A/N: Bear with me with the sporadic updates. I've had a hard time not hating my writing lately (I'll get over it. I always do. Life has just kinda kicked me in the face again, so naturally my brain is like "aw, you poor baby. Here, lemme make it worse." It's a whole thing). You're at that point in the ride where you think you've gotten over that last monster of a drop and then the rollercoaster suddenly slopes down at like a 90 degree angle.
Chapter 29:
Old Habits Die Hard
"I think something is happening to my wife. And I think you know what it is."
"Hello to you, too." Mona pushed her lips out into a sarcastic smirk.
Ali waited for Mona to respond to her inquiry. She got increasingly annoyed with each passing second. She felt like Mona was playing a game with her, and she was through with being just another piece on the board.
Mona stared at Ali, holding her gaze, both girls standing in rigid domineering positions, neither wanting to show the least bit of weakness around each other. They were like two tigers in the wild circling one another, growls rumbling, neither willing to blink and show submission. It was Ali who finally broke the silent tension between them with a slight peace offering.
"How's the shoulder?" Ali glanced at the sling on her arm.
"Fine." Mona didn't bat an eye, her face a perfect mask of stoicism. She'd be damned if she was going to look fragile in front of Alison DiLaurentis.
There was another long painful silence, another quiet battle for control. Two she-wolves ready to protect their vulnerable spots. Ali's eyes narrowed. She tried not to think about how Mona had killed a girl thinking it was her. Mona had wanted to murder her and that's not something Ali wanted to forget. Nor did she forget that Mona was the very reason she'd spent a hellish several months behind bars for a murder that had never happened. And to top everything off, Mona had killed her sister.
As twisted as Charlotte was, Ali couldn't let go of the five years she'd spent with her while Charlotte was in Welby. She didn't want to love her, but she did. Ali tried to shake off the past. It was, after all, the past. She cleared her throat and glanced over Mona's shoulder.
"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Ali questioned.
"Said the vampire to the unsuspecting townsperson." Mona kept her uninjured arm against the door frame, blocking her from entering. It's not that she was afraid of Ali. It's just that after all the years that had gone by she still didn't trust her.
"Oh, please," Ali said, rolling her eyes. "I was just being polite. I've had a standing invite to this place since I was like twelve. I got my first period at a slumber party here."
"Delightful story." Mona turned her nose up, whipping out her trademark snark. "But sorry." She shrugged, feigning like she cared with a cheeky smile. "I don't know who's on the list at Chateau de le Montgomery. The owners have stepped out. And it's not my house."
"You look pretty cozy to me." Ali shrugged indifferently, her tone carrying multiple meanings.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Mona didn't miss the inflection in her voice.
"It means that it can't be a coincidence that you're back in town." Ali reached out and rubbed her fingers against the finished door frame.
"My fiancé's family lives here." Mona looked at her like she was crazy. "What exactly is it that you think I'm guilty of?"
"Like I said, something is happening to Emily."
"And I'm at the top of your list because?"
"Are you seriously asking me that question?" Ali scoffed.
"God, it doesn't matter what I do – how much I try to make up for it. I will always be the bad guy, won't I?" Mona grumbled. She was so sick of everyone always assuming the worst of her, especially given all she'd done to rectify her behavior. "Something is going down, so Mona must be the mastermind, right? I'm just automatically a suspect?"
"Everyone is." Ali replied coolly.
"And yet you're standing in front of me."
"I just want to know who hurt her." So she could murder them horribly.
"I wasn't aware she was hurt." A soft expression washed across Mona's face. "What happened?"
"I don't know." Ali's fingers tightened against the door frame, her anger over Emily's injuries consuming her. "But something tells me you do. And I intend to find out what you know." She paused, pressing her lips together in thought. "Is it you?"
"Oh my God, do you really think I would hurt her?" She had been busting her ass trying to protect her. "You are so way off-base." She looked genuinely hurt by Ali's accusation.
"There were only four people in her life she was every truly afraid of." And Ali had felt the full extent of Emily's fear last night. Something had her running scared. Something or someone. "Charlotte is dead and Alex and Mary are locked up."
"So the angry mob comes my way. How very objective of you." Mona scoffed.
"If the Scarlett Letter fits…" Ali flicked some dust off of her fingers.
"What makes you think I know anything?" Mona questioned.
"I know what you're capable of. You never do anything without an ulterior motive. You're quite the Machiavellian…"
"Mmm, takes one to know one, hon."
Ali's face flushed in anger, because Mona was right. They had both spent their high school years being conniving and manipulative. Ali tried to remember that they were a long way from high school. She tried to curb her anger. She tapped her foot impatiently. She had about ten minutes before she had to get back to school. She'd left at the start of her lunch break and had arranged it so that one of her coworkers would cover her first class if she got back late. She had a small window of opportunity and she needed to seize it.
"Look, I didn't come here to fight with you." Ali moved forward, trying to get through the door. "Can we cut the crap? I'm on my lunch break here."
Mona dropped her arm and rolled her eyes, letting out a dramatic sigh. She knew she should have just stayed out of this. Rosewood was always pulling her back in with its drama. Why did she have to give a shit about these people? She looked around, trying to see if there were any prying eyes. Had Ali been followed? Could she be in danger? Mona wasn't fond of her, but she didn't want someone to overhear their conversation and then come after Ali.
"Entrer." She motioned for Ali to come inside. "There's biscotti and tea in the kitchen."
She moved aside and Ali walked in. Mona shut the door behind her. As Ali walked into the foyer memories of her childhood came flooding back to her. Sitting on the couch during movie night, giggling, painting Aria's fingernails, playing tricks on her little brother. She'd even made out with Emily in the spare bedroom once after she'd come out of hiding.
She saw Mona staring at her, watching her like a hawk. Ali saw her tense stance and couldn't help but scoff at the theatrics. They walked towards the kitchen. Mona walked over to the oven and picked up a tea kettle.
"Have a seat." Mona motioned towards the table.
"I can do that so you don't have to fumble around with the sling." Ali offered.
"And let you near the piping hot water?" Mona poured the tea into a cup with very little effort. It was a control thing. She didn't want Ali to have more control than she did. "I'm not an amateur." She walked over and put the cup on the table in front of Ali.
"Come on. You can't seriously be afraid of me." Ali put her palms around the warm glass. "I'm not the one who has two homicides under her belt." And several more attempted homicides.
That flustered Mona. It was a low blow. She'd been out of her mind both times. It wasn't something she could control. She thought Ali, of all people, who had spent five years with her ill sister, understood that.
"That was…" Mona's jaw twitched, then tightened. She was stunned, but she tried not to let Ali see how much it had thrown her. "I wasn't…" She was a different person then. "I wasn't well. You know that."
"That doesn't mean I forgive you for killing my sister," Ali said, her face set and rigid. "I understand, but I don't forgive you." She'd done some terrible things to Mona, but she'd never tried to kill her, or anyone for that matter. "I don't blame you for being angry at her. After what she did to you girls…"
"You have no idea what it was like, Alison," Mona said, interrupting her.
It made Ali flinch, because Mona was right. What the girls had gone through in the dollhouse had changed them, haunted them. Over the years she'd tried to get Emily to talk about it, but the brunette never would. She always shut down when it was brought up, but Ali knew she still had nightmares and flashbacks to her time in captivity. All the girls did.
"Being ripped from the only life I knew, having my identity stripped away. I became the thing I hated the most." Mona glared at Ali, memories of being locked away and forced to play the role of Alison DiLaurentis lest she be punished plaguing her. "I became you. I was forced to be you."
Ali looked at the steam rising from her teacup. She could see a watery reflection of herself staring back at her and it reminded her of the girl she'd once been. Before Emily had touched her heart. She had been an awful person. She very slowly lifted the cup, blowing on the hot liquid before taking a sip. She glanced at Mona.
