Imagining Tigers
Chapter 12:
A.N.: 1. I started at a new job last week and I'm really busy but I don't want to ruin the pace that I set and let it go and update once a month so here's the next chapter. It's shorter than the last few but it's still another chapter. 2. Thanks for your reviews and 200+ follows? Thank you again and enjoy!
Brittany had to come by the firm to sign some papers but I told Marley not to call her and that I would take them to her. I wanted to tell Brittany about Liz. Plus, every chance there was to see the blonde I would take it. Then I texted Brittany and she told me to go over her apartment after work. I went home and changed out of my work clothes before I made my way to Brittany's apartment.
She buzzed me in and I went up the stairs and knocked on the door. When the door opened and I was met with her beautiful blue eyes, I realized how much I had missed her. Brittany smiled at me and I tried to smile back, ignoring my fast heartbeats. Sometimes I didn't recognize myself when I was in her presence. She stepped to the side and gestured for me to get in the apartment. I was expecting to be welcomed by little Alice as well but she was nowhere to be seen. As if Brittany read my mind she spoke up.
"Ali fell asleep half an hour ago." She told me. "But she's gonna wake up again soon."
"Is she any better?" I asked, referring to her heavy breathing she had the last time I saw her.
"Yeah, she's fine. She's been dancing today." She smiled at me relieved while she was getting a sit on a chair at the table in the kitchen. She was probably working, if the table that was covered in sheets and books was any indication. I nodded smiling back. "So, do you always deliver papers that need signing to your clients?" She asked me teasingly and I chuckled.
"Actually no." I said with a small smile while I was getting a sit on a chair beside hers. "I just wanted to see how you were doing." I told her and shrugged.
"We're doing ok." She shrugged too and I nodded. I wasn't expecting her jumping around so I figured Brittany's 'ok' was actually good. Before anything else could be said the door opened. Brittany looked behind me and arched an eyebrow. I turned too and saw Anna coming in. She looked surprised to see me there but quickly formed a smile.
"Hi." She told us and I smiled back.
"What's up?" Brittany asked bluntly and Anna's face fell. But she quickly frowned at her sister. I frowned too and turned to Brittany to see an expressionless face. Did she not notice her sister's sad face? Were they pretending in front of each other?
"Wow. You're extra mean today." Anna told her sister crossing her arms in front of her chest and came to stand opposite us, on the other side of the table.
"I'm not mean." Brittany said and arched an eyebrow.
"Right." Anna mumbled and looked around. I frowned in confusion. "Where's my godchild?" She asked.
"She's sleeping." Brittany shrugged and crossed her long legs. "So, what do you want?" She asked. Anna bit the inside of her cheek, looking like she was thinking about it for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and answering.
"I want to go on a trip." She said and Brittany's eyes widen. She glanced at me and then back at Anna. "I can't afford the air tickets." Anna said pointedly and a relieved expression came over Brittany's face. I frowned. I didn't understand what was the problem.
"No." She simply said.
"Come on, Britt!" Anna frowned. "Please." She said and clasped her hands in front of her. Brittany sighed.
"Are you going with Jake?" She asked and Anna nodded with a hopeful look. "Then no." She shrugged. I would laugh if Anna's face wasn't so serious.
"Do you seriously want me to beg you?" She asked frowning. "Why do you enjoy torturing me?" She huffed. Brittany rolled her eyes and looked at me before looking back at her sister.
"You got me, Anna. That's what I've always wanted." She said sarcastically and Anna looked like she regretted what she said but didn't say anything about it.
"You're not my mother. You can't tell me what to do. I'm twenty." She frowned and Brittany relaxed back on her sit and put her left arm on the back of my chair. If she was to let it fall, she would be hugging me. My skin burnt with just the thought of that happening. Her tongue was playing with the piercing inside her bottom lip and she was studying her sister.
"Then why are you here?" Brittany asked challengingly. Anna looked like she was trying to be angry with Brittany, but she was actually sad about it. It confused me.
"Cause you're my guardian." She answered. What? Brittany looked at me and bit her bottom lip. I frowned at her but she ignored me and turned back to her sister.
"You said it yourself. You're twenty. You don't have a guardian." Brittany said calmly.
