A siren sounded in the distance as Emily pushed Spencer's door open, CeCe beside her as they entered. Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Caleb were inside, each of them sat surrounding the coffee table, with the exception of Spencer, who was in the kitchen speaking into her phone with a furrowed brow.
"Emily!" Aria exclaimed, the first to notice their arrival. The shorter brunette got off of the couch to pull Emily into a hug, relieved to see the taller girl. She smiled at CeCe as well, who returned the unspoken greeting politely.
"Toby can't stall the police any longer," Spencer said, approaching the rest of them as she shoved her cell phone into her back pocket. Toby, a loyal friend to Emily, had been doing his best to keep her off of the police's radar. Clearly, though, someone was hell-bent on having her arrested.
"There's no evidence, though. Right?" CeCe squeezed Emily's hand as she spoke tentatively, wanting to provide reassurance to her girlfriend amongst the storm of panic that was this room.
"They found some DNA on Mrs. D," Caleb said slowly, though he didn't look up from his laptop screen on which he was typing furiously. "It matched yours, Emily."
"A witness also reported seeing you there that night," Aria added, frowning as she shot a quick glance in Spencer's direction.
"Who was the witness?" CeCe asked, though she figured she already knew the answer.
"My sister," Spencer's voice was low, and for a moment none of them knew what to say. It didn't shock any of them, really. Especially not CeCe who had been having to work with the arrogant woman for months.
The sound of a police siren rang out again, and Emily couldn't help but notice that it sounded much closer now than it had before.
"So all of this evidence… It's enough to arrest me?" Emily wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to hear the answer.
"Apparently," Hanna said, annoyance evident in her tone. They all knew of Hanna's particular history with the Rosewood P.D., and none could blame her for the distaste she had for the amateur-esque assembly of those who were supposed to be upholding the law, and yet tended to be shadier than most of the criminals that they arrested.
"Then, what do we do?" CeCe's voice was quiet and uncertain, but she needed to vocalize the question.
"The cops are already on their way to your house, Em," Spencer said. "You can't go back there tonight. There's no way we're letting you be arrested for this mess."
"Then it's only a matter of time before they come here, too," Aria pointed out. She was right, Emily knew. Her close friendship with the other girls was hardly a secret to the police, so there was no doubt that they'd show up at her friend's houses as soon as they realized she wasn't at home.
"Em, we're working on clearing your name, but it'll take awhile and you can't be here when the cops show up," Hanna said, her eyes sympathetic.
"Well, there aren't very many places in Rosewood to hide from the police," Spencer said matter-of-factly.
Emily turned to CeCe when she felt the blonde gently squeeze her hand again. Her girlfriend was looking up at her with a conflicted gaze, and her voice was quiet as she spoke.
"I know somewhere we can go, but I don't think you'll like it."
From behind, Emily would never have guessed that the shorter woman with the long, wavy dark hair adorned in a stylishly floppy hat and animal-print fur coat was the sweet, sassy CeCe Drake. Emily found herself having to meet her girlfriend's gentle blue gaze through large sunglasses multiple times to reassure herself that it really was her. This disguise certainly wasn't sub-par, and Emily found herself wondering if CeCe had ever made her way around Rosewood in that attire, and if Emily had even seen her without recognizing the beautiful girl beneath the heavy fur.
"Vivian Darkbloom," she heard CeCe.. Err, Vivian, tell the man behind the desk, who scanned through a rather short list of names that sat in front of him.
It wasn't Emily's first time at the Lost Woods Resort, though she hadn't hoped to come back for a second visit. She wasn't sure how this old, one-star-at-best motel had remained open through the years; business here wasn't exactly booming.
"Ah, Miss Darkbloom. Room one?" The man asked.
