AN: Thanks to the break up episode, my heart is in pieces. So of course, I had to write and this is what came out. Let me know what you guys think.
The sound of rain painfully calms her broken heart as endless streetlights illuminate the road she is currently on. She's grateful that her short breaths are fogging up the window that she leans on. For a split second, it creates the illusion that she isn't on her way to the one place she never thought she'd step foot in. And it's not even like she doesn't want to be there. She just never expected to travel to this part of the country. But desperate times call for desperate measures right? She chances a glance towards the front of the car where the taxi driver is focused on arriving to her destination and even though she tries not to, she can't help but make a comparison of his blue eyes to a certain other pair of blue eyes. They're nothing like the ones she loves. That familiar warm feeling rushes to her face and she squeezes her eyes shut to stop a fresh set of tears from falling. She tries with all her might to calm her overflowing emotions by breathing evenly just like she has been for the past 45 minutes of this taxi ride. Time passes by as if it didn't exist and suddenly the young taxi driver is parked and turned in his seat, staring at her with a mix of confusion and sympathy.
"We're here" he states softly. He looks towards the meter next to him and contemplates his next move. It's 2 in the morning and the hour long drive from the airport has racked up the fee quite high but as he glances back to the broken girl in his backseat, he can't bring himself to charge her for it. When he sees her snap back to attention and pull out her wallet he quickly adds "it's on the house."
"What? No I-I can't let you- here just take it" she fights as she thrusts a few big bills in his direction. He gently pushes her hand away even though he knows he'll be down over $200 for giving her this free pass.
"I'll get your bag" he states a little louder than before. He doesn't give her a chance to argue; instead he exits the taxi after popping the trunk open and grabs her red suitcase. When it's placed next to the car he goes around and opens her door, giving her his hand for support. She grabs it with ease, finally allowing herself to accept this man's kindness. He hands her the suitcase and heads back to the front of the car but her pained voice stops him.
"Why are you- Why?" she asks as she crosses her arms in front of her chest. She looks down at the wet pavement and kicks a small rock waiting for his answer. When she hears the driver's door close, she looks up and finds him already seated in the front seat.
"You look like you could use some hospitality… or whatever" he offers with a shrug. "I don't know your story, but I can tell its hit a bump in the road." When she nods her head, he decides it's time to leave. "Do you need me to stay until you're inside or…?"
Brown eyes flicker up to the top floor of the apartment building that she's standing in front of and her heart beats a little faster when she notices the living room light is on.
"No I'm good. Thanks for ya know… just uh-thanks."
He nods his head in return and slowly pulls out onto the wet street, leaving her alone in the rain that has suddenly picked up. Rain drops roll off her leather jacket with ease and she allows herself a moment to break down. Out in the pouring rain, the tears that have built up since getting on that plane in Ohio finally fall. Her right hand clutches the handle of her suitcase looking for some support while the left covers her mouth as she sobs into the late night. She doesn't know how long she stands in the rain but by the time she makes her way into the elevator and it starts moving, her jeans are soaked and her hair sticks to her face. When the doors slide open a few moments later, she stares down the hallway at the 3A printed on the farthest wooden door. She tries to fix her appearance even though she knows it's no use and then slowly makes her way to the apartment door. The sound of her ankle boots clicking on the hardwood floor bounce off the walls and drowns out the sound of her heavily pounding heart. A long breathe escapes through her nose as she lifts her hand and knocks 3 times on the door. As soon as her hand is back by her side, she hears shuffling on the other side of the door which causes her heart to increase in speed. Her eyes stray to her boots as the tears begin to fall once again. They cloud her vision so when the door opens and a surprised Quinn Fabray stands in front of her, she misses the look of sadness on the blonde's face.
"Oh my gosh, Santana, what in the world?"
Quinn quickly pulls her into her arms ignoring the fact that her favorite long sleeved NYADA t-shirt is being soaked through. Instead she focuses on the fact that it's 2:15 in the morning and her best friend looks broken beyond repair, and oh yeah, she's dripping wet from head to toe and sobbing into her shoulder. Fifteen minutes pass and Santana finally pulls away but doesn't meet the blonde's eyes.
"I'm-I'm sorry Q, but I didn't know… I didn't know who else to go to" she chokes out. A delicate hand under her chin forces her to look at Quinn and even though she's still crying, she's not sobbing so Quinn takes that as improvement.
"Let's go inside San."
"She's all I've ever known…" Santana whispers breaking through the silence that has fallen over her best friend and herself. "I literally don't know what to do next." She twirls the glass in her hand watching the remaining wine twirl around the sides of said glass. A humorless chuckle pushes past her lips as she keeps twirling her drink.
"You would have wine even though you're underage" she says trying to lighten the mood in the room. Quinn just smiles sadly and reaches to grab the half empty wine bottle on the coffee table in front of her. She refills Santana's glass but leaves hers abandoned at the edge of the table.
"You and B..." she states softly "You and B are going to work through this San. I get why you did it… and I promise it was the right decision. It would've hurt ten times more in the long run if you had pushed everything aside and acted like you guys were ok." She looks to the right of the coffee table to where Santana is seated and offers her a comforting smile. She knows she has to choose her words carefully because Santana is on her 3rd glass of wine and alcohol has always made the slightly shorter girl unusually emotional. "You're relationship with Britt has always been the definition of love" Quinn tells her. "At least in my eyes" she adds as an afterthought. "Look Santana, you have to realize that sometimes people meet the right person at the wrong time. And I guess, yeah it does apply to you guys in a way. But in a way it doesn't."Santana frowns into her glass of wine wondering how much she's had to drink. She doesn't feel drunk. Buzzed maybe, but not drunk. Yet she's still confused because really Quinn just completely lost her but then again it did kind of make sense which just seems to confuse her even more. She begins to play with the strings of her warm and most importantly dry sweatpants as she waits for Quinn to elaborate.
"What I'm trying to say is that you met Brittany the first day of kindergarten just like God wanted you to. But falling in love with Brittany? That happened at the wrong time. Sure she helped you accept who you are and who knows if someone else could've done that. But Santana, you're love for her is real. It's mature and it's real. Just because right now isn't the right time doesn't mean that later on in life it won't be the right time. You said it yourself, she'll always be your girlfriend. You were just… forced to take a detour. Doesn't mean the end destination has changed. You just have to go a different way to get there."
Santana silently takes in her best friend's advice and too soon for her liking she's crying once more. Her grip on the glass of wine tightens and she sets it down before she accidently breaks it. Quinn watches as tears roll down her best friends flushed cheeks and she bites her lip while trying to keep her own tears at bay. Never has she seen her best friend this broken up about something and that honestly scares her. As she rises from her armchair she looks across the living room to the clock just above her TV and sighs as she notices that it's almost 4 in the morning. Silently she thanks the big man upstairs that it's Saturday and her and Santana can sleep in until 1 in the afternoon. She throws herself onto the couch next to Santana and pulls her into her side. Santana immediately cuddles into her best friend and lays her head on her shoulder all the while pulling her phone out of her pocket. She doesn't think twice as her fingers glide across the screen of her iPhone as she attempts to send a text. Quinn watches with a sad smile but doesn't stop her best friend. Instead, she waits until she's done and then lays her body across the couch with Santana lying down in front of her finally allowing sleep to wash over them.
670 miles away, an iPhone lights up a dark bedroom stopping the light sniffling coming from the bed. A pale hand opens up the new text message and tears instantly fall as she reads the words on her screen over and over again.
Santana:
Don't give up on us baby B. This isn't the end. I love you forever plus a day.
