Home Is Where the Heart Is (Brittana)

Chapter 2

Brittany's POV

My mom shook me awake from my nap, holding our landline phone.

"It's Santana," she said, handing me the phone.

"Hello." I cleared my throat after speaking, since it was raspy from sleep.

"Hi," Santana replied. "I'm back from visiting my abuela. I really want to see you again."

"You saw me a few hours ago," I joked, unsure what to say.

"I know, but I realized how much I missed you after all these years. Could you meet me at the park by your old dance studio?"

"Okay."

"Okay." She sounded relieved. "See you soon."

When Santana and I were younger, we would spend a lot of time at the park by my dance studio. She would wait for me there while I was in dance class, and we would meet there in the middle of the night to play on the playground while it was unoccupied by young children.

It was within walking distance of my house, but I was tired and didn't want to walk, so I got in the car that was still technically Reid's and drove to the park.

I arrived at the park before Santana. Her family's house was further away, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if she had planned on walking to the park, so I sat down on a swing set to wait.

I stared at my feet in the dirty snow until I heard the creak of the swing beside me, looking up to see Santana there, overly bundled for the weather, even though it was quite cold outside. It was weird to see her like that, since in high school, she'd never even worn a winter jacket, claiming she was strong enough to brave the cold.

"Hello again," she said smiling.

"Hi." I debated a response for a second. "Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"Doing what?"

"You know what."

"I missed you. I'm only home for a few days, and I really wanted to spend some time with you again."

"Why?"

"You know why." She took in a deep, shaky breath. "And also, I'm sorry about high school. I'm not going to share anything else right now, but I am so sorry."

I didn't know what to say to that. "I wasn't perfect either," I almost whispered. "I'm sorry too."

"Okay, now let's have some fun," she said. "Swinging contest?"

"I'm going to win," I teased, pushing off the ground to start swinging.

---

"I found you on Instagram," I told Santana once our swinging contest was over, and we were sitting on the play structure.

"Oh," she said. "I'm not ever on it anymore."

"I noticed."

She didn't say anything in response.

"What's so important about the pictures you kept on your account?" I asked, curious.

"Is this your way of discreetly asking me why there is a picture of me holding a baby on my Instagram account?" There was a smirk in her voice, even though I didn't see her face.

"Not necessarily. I just want to know why you kept those pictures up. And I guess why Santana 'I hate kids' Lopez has a picture with a baby on her profile too," I joked. I'd always known that she hadn't hated kids, even when she would constantly tell me that every time I pointed out how much my little sister adored her.

"The baby is my cousin's," Santana said. "I spent some time with him and his wife during my holidays while I was still planning on going to medical school."

"So, you were going to become a doctor?" I asked.

"That was the plan, but while I was visiting, there was a storm, and they couldn't go to the hospital. So, I helped deliver the baby, and that made me change what I wanted to go to school for."

"That baby must be very important to you then," I said.

"Yeah," Santana replied, "she is. She's already four years old. I don't get to see her very often."

"So, you're studying...?"

"Midwifery," Santana finished my sentence. "I'm in a master's degree program. I finished four years of college first, then I went into this program instead of working on becoming a doctor."

"Do you enjoy school?" I asked.

"Usually. It can be very difficult, but it's what I want to do."

I said, "I'm glad you found something you're so happy to do."

"Yeah, me too."

"So, do you still dance?" Santana asked a moment later.

"Occasionally," I replied. "Just in my free time, though."

"I always thought you'd become a dancer. You're so great at it."

"I'm out of practice now," I said.

"I bet you're still great."

I smiled, bittersweet.

"Do you miss it?" Santana asked.

"Sometimes, but I love what I went to school for as well, even though I have been unemployed for a while; it's what I want to do."

---

I spent that evening with my parents and sister watching some of our old favorite movies, including "Cinderella" and a variety of other Disney movies. I'd forgotten how good it felt to spend time like this with my family that wasn't during the holidays.

During "The Little Mermaid," my phone started vibrating in my pocket, so I stepped out of the room to answer.

"Hey, Brittany."

I regretted not checking who was calling when I heard Reid's voice on the other end of the call.

"I'm guessing you're at your parents' house," he continued. "You took my car; I told you what you needed to do and you just ignored me!"

"I'm not going to," I replied. "You can have your car back, but I'm not listening to anything else you say ever again."

"And what if I don't allow that?"

I paused. "I'll bring your car back in a few days," I said before hanging up the phone and returning to the movie.

---

I thought I'd publish the second chapter, since it was ready and it's quite short. After this, I should be able to publish a new chapter every week of March.

Thanks for reading!