Chapter 5: I Remember You
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, I am just having fun with the characters for a while.
The next morning Santana groaned softly as a sharp light filtered into the room from the window. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light and the Latina sat up in the bed. She looked over to see Rachel still fast asleep.
Santana could only describe the sight before her as angelic. Rachel's soft features were completely relaxed, as if she was finally at peace. Santana just watched Rachel sleep for a few moments, drinking in the rare sight in front of her. Once she realized what she was doing, however, she shook her head and carefully got out of her bed, not wanting to wake the other occupant.
The Latina stretched out and sighed before walking out of her room, over to the bathroom. She walked in to brush her teeth and relieve her bladder. Once she was done, she stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself in the reflection.
Santana started to think about last night and this morning. She had had a lot of fun hanging out with the other girl. She didn't realize how nice it was to just spend time with the diva. If she had known that Rachel had a skill for making you forget all your problems, she would have hung out with her in high school. And Rachel did have that skill.
Last night, when Santana was with Rachel, she forgot about all her problems back home in New York. She forgot that she was still unemployed because it was hard to find any work there. She forgot that she is living on the couch of her former tormentees. Most importantly, she forgot how heartbroken she was over her breakup with Brittany.
And that was another thing that Santana couldn't stop thinking about; Brittany. Brittany, the love of her life and the first person to ever get to know the real Santana. The only one who could get her to talk about her feeling and break down her walls. Brittany had loved her and she had loved Brittany. They had always pushed each other to be better and Santana would always be grateful to Brittany for showing her that she could be loved and that she could love whoever she wanted.
Santana knew that her and Brittany were meant to be together and that one day they would find their way back to each other, now just wasn't their time.
Finally, Santana focused on the weirdness that she displayed this morning. Why had she watched Rachel sleep? Why had she wanted to continue watching her? Why had she wanted to reach out and gently tuck the stray piece of hair away from her face? Why had she wanted to cuddle up next to the girl?
Santana didn't have an answer to any of those questions. Instead of dwelling on the questions brewing in her mind, she splashed some water on her face and walked out of the bathroom, back to her room. She opened the door and found that Rachel was still asleep, but had changed positions. Now she was lying on Santana's side of the bed, arms wrapped around the Hispanic girl's pillow, clutching it to her chest with her face buried into it.
Santana swallowed roughly before walking over to the bed. When she looked down at the smaller brunette, she could see that the corner of the sleeping girl's mouth was curled up in a slight smile as she cuddled closer to the pillow.
The Latina allowed herself to watch Rachel for a few moments longer before the scent of food being made downstairs wafted into her room. She gently shook the pregnant girl and whispered, "Rach, wakey wakey."
Rachel groaned sleepily and buried her face farther, mumbling, "5 more minutes. Comfortable."
Santana chuckled softly before shaking her a bit harder, "Come on. Mami is almost done with breakfast and I know that you will want to get presentable before going to see my family."
Rachel huffed and lifted her head, her eyes in tired slits as she looked up at her newest friend, "If I must be roused from my slumber, at least there is food waiting."
Santana laughed and stood up off the bed again, "I will leave you to freshen up while I go see if Mami needs help with anything."
Rachel sat up, running a hand through her unruly hair, "Okay. I will meet you downstairs once I am presentable."
"Alright, see ya on the flip side Ogre," Santana teased with a wink, cackling loudly as she heard a pillow hit the closed door behind her as she heard Rachel huff out, "I do not look like an Ogre."
Santana walked down the steps happily and walked into the kitchen where she saw her mother at the stove, cooking pancakes. The ex-cheerleader walked up to Maribel and kissed her on the cheek, "Morning Mami. Anything I can help you with?"
"If you could set the table, that would be great," Maribel told her daughter as she added another pancake to the growing pile on a plate.
Santana nodded and walked over to the cabinet, "Of course Mami." She took out enough tableware for everyone and started setting up place settings on the dining room table.
By the time Santana had the plates set up with orange juice and coffee set up on the table, Rachel came down with Arlene on her hip. The Latina turned to Rachel with a raised brow, "Why are you carrying her? She can walk."
Rachel set the small girl down next to the table, "Yes, Santana, I am quite aware of this fact. She just to happened to be coming down the hall as I was exiting the restroom after making sure I was adequately cleaned up for breakfast and she still looked a little tired so I offered to carry her to the dining room table. I made sure she understood that this was a one-time only thing."
Santana laughed lightly, "Berry, she is 4-years-old, she will believe that if she got it once, she can get it again. No matter what you've said to her."
"Well, she promised me," Rachel said matter-of-factly as she sat. "Isn't that right Arlene?"
Arlene nodded big with a grin, "Yes Tana. I promised never to ask again."
"Whatever you say, Chica," Santana smiled and ruffled her messy hair before she helped her mother grab some of the platters.
The two older Lopez women set down plates of vegan pancakes, eggs, sausage, toast, and a bowl of cut up fruit.
