Chapter 2:
Santana struggled to comprehend her mother's words. Quinn couldn't be in an accident, she had just seen her this morning at practice. They were supposed to be in the best boat ever. And on top of everything, it was Quinn; her sweet, sensitive, sometimes snarky best friend. The one who yells at her to keep pushing during practice and smiles proudly at her when they win a race. The one person who truly understands her. Nothing could possibly happen to her.
But the look on her mother's face tells her it did.
"How? Wh…what happened?"
The older latina pulled her daughter into a hug. "She was on her way to school. As she crossed through an intersection a driver on the other side ran a red light. The police said he was playing with his phone. He hit the drivers side of her car. She's in the hospital mija."
"How do you know all of this," Santana asked. "Is she going to be ok?" The girl had paled during the conversation and her mother could feel her shaking.
"Papi is with her. He called me before he took her back into the ER. And they contacted Judy." Santana scoffed at this. "But your father wants us to be there. Her injuries are very serious, but her vitals are good and stable."
The brunette stepped back from her mother. "We need to go. I need to see her. Please…," her eyes filled up with tears, "Please, she has to be ok. I-I need to be there with her. I don't want her to be alone. Please Mami?"
The sight of her usually strong daughter breaking in front of her tore at Maya Lopez's heart. "Of course sweetie, we'll go straight away."
The two Lopez women drove to the hospital in silence. Santana tried to keep her composure and keep the tears at bay but a few of them snuck out and ran down her cheeks. She didn't want this. She needed to be strong for when she saw Quinn. She had to take care of her. When they reached the hospital, Maya Lopez drove around to the staff lot and parked the car. Santana made no move to exit the car, unable to will herself into the place where her best friend lay in who knows what kind of condition. Her mother reached over and placed a hand on her knee. "Santana, we need to go in now. Everything will be ok. Quinn will want to see you."
This last statement brought the girl out of her thoughts. "You're right," she said, "let's go find her and Papi."
In the building, they asked the nurses where they could find Dr. Lopez and were directed to the fourth floor. When they exited the elevator they saw him standing by the nurses station. Santana hurried to him, almost running. He caught her in his arms and pulled her into a comforting hug. "What happened? I want to know everything."
"Santi, I've been in with Quinn, examined her injuries. Her car was struck on the drivers side, almost even with her door. The force of the impact along with the jerked stop from the seatbelt dislocated her left shoulder. That's an easy fix and it's already back in place. We strapped it to her chest for the time-being to keep it immobile, but it will be sore for a while. She also had bruising across her chest and ribs from the airbags and seatbelt. When the truck hit her the window shattered and she has several lacerations on the side of her face. One or two of them needed a couple stitches, but with some topical medicine there shouldn't be any scarring when they've healed. There was one fairly deep cut from the frame of the door down her left arm which required about 20 stitches," Dr. Lopez paused here and it didn't go unnoticed by his daughter.
"Is that all? Papi, what else is wrong with her," she asked.
Carlos placed a hand on her shoulder, "Sweetheart, the accident caused a compression of her spinal cord. From the examination I've done and the ones from a couple other doctors, I believe that it is a reversible compression and that with therapy she will be able to return to an almost normal state." He looked to his daughter for her reaction. She knows what the medical terms mean, but in this current situation, the meaning of what he had just said might not be clear.
Santana stood with a blank look on her face. "What are you saying?"
With a deep breath, he explained so she would understand, "Santana, Quinn cannot move her legs. She has no feeling below her waist. When we release her, she will be in a wheelchair, at least for the next few months. I have faith that with intense physical therapy and a lot of support, she will regain feeling in her legs and that she will be able to walk again."
The color left in the young Latinas face drained. Santana sank to her knees, the tears now falling freely, if silently.
Beside her, her parents embraced each other. There was nothing they could do at the moment to console her. About five minutes later, Santana abruptly stood up and faced her parents. "I want to see her please," she said, but there was really no question of her going. The "please" was only to be polite. "She's going to need me."
Dr. Lopez nodded and motioned for her to follow him down the hall to Quinn's room. When they reached the door he stopped her. "She's asleep right now. We put her under light anesthesia to stitch her up and more closely examine the injury to her spine. She should be waking up shortly though." Santana nodded that she understood. "I'll let you go in alone. If you want to tell her, I'll allow you to do that. If you are uncomfortable doing that, call the nurses station when she wakes." She nodded again and her father turned and walked back to his wife.
Santana closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she pushed the door open. As she walked in and turned the corner she saw a sight she had hoped to never see.
And her heart broke.
AN: Sorry for the almost cliffhanger, but it really is a good place to stop. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter and to all those who favorite or alerted the story. It means a lot to me and makes me quite happy to know other people like it as much as I do.
