As hard as Emily tried, she couldn't get Paige to even leave the room the next morning. All she did was lie on her side, staring at the bottom of the window as Emily tried to talk to her. She couldn't even imagine what she was feeling. She had lost someone she had once loved, no matter how things had turned out, and she wasn't even able to mourn her properly because of the accusations being placed on her. The whole thing pissed Emily off; there was no way Paige had hurt Shana, and the police had no evidence against her. But no one seemed interested in her opinion.

It hurt her so badly to see her girlfriend in so much pain. She didn't know how to help her, either. She knew Paige was grieving, but mostly she was humiliated that people she didn't even know were making her out to be a vicious killer. Even worse than that was the people she did know. She hadn't reacted when Emily had told her about some of their friends leaving, but it had pained her beyond words. She was grateful that some of them had stayed of course, but she was stunned that some of the people she trusted thought so badly of her.

"Paige, please," Emily sighed, holding the water bottle to her. "You have to drink something."

"I don't want to."

"This isn't going to help anything."

"I don't care."

"Paige," Emily pleaded, sounding near tears. "For me."

Paige sighed loudly, taking the water bottle from her. She took a gulp and looked at Emily, who shook her head.

"More."

To her relief Paige downed almost the whole bottle, tossing it to the side and lying back down. Emily started rubbing her back, wishing there was something she could do to help her. Anything.

"Am I going to go to jail?" Paige asked quietly, her voice breaking. Emily had never heard her sound so scared, so lost. Not even last year when her stalker had been at large.

"Baby, of course not," she soothed, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "You didn't do anything. They can't have evidence against you."

"I don't get how they can think I'm a murderer just because we had a fight. I would never hurt her. Ever."

"I know you wouldn't."

"Good," she replied, rolling over and burying her face in Emily's shirt. "I don't know what I would do if you thought I did."

"I don't," she promised, stroking Paige's head. "I know you. And I love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered, hot tears silently making her way down her cheeks. "I can't believe she's gone."

"I know, love."

"Someone who knew her did this. I know it. She knew she was in danger, Emily. Someone followed her here and killed her, and they're wasting their time harassing me instead of trying to find out who actually hurt her."

"They'll figure it out," she replied, and she hoped they did it sooner rather than later. "They just need to make sure."

"I'm scared," she confessed. Emily bit her lip, fighting the tears filling in her eyes.

"I know you are, sweetheart. But it's going to be okay. I will be with you every step of the way. I'm not going to let them do anything."

"You're amazing," she whispered into Emily's shirt. Emily smiled sadly, her fingers running through Paige's hair. She had never guessed this was how their week at the beach would turn out, and it was sobering looking back a week ago at how excited they were.

Paige was right. Shana's killer had been someone who knew her. She had mentioned she felt she was in danger, and she was so desperate to get Paige's forgiveness, as if she knew her time was just about up. The longer the police wasted their time making Paige feel like a criminal, the more likely the real killer was to get away with it.

"Why don't you call your parents?" she suggested. Paige's father was top ranked lieutenant in Maine, and he could maybe be of some help, even if they were hours away. "Maybe your dad can help you."

"Maybe," she agreed, rubbing her eyes. They were red and swollen from the constant crying the past day. "I feel like shit."

"I think of you eat and shower you'll feel better," Emily told her. "Why don't you go shower and I'll fix you something to eat?"

To her surprise, Paige nodded. She slowly got up and began gathering her shower items, disappearing from the room. Emily sighed, feeling helpless, and went downstairs.

She got Paige to eat most of a sandwich and a bowl of fruit, which she considered to be a great victory. She didn't even complain as she got back under the covers, shutting her eyes. Emily went back to stroking her head, wondering when her girlfriend's streak of bad luck was going to change.

"Do they all hate me?" she asked timidly.

"Who?"

"The others. Downstairs."

"Paige, baby, no. They're on your side."

"They are?"

"Yes. You're not alone. I promise. We're here for you, no matter what."

"Can you hand me my phone? I wanna call home."

Emily handed her the cell phone, watching as she dialed it with trembling fingers. A tear slid down her face as her father picked up.

"Hi, Dad. It's me," she started shakily, swallowing hard. "No, I'm not okay. I'm in Massachusetts with Emily, we're at the Hastings' beach house. Uh huh….. Dad, Shana's dead. Murdered. And they think I did it."

Emily watched as Paige was silent, figuring her father was speaking. She was coming unraveled, the tears sliding down her cheeks faster as she closed her eyes, clutching Emily's hand.

