ii. rock bottom p. i

Emily went on for another week, and every day it seemed as if she was getting more and more sick. She knew that her already weak facade was beginning to crumble, and she was pretty sure Aaron knew it too. It was just an agonizing game, waiting for him to confront her on it, to be angry that she'd been lying to him for nearly a month, but that moment never came.

He didn't say a word to her about her physical and mental state, but that Friday night, everything fell apart. It was late, around midnight, and they had been finishing up some work in Emily's office. She had been laying on the couch doing paperwork while he sat in one of the chairs opposite of her.

She was so exhausted, and all of a sudden, her eyes just closed. She didn't immediately start having nightmares, and hoped that maybe she'd be too tired for them, but alas, no such luck.

It was the same as usual, reliving that night, the ghosts of Audrey and Piper blaming her in part. She couldn't hear it, but she knew she was screaming because of how badly her throat stung. Emily hoped and prayed that she would just wake up, and for once, she did. The first thing she saw when she came to, was Aaron in the form of a blurry blob, due to the tears clouding her eyes. She swung her legs over the side of the couch and rested her elbows on her knees as he sat down next to her.

"Hey, it's okay. It was just a dream," he cooed, running his hand up and down her back comfortingly.

"No," she sobbed, the word coming out strangled and barely audible. "They're never just dreams,"

"What do you mean?"

"They're real Aaron, they-" Emily tried to say, but the sobs began to wrack her body.

Aaron sat there, patiently waiting for her to regain what little composure she could while trying to comfort her, but still giving her space. He waited a few minutes after the sobbing ceased before speaking again.

"Is this why you've been sick recently?" he asked, trying to get her to make eye contact.

Reluctantly, Emily looked up at him and nodded, biting her lip to keep the flood of emotion at bay.

Aaron sighed in frustration, sinking back into the couch and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I know, I know, I totally betrayed your trust by lying to you but, things have just been so stressful around here, and I didn't want to worry you even more," she said tearily, her voice still hoarse.

"Em, you should've just told me," he mumbled.

"I know, and I'm so, so, sorry," Emily replied, burying her face in her hands and allowing the tears to fall.

This time, Aaron shifted next to her, pulling her into his arms and letting her head rest against his chest.

"Shh, hey, it's okay," he whispered. "Just breathe."

God, Emily hated this. Not the feeling of his arms around her, but the situation that got her there in the first place. This was making her seem incredibly weak and fragile. The one saving grace was that she wasn't crying to just anybody, it was Aaron. Aaron, who had memorized her coffee order after hearing it for the first time, or knew she never wore bracelets because she fidgeted with them too much when she got nervous, and despite having absolutely no interest in Elvis, wouldn't say a word when she played it in her office while they worked. Aaron, who she didn't have to prove anything to because he knew she wasn't weak, and whose arms were the one place she could just, be.

"It's gonna be okay," he assured her as the sobs were reduced to sniffles.

She took a deep breath, and upon exhaling, her entire body seemed to relax into his. Emily's eyes began drooping shut, and she could feel herself drifting off again. She was too tired to fight the drowsiness and allowed herself to drift. Just as she fell asleep, she felt Aaron press his lips against her temple.

Well, you know what they say about hitting rock bottom, you can only go up from there.

A/N: I hope that everyone enjoyed! I don't think I'll be uploading until Monday at the earliest because of my busy schedule this weekend :( Sorry about that.