A/N: To my non-American readers: I know most of the world writes dates as day/month/year

Americans are (as you're probably aware) weird and do month/day/year. So 5-17-15 is May 17, 2015.

This chapter seemed a bit … meh. Kind of convoluted, kind of contrived. Hopefully it's not as bad as I think it is.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Chapter 73

xoxoxoxoxoxo

A week and a half later

Brittany's POV

Brittany was packing up Santana's bedroom while Santana was at the practice rooms and Quinn was at the library. Finals were almost done and they only had about a week and a half before June first; moving day. The blonde dancer had finished her exams the previous day; Santana still had two to go and one of those was a performance exam.

Brittany had music playing and was dancing around the room; she couldn't contain herself as she packed up Santana's cold weather clothes along with anything else her beautiful brunette wouldn't need in the coming weeks. She was so excited to be moving in with Santana; to take the next step in their relationship.

She was also excited about their plans for the summer; she and Santana would be going to Buffalo several times. Daniel and Quinn and Reina and Jenah would be joining them on a few of those trips. She couldn't wait to show Santana around Buffalo; having the other two couples join them would add to the fun and excitement.

Brittany couldn't remember the last time she was this happy; the last time she smiled this much or laughed as loudly. She was absolutely giddy. She did a little "happy dance", then got back to the business of packing.

The living room and kitchen were jam packed with boxes; all carefully labeled with names and contents. Brittany's room at the house was all packed up; everything she needed was at Santana's. They had been staying at Santana's because Britt's room was full of boxes and Brittany had packed away all of her bedding and towels. Besides, Puck and Sam were still being annoying and it was just more pleasant to stay at Santana's.

The doorbell rang and Brittany frowned; she wasn't expecting anyone and neither Santana nor Quinn had mentioned anyone stopping by. Most of their friends were busy either studying or sitting for finals. She opened up the Ring app and checked the front door; a young woman, holding a small suitcase, stood there. She was probably Brittany's age with red, shoulder-length hair and she was dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt.

"Can I help you?" She asked through the doorbell's app.

The girl had been facing away from the door and spun around in surprise. "I'm looking for Santana Lopez?"

Brittany frowned. "She's not home. Can I leave her a message?"

"Oh. Um, would it be okay if I came I and waited?"

"I'm not comfortable letting a stranger into Santana's apartment." Who was this chick? Brittany's forehead scrunched.

"Oh, well, I'm Santana's girlfriend from Lima. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Bitch said what? Brittany shook her head and shot Santana a text, keeping the Ring app active.

To My Girl:

5-17-15 2:40pm

Hey … your girlfriend is standing outside on the landing.

Her phone rang a moment later.

"Hey, baby," Brittany smiled into the phone.

"Hey. Did you forget your key?"

"Oh, no, I'm inside. Your other girlfriend, the one from Lima, is outside wanting me to let her in."

"Uh … 'kay?" Santana sounded extremely confused. "Problem. I don't have a girlfriend from Lima. Lemme check the feed."

There was silence for a moment then a very loud, "OH FUCK NO!"

"San?"

"Brittany, I'm on my way home. Do not open the door. Looks like Carmela is trying her luck."

"San … wait. If she's Carmela's bitch, I don't want you coming home alone."

There was another silence, then the line clicked.

"Hello?" Quinn's voice filtered through the phone's speaker.

"Quinn?" Brittany was now confused.

"Quinn … Kayla is outside the apartment door. Meet me at the Fine Arts Building? Brittany doesn't want me to go home alone and I kinda agree."

"Wait." Brittany cut in, "Kayla as in, I'm going to rip her face off for getting you sent to a pray away the gay camp?" Brittany felt her temperature rise. This bitch. This FUCKING bitch. The fucking nerve of her to fucking show up here! She angrily walked toward the front door.

"BRITT!" Santana yelled, somehow knowing what her girlfriend was about to do. "Do NOT open the door. Please, baby."

"But …"

"No. I called Quinn because you didn't want me coming home alone. I don't want you confronting her alone. Please? Stay inside until we get there. I don't want you to get hurt."

Brittany huffed a sigh. "Fine. Doesn't mean I'm not going to have some fun."

"Britt …"

"I promise I will not open the door."

"Okay." Santana sighed her acquiescence. "We'll be there in less than fifteen minutes."

They disconnected the call and Brittany thought for a moment. She watched through the feed as Kayla texted someone on her phone.

"So, you're Santana's girlfriend?" Brittany asked through the doorbell's app. She was going to have her fun.

Kayla jumped and slipped her phone back into her pocket. "Yeah. I mean, we hit a bit of a rough patch but I still love her." Kayla had a smug look on her face; as if she knew she was getting away with something.

"Huh. Weird. I've been hanging out with Santana since September and she's never mentioned you."