"Not so fun being Alison DiLaurentis, is it?" Ali asked, a sad undertone in her voice. She had so much shit in her past, so much baggage. She wouldn't wish it upon even her worst enemy.
"No." Mona glanced off to the side, her eyes large and sad. For a brief moment her mind was back in the dollhouse. She sat down across from Ali. "It wasn't." She faced Ali again. "But the worst part about it isn't that I hated it because I hated you…"
"Gee, thanks." Ali muttered sarcastically, though deep down she knew that hate was warranted. They had both done horrible things to each other.
"It was because you and I are a lot more alike than we are unalike." Mona admitted. Everything that she saw in Ali that she hated was an aspect of herself she hated. She'd been looking into a mirror of hatred for most of her life and it was only in looking at the reflection of herself that she realized the root of that hatred. It took her a long time to learn how to truly love herself. "It's why we've always clashed."
"No, we clashed because I was a bitch and you were a psycho," Ali said bluntly.
"Tactful." Mona pursed her lips together and sneered at Ali sarcastically. "I bet your sensitivity suits you well with your students."
"I do what I have to do." Ali played it off.
"Mmm." Mona nodded, sipping her own tea. "You always have, haven't you?" The subtle inflection in her tone was almost accusatory.
"Look, we both played each other for fools when we were younger. Can we please just put that on the backburner for now? I've got more pressing matters to attend to." Her wife's sanity for one.
"And what do you want me to do about your problems? Do I have a sign on my forehead that says I provide free counseling sessions?"
"Knock off the attitude, Mona. I know we don't have the best relationship. But this isn't about me. This is about Emily."
Mona sighed. She put her teacup down.
"Fine. Vanderwaal Psychology is now in session." She waved for Ali to go ahead.
"Huh, you're not going to go with Mona Montgomery Psychology?" Ali questioned.
"Maybe I'll hyphenate it." She quipped back. "Do you want to tell me what's going on or not?"
"Emily is hiding something from me." Ali watched Mona's face carefully to see if there was even the slightest bit of a tell. She remained perfectly still. "I've always been able to tell when something is bothering her." She licked her lips nervously. "At first, I thought it was just her struggling with what happened to Grace." She saw Mona cringe at the mention of her daughter's death. "But I finally got her to let down her walls." She'd first seen a glimpse of it when they were making love in Paris. Then she'd felt it when Emily let everything out at the gym. But the icing on the cake had been when Emily let her guard down in the shower yesterday. It was hard for them to not bare their souls to one another in intimate moments like that, and Emily had looked right at her and let her in. Emily's eyes had always told Ali the full story of what was going on in her mind. So when she'd looked at Ali and let her in during her most vulnerable moments, Ali had seen it all. "And there's something more."
"If she's hiding it from you, what makes you think she'd come to me? We barely talk. And as you so aptly pointed out, I don't even live here."
"But you still know everything that goes on. You're still Mona. And I need to know what is happening in this town."
"You know as well as I do that getting involved in the underground world in Rosewood is a bad idea. If you want my advice, stay above ground. It could be dangerous if you started digging."
"For who?" Ali pushed.
"Take your pick. Your family. Emily. You."
"Like you care about me?" Ali's eyes narrowed. "You were going to bash my brains in and leave me in a hole to die."
"Because you made my life a living hell." Mona snapped back, her eyes laced with anger. "You berated me, belittled me. Made me feel like an insignificant nothing." She tried not to let Ali see how much it still shook her to her core. "You were cruel and mean and you destroyed my self-worth." She glared angrily. Ali let her rant. "You were a terrible person, Alison." Mona paused, lifting her chin in thought. "But…"
The shift in her tone intrigued Ali.
"But?" Ali waited for her to continue.
"But I know you're not that person anymore," Mona said. "Just like I'm not the same person I was back then. We're not in high school anymore. I'm not the same Mona that you knew. I'm trying to build a life…a future." And that future did not include getting killed before she could walk down the aisle with Mike. That wreck had been a wake-up call. "I can't get mixed up in whatever this…" she waved her hands, flicking her wrist towards Ali. "…is. The last thing I need in my life right now is complications. I'm out of the game. Truly." She held Ali's gaze. "You know what it does to me. You've seen what it does to me."
"I'm not asking you to do anything other than tell me why my wife came home all black and blue and beat to hell. Her ribs and stomach look like someone used her as a punching bag."
"I don't know what to tell you," Mona said. She really didn't. She had no clue what Emily and Maurice were up to. "I'm not exactly in street-fighting shape right now." She motioned to the sling on her arm. "Plus, I don't associate with the plebeian barbarians who participate in that prehistoric ritual. If you think she's in a fight club I'd say that's more Holden Strauss's area."
"Aria has already talked to Holden. He doesn't know anyone who knows Emily from that scene." She sighed. "Mona, someone hurt her." Regardless of the fact that Emily said she was responsible for it, someone had done something to her to hurt her. "And I want to know who."
You and me both. Mona thought to herself.
"Look, Emily is a big girl. She can take care of herself." It actually pained Mona to say it, because she knew the reality of what was going on. She didn't like staying out of it any more than Ali did, but she wasn't willing to risk Mike's life again. "If you want my advice, leave it alone. No good can come of you diving into whatever she is wrapped up in. She will figure it out. She always does. But if you start prying in the underbelly of the beast you will get devoured." Because what chance did Ali have against this psychopath when he was getting the best of both her and Emily?
Her reaction alone told Ali that Mona knew something.
"I'm not leaving here until you tell me what's going on," Ali said stubbornly.
"Then you can set up camp in the living room, because I don't have anything to tell you."
"Mona, please don't play with me here." She dropped her bitchy act. She would beg and grovel if that's what it took. She had a really bad feeling about the way Emily had been acting. She needed answers. "Please." She begged. "She's my wife." The love of her life. "If you know something…" She felt tears burning her eyes, "…just…please. What would you do if Mike was in danger?"
The problem was that Mike was in danger, or rather…she'd put him in danger when she got involved. The last thing she wanted to do was to make it worse. Mona thought about it, and then she thought about the sling on her arm. She thought about how Aria's kids had almost been killed because of her involvement. And she thought about what would happen if she told Ali. Was she really willing to risk something happening to someone else on her watch? Could she live with herself if she pulled Ali into something that could get her killed?
Mona knew how dangerous it was. But she had no idea how deadly it had become. She didn't know about the bloodbath at Maurice's bar. She didn't know Emily was on her own. The last she'd heard about it was Maurice telling her they had it handled and that she needed to back off before she was killed. She'd been preoccupied with the wreck and the wedding plans since then.
Mona weighed her options. Not only would telling Ali put Emily's entire family at risk, but Emily would kill her for spilling the beans. Besides, she didn't have anything solid to give her. If she sent Ali in the wrong direction it would most certainly end in disaster. Not to mention what it would do to her if she kept stepping back into this world. She knew her limits. She had to walk away.
"I'm sorry. I can't help you." Mona shook her head. "Every time I stick my nose in other people's business someone ends up hurt." Or even worse, dead.
"She's already hurt!" Ali argued.
"So talk to her. Keep talking to her," Mona said. Keep pushing because that's only way you'll reach her stubborn ass.
Ali buried her face into her hands and growled in frustration. She was so pissed that everyone kept treating her like some helpless little liability. She was ready to knock some skulls together. She just didn't know whose skulls to do so with. If she didn't find out soon she was just going to lose it on some random parking attendant or something.
"I liked you better when you were a psycho. At least back then you were helpful." Ali glared at her.
"Believe it or not, I am trying to help you here." Help her stay alive. Not just for her, but for Emily. The girl couldn't take another hit. It would destroy her.
"Whatever." Ali rolled her eyes. She pushed her teacup towards the center of the table and stood up. "I've got to get back to school. If you come to your senses you know where to find me." She always had. The woman was a professional stalker. She turned on her heels and started walking out. When she got to the doorway she turned back around and faced Mona. "If something happens to her I'm holding you personally responsible."
