Chapter 1

1.1K 19 3
                                    

Santana's POV

"Britt, I think it's time to go," I yelled the blonde, who was currently drunkenly stripping on Noah Puckerman's kitchen counter. Music was blaring throughout the house, and I could barely hear myself think.

How did I, Santana Lopez, end up here, being the designated driver at one of Puckerman's notoriously illegal house parties. Whatever. The main thing that I'm thinking about right now is getting Brittany home.

I tugged on Brittany's wrist, making her climb off the counter and stumble into my arms. I grabbed her bare stomach in my arms and flipped her around to face me, carefully pulling her dress back up her toned torso. "Alright hot stuff, let's go home," I said, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"Leaving so soon, Lopez?" I heard a husky voice from behind me, followed by large hands grabbing my hips.

"Not now Puck. I have to take Britt home." I turned around and swatted his hands off of my waist.

"So, later?" He winked and grinned. I just rolled my eyes and shoved him off of me, stumbling out of his front door with a very drunk blonde attached to my side.

"Okay... let's see...," I fumbled around in my purse before grabbing my mom's car keys and unlocking her Sedan, hoisting Brittany into the backseat, making sure she's properly buckled up before closing the car door. I climbed into the front seat, looking back in the rear view mirror at the girl slouching in the aisle seat.

"You okay back there?" I said, starting the car and blasting the AC to cool off from the body heat inside Puck's house. I heard a muffled yes, then silence, indicating that she had finally fallen asleep.

*

"Come on, Ms. Pierce," I mumbled, knocking on Brittany's front door with Brittany thrown over my shoulder.

The door opened and out stepped a very tired looking mother, dressed in a gray bathrobe and purple slippers. She gestured me in, and I shuffled into the foyer, starting the climb up the stairs to Brittany's room.

"Wow, she's really out," Ms. Pierce noted, following behind me. I nodded as I stepped onto the landing, making my way down the hallway to the light pink door at the end of the hall.

"I got it from here. You wanna stay over tonight San?" Ms. Pierce asked, grabbing her daughter out of my arms and lowering her onto the striped bed in front of us and pulling off her heels.

I shook my head. "No, not tonight. I gotta get home to my mom." She nodded and gave me a thanking smile.

I left the two-story house and headed to my house in Lima Heights Adjacent, which is a good twenty minutes away from Britt's.

The front door creaked open as I stepped into the musty house, carefully shutting the door behind me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, getting home so late?" I hear a slurred voice coming from the kitchen. A glass slammed down on the counter, making me jump.

"Sorry dad, I just had to help Brittany ins-" my voice was cut off by the sound of his feet stomping on the carpeted floor, grabbing my thin shoulders and slamming me against the front door.

"I told you. Eleven o'clock was the latest. It's. Eleven. Fourty-five." His breath wafted into my nose, making my hands tremble and my eyes go wide.

"You promised mom you'd stop drinking." I said with confidence. He normally doesn't hit me, so I'm usually able to knock some sense into him. But his grip on my shoulders tightened, making my stomach flip. Next thing I knew, his fist connected with my face, making me fall to the ground.

"No more back-talking. Daughters respect their fathers." His tanned face dripped with sweat, and I could smell the alcohol from it from my place on the floor. His foot connected with my stomach, and the next thing I saw was black.

*

-the next morning-

I jolted up in my bed, sweat dripping down my face, making me shudder. My alarm clock had just gone off. Cheerios practice.

I knew better than to go out to parties when we had school or practice the next morning, but when Coach Sylvester found out that a Cheerio posted the party on Snapchat, she scheduled a practice at 6:30 the following Saturday morning, which made me drag Brittany out of that place once I saw the text.

My stomach and jaw ached, but I had to push through. I stumbled into the bathroom and looked into the mirror, glancing at the bruised Latina standing in front of me. I gently washed my face, never tearing my eyes away from the dark purple bruise dotted along my left jaw. I patted on some waterproof concealer and took some Ibuprofen for my stomach.

I gently pulled on my Cheerios uniform and tied up my white sneakers before pulling my dark hair into a high pony.

"I'm leaving," I said as I grabbed my car keys and passed my mom, who was just getting up for work.

This is what usually happens in my house. Something happens the night before, and no one talks about it. I definitely can't let my mom know that dad hit me. That would break her heart, and I just couldn't do it to her.

I pulled out of the gravel driveway and drove over the railroad tracks, heading towards Brittany's house to pick up the blonde.

I always make sure to get there about twenty minutes early, because Brittany always forgets to set her alarm clock. She claims that's Lord Tubbington's job, but she still gets so mad at him when she oversleeps.

I opened the unlocked front door and said a quick hello to Mr. Pierce and Ashley, Brittany's 8 year old sister, who is heading to an out-of-town soccer tournament. I jogged up the carpeted stairs and carefully opened Britt's door, seeing a sleeping figure on the bed. He legs were sprawled out and all of the pillows were on the floor. The fat cat was sleeping on her bedside table with a science book propped up in front of it. Weird.

I sat on the bed on the space next her. "Britt," I sighed, shaking the blonde to wake her up. I laughed as she turned to look at me, with her make-up from the night before smeared all over her pale face and he hair sticking up all over the place.

"We have cheer practice, come on, I still have to get Quinn," I said, standing up and pulling her wrist.

"Okay Sanny, chill down," she said groggily, heaving herself off her bed. Lord Tubbington scampered off of the table and ran downstairs. She rolled her eyes at him. "He's probably going to gang meeting. Again."

I muffled a laugh as she went into the en-suite bathroom. I pulled out her bright red uniform from her closet and her socks and sneakers, laying them out on her bed. She finally emerged from the bathroom, looking energized as ever. How does she do it, I wonder.

"Let's go Sanny!" She piped, pulling on her uniform after stripping out of her pajamas that her mom put her in last night. The bright red fabric slipped over her toned abs easily as she shimmied into the top. I ripped my eyes away and we linked pinkies, heading down the stairs.

"Bye dad, bye Ash!" She yelled into the house and we left swifly, skipping down the paved driveway to my car. We rushed off to Quinn's house and I prayed that she would be awake.

*

-after practice-

"Hey, do you guys wanna grab breakfast?" Quinn asked, her blonde pony bouncing on her shoulders as we walked across the school parking lot to my car.

"Actually, how about we go to my house? My parents aren't home, so we can make whatever we want!" Brittany said, her pinky finger interlaced with mine. Quinn nodded along with me. "Sounds like a plan!"

believe in me | santana x brittanyWhere stories live. Discover now