Hanna's POV

I woke up the next morning to the sound of my phone vibrating in my purse on the floor. I hadn't meant to stay the whole night but having Emily in my arms again wasn't something that was easy to walk away from. As my phone continued to buzz, I slowly slid my arms out from under Emily and untangled our legs.

As I positioned myself on the edge of the bed and bent down to get my phone, I could feel Emily stirring behind me. She moaned softly and curled her arms around my waist in an attempt to pull me back down to her. There was nothing in the world I wanted more than to stay in this bed with her forever, but I knew the outside world would eventually catch up to us.

The text message was from my mother letting me know that she was on her way to the hospital with Emily's parents. It was odd that my mother would text me to tell me that, but I was far more concerned on the mention of her parents. I knew my mom would call them, I just hadn't realized they would fly in. Emily was going to be released today so I didn't really understand the point…unless there was more to it than my mother let on…

Either way, I knew for certain that Mrs. Fields would not appreciate finding me in bed with her daughter. I slowly removed Emily's arms from my waist so that I could stand up off the bed. I leaned down to gently kiss her. Just as a touched my lips to hers, I heard the door open.

I jumped back as quickly as I could, which maybe only it made it more obvious. I knew my face was bright red so I stayed with my back turned for as long as possible, trying to regain any semblance of composure. As I stole a glance towards the door, I saw that it was Emily's father in the doorway.

He just stood there with a knowing look on his face, smiling at me, as my mother and Mrs. Fields entered behind him, completely oblivious to what had just happened. Thank God!

Wayne's POV

Any uncertainty I had regarding Emily and Hanna's relationship was put to rest when I walked into the hospital room. Ashley had mentioned in the car that she had texted Hanna in an attempt to wake the girls, but hadn't heard back. So when we got to the hospital, I made sure to enter the room first hoping to make enough noise to wake them before Pam eventually realized what was going on.

As I opened the door I could see Hanna bent down over Emily, kissing her softly. When she heard me enter she jumped away, not as smoothly as she liked, and was clearly embarrassed. When she finally turned to face me, I simply smiled at her, hoping to convey that I already knew and approved.

I could see the relief in her face when she realized that I had entered before her mother or Emily's, so they had both missed her display of affection. I had a feeling she had no idea we had been here the night before and I figured it would be better for her not to know. She would only stress out about it.

While I knew it would put her on the spot, there was one thing I had to ask her before she left. I still couldn't wrap my head around Emily using drugs to improve her swimming. I knew she was stressed out about the scholarship and senior year, but she was smarter than that.

"Hanna, I have to ask…did you know about the HGH?" I asked suddenly, taking her by surprise, as she was packing up her purse to leave.

"What is HGH?" Hanna responded, obviously confused.

"Human Growth Hormone – The doctors found traces of it in her system. It's a performance enhancer and it's illegal for athletes to take. When her coach finds out, she'll be ineligible for the rest of the season." Ashley responded, jumping into the conversation.

Hanna's mouth fell open and she looked back and forth between us, her mother, and Emily, clearly surprised at what she was hearing. Swimming was something that defined Emily, and losing that would devastate her.

"No…they need to check again. Emily would never take steroids or drugs that would screw up the Danby scholarship for her. She's counting on it too much." Hanna insisted loudly.

As the conversation got heated, Emily had woken up and was now just stood staring at us all with a confused look on her face. We all stood in silence for a moment while she took in the conversation that was being had about her, before she finally spoke.

"Dad, mom, I have never taken HGH!" She said pleading with her eyes for them to believe her. "Have them test me again! It's not possible. I would never do that. Staying here in Rosewood and eventually going to Danby is too important. I wouldn't just throw it away!"

Part of me wanted to believe her, but the doctors confirmed they ran the test twice and while there wasn't a significant amount in her system, it was there. One of the sports doctors noted that some protein powders have these types of enhancers in them, but most athletes know to read the full ingredient list before taking anything new.

Ashley's POV

Knowing that Emily needed some time to discuss this through with her parents, I quietly suggested that Hanna and I leave to give them some privacy. I could tell neither Emily nor Hanna wanted part but knew better than to protest. After exchanging a long meaningful hug, Hanna and I left the hospital.

On the drive home Hanna remained quiet, but I couldn't stop all the questions running through my head.

"So how long have you and Emily been together?" I asked, surprising Hanna so much she practically choked on her own saliva.

