Holly jumped while placing a bowl of mashed potatoes down on the kitchen table when her husband entered the house slamming the door behind him. She gave a comforting look to her two youngest and met Will in the foyer. She immediately knew the slam wasn't a mistake by the redness of his face.
"Where's Brittany?" he asked, his tone angered and rough. He threw his briefcase next to the coat rack and started towards the kitchen with determined steps.
Holly walked after him confused. "She's out with Santana. They were gonna grab dinner," she informed while trying to grab his arm.
His steps halted. "Get her home now," he said as calm as he could to his wife, but inside it felt like he would explode. He bypassed the kitchen table and went straight into his home office without acknowledging his other children.
Holly began to worry, knowing her husband rarely got mad, especially at their children. Whatever their daughter did must have been bad, really bad. Sighing, she turned to Tommy and Jessica.
"Start eating guys, I'll be right back," she encouraged, giving a brief smile before following her husband.
Inside his office, Will was pacing the carpet with his head in his hands.
"Will what happened?" she asked worriedly.
Will looked up with tears in his eyes. "There are rumors going around the school about Brittany," he informed his voice full of disgust. "Apparently our daughter is the school slut," he said angered.
Holly's eyes widened.
Brittany stared at the sky trying to make animal pictures out of the stars but she couldn't focus. She and Santana had spent the day skipping classes and walking around town, eventually ending up at the town lake lounged out on one of their cheerleading blankets. They barely talked and when they did it wasn't about Brittany's hookup. Santana managed to cover their tracks, letting coach Sylvester know they wouldn't be at practice and texting their mothers that they would be out for dinner.
Santana stared at Brittany from her side of the blanket. She couldn't understand how someone so innocent could be so besmirched. Sighing, she tapped her hand against the back of Brittany's to get her attention.
Brittany's eyes snapped away from the sky and into her lap. "You think I'm gross," she whispered sadly. She had been waiting the whole day for Santana to yell at her and dismiss their friendship for what she had done. She was glad she had a pair of cheer sweats in her locker to change into before they left. She really didn't feel like being on display the whole day.
Santana immediately shook her head. "I do not. I'm worried about you though. Why would you let someone do that to you?" she asked seriously as she turned Brittany's face towards her with her hand under her chin. She held it there, gently stroking the soft flesh.
Brittany sighed. "I didn't want to. I just felt really tired and I told him to be fast. He took it the wrong way and started going too hard. I told him to stop but he just held me down telling me he likes kinky bitches," she said while starting to cry.
Santana winced. "Britt you told him to stop. He raped you," she explained gently, continuing to caress her face. She gently wiped any tears falling from her blue eyes.
Brittany shook her head. "I just wanted to find you and leave because my head was getting foggy from the alcohol. He kept hitting on me and Quinn said you were busy with Puck so I followed him up to Katie's room. I just wanted to lie down. He started kissing me and I just went with it. Then he started feeling me up and I told him I wanted to go back downstairs. He kept saying stuff like I do it with everyone what's the difference and it made me think. What was the difference?" she asked with defeat.
Santana shook her head. "The difference is you didn't want it Brittany. You are not a ragdoll people can play with. Why do you hate yourself so much?" she yelled while getting up from her position. She walked to the edge of the lake, staring madly at the sky.
Brittany scoffed. She followed Santana and roughly turned her to face her. Face to Face both saw the complexities of each other, and finally Brittany was brave enough to speak. "I hate myself because I'll never be good enough for you," she admitted lowly. Once the words left her mouth, she realized what she had said and took off full speed away from the park.
Santana's eyes widened. "Britt where are you going?" she yelled and started to quickly grab their things so she could chase after her.
Brittany ran in what she hoped was the direction of home, tears falling from her face like a wicked rainstorm. She heard Santana calling her but refused to look back. She didn't want to hear Santana tell her they could never be together the way they wanted again. She was tired of that speech, tired of holding in her feelings.
Santana followed behind, refusing to give up until she reached Brittany. She stopped calling her name and concentrated on catching up but Brittany was a skilled runner. When they reached their street she gained momentum and ran until she reached the sidewalk in front of Brittany's house where Brittany was leaned over to catch her breath.
"Britt," she tried out of breath.
"Santana we need to speak with Brittany alone," Will said, surprising both Santana and Brittany. He had been out on the front porch waiting for any sign of his daughter.
Brittany looked up confused. She had never heard her dad use the tone he was speaking. Glad for the distraction, she nodded and went inside without acknowledging Santana.
