[AN] Just wanted to say thank you for all of your reviews. It really is a delight to read them and I hope that you continue to enjoy the story! :)
CHAPTER IX
She drunkly gazed up at the stars, admiring how unique and solitary they were but appreciated that they were all out for her tonight. Some burned brighter and others sparkled in reds and blues. Each star had important significance to her. Each star represented a part of something she longed to have. For years she studied the sky yet every time she couldn't feel any less hypnotised by the powerful orbs. Sometimes she felt hope, that maybe one day she could shine as bright as they did. Other days, when she felt her darkest, she would gaze up at the stars and find comfort within them. Even if they were billions of light years away from each other, she couldn't dispute that every night they gathered in the same spot to fill the sky and shine together. They reminded her that she wasn't the only person in the world who felt alone and a lot of the time there were people before her who had it much more worse. Tonight however, she felt something new, something raw. Her eyes grazed over Orion's constellation and she immediately felt a fire spark inside her that warmed her heart and all she could think about was Santana. Santana Lopez was one person out of seven billion in the world and she could have searched beyond the galaxy to find someone like her but she didn't have to, she was right at home. Santana was her star and even though she couldn't explain such a feral emotion that began to rise in the pit of her stomach, she could feel it grow rapidly. Brittany was falling for her and she didn't even realise it.
"Santana is wonderful. She's... she's... Beautiful." Was all that Brittany could say as she watched the stars collide and mesh as the alcohol she had consumed earlier started to put her in a euphoric state. The boy with the Mohawk had whispered something in reply, but her attention had drifted off with the milky way. That was until her view was blocked by his silhouette that slowly inched nearer to her. It was slow, her mind was frozen and all she could see was the darkness beginning to consume her vision and before she could even gather what was happening, she felt his warm lips press against hers.
It took a couple of seconds to react due to the alcohol, but when she did, her focus jilted straight out of the clouds and back on to earth yet by that time, the boy had already tried to deepen the kiss. Even though the panic sent an arrow piercing straight through her lungs, causing her to catch her breath in her throat, her body worked against her brain and went frigid, each muscle locked and cramped up and the only sign of conflict was the salty tears that formed in her eyes as the boy kissed past her jaw and down her neck. His hands travelled to her waist to form a tighter grip and where his thumb brushed a patch of bare skin from underneath her jacket, it sent her body into a flaming rage.
Her fists tightened until the whites of her bones were transparent at the knuckles, her body jerked violently against him before a strangled cry for help escaped her lips. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to shut out what was happening as well as shutting out the rest of the world. Only her scream for help kept pulling her back into reality. She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be anywhere. She flipped until her face dug into the grass while her body shook at the response of the boys touch, her throat ached as if she had swallowed a thousand needles and her veins burned with poison from his kiss. A crowd began to gather around the girl who cried for help and shortly after, another girl pushed past in a panic to witness what she had feared the most.
Santana finds Brittany writhing in a foetus position with her face in the dirt before her eyes settle on Puck, hovering over her, face white and brain dead.
"What the fuck did you do to her!" Santana screeched, marching out of the crowd and into the middle of the scene. Puck raises his hands to his side in defence and backs away from menacing look that fills in Santana's face.
"I... I didn't do anything... She. She just went crazy man!" Puck stutters, trying to recollect what had just happened. Santana however wasn't hearing any of it, her face hardened further and her teeth pierced into her tongue, causing nothing but the taste of venom to pour in her mouth. She saw red, the most sinister and corrupt shade of red that she could ever encounter. She strikes puck sharply around his cheek with her palm and pushes him out of reach from Brittany, who continued to blubber on the ground.
"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!" She spits out fire, pushing him again and causing him to trip on his feet and fall to the ground. "You dick!" She cries out as the crowd watches on. It doesn't take too long before the audience begin to whisper between themselves. Had Puck done something that went too far? Did he try and take advantage? Did he hit her?"
"I promise I did nothing wrong! I kissed her and she went all schizo on me!" He blurts out, causing Santana to feel another wave of rage. Once more, she advances to him and strikes him again, only this time it was with her foot against his groin, causing the crowd as well as Puck to squirm.
"You're a piece of shit. You always have been and you always will be." Santana growls and looks at him like he was nothing more than a greasy rodent, scrambling through garbage for scraps. She turns to Brittany who is now silently shaking. Santana clenches her teeth and looks up to the crowd with a blurred vision behind her tears.
