EmGarretson22- I am now blaming you for creating a few monsters in my house. I started watching The 100 after your comment and my seven-year-old son has gotten obsessed as well. He kept trying to spoil last night's episode since I was in bed with a migraine. I watched it this morning and he kept saying, "That's what I was trying to tell you about." LOL, thanks hon.
Chapter Three
"I thought I had told you to stay away from those girls," Paige said as she escorted Lex out of the playground.
"You're not my mother," The teen spat. "Your opinion doesn't matter"
Paige grabbed the teenager under the bicep and pulled her toward her patrol car, pushing her against the passenger side door. She couldn't hold her tongue any longer; Paige was determined to shed some light on just how good Lex had it. "Emily's opinion matters."
"Emily's not my mother either." Lex cried, standing her ground.
"Maybe not biologically but, please, tell me of one person who's ever given a crap about you," Paige growled to her through clenched teeth. "Besides her. Huh? Can you? One person."
Lex averted her eye from the woman holding her against the door.
"That's what I thought." Paige's pupils were dark with anger. "Do you have any idea how good you have it with her?"
"Psh," Lex scoffed. "Says the woman who probably lived in some huge house with anything and everything-"
"Yeah, I lived in a house." Paige nodded. "The same two-bedroom starter home that my parents bought when they first got married. Anything and everything I wanted? Far from it." She retracted her arm from holding the girl as she felt her hands start to shake. "The only thing I got from my parents was a roof over my head, paid bills and a grocery delivery every Saturday. What I wanted was actual interaction with my folks." That statement seemed to get the girl's attention. "Yeah, I lived in that house- alone- from the age of thirteen; when I was legally old enough not to need a babysitter. I had to do everything for myself; I cooked for myself, cleaned the house, went to school and got decent grades. I was a pretty good swimmer and set a record or two in high school but do you know how much of that my parents actually saw? None of it."
"No shit?" Lex inquired, her eyes softening.
"I know what you're doing. The girls," Paige said, looking up to the group of girl on the swing set. "I tried getting in with the popular kids. They even acted like they liked me and wanted me around. They'd come over to my house and we'd hang out and stuff. Until they learned that my parents didn't keep alcohol in the house. I mean, why would they if they were never there, right." She returned her gaze to the girl. "They used me for a place to party, make-out with boyfriends their parents didn't approve of. They didn't like me, they liked no chaperones."
Lex looked back over to the trio of girls; she didn't have anything like that. If anything, Emily hovered whenever she was at home. It sort of made her wonder why the older girls were her friends; suddenly she thought of a reason. All three girls were in Emily's biology class during third period. Shantel had even asked her if she could find tests or quizzes in Emily's bag. Lex sighed as she closed her eyes. The girls liked her because she could get inside information in a subject that all three were repeating. They were using her just as Paige had been used by her friends.
"I've read your file." Paige told her. "I've talked to Toby." She paused again. "Did you know that Emily became a foster parent because of you? She saw something in your history, in your transcripts- she saw something in you."
Lex's voice softened, "What?"
"I don't know yet but she saw something." Paige shook her head. "But you know what, she gave a crap about you when no one else did. How many of your foster parents only allowed you in their homes to collect a government check? I'd probably say all of them; especially after you pushed them away because you grew up being treated like you were something stuck to the bottom of your mother's shoe." Paige almost faltered as she noticed the tear in Lex's eye. "Emily hasn't given up on you yet. I have to give it to her; if it were me, I probably would have decided that your attitude was more than I could allow myself. That woman took you into her home for no other reason than because she wanted to prove to you that you are someone."
A tear finally spilled from Lex's eye as she lowered her gaze to the ground. Something the size of a watermelon had become lodged in her throat and it was making it hard for her to breathe. "I-"
"What were your grades before you came to Emily's house?"
Lex inhaled slowly, "D's mostly, some C's."
Paige nodded as she realized that she was finally getting through. "Just enough to advance you to the next grade; to pass you onto the next person." She let the nugget of information settle into Lex's mind. "What was your final grades before Christmas?"
"B's," Lex answered quietly. "Emily helped me; Spencer, Aria and Ezra too."
Paige whistled softly. "You have a lot of people invested in you. Toby looks out for you, too. I'm- I'm kind of jealous." She bumped the girl gently to gain her attention. "I wish I had that many people who cared about me and whether-or-not I succeed or not. My parents could stand in a line-up and I doubt I'd be able to pick them out."
