i. the aftermath
Emily really thought she'd endured it all, that there was nothing too awful that she couldn't get through, and that was partially true. She'd survived everything with her best friend, Audrey, and fraternal twin sister, Piper.
But now, what was going to happen to her, since they were both gone? Audrey had been a Financial analyst for Congresswoman Blackburn of Pennsylvania, and Piper was married to Maine Senator Kyle Jameson. They'd both been at the State of the Union that night.
She'd thought the initial pain of losing them was the worst she could have ever felt, but having to relive that pain almost every night in her dreams months later took the cake. She'd wake up every morning with scratches, bruises, and sometimes a throat so sore from screaming that she could barely speak the rest of the day. All of that, accompanied by the ache in her gut that longed to be with Piper and Audrey again was enough to make her waking hours just as miserable.
The most difficult of it all was trying to hide her problems from the people around her. Tom, Alex, Seth, but most importantly, Aaron. She'd sort of dug herself into a hole with him after swearing up and down that she was fine when he became concerned with some of her fading bruises and scratches. Not only did it become harder to keep things from him as the nightmares and sleep deprivation sickness became worse, but she dug herself into the hole even further by lying to him every time he asked about her health.
She'd finally regained his trust after his return to the White House, and if he found out she'd been lying to him for weeks, she'd lose it for good.
During the entire mess with the conspiracy, and Lloyd, on top of everything else, Emily had never felt so out of control before in her entire life. She was going into a downward spiral, and there was nothing that could stop it.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoy! Next chapter should be up sometime today or tomorrow!