"Don't you all have a party to enjoy? There's nothing to see here..." Santana croaks, wiping her hand across her nose. The crowd mumble amongst themselves but slowly begin to disband. Occasionally they look back to watch if there was any more drama but were sorely disappointed. Quinn on the other hand doesn't move and ends up standing at the end of the yard alone with the other three. She looks at Brittany as she sniffles into the dirt then to Puck as he groans in pain and finally to Santana who staggers around, spent from the anger that had riled up inside her. Her cheeks were black with mascara and her eyes damp and pink with tears.
"Santana... I" She begins.
"No, Quinn." Santana whispers. "I'm done. I'm finished." She murmurs, lips trembling. "Congratulations, you've been promoted to head cheerleader, just like you always wanted." She winces, dropping her head down to her knees as she takes a seat next to Brittany. Quinn takes a deep breath and tilts her head up to regain composure.
"Santana?" She tries again.
"Just leave me alone, Quinn" Santana chokes. "Leave us both alone." Quinn swallows slowly and shifts toward Puck who was still complaining.
"Get up." Quinn tells him coldly, grabbing his shirt and pulling him to his feet. Santana listens to their footsteps as they fade into silence and soon it's just Brittany and Santana again, only this time, each others heartache is so profound that everything becomes numb. Santana lies down next to Brittany who still hasn't shifted, her breaths are so quiet that she looks lifeless and the two just lay there for what feels like an eternity.
"I'm so, so sorry Brittany..." Santana finally whispers. "This is all my fault." She quivers, facing Brittany, hoping that she could find some sort of reaction, but fails and wonders if Brittany had fallen asleep. She sighs and decided to wait as long as it took until Brittany finally came around. As soon as Santana started to feel drowsy with sleepiness, Brittany begins to twist her head from the mud. It felt like hours since the incident and likelihood was that it probably had been; the party had died down immensely after what happened and people started to say their goodbyes shortly after. Santana watches as Brittany slowly opens her eyes, and the first things she sees is Santana looking back. Brittany's eyes are glassy and lifeless as if all the blue had been washed away by grief.
"I want to go home." Brittany whispers but it's nothing more than a gasp as she struggles to find her voice. Santana gently nods understandingly and sits up. The frost had began to collect on tops of the grass that caused a sheen of white diamonds to surround the pair as they lay on the lawn. It was beautiful but it was also too cold and the night was long over, there was nothing to celebrate here.
The walk home was similar to that night when they first really got to know each other. The night where they walked to the ends of the earth, where dreams came true and where anything and everything was possible. That night was filled with hope. There were little to no words exchanged, not even a glance and this time it wasn't out of modestly. Santana had just given up her life's ambition to protect a girl who was at this point unfixable. Brittany had been careless and agreed to something just to prove to herself that she could do it on her own, without the help of a doctor or a shrink and it had repelled against her; she was again back to square one.
Like before, the pair reach the street-lamp that marks the entrance to their neighbourhood and an orange flicker casts shadows on the ground. They walk up silently to the side-walk where their homes meet half way and stop briefly. Santana can't finish the night like this, there was so much to say and she couldn't leave knowing that Brittany's last memory of the night would always be embedded in her head as something deceitful. Yet before she can get a breath out, Brittany walks away and whispers a 'goodnight' with her hands dug deeply into her pockets and her head hung low. Santana watches with a heavy heart as Brittany walks further. Yes, there was something strangely similar from tonight compared to the first time they said their goodbye's a couple of months ago.
"Brittany!" She shouts after her. Brittany stops just as she is about to set foot on her lawn and swiftly turns her head around.
"Yes?" She asks. Santana lingers for a moment, unsure as to what to actually say or why she even called Brittany's name in the first place.
Santana swallows hard and takes a few steps closer to the girl walking away.
"Brittany!" She shouts after her. Brittany slows down before stopping. She hesitates whether she should keep walking or not, but instead she just waits for Santana to continue.
"Santana?" Brittany asks one more time. Santana swallows firmly but then nods to herself.
"Goodnight." She says in a friendly manner and offers a quick smile before turning abruptly to the comfort of her home.
Santana now looks at the back of Brittany as she stands in her front lawn. There was a point in life when you're stuck at two roads, and Santana was finally able to accept her fate. She hesitantly walks closer to Brittany and Brittany can feel her eyes soar into the back her. Brittany takes a deep breath before slowly turning around to find Santana standing a couple of feet away on her side of the yard.
