LOU'S POV:

I could feel the cold sweat on my back and my forehead.

"I never... no." I responded.

Mr. Garner seemed to not believe me that I had never had feelings for Diane.

I cleared my throat, "Miss Williams has been a friend to me more than a teacher, but nothing else. She... she knows I've had a rough year, that's all she's been doing; giving me support."

Mr. Garner nodded.

"Mrs. Ayoub says you were dancing with Miss Williams at this wedding you two attended."

"Yeah. We danced, but as friends." I gulped. "Miss Williams was cheering me up."

"Right." Mr. Garner nodded his head and wrote something down on a note pad.

"Is she... are you... Uh, are you getting her fired?" I gulped. My hands were shaking. I was shaking.

Mr. Garner just stared at me silently, as if he didn't know the answer. And I broke down.

"Please, please don't ruin her life! It's all my fault... she did nothing wrong. She was just trying to be a decent human being and helping me out with certain things, she's not a criminal! Please, please. I don't want her going to jail for nothing!" I cried out.

I had tears streaming down my face, and Mr. Garner had his eyes widened and his mouth open, as if he didn't know what to do with my sudden outburst.

"Please, Mr Garner. Miss Williams doesn't deserve anything bad, she's just a friend to me, she's been there for me when I got bullied, she was cheering me up at that wedding... she's done nothing wrong, nothing but being a decent human being!"

I kept crying.

I also had my mind in wild thoughts of what were Ashley and Allie going to tell this man.

I hadn't even seen Ashley for a long time until this morning, and she looked at me just like she used to; with a small smile and pity in her eyes.

Mr. Garner eventually came back to his senses and handed me a box of Kleenex. I sniffed and blowed my nose with the tissues, hoping I maybe won his heart with my tears.

"Please just tell me if you're firing her..." I pleaded. "Please. I can't go home uncertain... I don't want to ruin anyone's life."

Mr. Garner nodded his head yes, "No. She's not getting fired."

"You're not sending her to prison either, are you?"

Mr. Garner cleared his throat, "No. Until now Williams remains not guilty."

I nodded my head in agreement and showed a bit of a smile.

"With all do respect, I think you made a mistake by believing Mrs. Ayoub's assumption. Miss Williams was being supportive." I said, sniffing again.

"I still don't understand what she was cheering you up from, Miss Jensen." Mr. Garner said.

*

DIANE'S POV:

"What I was cheering her up from? Uh, well... it's a personal matter, of course."

"I insist you tell me."

I sighed. I hoped Lou said as we agreed we would.

"She had danced with a boy before I even interfered. I saw him touching her inappropriately, and I know that Laura is not interested in males, I also saw she was uncomfortable, so I interfered and then embraced her. It might have looked like we danced, but I was actually holding her and just asking if she was okay, that's all."

Mr Garner nodded his head and wrote down on his stupid little notepad.

"That's not what Miss Jensen said." He adjusted his tie harshly.

I cringed, and closed my eyes for a second.

"You must be mistaken, then. I just told you the truth." I shrugged my shoulders, hoping he was just playing a sick game.

Mr. Garner smiled a bit, "I was just playing with you." Fucking bastard. "She said that as well, I needed to make sure."

The older man managed a creepy but friendly smile and I wanted nothing more than to tell him whose name her wife was screaming a couple years ago.

"Right." I pursed my lips awkwardly. Who did this man think he was? An FBI agent?

"You can go. I think I have everything I need." The older man said.

I nodded my head and shook his hand politely before grabbing my coat and standing up from the chair I had been sitting the past half hour.

"Tell Tina I send my regards." I winked an eye at him, and then walked out of his office.

*

"How did it go?" Sarah asked, taking my coat from my hands and putting it on the coat rack.

I sighed and involuntarily shivered, "It was fucking awful." I walked to the kitchen with Sarah trailing behind me.

I opened the fridge and got a bottle of white wine out of it, opened it quickly and didn't even bother to find a glass, I just took a big sip from the bottle and then handed it to Sarah.

"Nancy said she'd help, and Garner seemed like he didn't hate me. So, I guess I remain a teacher and a free citizen." I let out the breath I was holding.

Sarah put the bottle back on the kitchen counter and took a step closer, as if she was offering a hug telepathically.

I let her hug me, and I even wrapped my arms around my best friend and rested my head against her shoulder. I just needed to breathe. I suddenly started shaking in sobs while being trapped by Sarah's arms.

