Work Text:
Jake wakes up to a thumping in his hand, the immense pain consuming him. He sits up and he runs his hands on the wrap on his knuckles, the blood seeped through the night from heavy tossing and turning. He gets up and sees blood on the couch. Shit. He knows Mr. and Mrs. Pierce won’t be mad, but he already feels like a burden being here right now, and this just adds to that feeling.
He heads to the kitchen and sees Mr. Pierce drinking coffee, he looks up and smiles at him, Jake forces a smile back. He clears his throat before speaking.
“I’m sorry Mr. Pierce, but some blood got on your couch from me. I didn’t mean for it to happen, I’ll pay for it I swe-“
“Jake, you know that isn’t needed. I’ll get it covered, you’ve done nothing wrong, you being okay and your sister being fine too is what matters to me, let me take a look.”
Him saying Jake has done nothing wrong adds a somber feeling in the pit of his stomach. He’s used to having to defend himself against his father and his antics, he's used to everything being his fault. His father used to come and go, with whispers of false promises that he'd actually stay, that he'd actually step up and be a good dad. Sometimes, the visits would last months, and Jake would have hope, but soon, he would vanish, he always did. The bond that slowly formed, would be broken. His dad would have the audacity sometimes to blame him for leaving, to blame him for not communicating with him after he would disappear, but he was a child. How do you expect a 7-year-old to pick up a phone and call his father? He got used to being disappointed and soon started to guard his heart. Trust started to be something he didn't take lightly. Jake just needs to try to start to let people in, to learn that not every guy is out to get him, but it's hard.
He sits down on a chair near the Island as Mr. Pierce sets his coffee down and comes over to him. He slowly unwraps the bandages off Jake's hand, he winces slightly as Mr. Pierce checks it out. It's a splotchy red and purple, with cuts all over his knuckle. He puts some ointment on the cuts before re-wrapping the bandage around his whole hand.
"It seems that it's just pretty badly bruised Jake, you should be good to go in a week or two, keep it easy. Let me get you some Tylenol." Mr. Pierce tells, him, as he goes over to a cabinet and gets a glass of water and some pills.
As he fills the cup with water, Mr. Pierce starts to speak.
"I really appreciated what you did for them Jake, I'm not one for violence, but it's nice to know that someone watching over my kiddos."
Jake is a little taken aback, Mr. Pierce isn't one to speak in that manner, he's a quiet guy, and he often blurs with the background, making small commentary here and there.
"I would do it again, Brittany has been basically my other sister for as long as I can remember. They've protected me and helped me with so much, it would be silly for me not to stick up for them. Jake smiles, a real smile, he really does love them both so much.
"You're a good kid, Jake." Mr. Pierce says as he drops the Tylenol next to him with some water. He starts to walk out of the kitchen before stopping.
"I've got to be on my way to work with Mrs. Pierce, I have to drop her off at an appointment, is there any way you can wake Brittany and Santana up for me in a bit? I know they won't want to get up right now." He shows him a small smile.
"Yeah sure, totally," Jake replies, looking at the clock on the microwave, it's a bit before six am, he didn't even realize it was that early. San and Britt are usually up by now, getting ready for early cheerios practice sometimes, or just doing makeup, he figures he'll let them sleep in a bit more, they're gonna need it for today.
Jake slowly trudges up the stairs, it's almost 6:30, and school starts at 7:50, he can wait any longer to get Santana and Brittany up, or else they're gonna be late.
He knocks softly on Brittany's door, hating that he has to pull them out of where they feel the safest, hating that they cant feel as comfortable in the world as they feel in their room.
It's quiet, silent, most likely meaning they're still asleep. He slowly opens the door, slightly scared to see what he finds (they don't like sleeping with clothes on, Jake learned that the hard way), luckily, they're just under the covers, in deep, deep sleep. Brittany's holding Santana tight and close, like she's scared she's gonna run away. Jake doesn't blame her, because if it was before last summer, he thinks she would have.
