Imagining Tigers
Chapter 10:
A.N.: Thank you for the reviews and follows and favorites. I didn't want you guys wait for the decision, so here you go. Enjoy!
The next day;
We were sited in the court waiting for the judge to announce the jury's decision. Brittany and I exchanged only greetings and we've been quiet the rest of the time. Her eyes were puffy and she had black circles under her eyes. She looked drained and I just wanted to take her in my arms and comfort her again. But the judge made her appearance and we stood up until she was sited before we sat again.
"The jury listened with the utmost attention to all the witnesses that testified during the examination, and took into account that the respondent practiced the profession of a prostitute for years, which undoubtedly has influenced her character and life." No! Brittany's face fell even more and my heart broke with where this was going. If the custody went to Sam, he most probably wouldn't let Brittany see her daughter.
"Also, the jury took into account that the defense proved that for the last nine years, the respondent stopped practicing the profession of a prostitute." That's good. I felt a feeling of happiness settle into me but I ignored it. We didn't hear the decision yet. This could only mean that the jury gave the right to Brittany to see her daughter whenever, but not the sole custody.
"Due to the above, the jury decides that the custody goes to the mother and the father has the right of communication once every week for an hour, always in the presence of the mother." The judge finished and I felt my shoulders relax and I let out a big sigh of relief.
I glanced next to me and saw that Brittany had her face in her hands shaking it. I put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention and she quickly looked at me. Her eyes were filled with tears, I hoped happy ones, and her shoulders were relaxed, like her face. She sent me a watery smile and pulled me in her arms for a tight hug.
"Oh my god." She whispered into my ear and I chuckled. My senses were invaded by Brittany. Her scent and her half body against mine put me in a daze. She pulled back and wiped her tears away from her face, still smiling. "You know," she started quietly, looking around, "maybe I'm not that against your job anymore." She said chuckling. "I know it's hypocritical of me but honestly, I don't give a fuck right now." She told me shrugging and smiled widely. My heart melted seeing the blonde so happy. I smiled back.
"Well, I'm glad Britt." I told her. "They exposed you. They had to pay." I said in mock seriousness although I was half-joking. I seriously wanted to make some damage to whoever came near Brittany threateningly. She smiled at me and nodded.
"Come on!" She said grabbing my hand and stood up. Her touch stilled me frozen for a few seconds, her hand was so soft I never wanted to let go. "We have to go get Ali!" She said excitedly. My eyes widen.
"W-we?" I stuttered looking up at her. Did she seriously want me with her at this moment? She just found out that she got to keep her daughter, shouldn't she want to be just with her?
"Yes, silly." She giggled. Yes, Brittany fucking giggled. "You're the reason I get to see her now so I want you with me." She said, still smiling.
"Ok." I smiled back and stood up. Brittany dropped my hand, much to my displeasure, so I could grab my things. When we passed by the other table Blaine and Sam were sited at, Blaine turned to me with a glare.
"She shouldn't get the custody and you know it." He told me and I smiled at him, not bothering to correct him. She definitely should. Sam was the one that had no place in Alice's life.
"It's nothing personal Blaine. This is business." I tapped my knuckles on the table in front of him and winked before leaving, ignoring his huffing. Brittany arched an eyebrow at me, also ignoring Sam who was glaring at her, but I just shrugged smiling.
…
We hailed a cab and got in. Brittany gave to the driver her sister's address and turned to me.
"Do you think he's gonna want to see her?" She asked me. I groaned.
"Britt, seriously? You're about to see your baby girl and you're thinking about him? Not cool." I shook my head at her and she smirked at me. "But I don't know. I don't think so, he has the right though, so you never know." I shrugged at her and she nodded. My phone buzzing forced me to look away from her beautiful blue eyes. I grabbed it and opened the new text message.
From Quinn: How did it go?
Quinn wanted me to tell her if Brittany got to keep her daughter or not but I didn't actually talk to the tall blonde about it and I winced, I didn't know how Brittany would react at this.
"What's wrong?" Brittany interrupted my thoughts. I looked up at her.
"Nothing's wrong." I shook my head. "It's just Quinn." I told her and gestured towards my phone. She arched an eyebrow at me and nodded slowly. I sighed. "She wanted to know the decision." I said and Brittany shrugged, looking away from me.
