A/N: TW Please take the warnings seriously. This chapter contains violence, character death and mentions of non-con/rape. Please, tread carefully if this is something that's just not for you.

I want to thank everybody who takes the time to read this. This is actually my second PLL fanfic, but I never got around to publish the first one as it was lost when my computer broke down. So, it's my first foray into PLL and Paily in a published form. I hope there's still some interest in this show and in this ship.

I'd love to hear what you think, and whether you want me to continue this. I've mapped out the story for the next ten chapters.

"This is what you deserve, Emily. Now I want you to focus on what you're about to see because it's important that you realize this is what you caused. This is what you earned. This is all you," he said in a low voice.

When he opened the closet door, Emily could swear that her heart stopped beating for a moment.

"Paige," she breathed, feeling light-headed.

This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be true. She forced her eyes closed, praying that by the time she opened them again, this gruesome hallucination would've disappeared.

She had no such luck.

Her girlfriend was tied up and gagged, sitting in the closet. How long had she been there? Had Nate done anything? Had he harmed her?

Nate chose that moment to violently pull at Paige's body, dragging her out of the closet and almost throwing her onto the couch. She landed right beside Emily.

Emily looked shocked to the core. Her gaze lingered on Paige's face, meeting her wide eyes. The duct tape didn't allow for any sounds more than groans and mumbles to be heard, but still, Paige was trying to communicate with her. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears – how Paige managed to keep them inside, how she managed to keep any resemblance of calm was beyond Emily's understanding. An angry bruise was already forming at her temple. She looked terrible, but to Emily, she'd never looked stronger. Never looked more precious than in this very moment.

I'm sorry, she mouthed, almost pleadingly, hoping that Paige would understand what she meant.

What she meant to say was, I'm sorry for getting you into this. Or, I'm sorry you're hurting because of me. Maybe even, I'm sorry that knowing me has only caused you pain.

It was all her fault. If she hadn't started dating Paige, none of this would've happened to her. She choked back a sob, but Nate still heard her.

A sardonic grin had spread on his face. "It hurts, doesn't it, Emily? Seeing the one you love taken away?", he whispered, his voice laced with venom. Clutching the knife tightly, his left hand grabbed a handful of Paige's hair, pulling her head back. Paige's pained groan only seemed to increase his glee at having the girl's life in his hands.

"Please, stop. Stop this, Nate," begged Emily.

Putting the knife firmly against Paige's throat, he turned his head back to smirk at Emily.

"You and I, we're about to be equal. Soon, you'll know what it's like to lose her. And you'll know the pain that I felt when I lost Maya because of you. You're the reason I hurt, and you're the reason she's going to die here tonight."

Emily was getting frantic. "No, please. No, I'll do anything, but please don't hurt her," she sobbed, unable to keep the tears from spilling. She was absolutely helpless and it was as if her body was betraying her as well because try as she might, she couldn't move a muscle. All she could do was watch as Nate – or rather, Lyndon – pressed the blade into her girlfriend's soft skin, drawing blood; blood which was now running down Paige's throat, forming rivulets in red.

"NO!," she screamed, choking on the word and almost retching. Nate slowly withdrew the knife, pulling the swimmer's head violently back, ignoring Emily's cries. He moved his face in close, so close, in fact, that his breath was moving Paige's hair with every one of his exhales. Paige closed her eyes for one moment, taking a deep breath. When she opened them again, she gazed back with steely eyes, keeping her head high and jutting her chin forward. She'd be damned if she let this scumbag break her before killing her.

"Are you scared? You try to act all brave for your little girlfriend but I bet you're pissing yourself. Do you still think your precious Emily is worth it all?

She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of reacting to his taunts. Emily liked strong women, and if these were her last moments on earth, she was not about to spend them quivering in needed to give Emily a chance to escape. She needed to distract him. Fuck you, she spat. It was almost incomprehensible with her mouth taped shut, but Nate was close enough to hear what she'd said.