Lex remained quiet, staring at her shoes. She had always found Emily's insistence that she review tests and helping to prepare by quizzing her for hours the night before a test to be annoying; she had to meet with Ezra for nearly a week to work on an English paper due the week before Christmas break, it had all been so annoying and she hadn't realized what she'd gotten out of it until that moment.
"Paige?"
The young officer looked to the girl next to her. She crossed her arms over her chest as she'd allowed her lecture to sink into Lex's head. Until that moment, that conversation, Paige hadn't realized how much resentment she held toward her parents for being invisible.
Lex turned to her, not even bothering to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Would you take me home? Emily starts dinner at six and I don't want to be late."
Paige smiled, "Get in."
Emily was in the kitchen standing behind the counter as she chopped some red onions. She sniffled quietly and fought off the stinging in her eyes. Normally she had gum at her disposal specifically for chopping onions but it appeared that Lex had found her stash and wiped it all out. She had just put the onions in the skillet along with some olive oil when she heard the front door open. Glancing at the clock on the microwave, her interest became too much for her. Usually she had to blow up Lex's phone to even get a single response.
Lex walked into the kitchen, smiling lightly at Emily. She glanced behind her to see if Paige had followed her.
"Um, Em?" Lex spoke, waiting for Paige to join her. "This is Paige. She's Toby's partner."
Emily crossed her arms over her chest. "I remember; I thought I asked you to stay away from Lex."
"No," Lex moved closer to her foster mother. "No, it's okay. She, um, she actually helped me."
Paige allowed the blonde teenager to take the lead in her apology to Emily. Her stomach ached as she thought of how she didn't even wish that her parents would come crawling to her. She'd given up on them years ago. They weren't parents; they'd given her life and left her to make her own way in the world.
"Um," Lex said once more, trying to figure out what exactly to say. Without another word, the girl flung her arms around Emily's torso and buried her face into the kitchen apron that Emily wore. "I'm really sorry; I'm so sorry, Emily."
Emily looked over the top of the girl's head toward the uniformed woman that leaned against the door frame. She had a soft smile across her face and her arms folded over her chest. You're welcome, she mouthed. Emily dropped her gaze once more, pressing her cheek to the girl's head. Releasing the girl, she kept her hands on Lex's arms; tears silently fell down Lex's cheek as she licked her lips before meeting the teacher's brown orbs. "Elena, Tori and Shantel have the answers to the quiz from your bag." She lowered her gaze once more. "I just wanted them to like me; all they wanted was to pass Bio."
Emily nodded her head slightly. "I promise," Lex spoke again before the adult could speak. "I'm not hanging out with them again. They're not my friends. They don't care what happens to me; not like you do."
"I know that the age difference isn't a lot and that you don't see me as.. well, anything." Emily told her. "I'm not trying to be your mother. I just want to show you how much potential you have; I want to help you realize it. You weren't going to be able to do that in that poor excuse of a foster home."
"I know," Lex said. "Thank you, Emily. For getting me out of that place, for taking me into your home… for putting up with me being a bitch."
"Eh," Emily laughed softly. "Language."
Lex looked around the counter top at the dinner that Emily was in the process of making. "Need any help?"
"Um, sure. Why don't you saute these onions while I walk Paige out."
Lex looked back at Paige, "Can't she stay for dinner?"
Paige shook her head slightly, "Oh, I can't. I'm still on the clock." She said as she removed her shoulder from the door frame. "But maybe we can meet up at the Brew sometime and you can give me those pointers."
Lex smiled, watched for a moment as the two women walked toward the door before she picked up the wooden spoon to stir the browning onions. Emily opened the front door before moving in front of it to block Paige's progression.
"Whatever you told her," Emily mused quietly. "I'm sorry about what I said to you before."
Paige shook her head. She knew what Emily was talking about and, if truth be told, she was just as much at fault at the outcome of their first meeting. "I simply reiterated how good she had it here."
Emily furrowed her brow, waiting for Paige to continue. After a few moments of silence she got the idea that Paige wasn't going to elaborate anymore. Emily lowered her gaze to her bare feet as she spoke, "Still, I've been trying to connect with Lex for about five months and you did it in a week."
Paige blushed slightly. "She's a good kid; just needed a little push in the right direction."
Emily nodded, "I hope that you'll share the secret sometime."
Paige shook her head as she positioned her cap back on her head. "I don't think you'll have any problems with her. Being accepted was the key step; you just need to find a common ground." Paige made her way past the girl, smiling softly. "Goodnight, Miss Fields."