He walks over to them slowly, before gently tapping Britt awake, he thinks she'll be better to rouse her out of sleep than he would right now. Blue eyes sleepily greet him with a small smile.
"I know you definitely don't want to be up, or even go to school today, I don't think any of us do, but we gotta get going if we're gonna be on time," Jake whispers, looking at Britt intently, waiting for a response.
"I'll try and get her up," she states softly, "We all know she isn't a morning person."
Jake chuckles, he knows it all too well. After that though, the air in the room gets a bit thick. His mind suddenly shifts to something serious, and Britt reads it off his face instantly.
"Sit, Jake, I know when you've got something on your mind, I've practically known you since you were in diapers." Brittany's eyes twinkle a bit, clouded with memories of times from way back when.
He hesitates, before sitting on the foot of the bed, fidgeting with a loose string on his bandage. "I'm just really worried about her, B, but I'm worried about you, too, you've been Santana's crutch, but this affects you just as much. Today's probably gonna suck. I mean, we live in bumfuck Ohio. I don't think I've ever seen her in that much distress. She's usually the strong one, at least for me, y'know?" He looks up from his bandage after his slight tangent and sees Brittany staring at him, but he can't read her expression. It's silent for a moment before he starts speaking again, even faster than before.
"The ad too Britt, shit. She has to tell the family, Brittany, half of our relatives are devout Catholics. I don't even know how Mami and her dad are gonna take it, let alone our Abuela. I just don't want her to break, Britt, she's been through so much, grown so much and now that's been taken by Finn fucking Hudson. Now him and Mr. Schue are gonna be on my ass. God, I wish I could have beat his fucking dumb scr-"
"Jake," Brittany says quietly, yet, it grabs his attention. He stops talking, as he breathes heavily, trying to calm himself down.
"You're gonna give yourself one of your attacks. We'll all be okay, it's not gonna be easy, or fast, but eventually, it'll get better."
"But what if it doesn't?" He whispers breathily, his tone laced with fear. It's been sitting at the back of his mind, slowly manifesting itself into a bigger concern for him. His anxiety doesn't really get to him that often, but right now, it's truly affecting him, in every way, shape, and form. He doesn't remember feeling this way since his Dad came back to visit him one last time before he disappeared for good.
His dad was truly an ass to him, in every shape and form, physically, and mentally.
So why did it hurt so bad when he left for good, knowing he was so shitty?
A tear slips down his cheek as he breaks down, truly for the first time in years. Sobs ravoc through his body as he heaves, trying to breathe properly. Brittany's eyes widen, before gently unwrapping herself off of Santana, and sitting up near the foot of the bed to hold him. She lets him cry, and as he lets it out, all of the fear, all of the shame, and guilt, its emptied out of him. He doesn't know how long he cries for, but he feels like it's an eternity. He calms down, slowly as his sobs reduce to sniffles. He doesn't even realize he has a second pair of arms, strung around his neck. His head is leaned against something, and it's not until he inhales her scent of cinnamon vanilla that he realizes it's Santana.
He looks up at her and also sees tear-stained cheeks above him, she's been crying too, the silent type of tears when you want to let all of the pain go, but you can't.
"San, why are you crying." Jake quietly asks, his voice still thick with tears that are just starting to pass.
"I don't like seeing the people I love hurt, hermanito." She sniffles and looks at him intently, it's like she can see this isn't just about her being outed, it's a mash of repressed feelings finally breaking through.
She lays a soft kiss on his forehead before pulling away, she walks out of the room, leaving Jake and Brittany on the bed alone.
"You know you can tell me anything, Jacob, right? Like I'm not just here for Santana, I love her a lot, but I love you too." Brittany whispers she doesn't look at him while she speaks, but she holds him tight. "I don't know what I'd do if you got seriously, seriously hurt."
All Jake can do is nod his head, the swell of emotions he's feeling doesn't allow him to speak.
After a skimpy breakfast which consisted of toast and coffee, they all reluctantly head to school.
