The next morning, the house was bathed in the soft glow of the rising sun, casting a warm and golden hue over the sleepy streets. As each family member emerged from their slumber, they exchanged cheerful greetings, except for Santana. Her downcast eyes and withdrawn demeanor spoke volumes about the burden she carried, a result of her mother's persistent favoritism toward her sisters. The hurt ran deep, evident in every gesture and unspoken word.
As Santana quietly entered the dining room, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and sizzling bacon filled the air. Usually the lively center of the family's morning gatherings, she appeared distant and detached, serving herself a slice of toast and eggs before retreating to the far end of the table.
Shelby, concerned by Santana's uncharacteristic behavior, made an effort to engage her in conversation, expressing genuine worry for her well-being. However, Santana remained aloof, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Across the table, Cassie's furrowed brow revealed her evident concern, while Kitty, known for her perceptive nature, couldn't help but notice the palpable tension in the air.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Kitty took a deep breath and inquired about the source of Santana's distress. "I don't want to talk to any one of you right now," Santana snapped, her voice tinged with frustration as she focused on her plate, the clinking of cutlery echoing through the room.
"I understand that you're upset about yesterday, Tiger, but I won't allow you to speak to any one of your sisters like that. She doesn't deserve it," Cassie interjected firmly, her gaze fixed on Santana. "I need you to apologize to her right now."
Quinn and Rachel, who were sitting at the dinning room table, looked up at everyone. They could sense the tension in the room.
"I'm not going to apologize to her because I didn't do anything wrong," Santana snapped at her Mama. Rachel and Quinn exchanged confused glances. They had never seen Santana behave this way before, especially towards Cassie, with whom she was incredibly close.
"You're being very disrespectful, Tiger, and you're on thin ice, so I'll suggest you choose your words wisely before you get grounded at 7:15 this morning," Cassie said, her tone firm but caring.
Shelby, who had been quietly observing, spoke up sternly, "The both of you need to calm down, Tiger. You need to apologize to the both of them because your behavior is out of line," she added.
"Why should I apologize to them when I wasn't in the wrong?" Santana said, angry, staring down at Shelby from her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Change that tone of yours, young lady," Shelby said, then she looked at Rachel, Kitty, and Quinn, and instructed them to leave the room. Once they left the dining room, Shelby gently grabbed Santana by the arm, pulling her out of the chair. "I understand that you're upset with me, Tiger, but you didn't have to take it out on every single person in this house," Shelby said.
Santana confronted them, her voice trembling with emotion. "Why does everyone in this house treat me unfairly? All you care about is Rachel, Quinn, and Kitty. What about me?" She yanked her arm from Shelby's grasp and pointed to her chest, tears welling in her eyes.
Shelby's expression softened as she responded firmly, "We don't treat anyone in this house unfairly. We treat everyone equally. We love everyone in this house." Cassie nodded in agreement, adding, "You are important to us, Santana."
"Santana's emotions ran high as she shouted, "That's a lie and you know it, Mom and Mama. You don't love me at all and you never did. Don't touch me!" Her voice trembled with a mix of anger and hurt. She then exclaimed, "I hate all of you!" before storming out of the dining room and out of the house. Shelby and Cassie called out her name in desperation, pleading for her to come back.
"Come back, tiger!" Shelby yelled at the front door, tears streaming down her face as she frantically tried to reach out to Santana. The raw emotion in her voice echoed through the house.
Quinn and her two sisters, Kitty and Rachel, running to the entrance Door, worried about their sister Tiger. Their mother, Shelby, was trying to keep a composed front, but her concern was palpable. "After all these years of knowing her, I've never seen her act this way towards anyone," Quinn stated firmly.
Shelby's eyes welled up with tears as she tried to explain the situation to her daughters. "She's very angry at your mama and I. I know all of you are confused about what's going on with her. I am too," Shelby confessed, her voice unwavering. "But I can't get into it with all of you right now. We need to go look for her while the three of you are going to school," Shelby said with determination.
"Mom, Tiger needs us right now," Quinn said, visibly worried. "If it was one of you in her position, she would want to help," she added, her tone resolute.