"You know what I mean." Anna retorted back and I started feeling awkward being in front of two sisters fighting. Brittany rolled her eyes again. She looked relaxed and it was weird seeing her not getting angry with her sister. She obviously loved her very much, despite their fights. Anna sighed, once again looking apologetic but not apologizing. "Look, what do I have to do for you to give me the money?" She asked in defeat.
"I don't even know the guy, Anna." Brittany frowned.
"We've been together for three years. You're being overprotective." Anna frowned and now Brittany actually got angry.
"I'm not being overprotective! I'm being protective! There's a difference!" She snapped and Anna winced. Brittany put her hands on her lap and started playing with them. "Just introduce me to Jake and then you can do whatever you want." She shrugged and Anna nodded.
"Thanks." She said quietly and Brittany just nodded at her. Anna looked at me and then at Brittany. She sighed. "Britt, I'm sorry." She said and Brittany frowned.
"This is not the time." She said. I figured she meant because I was there.
"Ok." Anna said and her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Well, I'll talk with Jake and text you." She said then and Brittany nodded. Anna turned to leave. "Give a kiss to Ali from me." She said over her shoulder before closing the door and Brittany sighed.
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Brittany said quietly, not looking at me.
"It's ok." I shrugged. "I don't have any siblings so I guess that's how they communicate." I said teasingly and Brittany chuckled. But then she cleared her throat and turned serious again.
"I know you want to but please don't ask me anything." She told me pleadingly. The whole interaction between her and her sister was so confusing, I had so many questions. But if she didn't want me to then I wouldn't ask anything.
"Hey, you can tell me whatever you want, I'm not gonna push you." I told her softly.
"That's the problem." She mumbled and I frowned.
"What?" I asked and she sighed. She swallowed hard and looked down at her hands that were playing nervously on her lap.
"You just make me want to tell you everything and know that it'd be ok, you know?" She said quietly. "And it's so unfamiliar to me, the fact that it's getting harder and harder to get defensive around you irritates me." She frowned, still not looking at me. I didn't know if I should be happy or sad about this. On one hand she wanted to tell me everything, that meant she trusted me and that she didn't have the need to be defensive with me. On the other hand, she didn't like it that this was happening. But I decided to go with the happy feeling because just by telling me this, she was opening up to me, she was being exposed. I just hoped she knew I wouldn't take advantage of that. I sighed and got what she needed to sign out of my purse and gave the papers to her. She took them from me and started signing.
"Should I be sorry that you feel that way, Britt?" I asked her after a while and she sighed. She didn't turn to look at me, she kept her eyes on the papers in front of her.
"I'm not sorry." She shrugged. "I told you, it's new to me. I just have to get used to it, I guess." She said quietly and started signing again.
"Well if it makes you feel any better." I started and she looked up at me with those blue eyes that I adored so much. I took a deep breath. "You make me feel things I've never felt before too." I said quietly and shrugged looking away from her. I felt her hand covering my clasped hands on top of the table and I tensed at the feeling. The heat radiating from her warm hand caused me to relax again though and I turned to look at her. She was biting her bottom lip and looking at me intently. I wanted to know what she was thinking but after a few seconds she took her hand away from mine and gave me the papers.
"Are they ok?" She asked shakily and I shook my head to get rid of my thoughts. I checked to make sure that she signed everything she had to and nodded at her. She nodded too. "Hey, do you want to wake up that little bug?" She asked and gestured with her head to where I assumed was Alice's bedroom. "It's late, she won't be able to sleep later." She said as she stood up.
"Sure." I said and stood up too. I would never say no to spending time with the little blonde.
"Go ahead." Brittany told me and went to the fridge. My eyes widen.
"Wait! You meant to go alone?" I asked incredulously and Brittany turned to me. It was obvious that she was trying not to laugh.
"She won't bite you, I promise." She said teasingly and I rolled my eyes. "Go ahead, she'll be really happy when she sees you." She tried to reassure me. But I still wasn't convinced.
"What if I scare her, Britt?" I frowned and Brittany smiled softly at me.
"You're so thoughtful, San." She said and I actually blushed at her compliment. I inwardly groaned at my inability to act like a decent human being around the blonde. "But don't worry, you won't scare her. The seven eighths of the words she's mumbling are Tana." She said frowning disapprovingly and I chuckled.
"That was so mathematical of you." I teased her and she rolled her eyes at me. She turned again to open the fridge.
