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"What are we doing here?" Santana eyed the neighborhood, an area of a different class from where they lived… well, had lived. These were the kind of houses that a family like the Fabrays would own… Who did her mother know that lived here?
Her mother didn't answer, but got out of the car. She pushed the gate outside the house open and crossed the garden, her daughter following her.
Santana saw her mom hesitating between knocking on the door and ringing the bell, settling on the latter.
The door burst open.
"Leonor, why didn't you use the key?"
"Well, I'm a guest"
"Nonsense," the host let her out of the hug. "Santana, come in."
"Berry?" the Latina roused from the shock.
"You two know each other?" Leonor asked.
"We're in Glee club together," Rachel explained, hushing them inside.
Both girls could see the curious and analytic look on the older woman's face and knew that the subject would come up again in a later conversation.
"If it's okay with you, Santana could take the room at the end of the corridor upstairs and you can have the one on the ground floor"
"It's perfect, Rachel, it's more that we could have hoped. I don't know how to thank you."
"I'm going to show Santana around and then we'll talk, okay?" Rachel interrupted her, ducking her head.
The woman saw the uncomfortable stance of both girls and agreed. "Okay, I'll put my bags in my room and I'll wait for you on the couch"
Rachel led Santana upstairs, indicating the various rooms before reaching the last one.
"This is your room. Get comfortable and… when you're ready come downstairs." She didn't know what to say to the other girl, who was still in shock, so she left and joined her mother.
When Santana collected herself, she decided to go downstairs and demand an explanation. The sight that greeted her made her stop in her tracks. Her mother was hugging Berry. No, she was crying on her shoulder while the girl whispered comforting words.
"Sorry." Finally the woman wiped away her tears.
"Don't worry, I was told that sometimes crying is the best therapy." Rachel winked, because it was Leonor who had told her that. The older woman smiled.
"I'll go to cook something." Rachel stood up.
"Niña, I can."
"Oh no!" The girl cut her short. "You won't work, you're a guest. Besides, I'll have the chance to put your lessons into practice. It's not like I've had many occasions to cook for someone else"
"Your fathers?"
"Away."
Santana was still listening out of their sight, and she was expecting her mother to start interrogating Berry, but instead she seemed satisfied by the short answer.
"Is there anything Santana doesn't like?" Rachel asked, her head in the fridge.
"Oh, she'll eat whatever you give her," Leonor said.
"Okay, but if I can…I mean, it must be tough for her."
"You never talk about each other…" The woman said casually.
"We are in different circles, you know, with her being a cheerleader and me being a loser."
"Rachel!" Leonor scolded her.
The girl shrugged, already knowing that the woman didn't like her talking about herself in those terms.
"How do you know each other?" Santana entered the kitchen.
Rachel stiffened and kept herself occupied, hoping that she wouldn't need to answer. She knew that as soon as she opened her mouth Santana would get annoyed and possibly insult her, and she didn't want to explain to Leonor that she lied to her when she said that she didn't know any of the students who bullied her.
"I've know her since she was little. I've been her housekeeper for years"
"You're much more than that!" Rachel corrected her.
"Thank you, niña."
"She didn't miss a birthday," Rachel explained, passing Santana on her way to the living room. "And it's more than my parents ever did," she mumbled when she thought the others wouldn't hear her.
ooooo
When Santana heard knocking on her door she cursed, already irritated by the thought that she'd have to go to school the next day.
"Santana?"
The girl rolled her eyes, annoyed but grateful that at least Berry had the grace to not barge into her room unannounced.
"What?" she yelled.
"Can I enter?"
Santana left the bed and flung the door open. "What do you want?"
"I…" Rachel thrust something at Santana. "I know that you don't want to be associated with me. This way you won't have to wait for me after school."
The Latina watched Rachel's back retreating before looking down at her hand which was now holding a set of keys.
"She could have least told me which key opens what." Her words were less sharp than she wanted them to be.
ooooo
"No lo puedo creher"
"Que, mama?"
"Madre mia! Santana!" Leonor brought her hand to her chest. "I didn't hear you," she said, taking a calming breath.
"Berry gave me the keys." She dangled them.
"Could you at least call her Rachel? After everything she is doing for us, it's the least you can do," the woman scolded her.
