AN: Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took a little longer to get out, but life is kickin my butt right now. Make sure you read the authors note at the end for information on future updates. Don't want to hold you up any longer since I left you with such a cliffhanger last time. Enjoy!
Warning- I have nothing to really warn you about. I just felt like upping my word count and I was too lazy to remove the warning after last time. :D
Disclaimer- Glee makes a lot of money and I don't. Therefore, I don't own it! Teachers really should be paid more don't you think? See what you guys can do about it and get back to me. It's all about the Benjamin's after all. ;)
Previously on Playing With Fire
Santana's POV
*Ding*
Confused at the sound of the door bell, both of us wrinkled our brows and looked at each other.
"Ahh…" Tina said after realization dawned on her, "It's probably Lauren. She said she'd be back later. I'll go get it."
Watching Tina leave the room and working through my foggy memory, I began to recall the previous day. 'Where did it all go wrong?' I asked myself as small pieces started to come back to me.
Just then I remembered. 'SHIT' I thought as I threw the covers off of my body.
Considering all my ailments, I got out of bed quickly and hustled to the front door. "Wait…" I said just as Tina was opening the front door.
Immediately, I had two pairs of eyes locked on me, brown eyes looking confused and blue eyes looking horrified.
I could feel all of the blood drain from my face. My limbs grew weak and there was a throbbing behind my eyes. Suddenly everything went black.
And now Chapter 9- Brittany vs. the Truth
Brittany's POV
"Oh my God…" said the women who opened the door as she ran towards Santana who was now crumpled on the floor.
All I could do was stand in the doorway, stunned! 'What in the world is going on?' I thought, as I watched this stranger tend to Santana who appeared to be unconscious and covered in cuts and bruises.
"San!" the woman yelled while lightly shaking Santana's shoulders "Wake up! Santana… can you hear me? Open your eyes."
Santana agonized, groaned and began to painfully squirm.
"Santana open your eyes. Look at me!" yelled the woman "Come on, that's it, open your eyes." Santana still had yet to come around, but with each word from the dark haired women, she seemed to be inching closer to consciousness. Santana's eyes began to flutter open a few times before drooping back closed. She began writhing in pain as the other woman held her close.
"Hey you…" she announced.
I was so caught up in my thoughts and the image in front of me that I barely noticed the words suddenly being thrown in my direction. "Me?" I asked faintly, pointing at my chest.
"Of course you. Go get me some water" the woman ordered.
I was in shock. I couldn't move as I watched Santana shift painfully in the woman's arms.
"NOW!" she yelled.
I gasped and my muscles pulled taunt at the intensity of her tone. I wanted to speak and respond, but I couldn't; all I could do was take off running in the direction of what I hoped was the kitchen.
After retrieving a bottle of water, I quickly ran back into the foyer to find that Santana had finally opened her eyes. Her eyes still looked extremely heavy, but they were open and I was choosing to take that as a positive sign.
"Here" I said handing over the water.
The other woman was trying to get Santana to drink some water, but it wasn't working. In fact, more water was trickling down her face than into her mouth. 'This is not happening' I thought, while watching the Latina try and focus on the water bottle in front of her.
"Maybe she should sit up." I said wishing there was something more I could do.
"No, we don't wanna move her yet. She could pass out again. Just talk to her while I put her feet up."
"Okay…" I said hesitantly.
"Santana," I said knelling down beside her and taking her hand "Can you hear me? It's Brittany."
"Br-Brittany…" she said weakly.
"Yeah… hey" I said as my heart stuttered, hearing the sound of her fragile voice. "Can you squeeze my hand?" I asked looking deeply into her clouded brown eyes. Santana's friend was busy trying to prop Santana's feet up with a few pillows and I began to stroke her cheek. "You passed out, but you're gonna be okay" I said after feeling a light squeeze on my right hand.
"Keep her talking" instructed the women after getting Santana's legs elevated.
"Wow…" I began, trying to come up with things to talk about, brushing some hair away from Santana's face. "You really know how to make a girls heart stop" I said, trying to make light of the traumatic experience, more for me than for her.
"What happened?" she asked, closing her eyes and touching her forehead trying to understand what was going on.
"Relax," I responded, cupping her cheek, "You're okay. You just fainted, but everything's fine. Do you remember anything?" I asked trying to keep her talking.
Santana raised her free hand again and gently ran it across her clammy forehead, trying to think. 'Phew' I thought as I watched the beautiful woman, covered in unexplained bruises slowly start to come back to life.
"I-I remember being in bed…" she said before balking and clenching her eyes to slowly continue, "and hearing the door bell ring…"
"Yes…" I prodded, hoping to keep her going.