"You fucking bitch!" he yelled and slapped her across the face, hard. Her head lolled back, and she was disoriented and dizzy for one moment before she forced herself to turn her face back to him. Her resolve never wavered, despite the burning sensation on the side of her face, which felt like it was on fire. Nor did she seem perturbed by the sharp sting at her throat, bravely soldiering on even as she felt warm liquid slowly flowing down her skin.

He seemed to find some admiration or respect within himself for her obvious rebellion. "Feisty. I like!It's a real shame you fell into her trap," he said, sounding almost sorry for a moment.

A new idea seemed to form in his mind, and he released the brunette from his hold with a small smile.

"You said you'd do anything?" he asked, finally addressing Emily.

"Yes. Please don't do this. Please, I beg you. Don't kill her."

He was looking for something in her face and whatever it was, he seemed to have found it because he nodded, satisfied. "Okay. You'll stay very still and let me tie you up. If you even move a muscle without being told, I'm gonna slit her throat. You got that?"

The raven-haired girl nodded frantically. "I won't do anything, I swear. Just please don't hurt her," she said earnestly.

He moved in a slow and deliberate way, obviously still apprehensive that Emily would break her promise, and went to pick up some more duct tape. When he came back, he once more held the knife to Paige's throat. "One false move, and she's done for, so don't you dare try anything," the threatened her again.

Emily put her hands together in a beg: "No, I swear, I promise. Please." Her voice was quivering, and it was getting harder and harder for her to breathe. Her heart was racing in her chest and she could hear the thunderous sound of her pulse in her ears. It was getting so loud that she had difficulties making out anything else.

Nate kneeled down in front of her, tying her hands together with the tape. Then, he slid his hand down her body, along her long legs and took her left foot, yanking it harshly, tying it to the leg of the couch.

Emily didn't dare move even a fraction. She was scared what he was planning to do but she was more scared about having to face the alternative: having Nate kill Paige. She turned her head to look at her girlfriend and noticed that she was trying to twist her hands out of the tape. The sight made her heart hurt. Of course, her Paige would never give up that easily. She'd always been competitive and she wasn't a quitter.

She only tore her gaze away when she noticed that Nate had stood up and was now positioning himself between her legs. She looked up at him in panic. Surely he wouldn't...

"Your girlfriend's tough, I'll give her that. Let's see how tough she is when she sees how I can rock your world. I'm gonna show you what you've been missing out on, Emily," he said, running his tongue over his lips before leaning in close to kiss her. She tried to turn her face away, but he grabbed her cheeks harshly and pulled her into a painful kiss.

She could hear Paige's groaning and taste her own tears that were running down her face. While her first kiss with Nate had been an attempt at re-establishing some lost connection to her first girlfriend, this gruff attack on her mouth felt like he was trying to suffocate her with his lips. His taste made her want to vomit.

It was all wrong.

Kisses with Paige were soft and gentle and even when their feelings ran away with them, it never stopped being a loving expression of their feelings for each other. With Nate, however, it wasn't just his stubble pinching at her skin like a dozen knives, it was his general aggressiveness, taking without permission, and it felt like an attack.

She started struggling, but half tied-up as she was, she was completely helpless and exposed. There was nothing she could do but endure this nightmare. Suddenly, Nate broke the kiss and leaned back, his face sporting a feverish expression.

Roughly, he started feeling her up. Emily threw her head back and squeezed her eyes shut when his hands painfully pinched her breasts. She felt him open the button on her jeans, opening the zipper.

When she felt him shift, she couldn't help but open her eyes. Her blood ran cold. He was standing between her legs, grinning at her, one hand on his own fly button, opening his jeans and pulling them down slightly.

She started dry-heaving violently, almost choking on her own inhalations. There were still tears running down her face but she didn't feel them any longer, becoming more and more numb by the second. All she tried to focus on was one thought: Paige. Maybe this would be enough to save her life. Soft, sweet Paige.

