A/N: Sorry for the delay, again. Turns out, keeping a schedule is harder than you'd think. No new characters here, and I'm pretty sure there's nothing triggering here, except maybe language, as usual. Please let me know what you think, good or bad.
Enjoy !
"Hey. Are you ok ?"
Emily doesn't look up from her homework. "Yeah, of course. Why ?"
"You're lying." Sara accuses her.
Now she looks up from her text book and looks suspiciously at her sister on the other side of their bedroom.
"Why would you say that ?"
"So you don't deny it." An angry undertone to her voice.
Emily just sighs. "Maybe I am. But what makes you think I'm not fine ?"
"You went swimming every night since the incident with Allison, and you only go swimming if something's bothering you. I'm sure it's not the whole grounded thing, you didn't even fight it. So what is it?" She asks, genuinely concerned.
"It's nothing." She gets up at that, suddenly feeling restless. "I'm just a bit tired, that's all".
She knows she hasn't convinced her. Fuck, even her lying was getting weak.
"Bullshit. Just tell me, you know I won't judge you."
Emily smiles internally at her sisters' swearing. It's a very rare occurrence.
"No swearing, remember ?" She scolds.
"And no lying, remember ?" Sara snaps back.
Emily shakes her head. God that kid is growing up fast.
"Fine. It's no big deal." She moves towards the open attic window. "But not here, come on." She quickly climbs the wooden windowsill and lies down on the roof on the other side. It's not very steep there so there's no risk of falling. She waits until Sara is sitting cross-legged beside her.
"It's just that I'm scared." She admits, looking at the stars above their heads.
"Scared of what ? You're never scared." Sara asks, keeping her voice low but panic evident in her tone.
"Of losing this place, this…family." She sighs. "I don't know if I can keep settling in and starting to be happy right before it's torn away."
"Ok, I get it. But it doesn't mean you should stop trying." She looks at her older sister pleadingly.
"But what's the point of making a life for ourselves here, when we both know we'll be moved again soon, probably to a group home or with horrible people." The blonde argues back, frowning.
"You don't know that. Stef and Lena said they won't let us go until we have a good home that they approve of. And I trust them."
"Well, I don't." There it was. The simple and absolute truth. She couldn't trust them.
"What ?" Sara asks, disbelieving.
"I don't trust them. I really want to but I can't, not after San Francisco." She sits up to look into her sisters eyes, begging her to understand.
"I know that Katie putting us back in the system hurt you. It hurt me too." Sara pauses there, reminding her sister she isn't alone. "But she didn't have a choice, she lost her job and couldn't afford two kids depending on her, you know that."
"It's not just her. It's everyone, even before we were together, people always sent me back. Whether I was good or not. Whether they were nice or not. Whether I trusted them or not." She can feel tears burning her eyes and wipes them quickly away. "I just can't do it anymore, it hurts too damn much." She finishes simply, a sad smile on her lips.
Sara takes her older sister in her arms, hugging her as tightly as her small frame allows her to.
"I understand, but do you trust me ?"
Emily nods into the hug and whispers "of course".
"Well I trust them. They're different. So just try, please try for me. And if all goes to hell, at least you have tried. I know you're going through a hard time, but I also know you'll regret it if you just give up on something that could be good. You're life isn't over, not yet."
Emily is sobbing at that point. So she just nods into her sister's shoulder, letting herself be held and comforted. They stay that way for a few minutes before Mariana calls them for diner. So they both move and get back silently inside.
Emily pulls her sister back into a tight hug before they pass the doorframe.
"Thank you" She simply whispers in her ear.
"Whenever, Emmi." She fully smiles to the blonde who smiles back, she always loved the nickname.
They both take their usual places around the kitchen island. Brandon hands Emily the spinach while making a face. She laughs lightly at him before taking the bowl and pouring herself a good portion to go with her fish sticks.
"I don't understand why you want to find her. She's nothing to us." Jesus says angrily, while stabbing a poor fish stick.
"Because she birthed us. I want to... I don't know, see where I come from. Aren't you curious ?" Mariana answers, frowning.
"About a woman who abandoned us ? No." He snaps back.