Brittany drives, with Santana sitting in the passenger seat next to him, he sees their hands, bound together on top of the car console. Brittany expertly maneuvers the rocky Lima roads with ease, her left hand resting atop the steering wheel.
It's pretty silent, the radio is off, and the only sound they hear is the car wheels bouncing around the cracked concrete. It's not too far of a drive, yet it's long enough where you can ponder a bit, and yet that's what it seems everyone's doing right now.
Brittany, seeming sick of the silence, turns on the radio.
Rumor Has It blasts through the speakers, and again, it feels like a cruel joke.
Brittany turns it off.
As soon as they walk into the building, stares follow their every move.
Reluctantly, Jake has to separate from Santana and Britt, he's a freshman after all, his classes and his locker are nowhere close to theirs. Before he goes, however, he gives them a quick hug, and whispers, "If anything happens, call me." They both nod before going to their own lockers.
He's just arrived in his second-period class before anything happens, Ms. Hagberg's class has always been a snoozefest so he started to daydream as soon as he sat down.
"Mr Lopez." He hears, which rouses him out. "Mr. Figgins would like to see you in his office, please."
The stares he gets from his classmates while he leaves is the worst part.
He takes his time walking to the office, he knows what's gonna go down, he'll probably be suspended, Santana will too, and they'll have to plead and beg for them to understand the severity of the situation. They're idiots.
What he doesn't expect to see when he walks in though, are the faces of his mom and Santana's dad staring right at him.
He surveys the room, San and Britt are already sitting down next to each other, he sees the fear laced on their faces. Mr. Schue and Shelby are there too, and he can't really read them. To his left, Finn is sitting next to what looks like his parents and lastly, Mrs. and Mr. Pierce are here too, but the anger on their faces is evident.
All he can mutter out is, "Shit." This causes everyone to look at him, and his mother gives him a scowl before she sees his hand.
"Mijo? Your hand?"
"I'm fine Mami, I promise," Jake says as he takes the open seat next to Santana and Brittany, giving them a small smile. He can't help but notice his mother's face warped in worry.
"So, we are gathered here today to discuss the events that took place yesterday, involving Ms. Lopez, Mr. Lopez, Ms. Pierce, and Mr. Hudson." Mr. Figgins states, "From my understanding, Mr. Schue is saying that Mr. and Ms. Lopez assaulted Mr. Hudson for no reason."
"For no reason?" Brittany questions, everyone turns to look at her. "There's no way you think what happened yesterday was just for no reason."
"Brittany, Santana slapped Finn unprovoked, and after that, Jake punched him in the jaw, he almost broke it." Mr Schue states, Mr. and Mrs. Lopez gasp, as they turn and look straight at Santana and Jake.
"Is this true, mijos?" Mrs. Lopez asks, astonishment on her face. Jake looks at Santana, before she nods back at him, she clears her throat before speaking.
"Mama, Papi, it's not true, it wasn't unprovoked and I sure think it was justified. Finn.." Santana pauses, trying to recollect herself. Jake sees the tear slowly go down her face as she bounces her left leg up and down. She's scared. This is huge for her right now.
He sees the panic grow in Santana as she fidgets more. She tries to reopen her mouth to speak, but no words come out, it's like she's frozen. Their mom walks over to them and kneels in front of Santana, clearly concerned.
"Santanita, you know you can tell me anything, right?" She tells her, Santana sniffles before nodding.
"I know but...it's just, I...Mama, I'm gay, I'm a lesbian." Santana whispers, and it's so quiet that it was barely heard. The room goes silent.
"Your...Your parents didn't know, but-" Finn stammers in disbelief.
"Probably why she didn't want everyone to know, Finn, " Jake says in a harsh tone. His mom makes eye contact with him before enveloping Santana in her arms as she breaks, sobs ripping through her body.
"I was so scared Mama I- I'm sorry."
"Santana, hush, It's okay, I love you and I don't care who you love, mija." Santana cries even harder, making her mother's heart ache, saddened that her daughter was so scared to tell her this, saddened that she created an environment that made her this frightened.
