Chapter Fourteen

Emily quickly threw herself into the deep blue depths of the Olympic size pool and cut effortlessly through the water. She was determined this morning, determined to put last night behind her. She was still rattled at the fact that Jru didn't want her to come to the ball, and on top of that, the fact that Jru didn't even make an effort to call her after she had returned home. Jru had a right to be angry with her, yet everything about Jru's anger was unsettling to Emily. It was obvious that anger didn't come naturally to Jru, but she had managed to fortify her defense against Emily.

"You are swimming pretty fiercely today…" Paige commented once Emily stopped for a moment. Emily hadn't noticed Paige enter the pool area, but she had been watching Emily shred through the water for the last five minutes. "Is something wrong, Em?" she had known Emily long enough to know when something was wrong. She tended to swim harder and faster when something was getting on her nerves and this morning she was on a tear.

Emily moved to the side of the pool and climbed out. "Yeah, a lot on my mind, I guess," Emily admitted gently. "I just wanted to work out some of the kinks before the meet on Tuesday and I don't see myself getting in much swim time tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous too," Paige said debating on whether to jump into the pool or stay dry. She relished the times she was able to speak to Emily alone and since she had started dating Jru, those times were few and far between. "There are supposed to be some scouts there I think."

"Yeah, I think the coach from University of Penn is going to be there," Emily offered a little too eagerly. She had been thinking about it for a while and since she and Jru were together now, a scholarship offer from there would be wonderful. The education would be great, her mother would appreciate that, and it would be all paid for, which her father would appreciate; but most of all she would be closer to Jru.

"Oh, so you want to be closer to her?" Paige still couldn't say Jru's name without cringing internally. She still loved Emily and couldn't really take the feeling of her loving someone like Jru.

"It's a great college Paige, that's all," Emily downplayed her desire to be near Jru. "Ivy League, full scholarship, anyone would be happy about it," she wrapped a towel around her, but sat on the edge of the pool. Paige sat down next to her and dipped her feet into the pool.

"You definitely deserve it, but there are some scouts that will be there too…" Paige offered lightly. "But I'm sure Jru wants you to be near her."

"I'm not so sure," Emily mumbled kicking some water into the middle of the pool.

"…is there something wrong between the two of you?" Paige began fishing for information. Her hopes were desperately hanging on the thread of what Emily's answer to that question would be.

"It's difficult with her sometimes," Emily sighed choosing her words slowly. "She doesn't know my history or about "A" and she's so innocent in all of this. I can't pull her into a bunch of craziness…she deserves something easy…something better."

"There is nothing better than you," Paige assured her. "Do you know how lucky she is to have you?" Paige asked sincerely.

"I don't think she is feeling that too much," Emily stood. "You wanna swim a few laps?"

Paige stood also and shrugged. "Sure," she dived into the pool. Emily followed close behind and they swam for a while. It helped take her mind off of Jru for a while and Emily appreciated that fact.

"So do you want to grab some lunch or something?" Emily asked after they were dressed and heading outside. The question caught Paige by surprise.

"Are you sure?" she questioned cautiously. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but she missed Emily terribly. She missed their friendship, she missed the fact that Emily could push her with swimming more than anyone else; but most of all, she just plainly missed Emily. There were so few people like Emily and since she had started dating Jru, it seemed like any hope of interactions with her was a million miles away.

"We are allowed to be friends, Paige," Emily smiled. "Having lunch isn't a crime…"

Paige took a deep breath, trying to shield herself from Emily's smile. "As long as it's not a crime…"

Spencer assumed picking the lock to an expensive apartment building's door like the one Jru lived in would be a lot more difficult than it ended up being. It had only taken a second before the lock gave and clicked, giving Spencer, Aria and Hanna access to Jru's apartment. "I think I'm becoming way too good at picking locks," Spencer shook her head slowly. She joked around when she was nervous and Spencer had to admit, she was definitely nervous. She had sent Jru a text message last night when she had gotten home safely, but hadn't heard back from her.

"Why are we breaking into someone's apartment on a suspicion?" Hanna asked for the third time. Jru's car was out front and there was really no reason to assume that anything was wrong.

"Yeah Spencer, Hanna is kinda right. We are breaking into someone's apartment for no real reason. She could just be sleeping after a boring night at a ball."

