Chapter 10
It had been days since Paige left the hospital and Spencer refused to come home. She slept at Toby's, ate junk, showered at the gym and worked. She sent Aria home to pick up a couple of her work shirts but apart from that, Paige hadn't heard from her in nearly a week. She was beginning to lose hope.
She felt like a squatter. A parasite living in Spencer's home, forcing her to seek refuge somewhere else. She thought about packing up and going home but she had no answers to give her parents if they asked her why she came. She was sure they'd tell her to work things out with Spencer first, before running away. And she would, or at least she was trying to, but the problem was that Spencer wanted nothing to do with her these days. She wouldn't answer her calls or texts. If it wasn't for the clothes that went missing every other day she wouldn't even know she came around.
Emily sat on her front porch with two mugs of steaming hot cocoa in her hands. It was close to 6 am and there was no one around but she knew Paige's schedule and she knew she'd be on edge and unable to sleep and that she would've already been up and about. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later Paige walked out of Spencer's house in some comfortable jogging clothes. Emily beckoned her closer and though hesitant, Paige walked on over to her. She handed her a mug with a smile and a greeting, and for a few moments they quietly drank. It was Emily that spoke first.
"How are you holding up?" she asked, eyeing her up and down, trying desperately hard not to stare too long at any of her favorite places.
"I've been better. But I'm not complaining." Paige replied, looking around. They were still alone but Alison was not the only reason she was avoiding getting too close.
"How are things with Spencer?" she asked, conflicted about whether she wanted them to be good and have Paige move on, or bad and Paige still be an option for her.
"Not looking so great. She still wont talk to me" Paige admitted, looking down and fiddling with a patch of dirt on the ground.
"I'm sure things will work out for the best" Emily vaguely assured her. What 'the best' insinuated was left open-ended.
"I don't know Em," started Paige, accidentally slipping into old habbits and calling her by her nickname "I think I really hurt her this time. We've argued before but never like this." she finished, looking forlorn.
"Paige, Spencer's a bit girl. She can handle herself. You don't need to worry about her. And I'm sure she knows you never meant to hurt her. She just needs some space to cool off and when she's done, I'm sure she'll come back and talk things out with you." Emily assured her, standing up from her perch and walking over to her, placing one arm around her, rubbing her back and one arm on her upper arm, giving it a gentle squeeze.
Paige looked down at the hand on her arm and instinctively reached out for it, wrapping her fingers around it and holding it. Emily leaned in for an embrace and Paige pulled her in, accepting it, letting her scent permeate and overwhelm her olfactory senses. Paige basked in the familiarity of Emily's arms. She smelled like sunshine, warmth and home and Paige could feel her resurrect the butterflies inside her stomach. This is exactly what she had been avoiding all this time. This perfect torture. Her eyes filled up with tears as she pulled away and started running down the street, throwing some excuse behind her back. Leaving Emily staring off in a daze, bewildered. Paige seemed to smell different somehow.