My Escape (Quinntana)

Chapter 14

(TW: Abuse)

Santana was drifting in and out of sleep. She was vaguely aware of the doctors and nurses running tests, but she couldn't make out their faces. The last thing she remembered clearly was her father slamming her against the bedstead. 

Her father. 

She hated her father. She could almost hear her mother scolding her- hate is a strong word, mija. Well, her mother had no clue what her husband would end up doing to their only child. Santana began to fall deeper into her thoughts, and those thoughts turned into nightmares.

She began reliving some of the worst beatings she had ever gotten. She tried to escape into consciousness, but to no avail. 

It was about a month ago. She had come home from school late, which was one of the things that pissed off her father the most. When she got home, the first thing she felt was her head being slammed against the wall. She blacked out, and when she woke up, she realized she couldn't move. Craning her neck to look around, she discovered that her wrists were duct taped to the wall. Her father was looming over her.

"Hello, Santana. Sorry to greet you like this, but I couldn't wait to show you the new game I came up with."  This would not be good. "Here are the rules: You try not to scream. The more you scream, the worse your punishment will be later. I duct taped you to the wall because... well, just for fun I suppose." He let out a sharp laugh. He brought out a belt, and Santana braced herself for the pain.

He lashed the belt across her stomach and legs until she bled, and she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from screeching. When he saw that she was close to breaking, he grew excited. Bringing the belt up behind his shoulder, he swung it down with a loud "snap" sound. The pain was unbearable, and Santana let out a noise that was somewhere between a scream and a sob. After that, she couldn't control herself anymore. After about 10 more minutes of him swinging at her and her screaming, he stopped. 

"Wow, you really are a delicate little creature, aren't you?" he sneered. "Well, let's see if you're ready for what comes next."  Santana couldn't really comprehend what he was saying- she was in too much pain. She felt the duct tape being harshly ripped from her wrists, and she was being yanked up by her father. She was being pulled somewhere... the kitchen. He opened one of the cabinets, and began pulling out glasses. After he had pulled out about 5 or 6, he slammed it shut and turned to her. Taking one of the glasses and raising it above his head, a dark smile spread across his face. "I would prepare if I were you, mija." Before the dazed Santana knew what was happening, she felt a sharp impact on her upper back. He had smashed the glass against her body, and shards were cutting her skin. He took the next glass, and raised it above his head.

Quinn paced the room nervously, her eyes constantly on Santana. The girl was asleep, but it didn't look like she was slumbering peacefully. She was twitching, and it looked like she was hyperventilating. "Er, sir- I mean Stan- is she okay?" He didn't seem to notice her, which was understandable, as he was currently inspecting her stomach where her father had hit her. However, Santana appeared to be getting worse. 

Now, her breathing was getting even more uneven- it was coming out in short bursts, as if she was being pulled in and out of water, being forced to suck in breaths whenever she breached the surface. Her twitching turned into convulsions, her body breaking out into a series of spasms every couple of minutes. Now, the doctors noticed. They turned to Quinn, as if she knew what was happening. 

Suddenly, it occurred to her. "She's probably having flashbacks," she said softly. "You know... of her dad, and what he did." She ran a finger through her hair. "She's kind of trapped inside her head." As if on cue, another spasm rocked through Santana's body. "Please, you have to help her wake up." Stan looked at her with pity in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, we can't. The drugs we would have to use... we simply can't." Quinn opened her mouth to object, but closed it quickly, knowing that he was right. Santana started talking, and everyone grew silent to listen.

"S-Stop... please." She let out a choked sob. "Papi... it hurts..." Her heart breaking, Quinn moved over to the bed and held her girlfriend's hand. Not quite knowing what to do, she gently kissed her forehead. 

"Shh... it's okay San. You're dreaming, I'm here." Santana screamed, but Quinn didn't move away. "You can wake up. It's just me." She wasn't screaming anymore, but she was starting to quiet down. "You can wake up, angel." Quinn decided to use her nickname, and a few of the doctors looked slightly confused. But to everyone's surprise, Santana's eyes flew open. 

"Wha..." the Latina mumbled. Looking around and seeing she was surrounded by people, she instinctively backed up against the edge of the bed. "Please don't hurt me..." she didn't seem to be quite awake yet, seeing as she didn't recognize that she was in a hospital. Quinn moved so that she was looking her in the eyes. "Q?" Quinn smiled and nodded.

"Yep, that's me. You're safe here." To her surprise, Santana practically fell forward and collapsed into the blonde's arms. Quinn gathered herself and returned the gesture, wrapping her arms protectively around Santana. "I love you, angel." Santana looked up.

"I love you too, hermosa."

AN: So, uh, a bit of a different chapter. I wanted to kind of dig into Santana's mental state, and I think it  turned out alright haha. Thank you for the support recently!