"And I think I must have gotten up too quickly because when I got out here… I felt really weak."
"Santana you should have stayed in bed" the other women announced "I was answering the door… you didn't have to get up."
Santana looked towards the woman standing by her feet. "I'm sorry" responded the Latina "I didn't mean to scare you guys" she said, as she looked nervously between the both of us.
Watching the interaction between the two women, it was clear that they were close. 'I wonder what kind of relationship they have.' I thought as I watched the two women wordlessly converse.
The other woman was staring intently at Santana. "Why don't we try to get you back in bed" she said, "It's time for your pain medication anyway. Do you think you can move without passing out?"
"Yeah, I'm feeling better now" she replied.
The other women and I grabbed Santana carefully under her arms, pulling her back up to her feet before slowly making our way back to the bedroom. Once we got Santana secured in her bed the pain medication quickly began to take effect because within no time Santana had fallen into a peaceful, deep sleep. 'How did this happen?' I thought as I watched Santana in bed. 'Who could have done this to her?'
"We should let her sleep" I heard the other women say, indicating that it was time to leave the room.
"I guess you're right" I responded, after taking one last look at Santana and following the woman out of the bedroom.
We both let out huge sighs of relief as I shut the door behind us. "Thanks for your help" she said once we were far enough away from Santana's bedroom so the Latina wouldn't be disturbed.
"No problem" I responded, "I'm Brittany by the way."
"Tina" she followed up, arching her eyebrow and asking, "Sorry if this sounds rude, but may I ask what you're doing here? I don't think I've ever seen you before."
Her tone was a bit harsh, unlike her previously sweet disposition "Oh… Santana and I had a date tonight" I said, blinking in surprise at the sudden shift in Tina's behavior.
"Hmm…" she replied "I didn't think she was working tonight."
"No…" I said shaking my head in confusion. "She wasn't, that's why we had a date. She invited me over for dinner."
"Ohhhh…" Tina said drawing out the word strangely. "Well, I'm not sure if you want to stay or…"
"I'm going to stay" I interrupted, thinking that at least if I was here, Santana would know I was concerned about her.
"Okay… whatever you want." Tina replied. "Actually, it's good that you're here. I have to run out for a little while. Are you gonna be okay here by yourself?"
"Sure, I'll be fine" I said.
Tina explained Santana's medication and pointed out the basics; bathroom, kitchen, TV and told me she would be back later. "Oh, Tina…" I said, trying to catch the young Asian woman before she ran out the door. "How did this happen, I mean all the bruises? How did she get them all?"
Tina looked conflicted, "I think that's something you should talk to Santana about. It's not really my place" she said before turning and walking out the door.
After hearing the door shut behind Tina I took the opportunity to look at my surroundings since with all the craziness I had yet to really see Santana's apartment. It was nice, really nice in fact, 'I wonder how she affords this place on a bartender's salary?' I thought, walking room to room. Each new room I discovered new hidden treasures; pictures of Santana and little accents that said I'm Santana and this is my house.
'She must have good taste,' I thought 'this place is perfect.' It was nicely furnished in a contemporary sort of way with expensive electronics scattered and placed perfectly. The bathroom and kitchen were pristinely decorated with small accents of chrome and granite against the pure white walls. 'Gosh, I wish my apartment was this nice' I thought, finally making my way back to Santana's bedroom after doing a once over around the main living area.
Stopping at her bedroom door, I took a deep breath. Slowly and carefully, trying not to make a sound I opened the door. The hardwood floor creaked as I shuffled across the room to a chair against the far wall. I looked back at Santana after slowly lowing myself into the chair to find that she was still asleep, resting calmly, tucked into the safety of her blankets.
'What kind of monster could hurt her like this?' I thought, squinting and trying to get a closer look at her bruises. I studied her for a few moments, looking at all her visible injuries wanting to reach out and sooth them. 'They look bad' I thought. 'I think I'm gonna be here awhile.' With that thought in mind I grabbed a pillow and curled into the chair, ready to put in whatever time was necessary to make sure Santana was okay.
Santana's POV
When I woke for the second time I noticed my room was much lighter. Everything still hurt like hell and my head was pounding, but I wasn't overcome with nausea or dizziness like before. Stretching carefully so I wouldn't cause myself further pain, I looked around.
'BRITTANY…' I thought, squinting in surprise at the sight of the innocent blonde sleeping in my chair. 'What is she doing here? Oh my God, she can't see me like this' I thought, starting to panic.