"She knows everything already, you can tell her the best part Santana." She told me quietly.
"Britt, Quinn's totally supporting you." I said and she looked at me with a doubtful look. I sighed. "Look, it's not my story to tell but Quinn has her own nightmares that keep her up at night." I shrugged and the blonde nodded at me. I smiled at her and she smiled weakly back. I turned back down to my phone to reply to the text.
To Quinn: What kind of question is that Q? You know what a fucking awesome lawyer your friend is!
I smiled while pressing send.
"What's so funny?" Brittany asked and I chuckled.
"I'm just really happy for you." I shrugged and she shrugged too smiling. Then I remembered something. "Britt?" I called to get her attention and she looked at me. "What about Hudson?" I asked. She shrugged.
"What about him?"
"We proved your innocence, so basically we proved that he lied." I said pointedly.
"I don't really care, San." She shrugged. "I don't know the guy, I don't need his money and I definitely don't want to see his face again."
"Britt, perjury is a really serious crime. He could go to jail." I told her.
"I just want my daughter right now." She said and I looked at her skeptically. "Please." She added then and looked at me pleadingly. I nodded because Brittany had been exposed enough as it was. It made sense that she didn't want to continue with this.
We spent the rest of the ride in silence. This was the first time that I saw Brittany so happy and I wanted to make the blonde smiling so big all the time. When we arrived the blonde threw some money to the driver and got out first. I followed her. We got in the building and made our way to Brittany's sister's apartment. The blonde knocked on the door and we waited only a few seconds before a younger and shorter version of Brittany opened the door. Her blonde hair was slightly darker and her eyes were brown and she also looked really younger but you could definitely tell that she was Brittany's sister. She was holding Alice in her arms.
"Britt! What happened to you?" Her sister asked looking Brittany up and down. She was wearing a grey tight skirt and a black shirt, piercings gone. Then I remembered that her sister didn't know anything about the trial.
"I had a meeting." Brittany replied vaguely.
"What meeting could you possibly have?" Her sister frowned but Brittany ignored her and took her daughter from her, kissing her cheek.
"You're asking a lot of questions, Anna." She said then. Anna winced and a sad expression took over her face and I frowned in confusion. She quickly formed a smile though but I could tell it was just an image she had to keep up with.
"You must be Santana." She turned to me and I arched an eyebrow. Did Brittany tell her sister about me? But she just smiled at me and extended her hand. "I'm Anna, Britt's sister." She said. I shook her hand and smiled back.
"Nice to meet you." I told her and she nodded smiling.
"Ok." Brittany spoke up then. "We gotta go, I want my piercings back on." She said looking at me pointedly and I rolled my eyes at her.
"Tana!" The little blonde squealed, finally making her presence known. I turned to look at her and she had both her hands extended, wanting me to take her from her mother. I looked at Brittany and she nodded at me with a glint in her eye that I ignored. I took her in my arms and she wrapped her tiny arms around my neck, making me smile. The two blondes smirked at me but I didn't understand why. My confusion only lasted a few seconds though because then Alice spoke up again. "Dance!" She demanded giggling. My eyes widen in horror and I turned to Brittany and Anna who were laughing uncontrollably.
"Not now, sweetie." Brittany said between her breaths. "But I'm sure Santana would love to dance with you when we get home." She smirked at me and I rolled my eyes again. Then my brain processed what the blonde said. I get to go home with them?
…
Apparently Brittany was serious because I went home with them when we left from Anna's. The little blonde stayed in my arms all the way to Brittany's apartment until we got in and I let her down.
"Shoes." Brittany said and little Alice started to run towards her room but when the blonde cleared her throat loudly she stopped immediately without turning to face her mother. Apparently running in the house is not allowed. She waited a few seconds and when Brittany didn't say anything, she started walking as fast as she could, causing me to laugh and Brittany to shake her head. Then the blonde turned to me. "I'll be right back." She told me and I nodded. I watched as the blonde vanished in the same direction as Alice, without looking at her ass in that tight skirt and her perfect legs in those heels, and took the opportunity to look at my surroundings.