Rachel took in the assortment in front of her, "Maribel, you didn't have to go through all this trouble for breakfast."
"Oh, don't worry your head over this," Maribel waved her off. "It's nothing. Just want to make sure everyone gets plenty to eat."
"Well, still, thank you," Rachel smiled at the woman in front of her.
Maribel winked at her just as her husband walked into the room, "Good morning Eduardo."
"'Morning," Dr. Lopez gave his wife a peck before he sat at the table. "This all smells great, thank you."
Maribel smiled at him before she sat and everyone started to dig into the food. Rachel giggled quietly as she watched Santana cut up Arlene's food, playing with her as she did it. Santana would pretend to go eat a bit and Arlene would quickly eat it so Santana couldn't. It was absolutely adorable.
Rachel was startled as she felt something flutter within her heart watching Santana play with her little sister. Why was seeing Santana caring for a child warming her heart? Rachel has never felt anything like that for Santana before, so why now? She put it down to the pregnancy, it is making her feel weird towards things related to children.
The tiny diva shook out of her thoughts and laughed along with the rest of the Lopez's at the face their dad was making. Rachel liked the loose, fun meals that this family had. With her fathers, it was always a formal affair and never very loud. Table conversations consisted of education and politics most of the time. Rachel's fathers prided on being respectable.
If Rachel thinks about it, they are really just compensating for being gay. They were already frowned upon because of their sexual orientation, they don't want to add fuel to the fire. They don't want to make themselves into a stereotype.
Maybe that is why they are so disappointed in her for getting pregnant. It was not a part of the image that they had created for their family, she didn't mold. She was now a black sheep in her own family because her fathers set the standards so high.
Once they were all done with breakfast and cleaned up, Rachel took out her phone, starting to compose a message. She had an idea on how she could try to get across to her fathers what she wanted to say and what she wanted to say to Finn. So, she figured that she could kill two birds with one stone, but whether or not she could do this, depended on one person. Well, maybe two.
Santana walked up behind Rachel as she noticed her furiously typing, "Whatcha doin', Munchkin?"
Rachel jumped a bit and turned towards Santana quickly, "Santana you startled me. You shouldn't sneak up on somebody, it's rude."
Santana rolled her eyes, "It's hardly sneaking up when you are sitting in my living room on the couch. Who are you texting?"
Rachel huffed and turned forward again, "Not that it is any of your business, but I am texting my fathers."
"I thought you were going to see them?" Santana questioned as she sat next to the smaller girl.
"I was, but I came up with a better way to solve both of my complications," Rachel informed her as she went back to composing her message.
"Do I even want to know what you have come up with?" Santana groaned as she leaned her head against the back of the couch.
Rachel turned to her with a big grin spread across her face, "Of course you should, you are an integral part of my plan."
Santana snapped her head to the side to stare at the diva to see if she was pulling her leg. She was not. The Latina let out a long sigh as she stared up at the ceiling. What had she gotten herself into?
3 o'clock found the girls once again stood in the McKinley High School choir room. This time, however, the two Berry men were also sat in the room. Rachel stood in the front everyone, Santana by her side and Arlene sitting next to Kurt.
Rachel took a deep breath before she started her speech, "I apologize for once again taking over your Glee rehearsal, but recently I have done a lot of thinking about a lot of things. At first this was going to be an opportunity for me to try to clear the air between myself, my fathers, and Finn, but I realized something. They aren't the only ones who need this from me, but also all of my friends. I want you all to be able to understand me just a little better and how I feel for you all. Also, thank you Sam for your help."
Sam stood and winked at her as he walked over to a stool placed at the end of the piano with his guitar. Santana went to sit at the drum set as Rachel sat at the piano.
"Wait, Satan plays drums?" Mercedes spoke up.
Santana shrugged her shoulders, "Not very well, but this song is pretty easy. I think I'll leave the drumming to Finny over there."
"May I begin please?" Rachel asked and once she got nods in return, she started the melody, running her fingers fluidly over the keys.
Rachel began the song, voice soft, "Am I asking all these questions for nothing? I'm wondering if anyone's there, yeah. And I really need to make a confession. I hate to say that I'm a little bit scared, yeah."
Santana joined in on the drums, "But I've been on this train too long. People getting off and on. Praying that I don't forget where I belong. And every time I ask myself. Am I turning into someone else? I'm praying that I don't forget just who I am. I really wanna understand. I just wanna understand."
Rachel couldn't bring herself to look up yet so she stared at the top of the piano as she continued on, "I'm callin' all my friends after midnight, yeah. To remind 'em that I'll always be there for them. It gets lonely when there's no one to talk to. But it's good to know that somebody cares," Rachel looked directly at Santana as she said this. The taller girl took in the words that were being directed at her and couldn't understand why her heart fluttered in her chest.
