Authors Note:
Thank you for the responses!
This story will end on chapter twenty four
with a brief 'One Year Later' epilogue.
And perhaps a separate sequel if anyone is interested.
Or if anyone has any ideas then please let me know.
Chapter Twenty One
"Are you okay, Sweet Pea?" Pam asked. Emily had knocked round early that morning because she really needed some Motherly advice. Pam had been more than happy to welcome her in and place a steaming, hot cup of coffee in front of her troubled daughter.
"I don't know what to do," Emily put her head in her hands. Pam stroked her back, "She won't talk to me at all anymore."
"Alison seems to struggle with things that we take for granted."
"I guess..." Emily sighed in defeat.
"I mean it, Emmy, the first time I visited she hesitated giving me a hug," Pam gave her daughter a pointed look, "She hasn't had all the love and understanding that you have. We just need to support her."
"I get it," Emily nodded, "I get that she had a tough time, I just wish she wasn't so angry with me all the time. It makes things harder."
"Perhaps," Pam lent against the table, opposite Emily, "Instead of thinking about how difficult it is when Alison doesn't talk you should think abut how difficult it must be for Alison to open up if she's acting this way?"
"Caleb!" Emily called, crossing the street quickly, "Hey, did you find anything out?"
Caleb shifted uncomfortably, glancing around the street, "Look, Emily, I'm not sure this is a good idea."
"What?" Emily frowned, "What changed?" She watched Caleb swallow thickly, "You found something, didn't you?"
"I don't think Hanna would appreciate me-"
"Please?" Emily said, "I need to-"
"I can't do this right now," Caleb interrupted, "I need to go," He left, striding away from Emily quickly.
Emily shook her head. How bad could it be for that reaction? She shrugged it off for now, she'd try again later. She made her way to the house, letting herself in before her mouth fell open.
"Dani!" She grinned, hugging her friend.
"Em," Dani smiled, "Miss me?"
"Obviously," Emily rolled her eyes, "I didn't even know you were coming."
"Yeah, I asked Ali since it's her house and I kind of wanted to surprise you."
"I'm so glad you're here," Emily grinned from ear to ear, pulling Dani into another tight hug before Alison cleared her throat from the kitchen.
"You okay?" Emily asked, turning to the blonde.
Alison shrugged, biting her lip, "Make me food," The blonde grumbled before sauntering back into the kitchen.
Emily smiled at Dani's raised eyebrow, "That's my cue, are you hungry?"
"Yeah, sure," Dani followed her, "What are you making?"
"What am I making?" Emily glanced at Alison, who was sitting at the breakfast bar, painting her nails.
"Carrots and cake," The blonde answered.
"Carrot cake?" Emily frowned.
"No, carrots and cake," Alison rolled her eyes, "Chocolate cake."
"Alright," Emily chuckled, getting ingredients while Dani sat next to Alison.
"I appreciate you letting Dani stay," Emily said quietly, dropping onto the couch next to the blonde. She glanced over her, Alison was in an oversized shirt with a blanket draped over her bare legs. The television was the only thing in the room giving light but it was clear the blonde wasn't watching it as it was muted.
Alison shrugged, immediately going to Emily's glass of wine and taking a sip, "Is she asleep?"
Emily nodded. Pursing her lips, she wanted to talk since Alison seemed to be in a semi good mood but she also didn't want to change that fact, "We haven't got long now."
Alison glanced down at her swollen stomach, "No, I guess not."
"We still need to sort out names and stuff."
Alison nodded, "I haven't really been thinking about it."
"Have you had a lot on your mind?"
Another nod, "I guess, Emily I have to make something clear."
"Yeah?" Emily frowned, paying full attention to the blonde.
"I...we..." Alison hummed, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth and biting down, "I can't ever be with you, not like you want me to be."
"What?" Emily's eyes widened, out of all the things they needed to talk about she really didn't think this would be at the top of the blondes agenda.