Mona laughed darkly. She'd called it months ago. She'd told Emily that Ali would blame her.
"When don't you?" Mona bit back. "You know, for all your talk about letting go of the past you sure seem to hold on to it for dear life."
"You're marrying my best friend's brother. We have to get along," Ali said. "We don't have to be friends."
"But wouldn't it be nice if we could be?" Mona asked. There was no underlying tone. There was no ulterior motive. She really meant it. She was tired of fighting. Hating someone was a lot of work. They were the only two girls who had yet to find some common ground. "Aren't you tired of this back and forth? Haven't we grown up enough to be adults about this?"
"You get me a name and then we'll talk," Ali replied. She glanced at the ring on Mona's finger. Mike had really splurged on it. "Congrats on the engagement, by the way."
"Thanks." She watched Ali start to walk out again. She sighed and then called out after her. "Alison." Ali turned around hopefully. "Don't give up on her." She knew that no matter what Emily was going through, she needed Ali.
"She's the only thing in my life I have never given up on." No matter what happened, no matter what Ali was facing, no matter what she was going through…she always gravitated towards Emily. Her heart had always belonged to Emily. "I will bet on her every time. I would never quit on her."
They got angry at one another. They fought. But they always found their way back to each other. Relationships weren't always easy. Love was a huge factor, but relationships also required hard work. Love didn't just mean enjoying the good times. It meant wading through the bad times and not letting those trying times take them down.
She would fight against the current as long as there was a chance for her and Emily to make it through. It was getting harder and harder. Ali had lost Emily, her heaven, to some form of hell and she was determined to get her back, even if she had to walk through flames and drag her out herself.
"Good." Mona nodded.
Ali walked out. Mona sauntered after her. She watched her climb into her car and then pull out of the driveway. She waited a good solid ten minutes before she left her post at the front window. She wanted to make sure Ali was really gone and that no one had followed her – that no one was watching.
When she was certain that it was safe she went digging through her things. She'd kept her small bag of tricks close to her at all times. She'd even had Kai grab it from the rental car as she was being loaded into the ambulance. She had been woozy and disoriented from the loss of consciousness, but she'd had enough presence of mind to ask Aria's son to grab her bag.
She pulled out a hidden burner phone. She stared at it. Part of her was telling her to smash it, to walk away like she needed to do. She knew she needed to quit before she got consumed in it. But then again, the way Ali had described Emily's injuries and the fact that Ali was trying to get involved now...she couldn't not follow up. She dialed Maurice's number. It went straight to voicemail.
"Hey, we've got a problem. I hope you're close. Emily's wife is sniffing around. Last thing we need is another body thrown into the mix." She had no idea the dramatic irony of those words, nor that she was talking to a dead man whose phone was actually melted into a pile of scrap in what was left of the bar. "I know you told me you had it under control, but I just wanted to give you a heads up. You know how to get in touch if you need anything."
She hung up and then pulled a ledger out of her bag. She flipped through it until she got to a list of suspects she'd composed. Ali wasn't the only one who wanted a name. Mona wanted to figure out who was behind all of this, too. Maybe then they could all move on. She scanned the names and the notes she'd scribbled next to them. Those who were dead were crossed out. Some of them she knew from high school. Some she knew from the life she'd lived as A. There were people she knew personally, people she'd known were involved, people she didn't know had been involved until later, and people she had always suspected were involved but never interacted with. She ran through the list, mentally playing a game of six degrees of separation as she read her notes.
Mary Davis- Orange is the New Bitch. Probably involved. Won't talk.
Alex Drake- In Shawshank where she belongs. No activity on her records. Keeps to self. Could be lying low to throw suspicion off of herself?
Charlotte DiLaurentis- Deceased. Bell tower.
Jenna Marshall- Married, three kids. Still a bitch, but not a killer.
Noel Kahn- Deceased. Decapitation.
Eric Kahn- Divorced. Two kids. Lives in NYC. Drinks a lot. Possible revenge MO because of Noel's death? Knew Charlotte. Could have been involved with her from the beginning.
Jared Kahn- Deceased. Suicide.
Preston Kahn- Corporate CEO in Long Beach. Engaged to longtime boyfriend. Doesn't keep in contact with Eric.
Chris Kahn- Deceased. DUI.
Michael Russo- Pro ball player in Ohio. No connection to anyone from Rosewood High anymore.
Lucas Gottesman- Primary shareholder in self-made tech company. Travels too much to be involved. Could pay for dirty work?
Scott Carnes- Military. Stationed overseas, but is MIA, presumed deceased.
Garrett Reynolds- Deceased. GSW to head.
Darren Wilden- Deceased. GSW to chest.
Jason DiLaurentis- Was in NAT club, but other being associated with NAT never had any dealings with ANY A-related things. Wouldn't hurt his own family.
Connor Mueller- Junkie in Jersey. Couldn't track down. Probably deceased.
Sean Ackard- Married, two kids. Clergy member by day, but has been known to frequent strip joints at night. Ladies say he is very handsy.
Ben Coogan- Deceased. Electrocution on job site.
Wren Kingston- Deceased. Allegedly. No body. No grave. Alex Drake's collateral damage. Was Grace/Lily's bio-father. Has estranged brother who could be involved?
Jeff Christian- Deceased. Heart attack.
James Travil- Used car dealer in Scranton. Happily married.
Nick Baker- Trauma nurse at Rosewood General. No family. Has a cat. Works too much to be involved.
Toby Cavanaugh- No way in hell. Only played the game to try and take A down.
Melissa Hastings- Political Aide in DC. Married. Wouldn't hurt Spencer's best friends.
Sara Harvey- Deceased. Lived by shower. Died by shower.
Ian Thomas- Deceased. Suicide.
Shana Fring- Deceased. Tiny warrior woman went Million Dollar Baby on her.
Andrew Campbell- Unaccounted for. No social media. Off the grid. No digital footprint. Could have grudge against girls?
Sydney Driscoll- Deceased. Fire.
Addison Derringer- Turns tricks for tips in the city. No means or funds to be involved.
Cyrus Petrillo- Lives in halfway house. Brain damage from previous injury.
Lyndon James- Deceased. Killed by Emily in self-defense. Possible family looking for revenge?
Mona frowned. She'd never realized how many angry vengeful people lived in Rosewood. And it was filled with more death than a cheap dramatic medical show.
"Jesus, this town is like one huge curse," she muttered.
She looked over the names again, trying to see what she was missing. Who was she missing? And why Emily? Why was she being targeted? There was no one Mona could think of that had singled Emily out during the game back in high school. She'd had a few people giving her suggestions and floating ideas around about how to mess with the girls when she was A, but no one showed a particular interest in Emily, at least no one in her inner circle. Was Emily being singled out just because she had pushed to find out the truth about the wreck? She tapped her pen against the paper and stared at the names intently, hoping something would jump out at her.
One person she didn't have on the list was Zane Jacobs. He was the only person of interest that Emily had. Emily knew the boy wasn't the mastermind, but he certainly had answers.
Emily was furiously searching the school grounds for any sign of him. She'd swept the campus several times. She had the urge to just show up at his house, but she knew she couldn't just bail on school. She wasn't a teenager anymore. Being an adult with responsibilities sucked sometimes.
All the running around she'd been doing had agitated her ribs, so she went back to her office and dug some anti-inflammatories and over-the-counter pain meds out of her things and downed several pills. She was getting ready to go back out in the hall for the next class change when Ali walked in.
"Hey, babe. Where have you been?" Emily asked. She hadn't missed Ali's absence when she was out looking for Zane.
"No more lies." Ali had said to Emily just this morning.
"I stepped off campus for my lunch break." Ali replied. She held a brown bag out to Emily. "Grabbed you your favorite."