"Yes, Santana?" Brittany whispers shakily. She lifts her eyes from the concrete to the girl opposite her. Santana looks petrified, but at the same time she looks at peace. When their eyes meet, it's like it's just the two of them again, both in darkness unaltered in a place where alteration found them. Where they found each other.
"I love you." Santana confesses, her voice trembles and her eyes begin to water again. Those three words had a lifetime behind them. The last time she said it to someone and meant it was the last time she ever saw her father. Ever since, she had never spoken or thought about such words. Her mother brought her up to believe that love was false and that the feeling was nothing but heightened emotions that would soon fade and disappear, leaving just emptiness and bitterness. Love was a trap and every time Santana got close to feeling something familiar, be it from a song or a place, it had always been shaded by her mothers words and she soon learned to run away from it. That was until Brittany came into her life and rekindled the emotion that she had buried deep inside of her heart, ever since she sang Gypsy Girl that first night in her bedroom.
"I love you." Santana tearfully whispers again, taking a few steps closer to Brittany. Brittany doesn't move, not even a nerve shifts in her body as she listens, yet her grey eyes begin to glimmer back to life as the words sink in. "I love you, Brittany. I have always loved you, since the day we first met." Santana sniffles and takes a deep breath. "I love the way you look at me with such grace and I love the way you make me feel like I'm actually important to someone else. You've touched me, Brittany. You touched me in a way I thought was impossible but you did, despite all the doubts and all the struggles and shit I've went through in life. I love you so much that it hurts every time knowing that I can't take your own pain away." Santana's hands shake but her voice remains strong and sincere as they tears cascade down her cheeks. "I want to give it all back; everything. I want to give you my everything and all of it. I want to give you the world. I want to give you the stars but most of all, I want to give you me, more than entire universe." Santana inches closer to Brittany again with dark eyes that prey for some sort of returned feelings. "You have me. I'm yours. Always." Santana whispers, her eyes true, unwavering but undoubtedly desperate.
In all the time that Santana was talking, Brittany could slowly feel the numb agony slowly disintegrate beneath her skin. At first it was replaced by tingling pins and needles that jabbed away at every cell but as they faded, she was overcome with a sheet of bliss that started off as a little kindling in the knots of her stomach that grew and grew while Santana's honest words continued to melt past her walls.
"You're my home." Santana softly, holding on to dear life that Brittany wouldn't reject her. So she's delighted to find a small smile creep up on Brittany's face who's eyes finally turn deep sapphire like the ocean with life once again.
"I can keep you?" Brittany responds that transcends innocently but in a way that shows she has anticipated this moment for quite a while. Santana breaths out a laugh and nods her head.
"Until every star in the night sky dies out." Santana promises. Brittany's next reaction was one that Santana hadn't yet come across. She smiles, which wasn't new but her eyes laughed and cried and cried at the same time. The eyes that told a million stories were now filled with love that Santana was certain she could make out the heart shapes of her iris's. Brittany was glowing, despite everything that had happened earlier. This was the happiest Santana had ever seen Brittany, and it filled her with so much ecstasy. Brittany takes in Santana's figure and studies her carefully. She wanted to remember this moment and mark it down so when she was old, she'd remember the first time she actually felt free and remember the girl who made that happen. She was the only star; the only one out of seven billion in this world and she finally had her. Brittany slowly closes the gap between the two and pulls Santana in for an embrace like they had done so many times before.
"I love you too, Santana." Brittany whispers and she can feel Santana melt further into her body. She knew that her own feelings were alien, but saying such words just felt right. Both of them hold each other until the morning freezes over and their noses are red raw before they say goodnight to each other. the girls didn't want to part and could only yearn for the next time they saw each other. If the girls had just one thing to look forward to from then on, at least it was each other.
Santana stands in front of her wall sized mirror in her bedroom and can't help but feel unrecognisable. The cheer uniform was nowhere to be seen on her body with the given fact that it was stuffed in her school bag, ready to be handed back in to Coach Sylvester. She eyes the street wear that hugs her body. She's dresses appropriately for the weather, winter was fast approaching but little did she know that it would be snowing late November. It was light nevertheless, but the bitterness nibbled away easily at her skin if it was left bare for too long so today she decided to go full out in wearing leg warmers, black tights, a faux-fur jacket, a woolly hat and her own pair of mittens. She decided to wear her hair down for the first time since she started the Cheerios and she never noticed how much softer she looked in casual wear. She was good, she was smiling... She had never felt more nervous about going to school in her entire life and she was petrified.
