Alright. This one is super short, but it's kind of a springboard into the next few chapters. Bear with me! Y'all are great, though. 3
"How is she?" Quinn asked quietly, glancing at the closed bedroom door and back at the sad blue eyes in front of her.
It had been three days since they had found their friend, bruised and bloodied in the park. Quinn had been over every day after school and spent the night each night. Brittany was slated to return to McKinley the next day, but both girls were wary about that; neither wanted to leave the battered Latina alone for more than a second.
Brittany shrugged in response to Quinn's question, still eyeing the three figures behind her friend suspiciously. Of course, they were her friends as well, but maybe this wasn't a good idea. What if Santana became upset? She was always so self-conscious. And now, with her bruised features and perceived ugliness… This could end very poorly.
But the girl needed to know that the others cared, and Brittany's word wasn't enough to convince her of that.
"She was just waking up when you texted me. Just… Guys don't stare okay?" Brittany directed the last portion to Kurt, Rachel and Mercedes, the trio looking dumbfounded at the current situation. Who wouldn't be, though? Brittany still didn't know what to think most of the time.
"How bad…?" Mercedes began, but Quinn shook her head, effectively cutting her off. Brittany swallowed visibly and pushed the door open.
"Hey Britt-Britt, how are – oh god. Uhh…" She stammered when the three new visitors entered. At this point, she was comfortable with Quinn being around, but Rachel and the diva posse…
"Hey Santana," Rachel said gently as they approached. She could see it in their faces; they were trying not to react to her current state. But it was hard, and she knew it. The bruises looked worse and worse every day, but at least she was feeling more mobile. Soon maybe, she'd look okay enough to go to school, or at least help Mrs. Pierce around the house. Sitting around was driving her up a wall.
"Hey guys," she answered quietly, looking down at her hands on the blanket and playing with her fingers idly.
"How are you feeling?" Mercedes asked, the quietest that Santana – or anyone in the room, for that matter – had ever heard from her.
Santana just shrugged, still staring at her hands. "Better than before, I guess."
The room was quiet for a moment before Rachel cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence that was settling over the group. "We're glad you're okay Santana. You know we're here for you, right?" She ended a little awkwardly, but everyone was nodding, assenting to Rachel's support.
"We have your back, girl. Whatever you need," Mercedes added, more confident than before.
Santana smiled weakly, touched by her friends' support. "Thank you, really," she said quietly, fighting tears once again. "You guys… I love you."
It was silent again as the teenagers processed what they'd just heard; it wasn't as if they'd never heard that from their other friends. But it was Santana, cold, hard, angry Santana who never had anything nice to say to anyone besides Brittany. And she had just said "I love you," to Rachel and Kurt and Mercedes… But most surprisingly, was Rachel.
"We love you too, honey," Quinn said as her eyes flooded with tears and sat next to the girl on the bed. The others all nodded furiously. Brittany watched from the doorway, tearing up a little at the exchange; Santana had come so far since the beginning of the year. She'd reconciled with Rachel, forgiven the Glee club… but now… The world kept throwing her curveballs, and Brittany wasn't sure how much more that Santana could take.
But maybe it would be okay. Hopefully, it would be all be okay.