"'Cause I've been on this train too long. People gettin' off and on. I'm prayin' that I don't forget where I belong. And every time I ask myself. Am I turnin' into someone else? I'm prayin' that I don't forget just who I am. I really wanna understand. I just wanna understand, yeah, oh yeah."
Sam started strumming his guitar as Santana and Rachel stopped playing their instruments to clap. Soon the others joining as Rachel sang with Santana and Sam singing under her, "'Cause we all get lost sometimes (yeah, yeah, no). We all get lost sometimes. We don't leave your heart behind (no, yeah). 'Cause we all get lost sometimes."
Sam's guitar cut off and the girls started the piano and drums once again, "I really wanna understand. I just gotta understand, yeah. Now I just need to, I need to understand. I really wanna understand, oh, who I am."
There was a pregnant pause before once again the girls made music and Rachel continued onto the next part, talking it, "When you wake up, your whole world's flipped. It's just different, and you gotta, you know, you gotta. You gotta go with it and that's just simply growing up and not see it in a negative way. You have to see it as it has been giving to you. I mean, as much as time it's gonna be crazy, you're gonna feel like that's where we're supposed to be. You're not gonna feel out of place anymore. You're gonna feel that's where you're meant to be. You don't have to pretend that it's easy all the time. You just let it go and, and grow with it, and you can't hold on to the old you, or the old this or the old that, because, you know, you change. And it's not changing in a bad way. It's just changing because that's what happens in life. You grow up, everyone moves on. You're just learning. You stay true to yourself."
Santana cut off the drums as Rachel spoke the last part of the speech, "Changing isn't a bad thing, it never was. But at the end of the day, you know, you're the same person and, and where your heart is, that doesn't change."
Santana joins back in on the drums as Rachel finishes out the song, "And every time I ask myself. Am I turning into someone else? And I just pray to God that I'm still who I am. I really wanna understand. I just gotta understand, yeah. Now I just need to, I need to understand. I really wanna understand, oh, who I am."
Rachel stood once she was finished and took center stage once again, "I know that I messed up, that I've made mistakes, but I'm still growing and learning. This is something that I need to learn from, but I need to do that with my fathers, but I can't do that with you if you can't see past this slip up. And Finn, I know that this is hard, but I don't think I could do it if you hate me. I messed up with you at Mr. Schue's wedding, it never should have happened, but it did. I know that this child might not be yours, so I won't ask anything of you until I get a paternity test done except, please don't hate me. And to the rest of you, Blaine, Mercedes, Sam, all of you, I know that I can come off as a little much sometimes, maybe even a little selfish, but I do care for all of you. I want the best for all of you and I know that you guys can achieve everything you set your eyes on."
Finn was the first to speak up once Rachel finished speaking, "I could never hate you Rachel. Yesterday just took me by surprise. I want to help you and be there for you in any way that I can. Even if we find out that the baby is not mine, I will still be there for you Rachel."
"Thank you, Finn," Rachel responded quietly, but gratefully as she was pulled into a hug by her ex.
"Rachel..." Hiram began as he and his husband stood, Rachel stepping away from Finn.
"Your father and I will always love you," LeRoy continued. "You are our baby girl, but we would be lying if we say we aren't disappointed in you."
Rachel looked down at her shoes, tears filling her eyes at those words.
"However," Hiram stressed. "We know that you have realized the gravity of what you are going through and that you will learn from it."
Rachel quickly hugged her fathers, "Thank you. I'm so sorry."
"We know," The Berry men hugged her close. Soon everyone joined in on the group hug, one mass of bodies filling the center of the choir room, all murmuring encouragements.
Rachel could feel the love coming off of every person surrounding her. She couldn't recall a time where she felt safer, more loved. She let the warmth embrace her as she looked across the circle, making eye contact with Santana. The taller girl winked at Rachel before she laughed at something that Sam said from next to her.
Rachel felt her chest hitch for a second at the wink that was sent her way, but she quickly shook it off. She had no idea what was going on with her body ever since her and Santana set down in Lima. She had weird reactions to Santana that she didn't get before. It must be because Santana is treating her different, treating her as if she was a friend rather than an annoying bug that keeps flying around her head.
Rachel was broken from her thoughts as she was pulled away from her fathers' by Arlene. Rachel crouched down in front of her, "What can I do for you princess?"
"What kind of baby are you going to have, a girl or a boy?' Arlene asked the older girl innocently.
Rachel laughed softly, "I am not sure yet, it is too early to tell. I promise you I will tell you as soon as I know. Okay?"
"Okay, thank you Rachie," Arlene grinned and hopped around the circle.
Rachel smiled and stood up straight, coming face to face with Santana. Rachel's breath caught in her throat, when she saw the Latina looking at her with crossed arms and one of her perfect eyebrows arched in question.
Rachel swallowed deeply just as Santana asked, "What were you talking to my sister about?"
