My Escape (Quinntana)

Chapter 01

(TW: Abuse)

Santana awoke to the ringing of her alarm clock. She rolled over and craned her neck to check the time. 7:07 AM.

Shit.

She was seven minutes past her required wake-up time. Haphazardly throwing on a top and skirt, she hurried out of her room. Her heart sank when she saw him standing, waiting, in the kitchen. The fury in his eyes was obvious, and there was a belt in his hand. He was her father.

"I'm sorry papi-" Santana began, but she was cut off when he lunged towards her, pinning her against the wall. He lashed the belt across her face, leaving a nasty red mark. He then shoved her onto the ground and spoke for the first time.

"Why were you late?" He growled. Santana opened her mouth to explain, but he didn't wait for a reply. He kicked her in the side, causing her to cry out in pain. "Shut your ugly, fat, mouth," he demanded. Forcing her onto her stomach, he used his foot to raise her shirt, exposing her bare back. Raising the belt, he lashed her across the back. He did it again, and again, and again. He had done this so many times, he had perfected how to turn a belt into a serious weapon. Red marks were already forming on her back. Once he decided he was bored, he stopped, much to Santana's relief. "Get up and get out," her dad demanded. Not needing to be told twice, she grabbed her bag which she prepared the night before. She hurried out the door, not caring that it was cold outside.

Santana decided that she would just get to school early. She got in her car and once she reached the building, she pulled out a mirror to see if there were any visible injuries. There were multiple bruises on her face, some of them new and some of them old. That's ok, she could put some makeup on to cover them up. Santana opened her bag to get her concealer and foundation, and her heart dropped when she realized that she had forgotten it.

"Dammit!" She exclaimed. Now everyone would know something was up. Santana buried her face in her hands and started to cry.

Santana had been enduring this violence for at least a month. Well, technically, he had done these kinds of things occasionally for about a year. Recently though, it has gotten so much worse. Her father beat her physically and verbally, usually through punching, slapping, kicking, and of course the dreaded belt. He said he did it to discipline and punish her, but Santana had a feeling that he just did it because he enjoyed seeing his daughter in pain. She had managed to endure it mentally for a while, but he was starting to break her.

A knock on her car window brought Santana out of her thoughts. Quickly checking to see who it was, she was surprised to see Quinn. The blonde girl had a look of confusion and concern on her face. Santana started to panic. It would be more suspicious if she just ignored her, so reluctantly she opened the door and left the comfort of her car. Santana tried to avoid Quinn's gaze.

Quinn cut right to the chase. "Um, San? Why were you sitting in your car crying? And why aren't you looking at me?" At this, the Latina lifted her gaze a bit, and Quinn gasped when she saw the bruises on the girl's face. "Jesus, what the hell happened?" Santana winced a bit at the sharpness at her voice, and Quinn spoke again, gentler this time. "Are you ok?"

Santana said the first thing that came to her head. "I, um... ran into a wall. Lots of walls." Shit, that was perhaps the worst lie anyone had ever uttered in the history of mankind. Quinn didn't believe it for a second.

"Santana... if something's happening, you can always talk to me." She smiled. "You may be a bitch sometimes, but you're still my best friend." Santana bit her lip to stop herself from spilling everything. She knew that if she did, her dad would find out and would probably kill her... and even hurt Quinn. She cared too much about the blonde to risk that. So instead, Santana gave a small nod. She was about to ask Quinn if she could borrow some of her concealer, but the girl's pale skin tone was way too different from her own tanned complexion. She didn't say another word, and got her bag from her car and went to enter the school, as it was almost time. Quinn stared after her, her brows knit in thought.

Something was going on with Santana Lopez, and she was going to find out what.