Santana started up the lawn but Mr. Pierce held his hand up. "Not tonight San. We really need to talk with Brittany," he said.
Santana looked at him strangely. He looked all out of sorts and Santana hoped nothing serious happened. Nodding, she continued to her driveway and glanced back once more to see Mr. Pierce closing the front door behind him.
Brittany was starved when she walked into the house. Although Santana had told their parents that they were eating out, the only thing they ate all day was a couple candy bars from the convenience store they stopped at on the way to the lake. When entering the kitchen she found her mom with her head down at the kitchen table, a cup of steaming tea resting in front of her.
"Hey mom," she said quietly, not knowing if her mother wasn't feeling well. She made her way to the refrigerator, hoping to find leftovers from dinner.
"Britt baby sit down. Your father and I wanna talk to you," her mother said when lifting her head from the table. She had spent the entire night trying to calm Will down, assuring him that they would take care of the idiots spreading vicious lies about their daughter.
Brittany sighed and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the island counter. She took a seat across from her mother just as Will walked in. He smiled comfortingly to his wife before sitting in his usual seat.
"Who died?" Brittany asked bluntly while biting into her apple. She felt the tension in the house as soon as she walked in.
Will looked at her strangely. "Britt a student came to me today and told me about some rumors going around. Do you know anything about this sweetheart?" he asked gently, placing his hand over hers.
Brittany's skin immediately heated up and she could barely swallow the piece of apple in her mouth. She never expected the rumors to get to her father, teachers rarely paid attention to the gossip going around school. Her legs began to nervously bounce up and down under the table.
"Britt I'm gonna talk to principal Figgins tomorrow. Whoever started these rumors is going to get in trouble don't worry," he comforted, realizing she was getting upset.
Brittany stared wide eyed at her parents. "I," she stuttered, not believing that they found out. The fact that they didn't even believe the rumors upset her more.
"Britt people say mean things when they're jealous. Do you know who could have started it? Are you having trouble with anyone at school?" Holly asked with warm eyes.
Brittany bit her lip in contemplation. With everything that's been happening with Santana and constant need to fill the void with useless hookups; she debated whether blabbing the truth to her parents. Letting them know what kind of daughter they really have.
Will saw the uncomfortable look on his daughter's face. He gently stroked her hand and leaned forward so he was closer. "Britt don't worry. Me and mom don't believe what they say for a second. We know you sweetheart," he encouraged, hoping to make her feel more at ease.
His words struck a nerve. "Do you know me?" she snapped, making both her parents look at her curiously. "Maybe you should believe what they said, it's the truth," she yelled while ripping her hand from her father's grasp.
Will's eyes narrowed. "Brittany what are you talking about?" her father asked, anger slowly seeping back into his bones, only this time towards his daughter.
Holly shook her head. "Britt don't believe what they're saying about you baby. It's not true," Holly said.
Brittany smiled wickedly. "It is true mom. I'm the school slut. The girl guys find at parties to up their reputations. Santana, Quinn, and I haven't had a sleepover all year. We go to parties every weekend where I find a guy and…" she yelled, but was stopped from a hand slamming on the table, her father's hand.
"Stop," he yelled, tears streaming down his face. "Just stop, you're breaking my heart," he cried, refusing to look in Brittany's direction. He hid his face in his hand and tried to block out the painfully admission his daughter had made.
"Well now we're even because my heart's been broken long before yours," she yelled while rising from her chair.
Holly stood with her. "Brittany calm down. Let's talk about this," she tried, knowing one of them had to hold it together.
Brittany shook her head furiously. "I'm tired," she yelled. "I'm tired of doing what everyone else wants me to do," she continued and without looking at her parents she fled to the front door.
"Brittany come back," Holly yelled, but her statement was left unanswered with a slam of the door.
Will looked up from his hands. "I thought she was happy. I thought she was finally…" he sobbed but couldn't finish. He dug his head into Holly's stomach as she hugged him, letting out years of tears he held in for his little girl.
Santana tried blocking out Brittany's confession as she got ready for bed that night. She distracted herself with making rude comments to Rachel Berry on Facebook and phone sex with Puck, but the whole time the back of her mind was letting her worries about Brittany in. How could Brittany think she wasn't good enough for her? In Santana's mind, it was total opposite.
"Sweetheart you're going to bed early. You feeling alright?" Santana's mother asked as she walked by her daughter's room. She was surprised to find the lights off and Santana's shadowed figure getting into bed.
