My light in my dark world (Brittana)

Chapter 6

It had been 4 days now since Santana confronted Dani with her friends and officially left her. She definitely felt such a huge relief but she was now at the stage where she was trying to cope with the trauma and trying to move on.

"Do you miss her?" asked Quinn. "I miss the Dani I fell in love with, but no I don't miss who she is now. I felt like I didn't know her anymore, but I'm heartbroken it ended like this. She was my entire world at one point" Santana replied, trying not to look at Brittany.

The more time they spent together, the more Brittany's old feelings were resurfacing. She tried pushing them away but she couldn't. She wanted to protect Santana, to hug her, to hold her, to always be with her. Seeing Santana so vulnerable really made Brittany realise how much she wanted to be that person to make her feel safe and make everything better, but she knew it wasn't the right time to act on that. Instead, she was trying to be a good friend.

Santana put down her coffee as she glanced down at her phone after hearing her text tone. It was Dani.

Dani: 'You know what? You did me a favour, cos now I can openly be with the person who's actually been making me happy for a long time without worrying you'll find out. Enjoy your life Santana, it's been a wild ride'

She dropped her phone onto the counter and abruptly left Quinn's house to go for a walk to clear her head, much to Brittany and Quinn's confusion. Quinn picked up Santana's phone and read Dani's text. "She cheated on her" she said in shock. "What?" asked Brittany. "Dani just told her she was cheating on her. That fucking bitch" said Quinn, visibly angry. Brittany sat back trying to process it. She hadn't been in contact with Santana for so long because she thought she was happy and settled, but the realisation of that being the furthest from the truth was a lot to compute.

Her anger was bubbling up inside, knowing that Santana was with someone who so badly mistreated her for that length of time when she could have been safe and happy with her. She felt guilty for not trying to win Santana back before she met Dani, as it would have saved her all this pain and heartbreak.

Quinn ran out the door after Santana, but Brittany stayed inside to give them some space, as she didn't want to push any boundaries after only just coming back into her life.

"Wait up!" shouted Quinn as she levelled Santana's pace and tried to catch her breath. "Please just leave me alone, Q. I need to clear my head and distract myself from my usual coping methods. I don't want to rely on alcohol anymore" said Santana, wiping away her tears. "I'll give you some space, but please just be safe" said Quinn, knowing she would have to try and distance herself slowly. Santana nodded as Quinn made her way back to her house alone and explained to Brittany.

An hour later, Santana came back through the front door all sweaty. "Why are you sweaty?" asked Quinn. "I went for a run. It felt good to get all this angry energy out, it was really freeing" replied Santana, proud of herself for staying strong. "Dani cheated on me, she told me over text. I don't really want to talk about it, I can't yet. It's all too much"

Quinn and Brittany both hugged her and let her know they were there if she needed them. It was getting late so Quinn headed off to bed whilst Santana showered and Brittany watched TV for a bit longer in the lounge. Once Santana was into her pyjamas, she joined Brittany in the lounge which meant they were properly alone for the first time in 5 years.

"Thank you, Brittany. You've been really kind and supportive, which you shouldn't be because of the circumstances" said Santana softly. "What do you mean circumstances? I don't care if it's your friend, fiancé, wife, mother or neighbour. If someone is hurting you or making you unhappy, of course I'll be there to pick up the pieces. That's what friends do" reassured Brittany. Santana smiled at her words.

"How is things back in Lima? I've heard your studio is the best of the best, which is amazing so congratulations. You've done really well for yourself, Brittany. You should be proud" said Santana slightly upset that she herself didn't have a success story but proud of Brittany nonetheless.

"Thank you Santana. Lima is the same as it always was really, pretty boring and quiet, but yeah the studio is going amazingly so that's good. It's nice to have a break though, I hardly ever get one" replied Brittany.

The realisation suddenly hit Santana. "Wait, you've been here for a week now, please tell me you haven't been missing work because of me?"

"It's my own studio, I'm the boss, I make the rules" she said shrugging and smiling. "Missing work to be here for you and help you through this is definitely worth it". They smiled at each other, possibly a little too long. Santana snapped herself out of her trance, trying to ignore she had slight butterflies in her stomach after gazing into Brittany's piercing blue eyes.

"I'm gonna head to bed but again, thank you Britt. I'm glad we've reconnected, even if it's for shitty reasons. I missed having you around" Santana admitted as they shared one last smile before she would head to bed. "Me too", said Brittany unable to wipe her grin off her face, knowing Santana had missed her company as much as she had missed hers.