'What am I gonna do?' I thought, lying in bed, trying not to move and fearing that any small crinkle of the sheets might wake the sleeping blonde. 'How can I get out of this' I thought, lying as stiff as a board and trying to think of ways to avoid what would undoubtedly be a very difficult conversation should she wake up and see me like this.
'Dumb ass…' I said in my head. 'Clearly she already knows I'm injured, she's here after all. I gotta come up with a cover story. She can't know the real reasons for these bruises. What type of story would Brittany believe? I got it' I thought, my brain running a mile a minute. 'I got mugged! Yeah, that sounds believable. I was walking home from work and a couple guys jumped me, stealing my purse and roughing me up. That happens everyday in New York. It's not hard to believe.'
With my cover story decided, I slowly tried to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. As I removed the sheets the cool air hit me and I shivered.
"Santana…" I heard, causing me to stop walking suddenly.
Turning hesitantly on one foot, my eyes locked with hers. Immediately, I was overwhelmed by the clarity in her crystal blue eyes. They looked so innocent, almost childlike, and once again I started to feel a little light headed under their weight.
Brittany stood up from the chair quickly, dropping the pillow and hurrying towards me. "Here let me help you" she said, placing a gentle hand around my waist guiding me towards the bathroom.
"I think I got it from here" I said feeling awkward, standing together in the bathroom.
"Oh… right" she said, turning quickly and shutting the door.
After taking a few cleansing breaths, trying to will the dizzy feeling away, I looked to the mirror to see my haggard reflection. 'My God, I look horrible' I thought, touching a few of the bluish, purple and slightly yellow spots on my face. I wish I could hide in this bathroom and wait for Brittany to leave or my injuries to heal, whichever comes first, but I knew that was wishful thinking. 'No use putting off the inevitable' I thought, turning away from the mirror and trudging back to my bedroom to get what was coming to me.
Opening the door carefully, I immediately saw Brittany pacing around the room, biting her fingernails. Upon turning and seeing me padding back in, she again met me, encircling her arms around my waist and helping me back to bed.
"Oaww" I groaned, catching my foot in the sheet causing my abdominal muscles to torque painfully.
Cringing, Brittany asked "are you okay?"
Clutching my bruised ribs and wincing at the stabbing pain, I lied "I fine, it doesn't hurt that bad."
"Can I get you anything?" she asked optimistically "Water? Ice? Medicine? Something to eat?"
"Some water would be…" and before I could finish, she was running out the door 'nice' I thought, finishing my statement in my head.
In the blink of an eye she was back carrying a bottle of water. "Here" she said handing it to me.
"Thanks" I responded, smiling at her breakneck pace, but looking away after finding it hard to hold her intense blue eyed stare. Just glancing at her eyes I could see all the questions she had. Questions I really didn't want to answer; some of them I probably didn't even know the answers to.
Trying to summon all my courage and placing the bottle of water on my bedside table, I finally looked at her. She looked so scared and agitated, like she wanted to pounce on me, but was too nervous to move.
I wanted to comfort her. Promise her that everything was going to be okay. 'Don't worry' I thought and began to say, but at the last second I chickened out. I couldn't be sure everything was going to be okay. How could Brittany possibly understand that I got the shit kicked out of me because some guy liked to role play and took it too far?
Brittany was looking at me so intently and with so much care, I almost felt naked. And I know I felt completely unworthy of her adoration. 'Can I lie to her?' I asked myself.
"Santana, what happened?" she asked, genuine concern written on her face.
TO BE CONTINUED
AN: Ugg… another cliffhanger. I KNOW… I'm a tease, I'm evil, I suck, I got it! Sorry, but again… it is what it is! I think it's good for the story and I like suspense. ;)
I know this is lousy timing after what I just said, but like I indicated in my authors note at the beginning… life is kickin my butt. I just went back to work (I teach) and compound that with everything else I do (that I won't get into), but unfortunately my writing has taken a hit due to my lack of time. Have no fear I won't abandon this fic and I will do my best to get out updates as often as possible. It's just not going to be every 3 or 4 days like it was early on. I just don't have that kind of time right now.
But, I do have some really exciting/unexpected news that goes along with my lack of time. It hasn't added to my lack of time yet…, but eventually it will. My wife and I found out that we are expecting our 3rd child. So needless to say that changes a few things. One thing I know for sure life comes before fanfic so I gotta deal with what I gotta deal with and then what's leftover I will devote to finishing this story.
Thanks for reading as always! And I promise I won't leave you dangling on the cliff too long. I am working on chapter 10 as we speak.
Feel free to offer congrats, but I would much rather you send money. With a 3rd child on the way it's clear I need it! ;)
Love you ladies! Don't forget I love reviews. Thanks again for reading and take care!