"Like I said, we hit a bit of a rough patch."

"Must have been a helluva rough patch; there are no pictures of you in the apartment or on Santana's phone. She hasn't been back to Lima since August and you've never come to visit. Matter of fact, I know Santana's girlfriend and … well … you're not her."

Kayla's face went blank; she obviously hadn't counted on that. Brittany grinned; Carmela apparently didn't know about Santana's actual girlfriend.

"She's … she's cheating on me?" Kayla broke down crying … except, there weren't any actual tears. "It … it doesn't matter," she shook her head. "I love her and I'm going to fight to get her back. I know she still loves me. We were each other's firsts. Lima sucks and we couldn't be out but … she loves me. I know she does."

Brittany giggled to herself. Kayla was obviously caught off guard (and was kind of a bad actress); her being a little off balance would give Santana an advantage when she got there.

"Yeah. Well. Good luck with that."

"Are you her roommate? Can you call her? Tell her I'm here?"

"Kinda weird that her girlfriend doesn't have her phone number. I'm not her roommate … yet. I will be at the end of the month."

"Oh."

Brittany watched the wheels turn in the woman's head. She was trying to figure out who Brittany was. She then pulled out her phone and began to type furiously into it.

Brittany frowned. Something was off; she redialed Santana.

"Hey, baby, we're at the top of Laundry Row."

"San … I don't think she's alone. She's been sending texts while she's been waiting for you. Something just feels off."

"Okay. Hang on, I'll call you right back."

Brittany gnawed on her lower lip and went back to packing, keeping one eye on the app so she'd see when Santana and Quinn showed up.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Santana's POV

"What did Britt want?" Quinn inquired as her friend stopped walking and had her "thinking" face on.

"Britt said she doesn't think Kayla is alone. Which kind of makes sense because … I mean, doesn't this strike you as the STUPIDEST plan ever? Like, what's the play here?" Santana frowned. "I know she's not my girlfriend and you know she's not my girlfriend. What if you'd been home instead of Britt? It's not like I was gonna fall into her arms and beg her to take me back to Lima, right?"

Quinn nodded thoughtfully. "Come on," she grabbed Santana's hand and led her in the opposite direction of the apartment.

"Quinn? What are you doing?"

"Remember when Julio showed up? We were pretty sure he was parked down the street, keeping an eye on the apartment, right?"

Santana nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, so, if Brittany is right and Kayla isn't alone … where's the best place for her accomplice to be?"

"Parked down the street." Of course, Santana thought. "We're looking for Ohio plates with someone sitting inside. What's our plan?"

"First, we need to know who's with her. Then we'll be able to make a plan."

Santana pulled her phone out.

"Who you calling?"

"Mami. See if she knows anything."

"Mija? What's up?"

"Mami, are you home?"

"No, mija, I'm actually in California right now. Why?"

"I think Carmela sent someone to try and grab me and drag me back to Lima. Why are you in California?"

"I'll tell you everything when I see you. Soon. As for the she-devil … I do have some information. She and Julio are broke. The house is mortgaged to the hilt and Carmela owes quite a bit of money to some rather unsavory people."

"What? Abuelo left them millions!"

"It seems that along with living above their means, she has a serious gambling addiction. Mija, be careful, she's desperate. I don't know where she is but … wait." There was a click and the Santana was on hold. Several moments passed by and her mother came back on the phone.

"Mija? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here, ma."

"Okay, I talked to Josefina. Carmela is in Lima; she is watching her telenovelas as we speak. So whoever is there, it's not her. Still, be careful. Desperate people do desperate things, baby girl."

"Okay, thanks, mami. Call me and let me know what's going on with you. Are you safe?"

"I am completely safe, mija, I promise. I will see you before the end of the summer. I expect you are staying in University City?"

"For the majority of the summer, yes. I will be spending some time with Brittany's family in Buffalo, though."

"Good for you, sweetheart. Enjoy your life. We'll talk soon. Take care. I love you."

"I love you, too, mami." Santana disconnected and turned to Quinn with a puzzled frown.

"Well, mom's in California and Carmela is in Lima. So, let's find out who's with Kayla."

The two girls had reached the top of Main street and started walking toward their apartment, trying to appear nonchalant as they kept their eyes on the cars parked along the curb.

They had gotten about halfway between the top of Main and the apartment when Santana saw the plates. She pulled Quinn into the doorway of the small mom-n-pop convenient store and pointed it out.

"You recognize the car?"

Quinn shook her head. "No. I can't tell who's in the passenger seat either. It's definitely a guy, though."

They carefully moved closer, trying not to be obvious. They were about three cars away when Santana stopped, frozen.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Santana breathed out, grabbing Quinn and dragging her back down the street to the convenient store, pulling her inside.

"San?"