Emily closed the front door after watching Paige walk halfway back to her patrol vehicle. Making her way back to the kitchen a smiled crossed her face as she saw Lex pulling plates down from the cabinets.
"Dining room or…?"
Emily shook her head. Her mother had always been big on eating as a family in the dining room. "The breakfast nook is fine. We don't need some big setting for the two of us."
Lex made her way to the smaller table across from the island, next to the window. "Is this where you and your parents ate?"
Emily returned to the stove where Lex had sauted the onions. She added in a splash of lemon juice and eased the chicken breasts into the skillet. "No. When my dad was home, we ate in the dining room for every meal. Otherwise , I normally ate at the island here."
Lex looked up at Emily as she set down the plates before returning to the island to grab the utensils and two glasses. "You don't really talk about your parents. I mean, I know why we don't talk about my parents but…" She returned to place the silverware next to the plates (fork on the left, knife on the right) before turning back to the woman. "You don't really say much about your own family."
Emily shrugged slightly, "Not much to tell. It was just my parents and I; my dad was in the Army so he was away a lot." She moved her attention to the oven and pulled out the pan, stirred it a bit before pushing it back inside. "My mom moved down to Brunswick about two years ago; she just couldn't be in Rosewood after my dad passed away."
Lex paused as she finished setting the table for their small dinner. She'd taken for granted the hospitality that Emily had extended to her. Her parents hadn't been Parent-of-the-Year material by no means but it sounded like Emily's parents had been the complete opposite. Across the kitchen, on the counter next to the doorway, was a photo of teenage Emily with her parents. They were happy; Wayne sat with his arms around both women. She looked back at Emily. "Was it hard coming back here?"
She nodded lightly as she returned to the skillet of chicken and onions. "I think the hardest part of moving back home was the transition into the master bedroom and saying goodbye to my old room. I'm still a little territorial of it." Emily's cheek grew pink. "It's one reason why I moved the office."
"The office is your old room?"
Emily nodded, her cheeks growing warmer. "Speaking of, I doubt you're really comfortable in those burgundy and wine colors. What do you say, next weekend we redecorate? Anything you want, within reason of course."
"Seriously?" Lex seemed to perk up a little. Even as a child, in her abusive home, she'd never really had her own space. Her mother and her mother's boyfriend had only lived in a one bedroom apartment; leaving Lex to be exposed to everything. "Anything?"
"Sure," Emily smiled. "What's your favorite color? What are your interests?"
When Emily has asked for Toby's help replacing the light fixture in Lex's room it had peaked the attention and interest in her friends. The two couples had been visibly shocked when Emily had walked into the Grille with Lex at her side Friday night. The two were laughing about something and had sat next to each other; it was a different side of the girl that none of them had seen before. However, when Aria had inquired about Toby switching the fixture out Emily and Lex had only smiled conspiratorially and said it was a surprise.
Once Toby had successfully installed the clear crystal looking chandelier, Lex had physically pushed him from the house. His attempts at figuring out the secret had fallen on deaf ears as Lex closed the door with a playful smirk.
It wasn't until Sunday afternoon that Toby, Spencer, Aria and Ezra were allowed to enter into Emily's childhood home. After lunch in the dining room Emily smiled at Lex. "Are you ready?"
Lex's grin widened as she collected the dishes from the adults and retreated into the kitchen to load the dishwasher and let the cookware soak in the sink.
"She's like a completely different kid," Aria stated during Lex's absence. "Not that I'm complaining but what happened?"
Emily shrugged a single shoulder, "Paige happened."
"Paige?" Toby perked up. "My partner Paige?"
Emily nodded. "She had some moment with Lex and she's been…" She paused, unsure of how to describe the girl. "I suppose one more person taking an interest in Lex's well-being isn't such a bad thing."
Lex returned, her smile infectiously wide as her eyes twinkled. "So Emily and I spent all day yesterday on a remodel project and, since you all were so interested, I wanted to show you what we did. I also wanted to get your honest opinions."
The five adults got to their feet and followed the girl upstairs. They turned to the right once at the second floor landing and Lex stopped them outside of a door with a giant pale purple A hanging against the white door. "Welcome to my new room."
Lex opened the door and led the group inside. She and Emily had painted the room the same pale purple with white trimming. They'd repainted the platform bed to match the white trim and covered the mattress into a light purple bedding. Lex had accented the bed with various throw pillows sporting purple, white, pink and light green colors in different patterns. The window seat directly across from the door had also been decorated with throw pillows and filled with novels and art books. Her desk had been positioned across from her bed; a wicker egg chair had been anchored from the ceiling next to her bed with a collage of empty picture frames.