"I know that we...you...I let you, you know but it isn't going to happen again. I know you've got feelings for me but I'm not gay and I don't want to confuse you by-"
"Whoa, feelings?" Emily frowned, "What makes you think I have feelings for you?"
Alison rolled her eyes, "Do you understand or not?"
"Yes," Emily swallowed thickly, "I understand but I don't get why you've been so distant, we were getting on so well and then you just..."
"I know," Alison nodded, "I just don't want you to get the wrong idea and that means we need to stop with the hugging and stuff."
"Alright," Emily replied, taken aback, "But we do need to function on some form of intimacy, we're having kids."
"No we don't, Emily," Another eye roll, "We just got carried away."
"Right," It was Emily's turn to roll her eyes, "We'll just spend the rest of our lives avoiding each other and when we do happen to run into each other I can walk on egg shells and you can aim that wonderful temper at me."
"Fuck you, Emily," Alison hissed, getting up from the couch, "I'm just being fucking honest and yet again you want more from me than I can give you!"
"Ali-"
"No," She shook her head venomously, "Just...fuck you, Emily."
The brunette sighed as she watched Alison climb the stairs. Her Mother would be so disappointed with her right now.
"Caleb, please," Emily begged.
"Seriously, I don't think I should-"
"What did you find that was so bad?" Emily frowned, "I need to know"
"Jesus," Caleb scrubbed a hand down his face, "I don't want Hanna to know about this-"
"I won't tell her! I won't even mention how I know, I just," Emily swallowed, "I just need to know what's going on."
Caleb sighed, glancing around the coffee shop before pulling his backpack off and rooting around, "Don't look at this until I'm gone, okay?"
Emily nodded enthusiastically, practically holding her breath when she received a piece of paper. She waited in anticipation until Caleb had left and opened it.
"Holy shit," She gasped.
It was a photocopy of an ID for a patient of a mental hospital named Radley Sanitarium, which was here in Rosewood. Courtney DiLaurentis. And there next to the name was a photo.
A photo of Alison.
Emily completely avoided Alison for the next few days. She knew she shouldn't but she needed time to deal with what Caleb had found. She thought it would give her answers but instead it just opened up a whole new bunch of questions.
Hanna had text her a couple of times, asking what was going on but she couldn't explain. Even Cece had tried to call her but she didn't answer, she'd done the only thing she thought would help her cope. She drank.
That was pretty much it until she found herself crawling into bed at one am with Dani, seeking comfort. They'd peeled each others clothes of and started making out heavily before they heard a gasp from the doorway.
"Fuck," Emily cursed, seeing Alison's blonde hair. Dani immediately covered herself up with a blanket and Emily grabbed a long shirt, clumsily pulling it over her head.
"So this is it, huh?" Alison snarled, "You completely ignore me, leave me alone for two days and then come back just to jump into bed with Dani?"
"Ali-"
"No!" She shouted, "If this is how you're going to be just because I won't let you touch me then you should just fucking leave!"
That sobered Emily up, "Alison, I didn't-"
"Fuck you, get the fuck out of my house! I can't believe I trusted you to be here for me!" Alison hissed, stomping away. Emily jumped up, following the blonde to her bedroom. Grabbing the door before the blonde slammed it in her face.
"Do you even care why?" Emily said forcefully, "You don't know why I've been ignoring you so don't just assume I'm a bitch!"
"Go on then?" Alison huffed out, tapping her foot angrily, hands firmly planted on her hips. It was clear by the look on her face that she was absolutely furious.
"I..I.." Emily swallowed, deflating slightly, "I had a good reason."
"If I don't get to screw my friends then you don't get to either," Alison snarled.
"I wasn't-" The brunette squeezed her eyes shut, licking her lips, "I wasn't screwing my friend, I just...I was having a bad day."
"I had a bad day too," Alison rolled her eyes heavily, "Is it okay for me to get drunk and go fuck someone."
Emily pursed her lips, shaking her head, "No," She said quietly, "It isn't."
"Then what the fuck do you expect? You're such a fucking idiot," Alison scoffed, "Fuck, maybe I'm the idiot, thinking you'd actually be there for me."
