"That's a lot of mail." Hanna watched while her best friend rifled through the large stack of letters sitting on her kitchen counter. Emily barely glanced up from the pile as she scanned for letters addressed to her. Their regular mailman was on holiday, and his replacement had been delivering their mail to the wrong house.
"Mrs Goodman, from down the street, dropped it off this morning." Emily was hoping there would be something for her from Stanford. Paige had received her acceptance letter weeks ago, but Emily still hadn't heard anything from them.

"Is that from Stanford?" Hanna asked as Emily suddenly snatched up one of the letters and ripped it open. It looked like the kind of letter that a college would send. She waited impatiently for an answer, while Emily read the letter over.
"No. It's not."

"So who's it from?" Hanna pushed for an answer as Emily's shoulders sunk. She pushed the paper across the counter, for the blonde to read for herself. It was an acceptance letter, but not one from Stanford. "Danby have made you an offer? That's great! Isn't it? I mean, it can be your safety school, in case...well just in case."
"They're holding a space open for me." Mumbled Emily. "They've given me a month to accept. After that they'll offer it to someone else."
"A lot could happen in a month." Hanna was doing her best to look on the bright side. She knew just how badly Emily wanted to get in to Stanford with Paige, but with her academic record and her parents' income, she couldn't afford to turn down a guaranteed scholarship.
"The letter is three weeks old, Han. I have a week left to decide."

"What are you going to do?" Hanna probed, but Emily had no answers for her. She just shook her head in response. "What are you going to tell Paige?"
"Nothing. Not yet. I've got a week... Like you said, a lot can happen." Emily made Hanna swear that she wouldn't tell Paige, or anybody else, about the offer from Danby. She needed time to think it through first. She wouldn't be getting any time to herself for the rest of the night though. They were supposed to be meeting Paige and Caleb at the Brew for dinner, before heading out to see a movie. Emily wasn't really in the mood to socialise, but she had to keep up appearances; the last thing she wanted was for Paige to figure out anything was wrong.

The others were already waiting for them at the Brew. Toby and Spencer were there too, but they weren't the only unexpected guests at the table. "Is that PJ?" Emily frowned at the sight of the doll sitting on her girlfriend's lap. "Do I even want to ask what you're doing with it?" Paige looked up with a sheepish smile at being caught red-handed.
"Funny story, this freshman kid was assigned to her, and first he shows up here with her in his backpack, and then he just ignores her while she's screaming...so I offered to babysit."
"She took the doll from him." Spencer answered truthfully, earning a scowl from Emily's girlfriend.

"Thanks a lot, Spence." Paige grumbled as Emily took the baby from her and demanded to know which kid was supposed to have it. Paige begrudgingly pointed to a table full of freshman boys at the back, and Emily marched over there with the doll. Paige was still huffing as her girlfriend came back empty handed. All of her worries about the future melted away as she caught sight of the other girl's pout. She forgot all about Stanford and college as she climbed on to Paige's lap, and wrapped her arms around her neck.
"I can go get the doll back, if you really want me to?" Emily offered. She wasn't the least bit surprised as Paige pulled her back down when she tried to stand up.
"No. No. I'm good, thanks. Spencer was just telling us she's got her acceptance letter from U Penn."

"That's great, Spence." Emily smiled weakly, trying to ignore the sound of Hanna choking on her soda. "I'm happy for you."
"Thanks, Em. Have you heard anything from Stanford yet?" Spencer asked from the other side of the table, where she was cuddled in to Toby's side. She had no idea she'd just stuck a knife in her friend's chest and twisted it.
"Not yet."

"I'm sure your letter will come any day now." Paige sounded cheerful. She was only trying to be supportive, but her optimism was grating on Emily's nerves. She had been so excited since Emily had agreed to go to school in California with her. The future seemed to be all they ever talked about. "And we'll be spending next year on the west coast, right Em?"
"Right..."