"Em said I could put some of my drawings and stuff in those," Lex motioned to the frames. "On the condition that I put one of us up. I personally like the selfie we took yesterday of purple paint smeared over our faces after we finished painting."
The four adults walked around the room as Emily stood behind Lex, her hands on either shoulder as the pair watched the reactions of Emily's friends. "Lex was very picky on what we put in her room."
Aria sat in the wicker chair while Spencer and Ezra seemed to be examining her book shelves. "You know, Lex, I think you might be showing some of your personality to us here."
Lex grinned some more, glancing up at Emily. "It's okay. That's what you're suppose to do with family, right?"
This, once again, earned the attention of the other four adults who all turned and gazed at the teenager. She had her hand raised laying against Emily's as she gazed proudly around her room. Lex could certainly say that it was the most fun she'd ever had: decorating her room. In truth, she was still getting accustomed to calling it her room; it was something she'd never had before coming to Emily's home.
Toby smiled softly, "It's absolutely what you do with family."
Valentine's Day was the worst day ever invented in Paige's opinion. She couldn't believe that she'd agreed to join Toby and his friends as they went to a party inside a local bar. Almost instantly after walking in the door and finding her partner, she'd felt like a fifth wheel as Toby and Spencer couldn't seem to keep their hands to themselves. Ezra and Aria were a close second; Aria had instantly climbed into her husband's lap as Paige had joined the group.
After two beers the couples had gone to the dance floor, leaving the brunette on her own. She sat at the table on her own, watching the group dancing while she held her hand around her Jack 'n coke. Thankfully it didn't appear that she was the only single person in the entire place but she had long since learned just how hard it was tell the difference between people.
Paige let her eyes roam around the room, not settling on any one particular person. As her eyes grazed past the bar she noticed a gentleman looking in her direction; he raised his glass a fraction as their eyes met. The act almost made her laugh. She held her chuckle as she continued gazing around the room.
"Shy?" Paige looked up as Aria sat down across the table from her.
"Um, no. Guess I'm not much of a dancer; I don't really do the party scene." Paige told her.
Across the room, the door opened and she saw the familiar features of Emily Fields. They hadn't really spoken much since Lex's confession. Paige couldn't bring herself to care about the woman's discouragement; Lex was coming to her for help and that was what mattered.
"Oh geez," Aria said as she also noticed Emily's presence.
"What?" Paige asked, confused.
"Oh, it's nothing." Aria tried to wave it off. "It's just, Em doesn't normally come here on Valentine's- or the whole month of December."
Paige glanced back at the girl as Aria spoke. Emily was trying to make her way to the counter but kept having to push her way past people.
Finally, as Emily smiled softly, shaking her head to a brunette woman at the end of the bar, did she realize that the people Emily was mostly pushing past were all women. It clicked in her mind: Emily was gay. Irony had a twisted, sick sense of humor. Paige, and Aria, watched silently as the bartender delivered a beer to Emily before pulling out a shot glass.
"Oh wow," Aria smiled. "Irish Car-bomb."
Emily dropped the shot into the larger cup and began to drink large gulps. She'd downed a quarter of the drink before turning and instantly being stopped once more. Paige watched silently. Emily looked as if she was trying to get away from the girl without much success. The smile on her face was forced and she kept shaking her head at the blonde in front of her. Someone didn't look like they'd take the gentle let down.
Without a word, Paige got to her feet and headed toward the counter. Had she turned around, Aria's questioning gaze would have met her as well as the remaining three friends returning to the table. The young officer wasn't sure exactly what she was doing or what she'd say. Emily almost looked in physical pain as she tried once more to get away from the persistent blonde. It was almost painful to watch; being a single person on this particular holiday was always tough.
"... Well, maybe next week." Blondie said as Paige ducked around her.
Without thinking she smiled brightly, placed her hand under Emily's jaw and pulled her to the side, kissing her on the cheek. "Babe, I was starting to worry you wouldn't make it. The others have been asking when you'd get here. Didn't you get any of my texts?"
Emily looked at her for several moments with a blank expression. There were so many thoughts jumbling inside her head that it was nearly impossible to grab a hold of one. She wanted to scream at the woman, ask her if she was insane and what the hell she thought she was doing. It wasn't until she saw the deflation in the blonde that she realized Paige had merely came to rescue her from the woman.