"That was sweet." Emily smiled. "Set it on my desk."
"You're not hungry?" Ali questioned curiously.
"I'll eat later."
"Em, you barely ate any of your breakfast." Ali frowned.
"Because my stomach was still doing flips from the pain meds."
"Because you took them on an empty stomach." Ali nagged. She saw the bottle of anti-inflammatories sitting on the desk. "How bad is it?"
"Uh, not too bad." Emily mindlessly rubbed her eyebrow. "I'm just a little stiff. Thought I'd nip it in the bud before it gets any worse."
She pulled her shirt up to see how the bruises looked. She wasn't sure why she was looking. It's not like they were going to look any different than they had this morning.
"How are you?" Ali put the food down and walked over to Emily.
"Like I said, I could be worse. I know it looks bad, but…"
"You know that's not what I'm talking about." Ali put her palm against Emily's face. Emily glanced up at her. "How are you?" Her eyes softened, her brows raised ever-so-slightly.
"Oh." Emily realized what she was getting at. "I've been okay for the most part. I'm just kind of mentally exhausted. It hurts a little." She had a sad expression on her face. "I forgot how bad letting it in hurts. But it's not like it was yesterday. It's not…" She felt a knot in her throat. "It's not swallowing me anymore. I'm letting myself feel it. I'm going to be okay." She moved her hand up to Ali's face and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"You let me know if it gets to be too much. If you need anything…"
"I know." Emily smiled weakly. "I will." She kissed Ali's forehead. "You know I'm here for you too, right?"
Ali knew. She'd always known. But it was the fact that Emily felt compelled to tell her she was there for her that made her love the woman so much. And it was that love that made her so irate about Emily being hurt. Ali didn't know how to rationalize, so her go-to response to someone she loved being hurt was to get angry at whatever hurt them. Ali slowly lifted Emily's shirt and sighed as she lightly traced her fingertips across the base of her bruise.
"Why won't you tell me who did this to you?" Ali asked. Or rather who she'd let do it to her.
Emily gently moved Ali's hand and pulled her shirt down.
"I don't know his name." It wasn't a lie. She really didn't know the bastard's real name. "Besides, I already told you – it's over." Or it would be soon. She put her palm against Ali's arm and smiled at her. Her hand felt hot against Ali's skin. Her touch was always so comforting. "I'm going to be fine, Alison."
She had to be. She hadn't survived everything just to die now. The bell signaling the end of the period rang and Emily glanced towards the door. She wanted to see if Zane would be in the sea of students somewhere.
"I've got hallway duty. Got to make sure the kids don't screw around and that they get to class on time." Emily moved towards the door.
They heard doors opening and the sounds of students starting to hustle out of their classes and into the hallway. Emily started to walk out the door, but stopped when she remembered something.
"Hey, I'm going to need you to take me to Ruby's office after school so I can pick up the rental. Then one of us can come back and get Lily after she's finished with her volunteer shift in the library and the other can go pick up the gift certificate for the spa for her birthday. And I was thinking we can get a new case for her phone. The kiosk is in the boutique right next to the spa. We've got to pick up her charm for her bracelet there anyway."
"I just hope she doesn't burn her gifts in a form of protest of not wanting to have a birthday." Ali half joked, half frowned.
"I think it'll be a little hard for her to burn the tablet my mom got her loaded with books. If anything, it'll give her a means to escape reality. That's what she really wants."
That's what they all wanted. Another nice little Parisian escape of leaving the real world way behind. A walk in a life that wasn't their own.
"What fifteen-year-old prefers books over a flashy party with all of her friends?" Ali chuckled.
"She gets her love of reading from you." Emily smiled.
Ali had always had a love of books. It took her to a world outside of her own when her life was too hard or her thoughts got too loud. It centered her in a way.
"I'm just glad she didn't get my attitude." Ali nodded. "Or at least not all of it."
Emily laughed and walked out into the hallway to keep an eye out for the juvenile delinquent who held the answers to her questions. But he was still nowhere to be found.
By the end of the school day she was ready to become a one-woman bounty hunter. She kept an eye on every street corner, every person, and every slight movement out of the passenger's side window of Ali's car.
"Why don't you go back for Lily?" Ali suggested, pulling into the parking lot of the therapist's office, trying hard not to think about the exhausting day they'd had there yesterday. She pulled up next to Emily's rental car. "That way you can go home and rest. I'll grab the stuff for her birthday."
"Yeah." Emily nodded. "Sounds good."
"You sure you're good?"
"Yeah." Emily leaned over and kissed her. "Call me when you are on your way home and I'll start dinner."
"That kind of defeats the purpose of you taking it easy." Ali frowned.
"I can reheat a casserole, Ali. I'm injured. I'm not dying." She rolled her eyes.
"Fine, but if I get home and find you've cooked a Christmas goose or something your goose is cooked."
"Oh my God, who says that? You sound like my grandmother." Emily huffed in laughter.
Ali's heart melted a little at seeing Emily smile, because she knew the heightened level of her pain, emotional and physical. She waited until Emily got in her car and drove off before she pulled out of the parking lot. She felt like tailing her, but she knew Emily's first priority was always going to be their daughter, and she wouldn't leave her stranded at school.
Ali glanced in her rearview mirror at Emily's disappearing vehicle. She thought about her visit to Mona. She had been unable to crack her and that really irked her. Had she really been out of the game for that long? She'd lost her touch. She hoped Mona would come to her senses and tell her what the hell she was hiding, but on the off-chance that didn't happen she knew she needed to go to plan B.
Ali grabbed her phone, trying to think of who she could call that would be the most useful. Her finger hovered over Spencer's picture on speed dial. She hit her picture and the bluetooth connected. To her surprise, Spencer picked up on the second ring.
"Hey, Ali. I was just getting ready to call you."
"Oh, good. So I'm not interrupting an important murder case or anything?"
"No, you are." Spencer didn't sound that concerned about it. "But I'm on my lunch break, so screw it."
"Spoken like a true lawyer." Ali huffed sarcastically. "Listen, I need some help. Emily has been up to something weird and I need to figure out what before it gets worse." And it could get worse. Much worse.
"That's what I was going to call you about," Spencer said, surprising Ali. "Hold on. This is important. I'm putting you on speaker. Toby is here with me."
"Pass the eggrolls, babe," Toby said in the background.
"Well, I'm so glad you updated me to that breaking news alert. For God's sake make sure he gets his sweet and sour sauce, too. We wouldn't want a world war to break out over the lack of dipping sauce," Ali said dryly.
"Oh, hey. Sorry. She caught me off-guard." It sounded like Toby's mouth was full. There was a pause and then he continued, his voice no longer sounding muffled, "What's up?"
"She says Emily has been up to something." Spencer sounded like she was prompting him, and she was. She nudged him, urging him to talk about Emily's odd behavior when Toby had come by the school.
"Yeah, Spence and I think that, too. If this is about the file she tried to access at the station I already asked her about it."
"What file?" Ali questioned in confusion.
"Zane Jacobs' records," Toby replied.
"What?"
"Oh, I thought that's what this was about. She said that she was calling to get records for a student who came to her for help," he said.
"Yeah, but do we believe her?" Spencer questioned.
"Hell no." Ali was the first one to pipe in. "I don't get it. Why would she be interested in Zane?"
"I have no idea. And when I mentioned his name she dropped it. She didn't ask to see the file. She didn't ask me for any information. She just brick-walled me."
"Yeah, she's good at that." Ali muttered. "But this isn't about a police record." Though it obviously tied in somehow. "She came home two nights ago covered in bruises. Her chest and stomach look like a stained glass window. She's really hurt, you guys."
"What happened?" Spencer asked anxiously.
"I don't know. She says she was fighting…or sparring with someone, but I don't buy it. Aria talked to Holden and he says none of his MMA buddies know Emily, and they are all usually in a pretty tight circle."
