This is a story that has been bouncing around in my head for quite awhile. It is on the much darker side so be fair warned. If people like it enough I will continue it. It is a tough one to write but I feel like I need to. That being said trigger warning for PTSD and different abuses so read with care. I love this characters very much I just felt that the whole after the dollhouse thing was wrapped up in a too neat of a small bow.
Leaving Rosewood
After the dollhouse Emily couldn't bear to face anyone, so she got on a bus with just the clothes on her back and heads to California to join the army. On the bus ride she tries to sleep but every time she closes her eyes she's back there, in that terrible place. She can hear that horrible alarm going off and she reaches to cover her ears. The people on the bus scoot away from the burette. She has bags under her eyes and her hair is unkempt, she wears a haunted expression. She has s thousand dollars to her name, all the money she had saved over the past few years working at The Brew minus the cost of the ticket. She hopes it will hold out long enough for her to be accepted into the army and live in the barracks. The trip was a grueling two and half day ride, when she did fall asleep she would walk up in a panic drenched in sweat, people give her side eye and pulling their belongings closer to them.
When the bus finally makes it to it's finally destination Emily stumbled off the bus blinking her sleep deprived eyes. She stops at a small diner and orders a sandwich and soup with a water to save money. After she finishes the waitress brings over her check for the food, Emily fumbles in her pocket for her money. The waitress puts her hand on her arm and Emily jumps wide eyed, her heart pounding.
"I'm sorry dear, I-I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to tell you, your lunch is on the house." The waitress appeared to be in her mid forties and seem to have worked at this diner for quite awhile. Her name tag was worn out and peeling. She is a very sweet, motherly type and could tell that Emily was running from some dark demons.
"It's o-okay," She tells her regaining her composure. "I can pay." Emily tells her as she digs in her pocket, she doesn't deserve this woman's kindness.
"It's fine sweetheart." She tells her again with a smile that lights up her thoughtful green eyes. She turns and leaves the table and brings back a cup of coffee to the table with cream and a few sugars. "You come back and see me ok? My name is Carol." She tells her pointing at her name badge.
"Thank you and I will." Emily tells her adding the cream and sugar to the coffee before taking a big drink. The coffee warms up her insides and alleviates some of her tiredness.
As she stands to leave she pulls a five and leaves it on the table.
She heads to a rundown motel that has a sign with weekly rates starting as low as $250. She enters the small dingy office and a man with greasy hair in his late 30s looks up at her with what appears to be a smile but comes across as more as a grimace. "Can I help you!?" He asks with a raspy voice from years of chain smoking; even now he has a cigarette hanging from his lips as he speaks.
"Can I get a room for the week…please?" She asks trying not to cough from all the smoke filling the small windowless room.
He looks her up and down, "How old are you?" He asks curiously.
"I'll be 18 in a f-few months." She tells him nervously, she knows that technically you have to be at least 18 to rent a room without an adult,
"I think we could come to understanding…" he says with a look at her.
She shrinks back a bit terrified of what he will say next. He thinks for a moment, "how about an extra $50 and we'll say your 18, sound fair?" He says taking the cigarette out of his mouth and gives her an actual genuine smile. "You remind me of my little sister, if she looked as broken as you, I hope someone you'd help her as well." He says handing her a key to a room right next to the office. "My name is Levi and I live in the small house behind the office, if you need anything, please ask." Emily takes the key and feels a bit of relief knowing that Levi was looking at for her. She still feels a little guarded around him but it's nice to have a friend.
Emily gets settled in and makes a run to a small corner drug store and gets a few necessities. She has a small kitchenette and fridge in her room so she gets enough food for the week. She also picks up a pack of t-shirts and a couple pair of jeans. She comes back to her room and puts everything away and turns on the TV quietly and lies back on the bed. She wakes up to a tentative knock on her door 10 hours later. She looks through the peephole and sees Levi standing there. She opens the door and he smiles, "I thought you might need to wash some laundry, so you'll need these," he says handing her roll of tokens. "That should be enough to wash and dry 5 loads." He tells her as she takes the tokens.
"Thank you so much Levi, you didn't have too." She says not knowing what she did to deserve all this kindness.
"It's no problem, the laundry room is right next to the office and there are a few vending machines if you need them, not much is open around here after 11pm." He says turning to leave.
"Ok thank you!" She says as he leaves.