The young diva cleared her throat quietly before answering her, "Oh she just wanted to know if I was having a girl or a boy and I informed her that since I have not yet determined the sex, I would pass along the news as soon as I knew."
Santana laughed quietly while shaking her head, "There are much simpler ways of putting that sentence, Fun Size."
Rachel logically knew that it wasn't possible, but hearing Santana's genuine laugh sounded like music in her ears. It was so different from the snarky laugh or self-deprecating chuckle that Santana most often lets out. This was her real laugh and it was beautiful to her.
Rachel shook her head as a small blush creeped up her cheeks as she responded to the fiery Latina, "There is nothing wrong with using proper English when speaking, Santana."
Santana's eyebrows twitched together quizzically. Why is she blushing? Santana thought to herself. She shook it off as a thought for later, "You wanna grab Arlene and get outta here?"
Before Rachel could answer her, no doubt to lecture her on the way that she had spoken, her fathers came walking up to them. LeRoy spoke first, "Sweetie, let's go home and talk some more about New York."
Rachel looked between Santana and her fathers, "Uh Dad, Daddy, I-"
Santana quickly cut her off, "You should go with them. You three can come for dinner later tonight so that you can get your stuff from my house and spend the last two days here with your parents."
"Are you sure Santana?" Rachel asked her, glancing at her fathers once again.
"Yeah, come by around 7," Santana smiled at her newest friend. "I will see you then."
"Okay, goodbye Santana," Rachel smiled and quickly turned away towards her father to hide the blush and goofy smile on her face. The smile that Santana had sent her way and made her hear soar inside her chest.
Rachel couldn't understand what she was feeling towards the Latina recently. She hadn't felt this since... Finn, but that couldn't be the same. Rachel had never found herself attracted to girls before, not that there was anything wrong with that. Sure, Rachel could admit that she found some women to be aesthetically pleasing, but she has never crushed on them.
Maybe it was just her hormones acting up. Santana was acting nice to her and taking care of her and Rachel was growing an attachment to her because she is pregnant. Rachel is just misinterpreting her actions for romantic feelings.
Rachel looked at her fathers to see the two of them looking at her with knowing smirks on their faces. Rachel blushed darker and scurried past them out of the auditorium saying a quick goodbye to Arlene as she left.
Rachel stood next to her daddy's car as she waited for them to catch up and open the doors. As soon as they did, she jumped into the backseat of their car. The two men got into the front seats of the car and her daddy started the engine. They started the drive in silence, but it wasn't too long until her dad broke the silence, "Do you have a crush on Santana baby?"
The question caused the girl to blush once again, "I-I don't know. I didn't think I liked girls, I never have before. I have always been drawn to the opposite sex, but over the past couple of days, my feelings towards Santana have started to change. Ever since we got here Santana has been kind and caring and so attentive to me. She is letting her guards down around me and it is such an amazing thing to see because only her family and Brittany had seen that part of her before. She is nice to spend time with."
Her daddy laughed, "Now it definitely sounds like you have a crush on her. Sweetie, sexuality is a complicated thing. You don't have to see yourself as being straight or gay or bisexual, just be true to yourself and love whoever you love. If it is a man or if it is a woman, it makes no difference to us who you choose to be with."
"But I don't know if Santana is someone who would want to be with me," Rachel told her fathers. "And I am not entirely sure if I would want to be with her either. In high school, we kind of hated each other. She would call me rude names and make fun of my height and my nose. Even now that she is living with us, she still seems to talk down to me. These past few days have been a complete 180 in the Santana I've grown to know."
"Maybe she has changed," Hiram told his only daughter. "Maybe she has finally grown and matured and it took something as serious as the situation with Brody to make her realize that she's an adult now and she needs to act like one. She obviously cares for you, she wouldn't be doing all that she is for you if she didn't. If that is more than a platonic attraction on her part, I can't quite tell yet, but I'm sure I'll figure it out at dinner tonight."
Rachel's blush darkened as her dads began to laugh, "I can't believe I agreed to bring you two to the Lopez home. You are just going to be telling them all sorts of embarrassing stories about me."
"That is our job as your fathers," LeRoy laughed at his daughters expense. "Don't worry though Sweetheart, we will keep it to the mildly embarrassing stories for this first meeting with them."
Rachel shook her head, huffed, and crossed her arms while throwing herself against the back of the couch, "Do you guys want to watch a movie until we have to get ready for dinner?"
"Sure, what kind of movie where you thinking?" LeRoy asked.
"How about Sister Act?" Rachel asked her fathers. "I am kind of feeling the Whoopie Goldberg type of voice right now."
"Sure Sweetie," they put on the movie and sat together on the couch to watch it. Rachel loved watching Whoopie put on the nuns costume in order to hide. She snuggled into her dad's side just like she used to do when she was younger and it made her feel safe and protected, like a kid again.