When she felt Nate shift again, and his weight pressed against her body once more, she closed her eyes, forcing herself to retreat into her memories, trying to fill her vision with images of Paige. Of the way she'd blush whenever Emily flirted with her even after getting together. How she'd dip her head with a small smile because she was just too overwhelmed with Emily's attention. The way her rosy cheeks would look like after their kisses escalated into a heavy make-out session. All she could see was Paige.

She could almost smell her unique scent. It was a mixture of vanilla and a hint of chlorine. It was the one scent that made her feel at ease in an instant, when she was in Paige's arms. She could smell it just now, almost as if...

She realized that it wasn't just her fantasy but that she felt the scent invading her senses right this second. The next thing she noticed is that the weight pressing against her was gone. She opened her eyes wide.

At first, she couldn't make sense of what she was seeing. Paige's sweater. Brown hair scattered throughout her field of vision. A rough grunt of pain reached her ears, it was unmistakeably Nate's.

Despite her feet still being tied-up, Paige had apparently managed to break her wrists free. She'd thrown her body against Nate's massive torso, tackling him and taking him down. Emily tried to move but couldn't, the duct tape cutting angrily into her skin. All she could do was watch helplessly.

Emily, you can trust me with your life. There's nothing I wouldn't do to protect you.

She could almost hear Paige's voice in her head right now, as she remembered the conversation they had had on the window seat. A new wave of tears escaped her. Oh, Paige...

Paige was holding her own for a good while, punching him a good few times to disorient him, but her feet were still tied up and Nate had the distinct advantage of having a male body. After some pushing and pulling, he ended up on top of Paige, effectively straddling her and keeping her pinned to the ground.

"She's not worth it, don't you see? You are her plaything but you don't matter. Girls like her? They just take, and take and take. All they can do is take your heart and crush it. And now you're gonna die, put down like a faithful dog for being so stupid," he ground out through clenched teeth.

The knife had fallen to the floor but with a swift movement, Nate retrieved the weapon, wrapping his fist tightly around the handle.

Paige used the momentary respite to tear the duct tape from her mouth.

"I won't let you hurt her," Paige said in a low voice, defiant. Emily couldn't make out exactly what she'd said, but it seemed that Nate had. It angered him so much that he lost control and saw red.

In that moment, Nate took a big swing and plunged the knife deep into Paige's thigh. Paige let out a blood-curling scream as the blade sank into her flesh, a searing pain sending shocks through her body.

Emily stopped breathing. She was frozen in shock.

"Shut up! I'm gonna make you shut the fuck up!" he screamed furiously. In a blind rage, he tore out the knife and took another swing, landing the blade in her abdomen where it sliced through her skin and muscles easily. Then, again, he pulled the knife free and stabbed her a third time, sinking the blade into the side of her chest where he felt distinct resistance – Paige's ribs, perhaps. This time, Paige's scream was more of a splutter, and she started coughing.

Emily yelled out in panic, "no! No, Paige, no! God, please, no!"

This seemed to shake Nate out of his rage-induced daze, and he looked around as if waking up from a bad dream. When he looked at the body beneath him, his eyes widened. Blood was pooling on the floor quickly, and Paige's sweater had already started dripping red. As if burned, he let go of the knife handle, recoiling from the sight before him. His eyes met his victim's.

It seemed that time had slowed down to a crawl. Paige's hand, shaking like a leaf, reached out to grab the knife which was still stuck in her flesh. Whether it was adrenaline, shock or pure determination, she couldn't say, but with all the strength she had left, she pulled at the knife, shaking it loose before she reached out and tore it out of her side with clenched teeth.

Drawing a wide arch, the brunette turned the blade in her hand and buried it deep within Nate's chest. One second, he was looking down in bewilderment, his hands reaching for his chest. The next, he was already slumping over sideways, landing on the floor beside Paige with a heavy thud.

Struggling to take a breath, she relinquished her hold on the knife, letting it clatter onto the floor as well. It was as if all energy had left her body, and she crumbled, the back of her head hitting the ground as she had no strength left to keep it upright.

Paige was gasping, fighting for every inhale, forcing out every exhale. Costing her a lot of effort, she managed to wheeze weakly, "Emily..."