"How bad are the bruises?" Toby asked.
"It looks like someone took a mallet to her chest. I thought some of her ribs might be broken, but she's been too physical for that to be the case."
"Where is she now?" Spencer asked.
"I begrudgingly sent her to pick up Lily from school and told her to go home to get some rest. I'm on my way to the spa to pick up a gift certificate for Lily," Ali turned a corner. "I went to see Mona to see what she knows…"
"You think she's back to her old tricks?" Toby asked.
"No." Spencer was quick to answer. "Mona may have done some messed up things to us, but she turned a corner. She wouldn't do anything to hurt us now, not after all the strides she took to get to where she is today. She has something real with Mike and she won't screw that up. Aria already told her if she hurt her little brother she would come after her with a blowtorch and a shovel. Besides, she wouldn't lay a finger on Emily."
Ali was quiet. She wished she'd had Spencer at the Montgomery house earlier to talk some sense into her. Maybe she wouldn't have been such a bitch to Mona. Maybe they would have even gotten information out of her.
"Ali…" Spencer's tone wavered in uncertainty. "Oh, no. Tell me you didn't accuse her."
"Not outright," Ali said softly.
"Ali!" Spencer scolded her.
"I was scared and pissed, okay? She knows I didn't mean it. We even had tea."
"You…what?" Spencer couldn't help but huff out a laugh.
"Shut up." Ali rolled her eyes.
Spencer just kept laughing.
"Okay, Alice in Wonderland, did you and the Mad Hatter eat scones, too?" She snorted.
"Biscotti." Ali grumbled. "And I didn't have any."
"Okay, okay." Spencer tried to quell her laughing. "Sorry. We got off-track. What did Mona say?"
"Not a whole hell of a lot, unfortunately," Ali said. "I think she wanted to talk to me, but couldn't." She paused and nervously licked her lips. "I don't think the wreck she, Mike, and the kids were in was an accident."
"You think someone is trying to keep her quiet?" Toby's curiosity was piqued.
"Probably the same someone Emily won't name for the same reason," Ali said.
"Or maybe she doesn't have the name. Could explain why she's trying to play undercover cop." Toby pointed out.
"This isn't good." Spencer bit her lip. "If someone has Mona and Emily on the ropes…"
"Let's not jump to conclusions." Toby intervened. "That's what always screwed us up in the past. Let's take this a step at a time. First let me take another look at Zane's records. See if anything jumps out at me as to why she'd be interested in him in the first place. Spencer, talk to Hanna about having another conversation with Mona. If she's going to crack, it's going to be to Hanna. And we should probably talk to Aria, too. Maybe if she can talk to Mike, Mike can reach Mona. We really need to find out what she knows. Ali, talk to Emily again…"
"Now you sound like Mona." Ali grumbled. That's all everyone told her to do. Talk. She was sick of talk. She wanted action. She was tired of being stuck in a constant state of anxiety. She was sick of waiting, of being passive. She was itching to get her fingers on whoever was behind whatever elaborate plan was brewing in Rosewood.
"Well that was uncalled for. I'm offended." Toby cracked back. "She's right though. Just keep pushing Em."
"I pushed her into a catatonic state yesterday," Ali admitted.
"And she's grateful to you." Toby replied. "I heard a difference in her voice when I talked to her today. She told me about her breakdown. And she also said you were there with her, for her. I think you're really making headway with her. Don't stop."
"I'm afraid if I keep pushing I'll push her right into a straitjacket." Ali admitted.
"At this point she'd be safer in a sanitarium." Toby replied.
"I wasn't," Ali said.
The phone line was silent, dead air. Toby wanted to smack himself. It had completely slipped his mind that Ali had been tortured at the hands of her ex-husband Elliott Rollins in Welby.
"Sorry." Toby bit his lip and grimaced.
"Look, we all know when Emily falls she crashes like a meteor to the Earth, but as long as you're there to pull her out of it she will be okay." Spencer replied. "Trust me, I'm speaking from experience."
She glanced at Toby, who once upon a time had done that very thing to Spencer, in a totally different respect. The difference was that Toby wasn't around to pull Spencer out of it and she'd ended up in a mental institution. It had been years, but he'd regretted it every day since it happened.
Ali muttered in agreement. She didn't like it. She didn't like poking Emily's fresh wounds and making them open up and bleed. But if she didn't keep at it that emotional infection that had been brewing would start attacking Emily's mind and body in ways that Ali couldn't heal.
As Alison contemplated the fragility of her wife's mind and what her next move should be Emily was arriving back at Rosewood High.
Emily wasted no time in getting back into the building and finding her daughter. She knew that the school librarian was keeping a dutiful watch over her. Teachers and Rosewood High staff all loved Lily. There was an unspoken familial bond that came with teachers watching out for each others' children.
Lily liked to volunteer in the library after school a few times a week. She was usually in charge of putting materials that had been checked back in back in their proper area according to the call numbers on the books. Emily checked in on her. She was taking her sweet time. She just wanted to make sure she did it right. Emily smiled and told her not to rush. She decided to watch a bit of the team's swim practice while she was waiting on Lily to finish her book stacking.
She glanced at her watch. She had about ten minutes to kill before the practice got started. She decided to be productive with her time and use it wisely. She knew she couldn't get into the records room without getting questioned, but she had another idea. She slipped into the office and sorted through a few things until she found Zane's locker and combination. Then she walked through the mostly empty halls to find it.
To her disappointment she didn't find much of anything in it. His school books were messily thrown in next to his unfolded gym clothes. There were pictures of names of bands that Emily had never heard of, a guitar magnet, a pair of sneakers tied together hanging on the hook at the top, and a picture of him with his mom and dad at the beach. He was probably around six months old. Underneath the guitar magnet holding the photo up there was a scrap of paper that had a name and a phone number. Emily quickly snapped a picture of it and then closed the locker.
She glanced at her phone, too focused on the image to notice that there was a pair of leering eyes watching her from the floor above. Zane stared down the hallway. He hadn't felt like coming to school, so he'd skipped to play video games and go to the gun range. The only reason he'd come by was because he'd left his phone in his locker.
When he saw Emily at his locker he felt a surge of panic course through him. Did he have anything in there that could connect him to the Vipers? If he screwed up again he was fucked. He had to see what Emily had snapped a shot of. He quickly ran out to his car to grab a few things and then disappeared into the locker room.
Emily went to the pool and sat down in the stands. As the girls warmed up with their stretches she was deep into her phone googling the name and number from Zane's locker. It was a man who worked at a gun range down on Fifth Street. The number belonged to the range. She held off on calling. She didn't want to tip anyone off that she had the information. She would have to stake it out in person.
The sound of a whistle and then the sound of several girls jumping in the water jolted her back in to reality. She jumped inadvertently. Hearing the sounds of the girls splashing against the water was a lot more nerve-wracking than she thought it would be. She'd sat in on a few practices and had gotten better about her triggers. But given that she'd basically almost drowned again two nights ago it hit her harder than she was prepared for.
She felt her hands shaking. She put her phone in her pocket and tried to focus on the practice, but her mind kept jumping back to the dark bloody water in her nightmare. She discreetly slipped out and disappeared into the locker room. She walked over to a sink and turned the cold water on. She let her palms fill up with water and then splashed her face to cool herself down. She turned the water off and hung her head over the sink, gripping the edge of the porcelain as she took several deep breaths. It was almost over. She kept telling herself it was almost over.
She heard something and her eyes snapped up towards the mirror. She saw the movement of his reflection behind her, but it was too late. It was just like a scene out of her high school days when a masked freak in a hoodie attacked her. The assailant was wearing a dark colored sweatshirt and a ski mask.
His arm grasped her in a chokehold, cutting off her air supply. She threw her elbow back at the same moment she lifted her foot and slammed the heel of her foot down on the attacker's toes. She heard him grunt out a pained breath and she repeated the motion. He grabbed a thick chunk of her hair, shoving her face forward, nearly smashing her cheek against the mirror.