"I just have a feeling," Spencer explained once again. "And as many times as we rung that stupid doorbell, she would have answered the door." Spencer entered the apartment followed by Hanna and Aria. The lights were still on, but the sunlight drowned out the extra illumination. "Jru…Jru…sorry if you are asleep …" Spencer walked back to the bedroom. The bed was made up and nothing seemed out of place.

"Is she this meticulous all the time?" Aria questioned looking around. This was her first time in Jru's apartment and it was amazing how immaculate it was.

Spencer walked back into the living room. "Yeah, she has always been this organized. Her car is out front…she's not answering her phone and she's not here."

"Maybe she went somewhere with her sister," Aria offered. "Or mom or dad. I'm sure there is a simple explanation for this."

"Hanna you are being really quiet," Spencer turned her attention away from Aria. Hanna was never quiet for more than three seconds in a row and she had been quiet for most of the ride over to Jru's apartment and was still quiet. "What's going on?"

"Mona said she had been in Jru's apartment," Hanna blurted out. She had been trying to hold back, just praying that Jru was at home in bed sleeping, but now that her apartment was empty…

"What do you mean?" Aria's eyes widened in disbelief, "Mona said she had been here?"

"She mentioned something about a picture and Emily went ballistic."

"When!" Spencer screamed but didn't mean to. "Hanna, why didn't you or Emily call me?"

"And say what? Emily handled it and we really didn't believe that Mona was serious. Jru is Athena Favor's daughter …who would really mess with her!"

"Crazy, bad ideas don't stop Mona, Hanna! It doesn't stop A, and it's damn sure not going to protect Jru!" Spencer argued. "Why didn't you and Emily just tell me this yesterday?"

"Because you were with Jru; we figured she'd be safe at least through today…" Hanna responded only somewhat sarcastically.

"I'm going to call her sister…" Spencer rolled her eyes. "Aria can you see if you can find Emily please?" They had stopped by her house before coming to Jru's and her mother said she was preparing for Tuesday's swim meet.

"No problem…" Aria started dialing.

"I miss you," Paige admitted slowly. "I mean, I miss our friendship; being able to hang out with you and see you every day."

"We can see each other Paige," Emily laughed. "We can hang out and swim together and have lunch."

"And your new girlfriend isn't going to come punch me in the face?" Paige asked only half jokingly.

"Jru is not the jealous type," Emily smiled. "She has this really quiet confidence where nothing bothers her; or at least I think. She never lets on that anything bothers her." Emily paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, is this weird; to be talking about Jru?"

"No it's fine," Paige pushed her away her coffee mug. "So she's like perfect…"

"No, not perfect," Emily shook her head. "If nothing else, it seems that she can hold a grudge." She looked down at her cell phone wishing that Jru would at least text her. "And I'm pretty sure her sister hates me too. She always gives me these dirty looks like I'm nowhere near good enough for her sister."

"You are good enough for her Emily…" Paige reached across the table and placed her hand over top of Emily. Emily didn't pull back immediately; it wasn't until Emily's phone buzzed that she pulled her hand away to check it.

"It's Aria…" Emily revealed answering the phone. "Hey Aria…no Jru isn't with me, Paige and I are having lunch. What do you mean missing? I'm sure she is just with Kelly or her parents…" Emily pushed her seat back and stood up. "No, I haven't heard from her today or last night. She's probably just at her apartment…what do you mean you are at her apartment…and she's not there? Okay, I'll be right there."

"Something wrong?" Paige sighed. Of course something would be getting in the way of her and Emily's alone time. It was as if Emily's friends could radar in on when they were together and ruin it.

Emily was unsure how to answer that question. "No…I'm not sure. I have to meet the girls at Hanna's, so we'd better be heading out…"

"Do you want me to go with you?" It was a stupid thing to offer, but it seemed like Emily was a bit shaken by the phone conversation and Paige didn't want to leave her alone.

Emily considered the offer for a moment. It would be a horrible idea to take Paige with her, but something about the offer was sweet. "No, I'll be fine," Emily said after a while. "Can I call you later?"

Paige's eyes lit up; "Yeah sure," she smiled.

"Okay, I'll call you later," Emily promised.