Santana's dad though, walks out of the room, shaking his head, unannounced, and it makes everyone turn their heads. Santana pulls away from her mother and looks sadly towards the door.
"Give him time." She whispers to her, he loves you just as much.
Principal Figgins clears his throat, signaling the fact that they're not alone and have an issue at hand. Mrs. Lopez gives Santana a small smile, and Brittany one as well, before heading over back to her seat at the other side of the office, Jake notices the scowl she gives Figgins.
Mrs. Lopez, would you care to explain your side again?" Mr. Figgins inquires, causing the whole room to look right at her. Santana feels uncomfortable in their gaze, realizing that she was just very vulnerable in their presence.
"Mr. Figgins, if you don't mind, I can explain." Brittany cuts in. Santana gives her a tiny grin. Jake also makes eye contact with Brittany and he nods his head, they can speak without speaking. They just have a bond like that.
"Finn decided it was a great idea to out Santana in a hallway, a pretty crowded one. Which caused the daughter a senator to hear, and now Santana's sexuality is gonna be broadcasted to the whole state, against her will." Gasps fill the room.
"Finn, is that true?" Mr. Schue questions, looking at the boy.
"Well, I- I thought everyone knew..." Finn stammers, realizing he said the wrong words, too late.
"Son, you really did that?" Burt Hummel asks, stunned. He stares at Finn in shock.
"Even if Finn Hudson did out Ms. Lopez, that doesn't condone the slap he received or the punch to his jaw." Mr Figgins declared, "We have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying on Mckinley High grounds.
"Zero tolerance bullying, huh?" Jake questions. "Finn verbally harassed Santana in the hallway yesterday, doesn't that count as bullying? All those slushies people toss in other's faces, is that not bullying?" He gives an encouraging smile Santana's way, she mouths thank you.
Figgins stands up and paces the room, before clearing his throat. "I'm afraid Mr. Lopez has a point, yet that doesn't condone the violent actions you bestowed on to Mr. Hudson, Mr.Lopez I'm giving you a day's suspension, and two weeks' worth of detention when you return. I want all four of you to apologize to each other."
"Wait, I'm not apologizing to him." Santana contests, clearly still uncomfortable.
"I didn't even do anything, so I'm definitely not apologizing, "Brittany adds in.
"No way in hell I'm apologizing," Jake says, scowling in Finn's direction.
"Everyone must apologize to each other, unless you ALL want suspensions." Still, the room remained, silent.
"Finn, you better apologize, right now." Carol Hudson sternly tells him, a look of disappointment evident on her face.
"I- but?" Finn stammers. She gives him a stern look. He sighs, before speaking. "I'm sorry Santana for outing you and Brittany."
Santana scoffs, before muttering, "Sorry, Finocence." Brittany adds a quick, "What she said."
"I'm sorry for hitting you, Finn," Jake states, grumbling.
"Well, I guess our work here is done, Lopez, Pierce, and Hudmel family, thank you for coming today, sorry for the inconvenience."
Everyone starts to leave before Mrs. Lopez stops walking and vocalizes," Mr. Figgins, I think it's best if I take Santana home, with Jake."
"I'm going to take Brittany home as well," Mr. Pierce remarks.
Jake, Santana, and Brittany all give each other a confused look, before picking up their bags and following their parent's out the office doors. Santana's dad also comes around them as they stop in the hallway. Santana and Jake avoid his gaze.
"Santana, Jake, we think it's best, with everything that has happened, that we go home and have a little chat, shall we?" Mrs. Lopez asks, giving them a questioning look. They both just nod, fear and exhaustion evident on their faces.
"Brittany, we just want to give you a bit of rest, it seems like this week is only going to get tougher." Ms. Pierce, looks at Brittany, before looking at Santana and Jake, giving them a reassuring smile, they give a tiny one back.
Brittany goes over a gives a tight hug to Santana, leaving a kiss on top of her forehead, which leaves Santana blushing bashfully. She then goes over to Jake and gives him a hug, a tighter one, he leans more into it, the comfortability making him feel relaxed.
