Alison's Point of View
I stared at Emily, her face was bloodied and bruised. Those tubes were in her nose, they had a needle in her arm, taking blood or something of the sort. They had taken the cast off of her arm. Aria was in the room with Hanna while she got bandaged up, and stitches and Spencer was standing next to me. She had gotten stitches already and was absolutely fine. I sat on the bed next to Emily, holding her hand.
A doctor walked in and I stood, staring at her teary eyed.
"So what's the story?" I asked her quickly, determined to find out. Spencer stayed standing, and joined me at my side.
"She's… in a coma, she has a 50% chance of living" the doctor said, she was teary eyed as well. This threw me off, didn't doctors do this kind of thing all of the time? "We'll have to do surgery on her side, the large piece of metal ruptured her lungs, but they look repairable. She'll have to stay here for a few weeks after, and then she'll need to be in a wheel chair for a few weeks as well, she'll come back in, and then we'll decide if it's temporary or permanent damage." The nurse finished, tears rolled down my cheek and I looked at Spencer.
"Thank you." Spencer said dismissing the nurse, Spencer stayed strong, and I usually did too but this was my girlfriend. Spencer pulled me in for a hug and I hugged her back, I started bawling into her shoulder.
"There's something I have to tell you about Em and I?" I said to Spencer. I could feel her nodding. I took myself out of the embrace.
"We were dating… we were together." I said, I couldn't believe I'd finally told someone. She looked at me wide eyed.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Spencer said, I could see her getting mad, but she kept the look of sympathy on her face.
"I didn't tell you because I have a reputation, and it's going to get ruined if people find that out. But now I know that I wouldn't care if my reputation was shattered as long as I could keep Emily. I took advantage of the fact that she would do anything I asked her to. I asked her to keep it a secret. And now I regret it more than anything…" I said, Spencer smiled at me.
"She's going to live, it's all going to be okay in the end." Aria and Hanna walked in, I looked at Spencer and she nodded, edging me on to tell them.
"They'll be just as supportive as I was, promise." Spencer said honestly.
"Is she okay?" Hanna asked, and I shrugged because honestly we had no idea if she was going to live, and no idea how long she'd be in the coma.
"I have to tell you all something." I said, it felt selfish of me to bring it up at a time like this, I looked at Spencer, and she was still nodding.
"What is it Ali?" Aria and Hanna said in unison.
"Emily and I were… more than friends… we were… you know, together." I said, my voice slightly shaking in fear of what their reactions could be. Aria walked up and hugged me, somehow she knew how bad this was hurting me. Hanna stood there in shock.
I looked up at Spencer, glaring at Hanna, telling her to cut it out.
"Ali, I would never judge you for something as stupid as that, love is love." Hanna finally got out. "It's not that it's a bad thing, it's just surprising, unpredictable." Hanna stared at the ground for a few seconds before joining Aria at my side. I looked at Emily in pain and put her hand in mine, I pushed the hair out of her face and smiled at her.
"Em, I know you can get through this. Everything is going to be fine, you're going to come back, and life will be great." I said, all I could think about was what would they do about the whole situation? Surely I would be unable to see Emily ever again if her mom heard what happened. The girls looked at me like I was insane.
"She needs support right now, guys." I said frustrated with the small amount of care they were putting forth. "And she needs it from me." I said before turning back around to face her. I could feel Spencer's hand on my back, she was trying to comfort me.
"It'll be okay, Ali." Spencer said to me with a worried expression.
"I'm not the one who needs comfort, she is." I said, glancing from her to Spencer indicating the importance of my statement. Once I glanced back at Emily I stopped, I couldn't help but notice her beauty. Everything about her was perfect. Her hair was still caked in blood, her face was bruised and bloodied. They were to come in soon and help her to get clean, but even now she looked beautiful.
"Ali?" Aria said, they were all gone, Aria was halfway out the door, trying to get my attention. I could see Spencer and Hanna casting worried glances through what little space between the door they could see me through. Aria took my glancing up at her as a signal to speak and say what she needed.
"We're going to get something to eat, do you want to come?" She asked me, I shook my head no. This would give me time to cry, to stroke her bloodied head. They walked out and I kept my hand in hers, it was cold, it felt unreal. But that's what I was all about, wasn't it? Being 'unreal?' I put off that image, I made people think I was okay with the unimaginable, I made them think I believed in stories. That's what I needed now, a story, a fiction to bring her back.
A tear dropped gracefully down my cheek and I got up to kiss her on the forehead. I traced my fingers above my lips. Just this morning my lips had been pressed gently against hers. I brushed hair out of her face, on her neck there were bruises everywhere, I couldn't even find the hickey I'd placed on her neck earlier that morning. I still had a hand to my mouth, I moved it down to my neck to feel my own hickeys.