"Guys, there's no need to argue about this. If Mariana wants to meet her birth mother, we'll arrange it. And Jesus, you don't have to meet her if you don't want to, it's fine." Stef intervened.
The twins silently nod, still tense.
"Anyway, Mama and I have an announcement." She takes Lena's hand and looks at her with a loving smile.
The younger woman clears her throat, a smile of her own.
"We're getting married"
Everybody freezes, eyes locked on their moms. Emily is the first to regain her composure.
"Really ? That's awesome. Do you already have a date planned?" She asks with a genuine smile before taking another bite of fish.
"Who's going to be your maids of honor ?" Mariana asks excitedly.
"Can I be one ?" Jesus adds playfully.
"I'm really happy for you guys. I always wondered why you didn't do it before." Brandon inquires.
Stef is about to answer but she's cut by Sara's small voice. "It was illegal until recently."
Everyone looks at her, startled. Emily silently chuckles before explaining.
"She tried to marry me to a friend once. I had to explain that we couldn't because we weren't 18 and we were two girls."
Everyone smiles at that and the conversation continues about dates, dresses, organization.
After dinner, Emily stays to help with the dishes.
"You said the wedding would be soon. How soon ?" She asks Lena, a concerned look on her face.
"I don't know, sweetie. Why ?"
"I just hope we'll still be here for it. I mean, Sara seems really happy about it and I don't want her to miss it." She adds quickly, not sure why. She didn't want to miss it either.
"You're not going anywhere right now. And even if Arthur finds you a good home, you'll still be invited." Stef answers, a warm smile on her face. "After all, how could I have a wedding without my maid of honor ?"
Emily swallows, not sure that she heard right. "What ?"
"I'm asking you to be my maid of honor, if you want to of course."
"Hum, yeah, sure." She slowly nods and tries to smile. "But... What does a maid of honor do exactly ?" She asks in a high pitched tone.
Stef chuckles lightly. "Don't worry you'll be fine. Just a speech to make."
Emily starts to panic internally, but manages to choke out "ok, good night" to her grinning foster mothers before going back up to get ready for bed.
"Well done, Emily. I have to say I'm really impressed. I wouldn't even know you missed half of the lessons just reading your copy." Mr. Fitz tells her while handing over her paper, with a big circled red A on it.
"Thanks". She genuinely smiles at him before eagerly reviewing it for notes and remarks.
"You too Spencer, you did really well, considering." Emily sees a red circled B on the blondes' paper and smiles at her. The girl smiles back before the bell rings.
"Ok, everyone have a great summer. Remember to read books, any book I don't care. Just. Read." He finishes pointedly.
Emily starts walking towards her locker, feeling lighter than the past few weeks. She only has a few days left of school before summer vacation. Since she managed to keep her excellent grades throughout the year, she doesn't have summer school. So she's making plans with her siblings and there's even a camping trip planed for August, she's really looking forward to that.
She gets to her locker and opens it with her code.
"Hey" a disembodied voice says behind her.
Emily jumps in surprise. She didn't expect someone to talk to her. Let alone that someone being Alison Dilaurentis.
She composes herself and turns around, a frown in place, ready to face her. "What do you want ?"
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry about what I said to your sister."
She eyes her suspiciously, this isn't what she expected. After a while, she still doesn't answer so the smaller blonde continues.
"I know you don't like me and I don't like you either, but we won't have to stand each other for too long anymore. See you around." She adds with a devilish smile.
Emily assumes the girl is talking about the end of the school year, but she's still acting weird. "Yeah, right."
Still a bit shaken with the unexpected encounter, she goes to class as the bell rings.
It's A.P Calculus and she likes it. The lesson goes smoothly, she understands well and she even answered the teachers' question.
But of course this Monday morning was going too well, an A, an apology and a good math lesson... It's too much for her karma.
As she's going to her locker again, she's blocked by a crowd of students in the hallway. She spots Mariana in the front and elbows her way through to her.
"Hey, what's going on ?"
"There was a tip about drugs in a locker here. I'm so screwed..." She answers fear evident in her voice.
"Why ? Do you have drugs in your locker?" Emily asks, an eyebrow raised and a smirk pulling at her lips.
