Love You With The Lights On (Lesbian teacherxstudent Story)

forty nine

Alaina had fulfilled her promise in making it home before midnight to bring in the new year with me. I had champagne and served her sparkling grape juice, toasted to the good things to come in this new year, and cuddled in bed watching Netflix until we both fell asleep.
I was shaken away by a frantic and emotional Alaina.
"Emily, oh my god! Oh my god! We have to go!" She yelled at me.
"What? What happened? Is it your mom?" I sat up quickly, meeting her tear filled face.
She shook her head and cried harder.
"What's wrong?" I asked, trying to pull her to me.
She resisted and said "We have to go."
"Why?" I got out of bed, letting her lead me out of the room.
"It was Kota." She said between sobs.
My heart sank. I knew in the way she said it that it was bad, very bad.
"What happened to Dakota?" I tried.
"She was in an accident. Emily, I never should've let her stay without me. I should've been there!" She yelled at me.
I quickly wrapped a coat around myself and led her to my car, letting her cry and yell at me.
Eventually, she was quiet, but it was only because she ran out of tears. She was emotionless and still.
I drove us to the hospital and let her out before going to find a parking spot.
I parked and received a call. Victoria.
She's probably calling to tell me the news, but I already knew the news.
"Hello?" I attempted to sound calm.
"Emily, you need to get down to the hospital. There's been an accident involving Dakota. It was bad. I sent out notice to the team, though I know Alaina had received news first. Assuming she's there, we need to get there fast." Victoria sounded just as frantic as Alaina.
"I'm on my way." I said quickly.
"Oh god—" She said before the line went dead.
I waited a few moments to calm myself, then decided I've left Alaina in there alone for too long.
I walked through the doors and saw Alaina sitting in a chair by herself, in an empty waiting room.
"Hey." I whispered, taking the seat next to her.
"How am I losing everyone important to me?" She asked, staring ahead.
"You're not losing everyone." I told her.
"Kota and my mom. Who's next?" She looked at me, hurt across her entire face.
I didn't know what to say, so I laid my hand over hers.
She turned her hand in mine, squeezing it tightly. She looked away again and shut down again.
I enclosed her hand between the both of mine and pulled our hands into my lap.
It wasn't too much longer until more girls showed up. Alaina never dropped my hand, but accepted hugs from the other emotional girls.
Victoria arrived and checked on the girls, before stopping in front of Alaina. This was when she dropped my hand. She threw herself into Victoria. Her loud cries filled the room, causing some of the girls to cry harder, causing my eyes to fill with tears as well.
After a little while of waiting without any word, a woman appeared and Alaina quickly went to her. The two embraced tightly.
Her mom. It had to be Dakota's mom.
The woman led Alaina back through the doors she came from.
I watched her as she disappeared from sight.
How did this happen? How many people were involved? Was she okay? How bad is bad?
Little by little as hours passed, girls were going home. It trickled out until it was just Victoria, Reagan, and I.
Victoria convinced Reagan to go home and get some sleep, then come back later with the rest of the team. Reagan expressed her concern for Alaina, then Victoria assured her that she was taken care of. Reagan finally gave in around the six in the morning mark.
We still hadn't heard from anyone since Alaina was taken back.
The woman who had taken Alaina appeared, alone, and walked up to us.
"Thank you for coming up here and staying around. Um, they have her stable for now, so things are looking better and I um— laid Alaina down and she's sound asleep." She spoke softly.
"Thank you." I nodded at her.
"Can we see her?" Victoria quietly requested.
"She's not awake, just stable." She spoke clearly.
She's holding herself together very well given the circumstances.
"I promise I am taking care of Alaina, so if you two want to get some sleep, I understand." She attempted to smile at us.
"I think I'll just stick around for a while. I know some of the girls were going to come back once they've slept some." I told her.
"Thank you." She showed a sad smile.
My heart broke for her. This was her child on the line.
I stood and hugged her gently.
She held on tightly for a few moments, then took a deep breath and pulled back.
"My daughter just adores you. She always raves about Ms. Parks this and that. Thank you for being so kind and caring to my baby." She squeezed my shoulders.
"Of course. I love that girl." I smiled.
She released me, flashed a quick smile to Victoria, then headed back behind the doors.
I just want to know what state Alaina is in. She was practically a zombie when we got here and not much changed in the events leading up to her going back.
"Before anyone comes back, I wanted to talk to you." Victoria said.
"Okay, what about?" I questioned.
"I know there's something more than a friendship between you and Alaina, but this isn't in any way me about chew you out for it. I just want you to know that I like you and I like how Alaina is when you're around. She's much happier and much more at ease. Don't confirm anything, I don't want to know specifics. Just don't hurt her and we'll continue to be fine." She said quietly, but clearly.
I was shocked. How did she know?
"Thank you for taking such great care of her and don't let me get in the way of that." She smiled softly at me.
I nodded, trying to process what she just said.
"I think I'm going to grab some coffee, do you want anything?" Victoria asked.
"Sure, let me—" I said as I reached to the table to grab my wallet.
"It's on me." She placed a strong hand on my knee.
I nodded and she too disappeared.
My mind began to spin out of control. Did she know just because she's close to both of us? Or do more people know?
I rubbed my hands along my pajama pants to calm myself back down.
She didn't seem mad. She didn't seem upset.
Maybe, this will be fine. Maybe, Victoria actually means well. This isn't done out of hatred in any form. This was her showing her love for Alaina.
I hope Alaina is okay. I hope Dakota recovers, because Lord knows Alaina couldn't handle anything else.