Once the movie was over, the three Berry's stood and walked to their rooms to begin to prepare for dinner with the Lopez's. When Rachel got into her room, she realized that she had nothing to wear for the dinner because all of her stuff was at Santana's house. All that was left in her closet was the clothing items that did not make it to New York when she moved out at the end of her senior year. In her closet was a pink fox sweater, a grey argyle sweater, a black t-shirt, various other sweaters, the dress she wore to the first party she had hosted her junior year of high school, and a jean jacket. She went over to the dresser to find a couple of argyle skirts and a few flat colored skirts. She moved the skirts around an found a pair of light blue skinny jeans. She set out the jeans and grabbed the black shirt and the jean jacket.
With her outfit picked out, Rachel quickly jumped into the shower, singing Ain't That a Kick in the Head by Dean Martin. She had a secret affinity for oldies music. Her fathers often liked to listen to it while they were driving, or cooking, or having a date, so basically all the time. Her daddies loved the classics like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, and Glenn Miller. They often said that music from the early 20th century was an art of its own. The composers and the singers had such passion and love for what they did, they had stories to tell with their songs, feelings to express to their loved ones. That is what true music was all about in the Berry household.
Rachel finished her shower and began to make herself presentable. She fixed her hair and put on a light coat of makeup. Then she went into her room and got herself ready in the outfit she laid out for herself. Once it was on, she checked herself in her full-length mirror. She didn't look too bad in the jeans even though they were slightly faded. They showed off her curves and made her ass more prominent. She put the jacket on over her black v-neck shirt. She then grabbed half-inch black booties to complete the outfit.
Once she was ready she made her way downstairs to find her fathers already sitting on the couch, talking as they waited for her. LeRoy smirked and muttered something under his breathe about how she was going to dinner with parents, not on a date. Rachel decided to ignore the two of them as she grabbed her keys, "Are the two of you ready to make our way over to the Lopez residence?"
"Of course, Sweetheart, we were waiting for you," Hiram said as he stood from the couch with his husband.
"You were taking so long up there making sure that you would make Santana's mouth go dry when we get there," LeRoy teased the younger girl as they passed her going towards the door.
Rachel blushed and hurried out the door to the car, "I was doing nothing of the sort. I didn't have many options for dinner attire seeing as how all of my clothes are at Santana's at the moment. This was the best outfit combination I could find in the closet. As you know, my wardrobe in high school left something to be desired and I would rather not incur the wrath of Snixx Lopez tonight at dinner."
"Who is Snixx?" LeRoy asked as the two men entered the car and the trio made their way towards their destination.
"Snixx is Santana's alter ego that she liked to blame all of her mishaps on. Snixx comes out when Santana is really angry, or so the story goes. I for one do not believe that Santana has any sort of alter ego living inside her body," Rachel rambled as she sat in the back seat.
The two men in the front gave each other knowing looks. Rachel is rambling about the girl now, there is no way that she doesn't have a huge crush on her. The only other times that her fathers had heard her like this was, Glee, Broadway, singing, Barbra Streisand, Jessie, Puck, and Finn. She only ever got this excited over things she cared about and loved. LeRoy and Hiram just hoped that Santana would treat their daughter and their grandchild right. They have heard the reputation that Santana Lopez has left behind her here in Lima, Ohio, but they are hoping what they told their daughter was true, that she had changed for the better.
Once they arrived and parked the car, the three made their way to the front door. Rachel composed herself for a second outside the door before she gave a firm knock. The door swung open to reveal Arlene standing on the other side of the dark oak door, "Rachie!"
"Arlene, cuantas veces tenemos que decirte? No abra la puerta de entrada. No sabes quien puede estar del otro lado," Santana called after her sister as she came walking into the front entryway.
"Es solo Rachie y sus papis," Arlene shot back at her older sister with attitude.
"Excuse me Chica?" Santana crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow at her sister. "You better check that attitude. Ve a la cocina con mamá. You heard me, go vamonos." The older Latina shooed the youngest away.
LeRoy nudged Rachel and whispered, "Look and she's great with kids which is a plus considering your situation." This caused Rachel to blush and Hiram to smack his husband on the shoulder in reprimand, which just caused the other man to laugh louder.
Santana turned back to the Berry's and opened the door more, "I'm sorry about that, we are still trying to teach her not to open the door by herself. Please come in and let me take your jackets." Santana stopped when she saw Rachel. She had to admit that the small diva looked banging in that outfit. Santana caught herself outlining Rachel's curves and shook her head, grabbing the jackets from her guests. She hung them up in the coat closet in the entryway and closed the door.
She turned around to see Rachel brush her hair back over her shoulder, revealing more of her cleavage to the Latina. Suddenly, Santana felt as though she needed a drink for the cotton mouth she was experiencing when she gazed up the Jewish beauty in front of her. Santana mentally chastised herself, Rachel Berry was not hot. Well, maybe ever since she stopped wearing all the argyle, she had gotten more appealing. Santana was brought out of her musings by small arms wrapping around her waist. Before she knew what she was doing, Santana found herself wrapping her arms around the short diva.
