Brittana- Invisible String

Chapter 59

Hello everyone :)

It has been a MINUTE! Can only apologise for the delay between updates as usual and promise you that they will keep coming until this story is finally finished. Should be around 80 chapters total and I have plans for a sequel. As always, I update as and when I can. Can only thank you all for your patience and love- and hope you stick with me!

Enjoy

TW: Some sensitive content in this one.

Santana stood up quickly, raising her hand to her mouth to prevent herself from potentially vomiting. She could feel the bile creeping up her throat in panic, and she tried to take a few deep breaths and compose herself, knowing she needed to remain calm and listen to Mila.

Brittany had stayed on Mila's level, and she reached out to comfort her, holding out her other hand to Santana in an attempt to steady her.

"Okay sweetheart, okay. This is what we're going to do. You're not going to your dads house anymore. We're going to go home, get comfy on the couch, and just talk. All three of us. Whatever it is, you can tell Mama and I, and I promise we're going to fix this."

The blonde continued her attention on Mila, but squeezed Santana's hand as she said this. She could feel her girlfriend's pain and worry. She worried whether or not she was saying the right thing. Because maybe Mila had endured the unthinkable, and how could she and Santana ever fix that? But that was something she didn't even want to think about. All she knew was she wanted to reassure the little girl, and give her a safe space to be able to talk. From there, she and Santana would do everything in their power to make everything better.

"It's okay baby. You're safe now." She said, before squeezing Mila into a tight hug and kissing her multiple times on the head.

When she pulled away, Mila looked up at Santana who had been silent the whole time, but all Santana could offer her was a reassuring smile. She wasn't even sure it was convincing. She wanted to talk, to be the one saying all the things that Brittany was saying to her, to tell her how much she loved her and promise her that nobody would ever hurt her again. But it was like she felt numb. Like she had failed her daughter, the one person she was always supposed to protect. She didn't know how she was going to handle the truth, because any version of her daughter being made to feel unsafe made her chest burn.

"Come on sweetheart, let's go home." said Brittany, and she picked Mila up, as if to shield her from the cruel world. Even though it all felt too late now. Again, she held her other hand out to Santana, and guided her through the mall. She would have to be strong for all of them.

When they got back to the car, she took the keys from Santana, a silent cue that she would drive. Santana was clearly in no state to. By this point Santana's numbness had transitioned into anger, and Brittany noticed her clenching her fists in the passenger seat. Before she started the car, Brittany reached into her bag and pulled our her iPod and her Beats headphones that she used for dancing, and passed them back to Mila.

"You wanna listen to some Taylor on the ride home, honey?"

"Thanks Aunty Brit!" Mila smiled, which brought a sad smile to Brittany's face. Even through whatever pain Mila had been hiding, she was still so polite, so innocent, so enthusiastic about the smallest of gestures. She was glad that Mila could lose herself in a world of sweet melodies and wistful lyrics for the short car ride home, before the difficult conversation came.

But the main reason she had given the headphones to Mila was so that she could talk to Santana, without her hearing.

"Not too loud, okay?"