Here is a long one for you! Hopefully that's a good thing….especially after Tuesday's episode! Ahh that was so terrible! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this one and it brings your Paily spirit up!
Chapter 11
The Next Day
"How did I get to the diner then?" Emily groans to Spencer, who is picking her food at The Grille.
"I don't know," Spencer pauses with a slight shrug, "Jenna and Noel just said they found you drunk off your ass at that diner. You must've gone there after Paige's. Did she see you leave with anyone?"
Emily shakes her head, staring down at her glass of water as she traces her index finger along the rim of the glass, "She just said I was gone when she came back into the room, then tried to call me to make sure I was okay. But, I didn't answer. Someone must've taken me to that diner. I hadn't even heard of it before."
"Someone from Noel's parties, I bet," Spencer responds before stuffing cheesy fries in her mouth, Hanna nods silently in agreement then steals some cheesy fries from Spencer's plate.
"All I remember is that tattoo and someone writing a note that said 'I'm sorry I left you.' " Spencer and Hanna exchange puzzled looks as Emily mumbles the last part. Those are the only two clues Emily has to work with to solve the final puzzle of that night, she has no idea what that tattoo is or what the note to her meant. Who left her? The only two people, who have 'left' her, are dead.
"Who are they trying to protect?" Hanna interjects, her nose scrunched, as she waves some cheesy fries around in her hand.
Spencer shrugs again, "Themselves?" A short pause, "Or whoever wrote that note to Emily." Her eyes fall on Emily as she finishes the last part of her sentence.
Emily sighs heavily and glares back down at her plate, "We have to figure out who else they are protecting because I'm willing to bet that neither of them wrote that note to me, there had to be someone else there with them."
Seeing Emily's residual frustration, Spencer keeps her eyes softened on Emily, "We will, Em, Those two are definitely hiding something or someone. I don't know what or who yet."
"And whatever or whoever they are hiding, probably broke me and Caleb up," Hanna adds coldly, crossing her arms on the table and staring hard ahead of her, the familiar hurt and frustration glazes over her intense green eyes.
"And drove Toby away," Spencer adds as the corners of her lips tug down into a frown, "I miss him," a sad tone overtakes the anger that has filled Spencer's voice.
Hanna's eyes fall to the table as sadness well up in her eyes, "I miss Caleb, too," she loops her arm through Spencer's and rests her head on her shoulder.
"At least you get to see Caleb," her tone is a little harsh but thick with pain as she stares at the top of Hanna's blonde head, "I don't even know where Toby is," she inhales sharply then glances back up at Emily, "At least one of us is happy." Her tone is lighter and the corners of her lips turn up into a smile for a brief moment.
A giddy smile forms on Emily's lips at the thought of Paige, "I am happy, but you guys deserve to be happy, too. We will get to the bottom of this 'A' so Caleb and Toby can be safe with you guys again."
Hanna unhooks her arm from Spencer's, then leans back in her chair and returns to stabbing at her salad, "How was the Katy Perry movie last night?" A faint, suggestive smirk flashes across her lips when she asks Emily.
"The night started off a bit rocky, Paige walked in on me watching some of Maya's videos on her website. So, we sat for a bit as she comforted me. But, once we got going, the rest of the night was really great," the smile on Emily's face continues growing wider as she recalls the night with Paige.
Hanna and Spencer smirk at each other then turn their attention back to Emily, both with the same glint in their eyes that they always seem to get when Emily expresses interest in any girl.
"I'm really happy that it went so well, I'm sorry that we told you about Maya's website like that, "Hanna says apologetically, " I told you we wanted to wait but…"
"I wanted to know because I know you guys were hiding something from me, " Emily cuts her off more harshly than she intended.
"We just wanted to give you a couple moments of happiness since we don't get many of those," Spencer defends the girls' actions but the vulnerability is visible in her eyes which softens Emily's demeanor.
"I know," Emily sighs with an understanding nod as she glances down quickly, "Just in the future, please tell me because it's not going to make it hurt any less later."
A couple of days later
Paige chucks her phone at the wall after she sends a text to Emily, telling her she wasn't feeling well. The horrible image of Nate and Emily kissing is burned into her mind; it makes her stomach churn painfully. She punches the wall next to her bed but she doesn't feel the pain that should be there, it's just numb.
Paige falls onto her bed as the tears finally fall down her face. How could Emily do this to her? She is finally happy and had been looking forward to their night together.
Watching a movie with Chinese food while cuddling with Emily had been getting her through her already awful day. Instead, her day turned ten times worse when she saw that disturbing site on Emily's porch.
The tears keep falling. She doesn't know if she should say anything to Emily. She really doesn't want to. She wants to forget it, if she can.
Two Days Later
Paige sucks in a deep breath, she should just tell Emily everything. Its seems like Emily's friends will keep prying for information about her and it will all get back to Emily either way.
