My Escape (Quinntana)

Chapter 16

They drove home in silence, broken only by the occasional choked sob from Santana. When they got back to the hospital, they carried the small shoebox back to Santana's hospital room. That shoebox contained so much, pain, so much suffering. They sat down on the bed, and placed the box between them.

"So. Should we... look at them?" Santana said quietly. Quinn placed a hand on hers. 

"Only if you're comfortable with it," she said. Nodding, the Latina opened the lid. One by one, she took out each photo. The images depicted a variety of injuries on different parts of Santana's body. Many of them showed bruises on her stomach and back, and red marks that were probably formed from a belt. There was also the occasional hand shaped bruise on the cheek, or a giant cut formed by a shard of glass.

"I hated that house Quinn," Santana said, so soft it was almost a whisper. "I hated him." Quinn didn't know what to say to that. What was she supposed to say? She had been abused by her father, and was too scared to tell anyone out of fear.

"You never have to go back there," Quinn reassured her. "You'll never have to face him again." She began to put the pictures back in the shoebox. "Let's put these away. That life is over, and we're starting a new one- together." Sniffing and wiping away a tear, Santana nodded.

Stan soon came in to check on them. "I see you got the photos," he remarked. His expression softened. "This was probably hard for you, so I have some good news." That got their attention- they weren't getting a lot of good news recently. "If you are feeling up to it, you can go back to school tomorrow. Your injuries are all healed, although I don't recommend doing any strenuous physical activity- so no cheerleading or dancing." Santana allowed a small smile to creep its way onto her face. Even though she was pretty scared to go back and face everyone, she was excited to do anything that wasn't laying in a hospital bed. 

"Yeah, I'd like that," she said. Stan smiled. 

"Great. I'll take the box of photos and pass it on to the authorities," he offered. Santana gladly gave him the box, happy to get it off of her hands. He left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Quinn turned to Santana. "So. About school- how do you want us to act?" Santana tilted her head, not knowing what she meant. "You know... do you want us to be open about us being a couple or not? I mean you've been through so much, are you going to be ashamed of dating another girl in public?"

Santana didn't have to think before replying. "Duh- we're going to go in there holding hands and hiding from no one." Seeing Quinn's surprised expression, she elaborated. "Q, I'm tired of hiding. And after all, how could I be ashamed of dating the hottest chick in Ohio?" 

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Timeskip to next day

Hand in hand, Quinn and Santana entered the doors of William McKinley Highschool. There were snickers and whispers, and Quinn knew that Santana was more nervous than she was letting on. 

Luckily, no one from Glee saw them as they walked to their lockers- Santana wanted to wait until Glee Club to explain her absence. Their pre-lunch classes were surprisingly uneventful- too uneventful. When lunch came around, two Cheerios walked up to them, one with black hair and one with a frizzy ginger ponytail. "Hey, Coach Sylvester wants to see you. She asked us to get you." 

Santana and Quinn followed the two Cheerios, confused, through the hallways. Looking around and seeing that no one was around, Quinn started getting a bad feeling. "Where the hell is Coach?" Santana snapped. The two Cheerios looked like they were holding in laughter, and they nodded at each other.