Santana slightly jumped at the intrusion while getting under the covers. "I'm fine, just really tired," she said hopefully implying to her mother that she didn't want to talk.
Maribel either didn't get the hint or simply didn't care as she took a seat on the edge of her daughter's bed. Smiling, she took a moment to stare at her pride and joy.
Santana watched her mother's gaze and began getting uncomfortable. Did Brittany's parents call with bad news? Did she know about her and Brittany's "sleepovers?" "Ma why are you looking at me like that?" she finally asked.
Maribel chuckled. "Little firecracker, remember that's what daddy and I used to call you," she reminisced why stroking the back of her hand down Santana's cheek.
Santana smiled fondly. "Yeah because you never knew when I was gonna explode," she laughed.
Maribel smiled. "What's going on baby? You've been acting a little different lately. Are things okay at school?" she asked.
Santana's eyes widened. "Yeah, everything's fine," she said a little defensively.
"Are you still seeing that boy? He's not pressuring you is he?" she asked, hoping to get to the bottom of her daughter's weird behavior.
"No ma he's not pressuring me," she rolled her eyes.
"Did you and Britt get into a fight?" she asked, checking off her list of questions in her head.
Santana breathed deeply through her nose. "Mom everything's fine," she yelled while trying to turn her back away from her mother but her mother held her in place.
"Then why did I get a phone call from the school saying you weren't in any of your classes?" she asked with a tilt to her head. She smiled inwardly at the caught expression her daughter's face.
Santana bit her lip. "Britt's been having a bit of trouble. I just wanted to help her out," she admitted without going into detail.
Maribel narrowed her eyes. "Is she okay? Is she taking her medicine?" she asked.
"Yes she's taking her medicine. She's just going through something right now and I figured a day away from school would make her feel a little better. You know a mental health day," she tried, hoping her mother was in a forgiving mood.
Maribel smirked. "You know how your father and I feel about skipping school baby. If Brittany's having trouble then you should get her to talk to her parents. It's not your responsibly," she said.
"She's my best friend Ma, of course I'm going to worry about her," she challenged, not liking the lack of concern her mother displayed towards Brittany.
"We all love Brittany, Santana. But if she's having trouble she needs to go to an adult," Maribel insisted.
Santana glared. "Whatever, can I go to sleep now?" she asked not bothering to hide attitude in her tone.
Maribel sighed. "No more skipping or there will be consequences. I love you," she said while leaning down to kiss Santana's forehead.
"Love you too," Santana said with an annoyed tone.
Smiling, Maribel kissed her one last time before leaving and shutting the door behind her.
Santana sighed deeply and closed her eyes. Just as she was about to fall asleep, her cell phone lit up on her nightstand, playing a tropical song. Craning her head, she reached for the phone.
QUINN: Britt's crying hysterically in my room. I have no idea what to do; she's too out of it to even listen to me.
Santana squinted at the words. What was Brittany doing at Quinn's? Sitting up, she threw the covers from her body and turned her night table light on. She quickly searched for a matching pair of sweats and sweatshirt and typed back to Quinn as she put them on.
SANTANA: I'm coming now. Do her parents know she's there?
While tying her sneakers, she glanced in the mirror. She grabbed a brush and pulled her hair into a neat ponytail. She quietly left her room and snuck past her parents, closing the front door softly behind her. As she made her way down the driveway, Mr. Pierce appeared from his front porch.
"Whoa Mr. P you scared me," she jumped and held her hand over her heart.
Mr. Pierce smiled apologetically. "Sorry San. Can you tell Britt to come home now? We've given her the space she needs and now she needs to talk with us," he said while trying not to show his frustration.
Santana looked at him confused. Sighing, she didn't need Quinn to answer anymore. "She's at Quinn's house. I was just heading over there. But uh, don't mention that to my parents if you see them," she said hoping he was too distracted with Brittany to worry about telling on her like he usually did.
Will grabbed his hair. "She walked to Quinn's? She's there right? You talked to her?" he asked disbelievingly. He hated when Brittany wandered off because that was what she usually did, wandered. She never made to where she said she was going.
Santana nodded. "Quinn just texted me," she said.
Will sighed. "I'm going over there," he informed, turning to get his things.
"Wait no Mr. P. Quinn said she's pretty upset. Let me and Q talk to her. We'll make sure she gets to school in the morning," Santana encouraged. She didn't know why Mr. Pierce was adamant about talking to Brittany, but she hoped he didn't find out about the gossip going around school.