"I'll come over later?" She questions, hope laced in her tone as she pulls away from Jake.
"Yeah." Santana breathily answers, Jake just nods back at her.
They part ways, walking out of the school.
The drive home was eerily quiet, and uncomfortable, and Jake and Santana each traded nervous glances with one another the whole way home. Soon enough, they pulled into the driveway, and all of a sudden, the four of them were sitting awkwardly at the dining table.
Santana's dad cleared his throat, " Santi, I just wanted to let you know that I'm not mad, or angry at you, I love you mi hija. I just hated seeing you look so scared, so uncertain, it hurt me so much to see you that way." He sniffles as his eyes water, a rare occurrence, Santana and Jake's eyes both widen in shock.
"Santana, how long?" Her mother questions, looking into her eyes.
"Well," Santana looks down nervously." Officially, September, but it's been much, much longer Mami."
"How much longer?" Her dad inquires.
The words freshman year slip out, and Santana's parents stare at her in shock, she also sees a glimpse of hurt on their faces.
"Why couldn't you tell us mija, I mean we-"
"Because you're never here," Santana yells. The entire table goes silent. She looks down, avoiding her parent's gaze.
" Mama, Papi, Jake and I love you, so so much, but because of work, you don't know much about us, you guys are barely around." Santana sniffles a bit, choking up on her words, Jake scooches his chair over and wraps his arm around Santana, offering comfort. "Last spring and summer, it was hard, really, really hard, and I needed you guys, and you were never ever there. You always bombarded me with questions about boys, the rare times you were around, and it made me not want to say anything. I don't want to be gay, I don't want the family to hate me, I don't want to be a disappointment." Santana finally breaks, her sniffles transform into sobs, and she leans into Jake, letting the tears go. Jake looks at their parents and sees for the first time, guilt.
"Mami, Mario, " Jake looks up at the two adults sitting in front of him. "You haven't seen all the nights Santana's cried, you didn't notice the weeks where Santana didn't have Brittany, when they were fighting really bad last spring. Santana wasn't only fighting with Brittany, she was fighting with herself. She needed you two, and you guys weren't there. Hell, I needed you guys, you two always coming and going is really hard for me." Jake looks down at Santana, not wanting to see the parent's faces. He unwraps his arms around Santana after it seems like she's composed herself.
"I was finally getting there, you know?" Santana rasps out. "I had this whole idea of how I was gonna tell you guys. But Finn ruined it, and now the whole state's gonna know that I'm Lima's newest lesbo." The room is filled with silence, but when Santana and Jake look up and see the faces of the two people in front of them, they're not expecting to see eyes leaking of fresh tears.
"We never, ever knew how much this affected you guys, and for that, we're both deeply sorry. We're gonna try and be around more, for you guys. With all the work we've been doing, we're missing our babies growing up." They reach their hands across the table to hold Santana's and Jake's. "We're gonna talk with our bosses, we're gonna take a leave of absence, and we're gonna be around for a little bit, we want to be here for you two." The two teens sniffle and nod.
"We're also gonna try and get that ad to not be ran, you're a minor Santana, so is Brittany, and this is a major invasion of you guys' privacy." Mr. Lopez adds, giving both hands a squeeze.
"I know we weren't very big on communication and affection growing up, and we've seen how that's impacted you both, you guys should know that you can come to us, for anything, okay." Mrs. Lopez looks at them both dead in the eyes.
"Yes, Mami, we know." They state in unison.
"Now give us a hug, okay?" Mr. Lopez ushers them in for a hug, despite how unusual it is for them. Despite how awkward it was, it was slightly comforting for the both of them.
"Santana, you can go upstairs, Brittany can come over later, okay?" Santana nods, before scurrying up the stairs, nerves still radiating through her body.
"Jake, we still need to have a little chat about that hand of yours." Mrs. Lopez states sternly.