Emily studied the young man behind the counter. He certainly wasn't the innkeeper Emily and her friends had met when they'd last stayed here, he was probably only in his mid-twenties, hardly capable of being older than CeCe. He was undeniably handsome, with sleek, black hair and calculating grey eyes, Emily figured he was essentially the definition of 'tall, dark, and handsome'. Normally, that wouldn't interest her in the slightest. However, she did notice the way his gaze occasionally drifted from CeCe's eyes to her chest, and even lower than that. Emily, though she trusted her girlfriend of course, did find herself once or twice wondering if CeCe had noticed exactly how tall, dark, and handsome the new innkeeper was.
"Room one indeed," she said with a smirk, which the innkeeper whose nametag read 'Colin' returned.
He turned around to receive a keychain with a single key and the number one attached to it off of the wall behind him. Handing the key to CeCe, Emily wondered if she was being a bit too jealous when she narrowed her eyes at the man's thumb brushing only momentarily over her girlfriend's.
"Would you like me to show you to your room?" He asked, and Emily wasn't able to decipher exactly what his tone of voice was.
She cast a brief glance at CeCe, who tilted her head in that way she often did when she was being flirty with Emily. CeCe almost looked like she was about to accept, when Emily cut in.
"We can find it ourselves, thanks," she said dryly, and Colin looked at her as if just noticing she was there. CeCe shot her a surprised glance, and Emily felt a bit bad for giving into unnecessary jealousy.
The man didn't say anything further, simply relenting with a nod as Emily turned to leave. She heard the clicking of CeCe's heals as her girlfriend followed her, but didn't turn to look at her girlfriend until they'd left the office behind and were now walking down a dirt path to the motel itself.
"Okay, what was that?" CeCe asked as they walked, breaking the silence as she took off her sunglasses which proved unnecessary in the quickly darkening evening. Emily met her girlfriend's gaze, which was softer than her tone.
"What was what?" Emily asked, hardly convincing CeCe of genuine naivety.
"You seemed a bit…" CeCe paused, seeming to search for the right word. "Off, in there with that innkeeper. He was just being nice," she pointed out.
"Maybe a bit too nice," Emily muttered, hardly loud enough for CeCe to hear.
Emily saw realization flicker in CeCe's gaze, which looked almost silver in the dim light. Her girlfriend suddenly looked smug, grinning at Emily as they finally reached the door to their room.
"Is that what this is about, Em?" CeCe asked, nudging Emily with her elbow before unlocking the door.
The door creaked menacingly as she pushed it open, throwing her purse onto the queen sized bed which she'd be willing to bet was ridden with bed-bugs. CeCe hardly cared, though. She was tired and didn't hesitate to plop down on the slightly ragged sheets, removing the itchy brunette wig.
"I didn't like the way he looked at you," Emily admitted quietly, turning to lock the door behind her before setting her own purse onto a nearby chair.
CeCe tilted her head and smiled up at Emily, gesturing for the brunette to sit beside her, not bothering to fix her hair which had become tousled and messy from the wearing of the Vivian wig. Emily complied, and couldn't suppress a small smile of her own when CeCe wrapped her arms around her.
"I thought he was flirting with you, and I got kind of…" Emily's voice trailed off as she felt CeCe reach for her hand, not dropping her warm gaze.
"Jealous?" the blonde supplied smugly, and Emily answered with a reluctant nod.
They heard rain begin to patter gently onto the roof above, and Emily remembered the predictions for a storm tonight. She didn't dwell on thoughts of the weather, though, when she felt CeCe lean in to kiss her gently on the cheek.
"I'm not going to run off with every flirty innkeeper I meet," CeCe's tone was playful, but her eyes were soft as she searched Emily's warm brown gaze.
Emily smiled as CeCe reached up to cup Emily's cheek in her hand, the brunette leaning her head into her girlfriend's warm touch. "You know I love you, right?" CeCe asked.
Emily nodded into CeCe's hand, feeling her thumb rub gently over her cheek as she lost herself in her girlfriend's entrancing gaze. "I love you too," she breathed.