"Yes, mama." Santana rolled her eyes "What is that you can't believe?"
"Other clothes so ruined that you need to throw them away." She had in her hands a bright orange sweater.
"It's not a great loss," Santana mumbled.
"It's good that she keeps buying cheap clothes. I think she spends more on clothes than on food anyway." Leonor shook her head. "Throwing food at people! What kind of school is this?"
"Drinks," Santana corrected her without thinking.
"I'm not talking about just the slushies. I swear, if I find out who is doing this…" She let the threat linger.
"Be…Rachel never said…" The girl asked worried.
"Please! If I hadn't got suspicious as to why she always came home with different clothes than the ones she wore in the morning, she would have continued washing her own clothes so that nobody suspected anything." Leonor scoffed, clearly unhappy with how Rachel was dealing with the situation.
ooooo
Santana was passing by Rachel's room, when she heard a male voice. She smirked, thinking that Berry was entertaining a boy in her room, and she pushed slightly the door, wanting to catch them in the act.
"I can't wait for you to arrive, I have so many things to tell you"
What Santana saw through the small opening was Rachel, sitting at her desk and in front of her computer, talking with some guy.
"Honey," a black man spoke from the screen.
"What is it, Daddy?" Rachel asked, a little tremble in her voice.
"I know that we promised you that we would come back… and that we would celebrate your birthday…"
"But…"
Santana could see Rachel swallowing by force.
"They offered us a contract, it's a unique occasion."
"How long?" Rachel interrupted him.
"Six months, but then they could extend it."
"Rachel, baby," the other man spoke for the first time.
"No, it's okay, I know how important it is to you," Rachel said brightly, glad that with her years of training her voice didn't betray her bitter thoughts. 'Surely more important than me'.
The two men were now smiling, and Santana deduced that Rachel was too.
"Honey, I'm sorry to cut it short, but we need to go."
"I understand. Bye, Dad. Bye, Daddy." She disconnected the call without waiting for a response. She couldn't bear to hear that they loved her, not right now.
She stood up angrily, throwing to the ground books, pens… everything that was within her reach.
Then she opened her closet, a magnetic board hanging from the inside door. She wiped out the writings on it, the plan of her days with her parents.
She looked at the now blank surface, shaking her head, as tears streamed down her face.
"Stupid. I should have known better"
Santana was tempted to knock, asking if she was okay, but quickly discarded the idea - she didn't know how to handle people crying (unless they were crying because of her, but then, she wouldn't even think about consoling them, she would continue to bear down hard on them) and Berry wasn't even her friend.
"What's the crash?" Leonor climbed the stair, dishcloth still in her hands. Seeing Santana in front of Rachel's room, she looked questioningly.
"She was on Skype with her parents."
"Oh yes," the woman nodded. "They are coming next week, Rachel is very excited. They missed her birthday and she is looking forward spending time with them"
Santana looked at her shoes, an unusual sympathy for the girl filling her.
"What do you know?" Leonor observed her daughter.
"I think they aren't coming."
"You think?"
"Okay, I overheard them telling Rachel," Santana admitted.
Leonor shook her head sadly, her eyes bright. "Poor girl," she sighed. "I suppose tonight we will be eating alone, she is never in the mood after that," she said, leaving Santana to wonder how many times it already happened.
oooooo
Music reached Santana's ears as she opened the door.
Si tú no vuelves
se secarán todos los mares
y esperaré sin ti
tapiado al fondo de algún recuerdo
Santana groaned. If she had to listen someone singing couldn't have been at least Berry? You could say almost anything about her, but not that she couldn't sing. And surely she sang better than her mother.
Santana thanked God that she hadn't taken her singing voice from her mama, because no matter how hot and badass she was, she would have been kicked out from Glee for that (probably by Rachel, for ruining their performances).
She shivered at the thought. Just because it would have been humiliating for a Cheerio, not because she cared so much about Glee club. At all.
Si tú no vuelves
mi voluntad se hará paqueña...
Me quedaré aquí
junto a mi perro espiando horizontes
Santana started smiling as Rachel sang the next verse, but stopped herself. Just because she had wished that Rachel was singing instead of her mother, it didn't mean that she was happy about it. She had to bear Berry's voice enough at Glee.
