna stop, you know."
"We'll call the police," Brittany offered, "We'll get a restraining order. Whatever I have to do to make sure that you're safe."
Santana looked down at the cast on her arm. Tears filled her eyes again when she saw all the hearts Brittany had drawn on it on the train ride there. She even drew Lord Tubbington. Santana dropped her casted arm and looked over at Brittany. "I'm not worth it."
At first Brittany wasn't sure how to react. She'd never seen Santana this beat down. She scooted closer to Santana and held Santana's face in her hands. She waited for Santana to meet her eyes before saying, "You are worth it. You're worth so much more. I'll do anything for you. We can move across the country. We can leave the country. My grandparents love you and we could move in with them in Amsterdam. You are so worth it. I love you, Santana."
Santana just sat there for a moment her eyes searching through Brittany's. "Do you?"
"I do," Brittany didn't hesitate. "I love you more than anyone else in this world."
After that, Santana calmed down. They laid together in the bed and talked about all the crazy places they could live.
"I've always wanted to go to Nepal," Santana offered.
Brittany smiled, "We could definitely go there." She talked about things she'd heard about Nepal until she realized that Santana was asleep in her arms.
"Hey," Brittany's cousin walked in slowly, speaking softly. He had learned that they were both skittish so it was best to operate like that. "I'm going to go pick up your parents from the airport. Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"
Brittany shook her head. She didn't want to risk Santana seeing Aaron or Aaron seeing Santana. Plus Santana was sleeping and she didn't have the heart to wake her. It was best if they stayed in the safety of the house.
"Well, uh," he ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair, "There's a 44 in my nightstand. Just in case. It's loaded - just turn off the safety."
Brittany nodded over Santana's head and looked at the peacefully sleeping girl. "Okay."
After her cousin left, Brittany found herself drifting off to sleep as well.
When she woke up, there was screaming. "Brittany! Brittany!" It wasn't so much a scream as a screech. "Brittany!"
She jumped up and looked around, taking in the situation. The front door was ajar and Santana was screaming from down the hallway somewhere. Brittany ran toward the sound and into her cousin's bedroom where she saw Aaron closing in on the bathroom where she could see Santana screaming and terrified.
Brittany used her body to knock Aaron to the side and into her cousin's wall. He grabbed her arm when he pushed off of the wall and threw Brittany onto the bed. He turned his attention back to Santana who was cowering by the shower. He grabbed her arm and yanked it, pulling her to her feet. "You're coming home with me."
Brittany scrambled up off of the bed, but Aaron saw her coming and shoved her backwards. She stumbled and tripped, hitting her head on the nightstand as she went down.
"Brittany!" Santana shrieked as Brittany's vision faded to blackness.
Brittany jerked awake. She scrambled to her feet and paused because she felt dizzy. She ran through the house, looking for Santana and Aaron, but she couldn't find them anywhere. The front door was still open, a light breeze blowing leaves through the empty frame.
That was when things got a little fuzzy for her. Brittany squeezed her eye shut in her dark cell trying to remember exactly what happened after that.
The weight of the gun was heavy in her hand. She didn't remember how she got there or how she found out what room they were in, but outside the door of the shady motel, she could hear Santana screaming. The screaming abruptly stopped, and that's when Brittany kicked in the door.
Aaron was standing at the foot of the bed with his shirt off and his pants half unzipped. Santana was laying on the bed, her shirt ripped and hanging off of her torso. Aaron dove onto the bed when Brittany leveled the gun. He pulled Santana in front of him and eased off of the bed, pulling her with him.
"Help me," Santana whimpered to Brittany, pleading for something or anything.
Brittany adjusted the gun in her hand. Plenty of Aaron stuck out from around Santana's tiny frame, but she didn't trust herself not to accidentally hit Santana.
"Let go of her," Brittany threatened.
Aaron shook his head and inched himself and Santana toward the nightstand where he snatched up the phone and called 911. "There's a crazy bitch in my hotel room with a gun."
Brittany thought fast. "Santana! Cheerios leg tuck!"
A three word phrase that meant nothing to most people meant something to former Cheerios. Santana pushed off of the ground with her legs and pulled her knees to her chest. The force pushed Aaron against the wall, jarring him into letting go of her and dropping the phone. Santana jumped up on the bed and started to move to Brittany when Aaron grabbed her ankle. He flipped her on her back and raised a fist in the air.
Santana's eyes squeezed shut preparing herself for a hit when three loud bangs sounded through the room. She felt the hand around her ankle go limp and fade away. When she slowly opened one eye, she saw Aaron slumped against the wall, three bullet holes in his chest.
Brittany kept her gun trained on him until she was sure he was dead before lowering it and feeling Santana jump into her arms.
After that, it went blurry again. Santana moved around a lot, doing things to Brittany's hand and taking the gun away from her. When the police arrived, Santana told them a story about how she had blacked out when Aaron attacked her and she wasn't really sure who shot him because there was a struggle and the gun was on the ground.
By some happenstance, Brittany ended up being arrested because the cops really couldn't figure out what was going on and Santana looked worse than she did. They never did find the gun, and Brittany had no idea where it was. Brittany was assured by her attorney that her parents hired the second they found out what was happening that nothing would stick and that she'd be free after the hearing.
So the next day, Brittany walked into the hearing in her nice court clothes that her mother bought for her. Santana was seated with her parents right behind the defendant's table.
Her attorney said things about how there was no weapon and no one knew what really happened. He basically accused Santana of shooting Aaron indirectly. He brought up the possibility of a robbery and self defense. He paced the courtroom saying all kinds of things that Brittany didn't understand. There was no gunshot residue - whatever that meant - which meant Brittany didn't even fire the gun.
She wanted to turn around in her seat and ask Santana how she did that, but thought better of it. She pretty much zoned out trying to remember what Santana did before the cops arrived. She remembered Santana wiping her hand with something. It smelled really bad. Like bleach or something. Then she remembered Santana wiping off the gun with the ruffled sheets. Then –
Her thoughts were interrupted by the bang of a gavel. She looked around to see what she had missed and felt herself being pulled out of her chair. But this time, the bailiffs weren't pulling her up, it was her parents. They were hugging her and smiling. Behind them, Santana stood with her hands folded in front of her, a small smile on her face.
Brittany grinned, realizing that the charges were dropped. When her mom let go of her, she made her way over to Santana and swept the smaller girl up in her arms.
Brittany found herself back in her bed in New York a few short days later. Santana was curled up at her side, completely naked. Brittany's eyes swept across Santana's body. The bruises were slowly disappearing. They were both safe and free in New York.
Santana had explained that she used to fantasize about killing Aaron which was how she knew so much about getting away with it. They left Louisiana as fast as possible after the trial and stayed with Brittany's parents for a few days before going back up to New York.
Santana was now enrolled in school, and Brittany was back at work, dancing. They were together again and inseparable. They were young and safe and free. Santana was happier than she had been in years.
Santana leaned to the side and captured Brittany's lips. She smiled and kissed her again. "Wanna go take a bath?"
Brittany grinned. "Of course."
They raced to the bathroom, happier than they had been in a long time.