It was scary, the slight possibility of loosing Lou and all the efforts I made to get through college and finally teach. I felt powerless for once, and this whole day had gotten me feeling sick in ways I never knew.

"Dee, it's fine." Sarah patted my back.

I just kept crying on her shoulder, and even if I was disappointed she wasn't Lou, and she didn't smell like Lou, and she didn't talk like Lou, it was enough because I needed someone to hold onto my chaotic breakdown.

Eventually I wiped my tears and took a step back from Sarah's arms.

"I'm fucking tired." I ran a hand through my hair, "I think you should go home, I'm fine. I'm... I just need some alone time."

"Are you sure? I can sleep in the couch. You know I don't mind staying." Sarah put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently, "I'm here for you."

I shook my head, "It's been the longest day ever, really. I feel like locking myself in my bedroom and watching bad tv."

Sarah tilted her head to the side, "I'll go then."

As soon as Sarah was out the door, I took off my boots, and walked back to the kitchen barefoot. I grabbed the bottle of white wine and walked to my bedroom in record time. Meanwhile I was filling the bathtub, the sound of the doorbell startled me.

Could it be Lou?

I was already naked standing in my bathroom, clueless as to who could be on my porch at this time of the night. I put on my fluffy robe, took a deep breath and walked to open the door. I didn't even bother to check who it was.

"Hey." Was all she said.

My eyes widened.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I didn't even bother keeping my tone down.

Jillian herself looked down to her shoes and back to my face, "Tina told me everything."

"What do you mean by everything." I asked defensively.

It's not like I would care if my mother knew I slept with one of her dear friends, and of course it would be kind of fun if said friend specified how many times I made her come and how she said I was the greatest sexual experience she ever had.

The blonde, older version of myself crossed her arms over her chest, "You didn't end the relationship with her, did you?" Her tone was surprisingly calm and not accusatory at all.

I slapped my forehead, and screamed internally, "I really am not in the mood for this. I can't stand talking to you, specially now that I'm shredded to pieces."

"Just let me in and we can talk about this." Her eyes weren't dangerous as mini me had to encounter all those times I fucked up, she was relaxed, and maybe even sad... or perhaps she had pity over me.

"I'm not letting you in." I shook my head, "I have the bathtub running and I have really puffy tear ducts."

I unclenched my jaw, "Just go wherever you live now, apartment complex or whatever, and torment your cat or whoever keeps you company."

She looked hurt, but of course my mother wasn't one of the people that just went back home without arguing, so she opened the door with her surprising strength and walked inside.

"Mom!" I protested.

The older woman walked inside my own bedroom, entered the bathroom and stopped the water herself.

She grabbed the bottle of wine, took a large sip from it and then walked back into the living room with me protesting as I followed her around.

She took a seat and took a deep breath before she interrupted my protests.

"You can't just walk like that inside someone else's house, what is your..."

"Enough!" She cut me off.

I opened my mouth to keep protesting, but she looked at me with those cat eyes that gave away the message she was going to scratch me if I kept talking.

"I'm a horrible mother. And as much as I've tried to make it better, to make myself believe maybe I wasn't as bad, I was wrong. I called Sophie, I interrogated her just a few minutes before coming here. She told me you seemed the happiest she's ever seen you, and Tina just told me that you were going to keep your job and that you were not guilty." Jillian said.

She ran a hand through her hair, "I've always tried to make things right, to follow the rules, to try not stand out from the group, and of course it didn't work for me. I should have stayed a pot smoker and chill woman who took her little girls to forests and fishing."

Jillian pinched the bridge of her nose before she kept on rambling.

"I should have taken a minute to understand what you've been going through. You fell in love, and I should know that love just happens under any kind of circumstance. I mean, your father was supposed to marry my step sister!"

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"Let me finish!" My mother snapped. "You fell in love with a girl, you treat her right, you risked everything for her... and all I could say was for you to forget about her. What kind of person am I? I mean, it is morally wrong, but shouldn't I be the one putting myself in your shoes and helping you out to not get your heart broken?"

"Mom." I tried to interrupt.

"I just want to say I'm sorry. I don't give a fuck if you forgive me or ignore me for the rest of your life. But you must know that I'm proud of you, that I love you, and that I'm incredibly sorry about all of this you're going through."

"Shut up." I sat down next to her on the couch and hugged her.

I knew I would regret it tomorrow morning, but right now I needed my mama.

I was overwhelmed my time with Lou might have ended forever, and I was still going through all the symptoms of my shutting down reproductive system.

"I love you, Dee." My mom hugged me tighter.