A/N: I'm so glad you guys are getting so into the story! I love seeing your analysis. Thank you so much for all your great feedback!

"Do you think they're okay there?" Paige asked anxiously. She and Toby were standing in Home Depot, looking at locks. She was anxious about leaving Emily and Spencer in a house that a potential killer had access to.

"I'm sure they're fine, Paige. I doubt anyone would be dumb enough to break into a house while it's still light out."

"But it's getting later," she replied, anxiously shifting her position. "They might think no one's there."

"If they're watching and they saw us leave, I think they can figure out Emily and Spencer are still there."

"We shouldn't have left them alone," she replied, her panic starting to get the best of her. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Emily's number, trying to calm herself before she had a full blown panic attack in the middle of the store.

"Hello?"

"Emily? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why?"

"I just…. I shouldn't have left you. I'll be back soon, I promise."

"Paige, honey, we're fine. Take your time."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. Don't worry."

"We'll be back soon," she repeated. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay."

She reluctantly hung up. She knew she was probably overreacting, but she couldn't help herself. She couldn't even let herself think of what might happen if the killer showed up while Emily was there.

"Toby, can we please go?"

"I'm ready," he replied. "It will take us two minutes to pay and then I promise, we're out of here."

"That was Paige," Emily reported, hanging up. She and Spencer were on the second floor, sitting on the bed Spencer and Toby were sharing. "Panicking about leaving us here alone."

"She's such a dork," Spencer replied. "That's so like her, though. Always worried about everyone."

"I know. She gets so worked up."

"Is she still taking the Prozac?"

"Yeah. I think it must be helping to some degree."

"I'm sure it is. Hopefully this blood test will get her cleared."

"It better," Emily replied. "There's no way her blood could have ended up on there, right? Like, there's no way someone could have planted it?"

"I doubt it. I'm sure they won't be a match."

Emily nodded. She hoped so, too. But she was afraid that there would be some way for them to keep harassing her girlfriend.

"Looks like another storm is coming," Spencer remarked, glancing out the window. Sure enough, dark clouds were rolling in slowly. The wind was beginning to pick up, throwing sand at the back windows. "I hope they get back soon."

"Yeah," Emily agreed. It looked ominous outside and she knew how much Paige hated storms, so she was hoping they got back soon. She looked out of the window at the beach. The waves were definitely rougher than before, and there were few people left. They would probably all start leaving as the storm got closer. "I think… what was that?"

Spencer froze at Emily's words. The door had opened downstairs, and heavy footsteps had started across the wooden floor. It sounded like only one person was down there, and no one was talking. It couldn't be Paige and Toby.

"Who… are they back?" Spencer whispered. Emily shook her head.

"I don't think that's them," she whispered back. She crept towards the door and closed it quietly, locking it. The footsteps were growing louder. "Call 9-1-1."

"Are we sure it isn't them?" Spencer asked, her eyes wide with fear.

"Call the police, Spencer!"

Spencer grabbed her phone and dialed with shaking fingers. Emily's heart was pounding, her stomach sinking in horror as the footsteps started up the stairs.

"Fuck!" she hissed. "Quick! Under the bed!"

They slid under the bed, huddling together as Spencer whispered their address to the person on the other line. The footsteps were walking towards them now. Emily closed her eyes, trying to keep as quiet as she could. If something happened to them she knew Paige would never forgive herself, and she couldn't take any more heart break. She had to fight, if not for herself then for her.

The door knob began to shake. She heard Spencer gasp beside her. Whoever was out there was trying to get in.

"They know we're here," she whispered. "Oh my God."

"Shh!"

It was all they could do not to scream when the person on the other side of the door kicked it. They did it again. And again. They were trying to break the door down.

We're going to die, Emily thought. There was nothing they had to defend themselves with. Once the door was broken down, they were done.

Suddenly, the sound of sirens filled the air. The kicking stopped, and both women exhaled a sigh of relief as the footsteps began running down the stairs. The door slammed downstairs, and they both crawled out from under the bed, unlocking the door and running down the stairs as they heard a male voice shouting from downstairs.

"Police!"

"Thank God," Spencer gasped as the young male officer came into view. She sank onto the bottom step, burying her face in her hands as Emily continued towards him on shaky legs.

"Did you see them?" she asked shrilly. "They just ran out!"

"Calm down, miss," the officer replied. "My partner is pursuing him. Are you alright?"

"I think so," Emily replied. Her fear and adrenaline had worn off, leaving her feeling shaky and weak.

"I'm Officer Holbrook. I'm going to ask you some quest-."

"Emily!" Paige exclaimed and she and Toby came bursting into the house. She ran to Emily and threw her arms around her as Toby sat next to Spencer on the stairs. "What happened? Why are the police here? Are you okay? I knew I shouldn't have left you alone."

"It's okay," she replied, relieved at having Paige by her side. "I'm okay."

"You're Paige McCullers," Officer Holbrook cut in. She turned to glare at him.

