/*Author's Note: I had been neglecting this story a little bit because it didn't have that many reviews but then I saw in the Legacy Stats that it had quite a lot of subscribers so I figured maybe people are reading and not reviewing. Which is fine of course:).

I just didn't want to leave you guys hanging if you are actually keeping up with it. And thanks to all of those that do review. I love your feedback!

I'm a few chapters ahead of you guys so you should be getting some regular updates soon. Enjoy!*/

It was the late afternoon when a knock at the door stirred me from my nap. I slowly lifted myself off the couch.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

It was still too early for Santana to have gotten off of work but I was still excited when I pulled open the door. I tried to hide the disappointment in my face when I realized who was standing there.

Rachel's eyes opened wide in shock. "I thought your flight left this morning?"

"I decided to stay a little longer." I said.

Rachel's mouth curved upwards into a small smile. "Great!"

We stood there in an awkward silence.

"Did you need something?" I asked.

"Oh I-" Rachel shifted her weight uncomfortably. "I-I-I just wanted to see you!" Rachel's voice rose at the end of her sentence.

"But you just said you didn't think I'd even be here?" I said.

"Oh, yeah-well." Rachel stumbled over her words. It was kind of fun to watch her struggle.

I smiled. There was no way I was as unsneaky as Rachel.

"Did you come to give my mom an update on Santana?" I asked.

"What?" Rachel's eyes were wide again. "Nooooo." She dragged out the word. "Why would I do that?" She brushed off the idea with an overdramatic flick of her wrist.

"I know that my mom asked you to help her, Rachel." I said. "And that she checks in with you."

Rachel let out a puff of air. Then she looked worried. "Does Santana know?"

I nodded.

Rachel started to panic. "Oh God. Is she mad? She's going to be so mad." She brushed passed me and stepped into the house.

"She's not mad." I said. I closed the door and turned to face her.

"Really?" Rachel looked me up and down to check if I was lying.

"Really." I repeated.

I waited while Rachel caught her breath.

She seemed to suddenly remember why she was here in the first place. She looked around. "Where is your mom?" She asked.

"Grocery store." I said. "They want to have Santana over for one of my dad's famous steak dinners. She got all excited about it. Sorry, she must have forgotten you were coming over."

Rachel brushed it off. "Oh, no its okay. It wasn't planned. My dads are out of town and Santana's working. The house is super quiet without them so I just thought I'd come by."

We stood facing each other in an uncomfortable silence for a little while. I didn't know what to say or do. Rachel Berry and I were never really friends. Not the type that hung out alone together anyway. We really didn't do small talk or any type of talk at all except when she was asking me about sex or fashion. And those few conversations didn't exactly go well.

Rachel stepped towards the door to leave.

"Rachel." I called to her. She stopped with her hand on the doorknob and turned around to face me. "Thank you."

Rachel's eyes lit up in a wide smile. "Of course." She turned back towards the door and froze for a second before turning back around.

"When I'm bored I sometimes bring Santana food for her break. You want to come?" Rachel said.

I smiled at her. "Sure!"

We managed to make some small talk in the car on the way to and from the deli. She was fascinated to hear about New York and asked me about every little detail. Not as much detail as Santana had asked for but she still wanted to know a lot. I was so used to listening to Rachel Berry, it felt so strange for her to be listening to me talk. But the more I talked the more I realized how easy it was with her.

After we had pulled into the parking lot of the bar I felt much closer to Rachel than I ever had before. Maybe it was because we just had the longest conversation I'd ever had or because I really was thankful for everything she had done for Santana.

It was a weekday afternoon so the bar was practically empty when we walked in.

"Hey there Rachel." An older man called from behind the bar.

Rachel smiled at him and stepped closer. "Hey Clyde!" She stepped aside and pointed to me. "This is Brittany."

He grinned and then offered his hand. I shook it. His hand was rough and smothered mine.

"Nice to finally meet you." He said. He grinned at Rachel before he dropped my hand. "Santana's out back."

Rachel let out a frustrated breath. "Is she smoking again?"

Clyde laughed lightly. "I plead the fifth."

