Chapter 21:Nothing's ever that simple in Rosewood

"Hanna. Hanna, wake up."someone says. I look up, my eyes half open, and see Caleb.

"Hey."I whisper.

"I have to leave, ok? Lucas needs me at his house, and I just wanted to let you know so you didn't freak out."

"Ok. Thanks."I give him a kiss on the cheek."Have fun."

He walks out the door, and I stand up, making my way to Emily's room.

She's sitting on her bed, awake.

"Good morning."she says.

"Not really."I reply."It took the longest time for me to get back to sleep last night, and then I had nightmares about-"

"Ssh. My mom's probably getting ready. I don't want her to hear."

I'd forgotten Emily's mom had even come home from Ohio. I mean, how could I remember with everything going on?

"Caleb left."

"I know."We stare at each other awkwardly for a while."You should probably take a shower. Or at least wash your hands."

"Yeah, ok."I head towards her bathroom."Em, I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I should have believed you."

"Why would any of you believe me?"

"No reason. I just know you can't lie to us. If she was fake, you would have known."I glance at her.

"Neither can you."I say, knowing she's keeping something from me.

She tightens up a bit.

"You should clean up. We'll talk after."

"As far as my mom knows, you were over all night."Emily says to me from outside the bathroom door.

"Why would she think that?"I ask, washing conditioner out of my hair.

"She was drunk, so she wasn't sure why you were here this morning. I just told her that you were here since six."

"Wow."I laughed."Hey, Em. Do you have any clothes I can borrow? I really don't want your mom to see the blood stains. Talk about a bad impression."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be right back."I hear her walk away and I turn the water off, wrapping a towel around myself.

I quicklyget out and start looking through the drawers by her mirror.

"Come on. It has to be here. There has to be something."I open the last drawer and find what I was looking for."Yes!"

There, in front of me, was all the old stuff of Alison's that Emily had:Bracelets, earrings, cards, you name it. It was there.

I notice something new there:An empty beer bottle. My lips tighten. It was the one from that night:The night they didn't believe me. I quickly stash it and a few of the cards into my bag.

"Hanna?"Emily knocks on the door."Can I come in?"

"One second!"I start to panic as I put the last of the things in my bag, leaving the drawer empty, and quicly got a hairbrush out of a different drawer.

"Hanna?"Emily tries to open the door."Are you going to let me in or not?"

I open the door and start brushing my hair.

"Isn't my hair a little more important than..."Emily hands me a pair of skinny jeans and a floral top.

"Here."

"Thanks."

"What were you doing in here?"

"Brushing my hair...Duh."

"Right."

"Can you come back to my house with me? I really don't want to be there alone, anymore."

"Sure."She smiles."I'd do anything for you."

I open the door to my house cautiously. I really didn't want to see a dead body, but I had to get Alison's things from Emily's house here, where they could be hidden.

"Thanks for coming with me."I whisper.

"No problem."Emily replies."If it makes you feel any better, you can stay at my house until your mom gets back."

"That'd be nice."Emily squeezes my hand.

We walk up the stairs together.

I see a huge puddle of blood and start to walk towards my room. Emily stays close behind.

But the blood was all I saw.

I hear my phone chime in my pocket.

"They're gone."I turn towards Emily."They're not here."

I open the text message.

"Now you see me, now you don't. ~A"

Author's note:No school today(YAY), so I decided I might as well post a new chapter. This chapter may be a little confusing. Trust me, it's supposed to be. Like, where is ~A? Is ~A dead? Is there more than one ~A? Why did Hanna take Emily/Alison's stuff? I hope you guys like it, though! Oh, and all will be explained...Eventually. ~L