5 years ago . . .
Santana Lopez stares longingly out the window as she watches the neighborhood kids run around, playing and laughing. She wishes she could do that. Just run around with the other kids, being a normal kid without a care in the world. That must be nice.
"What are you looking at you dumb piece of shit?!" Mario Lopez shouts at his ten year-old daughter.
"N-nothing, papi." the young Latina stammers nervously.
"What did I tell you about talking?!"
"T-to n-not do it." Santana mumbles.
Mario is about to respond by hitting his daughter, but then the front door bursts open. The two Latinos in the kitchen turn their heads toward the sound. Santana's eyes light up at the sight of the policemen and a woman, but quickly dim back down when she sees the livid expression on her father's face.
"Mario Lopez, you are under arrest for child abuse. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you." the man says as he puts handcuffs on the Latino.
"You told someone didn't you?! I told you not to fucking tell and you did! You're such a dumb piece of shit! And that's all you'll ever be, Santana! If I ever find out who you told I will kill them! And if I ever hear that you're talking again, I will kill you too!" Mario yells to his now sobbing daughter as he is being pulled toward the police car. The one policeman shoves the man into the back of the car while the other gets in the car. They speed off quickly.
The woman that was with the two policemen is still at the house with Santana. Once she sees the squad car leaving, she wraps the small girl in her arms. The Latina doesn't automatically relax, but after a moment of silence, she collapses onto the woman sobbing. The woman picks the tiny girl up easily and they leave the house. She puts her in the front seat of the cop car and they drive off.
"I'm going to take you to your new home okay?" the older brunette asks softly.
Santana faintly nods, but continues wiping her tears and crying quietly.
The woman stops in front of a grey mansion with a huge front yard and a sign that says The Children's Home of Lima. The woman gets out of the car, picks the Latina up and carries her into the house. The mansion is filled with kids running around and playing.
"Laura! I'm here!" the brunette calls into the house.
"Jane!" a red -haired woman exclaims as she comes around the corner. "Is this Santana?" she asks, gesturing to the small girl in her friend's arms.
"Yeah." Jane says. By now, Santana has stopped crying; she is just quietly whimpering and sniffling with her head in the crook of the brunette's neck.
"Is she okay?" Laura asks, concerned.
"I'm not sure. Ask her." she shrugs.
"Santana sweetie, are you alright?"
The Latina shakes her head silently.
"Does she talk?" the redhead asks her friend.
"She hasn't a word to me yet. But I don't think she will anytime soon. Her dad said he'll kill her if she talks."
"Oh my God. Thank goodness he's in jail now." Laura says. "Do you want me to show Santana her room now?"
"Sure." The woman leads the two up a flight of stairs and down a hall.
"Santana, this is your new room. Since your mom is dead, and your dad is in jail, you are unfortunately, an orphan. So you will be staying here until you get adopted. Is that okay with you?" the redhead asks the young girl. The Latina lifts her head off of Jane's neck ad looks around her new bedroom. The walls are painted red, there is a twin-sized bed in the middle of it, and there is a desk near the window. Santana decides she likes it and nods her head at Laura.
The woman beams and says "Great! Now Santana, Miss Jane and I are going to go downstairs and talk for a little, is that okay?" The young girl nods her head and Jane sets her down.
"Are you going to be okay, sweetie?" the brunette asks her. She's taken a liking to the small girl so she needs to be reassured that she's going to be alright alone.
Santana once again nods her head. She points to the bed and makes the go on gesture with her hands.
"Okay. Sleep well, sweetie."
The girl wordlessly nods and climbs into the bad as the two women leave. Santana lets her eyes close as she begins to dream about how her life would've been like if her dad wasn't abusive and her mom wasn't dead.