Teach Me

New Year's Day

   Y/N woke up, Cate wasn't next to her. "Cate?" She said with worry in her voice, still half asleep. She looked at the clock, 6:05 AM. She rubbed her eyes and got out of bed. Maybe Cate was making breakfast or something.

   "Cate?" She said again, walking into the open concept space with the kitchen in the back, living room on the left of her and dining room on the right, closest to her. She wasn't there, to be seen anywhere...She definitely couldn't have skipped out on her in her own home, right? That'd be crazy... right?!?

   As Y/N sat there, thoughts flooded her brain, uncertainties and insecurities. She couldn't stop thinking about the profile on her PlayStation. Who was Liz??? She was trying very hard not to go insane right now but not having Cate with her, made her feel unsafe and insecure. What was happening to her???

She sat for nearly twenty minutes in absolute silence. Well, not absolute silence, her brain was pretty loud right now. The house though, it was silent. It made her deeply uncomfortable.

Until she heard a voice, Cates voice. It was coming from near the window in the living room. She leaned on the wall by the window, trying to hear what she was saying. She couldn't quite make it out, when suddenly... she could.

"Yes, how is my boy doing?" Cate said with amusement in her tone. "Yes, tell him mommy loves him so very much". "Yes, and... I miss other mommy very much also" Cate laughed. Y/N felt chilled to the bone, her heart dropped like an anvil in a cartoon.

She was cheating, and as far as it seemed... she was cheating on her wife with her. This made her stomach sick. All that talk about taking their time and questioning if she was really in it or invested. Why?? She could have just slept with her and that be it. She had every opportunity. Why get her heart involved?

Was this what she did? A sick game? How could she? Y/N wondered what was real. She paced back and forth, trying to decide what to do. She didn't know whether she should leave or she should confront Cate and tell her to fuck off.

What would you do? She loved Cate, and it seemed like Cate loved her too but how?? How do you love someone and do this?? Also, it had honestly not been long since they started dating. Not at all. Weeks even! Oh, how could she have been so foolish with her heart???

Weeks!!! That's all the time you had!!! You fell in love in weeks!! She sat down and started crying. Cate couldn't see her like this. She had to get out of there. So, she did. She called an Uber and she left.

She immediately typed in her address to her dorm, just out of habit. She was going back to class Monday anyways, so it ended up working out. She didn't want to try and explain this to her mom, either. She just got on board with her and showed her respect and acceptance and then this??? This would skew her view forever, she was sure of it!

She needed some time to collect her own thoughts and form an opinion herself. One that was hers and hers only. Her phone was blowing up from Cate. Three days, and after ignoring her for all of them, they stopped. Completely.

Cate was out of her life, but certainly not her thoughts. If she was honest, she thought of her every day she wasn't with her. She missed her. She really did love her but Cate hurt her. She lied. How could she ever think Cate really loved her anyways?

She thought about the situation. Did she really even know Cate anyways? She knew her... of course but did she KNOW her? That question was left up for debate. She didn't tell a soul about her. Her mom asked, and she gave a vague answer each time. Her mom finally caught on and stopped asking. Two summers had passed.

Y/N found herself looking for a job. A teaching job. There was an opening at the school she used to go to. She considered it and then thought of Cate, again.... All the memories flooded back. The few weeks they spent together, the happiness, the love... then the hurt and the memory that tainted it all.

She contemplated very seriously about applying. Then she looked it over more. An English teacher position. Wait... this was Cates job?? Did she move somewhere or have another job? She stopped questioning and decided that was enough, thinking about her.

So, she applied. Later that evening, she got an email back saying they'd like her to come in. So, she packed up and went home for the weekend.

Everywhere she went, there Cate was. Even though she never ran into Cate, she was still so innately aware of her. Her memory haunted her, and her view of her own home town. She ruined the places she loved most and she couldn't sleep in her old room anymore. Even after all this time, she still couldn't stop thinking of her.

She woke up on her parents couch. The school wanted her in by 7:00 Am. So, she got ready and tried her best. She arrived 10 minutes early and was very proud of herself. She walked up to her old school and a million memories flooded her mind.

They weren't bad per say, and some of them included Cate but... they weren't tainted. She saw Cate as a different person back then, so it actually didn't impact her. She found this refreshing. Maybe she could work here after all.

She would probably have to live in the next town over but maybe... she could start fresh here. It was good to feel a connection to a place she came from. She missed that. Maybe this could work....

She walked in, and went into the office. "Hi, I'm Y/N. I have a meeting with the Principal" she smiled at the secretary. "Yes, I'll buzz back to her!" She said. "Wait... Mr. Plant doesn't work here anymore?" Y/N asked. "No, he retired" she said matter of fact.

"But the person who filled his position is fabulous. She's not a stranger to the school, either. She used to work here and just moved up" she said, smiling.

Y/N felt her stomach drop, again. It couldn't be her. Could it?

"Who is it?" She asked, nervously. "It's Mrs-" she got cut off by the tall blonde herself. "It's me, Y/N" she said in the same familiar, deep tone. Y/N whipped her head around, immediately meeting her eyes. All of the memories, the hurt, the happiness, all of it. It all came back.

"Hello, Y/N"