I've been before in Brittany's apartment building but not in her apartment. It was warm and homey. The walls were a light grey and the furniture dark grey and black. The coffee table was full of books and papers and all kinds of scientific calculators. There weren't photographs in the living room but it didn't surprise me at all, I didn't have photographs in my living room either. I suddenly felt two hands hugging my leg and I looked down to see Alice staring up at me. I smiled at her but her face remained still. She was leaning her whole body on my leg, her chin on my thigh. I ran a hand through her hair.
"What's up, little Ali?" I asked, confused as to why she was looking at me like that. She blushed and giggled turning her head down and rubbed her face on my thigh before looking up again, returning her face back to serious.
"Sit." She told me and grabbed my hand, guiding me towards the couch and sitting me down. I set my bag down on the floor, by the side of the couch. The little blonde bent slightly and leaned her elbows on my knees, her head in her hands. She was studying my face and I couldn't believe that a three year old was making me feel uncomfortable. Then she narrowed her eyes. "You dance?" She asked me.
"No." I shook my head. She pouted for a second but quickly turned her face to unreadable, reminding me of Brittany but this sight was slightly amusing.
"You mafs?" She asked me then. She was going back and forth on her feet, her elbows still on my knees, making her look even more adorable. I didn't understand what exactly she was asking but I had nothing to do with mathematics so I was positive my answer would be accurate.
"No." I said shaking my head again. She frowned. Just then it occurred to me that she was interrogating me and I snorted a laugh causing her to whine.
"Whas so funny?" She asked. "Tell me." She said and grabbed my hand. I was at a loss of words so I thanked god when Brittany called her name.
"Ali!" She shouted from somewhere in the apartment and Alice widened her eyes. She put her tiny finger in front of her mouth, as if to tell me to be quiet and I arched an eyebrow at her. "I know you hear me!" Brittany shouted again and Alice pouted.
"If I were you I'd go back there right now." I whispered to her and she pouted. She dropped my hand and leaned up to kiss my cheek before pushing herself off my knees and going to find her mother. Did Brittany's daughter just kiss my cheek? I shook my head and let a smile take over my face.
I looked around and grabbed randomly a book from the coffee table in front of me. Advanced Topics in Applied Mathematics: Data Analysis Methods for High-Dimensional Time Series. I winced at the title and then frowned. What the fuck is that? I wondered but I was pretty sure I didn't want to know. Someone laughing caused me to look up and I was met with blue eyes staring back at me with amusement.
Brittany was standing on the other side of the coffee table in all her short shorts and tank top glory. I stared at her body and exposed tattoos for long moments, I just couldn't help myself sometimes. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms in front of her chest. I looked up and saw that she had put her piercings back on. I smiled at her ignoring the blush on my cheeks.
"Do you have like a PhD or something?" I asked jokingly for distraction and showed her the book that I was holding.
"That's from my Bachelor's." She told me and I nodded impressed while putting the book back on the coffee table. "And no, I don't have a PhD. I just finished my Master's last year." She said and I arched my eyebrows in surprise.
"Really?" I asked while she was getting a sit beside me on the couch.
"Yup." She said and put her feet on the couch sitting cross legged.
"Sheer genius." I whispered to myself but she heard me and chuckled. I smiled shyly at her and then I remembered that website. "Hey, Britt?" I called and she smiled at me. I thought I'd never get bored of that smile. "Why would you need a hundred mathematicians on one website?" I wondered and she chuckled.
"They're not all of them mathematicians. It started only for maths and it was only me but now there are different subjects. Like physics and computer science and graphic design and many others." She told me and dug up a laptop from under all those files. I nodded and she scooted closer to me, causing my skin to burn because of the warmth radiating from her body. My heart started beating faster inside my chest and I swallowed nervously. She opened the laptop and turned it on and then turned her head to look at me. "Let me show you." She said quietly and her eyes glanced briefly at my lips. I let my eyes fall to her lips too and I wondered what it'd feel like to kiss someone with a stud under their bottom lip. Brittany cleared her throat and turned to her laptop again, pulling me out of my daze as well.
"Where's the kid?" I asked her while she was busy playing with her laptop.
"She's tidying her toys." She told me, not looking at me and I chuckled. She turned to me and arched an eyebrow. "Why's that funny?" She wondered.