"Santana! What have I told you about leaving your make-up in the bathroom!" Her mother calls from the landing before charging into her bedroom. Santana freezes as does Anita when she finds what her daughter is wearing. "What's that you've got on? Where's your cheer-leading uniform?" She asks, confused. Santana hesitates for a moment before shrugging.
"It's winter, mother, I'm not prancing around all day in a skimpy cheer-leading outfit. I'll just get changed at school." She lies, staring back at her mother through the mirror. Anita folds her arms together in her prim pencil skirt-suit and purses her lips. Anita had finally come round to talking to her daughter again but it wasn't without given shade. It wasn't like Santana was unhappy to feel obliged to reply with as much insincerity.
"Where's Quinn? She's usually here by now." Anita asks. Santana just shrugs again and swipes her lips with a final coat of nude lip-gloss.
"I'm walking. The more the fit the better, right?" Santana smacks her lips together before spinning around and picking her up her back. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a long day ahead of me." Santana announces and walks by her mother who stands in the door way, tight lipped and brows furrowed.
"Are you sure you want to go to school? You're looking awfully pale, honey." Grace asks, clearly concerned over the way Brittany sits at the table, staring intently at the clock with lips the same colour has her complexion. Brittany shrugs nonchalantly and continues to stare. "Has something happened at school?" Her mother ponders. Brittany shakes her head, her right hand holding the spoon over her cereal that she had not yet touched. Brittany decided to keep hush about Saturday night. It was as if she was lying, she just didn't want to see her mother get worried and raise the alarms again like she had done previously.
"Nothing's happened at school, Momma. Nothing. At. All. Schoo- School is a safe and friendly environment for all teachers and pupils..." She replies, her voice is soft despite the strain she holds within her posture. "I will be safe." She nods and drops her spoon in to her bowl. "I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat." She declares before pushing back from her chair and finding her feet. She takes a quick glance at her mother before walking away without another word.
"Oh." Grace replies.
Santana slides her foot against the icy ground that replaces the concrete with a glittering sheet. She found it fascinating that the most beautiful things in the world could cause so much catastrophe: Killer whale's, meteors, the forbidden fruit and a block of ice that sunk the Titanic. Her breath creates clouds around her head and despite the dawn already ageing nearer to noon, the moon still fought to remain present in the morning light. The sun dances across the horizon casting colours of pink and orange out that blanketed across the atmosphere while she watches as the last brown leaf from the oak tree fall to the ground, isolated and crispy with the cold.
"What are you thinking about?" Brittany's voice grabs Santana's attention away from the fallen leaf and onto the Pierce residence where Brittany walks up the pathway. Santana grins, squinting under the the morning rays.
"How quickly everything can change." Santana replies honestly. "The seasons drift on by like days and feelings grow like..."
"Giant beanstalks?" Brittany asks as she meets Santana on the side-walk. Santana snorts and shrugs.
"Something like that." She giggles. The girls stand facing each other. Brittany's face is as soft and pristine as the frozen dew drops that covered every crevice of the land. She was as pure as snow and more beautiful than Santana could ever remember. On the other hand, Santana was radiant with heat, her eyes were like hot liquid metal that pierced through Brittany's, filling her with nothing but warmth. Together they were like fire and ice and they fit perfectly together.
"Are you ready?" Santana asks Brittany, her voice a little more strained and concerned and Brittany bites her lips with wonder.
"I don't think I'll ever be. But I can't run away. Not again, nope. I've got to... I got to face this." Brittany nods to herself, cracking her knuckles and scuffing her feet against the ground.
"I'm proud of you." Santana gushes, liking her arm with Brittany's as they walk towards the sun, ready to face the school day.
"Are you ready?" Brittany's repeats the question in return.
"Definitely not." Santana laughs nervously. "But it's worth it."
Santana had never in her life felt inferior to anyone else. She had always been in the elite league at McKinley High. It was her job to cast her eyes down on people and make them squirm in nothing but their low self esteem. She was the voice, she made the rules and she had the whole school in the palm of her hand. For the first time ever however, she began to find out what it really tasted like to be at the bottom of the food chain and as she walked through the halls that day, everything was in slow motion. Each step was agonising with each second lasting for minutes. Her eyes were fixed to the floor where she had kept them all morning as pairs of eyes piled up on her. She hid her face behind her hair and clenched her fists, trying to stop them shaking with anxiety. Today she was living in Brittany's shoes and she didn't know if she could last.