CeCe leaned forward, pulling Emily into a kiss. Emily happily responded, and though CeCe had initiated it, it was Emily that quickly took control. The kiss that started slow and soft quickly became heated as Emily placed her hands on CeCe's waist, pushing the blonde gently until she laid flat on the bed with the brunette's weight resting on top of her. Emily allowed her hands to get lost in CeCe's messy, golden hair while CeCe had her arms wrapped tightly around Emily, pulling her closer into her. CeCe felt Emily's tongue swipe at her bottom lip, and smiled into the kiss at her girlfriend's impatience. She granted the brunette entry, and Emily wasted no time in exploring CeCe's mouth. CeCe pushed her tongue back against Emily's, moaning into the kiss.
"God, I love you," CeCe's voice was breathy as they pulled apart, the need for air growing too strong.
Emily peppered kisses down CeCe's neck, nipping gently at her pulse point and eliciting another low moan from CeCe.
"I love you too," Emily told her, positioning herself so that her lips hovered teasingly over CeCe's. "Now, let me show you how much."
The motel felt far less creepy with CeCe cuddled tightly into her, Emily decided. All of the shadows and menacing tree branches in the world couldn't scare Emily when she had the smaller girl's head nuzzled into her neck and arm draped over her stomach. Emily traced her fingers gently over CeCe's bare back, figuring that, by now, the blonde girl had fallen asleep. And, after that performance, Emily figured the smaller girl deserved all of the rest she could get.
Emily let out a quiet sigh as she played with a loose strand of CeCe's hair, wishing she could enjoy the night as much as she wanted to. The past hour or so had been nearly perfect, and Emily had almost entirely forgotten that she was, essentially, a wanted criminal. But, now that she was lying in silence, staring up at the dark ceiling with no soundtrack but the harsh downpour of rain outside, she was forced to think about the possibility of her pending arrest. The cops were probably scouring Rosewood for her, and Emily couldn't quite shake the fear that, somehow, they'd know she was here.
Emily forced her eyes shut, knowing she needed to get some sleep. She'd figure things out tomorrow.. Hopefully. She turned slightly, placing a gentle kiss on CeCe's head before attempting sleep. If she was half as worn-out as her girlfriend, Emily figured sleep would come eventually.
Only a few sleepless minutes passed, however, before one of the loudest claps of thunder Emily had ever heard sounded outside. She felt CeCe's small figure tense up against her, her arm tightening against Emily's waist. When a flash of lightning illuminated the room through translucent curtains, CeCe nuzzled further into Emily's neck.
"Ce?" Emily whispered, uncertain as to whether her girlfriend was awake, or the storm was stressing her out in her sleep.
CeCe lifted her head to look at Emily, and didn't appear to have been sleeping at all. The blonde girl looked a bit agitated, she noticed.
"Are you okay?" Emily asked, concern evident in dark, tired eyes. "Is it the storm?"
"I'm not a child, Emily. I'm not scared of thunderstorms," CeCe said defensively, though she flinched at an even louder clap of thunder.
Emily cocked an eyebrow at her girlfriend, who tried her best to look annoyed. "It's just loud," she muttered.
"CeCe, it's okay," Emily said, willing the blonde girl to know that she could be vulnerable around Emily, and that she didn't need to put up her walls.
CeCe relented with a breath, not meeting Emily's sweet gaze. "Back in Radley, I was always alone during thunderstorms. It was just really… Scary," CeCe looked embarrassed as she spoke.
Emily's heart broke. She knew that CeCe had been alone in Radley, and that the blonde girl had received few visitors. However, sometimes Emily didn't entirely comprehend the degree of loneliness that CeCe must have felt all her life. When Emily was younger and terrified of loud storms and the dark, her mother would always be there to comfort her. Emily grew emotional realizing that CeCe had never felt that sort of comforting love. No wonder the storms scared the smaller girl so much; she would just associate it with the loneliness she'd been forced to feel all her life.
Emily reached over to wrap her arms around CeCe, gently pulling her girlfriend into her as she acted as a cocoon for the nervous blonde. CeCe pressed her body into Emily's, grounding herself with the presence of the brunette.
"You're not alone anymore, CeCe. I'm here," Emily murmured as she gently ran her fingers through CeCe's hair. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."