"Speaking of the future, the last minor among us turns eighteen next month!" Hanna was a master at changing the subject. She could see Emily was struggling to hold it together, so she quickly diverted attention on to Paige. "You better be having a party, because I just bought this killer dress!"
"I'll work on getting my dad to say yes to a party; but I'm warning you, his idea of a party is cake, clowns and ice cream."
"I'm down with cake and ice cream." Hanna grinned, while Caleb shuddered beside her.
"Ugh, no clowns! I hate those things."
"I'm with you on that one." Toby piped in, making Spencer roll her eyes.
"Wow, you're both such manly men. I bet Paige isn't scared of clowns."

The girls erupted in to laughter at them, and the conversation slowly started flowing again. Once dinner was over, they started walking to the movie theatre. Paige slowed her steps down, letting her and Emily fall behind the rest of the group. "You're quiet tonight. Is everything okay? Is it your dad-"
"He's fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine." Emily's answer was sharper than she intended. She didn't mean to take her frustrations out on her girlfriend, but she couldn't look at Paige without thinking about Stanford; without thinking about a future she might never get to have.
"Okay...well, I didn't want to say this in front of the others, but the results from my paternity test should be in by the end of the week."

The test. Emily had forgotten all about it. The lump of guilt in her chest grew even larger as she let out a strangled sigh. "Paige, I'm so sorry. You're going through hell right now, and I shouldn't be snapping at you."
"It's okay." Paige shrugged. Her hands were shoved in to the pockets of her jacket, and her shoulders were hunched. She was trying her best to put on a front, but Emily could see right through it; the other girl was terrified of what the DNA test might reveal about her parentage.
"No, it's not okay. I should have asked about it. I'm a terrible girlfriend."

"No, you're not." Paige stepped in close for a kiss, helping to soothe Emily's frazzled nerves. "You're amazing, and I won't let anybody say otherwise; not even you. I know you've got a lot going on right now too, and I know not hearing from Stanford yet is stressing you out; but it's going to be okay. They're going to want you, just like I do."
"Maybe." Emily managed a smile as they kissed again. "Let's catch up to the others. The movie's due to start."
"Sure." Paige agreed, and started picking up the pace. She wanted to try and catch Hanna on her own anyway. She knew there was more to her girlfriend's unusual mood, and she was banking on Hanna telling her all about it.

Emily was sitting crossed-leg on her bed, staring down at the crumpled letter she was holding in her hands. The letter from Danby. The edges were worn and there were deep creases in the paper, from where she'd folded and unfolded it all week. Danby were offering her a full ride. Emily's grade point average wouldn't even come in to it, so long as she graduated in the summer, they'd take her; it wasn't an offer she could just turn her nose up at. She could try and hold out for Stanford to get in touch, but there was no guarantee that they'd give her a full scholarship. Emily had been torn about it all week. She'd been agonising over whether to take Danby's offer or not, and what to tell Paige. The deadline they'd given her was quickly approaching, and she was running out of time to make her choice.

Emily had barely spoken to Paige all week because of it. She was doing her best to act like nothing was wrong, but she could only keep it up just long enough to get her through school. The teen had taken on extra shifts at the Brew in order to try and avoid being alone with her girlfriend for any length of time. She had no idea how she was supposed to break it to Paige that they might not be at the same college next year; that was why she'd ignored her last two calls. Unfortunately her mother didn't know that. "Emily, Paige is on the phone for you. Is your cell not working?" Pam appeared at Emily's door, with the cordless phone from the kitchen in her hand.

"I must have it on silent." Emily took the phone from her, and tried to sound cheerful as she greeted her girlfriend. "Hi, Paige. What's up?"
"Em, I've been trying to call you. I, uh...can you come over?" Emily's first instinct was to make up an excuse about being busy, but there was a desperate edge to Paige's voice. She didn't ask what was wrong, Emily was out the door without having to ask. She felt guilty about ignoring her girlfriend's earlier calls.
"I'm on my way. Just hold tight."