Your mom said no," Cassie said, putting her foot down and rushing everyone out of the door. " Grandma Joanna will be here in a second to take all of you to school," she added, putting her phone in her purse decisively.
Shelby rushed to her car, her mind racing with worry. She started the engine, pulled out of the driveway, and drove in the direction Santana had run off to, hoping to find their troubled daughter.
After Grandma Joanna arrived, she quickly stepped out of the car and approached her daughter with a worried look in her eyes. "Have you found my precious granddaughter?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.
Cassie, replied, "No, Mom. I'm going to help Shelby look for her while you take the rest of your grandchildren to school."
Joanna nodded and said, "I'm going to help search for her after I drop the girls off at school. Keep me posted." She then ushered the three teenage girls into the car and drove off.
Alone on the steps of her front porch, Cassie broke down in tears, overwhelmed with worry for her missing daughter, Santana. She had been frantically calling Santana's phone for the past 45 minutes, but there was no answer. After composing herself, Cassie got into her car and began her search for Santana, driving through the neighborhood and checking all of Santana's usual hangout spots. She stopped at five houses, asking the residents if they had seen Santana, but all of them replied that they hadn't. Cassie apologized for disturbing them and went back to her car to continue her search. As she was about to pull out of the neighborhood, her phone rang. It was Shelby's older brother, Jeff. Cassie answered and said, "Hello, Jeff, what can I do for you?"
Jeff sounded concerned as he asked Cassie if she knew why Shells had been crying on the phone after she told him that Santana run out of the upset in she can't find her anywhere. He also inquired why Cassie explained to Jeff that Santana had run away after an argument, and Jeff questioned her further about the situation. After Cassie provided more details, Jeff suggested meeting at the park to discuss the next steps in finding Santana and ensuring her safety.
As Cassie drove to the park to meet Jeff, she couldn't shake the feeling of unease. She remembered the argument she and Shelby had with Santana the this morning about her attitude towards her sisters. Santana had stormed out of the house, and Cassie hadn't seen her since. Cassie hoped that Jeff would have some new information that could lead them to Santana.
At William McKinley High School, Rachel sat in her classroom, feeling restless and unable to focus on her school work. Her mind was preoccupied with worry for Santana, who had been missing for hours after storming out of an argument they had. Unable to concentrate any longer, Rachel raised her hand and asked her teacher, Miss Holiday, if she could use the restroom. Miss Holiday, granted her permission, and Rachel quickly made her way out of the classroom and headed towards the ladies' restroom.
Once inside, Rachel pulled out her phone and dialed Santana's number, hoping for a response. The phone rang several times, but Santana didn't answer. Fearing the worst, Rachel decided to call their mother, for help. Shelby picked up the phone, and Rachel immediately poured out her concerns, "I tried calling Santana when I made it to school, but she didn't answer the phone. Have you found her yet?" she asked.
"No, I didn't find her. I'm heading towards my sister's house to see if Tiger went there," Shelby said. "Go back to class, Rachel."
"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said, hanging up, feeling even more anxious. She quickly composed herself and returned to class, but her worry for Santana continued to weigh heavily on her mind.
Quinn caught up with Kitty at lunch in the bustling cafeteria at Carmel High, a large public high school known for its diverse student body and vibrant extracurricular activities. She approached Kitty with a determined look on her face, her eyes reflecting a mix of concern and urgency. "Hey, have you heard from Santana at all today?" Quinn asked, her voice tinged with worry as she glanced around the busy cafeteria.
Kitty looked up from her lunch, concern mirrored in her eyes. She was a petite girl with a confident demeanour that belied her underlying worry. "Not since last night," she replied, her voice tinged with concern. "Have you asked Brittany or Puck?" Kitty inquired, her concern deepening as she noticed Quinn's distress.
Quinn shook her head, her mind already racing with worry. "No, I haven't asked them yet," she admitted, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her lunch tray. Fumbling for her phone, she quickly typed out a message to both Puck and Brittany, her fingers tapping urgently on the screen. "Hey, have you heard from Santana today? We're really worried," she texted, her heart pounding in her chest as she hit send.