"No, well..." She stood on her tiptoes to whisper in the blondes ear. "I might have stolen a couple of Jesus's pills."
"Why ?" She asks, amused by her foster sister's criminal tendencies.
"I needed cash, ok ?!" She snaps at her before lowering he voice again. "Will they find them ?"
"No, their dog isn't trained for pills." She smiles at the relief on the brunettes' features. "But you really should stop. You're going to get caught, it's way too obvious." She warns.
"So how can I get cash fast ?"
Emily is about to suggest a job, selling things found in trash or stealing, but cleverly. Only the dog is around her locker and she has a bad feeling about it. He sniffs at her locker a couple of times before barking loudly.
"Who's locker is this ?" The police officer asks the crowd.
She's torn between stepping forward or running for her life. The decision is made for her though when a certain blonde points at her and yells "it's hers !"
The police officer walks towards Emily and grabs her arm. "Come on"
She can see Mariana opening her mouth to argue but she shakes her head with pleading eyes. She can barely see her nod before the officer forcefully drags her towards her locker.
"Open up" He says angrily.
"Don't you need a parent present for that ?" Of course Mariana wouldn't shut up.
"What parent ? She doesn't have any" Allison replies with a smirk.
"She has me Ms Dilaurentis, and I'll be seeing you in my office right after I've dealt with this." Lena appears in front of the students, anger radiating from her. "And you are officer... ?"
"Chester, Paul Chester. My partner here is Rick Davies. You're principal gave us the authorization to search and take the necessary measures if needed."
"And you thought that gave you the right to search a minor's personal affairs without a parent of faculty member present ?" She retorts.
Chester smirks. "Well you're here now, so let's go, open it. "He gestures towards her locker. Emily gulps, she's sure it's a trap, and she's pretty sure she knows who's behind it.
She checks towards Lena who nods at her. So she opens it, and scans it's content. At first sight there's nothing out of the ordinary, but she still can't relax. Chester pushes her aside and starts rummaging through her stuff. After a few seconds, he pulls out a small plastic bag filled with white powder.
For fuck sake, it's heroin. She's sure of it. She glares angrily at Allison, who just looks at her smugly. She's about to throw herself on her and ask for answers but she's grabbed by officer Chester and thrown against the lockers. She has the reflex of putting her hands up to avoid her head smashing against the metal first. He keeps a hold of her by her collar while patting her down with his other hand.
She can hear everyone gasp and Lena's voice behind her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing ?! A female officer should be doing that !" She yells at them.
Emily manages to turn her head and sees the partner talking to her quietly.
"What's your name ?" Chester asks her while he grabs her backpack.
"Emily Finnegan" she answers angrily, her body still towards the locker.
Chester throws the backpack at his partner who barely catches it and slams her against the lockers again, pressing harder than before.
He whispers in her ear, clearly enraged.
"You're James Greene's brat, right ? The one who caught the authorities attention and got him arrested for drug dealing ? Well guess what, you're the reason I'm not a detective anymore, you stupid bitch."
Her eyes go wide, she's really in trouble with that guy. When the hospital called the social services on her father, they discovered his drug activities and he was arrested. They also discovered that he paid a few corrupt cops to protect his business. They didn't convict any for lack of proof, but they must have been punished in a way. Paul Chester must be one of those cops.
He cuffs her, locking them as hard as he can around her wrists. She slightly winces, fighting not to show her pain.
"Emily Finnegan, you're under arrest for drug possession in a public location. You have the right to remain silent, if you do say anything it can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have a lawyer present during any questioning. If you can't afford one, one will be appointed for you if you so desire." Chester tells her robotically while dragging her through the hall.
She shoots daggers at Allison right before being pushed through the main doors and shoved in a police cruiser.
She looks at the school and mainly Lena on the front steps, tears in her eyes.
Well, her life is shitty. And this shouldn't have surprised her, everything crumbles down at some point. And at least, this time Sara's safe.
But she doesn't feel as resigned as she thought she would. She's actually really angry. So, as she sets her eyes on Lena's teary ones, she decides that this isn't the end.
Enough moping.
It's time to fight again. Starting with officer fucking Chester.