Good night! :) Thank you so much for your nice reviews, guys. I don't deserve them after making you wait for so long. ;) Anyway, here's another update. Have a nice week, you all! :)

I don't have time to answer to your nice comments this time either. I'm a fucking disaster and I write against the clock. xD However, I want you to know how much I enjoy them and that you make me smile and laugh. I read every one of them. :) Enlighten me with your thoughts, 'cause I have the feeling this chapter is going to blow your minds. :D

Enjoy the chapter, guys!

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

: Chapter 34 – People Change:

I open my eyes and turn over in bed to see her beautiful face. I hear her calm breathing, and I can't help but stare like it's the first time I see her. She looks so peaceful after last night's events. I brought her home and I decided to stay. She had too much to drink and I felt like I needed to be here. I made her drink a lot of water when we got to her place and I prepared her a sandwich so she would feel better today. I hope my trick will work, 'cause it's the only thing that works for me. I put a strand of hair that's covering her face behind her ear and she slowly opens her right eye. She rubs her eyes and then sighs.

"What are you doing here?" She frowns at me.

"Good morning to you too, grumpy," I answer, making her smile.

"I didn't mean that, fool." She puts her leg over me and gets closer to kiss me. "Good morning."

"That was way better," I tease her. A grin invades her face and I feel happiness inside me. "So, how are you feeling? It was a rough night for you." I love having face to face conversations in bed. I know it's a simple thing, but there's something about it that I love.

"I'm glad you came to rescue me." She caresses my right cheek. "Alison and alcohol are not a good combination for my health." She laughs, but suddenly realizes that she mentioned her. "She's my friend, Em. You need to stop thinking there's something between us." I raise my eyebrows, looking impressed at her.

"Are you serious? I mean, I trust you, but don't make me look like I'm a crazy person, because you know she wants you." She sighs. I hate that when she mentions her name there's an instant fight, but I can't help it.

"She's just my friend, you're my girlfriend, that's the only important thing that should matter."

"So you admit she is into you," I insist.

She jumps out of bed and heads towards the bathroom. "I need a shower." I lay on bed while I shake my head. This is stupid. I need to stop being jealous and we need to stop acting like we are children. I close my eyes and I get asleep again.

I open my eyes again when I feel something on my lips and a nice smell. Still with my eyes closed, I smile and I feel her lips on mine again while she caresses my arm.

"I couldn't help it," she admits, grinning at me. "You were so peaceful and those irresistible lips were calling my name." I laugh.

"Since when are you so cheesy?" I tease her, making her smile and show me some adorable dimples.

She lays right next to me and I can't stop touching her. "Since I met the love of my life," she answers, making me blush. I cover my face and she tries to get my hands so she can see my face. "Deal with it, Em. It's how I feel, even if you don't believe me." I look into her eyes and I know she's not joking anymore. "So you can stop imagining things, 'cause I don't have eyes for anybody but you. Got it?" She's so sexy when she acts like this.

"I love you, Paige." It's not easy for me, but those words come out of my mouth and I didn't make a huge effort. I guess that means my feelings for her are real.

She gives me a passionate kiss and I feel like the previous fight was totally worth it.

"I don't love you at all," she replies, giving me that sexy evil laugh that I love so much. I jokingly push her and then put on top of her and immobilize her arms with my hands.

"Just say it or I won't let you go."

She laughs loudly. "Ooooh… I'm so scared of you," she teases me, bursting into laughter. I lean in and start kissing her neck, her arms still where I want them to be. The laughter stop and moans replace them.

"I love you, Emily Fields." When I hear those words I can't help but grin. It feels so great to hear them. I kiss her and leave her arms go free. She luckily knows to use them and she proves it to me when I feel her hands behind my t-shirt while I use my mouth and tongue to make her moan again.

"Are you awake?" I whisper her in the ear, trying to contain the laughter. We spent almost all day in bed and even if I feel a little bit hungover, my muscles were in pain from the lack of movement. That's why I decided to wake up and prepare breakfast, or more correctly, lunch given that's 1 PM.

"What time is it?" She jumps out of bed, eagerly.

"It's 1 PM and it's Sunday, so don't get all nervous." I approach her and give her a kiss to calm her down. "I made lunch." I point at the omelette and the big salad that I've been preparing for the last 30 minutes.

"Thank you!" She kisses me back. "My stomach appreciates it."

We both sit down and enjoy the food, I was hungrier than I thought and I know it will make the hungover more bearable.

"You phone's been vibrating for a long time, but I didn't look who was calling," I add, looking at the phone that's on the countertop.

"I have no secrets, you could have looked at it," she teases me. "Give it to me, please." I extend my right arm, get the device and hand it to her. Her face changes when she looks at the screen.

"What's up?" She looks impressed.

"My mom's been calling. That's strange." She frowns at me, like she expects me to say what this is about.

