Masks Always Fall

Chapter 28

In Ms. Clarkes point of view

The smell of freshly brewed coffee slowly roused me from sleep. I lay staring at the ceiling as morning's first light filtered in, thinking of chestnut hair and bright eyes that held me captivated long after our time together yesterday.

Emma. She was the first thought on my mind, as she had been each day since our first kiss. I replay it over and over - the feel of her silky chestnut locks slipping between my fingers, the hitch in her breath as she leaned into my touch. How easy it would have been to give in to everything left unsaid.

But I shouldn't be thinking of a student this way. It went against every rule I vowed to uphold. And yet...part of me didn't want these feelings to stop, as much as that terrified me. Emma stirred something protective yet thrillingly alive within my guarded heart.

Sighing, I dragged myself from bed to the brewing coffee, hoping the caffeine might drown out desires I knew could never be acted upon. Our relationship hung by a delicate thread I feared shattering with a single wrong move.

As the coffee percolated, I pulled out my phone and opened our Instagram messages. My eyes flickered over Emma's words, lingers on each little detail - the spot she'd chosen, her brief excitement upon my reply.

I was alone, but in these messages, I could pretend for a moment she was here with me. That bright light of her could chase the shadows from my silent rooms.

Sipping my coffee, I gazed around at gleaming appliances and pristine surfaces that reflected no life within. The house felt so starkly empty now, its solitude pressing down with an acute ache I hadn't noticed before.

When had quiet become so lonely? When had empty started feeling devoid of meaning?

Perhaps in those stolen moments tucked away with Emma, I'd grown used to having her brilliance nearby to warm the chill places inside me. To remind me that living didn't have to mean existing just for existing's sake.

As I gazed around my empty house, I couldn't help wondering if a bit of company might lift the loneliness that had settled there. After all, harm in a friendly get-together, right?

Biting my lip, I opened our message thread once more. My thumbs hovered over the keyboard as I weighed the wisdom of what I was about to do. In the end, my desire for companionship - and maybe something more, if I was being honest - won out.

"Hey Emma," I typed, hoping I didn't come across as too forward. "I know it's Sunday and all, but I was wondering...would you want to come over later and watch a movie or play some games?"

My heart raced as I hit send, second-guessing myself immediately. What if she thought I was overstepping? I was her teacher, after all. But the thought of her bright spirit filling these rooms was too tempting to resist.

Now all I could do was wait nervously for her reply, and hope I hadn't made the wrong choice by reaching out.

My phone chimed just as I finished drying the last mug, causing me to startle in anticipation. Wiping my hands, I rushed to check it, hoping - yet fearing - it might be Emma's reply already.

But no, it was an unknown number. Confused, I opened the message to find a vague "hey...can we talk?" staring back at me.

Frowning, I tried to place who this could be. One of my colleagues, maybe, needing advice? An old friend in need? Curiosity and caution battled within as I weighed responding.

In the end, worry for another's distress outweighed my own concerns. I typed out a polite but guarded "Who is this?" and hit send.

Now I waited again, nerves on edge as the mystery unfolded. Had my brief slip into fanciful musings gone too far? No, better not to assume the worst without cause. Whoever it was, I hoped their reach-out came from a place of truth rather than threat.