Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! I can't say it enough. You all have made my freaking year! When I posted the first chapter I thought I would be lucky to get a couple of follows and maybe someone would throw out a review. I can't even process the amazing response this story has gotten. Thank you to all who have left reviews. I have tried to respond to all of them so if I missed you I'm sorry!
If you have tumblr look me up (dmbaye) I might start adding sneak peeks of future chapters!
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or their characters. I am just borrowing them for a bit!
Previously:
Emma took a huge gulp of her beer preparing herself for what was about to happen. Over ten years of hurt was about to be brought out and dealt with.
This was a story Regina hated to tell but she knew Emma deserved to know the truth. She knew she had to have caused her a great deal of pain leaving the way she did. They had a special bond not just as teacher and student but as friends. Regina had truly loved the girl. She hated that she had become just another person Emma had trusted but abandoned her in the end.
Wiping a stray tear from her cheek Regina started "Emma I'm so sorry that I left the way I did but I didn't have a choice. It is far past time you knew the reason why."
Chapter 3
Emma didn't know if she was ready for this conversation. "Maybe if I had about three more shots I could handle this." She thought to herself.
She could tell that it wasn't going to be an easy story to hear by the look of agony on Regina's face.
Regina took a large sip of her wine giving herself some time to figure out how she was going to start this story that she really didn't want to tell. Deciding to just get it over with she looked up from her glass into Emma's questioning eyes.
"Do you remember the last afternoon we spent together painting after class?" asked Regina.
Emma only nodded recalling the last time she had seen Regina before she disappeared without a trace.
12 years ago
"Hey Miss Mills can you come take a look at my painting, something seems off with this portrait and I don't know how to fix it?" called out Emma.
Regina crossed to room to where Emma was sitting at the easel. She looked at the painting and was blown away by the intricate details Emma had managed to put into her self-portrait. She was able to capture the way the light glinted off her blonde hair, the way her lips tilted slightly higher on the left and how her nose crinkled when she smiled. Emma was right though, something was off. After taking a closer look she spotted the problem.
"You need to add more highlight to your eyes they are looking a little dead. You have some of the brightest and most expressive eyes I've ever seen. I swear I can tell what you're thinking just by looking at them."
Emma picked up her brush and started adding white and light greens to the irises to enhance them while Regina went back to her desk.
"You know I don't think it's my eyes that tell you what I'm thinking. It's probably the fact that I've spent almost every weekday afternoon with you for the past three years. You know me better than my parents and even Ruby and Belle!"
It was true Regina knew pretty much everything there was to know about the girl. After their first week of classes together three years ago Regina decided to take Emma under her wing and teach her everything she knew about art. She saw that Emma was special and amazingly gifted. Regina wanted to nurture that talent. Over the years they had formed a close bond sharing stories of their tough upbringings and how they have tried to move past them. Emma would talk about how happy she was to have finally found the Nolans, Ruby and Belle people she could call family. She would share stories of the mischief Ruby had gotten her and Belle into. Regina would tell Emma about the pranks that her roommate Katherine would pull on her like throwing ice water on her while she was in the shower or hiding in her closet to jump out and scare her. They had shared laughter and tears and most of all an immense love for creating art.
"Well dear you can learn a lot about a person in three years when they're willing to share." said Regina giving Emma a beaming smile.
It took a while at first for Emma to break down her walls and let Regina in but she soon realized how alike they were and quickly they became each other's most trusted confidants.
"OK I think this is finished it feels right now!" squealed Emma as she put her brush down.
Regina made her way back over to Emma "Emma this is breathtaking." she whispered with awe in her voice. "I am so impressed with how far you have come with your painting and drawing. I know you will go far and become a great success if that's what you want."
"You really think so?" asked Emma, doubt lacing her voice.
"Yes Emma I really do." Regina replied with sincerity and a smile.
Just as Emma went to thank her the principal, Mother Superior came through the classroom door.
"Miss Mills, I need to have a discussion with you…in private." said Mother Superior giving a pointed look to Emma.
Mother Superior was someone that you didn't mess with or question. She was in her late fifties and always wore a look of distaste, her smile made you shrivel in fear. She was the exact type of nun Emma had been afraid of when she had first started Cathedral High. If it would have been legal Mother Superior would most likely be going around smacking the girls with a wooden ruler. She was a dictator clothed in a habit.
Emma packed her things "I guess I'll see you tomorrow Miss Mills. Have a good night." said Emma as she nodded to Mother Superior and left the room.
"So you needed to speak with me Mother Superior." asked Regina once the door was shut.
"Yes, something has come to my attention that displeases me greatly."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Is it something that involves me?"
"Of course it involves you Miss Mills, why else would I be here?" spat Mother Superior.
Regina sighed in resignation not knowing what it could be that she has supposedly done.
Mother Superior handed Regina the paper she been holding "Do you remember signing this contract Miss Mills?"
Regina just nodded her head how could she not remember? She basically signed up to live a lie when she scribbled her name on that horrid piece of paper.
"Well then you should know that you are in breach of this contract." said Mother Superior with a sneer.
"I apologize but I have no idea what you are referring to." responded Regina calmly but on the inside she was having the freak out of a lifetime.