"Oh Emily, I remember our first kiss… it was in the library. You know Em, you're the only person who really ever knew me, you're the only one who was strong enough to break those walls down so she could come in. People see you as so weak, but you're the strongest person I know. Stay strong for me, okay?" I asked her, tears were falling from my eyes, curving in lines down my cheek. I heard a click and I glanced up at a nurse who'd just walked through the door.
"We can save the baby but it's at high risk of having a few disabilities." The nurse said looking at her clipboard, my eyes immediately widened.
"Baby?" I asked her, my heart was beating fast. How could she have gotten pregnant? What the…? Ben! I thought about it, and he had done it, it was Ben.
"I… um…" I said, her mom was still out of town. She was supposed to be back sometime tonight. "Where are the bags the firemen saved from the car crash?" I asked, the nurse pointed next to her bed. I went over and found a few bags. Hers wasn't one of them. I checked her pockets, they still hadn't taken off her clothes, her phone was in their thankfully.
"I want you to clean her up and get her in a hospital gown now," I said with enforcement. I looked through her contacts and walked to a corner of the room, calling her mom.
"Hey Emily, I'll be home soon." Her mom said, she sounded upset.
"Mrs. Fields, this is Alison… Your daughter's been in an accident." I said quietly, I spoke up. "It was my fault… I thought I could drive without an adult present since I have my permit. But I made some bad choices in my driving, a car ran into us and Emily's hurt, she's here in the hospital now." I said, I didn't bother telling her that Emily was in a coma. It was so much to take in already.
"W… What?" She said. I could hear a slight sniffle as I looked down. It was all my fault, and I knew it. I cursed myself out silently.
"Not only that but… Emily was sexually assaulted a few days ago. She told me yesterday morning, she was scared to tell you… the nurse told me she was pregnant, neither of us knew until a few minutes ago… they said they may be able to save the baby… I don't know if you want me to tell them to try and save it or not?" I said getting quieter at every word.
"What hospital?" She said. I was about to cry, it was hard enough knowing I'd done this, she was going to hate me. But this was one of those times where the truth needed to be said. I was always a liar, but for Emily, I'd tell a million truths.
"The local Rosewood Hospital…" I said, I waited patiently for an answer, but it felt like it would never come.
"Tell Emily I'll be there soon." She said and hung up. I silently took the phone from my ear and stared at the screen before pressing end and flipping the top down. I spoke to the phone that was now off.
"I promise… I will." I breathed it quietly.
"We're going to need you to leave unless you're family." The nurse said as many nurses and two doctors walked through the doors.
"I'm… I'm family." I said, I didn't trust anyone alone with Emily. Hell I didn't even trust myself with Emily anymore. I sat in a seat in the corner of the room, watching them carefully as some undressed her. They had already give her bandages but they were only temporary. They kept her top undressed for a long time, the wrapped bandages around her side, blood already soaking through them. There was a needle in her arm pumping blood inside of her.
"We'll need to stop the blood long enough to stitch this up." I heard one of them say.
"Um… what exactly is going on?" I asked quietly staring at the doctor, urging him to tell me before I freaked out.
"This is temporary while we check out her other wounds and see if she has any concussions or something of the sort. Soon we'll unwrap this, clean her wound again, stitch it up or staple it, and cover it one more." He said with finality. I nodded not trusting him, of course I didn't trust anyone touching Emily.
I watched as they examined every inch of her, I laughed a little when they found the hickeys weren't bruises. Emily's mom burst through the door with a worried expression across her face, who wouldn't be worried?
"Ma'am, I take it you're the patients mother? If you'd just take a seat?" They asked, I stood up and offered the seat to her.
"They're cleaning her up and giving her stitches." I said looking at the ground, I was unable to look her in the eye.
Mrs. Fields stared at Emily teary eyed. "Is she asleep?" She asked me.
"No Mrs. Fields… she's um…" I said and I began crying again. "She's in a coma." I said, I was bawling then.
"How did this happen?" She said, I could see anger in her eyes, but her face remained calm. She looked tired, like she'd given up or something.
"It was completely my fault…" I said putting my hand on my chest. "I thought I could drive us girls to the movies without an adult present, and I turned around to ask the girls which movie they wanted to watch. I wasn't watching the road and I swerved, I caused a lot of accidents… and… I'm just so sorry Mrs. Fields." I finally finished. She just looked down, and so did I, I almost killed her daughter and there was still a chance she wouldn't live, I would hate me too. No, that's wrong because I do hate me, I honestly do.
"We're going to need you to wait in the lobby now?" A doctor said. Mrs. Fields nodded and started to walk out.
"No! This is her daughter, you're letting her stay." I nodded towards her while I walked away, they weren't going to leave Emily in here alone.