"Go already. First door on your left." She told me and I sighed loudly, causing her to shake her head in amusement. With a last glance on her ass in those tight shorts, I turned to go find Alice's bedroom.
I quietly opened the first door I found on my left. It was dark so I left the door open to light the room. Little Alice was sleeping on her bed. She was on her stomach, the side of her face was one with the mattress. I smiled at the sight in front of me and quietly made my way towards the side of the bed she was facing. There were wooden railings on the sides, preventing the little blonde from falling off the bed. I took the railing off of its place and put it on the floor. I sat facing Alice and ran the back of my finger down her exposed cheek.
"Ali." I whispered at her and she stirred, rolling to her side. She grabbed my hand and hugged it to her chest, effectively causing my heart to melt. "Wake up, Ali girl." I said quietly and she brought my hand up to hide her face.
"Tana." She mumbled in a sleepy voice and I smiled at her adorableness.
"Hey you." I said softly. "Your mom's waiting for you." I told her and she hummed. She dropped my hand and hugged my leg bringing her head to rub her face to the outside of my jeans before rolling on her back and extending her arms, wanting me to take her in my arms, with her eyes still closed. I stood up smiling and hoisted her on my hip. She wrapped her tiny arms around my neck and hid her face to the crook. She was still warm from her sleep so I grabbed a hoodie she had on a chair and draped it over her.
I made my way back to Brittany who was still in the kitchen. She was standing in front of the stove but turned when she heard us. She smiled at us and then glanced at the hoodie that was around the little blonde. She shook her head.
"So thoughtful." She mumbled and I rolled my eyes at her. She said it teasingly but I could tell that it made her happy that I was actually careful with her daughter. And I was happy too that she acknowledged that. Brittany rubbed her hand on her daughter's back and the little blonde tighten her arms around my neck. Brittany clicked her tongue. "Are you trying to steal my daughter from me?" She asked me and my eyes widen.
"What? No!" I exclaimed, only then noticing the way she was trying to hide her smirk.
"Relax, San." She chuckled. I huffed at her and she smiled at me while turning back to the stove. "I know you're not. If you wanted to do that you'd do it already, right? " She asked and shrugged. I frowned.
"Why would I want to do that?" I asked.
"I don't know." She said not looking at me. She was heating up milk, probably for the kid. "I'm just saying, you practically had her in your mercy." She shrugged.
"I don't like it when you put it that way." I told her but she didn't look at me.
"That's just the way it is." She answered while pouring the milk in a plastic cup and adding drinking chocolate. I sighed but she just turned to look at me and smiled weakly. She gestured towards her daughter. "Who wants hot chocolate?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Little Alice immediately looked up and reached for her mother. Brittany put the cup on the table and took her from me, sitting her on the chair. She took the hoodie from around her and put it on her properly before pushing the chair near the table. "Careful." She told her and started gathering her daughter's blonde hair in a ponytail.
"Dance." The little blonde mumbled and took the cup carefully to take a sip. I chuckled at her always having dance in her mind and Brittany smiled.
"No more dance today." Her mother said and little Alice pouted. "But maybe if you ask Santana politely, she might dance with you another day." Brittany told her and finished with her hair. She turned to me and arched her eyebrows.
"Please." The little blonde pouted at me and I bit my bottom lip, effectively causing Brittany's gaze to fall on my lips. I turned to the little blonde again.
"I promised, remember?" I said and Alice squealed 'yes'. I turned to the tall blonde and arched an eyebrow when she made eye contact again, causing her to blush slightly and clear her throat. She took a sit beside her daughter, who was smiling at me. "Hey, I gotta go but I'll see you soon?" I asked. Brittany's face fell for a second before going back to expressionless and little Alice pouted at me.
"No." She whined and I sighed. I went to sit opposite them.
"Maybe if you ask your mom politely, she might let us see each other again soon." I mimic what Brittany said earlier and glanced at her to see her sucking her lips in her mouth. The little blonde took her mother's hand and looked at her pleadingly.
"Ok. We'll see." She said and kissed her daughter's hand. I smiled and stood up. I grabbed the papers Brittany signed and my purse. Little Alice hopped off her chair and came around the table to hug my legs. I crouched down and let her hug me properly before kissing her cheek. I smiled at them and left.
The papers needing signing were just an excuse. The real reason why I went to Brittany's apartment in the first place was Liz. But I had totally forgotten about that.
A.N.: Tell me your thoughts.