IN THE HEIGHTS

1

She laid in bed beside Usnavi. It was probably around 1am, she'd come over to his to stay for a while. They'd been dating for almost 6 months and he'd welcomed her with open arms when she'd explained last nights situation with her mom.

He was asleep beside her now, she watched his chest rise and fall and his mouth move as he slept. Vanessa turned carefully away from him and tucked her hand under her head, trying to help her get to sleep, but the memory was burned in her head and she couldn't see past it.

Her mom was passed out on the couch, surrounded by glasses and bottles of wine. There was pieces of broken glass her mom had kicked over presumably and Vanessa could see the unpaid bills and unanswered letters on the coffee table. She grabbed the dust pan and brush and headed over to the glass.

Vanessa started sweeping the glass shards, one not coming up from the carpet so she picked it up by hand, carrying it to the bin in the kitchen. Her mom stirred.

"Vanessa?" She shouted, startling her daughter into dropping the glass and catching it, cutting her palm. Vanessa put the glass in the glass bin.

"Yes, mom?" Her mom only grunted in response, obviously only wanting to check it was indeed Vanessa walking around the apartment.

Vanessa rinsed her hand under the tap, wincing. She didn't particularly want to stay with her mother that night, not because she was scared of her or thought she'd hurt her, she just got a little paranoid that she'd wake up alone and her mother would've drank herself silly, leaving Vanessa to tidy the mess.

Normally in these situations she'd go over to Nina's or Daniela's places, but Nina was away and Daniela had already done so much for her, she didn't want to disturb her again.

She picked up her phone and called Usnavi, not knowing who else to call.

"Snavi?" She said quietly when he picked up.

"Nessa? You alright? It's 10 at night.."

"I.. I know. It's my mom again, Snavi."

"What happened? Do you want me to come over?"

She shook her head, then remembered he couldn't see her.

"No, it's okay I just.. can I stay over at yours?" She paused. "I could go to Daniela's if there's a problem with that it's just, I always go to her and she'd probably getting sick of me.."

Usnavi cut her off.

"Nessa, it's fine. You come over, alright. I'll walk over to you and we can meet halfway so you're not alone. I love you, I'll see you soon." He hung up, Vanessa sighed, thankful that he hadn't asked too many questions over the phone.

She slipped her shoes back on and locked the door, walking in the direction of the bodega. When she spotted him, she sped up a little and hugged him tightly. He pulled her close.

"Estoy aquí, te tengo ahora," he said, stroking her hair reassuringly. After a minute, Vanessa pulled away. [Its okay, I've got you now]

"She was drinking again last night, I tried cleaning it up but she woke up and made me jump.." Vanessa lifted her hand. "I cut myself," she chuckled bitterly.

Usnavi lifted her hand and examined it in the dim light. "Come on, lets go back to the bodega, I'll sort you out." He wrapped an arm around her and walked.

It was only a short walk, considering they were already halfway there. When they arrived outside, Usnavi unlocked the door and got a few bandages and some wipes to clean the cut. He lifted Vanessa and sat her on the counter, taking her hand.

She hissed slowly as he ran the rubbing alcohol over the wound. He muttered a quick sorry and finished quickly. When he'd done, he wrapped a short length of bandage around her hand and held her hand, kissing the back of it.

"Done." He said, putting her back down. She smiled and hugged him again.

"Are you tired? Do you want to sleep?" He offered, playing with the ends of her long hair as she nodded. Usnavi led her upstairs. "I can lend you some clothes if you want. You can sleep here, I'll go on the floor if it makes you more comfortable." He said, finding an old shirt that would cover her completely.

"It's okay, I don't mind, you can sleep here too..." she said quietly, taking the shirt from him. He smiled and took some clothes for himself.

"I'll get changed outside, you can change here," he said, leaving the room for a few minutes while they both dressed and then he came back in. She pulled his old shirt down a bit to completely cover her as he chuckled, climbing into the bed beside her and laying down. And that's how she got into this situation...

(A/N-well I'm not sure what that was supposed to be but it's cool cause it's my first one so i don't particularly mind. Also, if anyone knows anything canon about Vanessa's dad then please comment and let me know so I can include him.)