Paige was sitting on the steps of her front porch when Emily drove up to her house. She jumped out of the car and went straight to her. "I'm here. What's wrong?" Emily dropped down on to the steps beside the other girl, but she barely glanced up at her. She was clutching something in her hands, and there were tears running down her face. "Paige, is that...I'm so sorry, baby." Emily threw her arms around her girlfriend, fearing the worst about Paige's paternity test. "It's going to be okay, it doesn't matter what a piece of paper says-"
"I haven't opened it yet." Paige finally croaked out, while she wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. "I was too scared. I found it in the mailbox when I got home from school. I've been staring at it ever since... I'm terrified of what it's going to say."

"Where's your dad? Maybe you should wait for him?" Emily suggested. She wasn't so sure Paige should open the envelope without her father there to support her; she looked like a strong wind could blow her over. The sun had gone down twenty minutes ago, taking the temperature down with it. Emily was wearing a jacket and she could still feel the cold through it; while Paige was only in a t-shirt and some sweats.
"There was an emergency at work, he had to stay late. That's why I was calling you."
"Let's go inside." Emily couldn't feel any more guilty if she tried. She ushered Paige back inside her own house, closing the door behind them.

The other girl was still clutching the unopened envelope in her hands as they sat down in the living room. Paige was shaking, and it wasn't from the cold. "hat if this is a mistake? What if I open this and everything changes? What if I lose my dad?"
"Whatever is in this envelope can't take away the last eighteen years. Nick McCullers is your dad, and he always will be; no matter what it says in here." Emily managed to prise the envelope free, but Paige carried on staring at it like it was Pandora's box.
"Could you...could you read it for me? I don't think I can do it on my own."

"Of course." Emily ripped open the envelope before she could change her mind; she had to be brave enough for both of them. Her eyes quickly scanned over the letter, skipping all of the medical gibberish, until she found the bit she was looking for.
"Well?" Paige was holding her breath as she waited to hear the results. "Em, please-"
"Yes. Your dad's your dad. Nick is your father."

"Oh my god! Yes! Yes!" Paige jumped to her feet and started fist pumping the air. One word had vanquished all of her demons in one fell swoop. The burdens she had been carrying for so long had suddenly disappeared, leaving her feeling lighter than air as she pulled Emily up along with her. "Thank you! Thank you so much for being here for me! I know I've been a nightmare this week, and I've been a lousy girlfriend-"
"What are you talking about?" Emily frowned, not following her logic.
"I've been totally out of it this week. I've been avoiding you, and pretty much everybody else, and I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
"Paige, you haven't...I..."
"Things are going to get better. I promise. In a couple of months we'll be graduating, and we can spend the whole summer travelling before school starts! Next year is going to be a whole new start, for both of us, and it's going to be amazing. Me and you in California-"

"Paige." Emily couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't let her girlfriend carry on babbling excitedly. Paige was so swept up in the dream of Stanford, that she couldn't see the truth of the situation. "It might not work out like we planned...we have to be honest with ourselves. I might not get in to Stanford." Her admission knocked the wind right out of her girlfriend's sails. She looked like Emily had just struck her a physical blow.

"Em, I know you're worried you haven't heard from them yet, but there's still time-"
"No. There's not." Tears were glistening in her eyes as Emily shook her head. It was now or never, she had to tell Paige the truth; all of it. "Danby have offered me a full ride-"
"Screw Danby! Wait for Stanford! Babe, they're going to want you!" Paige made it sound so simple, like Emily actually had a choice.

"They've only given me until Monday to make my decision. I can't wait for something that might never happen. I'm not smart like you, Paige. I can't get in to somewhere like Stanford without a swimming scholarship. I think it might be time we faced facts. We're not going to be together next year."
"We're not going to be in the same school, or we're not going to be together?" There were tears running down Paige's cheeks again as she realised what was happening.
"I don't know." Emily had to be honest with her. "California's a long way away, and we haven't been together all that long-"

"I love you! Doesn't that mean anything?" Paige demanded. Her elation had quickly turned to despair, and then to anger. The emotion was familiar to her. She had spent her whole life using her anger to push people away from her, to build up impenetrable walls. It had practically been second nature, until Emily had bulldozed right through her defenses.
"It means everything." Emily's answer came out as a hoarse whisper. "And I love you too, but I don't want to get any more attached, not if I'm just going to lose you in the end."
"So what do we do?"