Emily had had enough. She felt a rush of adrenaline. She spun them around and slammed his head against the wall, hoping the motion would knock him out. The attacker yelled out in surprise. He threw his arm out, striking her in the ribs. She pulled in a shocked breath and jerked back, her grip on him loosening. He saw her doubled over and took the opportunity to bolt for the door. She grabbed the ski mask as he rounded the corner, her fingers digging into the fabric and pulling it off. But he'd already fled the scene.
"Son of a bitch." Emily growled, chasing after him. He scampered around the lockers and raced towards the back of the gym. He fled out the back door. Just as Emily heard the back door slam shut she heard a familiar voice calling out to her from the front of the locker room.
"Mom?" Lily's voice echoed. Emily stopped to catch her breath. She leaned down and put her hands against her knees and then stood back up. "You in here?"
Emily was torn between going after the attacker and answering her kid. But of course she was going to choose her kid.
"Right over here, Lil."
She shoved the ski mask into her pocket and walked towards the sound of her voice, anxious to get her out of danger, though she was certain the person who had come after her this time wasn't Del Toro. It was someone inexperienced and dumb. It had to be Zane. And he hadn't had a weapon that she could see. He hadn't been intending to kill her. Maybe he was just supposed to capture her or something. But that didn't make sense either, because it wasn't smart to attack her at school. That didn't seem like a very calculated plan. It was sloppy. Almost frantic, like it had happened last minute. It's not something Del Toro would come up with.
"I'm ready to go." Lily walked around the corner to meet her mom. She glanced at Emily, who was trying to act like everything was perfectly normal. Lily noticed immediately that something was off. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. Everything is fine." Emily smiled. She kept the back door in her peripheral vision as she walked over to meet Lily.
Lily stared at her, her eyes narrowing in thought. She could tell that her mom was up to something. She held Emily's gaze.
"I know what this is about." Lily frowned. Emily tensed up. There was a beat of silence and Lily sighed. "You and mom are up to something for my birthday."
Emily relaxed her stance. Well, the kid was on her game. They were up to something.
"We heard you when you said you didn't want to celebrate, sweetie." Emily rubbed her arm comfortingly, her hand still shaking because of her adrenaline. She somehow managed to keep her breathing steady. "We're not going to make it a big deal. I promise. Your grandmother and uncle want to have dinner as a family. That's all."
"But the whole family won't be there." The most important person to her wouldn't be there.
"Just because she's not here doesn't mean she's not with you. Your sister is always with you, Lily. I know how cliché that sounds and I know you're probably sick of hearing it." It was right up there with 'Everything happens for a reason' and 'God has a plan'. Those had been the things Emily hated hearing the most after Grace died. "But she lives on through us." She could hear Maurice telling her that she owed it to Grace to live.
Emily expected Lily to scoff and give her a little kickback, but she got lost in thought for a few seconds and then she nodded.
"That's what Eli says."
"Well you should listen to him. He's a smart kid." When he wasn't off trying to be a little justice seeker like his dad and throwing punches at Zane, who admittedly deserved it. She saw Lily smile and then blush and she realized something. "Lily, do you like him?"
"No." Her face reddened. "Maybe…" She skipped a beat. "Don't tell mom. I don't want her chasing him away while reciting things about the changing pubescent human body."
Grace had said the exact same thing about Sam Strauss. Emily couldn't help but laugh. The girls had been different in a lot of ways. But they were identical in more than just their genetic make-up. Leave it to her little girl to take her mind off of the fact that she'd just been in a fight. Or maybe she had been scrapping so much lately that fighting felt normal for her. That was a horrifying thought. Because if she'd been throwing punches for so long that something like being attacked was normal for her then how far down the rabbit hole had she truly fallen?
"It would probably mortify him if she tried to have the sex talk with him." Lily bit her lip.
"Is that a conversation we need to be having?" Emily asked curiously.
"Hey, I'm not the one who can't keep my hands to myself and needs a neon sign to hang over her bedroom door so her daughter knows when it's safe to enter."
"You are too much." Emily chuckled.
Lily smiled softly. It was something Emily sorely needed to see. Her sweet child. Lily rubbed her arms nervously.
"Can we have the dinner tonight?" she asked. "I don't really want to do anything tomorrow. I was thinking I'd just stay in and read. It's what I really want to do."
"Sure." She wouldn't have to reheat that casserole for dinner after all. "Whatever you want."
"Can we do take-out and eat at home?"
"Sure. I'll just need to check with your Grandma and Uncle Jason."
"Okay." Lily nodded. "Thanks." She looked at Emily with a sheepish expression on her face. "Sorry I've been such a pain lately."
"I'd be worried if you didn't rebel a little."
"Does that mean I can dye my hair and pierce my nose?"
"You hate needles." Emily laughed.
"Okay, just the hair then."
"Do you want your mother to have a heart attack?"
"Maybe a hidden tattoo?" Lily teased.
Emily tried not to laugh, because she had a tattoo her mother still didn't know about.
God, don't let her follow in my footsteps. Emily thought to herself.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Before someone pops through that back door and shoots me in front of you or something.
They walked out to the parking lot and hopped in the car. Emily kept an eye out for her new suspect as she drove home, but didn't see any sign of him. The Pit Vipers had certainly taught him how to disappear when he needed to. When they got home Lily quickly shuffled into the house.
Emily texted Ali to let her know that Lily wanted her birthday dinner tonight and then texted Jason and her mom to make sure they were available on short notice. Then she put her phone up and went to get the mail. A few houses down she saw a car pull into Zane's driveway. She recognized it as Mr. Jacob's. She looked up and down the street and then carefully made her way over to the house. She caught him just as he was walking up the porch steps.
"Mr. Jacobs?" Emily asked.
He turned around, key in hand. His face dropped when he saw her. He shook his head and an exasperated sigh came out of his mouth.
"What did he do now?"
"Nothing," Emily said, her lie burning a hole through her pocket in the form of a ski mask. "I was just looking for him to follow up on something that was found that belongs to him."
"His phone again?" Mr. Jacobs asked. "He is always losing that thing. I told him if he misplaced it again he's on his own. I'm not springing for a new one. Of course that doesn't mean my wife won't." He frowned. "His mother spoils him."
"No, it's just some old clothes." She didn't go into detail. She wasn't sure what Zane's father knew, if he knew anything. "Probably from his basketball days."
"Something else he screwed up," he muttered. He glanced at Emily apologetically. "I'm sorry. I do love the boy. It's just that he's been nothing but trouble since he was born."
"Difficult birth?" What she really wanted to do was ask if Zane was adopted. But she didn't want to show her hand.
"Difficult eighteen years," he replied. "Being a parent is…" He searched for the right word. "No one tells you how hard it's going to be."
Emily bit her lip. She'd give her life for another eighteen years with Grace.
"You think you're done when they're grown, but that's not true. You're a parent until the day you die," he said.
"And after." Emily added. "You just have to hope your kids carry what they learned from you with them."
"I don't know how many of my lessons stuck with him," he admitted, though his lessons had mostly been that business was more important than family and that money could fix anything. "He drinks, smokes, gets into fights. Disappears for days at a time sometimes. If he wasn't in school today he's probably gone on another bender."
"And you have no idea where he might be?"
"I lost track of him when he was a kid. I don't even try to keep track anymore."
Emily wanted to snap at him and tell him that maybe if he did then perhaps his kid wouldn't be so out of control. But she knew yelling wasn't going to do any good.
"He used to hang out at the arcade, but he traded that in for the bar on Main Street Avenue and the gun range across the street near Fifth Street," his dad answered.
Fan-fucking-tastic. She thought bitterly. A drunk angry teenager aiming a gun. That was sure to end well.
