The pain in her shoulder doubled by the time she got to the pool. She changed into her swim gear while the girls sat on the bleachers. She turned on music and oddly enough Anxiety by Papa Roach and Black Eyed Pease blasted through the speakers. All she could think about was not disappointing her parents and getting a scholarship to Stanford. She tried to breath her anxiety as she stepped on to the board, hoping her pain mentally and physically would disappear once the water surrounded her. Her feelings felt so small with the waves of water gliding past her, like it was swallowing them one by one. She looked up at her friends staring intently at her. She imagined a crowd watching her and the Stanford scout and her mom. Her anxiety tripled, but this was the only way she would perform like she was going to on Tuesday. She sucked in a large breath before counting down and hearing an imaginary horn before taking off down the path. The water was relaxing. The only thoughts she had were of winning. She touched the wall and flipped and turned back in the opposite direction. She continued this for 10 more laps before getting out of the pool. A teammate came in the pool.
"Hey Emily, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Oh just practicing for the meet. Would you be able to time me?" Emily asked.
"Of course!" she said dropping her bag and getting out her timer. Emily took a drink of water and caught her breath. She stepped on the board and waited for the girl to count down. Her heart was racing and her stomach was in knots. She squeezed her shoulder to make sure she was okay. "Three, two, one," and Emily heard a noise from her phone. She dived in and did the same motions. Her thoughts were non-existent. This was the best part of swimming. She didn't have time to think, only move. Soon she approached her last lap and felt to motivation to go faster. She touched the wall and climbed out of the pool. Her teammate wore an unreadable expression and looked at her in shock.
"What is it?" Emily asked her nervously.
"You just beat you old record by 4 seconds!" she yelled.
"What? Are you serious?" Emily grabbed her phone and it was confirmed. The girl wrapped her arms around Emily and spun her around.
"That's incredible!" she jumped for joy. "Congrats Em".
"Thank you," Emily said breathless and squeezed her back.
"How's your arm?" she asked.
"I don't feel it when I'm in the pool and I guess the adrenaline is stopping it form hurting now," Emily said trying to catch her breath. She was on Cloud 9. She didn't need the drugs to swim and that made her happy. She went back into the locker room to change and when she exited her shoulder was throbbing. Her friends were waiting outside the door.
"Good job Em," Alison said.
"Thank you," she replied. "Thank you guys for helping me this weekend, I know I would've been worse off if it hadn't been for you guys".
"We love you Em," Spencer said wrapping her arm around Emily's neck.
"I love you guys too," she said. "Let's go get coffee". They all nodded and headed for The Brew. They sat down and started talking.
"So Em how's your shoulder?" Aria asked.
"It's throbbing, but I don't feel anything when I'm swimming or right after I finish. I'm just going to put some ice on it," she said.
"That's good right?" Hanna asked.
"That's very good," she responds. The sound of Emily's phone ringing and the flash of 'mom' on the screen interrupted them. "I have to take this," she said before getting up to take the call.
"Hey mom," she said.
"Emily, I'm preparing dinner, invite your friends over," Pam said.
"Tonight?" Emily gulped.
"Yes tonight, spur of the moment," Pam responded.
"Okay I'll try," she said and hung up the phone. She walked over to the table with a worried expression.
"What did she want?" Alison asked.
"You guys over for dinner," she mumbled.
"What?" Alison asked nervously.
"What for?" Spencer asked.
"I don't know she just said spur of the moment," Emily shrugged.
"That's not like your mom, she's a planner," Alison said.
"Calm down, Emily's mom isn't apart of A's army or Mona's," Hanna said and her dry humor stuck a chord in them.
"Can we get out of it?" Alison asked.
"Not if we come up with a major excuse that would even convince the FBI," Emily said exaggerating and they all let out a sigh.
"Well then let's get this over with," she said. She was more nervous than the rest because of her feelings for Emily. The other girls were nervous because there was something Emily was hiding about her relationship with her mom. They all proceeded in their cars back to Emily's house for dinner.
"Hello girls," Pam said when they entered the house.
"Hi Mrs. Fields," they all said in unison. Pam Fields scared them the most out of all the parents because she was so strict yet so nice, almost as if she could kill you with kindness.
"Emily, why don't you set up the table," Pam smiles.
"Of course," Emily says and does as she's told and the girls go to sit down. Pam sits down at the head of the table and Emily at the other head.
"So girls, how's everything with school?" she asks.
"Everything's good," Spencer responds for all of them.
"That's good. Have you guys been applying to schools?" she asks and they all nod.
"Very good," she says before taking a sip of water. This dinner was awkward to put it nicely.
"So my why did you invite them," Emily asks but closes her mouth when she gets a look from Pam. She stares back down at her food. "Uh mom, this food is delicious," she says trying to change the subject, which the girls notice.
"Yes Mrs. Fields, if only my mom could cook like you," Hanna laughs and that causes Pam to chuckle as well.
"Thank you," she says.
"So what did you girls do this weekend?" she asked and everyone goes radio silent.
"Uh I was studying for most of it," Spencer says breaking the silence.
"I went shopping," Hanna says because it's expected of her.
"I was studying with Spencer," Aria says.
"Same here," Alison adds.
"Really?" she asks and squints her eye at Emily who gulps.
"Yeah," Spencer says a little more confidently.
"Emily are you okay? You look a little pale," Pam says and all eyes turn to Emily who indeed does look sick.
"I'm fine mom, just tired from my swim," she says.
"How was it?" she asks firmly.