"Em?" Paige leans against the counter in the kitchen as Emily starts washing the tea mugs, "There is something else that I need to tell you about Alison."
"You don't have to, you have already told me a lot tonight and I know it was hard for you to open up like that," Emily says gently and looks at Paige with soft, loving eyes.
Paige breaks the eye contact to stare down at her feet, slightly embarrassed about what she's going to confess, " I know but I want to tell you. I want you to hear it from me and not anyone else."
The familiar insecurity shines across Paige's face; Emily nods then shuts the sink off and steps closer to Paige, "Okay."
Paige inhales sharply, gazing straight head and not at Emily, nervous about what her reaction might be, "When Alison tormented me freshman year, she um faked a note from you to me and put it in my locker."
Emily's brow crinkles, "What? What kind of note?" Shock and confusion mix into her voice, Ali had never mentioned Paige or a note to her when she was alive.
"A note telling me that you had feelings for me and that you always thought of me, " Paige says softly, "But that you couldn't say anything since you had a boyfriend. Then it said if I felt the same way about you, to write back and put the note under a sign in town so your boyfriend wouldn't find out, " she pauses to inhale through her nose and nervously shove her hands in her pockets, " When I did…write back, Alison showed up and took it. She threatened to tell my dad. That's when I really started to feel ashamed of myself, more so than before."
Tears sting in the back of her eyes again, but she's able to fight them this time when Emily brushes her fingers against her hand. "Paige, I had no idea she did that and involved me in all of that, I'm so sorry…" Emily whispers as she moves in front of Paige.
"It's fine," Paige sniffles, "I should've known it was one of her cruel tricks," their eyes finally meet when Paige lifts her eyes back up from the ground. All of Paige's anxieties and fears start to fade away again when the sweet, understanding chocolate eyes bore into hers.
Emily starts figuring out what this means and her hearts starts racing, " How did she know that…"
"That I had feelings for you?" Paige finishes Emily's sentence with more confidence, "I don't know, " she shakes her head and shrugs slightly.
A smile tugs at the corners of Emily's lips and her chocolate eyes beam brighter into Paige, "So.. you had feelings for me all the way back then?"
Paige starts to blush then glances down at her feet, "Yeah…I guess I did and I think Alison figured it out before I did."
Emily takes another step closer to Paige, "Ali had a way of doing that. I can't believe you liked me for that long."
Before Paige can reply, Emily's lips are on hers, kissing her lovingly. One of Emily's hands comes up to caress Paige's cheek. They stay like that for a few minutes, kissing slowly and gently. Enjoying the sweet taste of each other's lips.
The buzzing of Emily's phone on the counter behind them breaks them apart as she reaches behind Paige to see Hanna's picture on the screen. She groans then swipes to decline the call and throws it lightly back onto the counter. "I'm sorry about them," Emily mutters.
Paige runs her hands up Emily's arms, "I know, it's okay. Hopefully they'll come around."
"It's not okay," Emily shakes her head angrily, "I just wish they would be happy for me," tears start to fill the back of her eyes.
"I thought they were…what happened?" Paige looks at Emily with concerned and pleading eyes, she hates seeing the pain and anger in Emily's eyes but she wants to know what happened to make her friends act like that tonight.
Emily sighs, the tears start to fade away as she gazes back into Paige's eyes. It's clear what her friends are up to, "It's complicated," her eyes drop down to the floor as she tries to explain without having to lie or tell the complete truth, "After everything the past couple of years, they don't really trust anyone."
Paige can feel her heart clench slightly at the implication that her friends don't trust her. But, she tries to understand and not let the hurt show on her face. Emily and her friends have been through a lot; they are usually the talk of the school. Most of it she doesn't understand but she knows there is more to the story than she knows. The vibration in her pocket stops her from continuing, she sighs when she sees home flashing across the screen, "It's my folks. They are probably wondering where I am."
Emily nods as Paige holds the phone up to her ear, "Hi, dad. I'm still at Emily's." During the brief pause in conversation, Emily plays with the hem of Paige's shirt between her fingers.
Paige sighs discontentedly at the reply on the phone, hating that she still has to respond to things such as curfew, "Yeah, I'm on my way now."
Shaking her head, Paige shoves her phone in her pocket with a frown, "I gotta go. They want me home."
"I figured, " Emily breathes out sadly and drops the hem of Paige's shirt.
On the way out, Paige grabs her jacket and slips it on, not wanting to leave Emily. She pauses by the front door and finds the familiar brown eyes, "Thanks for tonight, Em. You're the only person I have been able to open up to about this. I'm just sorry that I didn't tell you earlier."
Emily leans against the door, "I'm glad you can trust me enough to be able to tell me all that. I'll see you tomorrow," she pecks Paige's lips and receives a smile in return.
"Goodnight, Em. I'll text you when I get home," she walks backwards down the font steps. After a short time of dating, Paige already knows that Emily likes to know when she gets home.