"I don't really know what kind of relationship you have with your mom. You never speak about her. I mean, I know your dad is a soldier but I know nothing about your mom."

"We barely speak to each other. I mean, it's not that we argued or something like that. It's just that we are not very close."

"Call her, Em." She nods at me and takes a seat at the couch while I clean and wash the dishes. Five minutes later she approaches me and leaves the phone on the table.

"So?" I ask, eager to know if something bad happened. I mean, if her mom doesn't usually call her and now she did, it could be a bad thing. I hope I'm wrong.

"She's here, in the city." She looks like she didn't expect it.

"Why? Did something happen?"

She shakes her head. "No, she said she wanted to see me. Apparently she misses me." She laughs. I don't get what the hell is going on. I honestly hadn't thought why she never spoke about her, but now I would love to know about it.

"Moms are supposed to miss their children, Em. I don't get it." She laughs again, I am still impressed about her weird reaction.

"You don't know her. She's not that kind of mother. She's always been judging me and she was always expecting me to be the perfect daughter. I didn't have the best childhood and my teenage years and the years that followed that were like a constant exam. She was never happy about my achievements and decisions in life. She wanted to be proud of her daughter." She looks bothered.

"I guess she's proud then. You're impressive, Em."

"I don't think she thinks the same way. She wanted me to study Economics just because my grandparents couldn't afford it when she was young, she wanted me to stay in Rosewood… I apparently made all the wrong decisions. She wanted to design my life and I refused it. I will never be the person she wants me to be, so I decided to distance myself from her. I guess she didn't miss me until now." She looks sad.

"Then she's not worth it, because I can't imagine a more perfect human being," Paige adds. I hug her.

"You're really sweet."

She looks at the phone again, like she's hesitant about what to do.

"Show her who you really are. Meet her, she's your mom. She probably realized she was wrong and came here to apologize and be with her fantastic daughter." She shakes her head, like she doesn't see that possible. "Just give it a try, Em."

I gave her the address of the café and I asked Hanna a huge cappuccino while I wait for her. I am sitting at the corner table and I look at the door whenever someone enters the place. I guess I am little bit nervous. I last saw her about ten months ago and we haven't spoken since. I have never had a close relationship with her but since I got here it's like she disappeared from my life. I came earlier because she hates the lack of punctuality. Only two minutes before the agreed time, I see her opening the door and waving at me afterwards. I stand up and she hugs me when she approaches the table. I didn't see this coming, she's not into warm welcomes.

"Is dad okay?" It's the first thing that comes into my mind when I feel her embrace.

"Yes, he is. Why would you say that?"

"Are you okay?" She nods at me but I realize she's bothered by my questions. It's not something weird though. I mean, we don't have this kind of relationship. I don't even remember if we ever shared a moment like this. "I don't know. It's just odd that you're here." I avoid her gaze, but I know she's frowning.

"I didn't know something had to happen to come visit my daughter." I look at her and raise my eyebrows. I don't understand why she's here and I don't believe that last sentence had any truth at all.

"I wouldn't say that given our past history, mom. Don't act all surprised because I said something that we were both thinking."

"Are you in the mood to argue? Did something bad happen to you and you want to vent off attacking your mother?" I sigh. She's always liked acting like our life was a telenovela with the slightest problem between us.

"Why are you here, mom? Like really." I need answers, I won't keep this charade.

"I needed to see you. That's me being sincere, Emily." I see hurt in her eyes, it seems she's telling the truth. This was not an acting after all.

"You suddenly want to see me? You know we can't be in the same room for so long, mom. It's always been like that." She seems sad.

"And why is that?" She asks with a quiet voice, I would even say shyly. She's being unrecognizable.

"You know why, mom."

"I sadly know the reason behind that, Em. I've been too strict, demanding and overcritical over all these years. I know I made your life like hell because I wanted you to be the best person in the world. The only thing I obtained was losing my daughter. I'm trying to make amends." I don't even know what to say, I wasn't prepared for this.

"I can't believe this is happening." Those are the only words that I can pronounce. I'm in shock. She holds my both hands and I see a tear going down her cheek. I wipe it with my fingers and I stand up to sit right next to her.

"Don't cry, mom. Do you want me to start crying too? We're in public," I joke, making her smile. I hug her and I realize she doesn't let go of my hand.

"You're adorable, you know that?" I nod at her jokingly.

"I've heard those words countless times," I tease her. I always handle this kind of situations with sense of humor. She laughs.

"I mean it, Emily. I've been a horrible mother and you turned out better than fine even though I didn't help at all. I was so busy being pushy that I didn't realize I had the perfect daughter I could have right in front of me. I really am sorry."

"Stop saying you're sorry or I will leave and you won't see me for another year." Tears are still coming out of her eyes, but I think those are happiness tears, so I'm glad my jokes are improving the situation. "Thank you for everything, you can't imagine how happy I am right now."

