Author's Note: Ever since I saw the Props episode, I had this idea stuck in mind, so I decided to write it off. I want to thank you and give credit to my beta-read (ilovethesoundofviolins) for helping me with this story, and helping me improve my writing.

So here it is, and I hope you like the story.

Prologue

She knew her life would change after that day, but she never thought it would be for worse. After a crazy summer, that involved several breakups, a lot of hookups with random people, partying and not caring about anything, Santana had finally started paying attention to what was in her future: in a few weeks, she was going to be in college, far away from Lima and from all her high school mistakes, trying to mend her wicked ways, because nothing was stopping her.

Or so she thought.

She was going to get a scholarship in a cheerleading college far away, and she would decide on what to do with her life after. But right now in this moment, the only thing that mattered, the one thing that would define her future, was the tryout.

One glance at the mirror, and she knew she was ready. She put up her confidence that for years had grown stronger, despite all the things that she had gone through. She walked right into that gym, prepared to do by far the most amazing trick she knew, but it was the most dangerous one. She had never really done it because she was saving it for this moment, but she felt ready.

She heard her name being announced by a loud speaker introducing her and the college cheerleader squad, people cheering at them. The routine started; she had fierceness in her eyes. Seconds passed, and she was up on that pyramid; ready to do the double flip that would define her future. She felt the adrenaline rush go through her veins, heard the people's voices get louder. But while she expected to fall in strong arms, she hit the floor with a loud and painful thud.

She opened her eyes, and a bright light had made her shut them again. Once her sight adapted to the bright color, she looked around to see where she currently was.

A bright room with light blue and white walls and that common disinfectant smell screamed 'You are in a hospital'. A hospital, she thought, confused until her own words sank in. She was supposed to be in a gymnasium, not in a hospital.

"A hospital!" she yelled, startled, trying to move herself, only to find a stabbing pain coming from her lower back, and a headache that was just as painful as the pain in her lower back. Her mother, Maribel Lopez, came right back to her side.

"Santana! You're alive!" she exclaimed those words and took Santana's hands into her own, holding onto them as if there were no tomorrow.

"Alive? Of course I am, but why am I here?" Santana asked confused, but as the words left her mouth, memory struck her.

The loud 'thud', the pain, the screams, everything blacked out...

"I failed while doing the flip, didn't I?" she asked her mom, who just nodded in return. Her father was entering the room, holding some papers. She guessed they were hers.

"Good thing you're awake, Santana." he said, letting the papers fall on the table that was next to the couch.

"How long have I been unconscious?" she asked him, giving up on making efforts to try and get up.

"Well, you were awake fifteen minutes after you fell, but the pain was unbearable, so we chose to inject you with a sedative, which kept you sleeping until the next day," he sighed as he took a seat next to his wife.

"The pain is almost killing me, dad. I can't get up, and I can't feel my legs either," Santana indicated, trying to relax back on her hospital bed.

"The pain isn't the worst thing, Santana." her father started, bur was soon cut off by her mother, which just got closer to whisper something on his ear. Her father just shook his head and whispered back something along the lines of 'She deserves to know.' Immediately she knew there was something wrong.

"Just say it; it's not a big deal." Santana spat to her parents, hoping they would be honest with her even if it was just cruel.

"Your fall caused minimal damage to your spine..." he started to say in that voice he used with every patient.

"How bad is the damage?" Santana asked, shutting her eyes.

"I'm sorry to say it, but you're paralyzed from the waist down."

He said the words clear and quick, but still it wasn't helping. The words left Santana speechless; she really didn't know what to say. Immediately, the word 'wheelchair' flooded her mind, but a vague hope came to her heart.

"Please tell me I will be able to walk again, that this is just a temporal injury just like Quinn's accident." She was practically begging to her dad to reassure her that everything would be fine.

"I'm sorry but I'll be blunt to you. This time there is no chance of walking again, not in your case." Her father's face fell, and she could see that this was as painful as it was to hear that information.

Her face didn't show any emotion at all. She just sat there, eyes stuck in the wall. Deep down inside, she started to feel regret.

She thought about the only other person she'd ever known who would be stuck in a wheelchair forever: Artie. Flashbacks started playing in her mind, showing every single time she had insulted him. It just made her feel even worse, because never in her life had she thought she would depend on a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

Author's Note: Next chapter coming soon, and please, I'd love if you give a little bit of feedback. Thanks for reading!