She takes a shower to wash off the last few days, as the water runs down her body she starts to sob uncontrollably. She can't stand all these people being kind to her, not after what she had done to her friends in that awful place. She deserves to be punished, she's a monster, she let "A" turn her into a monster. She yells it's not time to feel sorry for herself. She finishes her shower and gets dressed in a hurry, not wanting to look at herself in the mirror.
She leaves her room with her wallet and a little money to head to the recruiting office. She decides it's now or never, she can't go back to Rosewood, not after everything.
She walks across the street and enters the small recruitment office. "Welcome to the LA recruitment office, how can I help you today?" A sweet lady asks from behind the desk with a sweet smile. She was in her early 20s with blue eyes and blonde hair, she kind of reminds her of Alison. Alison, the girl she has loved since she was fourteen, she couldn't bare for her to know all the terrible things she had done in that awful place. When she had ran out of the doors that night and into Alison's arms she had thought for a second, just a brief second that everything could be all right.
"Are you alright sweetie?" The girl asks, ripping her out of her memories, the girl staring at her in concern.
Emily shook her head to clear it. "Y-yeah, I would like to join the army she tells her."
After filling out some paperwork and setting up a time for her to go to Military Entrance Processing Station she heads back to the small diner. As she enters Carol smiles at her, "Take a seat anywhere and I'll be right with you sweetheart." She tells Emily her face lighting up.
Emily sits down in a small booth in the corner facing the door, a habit she has gotten into since leaving Rosewood. She always tries to find all the exits and have an eye on at least one.
"What can I get you sweetheart?" Carol asks as she makes her way over to Emily.
"The same as last time please." She tells her with a small smile.
"How about some coffee as well?" She asks her with a knowing smile.
"Sure" she tells her returning her smile.
As Emily is finishing her soup, Carol brings her a slice of pie and refills her cup. "This is on the house." She tells Emily with a small smile.
"Thank you." She tells her as she drinks her coffee. She's going to miss the waitress when she leaves for basic training.
The next day Emily wakes up early to take a shower, get ready, and eat before she grabs the bus to the Military Entrance Processing Station. The bus ride takes a little over an hour which unfortunately gives her plenty of time to think. She kept flashing back to that room with a small table, her sitting in the chair with switches in front of her with pictures of Aria, Spencer, and Hanna. "Who eats today?" The voice asks her in a demanding voice. "Choose or they all suffer!" The voice says aggressively.
"I can't…" Emily says broken, she can't choose, she would rather be electrocuted then pick who doesn't get to eat today.
"You have 5 seconds or I shock them all, 5…,4…,3…"
Emily closes her eyes and throws a switch at random.
"I knew you were weak." The voice laughs in disgust.
Emily heard "El Segundo next stop." Over the PA and it pulls her out of the memory shaking slightly.
After finishing the physical, aptitude test, and having her blood drawn the last piece was waiting on the background evaluation screening which could take a few days. They told her they would call as soon as everything checked out and set up basic training.
She returned to her room exhausted and fell into bed. Her sleep was mostly restless haunted with nightmares. She's back in the dollhouse; the alarms start blaring pulling her out of sleep. She clamps her hands down over her ears as a black hooded figure comes in the room and grabs her by the arms and pulls her down the hall. They stop outside that horrible door and the figure opens it and pushed her down into the chair forcefully knocking the wind out of her.
"Who suffers today?" The voice asks tauntingly.
Tears flow down Emily's face, every time she comes to this room she has to decide who does or doesn't get something and each time the decisions are harder.
"One gets shocked, or they all suffer!" The voice says sadistically.
Emily can't do this, "Pl-please…" She begs.
"ONE suffers or they all do including you," The voice tells her gruffly.
She closes her eyes the tears still falling, she can't let them all suffer, she just can't. She looks at the pictures of three of her best friends. She hates this so much, she decides that Spencer is the strongest and flips the switch crying harder, sobs shaking her frame.
A blood curdling scream can be heard down the hall, it sounds oddly like Alison!
"Ali!" Emily screams as she sits up bolt right drenched in sweat. Her heart is beating so fast she can hardly breathe. She looks at the clock it's just after midnight.
She reaches for the phone and dials the number from memory.
The phone rings twice before a soft half-asleep voice answers, "H-hello?" Alison's sweet voice asks slightly disorientated.
"I…I just needed to hear your voice." Emily says in a gruff voice that is raw from screaming in terror.
"Emily?!" Alison asks in confusion, "It's really you!" She says in relief.
"I-I got to g-go." She says.
"Wait Em…." Alison says but Emily hangs up the phone and starts sobbing no sound escaping as the tears stop pouring. She rocks on the bed wrapping her arms around herself.