"It's not." I shrugged. "I just didn't think you'd be one of those mothers." I told her and she frowned.
"Well, my mom wasn't one of those mothers when I was a kid. And I don't want my daughter being spoilt like I was." She said. "Until I was fourteen anyway." She whispered looking back at her laptop and I frowned at her. This was the first time Brittany talked about her mother, or any of her parents for that matter. What happened when she was fourteen? It probably was something that made her become a prostitute. I let it go though, I knew she wouldn't want to tell me.
Brittany had been showing me her website for the last ten minutes. I had to say I was really impressed, that was some serious genius thinking from her. There were lots of different subjects that people could choose from and send their projects to be solved and then pay. When Brittany finished the demonstration she looked at me and turned serious.
"Are we friends?" She asked me bluntly and my eyes widen in surprise at her question.
"Friends?" I asked and chuckled humorlessly. I was pretty sure I didn't want to be Brittany's friend. She stared at me for a few seconds. I saw her clenching her jaw and then she took a deep breath.
"You know things about me that not even my sister knows." She said pointedly and I shrugged to hide my sad feelings. It looked like she didn't want me to know those things about her.
"There's the attorney-client privilege, Brittany." I told her trying my voice to come out strong."It means that everything you told me is confidential and that I know them as your counselor, not your friend. " I said and looked away from her. When she didn't say anything for long moments I looked back at her and saw that she was watching me blankly. "So, you don't have to title me as your friend to make sure that I won't tell anything to your sister." I added emotionless. This was confusing. No other client of mine ever asked me to join them after I won their case. But Brittany did. And now she didn't even want to be my friend? I groaned inwardly.
"I thought you knew that I trusted you, San." The blonde said, breaking me out of my thoughts. I turned to look at her and tried my hardest to ignore the happiness that settled into me because she admitted that she trusted me. "And that's not what I meant." She added and I looked at her questioningly. She sighed. "I just asked because I want us to be friends, if you want to too." She said quietly looking away from me. I guessed that we were pretending that we didn't kiss and that it wasn't obvious that I liked her as more than a friend, but she was opening up to me. I was pretty sure that she didn't want to be friends with anyone. At least not after she was fourteen.
"I guess we could be friends." I said quietly shrugging and felt sadness settle into me. She nodded and I could tell by the way she was biting her bottom lip and looking down at her hands that that wasn't what she wanted either. I hoped the blonde would come around eventually. But I knew she liked me back, she kissed me after all, so I decided to not let it go that easily. Then little Alice came into the living room giggling, effectively easing the tension that was in the room.
"Done!" She squealed and I chuckled.
"Is she always that cheerful?" I asked the blonde and a sad expression came on her face. I frowned.
"Yeah." She whispered and put her laptop on the coffee table again and picked up her daughter, putting her on the couch. Alice crawled over her mother and squeezed in the little space between us. I wondered why Brittany became sad all of a sudden. I looked at her questioningly and she smiled sadly at me. "I used to be that cheerful too, you know." She said quietly and I nodded. Probably that was too, until she was fourteen.
"Dance time!" Alice squealed and Brittany chuckled at her. She looked at me and arched an eyebrow causing my eyes to widen.
"I-I don't dance." I stuttered and Brittany smirked at me while the little blonde pouted and whined.
"I don't think you want to be the reason why my daughter starts crying, Lopez." The tall blonde said in a warning tone but her smirk was still in place. I rolled my eyes at her calling me 'Lopez' and glanced at the little blonde and saw her looking at me pouting but something in her eyes told me that she knew what she was doing. After all she asked me if I danced and I said no. That little devil, I thought and shook my head. "Well?" Brittany prompted and I groaned.
"Ok, I guess I'm up for a lesson." I mumbled and little Alice squealed and crawled on my lap. I put my arms around her, afraid she might fall. I didn't have much experience with children and I definitely didn't want anything happening, from all people, to Brittany's daughter.
"I'll show you." The little blonde said excitedly and I nodded sighing. I guessed the day was going to be long but as long as those two blondes were with me, I was pretty sure I'd do whatever they wanted me to do.
A.N.: Tell me your thoughts about this chapter.