Emily's eyes narrowed, "I have been there for you, you're the one who shut me out, Courtney."
Alison pursed her lips, anger evident in her face, "Don't call me that."
"Why not?" Emily rolled her eyes, "I found the Radley identification, for God's sake."
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Alison spat.
"Then why don't you enlighten me, Courtney?" She raised a challenging eyebrow.
"I am not Courtney," Alison growled, her hands fisting.
"Then who is?" Emily asked, "Because it was your face on the ID."
Alison's face crumpled, she sat down heavily on the bed. Turning her face away from Emily. Emily sighed, Alison just looked...defeated. She knelt down in front of the blonde, grabbing her hands gently.
"Ali," She whispered in a comforting voice, "Please just tell me what's going on?"
"I can't-"
"You can," Emily gave Alison's hands an encouraging squeeze, "You can trust me, I promise."
Alison pursed her lips, her breath coming out uneven while tears streamed down her face.
Emily used her thumbs to wipe them away before taking Alison's hands again, "Who's Courtney, Alison?"
"My sister," Alison whispered, sniffing, "She was my sister."
Emily swallowed, shuffling closer to Alison for support. She wasn't sure if the support was for her or for Alison.
"She was Mom's favourite," Alison sobbed, "She...she always preferred Courtney but Courtney wasn't okay, she was mentally ill. When Courtney got put in Radley..."
"It's okay," Emily encouraged, "You're doing great."
"Mom...she got angry. She...she didn't want Courtney to suffer so...she switched us."
"What?" Emily gasped.
"Turns out the more you say you're not Courtney and that you're Alison the crazier you seem," Alison gave an empty chuckle, "I was in there for a while before I escaped...two years actually."
"Two years?"
Alison nodded sharply, "That's where Ali D comes from. Courtney...she was being Alison...or at least who she thought Alison should be."
"I knew you hadn't gotten that reputation yourself," Emily shook her head.
"After I escaped I knew I had to disappear."
"Where did you go?"
"I went where I shouldn't, I went home," Alison sniffed, "But my Mom...she'd heard that I got out and she was going to do anything she could to stop Courtney from being locked up again."
"What happened, Al?" Emily asked gently, circling Alison's waist with her arms so their faces were closer.
"She was waiting when I showed up, she was...she'd gone out of her mind," Alison shook her head, "She...she...she..."
"Hey," Emily drew Alison's eyes to her own, "You're okay."
Alison nodded slightly, biting her lip harder than ever before, "She tried to kill me," Alison whispered, her voice so quiet that Emily barely caught it.
Emily gasped, holding Alison closer. Her own tears spilling from her eyes at the revelation, her heart feeling like it was both sinking to her feet and beating out of her chest at the same time.
"My Mom...she'd already dug a hole, she...she planned it," Alison gulped in air, her fingers curling into Emily's shirt, "She hit me in the back of the head before I knew she was there and then...I couldn't move," Alison sniffled, "I can still feel her dragging me," She blinked heavily, "I can still see the look on her face when she was putting dirt on top of me...but I couldn't move...or scream. I wanted to scream."
"Ali..."
"I couldn't breathe when I was down there but Jason helped me out, he got me out and I ran. Like I should've done in the first place."
"Oh, Ali," Emily cried for her.
"I was away for a whole year before I heard the news, I saw a funeral in the newspaper," Alison squeezed her eyes shut, "My funeral...I managed to get a hold of Jason," Alison gulped, "My Mom killed Courtney...she thought it was me. She hit her and she buried her alive..like she did to me but Courtney didn't get out."
Emily shook her head, not believing it almost. She pulled on Alison's hands, tugging the blonde onto the bed so they could both lay down. Emily held her close, letting the blonde sob into her neck and shedding tears of her own.
"You-You can go back to D-Dani," Alison hiccuped, even though her hands were fisting Emily's shirt.
Emily shook her head, pulling Alison impossibly closer to her, "I'm never leaving you again."