"Yes. Are you going to help my girlfriend or insist this is somehow my fault?"

"Miss McCullers, I'm not here to accuse you of anything. I received a call for an intruder. We saw someone run out of the house and my partner is following them. I just want to ask your girlfriend what happened."

"Not much, really," Emily replied, suddenly feeling like bursting into tears. "We were upstairs and we heard someone walking around. We locked ourselves in and hid under the bed and they started kicking at the door. And then when they heard the sirens I guess they ran."

"I never should have left," Paige whispered, holding Emily tightly. "I'm so, so sorry."

"It's not your fault. Please don't feel guilty."

"Of course I do. If something had happened to you…" She trailed off as her eyes filled with tears. Emily kissed her gently.

"It's okay. I promise."

"You didn't see the intruder, miss?"

"No. No, we didn't see."

"There's no sign of forced entry. The door was open when I got here, but nothing was broken."

"They have a key," Spencer explained. "We keep a spare one under the mat at the back door. It's missing."

"I see." He wrote something down on his notepad. "Well, I'm afraid there's not much I can do for you. I'll check in with Officer Chadwick and see if she's caught up to him. But in the mean time, I suggest you change the locks."

"Thank you," Emily replied softly. Officer Holbrook left a few moments later, leaving them alone. Emily turned to Paige. "Paige? Really, I'm okay."

"We shouldn't have left. Emily, if something had happened-."

"Nothing did happen," she cut in. "We're both okay. Maybe now with that on record it will get them thinking that there's someone else involved in Shana's murder."

Paige sighed, burying her face in Emily's shoulder. She knew they shouldn't have left. Shana's killer was still out there and looking to do what it took to make sure the cops didn't go looking further.

"I think it's time we install those locks," Toby announced. "Paige?"

"Yeah," she agreed, reluctantly pulling away from Emily.

"They can't get in through the windows, can they?" Emily asked.

"Not without breaking them. They could only get inside so easily because they had a key," Toby replied. "We'll get this solved, Emily. Don't worry."

Paige and Toby installed the chain locks while Emily went with Spencer to the kitchen to make dinner. No one was hungry, and they mostly sat around the table in silence. Thunder rumbled in the distance and they could hear the wind outside.

"Nice night," Toby remarked sarcastically. The others stared at him. "It was a joke."

"Should we get the gun from the safe?" Spencer asked.

"No. We're all on edge. The last thing we need is to accidentally shoot one of us."

"I don't think they'll come back tonight," Emily added. "I don't think they would risk it."

"Let's hope," Spencer agreed. "That was really, really scary."

"I'm sorry," Toby replied, taking her hand. "Paige is right. We shouldn't have left you here."

"What I'm wondering is if they knew we were here. Did they think we were gone? Or… did they want to hurt us?"

"But, why?" Paige asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"Maybe they thought you were here," Spencer suggested. The table fell silent. "It makes sense. If they can get to her and make it look like she did it herself…. that helps them."

"We're not going to let that happen," Emily cut in sharply. "When Paige takes these tests she'll be cleared. Then maybe we can leave and this psycho will be left behind here."

"I hope these results come back soon," Paige remarked, rubbing her arm. "And these idiots can see how badly they fucked up."

"It's almost over," Emily agreed, pulling her in for a hug. "You want to go get something to eat?"

"Are you sure it's a good idea for us to be out and about?"

"Why not?"

"Because people think I'm a murderer, Emily. You should have seen the looks I was getting in Home Depot yesterday."

"Who gives a shit what they think?"

"I do."

"You shouldn't. You did nothing wrong. Show them you're not afraid."

Paige nodded. Emily was right. She hadn't been strong all her life to cower now.

"You're right," she agreed. "Fuck them."

"There's the potty mouth I know," Emily chuckled, kissing her. "Come on. I'm starving."

They settled on a diner down the street from the police station. To their pleasant surprise, people didn't even seem to give them a second look. They sat in a booth near the back, able to have privacy from the rest of the rowdy and hungry customers. Paige seemed happy today, for the first time in a while. Emily knew she was in high spirits because the tests she had taken would prove she hadn't done it. She didn't know why, but she had an uneasy feeling that it wasn't going to be that simple. She didn't share that with Paige of course; she was grateful to finally see her smile.

"This is nice," she remarked. "I'm glad we came here."

"Me, too," she agreed, taking her hand. "This will be quite the story to tell, huh?"

"You can say that again. I can't… oh."

"What?" Emily asked, turning to see what Paige was staring at. There was a girl with long, brown hair sitting at the counter, her profile visible. "Paige?"

"I think that's Jenna."

"What? How do you know that?"

"The picture Toby showed me. That's definitely her."

"Don't even think about it, Paige."

"We have to talk to her."

"No! Please, don't," she begged as the girl turned and looked at them. She slid off of the stool and made her way towards them. "Shit!"

"Stay calm and let me do the talking," Paige replied, her heart pounding as Jenna Marshall approached their table.