Just as quickly as the hug came, it went. Rachel's face was suddenly in Santana's vision with a smile plastered upon it, "Good evening Santana. I hope that the rest of your afternoon went well?"
"Yes, Fun Size, thank you," Santana laughed at the other girl. "How about all of you? What did you guys do?" Santana turned her attention to the Berry men. For some reason that Santana couldn't place, she wanted to make a good impression on these men. She wants their approval and she wants to earn their respect. Never before had Santana cared what her friend's parents thought of her. Quinn's parents hated her and Brittany's parents didn't quite know what to do with her. What these men thought of her suddenly mattered to Santana. She just put it down to the fact that she now spent a lot of time with their daughter and the Latina would now have to be the protector in the apartment. She wanted the men to feel safe enough to entrust their daughter to her for protection in New York.
"We had a lovely afternoon, thank you for asking," Hiram answered for them. "We had a quiet day, watched a movie."
"That sounds nice," Santana smiled and led them into the formal living room. "Would any of you like anything to drink?" All three of the guests asked for water and Santana exited the room.
The room was painted ivory with beige trimmings. There was a beige love seat on one side of the room and in the center was a beige sofa. In front of the couch was a light-colored wood coffee table. Atop the ivory trimmed brick fireplace were various pictures of the family. On the far left was a wedding picture of Mrs. and Mr. Lopez. Maribel looked gorgeous in her lace, white low cut wedding dressing with a long train trailing behind. Eduardo looked very dapper in his sleek black suit and his hair slicked back. They both looked so happy and it caused Rachel to smile at the picture. They looked as happy and in love 20 years ago as they do today. The larger frame next to it held a collage of Santana's senior pictures; some in her cheerleading uniform, some in her cap and gown, and some in the outfit she had picked out for that day. Each outfit had a variety of different poses; some with her laying down, some holding a sign saying 'graduate', 'cheers', 'congrats', and other things. Santana looked stunning in every picture with a bright smile on her face. Next was a professional photo of Arlene taken the year before. The youngest Lopez was kneeling behind a large number '3' with a huge grin taking over her face. The next couple of pictures were various family photos, some were holiday pictures.
On the other end of the fireplace was a picture of Santana at about the age of ten running and laughing with a boy on the yard in front of a house that Rachel did not recognize. Rachel had no idea how she had missed these pictures the two days she spent living at the house. She put it down to the fact that she never really spent time in the formal living room. More often than not they were either in the room, In the kitchen, or in the family room. The longer that Rachel looked at the picture, the more similarities that she could see between Santana and the Latino boy in the picture with her. They had the same complexion, the same eye shape, the same nose. They looked like they could be twins. It must be the other girl's cousin or something.
When Santana walked back in carrying three water cups, she sat them on the coffee table atop coasters. Rachel turned to the other girl, "Santana, who is the boy in this picture with you?"
Santana stopped what she was doing and looked up. She saw the picture that Rachel was referring to and took a deep, shuddering breath, "I think maybe you all should sit down for this story." They gave her a look of confusion, but did as they were instructed. Santana sat in the light brown arm chair that was kitty-corner to the couch, the same end that Rachel was sitting on. Santana looked down at her hands and closed her eyes for a second before she began, "That was my brother Julio. We were twins, he was older by three and a half minutes. That picture was taken when we were nine. We had been living at the Lima Heights Adjacent house. We had been playing in the front yard, just kicking a ball back and forth. We were playing after dark, it was still only 7, but it was dark outside. Mami always told us that once the sun set, we had to come inside, but we wanted to stay out for a bit longer and play." Santana had to stop for a moment before she could move on with her story.
Rachel reached a hand out and placed it on the Latina's knee. Rachel had no idea that Santana had had a twin brother, but based off of the other girl's tone and the fact that there were no pictures of Julio past that age, Rachel knew that there was a tragic reason she didn't know Julio.
Santana flashed Rachel a quick, grateful smile before she continued, placing her hand on top of Rachel's, giving it a squeeze, "Across the street, three young Chicanos were sitting on the porch. They were usually so nice to Julio and I. They always brought us candy after school and once time they gave Julio a basketball after he was upset that some bullies at school stole it from him. I guess they had gotten into some trouble the week before."
A young 9-year-old Santana and Julio were playing on the lawn outside of the house that they were born and raised in. Maribel had just called out the window a few minutes prior that it was time for them to come inside and wash up, dinner was going to be ready soon and it was dark. The two young twins didn't want to go in quite yet, so they continued to kick the ball around.
The two Lopez's saw a black low-rider with flames covering it. Julio placed a foot atop the ball to stop it in its place, "Look Santi. That car is so cool. I want one like that when I'm older."
"It would look better if it was pink with flames," young Santana said as she too looked in the direction of the car.