Rachel grabbed my wrist and led me back out the front door and pulled me towards the side of the building. There was a little alleyway there and a small covered chain-link fence that halfway surrounded a dumpster. It smelled funny, kind of like one of frat parties I went to in college. Stale beer and probably vomit. Thankfully living in New York gave me particularly skilled at dealing with disgusting smells. I shifted my breathing to only breath through my mouth. Rachel rounded the fence and stopped dead in her tracks.

Rachel's mouth gaped and her eyes opened wide. I followed her gaze and let out a silent gasp. Santana had her back against the brick wall of the bar. There were three men standing around her. I didn't really know what they were doing but I could hear the tone of their voice and see the fear in Santana's eyes. I recognized one of the men from the school the other night. He was the drug dealer that Puck knew. My heart jumped into my throat.

Rachel tried to pull me back behind the fence but I wouldn't move. I couldn't move I had to make sure Santana was okay. I wouldn't stop watching her until the men were gone and her eyes weren't scared like that anymore. Rachel tugged me a few more times then she whispered in my ear.

"I'm going to go get Clyde." Rachel said. "Don't move and don't make a sound. Okay?"

She wouldn't leave until I nodded. I listened to her footsteps as she walked away.

The drug dealer was standing in front of Santana as he whispered something to her but when she shook her head he wrapped his hand around her mouth. She let out a huff of breath through her nose and a white powder flew around her face.

"Oh come on, Santana." He bellowed as he wiped the dust off his pants with his free hand. "This shit is pure."

He tightened his grip on her face and pressed her cheeks together. Santana tried to twist her face away but it didn't work. Santana reached up and dug her nails into his dust-covered arm and he cried out before he ripped his hand away and back up a couple of steps.

My mind begged Santana to turn and run but she seemed completely rooted to the spot. She just watched him with terrified eyes.

"Grab her." He gestured to the two men standing next to him.

They stepped forward, each grabbing one of her arms as she tried to fight them off. The pinned her hard back against the wall and she let out a little yelp of pain.

"Just one deep breath through your nose and you'll have the best high of your life. I promise." He turned to retrieve a small bag that was lying on the ground behind him.

That's when he saw me.

They say in moments like this you feel a fight or flight instinct. And its just that an instinct. You are built to obey it because your body knows what is right and it knows when it's supposed to be doing something to save itself. And here every fiber of my body was telling me to run and run as fast as I could. I would get away if I just ran right now. Even if they did follow me they'd never catch me. I knew that.

But I couldn't let my body take me away from her.

"I remember you." He smiled at me. "Come over here."

I stepped forward. My steps were slow and forced because I was fighting against myself. It was like I was walking on a treadmill that was turned up way too high.

I looked up to meet Santana's eyes. Everything in her body seemed to fall.

"Your friend here keeps letting all this go to waste." He held up the bag of white powder to me. I didn't have to think too hard to guess what that was. "Would you like some?"

I shook my head so fast. I saw Santana struggled again. The guys holding her huffed at the strain of keeping her still.

He frowned. "Okay then." He took a something metal out of his pocket and flicked it. It was a knife.

I felt my eyes widen.

He turned away from me and held the knife out towards Santana. "Cut your shit." Her eyes fell on the knife and she stopped struggling instantly.

The two men released her and stepped back. Her arms feel limply by her side. She watched the knife as he stepped closer to her. He used the edge of the knife to place some of the powder on the skin between his index finger and his thumb and brought it to her face. Then I realized what he was trying to do.

"Santana." I couldn't help myself when her name escaped my lips. Santana looked up at me with the most scared and defeated eyes I had ever seen. I felt my heart break inside my chest.

He brought the knife to her cheek and pressed it into the skin there. Santana flinched and turned to look at him.

"I'm just asking you to try it." He said. He pinched one of her nostrils closed with his thumb.

She stole one last glance at me before she closed her eyes and sucked a deep breath through her nose.

He ran his hands through her hair when she finished.

"That's my girl." He whispered. Santana still hadn't open her eyes but I could see her grimacing at his touch.

A wailing sound carried from off in the distance. My stomach dropped from my throat at the sense of relief I felt. Help was coming. Help was coming soon.

"You bitch." The drug dealer turned away from Santana and pointed the knife at me. "You fucking bitch."

He headed straight towards me.

I tried to will my body to move. To run like it so desperately wanted to do just a few minutes ago but now it was rebelling against me. My feet were planted and the only thing I could do was close my eyes and brace myself for the impact.

...