"Do not lie to me Regina! You know there have been rumors for a while but I ignored them thinking they were just that, rumors. I figured these gossipers were jealous because you seem to be a favorite of the students. It wasn't until I witnessed your disgusting behavior here on school property nonetheless that I believed the rumors to be true."
Regina stood frozen mouth agape. She was positive she was having a heart attack with the way her heart was pounding out of her chest. She prayed to whoever was listening that this was just all a bad dream.
"Well what do you have to say for yourself Miss Mills?" seethed Mother Superior.
Regina's inner voice was screaming…lie…lie...LIE!
With a façade of cool collectiveness Regina spoke "I'm truly sorry but I can't say that I know what you are talking about."
Mother Superior's face became red with rage "How dare you lie to my face! I saw you kissing that woman in the parking lot when she came to pick you up yesterday! I guess I shouldn't expect anything more from you than lies. Clearly there isn't a moral bone in your body with the horrendous way you live your life!"
Regina's eyes widened in shock immediately recalling the day before when Katherine had picked her up when her car battery died. How could she have been so careless kissing her girlfriend in the parking lot of the school? For three years she had kept her love life a secret for fear of being fired now it was all coming crashing down.
"I…" she didn't know what she could say to get herself out of this horrible predicament.
Mother Superior put her hand up in a "stop" motion. "Do not bother with any excuses. You are in clear breach of your morality contract and will be terminated immediately."
That contract had been the bane of Regina's existence. The morality contract forbids teachers from living together and/or having sex outside of marriage, using in-vitro fertilization, living a gay "lifestyle," or publicly supporting any of those things along with quite a few other things that the church considered "immoral." Regina knew she was taking a risk being gay and working for a catholic high school but it wasn't like there were that many other options. The public schools in the area didn't have thriving art programs and all Regina ever wanted to do in life was teach what she loved.
"You will teach your class as usual tomorrow and Friday. You will not mention anything to your students, the last thing I need is a bunch of teenage girls in an uproar. I expect you to have all of your things cleared from the classroom by five o'clock on Friday. We have already found your replacement and since I am a Christian woman I will save you from embarrassment and tell your students that you simply resigned due to another opportunity. I don't think there is a need to expose them any more than necessary to your filthy ways." spoke Mother Superior with finality.
Regina was seething, it was one thing to be fired for breaking a contract but she could no longer stand being called filthy and disgusting.
"You call yourself a Christian woman yet you stand in judgment of me spewing hate just because I love another human being!" spat Regina.
"Of course I am judging you. You are living an unnatural and unholy lifestyle but my judgment isn't the one you should be worried about, it's God's!"
"That is bullshit! God made me this way. I am made in his image just like every other person. He gave me the capacity to love, to look beyond the outer shell and into a person's heart. It shouldn't matter whether they are male or female, white, black or purple! Love is love!" replied Regina with all of the conviction she had in her.
"God did NOT make you that way. That is Satan's work! I pray for your redemption."
"You know what Sister I'm not going to waste my breath anymore. You clearly can't see past what some book told you, a book that was written before the English language even existed. You can also keep your prayers for yourself because I don't need them." said Regina with resignation.
"That is it Regina I want you gone this instant pack your things and go! And one more thing, you are not to have any contact with any of the students. This school is obligated to keep our children safe and on the path of the Lord, we do not need you leading them astray. If I find out that you have spoken to any of the students I will have you arrested for sexual abuse of a minor."
"You can't do that! I would never do anything to hurt those girls!" screamed Regina.
Mother Superior just smirked "I think I can. Who do you think the police will believe a nun or a lying homosexual?"
Tears started to stream down Regina's face. She felt like she was falling fast into a pit she would never be able to get out of.
Mother Superior started to walk to the door; before she exited she turned towards Regina "I expect you and your things to be gone when I come back tomorrow morning. Remember my words are not a threat they are a promise. A nun never lies but I will in order to protect my girls from those who try to bring the devil into their lives." with that she left the room.
Regina collapsed to the floor with uncontrollable sobbing. How did her life become such a mess so quickly? After letting the tears stream for a while Regina collected herself as much as she could and started to pack. The last thing she collected was Emma's orchid, the drawing that started a relationship that she would always treasure and was now going to lose without a choice. She clutched the picture to her chest and moved to leave but stopped at Emma's portrait. She wouldn't be able to tell the girl her goodbyes so she said them to the painting.
"Emma I'm so sorry that I won't get the chance to say goodbye. I know this will hurt because it's hurting me. I hate that I have to leave without explanation, I hate that I have to become another person that leaves you. You have become such an important person in my life your smile alone can make my day. I know you're going to do great things with your life and especially with your art, I wish I could stay to witness it. Goodbye Emma."
With tears running down her face Regina looked at the painting one last time searing the beautiful image into her brain. She turned wiping the tears from her face and left the classroom.
Present
As Regina finished her story both women had tears in their eyes that they were trying to keep from falling. Regina watched as Emma sat in silence waiting for her to say someting, anything!
"Emma please say something." Regina pleaded softly.
"Regina...I"
Ahhh I did it again...leaving you hanging from that cliff! Sorry for the shorter chapter but I figured it was a good place to stop. Next chapter we will get Emma's reaction. I'm hoping to get it posted by Wednesday. So did anyone see that coming as the reason? The morality clause is an actual contract all teachers must sign when working at a Catholic school. It's insane! As always I welcome your reviews!