Julio moved closer to his sister, "Pink is for girls."
"Well, I'm a girl, Ju Ju," Santana laughed at her brother, giving him a playful push. "Black is for boys, pink is for girls. You can have a black one and I will have a pink one and we will be matching. Then everyone will know that you are my brother."
"And we will drive everywhere together," Julio smiled. "And we will live next to each other so that our cars will be-" Julio was cut off by sudden loud noises.
Santana screamed at the loud noises that came from the cool car and the house across the street. She covered her ears and closed her eyes. She suddenly felt Julio wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to his chest. She could hear her Mami and her Papi yelling for them to lay down on the grass and cover their heads. Santana just cried into her brother when she felt him stiffen up and cry out for Mami.
Just as quickly as the shooting came, it stopped and they could hear the screeching of the tired as the car fled away from their street. Santana pulled away from her brother who suddenly felt heavy against her. Julio's eyes were half-lidded and he swayed before he crashed to the ground.
"Julio!" Santana screamed for her brother as he laid face down in front of her. She could see red pooling up through his shirt in the middle of his back. Santana fell to her knees next to him and grabbed his head, "Get up Ju Ju. Please, wake up."
Maribel and Eduardo came running towards their two children, Maribel grabbed Santana and pushed the younger girls face into her stomach so she could no longer see her brother. Santana could hear her Papi on the phone, telling someone that he needed help because his son had been shot. Santana was crying into her mother and she could tell that her Mami was crying as she stroked the young girl's hair, whispering that she was safe now. How could Santana be safe if her Ju Ju was lying on the floor, bleeding and not waking up.
"He was in the hospital on life support for 2 months, but eventually, we had to let him go. He no longer had brain function and he was not breathing on his own," Santana finished her story, looking down at her hand inside of Rachel's. "We moved out of Lima Heights Adjacent after that.
"I am so sorry to hear that Santana," Hiram spoke up. "I can't imagine how hard it must have been to lose a sibling like that, especially a twin at that."
Santana looked up with a small, sad smile on her face, "We used to do everything together, everything he did, I had to do also and vice versa. We were each other's best friend. I met Brittany and Quinn shortly after I lost him."
Rachel couldn't believe what she had just heard. She never knew that Santana had a brother and now she knew why, she was taken violently from her. Rachel can't imagine little Santana seeing her brother shot, her best friend. No wonder Santana was so angry especially in high school, she was angry at the world for taking her brother from her. She had no specific person to blame for killing her brother because it could have come from any of the three men on that porch. One stray bullet that happened to imbed itself into her brother had taken him all too soon.
Rachel held Santana's hand between both of hers, "You never should have had to witness something like that or to go through losing someone. I am here for you if you ever need to talk."
"Thank you, Rachel, that means a lot," Santana smiled at the other girl. Santana felt as though she really could go to Rachel if she ever needed to talk about anything. The only problem was that Santana didn't like to share her feelings. She didn't like to show people her vulnerabilities for fear of showing them some kind of weakness. However, she felt as though Rachel wouldn't take it as a sign of weakness.
Santana was broken out of her thoughts by Eduardo walking into the room, "Santi, dinner is ready. Why don't you and our guests join us in the dining room?"
"Of course, Papi, be right there," Santana smiled at her father before she stood. "Alright, time to get our grub on. Follow me."
The other three occupants laughed and stood to follow Santana through the kitchen into the dining room where Santana's parents setting the last few bowls on the table. Arlene was already sitting in her chair and waiting. All of the adults joined Arlene and sat around the table. Once everyone was settled, Maribel smiled, "Would anyone like to lead us in grace tonight?"
"I would love to say grace Mrs. Lopez," Rachel smiled at the older woman. "I know that our two families come from two different religious backgrounds and I believe I can give a proper grace that satisfies both of our families religious beliefs."
The three men and Santana chuckled at Rachel's validation while Maribel just smiled kindly at her, "Thank you Rachel, that would be nice."
Rachel smiled her mega-watt smile before everyone bowed their heads and Rachel started, "Thank you Heavenly Father for the feast we are about to consume. Thank you for blessing both of our families with good will and good health. I thank you for bringing our families together on this night and I hope for many more great nights with our families. Amen."
"Amen," was chorused around the table before food started to be passed around and people started to fill up their plates with the delicious food around the table. There was tamales (both vegan and carne asada), Pozole (also vegan and chicken), stuffed poblanos, and fiesta rice. Rachel was happy to see that the Lopez's were also trying a little bit of the vegan food as well.
"So, what do the two of you men for a living?" Maribel asked the Berry's to get the conversation started after everyone was introduced to one another.
"Well, I am an interior designer," Hiram told her, "And my husband is a veterinarian over at the VCA. How about the two of you?"
"I am mostly a stay-at-home mom, but I do sell real estate part time," Maribel told the men.
"I am a doctor over at the hospital," Eduardo told them with a proud smile on his face. "How did the two of you meet?"