"It went great, I beat my record by four seconds," she responds.
"That's great sweetie. I know you father will love to hear that," she says with her first genuine smile.
"I know he will," she says and takes a bite.
"So Emily, what were you doing this weekend?" Pam asks.
"I already told you mom," she says.
"I'd like to hear it again," Pam says firmly and Emily's hand starts to shake.
"I was studying for a test," she says.
"You want to try that again?" Pam gives her a look.
"I was studying for a test," she says a little more confidently until she sees Pam's eye twitching in rage.
"Don't lie to me!" she slams her hand on the table causing Emily to jump and the girls to look in shock.
"I'm not lying I swear mom," Emily says in a soft voice that they've never heard. Her lips are trembling and her tightly balled fists have started to bleed.
"Girls I think it's time for you to go," Pam says and Emily flashes a look of fear and the girls don't want to leave her with her mother.
"But Mrs.…" Spencer tries to say but is cut off by a look of rage that Pam sends her.
"I will deal with you once they're gone," Pam says and leaves the room leaving Emily trembling.
"Em what's wrong? We can't leave you like this. Not with her," they whisper.
"You guys really have to go," Emily's voice trembles.
"No way!" Spencer whispers loudly.
"You'll just make it worse. I promise I'll be fine," she says. "You guys have to forget what you just saw. No one can know," Emily cries. She stands from her chair and they follow her. She starts pushing them out the door. "I promise I will call you, you just have to go," she pleads and closes the door on them. Leaving them more worried than ever.
"I don't want to leave her," Spencer said.
"Neither do I," Hanna agrees.
"How about we sit in our cars," Alison suggests.
"Mrs. Fields can see our cars," Spencer points out. "How about we move them and hide in the bushes," she proposes.
"Good thinking Spence," Aria says. Five minutes later they're hiding in the bushes looking into Emily's room, but see nothing and hear nothing.
"What do you think is going on?" Hanna asks and they all shrug their shoulders worriedly. They wait outside for thirty minutes hearing nothing.
"Do you think we should text her?" Aria asks.
"Yeah, let me," Alison says.
Alison: Are you okay Em?
They wait but don't receive a response and all decide to text her.
Hanna: Where are you? Are you okay?
Spencer: Answers us Em, we're worried!
Aria: Call me.
Their attention is pulled when they hear a crash inside the house and they jump, but too afraid to move. They see Emily running towards the back door. The door opens and they all hear sobs and Emily running wildly towards the front. She can barely stand but she's moving quickly.
"Emily," Spencer shouts and it scares her and she screams.
"It's us," they say before coming out of the bushes. They see Emily sweating and out of breath with tears strolling down her face. Emily opts to keep running once they come face to face.
"Em! Don't run," Spencer says as they're chasing after her, but she's too fast for all of them and is off in the darkness.
"What the hell happened to her?" Aria asks worriedly.
"I don't know, but we'll find out tomorrow," Spencer says. "Let's go home and get some sleep".
"Doesn't look like I'll be able to get any," Alison says and they all nod in agreement. The next day of school comes and they're looking for Emily in the halls, but don't see her. They walk into English class and take their seats and wait for Emily. The teacher walks in and starts the course and concern floods through them. Emily comes into class wearing a black t-shirt with jeans three sizes too big and glasses covering most of her face. That's when Alison realized how much weight Emily has lost. Those were Emily's favorite jeans and now she can barely hold them up without a belt.
"Nice of you to join us Ms. Fields, please take a seat," the teacher says sarcastically and gestures and she sits up front for the first time instead of with the girls. "Please take off the shades, they're not allowed, school policy," he says and Emily lets out a large sigh before taking them off. She leans forward to cover her face from people and the lecture is over thirty minutes later. She slips the shades back on before running out of the class before the girls can stop her. They see her at her locker and try to get to her but she takes off. They eventually corner her into a bathroom.
"What the hell Em, why are you avoiding us?" Hanna demands but receives no response.
"What happened last night?" Spencer asked again no response.
"What did your mom do to you?" Aria asks and it's like Emily snaps.
"I don't know what you're talking about guys. I went to sleep last night early," she said. Alison eyed her the entire time and stepped forward and grabbed the glasses. Emily tried to stop her, but she was too late and turned away. Alison grabbed her chin and lifted it so Emily was facing everyone. There were collections of gasps as they saw the ugly bruise that surrounded her eye.
"What happened to you eye Em?" Alison asked softly. Emily turned towards the mirror and turned on the sink washing her face. It revealed the entire bruise that traveled from her eye to the middle of her cheek.
"God Em, what did she do to you?" Spencer asked looking at it.
"Nothing," Emily sighed touching her cheek and wincing.
"Don't lie to us, you ran out of that house like a bat out of hell," Hanna said firmly.
"If she's hurting you, you need to let us know," Aria said putting her hand on her shoulder and Emily winced and pulled away.
"Why? So you can report her and get me taken away or sent away with my father?" Emily said with tears in her eyes.
"This was all my fault," she said. "I hit my face on the door when I was running, it's no big deal".
"Why were you running?" Alison asked.
"I got into a fight with my mom and I hate arguing with her so I ran," she said.
"So what's wrong with your shoulder?" Spencer asked.
"It's still sore from last night swim session," she said.
"Emily, what did she do to you?" Alison asked softly.
"Nothing I swear, we were just arguing," Emily said.
"I don't believe you," Alison says.
"Well too bad because that's my story and I'm sticking to it," she said before grabbing her bag and glasses and exiting the bathroom.