"I'm happy too." I wink at her and hand her a tissue. She seems calmer now. "I love you, mom, but don't keep crying, okay?" I kiss her cheek and hug her again before going back to my seat.

"Okay, I will stop crying, honey." She wipes the tears with the tissue I just gave her and she grins at me. She's beautiful even with those tired and red eyes from crying. "So how's everything in the city? How's work?"

"I'm happy, mom. I have a job I love and I'm surrounded by my loved ones."

"You're sharing the apartment with Spencer, right?" I nod at her.

"And Hanna is here too, so it's like being back in Rosewood. She actually works here." I look at the counter and I see Hanna smiling at me. I give her a signal to come.

I see the blonde literally running towards us. She's always excited about seeing people she hasn't seen for a long time. "It's so nice to see you, Ms. Fields. It's been a long time." Hanna tightly hugs my mom. "I wanted to come earlier, but I realized it was a family moment was going on," she adds, making both laugh.

"Wow! You're getting more beautiful over the years." Hanna explodes in happiness, she likes compliments and can't hide it. I laugh at her reaction. "I mean, my daughter is getting more beautiful over the years too," she adds, making me smile at her. "I bet you have a lot of boys lining up."

"Just one, Ms. Fields. Oh! And look, speaking of the devil, he just entered the café." I look at the door and I see Caleb smiling at my blonde friend. Hanna quickly approaches her boyfriend, leaving both of us alone again.

"He's gorgeous." I see that my mom can't keep her eyes off him. I understand her completely, he's got good genes. "How about you on that matter?" She avoids my gaze, but she's curious about my love life and I guess that's good.

"Boys?" I smile at her.

"I didn't mean that." She looks embarrassed.

"I know you don't approve that, mom. But it's who I am."

"I respect you, Emily. I still don't get it, but I'm trying to get there."

"And I really appreciate that."

"So?" She looks me in the eye. She's eager to know if there's someone special in my life.

"There's someone." I blush when I see her reaction.

"Are you happy?"

"I am very happy, mom."

She smiles at me. "I'm happy for you then. I hope she's better than…" I interrupt her.

"Paige is way better than Maia, you don't need to worry about that, mom." She squeezes my hand.

"You deserve the best." I squeeze her hand back. I didn't expect this would happen, but I think this conversation is now on my top ten best moments of my life.

We stay silent for a few minutes while we enjoy the coffee and pancakes that Hanna brought us. The café is emptier than when I got here, so Hanna is now enjoying a conversation with Caleb. My heart starts pounding when I suddenly see Paige entering the café. She actually didn't know where I was going to meet my mom, so this is a total coincidence. She approaches her brother with a huge smile on her face. She didn't even see me. I can't stop looking at them. My mom realizes and she turns around to look too.

"I guess today only gorgeous people are allowed in here," she jokes. "Are they siblings? 'Cause they kind of look alike and they're both attractive."

"She's his sister," I briefly add, still nervous about what is happening.

"She's beautiful," she says.

"I thought I was the only lesbian on the table," I joke.

"I was just stating that her looks and figure are…" she blushes and I interrupt her.

"I was joking, mom. That's Paige," I add. I grin at her.

"You have good taste then." I nod at her in agreement and we both laugh.

FIVE YEARS LATER…

I can't get used to the views from the balcony, even if this has been my place these last years. The views are breathtaking. I only see shades of green in front of me and that gives me a feeling of serenity that is impossible to get back at home. I won't ever forget this place, it's part of me now, it won't go away. I won't forget the constant silence either. Birds have been my alarm clock for the past five years. At the beginning it was not easy at all, but I don't regret this impressive experience.

"Get up, Fields! Didn't the elephant wake you up?" I hear Richard's laughter from the other side of the old and moth-eaten wooden door.

"Just five minutes, asshole!" I tease him, another laughter following my words.

I get one of the two only trousers I have and the plain t-shirt that I cleaned yesterday. I put my old and dirty sneakers and take a deep breath. I have no mirror to look at, but I know this is the skinnier I've ever been. The long hours of work and the very little food we have here made me lose a lot of weight. I feel a little bit weak, but I don't feel bad because this was totally worth it.

"Morning, Richard. You're always so nice in the morning," I joke. He smiles at me. "Did you bring the blueprints?"

"I did, boss. Morning to you too, grumpy!" He winks at me and I smile at him. I'm glad I met Charles, if not this experience would have been way more depressing. I really appreciate his sense of humor and kindness towards me.

"Let's go then!" I cheer him.

"Let's go change the world, Fields!" His words make me happier suddenly. And when I look around and see everything we built I feel the luckiest person on Earth. I am not a religious person, I've never been and I won't ever be, but there's something the Bible says that I can guarantee is true. "It is better to give than to receive".

To be continued…

Stay tuned! ;)