"Emily should have been here by now," Spencer said looking at Hanna's wall clock. It was a bit past one in the afternoon and Spencer's patience was wearing thin. "I thought you said she was at the school; that's like five minutes from here…"

"I said at lunch," Aria mumbled. There was no way to tell Spencer that Emily was at lunch with Paige without her hitting the ceiling. Unfortunately, Spencer still held close in her mind that things were not entirely over between Paige and Emily and that irking suspicion would cause a rupture in the balance of their friendship. Aria had noticed the tension since Emily and Jru began dating. "Did you hear back from Jru's sister, Spencer?"

"She just texted me and said that Jru wasn't with her and their mother had flown out this morning… I don't know where else she would be! If there was any way she could contact me, she would call back! What else did Mona say, Hanna?"

Hanna rubbed her temples, "Just something about the picture…which set Emily off."

"Seems like if it set Emily off, she would at least show up now that Jru is missing…"

"We don't know for sure that she is missing," Aria reminded her. Spencer cut her eyes at Aria, but refrained from making a comment.

"If Emily doesn't get here soon, I'm going back to Philadelphia," Spencer threatened hastily. She stood and paced the room again. She didn't know if this was guilt getting to her or a genuine need to know where Jru was; either way, her desire to find Jru was mounting. Perhaps if they had gone back to the cabin last night, she would know where Jru was; or perhaps if she had just spent the night…

"She's probably with Paige," Hanna said out of the blue. Aria gasped, wanting desperately to stop Hanna's words.

"With Paige?" Spencer questioned slowly. "What would she be doing with Paige?"

"Training I'm sure," Aria cut in. "They are two of the best swimmers…they push one another."

It was Spencer who did not know the truth; that if things had gone differently that one night, Emily and Jru would not be together. Emily had chosen Paige, but after Jru's accident it was impossible to stay away from Jru. It wasn't that Emily did not want Jru, but it also didn't mean that she didn't want Paige also.

"Would you be swimming with someone else because they pushed you if Ezra was missing?" Aria didn't have to answer because she could hear Emily in the foyer.

"What took you so long?" Spencer began without preamble.

"I was having lunch Spencer…"

"With Paige?" Spencer questioned openly.

"Yes, with Paige…as friends."

"Well, it's funny how your girlfriend is missing and you are out having 'friendly' lunches with your not so distant ex-girlfriend," Spencer accused.

"Hey you two…this isn't helping anyone," Aria reminded Spencer more than Emily. Still, it didn't squash the argument that was coming.

"If you have something to say Spencer, please don't hold back," Emily warned.

"Oh, I have no intention of holding back…"

"Why don't we talk about where the hell Jru is!" Aria was finally getting tired of the situation.

"Jru is still missing?" the reality of the situation finally hit Emily. Her breath caught in her throat as she turned to Aria, then to Hanna. Her eyes connected with Hanna and Hanna could feel her fear. They were both thinking the same thing; that somehow Mona wasn't joking and that Jru's disappearance had everything to do with Emily. "Could A have really gotten to her?" The guilt washed over her like a wave. While she was enjoying swimming and lunch, A's cruelty had reached Jru, like it reached everyone they cared about. "You were with her last night…" she stammered towards Spencer.

"Only during the ball! She hates those events, we left early and I came home…" Spencer admitted. "We had a very simple mission…to get through the ball and escape as quickly as possible." Spencer conveniently left out the part in which she and Jru intended to go back to a mysterious A lair. "Why wouldn't you have called and told me that Mona had even hinted about being in Jru's apartment?"

"I thought I had handled it," Emily muttered. "But I may have just provoked her…"

"You can't blame yourself for this…" Hanna soothed.

"Yeah Em, this is not your fault at all," Aria agreed. "And Jru will turn up…even Mona and her crew isn't crazy enough to mess with someone from as powerful a family as Jru…" Aria stopped her words when Spencer's phone began buzzing on the table in front of them. Spencer picked it up quickly; but the message wasn't from Jru or Kelly; instead it read…

-Burning buildings get rid of the most evidence; let's hope LEATHER IS FIREPROOF

-A

"Is that Jru…what does it say?" Emily asked even though she figured Jru would call instead of text. She peered over Spencer shoulder as Hanna and Aria gathered around.

"What does that even mean?" Aria questioned warily. Yet everyone already knew what that meant…Jru was in a lot of trouble.