After sending the messages, Quinn slipped her phone back into her pocket and turned to Kitty. "Do you want to leave school early and go look for her?" she asked, her voice filled with determination as she glanced at the clock, calculating the time they had left before the next class.
"Are you nuts, Quinn? We already got into trouble yesterday because of the fight. We got lucky that we didn't get grounded," Kitty exclaimed, her voice rising with shock at the risky request, her concern for Santana warring with her fear of getting into trouble.
"Kit, our sister needs us more than ever, and our parents aren't telling us what's going on. I'm really worried about Tiger being out there alone because she's upset with our parents," Quinn said, trying to reason with Kitty, her eyes pleading for understanding.
"Have you forgotten that she snapped at all of us, and she still hasn't apologized to me for that remark earlier? She just blew up at moms," Kitty said in her defence to not go look, her voice tinged with frustration. "Besides, it's her fault. When they catch her, her backside is going to be sore," Kitty chuckled, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere with a weak attempt at humour.
"That isn't funny, Kit. I haven't forgotten about it either. Something is bothering her, and I don't know what it is," Quinn said, her brows furrowed in concern as she tried to piece together the events that led up to Santana's disappearance. "Let's go look for her after lunch."
"Fine. If I get into trouble for this I'm blaming it all on you, Kitty," Kitty said firmly, her eyes meeting Quinn in a silent plea for her understanding and support.
"It's fine with me. See you soon," Quinn replied, her voice softening as she nodded in agreement, silently acknowledging the importance of finding Santana as Quinn walked back to her table, her mind already formulating a plan to locate their missing sister.
Shelby quickly pulled up in her sister's driveway and ran to the front door, knocking frantically. When Marissa opened the door, Shelby looked visibly distressed.
"Shells, what's the matter?" Marissa asked her little sister, concern evident in her voice.
"Have you seen Santana or talked to her today?" Shelby asked her older sister, her voice filled with worry.
"I haven't seen her, but I did talk to her for a little bit on the phone before you got here. She was so upset and wouldn't tell me what's wrong with her," Marissa told her, her brow furrowing with concern. "She mentioned something about being upset with you. Come inside."
"We had a big disagreement about her not wanting to apologize to Cass and Kit at the table for her rude behavior. When Kit asked her what is wrong with her, she snapped at her for no good reason. Then Cass and Santana got into it. I intervened, asking her to apologize to them. She refused and said 'I hate you' to both of us and ran out of the house," Shelby quickly explained.
Marissa was taken aback and covered her mouth with her hand in surprise. "You confronted her so harshly after Cass reprimanded her, and you didn't try to defuse the situation. You only made it worse," she said as gently as possible.
"I'm not at fault for this," Shelby responded defensively. "I won't just stand here and let you blame everything on me when I was just disciplining my daughter for her wrongdoing," she stated.
"I'm not accusing you, Shells," Marissa said calmly, placing her hand on Shelby's shoulder. "I'm just concerned about my niece, and we're not helping anyone by pointing fingers. Have you informed Mom?" she asked her sister.
"No, I didn't get the chance because I've been searching for my daughter," Shelby said with a hint of desperation. "I can't tell her that Santana may have run away from home because of me," she added, shaking her head. "No, I can't."
"She needs to be told about her granddaughter, Marissa was adamant."
"I give you my word, I will," Shelby affirmed as she reached into her purse for her phone to call her mother.
Hello, dear, shouldn't you be at work?" Stacey answered the phone promptly.
"I didn't go to work today because something terrible has happened, and I can't discuss it over the phone. I'll come over in a little while," Shelby explained, her voice trembling with emotion.
"What's wrong, dear? I can sense it in your voice. Please don't lie to me," Stacey said with concern.
"I will tell you in person, mom," Shelby said before ending the call putting the phone back in her purse.
Shelby had asked her sister to keep her informed if she saw or heard from Santana again. Once her sister agreed, Shelby left her sister's place to head over to her mom's house with some upsetting news. She attempted to call Santana, but the call went straight to voicemail. Shelby left a heartfelt message, expressing her remorse for yelling at Santana earlier that day and for not keeping her promises, and also conveyed how much she missed Santana, urging her to come home. Deeply moved, Shelby found herself in tears while sitting in the car.