Will paused, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. He knew Brittany wouldn't be in a state to sit down and talk with him and Holly. She didn't work like that. She needed time and he knew Santana would take care of her. Nodding, he placed a hand on Santana's shoulder.
"Tell her we love her and that everything is gonna be okay," he said softly.
Santana nodded, but feared asking what he was talking about. Did Brittany tell them she was raped? "I'll tell her," she said and gave one final comforting smile before walking away.
Quinn was waiting for Santana on her porch. Luckily her parents were on some Christian getaway cruise so she had the house to herself.
"Brittany is freaking out San. I've never seen her like this," Quinn started as soon as Santana reached the steps.
Santana's eyes widened. "Where is she?" she asked alarmed. How long did Quinn leave her by herself?
"She locked herself in my bathroom. I've been trying to get her out for like an hour. That's why I texted you. She came over all pissed off and when I asked her what was wrong she just flipped. She started throwing things around in my room and then she just changed emotions like a switch. She started balling and when I went to hug her, she pushed me away and ran in my bathroom," Quinn explained worriedly.
Santana winced. Brittany hadn't acted like this the time she was hospitalized. Sighing, Santana began to pace the porch with worry.
"She's not gonna calm down by force," Santana started. "We're just gonna have to wait till she's run herself down," she continued, stopping mid step to see Quinn's reaction.
Quinn shook her head. "She's locked in the bathroom San. Who knows what she'll do in there if we don't intervene," she said, shaking her head of thoughts of Brittany doing something stupid.
Santana nodded and started for the front door. "Wait here. I might need you to call her parents," she added before going inside.
The house was quiet, almost too quiet for Santana's taste. She quickly jogged up Quinn's long spiral staircase and headed towards the bathroom in Quinn's bedroom.
"Shit," she whispered as she walked into Quinn's room. She wasn't exaggerating when she said Brittany threw things all over her room. She placed her hand on the closed bathroom door, hoping by some chance Brittany forgot to lock it, but no such luck.
"Britt," she called softly while tapping on the door but received no answer. "Britt, it's me open the door," she said more firmly. When no movement was made she began to get nervous.
Panicking, she began jiggling the doorknob and pushing her weight against the door. "Britt," she called again and banged her hand flat against the wooden door.
Images of an unconscious Brittany flooded her mind, imaging Brittany had worked herself up to the point of passing out. She was about to rip the door from its hinges, standing back a bit to run into it when she heard the click of the lock on the other side.
Letting out a sigh of relief, she twisted the knob and slowly opened the door, not wanting to hit Brittany on the other side. Her face turned a ghostly white when she came face to face with her best friend. Brittany was leaned against the bathtub, arms wrapped tightly around her stomach. Santana winced at her swollen eyelids, knowing she must have been crying pretty hard to produce that much puffiness. Kneeling down in front of her, she gently pushed back Brittany's hanging hair, tucking strands of it behind her ears so she could see her eyes.
"Britt look at me," she whispered while rubbing her pointer finger under Brittany's chin.
Brittany met her eyes momentarily before bringing her hand up to wipe under her nose. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more to fall into a deep sleep forever. She tried keeping her breathing under control but ever so often a whimper would escape and she would have to catch her breath to keep from sobbing again.
Santana pulled Brittany's arms away from their tight hold and pulled her into her chest. "What happened Britt," she whispered.
Brittany stiffened in the hold and started to push Santana away but she was too exhausted to do anything but weakly poke at her. Santana grabbed tighter and kissed the side of Brittany's head before sitting back against the tub herself and pulling Brittany into her lap. Defeated, Brittany rested her head in the crook of Santana's neck, hoping sleep would overcome her.
Santana didn't know how much time passed, but her backside was starting to ache from the dead weight of Brittany snuggled into her. It wasn't long after they moved into the position that she fell asleep. Sighing, she continued to rub her hand along Brittany's arms and hands while the girl slept off her exhaustion.
"San," Quinn whispered while peeking her head into the bathroom before entering. She carefully took a seat next to Santana, trying not to disturb Brittany. "Is she okay?" she asked softly.
Santana shook her head. "She wouldn't talk. She passed out pretty much after she let me in. I think maybe we should call Will and Holly. I don't know what she's gonna be like when she gets up," Santana admitted worriedly.
Quinn nodded and pulled her cell phone from her back pocket. As she dialed her friend's parents, she softly ran her hand over Brittany's cheek. "Mrs. Pierce, it's Quinn. I think you and Mr. Pierce should come over."
TBC