"Daddy, I need you," she finally choked out, not bothering to hold the tears back any longer. She fell apart in Emily's arms, crying so hard she didn't even bother trying to keep talking. Emily took the phone from her, keeping her other arm tight around her as she cried.

"Paige?" Nick was saying frantically on the other end. "Hello?"

"Nick, it's Emily."

"Tell Paige we're coming, Emily. We'll be there by tonight."

"Thank you," she replied, her own eyes pricking with tears. "I'll see you then."

She hung up, cradling Paige in her arms. She was livid at the police for doing nothing but automatically accusing her. They hadn't even given her a chance; they had decided she was guilty before she had even gotten to the station. And as long as they had that attitude, nothing was going to be done about finding the real killer.

"It's okay," she soothed, although she didn't know if that were true. "You're parents are coming. Your dad will take care of this."

"I want to go home," she replied, and Emily didn't know if she meant home to Pennsylvania or home to the house she had grown up in in Maine.

"They can't keep you if they have no evidence. We can leave soon."

"Can we come in?" Spencer asked from outside the door, not waiting for an answer as she flung it open. She came into the room with Caleb and Toby at her heels, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "We're really sorry, Paige. About Shana, about the way you've been treated…. about everything, really."

"You believe me, right?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"Of course we do," Caleb replied. "And deep down, Hanna does, too. She-."

"I don't want to talk about her," she cut in sharply. Caleb nodded in understanding.

"I called my mom," she continued. "And if you need a lawyer, she'll be happy to help you."

Paige nodded, looking away. Although they said they believed her, she still felt ashamed. She didn't know why; she had done nothing wrong. But people were looking at her as a killer and it was more than she could take. It was heartbreaking, it was humiliating, and she wished she had just texted Shana back and gotten it over with before it had gotten out of control. Instead she had kept pushing her away, and their public fight the day of her murder didn't look good at all. There was nothing she could do now but hope they found something that proved she didn't do it.

"Guys, if you don't mind, I really just want to rest," she told them softly. The others understood and left without a word, Emily leaving with them to get Paige some more water.

"Emily, there's something I want to tell you," Toby told her softly when they were down in the kitchen. "I don't want you to get mad."

"If it is in any way accusing Paige, don't waste your breath."

"Just hear me out," he pleaded. "The night Shana was murdered….. I was up getting cereal and Paige came barreling back inside like she saw a ghost. I asked her what she was doing and she didn't really give me an answer. She just said she was out for a walk."

"Yeah. I know. She had a nightmare. She does that sometimes when she has a bad dream; she goes outside for fresh air," Emily replied, folding her arms. Toby shifted uncomfortably.

"I just thought you should-."

"I already knew," she snapped. "I was awake when she came back in. What exactly are you implying?"

"Nothing. I-."

"You know her, Toby. You know she would never hurt anyone. She loved Shana. Sure, she was hurt, but she never would have killed her. Remember what a wreck she was after Alison? That girl treated her like shit, too. And all she wanted was to help her. And if you had half a fucking brain you'd know that."

Toby blinked at her in surprise. Emily was always calm, and hardly ever used profanity. But she was livid now, and the thought that Paige's friends were questioning her innocence wasn't helping.

"Emily…. I'm not trying to accuse her of anything."

"It sure sounds like you are. You're a cop. Instead of sitting with your head up your ass like the schmucks here maybe you can figure out what happened to her."

With that, she turned around and walked back upstairs, leaving Toby standing in the kitchen, his mouth open. She was furious but couldn't let it show as she went back into the room. Paige couldn't know what Toby had said. It would destroy her.

"I want you to try to drink some more, honey," she told her gently. "Please?"

Surprisingly, Paige didn't put up a fight. She took the bottle from Emily and took a generous gulp, settling back against the pillows.

"I don't feel good."

"I know," she soothed, sitting next to her. "Since no one around here knows how to do their job, maybe your dad can help look into what happened to her. Is there anyone you can think of who would want to hurt her?"

"I don't know," Paige replied, shrugging. "If she fucked other people over like she did to me, then sure. Not that I wanted to hurt her, but if she did what she did to me to someone unstable, then…. you never know."

"Is she dating anyone?"

"Some girl. Jenna, I think her name is. I know nothing about her, though."

"It had to be someone she knew. She knew something was going to happen to her."

Paige closed her eyes, her stomach turning. She could still see Shana's unfocused eyes looking up at her as she told the police who she was, the same eyes she had once seen so full of love and life. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat and got up, walking to the window.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Emily nodded in agreement, watching helplessly as Paige stared outside at nothing. She wished she knew how to help, but she had nothing. All they could do was hope Nick McCullers knew where to start looking.