"But these days, who knows?" he shrugged. "I wouldn't worry too much about his basketball gear. He didn't care enough to stay on the team. I doubt he cares enough to want his things back." He glanced at his watch. "If you'll excuse me, I've got a business meeting to get ready for."
They said their goodbyes and then Emily walked back to her house. In a way she felt sorry for Zane. His parents clearly cared more about their jobs and their money than they cared about him. He'd been acting out since he was little to get their attention. She thought about the beach picture in his locker and found herself wondering if that was the only happy memento he had from his childhood.
Then she berated herself for feeling sympathy for someone who was clearly working with the person trying to kill her. Less than an hour ago that teenager she felt bad for had tried to choke her in the locker room. And he was probably going to help kill her. She was essentially feeling sympathy for a rabid dog who'd had a hard life, but was trying to bite her. She knew she had to stop thinking with her heart. It was going to get her killed.
She walked into her house, locking the door behind her. She went to check on Lily. She peered in her room and saw her sitting on her bed with her headphones on listening to music and flipping through a magazine.
Emily tried to keep herself busy, but she was anxious until Ali got home. She all but ran into the living room when she heard her come into the house.
"Hey." Ali waved. She had a small bag in one hand and a larger bag in her other. "Where's Lily?" She glanced around the living room.
"Up in her room. I just checked on her. She was doodling in her sketchbook."
"I got everything but the charm. It won't be ready until tomorrow." Ali explained, walking towards the kitchen. "Did you hear back from Jason and your mom?"
"Yeah. They'll both be here at seven. Lily wants Maggiano's." Emily followed Ali into the kitchen.
"Surprise, surprise." Ali laughed, putting both bags down on the counter. She pulled a pink box out of the larger bag. Emily saw that it was from a local bakery.
"I don't think she wants a cake, sweetie." Emily walked over next to Ali.
"That's why I didn't get her one." Ali opened the box. There were five cupcakes with buttercream frosting. Three had sprinkles and two were plain. "If she doesn't want hers there's more for us." Ali smiled.
"This is one of those things where you sneakily purchase something you want in hopes that the person you bought it for doesn't want it so you can have it, isn't it?" Emily teasingly poked Ali's arm.
"Come on, does that sound like something I'd do?" Ali pressed her lips together, smirking.
"You bought me a dress that was your size for my birthday last year." Emily pointed out.
"And you got to take it off of me. Happy birthday to you." Ali lifted her brows mischievously and put her hand against Emily's waist, instinctively letting her fingers trail up her side, squeezing seductively, trying to tickle her. For a fraction of a second she'd forgotten about Emily's injuries. She saw her tense up underneath her touch and immediately pulled back. "Sorry. I completely spaced." Ali frowned. "Did you take something for it this afternoon?"
"Not yet. Not since lunch," Emily said. She'd meant to take another dose of anti-inflammatories after school, but then that scuffle had happened in the locker room and she forgot.
"Did you at least rest and ice your bruises?" She saw Emily look at the ground. Ali grumbled under her breath. "You are the worst goddamn patient." She sighed and rolled her eyes. She walked over to the freezer and pulled it open. She reached in and grabbed a large ice pack and handed it to Emily. "Go take something and lie down for a while."
Emily didn't argue with her. Truth be told she was exhausted. And now that Ali was home she felt a little better. She felt like maybe she could relax. She passed by Lily's room on her way down the hall, making sure the ice pack was out of sight just in case she ran into her daughter. She didn't need to give anyone else a reason to worry. She glanced in and saw Lily still completely enamored in her art. Jett was on her bed, snoring loudly. Emily watched her for a few seconds and then left her alone to her artwork.
She took Ali's advice and took an anti-inflammatory and laid down. It had been a rough couple of days and she hadn't really slowed down long enough to actually feel her injuries. She'd been too busy dealing with her emotional pain. But now that she was slowly getting that under control, the blows her body had experienced were starting to catch up to her. Icing her ribs hurt at first, but then the cool compress started to work. She closed her eyes and relaxed against her bed. She drifted off to sleep.
It was two hours later that she awoke to a startling bang downstairs. She leaped to her feet just as a crash clamored from the kitchen. She raced towards the kitchen, fearing the worst. She flew down the stairs, tripping and nearly tumbling down the last three steps. She caught herself on the banister and landed on the floor on her feet with a hard thud. She sprinted towards the kitchen.
"Ali?" She called out, her heart racing.
She turned the corner and saw Ali down on her knees, scooping up a shattered dish. Ali looked up at her and saw the wide-eyed terror in her eyes.
"What happened?" Emily asked, out of breath. "Are you okay?"
"Emily, calm down." Ali blinked in surprise, standing up to meet her. "I just dropped a plate."
Emily breathed a sigh of relief. Ali saw her physically relax as she exhaled a trembling breath.
"What did you think had happened?" Ali asked curiously, putting her hand on Emily's arm. She could feel her shaking.
"I don't know," Emily said. "I just kind of acted on instinct I guess."
"Since when is your instinct to come barreling into a room like you're expecting a fight?" Ali tried to keep her eyes from glancing down at her ribs, but failed. It's like they were back in high school again and there was danger around every corner. Only this time Ali didn't know what that danger was.
"I'm sorry. I just woke up and I…I don't know what came over me."
"No, don't apologize." Ali shook her head. "Answer the question." She watched Emily carefully, waiting for a response. When Emily didn't reply Ali frowned. "I talked to Toby and Spencer today. And Aria and Hanna. We all know about you digging through police files." She felt Emily stiffen underneath her touch. "What's going on?"
"I already told Toby it was just a mix up." Emily replied, trying to keep her cool.
"Zane Jacobs? That can't be a coincidence. What are you hiding from us?" Ali asked. She saw Emily bite the inside of her lip. She looked away from Ali, but Ali put her hand on Emily's cheek and forced Emily to look at her. "Em, I see it in your eyes." She ran her fingers across her cheek, gently brushing her thumb against the healing cut on her lip. "I don't know what happened, but something has you so scared that you can't even talk to me about it."
She saw a look of reservation on Emily's face. She was so close to opening up. Ali could see the dam breaking.
Come on, baby. Ali begged in thought. Let me in.
Emily looked at her in silence for a few seconds. They heard the front door open and then Jason called out to them.
"Emily…" Ali tried to keep her focused.
"Not tonight, Alison," Emily said quietly, shaking her head. "Let's just get through Lily's birthday."
Ali clenched her jaw and glanced at the ground in defeat. She'd almost gotten her to talk. She could feel it.
They broke away from each other and turned towards the kitchen doorway just as Jason was coming through. He had the food. Emily immediately went over to help him as Ali finished cleaning up the broken glass on the floor.
Pam walked in minutes later. They set the table up for dinner and then called Lily out of her hidey-hole. Everyone had a good time at dinner, including Ali and Emily. Seeing Lily light up around her family made them feel good.
They gave Lily her gifts. As much as she didn't want to celebrate without Grace, she wasn't going to turn down her family's generosity, especially when that generosity came in the form of books, a spa trip, and the smartwatch Jason had bought her. After dinner was over they hung out and talked for a while and then Lily politely asked to be excused, leaving the adults to their conversation.
It was almost 11:30 by the time Jason and Pam had left. Both Ali and Emily were exhausted. Ali could see Emily fading. She made her take a dose of pain meds and went to get another ice pack out of the freezer. When she got back into the living room she found Emily conked out on the couch. She didn't want to wake her, so she grabbed a blanket from the closet and covered her up.
Ali poured herself a glass of wine, the fourth of the night, and settled in on the loveseat next to her, because she was not going to leave her alone. She reached over the edge of the sofa and brushed her fingers through Emily's hair, watching her sleep as she sipped her wine. Emily sighed and tilted her head up and towards Ali, unconsciously yearning for her touch in her sleep.
