Coach Emily Sonnett lay on her bed, the conversation with Lindsey replaying over and over in her head. It had been almost a week since they had spoken last. Emily felt alone and at unease. Her stomach flipped as she listened to the cruel words she had said. They had both apologized to each other and Lindsey was acting like everything was normal; Emily was receiving daily texts from her girlfriend that she couldn't bring herself to respond to. 

She knew Lindsey was worried about her, but Emily just didn't want to see her. Hell, she didn't want to see anyone. She knew something was wrong. You weren't supposed to feel this way about your girlfriend, right? 

Emily turned over onto her side and sighed heavily, pressing her face farther into the pillow. She heard her phone ding again and it took all of her willpower to ignore it. Finally, hoping it was her mom, Emily unlocked her phone and scrolled to the messages app. Shit, it was Lindsey. Why would she think it was her mom? The woman never texted her. She didn't even own a phone. 

[11:23 - Linds] Hey Em... wondering why u havent spoken all week. Come by if u can, or i can go to your place. I want to know what's up. 

Emily bit her lip and looked away from her phone, her heart beating rapidly. She wanted Lindsey. She wanted her so much that she couldn't stand to be near her. Emily didn't want to hurt Lindsey, and she knew that by seeing her, she could. 

Another message popped up and Emily's heart dropped. 

[11:25 - Linds] I miss you. 

And then another one.

[11:26 - Linds] I love you. 

It was the first time either of them had ever mentioned (or texted) the three words. There was something so powerful about that one text message that Emily knew what she had to do. She picked up her purse and phone and typed a reply quickly. 

[11:29 - Emily] Athletic parking lot. Now. 

She dashed outside her apartment building and unlocked car. It was a chilly day and the vehicle was as good as frozen, but Emily didn't care. It started after a shudder of cold and then roared down the streets of the NYU campus. 

As she pulled into the parking lot, she noticed it was empty. Not one single car was in sight, not even Lindsey's. Emily frowned and stepped out of her car, looking around. That's when she noticed a truck and a slim black car approaching her. Emily instantly recognized both. The truck, of course, belonged to Lindsey. 

The black car on the other hand was owned by the president of NYU. She didn't know why he was there, but Emily could see Lindsey's bemused expression as she watched the car from her rearview mirror. Trying to ignore the President who was now stepping out of his car, Emily rushed towards her girlfriend. 

Lindsey shut her door and collapsed into Emily's arms, kissing her passionately. She hooked a leg onto Emily's hip and pressed harder, digging her fingers into Emily's hips. 

A slightly demanding ah-hem sounded from behind them and the couple broke apart, Emily's reluctant gaze falling upon the President. She felt her heart start to race in her chest, and knew that Lindsey too felt the same. Emily's mouth opened slightly as if to say something to the man, but no words came out. 

She was frozen.

"Ms. Sonnett," the man said coldly. "Please come to my office as soon as possible. There are certain matters... that we need to discuss." 

-

"Fired?" 

Emily shook her head in disgust. "Fired. I can't say I didn't see it coming, though." She sighed and ran a hand through her strawberry blonde ponytail. Lindsey hugged her again. "Em, I'm really sorry. I didn't want this to happen..." Emily could tell how upset the girl was; she had probably never done something so extreme and gotten someone fired.

Emily shrugged. She had chosen to be fired. "It's not your fault. Besides, now we can spend more time together, I mean, isn't that a bonus?" 

Lindsey nodded, not letting go of the older woman. Her blonde hair swarmed in front of Emily and muffled her, letting only little noises of comfort escape her lips. The older woman turned Lindsey's head and kissed her quickly, letting her partner fall back onto her shoulder. 

It was kind of funny to Emily, that she had to be the one comforting Lindsey when it was Emily that was suffering the most. Was she though? The former coach had never really thought about how the whole situation was affecting Lindsey. 

As a student, Lindsey would probably be the victim of name calling, violence and maybe even abuse over the next few weeks. So many people at NYU were beginning to accept all the LGBTQ+ people on campus, but there were even more students that would despise Lindsey for having a relationship with a teacher. 

Emily wasn't incredibly worried though, because she knew how strong Lindsey and her group of friends were. All of them combined could fight off the haters, right?