I'd Excuse Murder | Santana Lopez

8

A/N: Who's here?

XXXX

Valerie watched the cigarette between the man across the patio's fingers fizzle to the yellow filter over the rim of her strong coffee mug. She needed a strong drink. Unfortunately, extra espresso shots in her coffee and secondhand smoke were the closest she could get to shots at the bar down the road.

Hearing a soft, short-lived cough, her eyes fell downward to her son. She inhaled slowly enough to remind herself of the faint smokey smell that hung in the back of Puck's car, only to find her mind fading to the off scent of a certain cheerleader's letterman.

"Shit." She muttered.

Valerie jumped up and rattled her head around until Santana's smell disappeared from her mind. She grabbed the stroller and her coffee, yanking it around to protect her son from the mild wind pushing the nicotine strained smoke into his face.

When the door opened, she shoved the stroller inside and used her body to hold it open as much as possible. Valerie groaned when the stroller's front wheel caught on a nearby chair, then the edge of the doorway.

"Jesus fucking ch—"

"Here."

Valerie looked up when she felt the weight of the door leave her hand and the stroller broke free from its locked state. She licked her braces and pressed her lips together, not allowing the boy's noticeable interest in her sparkly new braces catch anyone's attention.

"I had it." She told him, shaking her head and shoving the bulky stroller through the rest of the doorway. "You didn't have to—"

"I was being polite, Valerie." Sam chuckled, holding the door and watching her slip through. He glanced around and hummed when he spotted Brenda and the other Fabray twin giggling over something near the coffee bar, waiting for their orders. "So, your best friend and your sister? That's interesting."

"It's disgusting." Valerie rolled her eyes. She sipped her coffee and popped her jaw. "They're lucky I like them individually, or I'd hate them together."

Sam smiled at the pinched look across Valerie's face. His eyes fell to her coffee cup, his smile following when he noticed the barely noticeable tremble in her hand.

"Do you want to sit down?" He asked, glancing in the stroller where Jax was enjoying the numbing ability of his toy. His long lips stretched into a smile, taking the chance to wave at the little boy. "Hey, you do look like Mike."

"Because he's Asian?"

"Uh—" Sam jumped up to attention, his smile wavering at Valerie's tight face. "Yeah. That's exactly why. Other than that, he's all you."

Valerie rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for boys today. It was supposed to be her chance to hang out with Brenda for the first time in a while, but that obviously wasn't the case. Her best friend was attached to her sister's lip like crust on bread and she was tired of it. Tired of being thrown to the side for them to make out and do God only knows what else.

"Do you like this place?" Sam asked, motioning to her drink. "I've never been here before."

"Well, we don't have Starbucks, so it's the only good coffee here." She muttered, keeping her mouth closed as much as possible so her braces wouldn't show. "It's passable."

"What drink do you think is the most passable for a guy that doesn't drink much coffee..." Sam sheepishly smiled. "But noticed you on the patio when he was picking up his sister's meds across the street?"