"You just left?" Hanna couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was pacing up and down Emily's bedroom, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "How could you just leave her like that?"
"I wasn't exactly thinking straight, Hanna!" Emily snapped back at her. She was curled up on her bed, with mascara running down her cheeks. She'd called the blonde and asked her to come over as soon as she'd left Paige's house; she'd been crying for over an hour. "She was so happy about her Dad, and then she started talking about the future...our future. I couldn't hide the truth from her anymore. I had to tell her."
"So you're choosing Danby?"
"I don't know!" Emily was exasperated. She wasn't in the right frame of mind to be making any concrete decisions about her future. All she could think about was the haunting expression Paige had been wearing as she'd watched Emily walk away. "I can't think about any of that right now-"

"Emily?" The teen quickly wiped at her eyes as her mother knocked on her bedroom door. "Is everything okay?" Pam hadn't failed to notice the way Emily had stormed back in to the house like a bat out of hell. She'd known something was up the second she'd seen Hanna arrive with a quart of ice cream.
"Everything's fine, Mom." Emily was a terrible liar at the best of times, but her tear stained cheeks definitely gave her away. "Paige and I just had a disagreement. We'll figure it out." She swallowed hard, hoping that last part wasn't really a lie.

"You know me, Emily. I don't like to interfere." Pam started, but was interrupted by a snort of laughter from Hanna; which she quickly disguised with a fake cough. "But your father and I think Paige is a lovely girl. I hope you can work things out."
"You and me both, Mom...Did you want something?"

"Oh." Pam pulled out a stack of letters from under her arm. "Mrs Goodman dropped off some more of our mail. I swear that mailman is- Emily!" She shrieked as her daughter shot forward and snatched a big brown envelope out of her hand. It was postmarked California.
"Em? What is it?" Hanna stepped forward, trying to see what it was that her friend was reading. Her eyes had grown wide and her face was pale. An age seemed to pass before she spoke again.
"It's Stanford..."

"Did you get in?" Hanna and Pam were both eager to find out, but Emily couldn't answer them. She just carried on staring at the letter, like she was looking right through it. The blonde snatched the letter right out of her hands. "Full scholarship? You got in! She got in!" Hanna started shrieking and jumping up and down on the spot. Emily was still dumbstruck. The letter was dated a month ago; it had been delivered around the same time as Paige's letter had arrived.
"Oh honey, Stanford! I'm so proud of you! We have to call your father!" Pam was bursting with pride as she hugged her only child.
"Forget about Mr Fields, no offence Pam, you need to call Paige!"

"I need to see her." Emily suddenly snapped out of her daze. "I need to make things right!" She pushed past her mom and Hanna, and ran down the steps two at a time. She'd made a huge mistake, and she had to fix it. Emily had genuinely thought she was doing the right thing by letting Paige go, by giving her the chance to walk away; to go off to Stanford, guilt free. She reached the front door and didn't even bother to pause to pull on her sneakers, or a jacket. The rain was coming down hard by now, but not even that could stop Emily. Her mind was focused on one thing, and one thing only. "Paige..."

She stopped in her tracks halfway to her car, when she noticed Paige standing at the end of her drive. She was soaked right through, with her t-shirt and her sweatpants clinging to her small frame. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her chest, and her bottom lip was quivering as she started walking towards the girl she'd fought so hard to resist all of these years. "Paige, I-"

"Stop." Paige didn't look angry anymore, just tired and deflated. Her expression was unreadable, her voice gruff. "You had your turn to talk back at the house; now it's my turn."