Saturday's events had spread around the school. Everyone knew that Santana had quit from the Cheerios and everyone knew about Brittany's break down. The duo were the talk of the school this Monday morning and even though they tried their best to hide away from the student body; it didn't stop people from whispering among them, pointing and darting judging looks. If there was only one thing that could get Santana through the day, it was that Brittany was standing there right beside her.
"Hey, Santana?" A broad, male voice calls out to her and when she looks up she's violently greeted by an ice-cold cup of slush that slaps across her face and freezes her brain instantly, causing a rush of pain to wash across her head. She can taste the sweet raspberry flavour as it burns through her nostrils and down her throat. Her eyes begin to sting and her face soon becomes numb. The slush dribbles down her neck and back and all she can do is shiver in response. "Enjoy the bottom of the pyramid, looser!" The boy chuckles along with his friends before disappearing into the crowd. Brittany watches with wide eyes as Santana attempts to wipe the red liquid from her face. Santana blinks a couple of times to clear her vision and by that time, another crowd has surrounded her, all whispering, gasping and pointing.
"That's right!" Santana yells, flicking the sticky syrup from her fingers. "Just keep on staring because y'all have nothing better to do with your time." She stands in the middle of the semi-circle for the second time in a couple of days. "Laugh all you want, go ahead and tell you friends. You know what? I don't give a shit." She announces with a shiver. Brittany watches at the side, clutched to the wall before Santana turns to her. The pain is visible in Brittany's face, she wants to stand there with her and face the crowd, but Santana knows that she's incapable of it. So instead, she offers Brittany a wink to let her know that everything would be okay despite being publicly humiliated. "Go to class Brittany." She whispers. "I need to get cleaned up." Santana turns and heads for the direction of the crowd who split in half to let the ex-cheerleader through, not wanting to get any syrup on their own clothes. The onlookers don't even notice Brittany, all the attention was on Santana in that moment and soon the crowd separates and moves on to their next class leaving Brittany clutching at her books, surprised, confused and right out disgusted.
Santana was given permission to skip morning classes so she could get washed off and luckily she kept a clean change of clothes in the girls locker room in case anything like that did happen. It took the best part of the morning to untug her hair and get rid of the sticky syrup that knotted it together. She didn't return to class as soon as she was ready. Instead, she sat on one of the benches and replayed the last few nights in her head. She felt insecure, she was scared and unsure if her decisions were right. But what she did know for sure was that he had fallen in love with Brittany and she concluded that this was her punishment. Her feelings had jeopardised her status at school, her position on the cheer leading squad, their chance of winning at Nationals but most of all, if her mother found out, it could jeopardize her career as well as their own relationship, the little they had left of it.
"Santana." A familiar voice softly calls from behind her. She knew it was Quinn, but she didn't want to answer to her. She didn't even look at her. Quinn watches from the locker room door but gathers that Santana didn't want to hear it. "Santana we need to talk." Quinn tires again, carefully shutting the door behind her and locking it for privacy. She tip toes around the bench to face Santana and sits on the wooden panel opposite her. Santana's eyes are glued to the ground, her shoulders are hunched and she looks defeated and plain out exhausted. "Santana, what have you done?" Quinn whispers. But it wasn't an accusing tone that she usually let off, it was merely a question of curiosity. Santana doesn't answer, she doesn't even flinch. Quinn clears her throat and moves from the bench and kneels in front of her so she can see a clear view of Santana's face.
"This girl. Is she worth it? You've known her for so little time yet you're willing to give up everything to protect her." Quinn finally notices a shift in Santana's expression but it's nothing kind. Santana raises her gaze to stare at Quinn straight in the eyes. Her lips curl up as if she was about to snarl and her fists tighten into balls.
"You should be ashamed of yourself..." Santana spits. Quinn studies her for a moment, her face is unrecognisable. Santana showed a lot of things but one thing she had never exposed was hatred and Quinn was beginning to get a taste of it. Santana jumps off the bench, pushing Quinn to the side and proceeds to the exit the door, leaving Quinn swimming in a pool of loose ends and unanswered questions.
Hours passed like days for both girls and still they stuck together through all of it. Coach Sylvester was absent that day but Brittany decided to accompany Santana to her office to drop off her old cheer outfit. It was emotional to retire right before Nationals, she had grown up fighting for that title each year, but the notion no longer fulfilled her any more and it became more of a chore than a hobby. They decided it was best to avoid the cafeteria that day and Santana even agreed to sit with Brittany outside the choir room to listen to the students sing. Santana surprisingly found it to be the most relaxing part of the day, despite her irrational dislike towards the choir group but the songs were joyous and they sung about finding hope in all the darkest of places. Brittany even rested her head on Santana's shoulder as they sat in the hallway, backs resting against the wall as they dug through their brown lunch bags. At least if they could get through today, then the rest could only get better.