"I know, I just got so so angry, he had no right to do that? Everyone tries to paint Santana as this monster yet, no one tries to understand why she's the way she is. It's fear, she's constantly scared. I was just sick of everyone treating her like crap." Jake looks up, a somber look adorns his face.
"We know you love your sister, Jake, we could always tell how protective you were of her, ever since you were little. But you can't just go hitting people like that, What if he had been seriously injured? Burt and Carole could have sued us. You're lucky this didn't escalate into something greater." Jake slightly feels guilty as he sees the looks on the faces of the adults in front of him, you can see the disappointment on them from a mile away. He clears his throat before speaking up.
"I'm sorry, Mami, and Mario, but I don't regret what I've done." Jake stands up and pushes his chair back in the table before heading upstairs, leaving them dumbfounded.
He stands in front of Santana's door, contemplating knocking or giving her space. He was about to turn away before the door swung open, and Santana steps out, clad in a cheerios shirt and sweatpants. He sees Pierce on the sleeve of the shirt and smirks.
"I heard you obnoxiously wheezing out here from my bed, come in." she rasps, tears still evident in her voice.
They go over and sit on her bed, it's awkwardly silent for a few moments before Santana blurts something out.
" I'm gonna tell Abuela today, well tonight." She looks down at her nails as she picks at them, waiting for a response. Jake opens his mouth in slight confusion before speaking.
"Santana, are you sure you want to? I mean, I'm not sure she's gonna take it very well."
"I need to. I need to tell her for me, for myself. I want her to hear from me before that ad runs and I can't tell her. I'd think it be much more of a shitstorm if it happened like that. Plus, I don't know when it's running, and if I don't tell I'd almost be constantly on edge, y'know?" She stares at him, vulnerability and fear evident in her eyes. "I just have to." She softly states. Jake stares at her for a couple seconds before going in to hug her, it catches Santana by surprise at first, but she slowly melts into it.
"Stay safe, okay? Don't go alone, take Brittany with you."
"I don't want her to see me if something bad happens, Jake."
"Santana, she's your girlfriend, at least make her wait in the car, you can't shut her out, I know you," Jake tells her firmly, he releases her from his grasp and looks her in the eyes. Santana just nods.
"I'm gonna go to my room to nap, are you gonna be okay?" He asks, glancing at her warily. She gives him a small smile, "Brittany's coming over soon, I'll be alright."
As he walks out of the room, he fake clears his throat as, " nice sleeve" quickly comes out. Santana looks in confusion before looking at her shirt and blushing.
His nap ends up a lot longer than Jake thought it would, and by the time he wakes up, the sun is already down again. He turns to face his alarm clock and sees that it's already past 5pm. He almost jolts awake when he sees that, and gets up and heads downstairs.
He can hear his parent's attempt at hush whispers, but in reality, they're whisper screaming. He can't exactly decipher the words, so he moves slower down the stair to try and get a better listen.
"Mario, honey I'm very, very worried about the both of them, but mostly Santana. The ad is too late to block from running, and my mother didn't take Santana telling her so well. I can't believe she slapped her, mi amor, I can't. Poor girl is going through so much and we didn't even notice-"
Jake gasps as he loses his footing, sliding down the last couple of stairs he hadn't reached yet. Slapped? Abuela slapped Santana? Rage and sadness hit him. He doesn't even notice his mother and Mario staring right at him.
"Jake, is everything alright?" She questions him, staring.
"Abuela hit her?" He asks as he holds his hand, it hurts a bit from his tumble. She hesitates before answering.
"Yes, mijo, she came back with Brittany about 45 minutes ago, it didn't go well."
"Well, mami is she okay?" He asks, looking directly at his mom. It's quiet for a few moments before she responds.
"I don't know." Jake scoffs lightly before turning around and heading upstairs to Santana's room, as he softly knocks on the door, he opens it to find Brittany and Santana sound asleep. He can see the dried tear tracks on their faces, but it calms him to know that Santana's okay and that she's safe, at least for now. She has her person, and he needs to stop worrying about her so much, but he physically can't.