"W…w…what?" She croaked out finally.

"Honey, the Fields' and I stopped by the hospital last night after they landed. We all saw you together. I'm not sure if they realized, but it was obvious to me that something is going on and maybe has been for a while." I responded.

After Hanna stared blankly at me, not knowing how to respond, I continued, "Hanna, it's okay. I want you to know that I love you no matter what and you can come to me about anything. Emily is a great girl and I already consider her a part of our family."

Hanna remained quiet for a little longer, taking in my words. "Thanks mom." She finally responded quietly. "I love her and I have for years, I was just too afraid to admit it."

"Well I'm glad to hear that you aren't too afraid anymore. Admitting you love someone can be hard, especially when that person is your best friend AND the same sex. I'm proud of you." I stated. "But, that being said, I have to ask you something and I would like you to be honest with me…"

Hanna looked at me, silently agreeing as I continued with my question, "Have you and Emily had sex? I mean I know she lives with us and you're alone in the house all the time, so it would only be natural for it to happen but I need to know…" I rambled on.

I could tell Hanna was embarrassed by the question, but answered it anyway. "No mom. We haven't had sex."

There was a clear yet implied after her statement, but I choose to ignore it as she continued. "We almost did a few years ago when I took her out of town for the weekend, but we didn't. I'm not even sure if we are dating now. I only told her how I felt just before she collapsed at school, so we haven't even talked about where we stand or if we're dating, so I don't think we'll be having sex anytime soon."

I sighed heavily at her confession. "Thank you for being honest with me. When the Fields' find out about your relationship, I want to be able to be honest when I told them that you aren't having sex, especially not when Emily has been under my care. I realize that you care deeply for each other, so it's natural for your relationship to eventually get to that point. But I hope that neither of you rush into things. It's a big deal and should not be taken lightly." I said to Hanna who still looked uncomfortable that we were even having this conversation.

"I know mom. And it means a lot to me that you are being so supportive. I'm not looking to rush things with Emily. We jumped in last time and both got burned. My feelings are certain and powerful, but I want to start our relationship at the beginning. She matters to much to me to risk losing her again." Hanna said with complete honesty.

Emily's POV

As Hanna left, I heard my phone buzz from my bag. My mom retrieved it and handed it to me without checking it, assuming it was Aria or Spencer checking in on me. But it wasn't. It was a picture from A.

As the image downloaded I realized it was my pain cream, which I had been using nonstop this past week, next to a bottle labeled 'Human Growth Hormone' and a syringe. The text below the picture read, "Who knew sweet little Emily was a cheater? Better confess to Mommy and Daddy or I'll tell coach. I own you now!"

When I had fallen asleep last night, I wanted so badly to believe Hanna that everything would be okay, but I knew now that it wouldn't. A would never let us be happy. He/she/they would continue to torture us and there was nothing we could do about it.

I lied to my parents and said that the text was in fact from Spencer, but I could instantly feel my eyes well up with tears as I put my phone down. When I looked back towards them, they could see the pain in my eyes, which I let them assume was shame and guilt.

Knowing I had no other choice, I confessed to using "supplements" for training and that they must have had included the banned substance. I told them that I knew it was dangerous when I didn't know all the ingredients but that I felt stronger and better than ever. When in actuality I had been miserable for weeks with the new workout schedule, but they didn't know that.

While I knew they were disappointed in me, they weren't angry. They seemed to be beating themselves up just as much knowing how much pressure they put on me to earn the Danby scholarship.

My father, with tears in his eyes, apologized for putting so much pressure on me. He told me that they would make it work so that I wouldn't have to leave Rosewood for senior year, regardless of a commitment letter. A scholarship was not worth hurting myself over and he wanted me to know that they would find a way to pay for any school I chose to go to, whether I swam there or not.

I was close to tears again as he blamed himself for the damage A caused. I felt guilty for lying, but I knew A had me backed into a corner. Thankfully the doctors didn't have to release the information to the school under doctor-patient confidentiality, but that if an anonymous tip would be made (in this case by A), the school could issue random drug tests to any or all swimmers at any time during the competitive season. Unfortunately I had no way of knowing how long the HGH would be in my system, so I had to keep up the charade for as long as possible, not willing to risk losing the one thing that I loved.

Well…second thing actually. Things with Hanna and I finally seemed to be falling into place.

But part of me knew that as long as A was out there, we were always going to have obstacles to face. Hopefully though, we would face them together.