Santana's vision was blurry, and it took six attempts to dial Mr Schuster's number correctly.
"Hello?" He had obviously been woken up by her call.
She sniffed. "Mr Schuster?" Her voice was broken and she sounded vulnerable.
"Santana?" He sounded shocked that she had called him.
"Yep." She said quietly.
"Are you alright?" He sounded genuinely worried about her. He may be a total dork, but he really cares about us, she thought.
"No, not really." Her voice was thick with tears, her throat tight.
There was a short silence. She looked down at the blue sheet, still clutched tightly in her hand. "You know the other day in glee club, when we signed those pledge forms, and you said if we ever… slipped up, that no matter where we were or what time it was, you'd come and get us?" She hoped he could understand her, she was bordering on hysterical, she was spluttering through her tears and her crying was making it hard to breathe.
"Where are you?" he asked seriously.
"The club down in East Lima Heights." She said, almost embarrassed.
"Oh, Santana." He sounded sympathetic and disappointed at the same time. He knew she didn't really live in Lima Heights, and that her dad was a doctor and they lived only on the outskirts. The clubs in Lima Heights were dangerous for a teenage girl, all by herself. "Which one?"
"Sub Lima."
"I'm coming. Stay there, okay?"
"Sure thing Mr Schuh."
She hung up, and let the rain wash over her face, washing away all the bad feeling. It didn't really work. Then she realised she'd have to tell him what had happened. She thought about how she'd explain herself. Someone attacked me? No, he'll probably call the cops or something. She considered loads of excuses, and before she could decide on one, she heard the distinctive sound of the dragging muffler, and seconds later he pulled up on the curb. He got out and ran over to her. She noted that he was wearing a vest.
He saw the look on her face, and said nothing. He just sat next to her, and put his arm around her. She surprised herself by resting her head on his shoulder and sobbing her heart out. The situation was bizarre, but it wasn't awkward. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt this comfortable – comfortable enough to cry in front of someone else anyway. Particularly Mr Schuster, who she had never really bonded with. He did forgive me for totally trying to destroy the glee club all of last year though. She had been doing it for Sue, everyone knew that, but it had still been her actions. And she was constantly insulting everyone. But now she found that the rain washed away all thought, but the pain remained. Her sobbing slowly turned to weeping, and her gasping for air became steady breathing, and she let the heat of Mr Schuster's body warm her through.