He softly shuts the door before going to his own room. Exhaustion consumes his body, despite him just waking up from a nap. He lays down in his bed before quickly dozing off.
He wakes up thirsty.
He checks his clock, it is just about to be 11pm, but he shuffles out of bed to grab a glass downstairs. He's reluctant to, cause he knows it will be hard to go back to sleep after this, but the itch in his throat wins.
As he reaches the kitchen, he hears the tv on in the distance, it's faint as he fills his glass, but he tries to hear what it's saying.
"If you're so into family values, why did you promote a lesbian student to be your head cheerleader?"
And it almost makes him drop his glass.
He moves more toward the living room, and sees Britt and Tana, sitting on the couch, eyes glued to the tv. Santana's leaning into Britt as they hold each other close and tight, just like this morning.
After the ad is finished Santana turns the tv off, he stands behind them as it's silent in the room. Santana doesn't cry, or scream, she just stares.
"I'm sorry, Tana, for abuela, for this for everything. I'm sorry for you too, Britt, you're getting outed too." He utters softly. They gasp as they turn around and see him, clearly scared. Jake gets a good look at her face and can tell it doesn't look very good. Her eye is swollen, and a bit splotchy, while her cheek has some light bruising on it and a cut. He just looks in shock at her.
"It's not as bad as it looks," Her voice is hollow, and stilted as she speaks. "Her ring just cut my face a bit." Brittany looks at her sadly.
"San...baby, it's okay to not be okay, you know that right? You don't have to be strong for me or Jake, I'm here for you too, honey, you can let go." She tells her, staring straight into her eyes as she tucks Santana's hair behind her ear. She wants her to know she's here.
It only takes a few seconds after that for Santana to crumble.
Jake's never seen Santana cry the way she is right now. She's clutching to Brittany like she's her lifeline. She's crying a type of cry that makes it feel like your throat's closing in on you and you can't get enough air in. He can see her panic grow by the second.
"B...J...I....breathe." She musters out as her breaths get more rapid as the sobs fall faster. Jake looks at Brittany and sees her panic grow on her face.
"I'm gonna go wake up her parents." He mutters before dashing out of the room and up the stairs with haste. He knocks twice before barging into the room.
"Jake? What-"
"Santana can't breathe." He tells them, he can see the concern grow as they rush out of bed to go see her.
As they come downstairs, Santana seems more frantic than before. Mario and Gloria go and rush toward Santana and Brittany as they try and calm her down. Jake just watches, frozen in fear.
"Breathe, mija breathe," They tell her as she tries to take big breaths of air as her breathing slows down. They rub her back while Brittany strokes her hair, after a couple of minutes, her erratic breathing gets back to semi-normal.
"Do you need your inhaler, Santana," Her dad asks, still rubbing her back slowly. Santana had asthma when she was younger, but as she got older, her symptoms decreased. So she doesn't have major problems with it like before. Yet, the Lopezes keep her inhalers around 24/7 still, for emergencies.
Santana nods her head before her mother goes to quickly fetch her it. When she comes back, Santana hastefully grabs it before using it on herself. The room stays quiet for a bit.
"Santana, we don't think it is a good idea that you go to school tomorrow." Mrs. Lopez states. "Brittany you can stay with her too, but we don't feel comfortable with sending you right now. We're worried about you."
All Santana can do is nod, she's too tired to fight with them right now.
"We're gonna go back to sleep will you three be okay alone?" She looks at all of them intently. They all shake their heads yes. "Alright, goodnight." She says as she heads back upstairs.
Brittany holds Santana as she slowly dozes off in her arms, while she looks at Jake, still standing, with a distant look in his eyes.
"Jake are you..."
"Yeah! Yeah, I'm um..I'm fine." He says fast, Brittany looks at him skeptically.
Jake looks at Brittany, then sees Santana sleeping in her arms."Is she gonna be okay," He asks, staring right at Brittany.
"I don't know, Jake. I don't know."