Coffee Breaks

Chapter 25: Songs & Uno

"I just don't get it Britt," Quinn said as she pushed the shopping cart through the aisle while I followed closely behind with Bella attached to my hand, "she was so feisty that night at Showtimes when she sang Blow Me to Brooke, but at Bella's party she was just.. super quiet." I let out a deep sigh because, once again, Quinn was bringing this back up. Bella's party was 3 days ago, but I still got an earful everyday about how strange Quinn thought Santana acted when Brooke showed up uninvited. I mean, I didn't know what she wanted me to say. I'm not Santana, I don't know what's going on in her head. It's not Santana's fault Brooke is always lurking; obviously being mean or threatening her isn't working, so what else is there to do? "It's just really str-"

"Strange." I huffed angrily, cutting her off. "I know, you've told me a million times already." She stopped pushing the cart and turned to look at me with puzzled eyes. "What? You have." I said, but this time my voice was quieter and I averted my gaze to the floor, feeling a little bad for raising my voice.

"Mommy, you're making Britty sad." Bella scolded as she squeezed on my hand and gave me a smile. I looked at Bella and moved to ruffle her hair.

"She's not making me sad, Peanut." I said with a smile then looked up at Quinn. "She's making me frustrated." Quinn rolled her eyes with a smirk and spun back around to continue pushing the cart down the frozen breakfast section.

"Bella, go get your waffles." Quinn instructed as she went to grab some frozen canned juice. I was leaning on the door closest to the one Quinn was going to open with my arms folded over my torso when she looked over at me with a softened expression. "Britt, I don't mean to frustrate you. I just want to know that I'm not the only one that sees her behavior when it comes to Brooke." I sighed then nodded as she closed to glass door after retrieving what she was looking for.

"Well Q, not everyone can make a person cower just by glaring at them." I replied sarcastically. "Not everyone has had the many years to practice terrorizing like you've had." She shot me a glare as she threw the can in the cart. "Yeah, just like that." I giggled. "But I'm immune to them by now."

"I'm a little hurt, B." She feigned upset as she clutched her chest. "But if she's not going to stand up for herself, someone has to."

"I get you're just trying to look out for me, Q, but she really deserves more credit than you're giving her." I said as I pushed off the glass door and followed her to the cart just as Bella threw in her box of waffles. Bella walked back over to me, reaching her tiny hands up in the air with a big smile. I grinned down at the girl and picked her up, adjusting her on my hip as Quinn started to push the cart again. I quickened my pace so that I was walking side by side with Quinn. "I mean, how would you feel if someone you trusted and loved constantly let you down and now that you're trying to make a better life for yourself, they just keep trying to come back?" She looked over at me then pursed her lips before turning the cart down another aisle.

"I don't know, B, it just doesn't seem like she's trying hard enough. She didn't even-"

"I don't care!" I huffed angrily causing her to stop the cart and turn to me. "She is trying; it may not look like it to you, but she is." I lowered my voice again so I wouldn't cause a scene, plus I still had Bella on my hip and I didn't want to frighten her. "It may not be drastic changes, she might not punch Brooke in the mouth every time she talks down to her, she might not even fully open up to me yet, but I don't care. I still care deeply for her. I know what she's going through is hard, but I'm not going to get angry if she doesn't fight physically fight back. She has a right to feel a little emotional around her; she used to play a big role in her life and she took advantage of that. She hurt her, Quinn, she hurt her a lot." Quinn was staring at me with this blank expression that I couldn't read. I wasn't sure if she was even listening still, but it felt good to finally voice my thoughts so I just kept going. "Our relationship was built on the ruins of that horrible one; she's got a lot of healing to do and I'm willing to help her with all that because instead of running away from her problems like some people, she's at least attempting to confront them." Quinn looked to the floor in guiltily, and I felt a little bad because I knew how she felt about running away from her and Noah's relationship when Bella was born. I knew it was a sensitive spot for her, but I needed to say something that would get her to understand where Santana was coming from. I looked over at Quinn who had picked her head up but was now biting on her lip. I always felt bad when I'd upset Quinn, I just hated seeing her sad. "I-I'm sorry, Q. That was mean of me to say." I apologized softly and rubbed at her back.