The worst part was walking to each class and being the subject of the talks and the looks. The cheerleaders giggled and the jocks ignored them all together. I guess Santana felt like everyone else and it was upsetting to admit how much an effect these people had on the rest of the school. Belittlement and judgement was what they did best.
Thankfully, the last lesson of the day finally approached which was biology. The girls took their respective seats next to each other at the back of the classroom and as always, they were the first students inside. Mr Brown was busy typing away at his laptop, and greeted them with a half-assed grunt as they entered the classroom.
"How are you doing?" Santana whispers, turning to Brittany in her chair who had said next to nothing all day. Brittany rubs her arms for friction despite staying zipped and buttoned up throughout the course of school and shrugs.
"Coping." She replies. "I can hear them whispering about me. I can feel their eyes pray on me and all I can hope for is a miracle to make it all disappear." Brittany continues sadly. Santana takes a look at the teacher who still keeps his attention on his work, and takes it as an opportunity to grab Brittany's hand, one glove over the other and letting their fingers entwine. Brittany watches their hands as Santana moves them underneath the desk and who squeezes her gently.
"That miracle will come, I promise. Who knows, it might just be around the corner." Santana comforts her with another squeeze and a soft smiles replaces Brittany's hard lined mouth.
"I really hope so, Santana." She whispers, her voice altering but not in away that proved defeat in all hope.
As expected, the class dragged on by with Mr Brown droning on about the final chapter to the reproductive system and for the first time in biology, Brittany mostly stared along with Santana out of the classroom window on their left. The frost had melted by the afternoon yet the sun was already on it's way to setting and the freezing temperatures would soon work its magic again. There was only ten minutes left of the class, and Santana switched her attention from the window to the clock repeatedly while her stomach began to tie in knots as the time neared to an end.
"Santana... you're shaking. Are you okay?" Brittany whispers. Santana turns around to find Brittany staring down at her leg. Santana watches as she shakes her own foot, like she usually did before performing at Nationals.
"I'm just little... nervous and excited." She replies, twisting around again to face Brittany. Brittany frowns, confused.
"But why?" Brittany asks. Santana moves her attention from Brittany to look behind her head and to the front of the class. She takes a deep breath and swallows before returning her gaze back to Brittany. A little smug smile flashes across Santana's face, a look that Brittany hadn't seen in a while.
"Because that miracle you wanted to happen. It's right here." Santana grins and nods her head, gesturing Brittany to look to the front of the class. Brittany hadn't noticed that the room had turned silent, even the teacher stopped talking as an overwhelming rush of anxiety courses through her. She slowly turns her head to face the front, and standing in the middle is a man dressed head to toe in military gear. She studies his tall, built frame before looking at his face and being greeted with piercing blue eyes that sends her heart racing. Her own eyes begin to water uncontrollably and it's as if the day had disappeared, as if all the turmoil had never happened as she clutches onto her desk.
"D-Daddy?" She cries out, overcome with happiness.
"Baby..." He replies, his own eyes becoming damp as he breaths out with the heaviest relief in the world. He opens his arms as Brittany gathers herself out of her chair and begins to run down the isle to the front of the class. They clash together before he lifts her up into an embrace, both of them crying together as they reunite. It had been a little over a year since they had last seen each other, despite everything that had happened in the last six months with the incident and moving.
"Dad you're he-ee-ere!" Brittany calls out, not loosening her grip. Her voice shrills with excitement and relief.
"I'm here baby, my darling daughter, I love you so much." He comforts her as she cries into the crook of his neck. Santana grins widely at the back of the class along with the rest of the students. She was happy to see Brittany regain faith again, yet after a while, her smile falters when she realises that she herself would never be able to experience such a precious moment with her own father. This father's love was unconditional, and he fought around the world for moments like these.
Santana watches sadly now as she begins to realise; maybe her father just didn't care, like she always wanted to believe.
End of Chapter IX
So I was listening to the OST for The Notebook and Pearl Harbour when writing this chapter and it just gave me a lot of feelings, haha.
Yay for Brittany's father finally showing up! There's still so much to write about so thanks again for all of your reviews!