Next Morning
Emily grips the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles are completely white. Anger flows through her veins but the hurt and sadness have caused unshed tears to build up in the back of her eyes.
How can they say such awful things about Paige? Accuse her of being 'A'? Accuse her of killing Ali and Maya? They don't know her. She's finally happy after everything she has gone through then they throw this at her. She is finally able to move on after the two girls that she has ever loved have both been killed. The tears eventually fall down her face when she gets inside and out of view of the reporters that have been lining the streets.
She pulls out her phone to call Paige; she needs her right now. But, she only cries harder when she hears her voice.
"Em? What's wrong?" Paige's voice is filled with concern as her heart sinks when she hears Emily crying on the phone.
"I thought that they were going to apologize but they cornered me," Emily finally chokes out as she wipes at the tears streaming down her cheeks.
Paige sighs loudly; she knows that Emily is referring to talking to the girls about how they treated her yesterday. "What happened?" She asks, trying not to let the anger seep into her voice.
Emily clenches her eyes shut, tears fall faster down her cheeks as she replays the morning over in her head, "Can you come over?"
Glancing around the school hallway, Paige inhales deeply, she hates missing school but she can't stand the thought of Emily crying by herself, "I'll say that I'm going home sick. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Okay, thanks. I'll see you soon," Emily ends the call and falls onto her window seat, trying to decide how she is going to tell Paige everything. As dangerous as it might be, she knows its time to tell her about 'A' and explain her friends' absurd behavior lately. She didn't even tell Maya about 'A', but with Paige everything is different. Mona might still be 'A' but they don't know for sure. Maybe there are multiple 'A's. Right now, the pieces of evidence are scattered but for some reason, her friends think they have this new "lead" on Paige.
Paige opened up to her last night about her past. Her heart swells when she remembers Paige's confession about how long she has had feelings for her. Emily had no idea, but she is disgusted that Ali tortured her with it and drove Paige to such a dark place. The thought sends shivers down her spine and a stab in her heart. Ali had such a way of turning people's secrets into their worst nightmares; she had a first hand experience. Now, its Emily's turn to open up to Paige and trust her like Paige trusted Emily last night.
The small smile returns to Emily's face when she sees Paige ride up on her bike, trying to dodge the reporters on her street. Emily wipes the dampness on her cheeks as she walks downstairs. When she opens the door, Paige greets her with a gentle embrace and a soft kiss to the side of her head then lets her lips linger there, "Are you okay?"
"Better now that you're here," Emily whispers against Paige's shoulder, taking in the familiar scent, a mixture of chlorine and coconut.
Pulling back slightly, Paige looks into Emily's reddened, puffy eyes then gently traces her thumb along Emily's cheek, "What happened to make you so upset?"
Emily inhales sharply then drops her eyes away from Paige's; "There's some stuff that I have to tell you for it all to make sense. Let's go up to my room to talk."
Emily's words and demeanor make Paige feel nervous, "okay." She faintly nods then follows Emily upstairs to her window seat. Silence fills the room as Emily tries to gather her thoughts then leans against Paige's body.
"Em?" Paige asks anxiously, the extended silence makes her even more worried.
"Sorry, I'm just trying to think of where to begin," Emily takes a final deep breath before continuing, " About a year ago, around the time Alison's body was found, my friends and I started receiving anonymous texts- they call themselves 'A'. They said things only Alison knew and this person knew some pretty bad things about all of us."
Her fingers draw mindless circles along Emily's arms as she listens to her every word, her mind immediately going to Mona, remembering her being shoved into Radley last spring after harassing the girls. There had been so many rumors, Paige didn't know what to believe, so she tuned it out and was only concerned with Emily's extended absence from school after everything.
"It started escalating pretty quickly with threats that we couldn't ignore and had to comply with because if we didn't, we would be punished. 'A' proved that when they ran over Hanna with a car and put her in the hospital. 'A' put drugs in my medicine and put me in the hospital last year. 'A' has dirt on us that can make us look guilty and use it to frame us. We thought we had ended things when Mona was put into Radley."
Paige chimes in before Emily continues, "Yeah, that's what I heard about Mona that she was harassing you guys with these anonymous texts, I just wasn't aware of the extent of it or how much she really hurt you guys." Her heart aches when she thinks of Emily being put into the hospital because of Mona's psychotic ways. "Has this not stopped?"
Emily shakes her head against Paige, "No, we thought she was the only one. But, we are still getting texts and threats from 'A'. There is either a new 'A' or Mona has help on the outside. We aren't entirely sure" Emily pauses to take a deep breath before continuing to the difficult part of the conversation, " Since everything that has happened, my friends don't trust anyone, like I said last night. So, when Spencer found out about your past with Alison, she immediately jumped to conclusions…"
Anger and hurt course through Paige as she starts to put the pieces together and analyze Emily's words. Her friends think she is 'A' and that she is trying to hurt them. How can they possibly think that?