Aria, Spencer, and Hanna were outside waiting. "Guys, you're still here?" I asked trying not to cry, I could see that Aria had been crying herself though.
"Yeah, they wouldn't let us in the room." Spencer said looking up at me and I laughed a little, I had to go back to acting strong. The only time I'd let myself out of my shell would be with Emily, and that was how it was going to stay.
"I just told them we were family, Mrs. Fields is in there now." I said, my thoughts shifted to her. What would happen if Emily died, it would be my fault, I'd never be able to live with myself. Hanna's eyes widened as she looked up at me.
"What did you tell her?" Hanna asked me. I kept a confident face on, I had to be confident, but it was honestly hard because I had no idea what the outcome of what I told her would be.
"Everything." I said acting natural, mysterious. They least amount I answered the more they'd ask. I liked it that way, it made them latch on to me more.
"Well did you tell her the truth?" Spencer asked me, I laughed a little.
"Oh sweet Spencer, of course I did." I said smiling as I fixed a piece of hair that was out of place. I bounced a little bit as I made my way over to a seat. I sat delicately, glancing from girl to girl. They were all shaken up, and I was fine.
"Alison…" Aria started to say but she stopped, "Never mind," she said shaking her head and turning back to Spencer. They started a conversation up and my thoughts went back to Emily. I stared at the ground as the memories raced through me. I saw the look of shock on her face as she glanced at the large piece of metal gorged in her side. Her hands were shaking, and all of a sudden she was closing her eyes and losing consciousness.
My heart felt like it was being ripped to shreds every time I closed my eyes. Because when I did, I saw blood, so much blood it made me nauseous. I tried keeping the tears in, the amount of blood she was missing was unbelievable.
"Alison, can you come here?" I heard a voice, I looked up, it was Mrs. Fields. "I told them to keep the baby, they said that luckily enough the piece of metal missed the baby completely and went closer to her side. The baby should be completely fine. They'll have to do a C Section to get it out though, because her body won't be healed enough by then to have it regularly. And we need to find someone with AB negative blood, it's really rare, that's what Emily has." Mrs. Fields said quickly, she was obviously nervous.
"I… I have that blood type, they can take as much as they… need." I stammered, I was happy that Emily's baby would be fine, and I was happy that I had that blood type as well.
"Who else knows about the baby?" Mrs. Fields asked nervously.
"Just you and I. And Mrs. Fields… I think it would be unfair of us not to let Aria, Spencer, and Hanna know." I said slowly. I was pushing it, this was all my fault.
"I agree with you." She said, calling the girls over to us. "You can tell them Alison, I'll go talk to the doctors about the blood work that needs to be done." She said walking off.
"First of all, do any of you have AB negative blood?" I asked looking around, we were in a circle, it was easy to address all of them at once. Spencer shook her head, Hanna and Aria stood there looking confused.
"You don't know your blood types?" Spencer asked, I laughed. Spencer would be the one to have known it, and I wasn't shocked that neither of them knew their blood type.
"Come on, we'll get you tested." I said grabbing their arms and pulling. Aria stopped shaking her head. "What?" I said quietly, "Are you scared of needles?" I rolled my eyes. She was nodding now, "Aria, this is for Emily. Your best friend? Come on, let's go."
"Fine," she said walking forward. I took them to the front desk and walked back over to Spencer who was doing her regular Spencer stance, crossing her arms. She did this when she was worried, or waiting for something, anything but happy actually. She did it the most when she was mad about something and gave you the 'Really?' sarcastic stare.
"Alison, stop acting like you're fine. I know you're not, I'm not stupid." I laughed.
"Spencer, I don't think anyone would ever accuse you of being stupid." I said, I was smiling. Even though she had seen right through my act, I had to change her mind, I had to make her think I was okay.
"Ali… I get it, okay? You can cry." Spencer said to me, anger bubbled inside of me, she didn't get it, she didn't understand. The love of her life's life wasn't about to end because of her. She didn't feel a pain in her chest because she almost killed someone.
I could feel my eyes getting moist, I looked away. I tried so hard avoiding eye contact, but I couldn't. The silence between us was painfully awkward. So instead of giving into the fears, I gave in to the artificial anger.
"No Spencer, you don't get it! None of you get it!" I was screaming, glaring at everyone. All around, eyes were on me. "She could die and it's all my fault, because I couldn't stop trying to act so cool and confident for one second to pay attention to her, and how she felt, and if she was okay." I was bawling then. Everything was blurry from the tears in my eyes, it was so overwhelming and nobody gave a shit. Spencer walked into me, hugging me. She was slightly taller than me, my chin was at an upward angle, lifted on her shoulder.
I could feel the shakes in her body with every sniffle she had, she was crying too. Makeup was running down my face, my eyes were red and puffy. "It hurts so much… it just hurts so fucking much." I gulped out…