Y cada noche vendrá una estrella
a hacerme compañía
que te cuente cómo estoy
y sepas lo que hay
Dime amor, amor, amor
estoy aqui ¿no ves?
Si no vuelves no habrá vida
no sé lo que haré
But she had to admit that Berry singing in Spanish was hot. There has always been something captivating in her voice, Santana mused following the music, and the language only enhanced it.
These kinds of thoughts stopped at once as she arrived in the living room. Rachel and her mother were twirling around singing into feather dusters as if they were microphones.
"What are you doing?"
"We are singing, don't you see?" Leonor smiled waving her 'mic' around as Rachel stopped the music.
"Oh, I saw," Santana nodded smirking. "Should we propose it as a Glee number?"
Rachel stopped smoothing down nonexistent wrinkles on her clothes. "Although I believe that performing in a language different from English would demonstrate our superiority in the eyes of a competent jury and would secure us the favor of every minority," she took a breath and glared at her, knowing that she was just messing with her. "I don't think our teammates have enough knowledge of Spanish to pull it off."
Confused and uncomfortable with the change of atmosphere Leonor frowned. "But I thought that your coach was also your Spanish teacher?"
"Let's just say that he isn't a great teacher like you," Rachel smiled and pecked her on the cheek before leaving the room.
"You taught her?" Santana asked her mom, even if she was more surprised at Rachel's dig at Mr. Schue when she could have just said that their friends weren't as intelligent and focused as her. Both things were true, anyway.
"When she was little we spent a lot of time together. She had a lot of free time," she added sadly, thinking about how Rachel didn't have friends to invite over or go visit. "And she has always been curious and very bright," she smiled, reminiscing about a younger Rachel. "She asked me to teach her and I did. Why?"
Santana shrugged. "Just curious. I'm surprised that she didn't brag about it"
Leonor frowned at her. "It wouldn't kill you to be a little nicer, you know?"
"I don't know, but I prefer to not find out," Santana's smirk fell as she saw the not very amused look on her mother's face. She took leave to her room.
It was all Berry's fault. She was everywhere. Every single moment of Santana's life she was there, and she had forgotten that she wasn't at school but at home, where her mother was totally unimpressed by her snarky remarks. At school it would have gotten at least an approving nod.
ooooo
"Where are you going?" Santana leaned against the door.
"Out." Rachel cursed herself for having forgotten to close the door while she was changing.
"Hot date?" the Latina smirked.
"No," the other girl answered clipped.
"I didn't know you owned normal clothes."
"I didn't know you cared."
Santana shrugged. "The red one," she suggested, seeing Rachel looking at two Grecian tops.
Rachel looked at her suspiciously, but she slipped the red one on.
"It looks good," Santana complimented her.
"There is no difference when you're covered in slushie."
The door bell saved Santana from Rachel's bitter words, as the Latina hurried to answer.
"Hello, Santana. Is Rachel ready?" a tall woman asked.
The girl stood looking at her, trying to remember the familiar face.
"Ms. Corcoran, I'll call Rachel," Leonor grasped Santana's arms and moved her away from the entryway. "Come in," she invited, before hissing to her daughter. "Your manners!"
"Rachel, your mom is here!"
"Coming!" the girl yelled.
Santana left the two women making small talk and climbed the stairs. When Rachel emerged from her room she grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"Santana!" Rachel whispered harshly.
"What is she doing here?"
Rachel shook her off. "She is my…" she motioned with her fingers as putting her words in inverted commas "hot date," she said annoyed.
"Have you forgotten what she did to you?" Santana asked angrily.
"No, I hadn't forgotten" Rachel smiled sadly "but I forgave her. I believe everyone should have a second chance. And you are one of my finest example, don't you think?" she said before going down "Hey mom, I'm ready to go"
"I can't believe she is letting that woman back into her life."
"I was dubious too, but Rachel is one of the most forgiving people I know… and I think that Ms. Corcoran really loves her… and God knows that Rachel needs that," Leonor agreed. "But it's nice that you care about her."
Santana glared at her mother. "I don't care about Berry," she mumbled.
The song is Si tu no vuelves, I listened to the duet version, with Miguel Bosè & Shakira (www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=UDdp28d1-D0)
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