For once, her face was soft and relaxed. Ali couldn't take her eyes off of her. She was just as beautiful as the day they'd met. She was so soft. So sweet. And while the years had made her rough around the edges, at her core she'd always remained so caring. Ali glanced at the cut on her lip. It broke her heart to see Emily so beaten up.
She just couldn't figure out who would hurt Emily. She knew there was a very slim possibility that Emily was telling the truth and that it was just some random stranger she was happy to let kick and punch her to forget about her emotional pain. But she knew in her heart that the reality was that Emily had gotten caught up in something that she was afraid to tell her about. It could be so many different things. Drug deals. Bounty hunting. Weapons trade. Gangs. The black market. Ali had seen it all during her time on the run. She knew how dark the world was. Her mind was firing rapid ideas at her and it always ended in the worst case scenario.
She polished off her wine and fell asleep shortly afterwards, her hand still draped over the arm of the sofa and the loveseat, her fingertips against Emily's head. As everyone in the house slept soundly, a shadow was slinking around outside. He'd seen Pam and Jason leave from a distance. He'd actually come to the neighborhood looking for Zane. The kid had gone MIA on him. While he was waiting for Zane to come out of whatever drug or alcohol infused trip he was on he'd seen the activity at the DiLaurentis-Fields house. He'd watched from the shadows.
He'd been inside the house a handful of times back before Ali disappeared in high school. Ali's older brother Jason threw some epic parties, and all interested people could come as long as they brought booze or blow. Ali had hated their childlike antics. And she'd especially seemed to dislike him. She would hit on his friends, but looked at him like he was dogshit on the bottom of a shoe. She had epic resting bitch face. He'd avoided her and she didn't go out of her way to socialize with him.
He peered inside the house. The curtains were mostly closed, but through a small opening he could make out a figure laid out on the couch. He knew it was Emily.
He could end it right now if he wanted to. A single shot through the window. But he didn't want her to be asleep. He wanted her to be awake and facing him, looking into his eyes as he took her life. The night at the bar hadn't ended up the way he'd hoped, but at the very least he knew she was dying inside.
He had really enjoyed making her suffer. Nothing he could put her through physically, not even death, could compare to what he was doing to her emotionally. He took pride in the fact that he'd really fucked her up in the head. But he knew the game had to end before he was exposed.
He pulled a cigarette and a lighter out of his rolled up sleeve and started walking away. He glanced at his watch and then looked back at the house. Before tomorrow was over, he would have blood on his hands once again.
He slid the cigarette in between his lips and cupped the air around the end of it with one hand and rolled his thumb over the lighter and lit it with the other. He walked off. He had a drunk teenager to find. Emily got to live one more night.
The air in the DiLaurentis-Fields house was peaceful all night long. No one woke up in a cold sweat. No one had bad dreams. No one was in pain.
Emily woke up the next morning with a slight headache, no doubt a withdrawal from the pain medications she'd taken…or the fact that she'd slept on the couch at an odd angle. She heard soft snoring beside her and when she sat up she saw Ali sleeping in the loveseat. There was a bottle of wine and an empty wine glass on the end table at her feet.
Emily heard a rustling noise in the kitchen and she snapped to attention. She quietly climbed off of the couch and tiptoed across the living room. She saw Lily rummaging through the breadbox.
"Hey, happy birthday," Emily said quietly as she walked up behind her. "What are you looking for?"
"I thought we had bagels. I was going to make a bacon and egg sandwich." Lily rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"I think we're out of all of the above. Give me a few minutes to get dressed and I'll run to the store and then whip it up for you."
"No, it's okay. I'll just have cereal or something. You don't have to do that." Lily shook her head.
"Well too bad, because I'm going to." She ran her fingers through Lily's hair.
Before Lily could voice her disagreement Emily was halfway out of the kitchen and up the stairs. She quickly changed and grabbed her things. She walked by Lily's room on her way out and saw her sitting on her bed and reading something on her new tablet.
"I'll be back in a few." Emily stopped in her doorway. "Try not to wake your mom." Emily knew Ali had probably stayed up late watching over her last night.
"Okay."
"You need anything else while I'm out?" Emily asked.
"I've kind of wanted some caramel and toffee ice cream since last night. The cupcake was good, but it just didn't hit the spot."
"Anything you want." Emily nodded with a laugh.
She blamed Lily's sweet tooth on Ali, because Ali had cravings for something sweet almost every night in the third trimester. She could down an entire tub of chunky monkey in one sitting and when she finished she would look at Emily, worried that she'd judge her. Before Emily could ever say anything Ali would just frown and say, "Don't you say a word. I'm eating for three."
That seemed like such a lifetime ago. Sometimes Emily yearned to go back in time to that moment in their lives. She wished she'd known then just how precious every second was.
When Emily walked through the living room she found that Ali had turned over in the loveseat. She was facing the back. The faded sunrise from behind the curtains left a glow on her exposed skin that made her look radiant.
Emily took a moment to appreciate how lucky she was to have someone who loved her enough to stay with her even though she was a complete mental case. She leaned down, moving some of her blonde locks behind her ear. She placed a gentle kiss on her temple. She saw the edge of Ali's lips curl into a smile, an unconscious "I love you" in her motions.
When she got outside she stopped to look at the sunrise. The sun was just coming over the horizon, peeking out from behind the clouds, the sky painted in splashes of color. The pastel blues and purples contrasted the bright vivid orange and pink streaks above the clouds, painting the sky in an array of light.
It was a new day, and it was a day that was going to change everything. And it was already starting, unbeknownst to Emily. Some things were just meant to happen. Some things couldn't be changed. From the moment Emily stepped out of the house that morning, fate was in motion. It was the little things that happened on her daughter's birthday that were going to lead to the inevitable careening in on her that night.
It started when she couldn't find the ice cream Lily wanted at the first store she went to, so she drove a little further out of the way to find it. She found exactly what she was looking for at the second store, and more.
She loaded the groceries into the back and then hopped in the driver's seat of the car. She had just pulled out of the parking lot and was driving by a side street when she saw him. Zane, in all of his drunken glory was stumbling out of an alley. He put his hand up against his forehead and squinted into the sunlight like it was offending him.
He saw the approaching car and then he saw her behind the wheel. His eyes widened. Before he could get away from her she pulled the car right in front of him, blocking his exit. She leaped out of the car. He turned and ran down the alley, Emily right behind him. Her heart was pumping hard in her chest as she stayed on his heels. She didn't even think about the possibility of him having a weapon. Fortunately for her, he didn't.
When he reached the end of the alley he was blocked in by a brick wall. He was trapped between the concrete and the dumpster. He knew he was boned. He had found out yesterday that Emily could easily best him in a fight. So when she came barreling towards him he threw his hands up and shrieked.
"Wait!" He put his hands up in submission. "Wait, I'll talk."
And that was the second thing that happened that would alter the course of destiny for the DiLaurentis-Fields family. The events that followed were set in stone because of the way things unfolded from that very moment. Because fate was inevitable.
A/N: Answers are right around this crazy loop-de-loop. Next chapter. It's insane, yo. And normally I'd have a nice little smart-ass comment about it right here, but instead I just wanted to take a second to speak out as an ally for the LGBTQ community. I assume writing a F/F fic is going to draw the LGBTQ fam, so I feel like I might have a little mini-platform here. Normally I don't get all preachy or sentimental, but after hearing the story about 9-year-old Jamel Myles being bullied and then killing himself after he came out as gay, it's hard for me to not want to jump in and tell my LGBTQ friends and babies that I love them and they will always have a friend in me. And if you feel lost or if you're struggling or if you're being bullied, holla at me. Or if you're reading this, but have yet to come out and don't want to holla or you're just shy...just know that you've got a friend. I may just be your run-of-the-mill dorky neurotic mess of a fanfic writer, but I've got your back. Like an overprotective sister, no one can make my interweb readers cry but me (sorry again for all the feels in this story, btw).
