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"Oriana!" I heard an outraged shout echo up into my room. I groaned in my sleep, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. It looked like it was late morning; I reached for my phone but touched air instead.
Confused, I padded to my door but jumped when another shout came my way from downstairs. This time it was from Bart. This man has a lot of audacity for someone I just met, I thought as I walked down the stairs.
My mother and her fiancé were standing there, looking unhappy. Actually, Bart looked unhappy and my mother looked like a puppy following his wack decisions.
In Bart's hand was the IPhone XR Billie gifted to me, un-fucking-locked. "Hey!" I protested, trying to take it back but he gripped it harder.
"I was looking in your phone to make sure you're on the right Christian path," He said sounding really stupid. "And I came across this!"
He showed me my photo library filled with Billie and I doing all sorts of stupid and goofy shit, as well as posing for casual pictures, kissing and doing other freaky shit. None of it was bad though, just normal stuff you'd find on a teenager's phone.
"You can't violate my privacy like that!" I said furious that my personal things had been invaded, in my sleep too. What else did he do, go through my clothes? My room?
Bart scoffed. "I can and I have. And it's disgusting."
It felt like a slap to the face. "So what if I'm dating a girl? I love her."
Her went red and my mother placed her hand on his shoulder, only for him to shrug it off.
"I will not have a faggot in my house!"
"Your house? Are you fucking kidding me? You're just her husband of the month," I said in disbelief.
Bart threw my phone at me. I just barely caught it. "Get out. I don't care where you go, whether it's back to your dyke girlfriend or on the streets where you belong, just get out. You're fucking disgusting!" He sneered.
Humiliation and embarrassment engulfed me. "Mom?"
She avoided my eyes.
"Fine." I said my voice tense and angry. I refused to let myself cry over this, I had wasted one too many tears in this house. When I finally got my suitcase down the stairs I didn't bother to look back. If anything I wanted to forget I was ever here.
***
I called the first number in my contacts, which happened to be Aspen. She sneaked out and took an Uber to come pick me up. During the ride she held me tight in silence, but to be honest the only person's arms I wanted to be in was Billie's.
***
"Oh my gosh, Santana? San!" Lola crashed into me squeezing the breath out my lungs before slapping my arm. "How dare you leave without saying goodbye to me, but to Aspen of all people?" She joked.
"I'm sorry," I said chuckling.
Lola rolled her eyes but squeezed my hands anyways. "You're lucky I'm gonna forgive you, San."
I laughed happy to be with my friend again. "Where's Billie's new room? I saw some kids in our old one." When I got to my room I was a bit startled to find two young girls in it with k-pop posters all over the walls and not a colourful sneaker in sight. When I asked them where Billie was they said, "She's been moved somewhere else."
Lola let go of my hands slowly. "I'm so sorry Santana... I thought you knew."
I gave her a confused look. "Knew what?"
She didn't say anything.
"Lola, knew what?" I said uneasily.
"The day you left, Billie's mom finally caught wind of Kayla's death... So Billie took the blame for it. And for Jane-Emily's."
"What the fuck does that mean?" I said frustrated.
Lola bit her lip and looked at me with apologetic eyes.
"She was transferred to a High Security Institution. She's had everything taken off of her, and- San, I'm so sorry, but she's not coming back."