"Ooh yes, please tell," Maribel prompted excitedly.
Santana groaned in embarrassment, "Mami, Papi, leave the poor men alone."
"Oh silencio, solo estamos conversando. Deja que los adultos hablen," Maribel scolded her daughter, causing her ears to burn bright red as she sunk slightly in her seat. Rachel giggled at her friend and rubbing a comforting arm on her shoulder for a second before retracting her arm.
Santana felt the diva's hand on her shoulder still after it was already gone. The warm tingling feeling lingered in the singers wake and it spread throughout her body warming her. It was a weird sensation that she had never experienced before, not even with Brittany, but she had felt it with Julio. Does this mean that Santana sees Rachel a sibling and not a lover? Is this why she has been feeling all of these weird feelings recently? Has she taken to Rachel as a sister? But that wouldn't explain why she thought that Rachel was suddenly hot ever since her New York make-over. It also doesn't explain why earlier she was sad that Rachel wouldn't be coming over to her house after Glee or why it had felt nice to have the diva in her arms.
Before she could go any further into her thoughts, LeRoy spoke up, "It is quite alright Santana, we love to share the story of how we met. We were both students at Ohio Northern University. We were in the same English 110 class and we were put into the group in class. I had started to take the bus to and from work and school because my car had broken down. One day after class, which ended at 9.30 and the bus didn't get there until 10:45, Hiram offered me a ride home. I agreed and we started to talk as he drove me home and I started to develop a crush on him but he was dating someone else. That became our routine for the next couple of weeks and then I found out that Hiram and his boyfriend had broken up, so I asked him out and the rest is history from there."
The two men smiled at each other as Maribel 'awe'ed. "What about you two love birds?" Hiram asked them.
Maribel smiled as she remembered, "Eduardo was in my drama class in high school and he had always had the biggest crush on me ever since the day we met and everyone knew except for me. I had been dating the same guy for two years and Ed was too afraid to tell me how he felt. By boyfriend was a year older and was in college while I was a senior in high school. I found out that he had been cheating on me for a while because he had cheated on me with one of my friends."
"So, I came in and swooped her off her feet," Eduardo said with a grin.
Everyone at the table laughed and the rest of the conversation lapsed into how the girls were doing in New York. Rachel was excited to talk about her classes at NYADA and the Winter Showcase that she had won back in December. They all got to know each other for the rest of the dinner and once it was over, Rachel went up to Santana's room with her to gather her things to go back to her fathers.
Rachel started to gather her clothes and put them into her suitcase and her duffle bag while Santana sat on the edge of her bed. The more clothes that Rachel sorted through and folded, the more she didn't want to leave. She didn't want to have to be separated from Santana, she had grown fond of the Latina and she wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Rachel soon shook herself of these thoughts. They lived together and spent pretty much all of their free time together, they could spend two days apart without Rachel freaking out. Rachel finished with her clothes and moved onto her toiletries.
Rachel set her bags at the top of the stairs once she was done and walked back into Santana's room, "Alright, I guess it is time for me to go."
Santana nodded and looked at Rachel for a second before saying, "You can come over for breakfast tomorrow. I will leave the door unlocked while I'm cooking so that you can just come in once you get here."
"That would be lovely, thank you Santana," Rachel smiled at the other girl.
"Let me help you downstairs," Santana offered, standing up and grabbed the girl's suitcase. Rachel smiled and grabbed her other bag, following the Latina downstairs to the parents and Arlene. Rachel gave Maribel, Eduardo, and Arlene a hug before turning to Santana. The taller girl could see that Rachel wanted to give her a hug, so she rolled her eyes and opened her arms which Rachel quickly went into.
Rachel felt warm and safe in the Latina's embrace, she never wanted to leave. She could smell the other girl as she hugged her. Santana had a unique smell of Cypress trees and something spicy. It was a nice scent that Rachel wished that she could take in forever. Once the thought fully hits Rachel, she pulls away with a small blush, "Thank you for dinner."
"No problem, dear," Maribel smiled at her daughter's friend. Everyone said their goodbyes once more and it was time for the Berry's to leave. Rachel loaded her bags into the trunk of her car and followed her parents home in her car. The next morning was sure to be an interesting one, at least for the diva with all of these weird feelings she's been feeling toward the other girl lately.
A/N: I am sorry that I kind of took a long time with this again. I have been going through a depression because I just recently lost my job and I am struggling, but I am trying to go on and give you all the rest of this book. Naya's death also hit me hard because she was such an inspiration to me. She was the reason that I kept acting when I wanted to just give up. What she did for her son was amazing and she will be forever missed. She was taken from us way too soon, she still had so much to offer to the world and to her son. Rest in Peace Naya Marie Rivera. The song used in the chapter is "Understand" by Shawn Mendes, the title is "I Remember You" by Skid Row. Thank you for reading, see you next time!