"Um, yeah." Emily smiled suddenly. "Sorry, the babysitter held me up." She took Paige's hand, leaned forward before she could talk herself out of what she was about to do, and pressed her lips to the woman's cheek. "Happy Valentine's, baby."
The two stood looking at each other for a few moments, each one doing their best to look as if they were completely in love. Emily took the few moments to really look at the woman who had suddenly found it her life's mission to complicate her life. Lex had been doing well before Toby's new partner decided to stick her nose in. Granted, Lex had still been acting out: staying out past curfew, disobeying the restriction of the older girls and skipping classes.
Emily gazed into the brown eyes of the woman in front of her. Her smile reached into her eyes and made them sparkle slightly. There was something else beneath her eyes that Emily couldn't quite put a name to; a sadness almost. Paige's long, brown hair was down. It framed her face nicely, accenting her cheekbones almost perfectly. Had she known better- had Paige's personality not been a factor- Emily would have said that Paige was beautiful. Her sporty, casual attire was so much different than the uniform she'd always seen the woman in. Toby had been her friend for so long that at times she'd forgot the officers had lives outside of the precinct. Finding Paige in the bar, wearing street clothes, had reminded her that Paige couldn't always be the hard-ass police officer she portrayed to Lex.
"I think she's gone." Paige grinned. "You're welcome, by the way."
Paige held Emily's hand as they made their way through the crowd and returned to the table. The four occupants all had confused gazes and mouths slightly agape. Emily certainly hadn't made it a secret that she didn't think much of Paige to her friends and now they'd witnessed her kissing the woman. Instantly, as they came to the table, Paige's hand was gone from her grasp.
"What?" Paige chuckled, looking around at the four. "Blondie couldn't take the rejection. Don't I get some kind of brownie points for saving Emily from that vulture?"
Spencer leaned her arms against the table, glaring at her fiancee. "You do, thank you. It's just… Toby didn't tell us that you were-"
Paige's smile remained on her face. "A lesbian?"
"Well," Aria said, looking among her friends. "Yeah."
Paige lifted a single shoulder in a half shrug as she picked up her abandoned Jack 'n coke. "It never came up before. I mean," She thrust her head backward as she drank the remainder of the alcohol. "It's not like sexual orientation is a common question when getting to know someone. It usually just comes out somehow. People can either accept it or not; I'm not gonna care one way or the other."
"Whoa, Paige," Toby said calmly. "None of us are going to say 're not like that. I mean, Em came out in, what, Junior year?"
Aria reached across the table and took her friend's hand. "Emily was our friend before she came out, she was our friend after. You'll find nothing but support in this group."
Paige swallowed slightly, looking at the table where Aria held onto Emily's hand for another moment before releasing it. Rosewood was so much different than she was accustomed to; if she wasn't more careful, her secrets would unravel before she could solidify an actual friendship with anyone. "I'm sorry," She whispered softly, looking up at the five pairs of eyes. "I wasn't trying to imply that you all… it's a long story."
The atmosphere changed in an instant as a silence fell over the group. "I should go." Paige said after a few moments.
"What?" Toby asked at the same moment that Ezra spoke, "Why?"
Paige shrugged, looking into her empty glass. "I ruined the party, didn't I?"
"You did not," Aria told her.
Spencer had been watching the girl in silence since her outburst. Glancing around the table and the several empty drinks, she got to her feet. "This round is on me," The student held her hand out to Toby who chuckled and pulled a plastic card from his shirt pocket and laid it in her hand. "Em, come help me. Usual's, all around?"
"Just a beer for me, thanks." Paige said as she pushed the empty glass toward the center of the table.
Spencer grabbed Emily's hand and the pair set off across the dance floor toward the bartender. As they made contact with the railing, Spencer clasped her hand over the bartender's and gave him the six drink order before turning to Emily.
"Did you know that she was gay?"
"What?" Spencer choked. "You mean because she's Toby's partner? No, I didn't know. Em, I've only met the woman twice."
"She acted really defensive." Emily said, mostly to herself, as Spence nodded her agreement. "Like she's-"
"Still in the closet?"
"No," Emily said, looking back through the crowd. "Remember when I told you guys that I was gay? I mean, I knew that you guys wouldn't really turn on me but I was still scared. It just seems that Paige has had a rough time with people knowing."
"Wonder why." Spencer said, looking toward the table full of people.
"I don't know," Emily said. "But I'd like to find out."
