A/N: kayweston and I have a really good writing groove goin for this story, so again updates should be pretty frequent. Here's a particularly long one :) Thanks for all the reviews lovelies!
Chapter 4
Fifteen minutes later…
"We need to get you to a doctor, asap," Alison says worriedly as her cerulean eyes stare sympathetically at the gaping wound on Emily's shoulder. The blonde has caught her breath and bounced back quickly from almost dying. Now she's only concerned with Emily's injury. She thinks she can see right into-holy shit is that a tendon? Ali swallows weakly, sensing Emily's intense and dire pain.
"No! Are you crazy?!" Emily asks through her gritted teeth and almost rips her arm away from the blonde who is only trying to help. Her hasty and sharp actions remind Alison that she's dealing with a very unpredictable stranger. "You do realize I'm wanted for murder right?"
"How could I forget?" Ali bites back, but more out of frustration than aggression. The two of them have managed to move themselves up from the shoreline to under protection of the cliffs, hiding out inside the cove. Exhaustion is hitting both of them, hard, their bodies almost limp and ready to give out.
"You really don't think things through sometimes do you?" Emily asks, her body feels like it is on fire and she can't really think straight. This is how she deals with pain, she lashes out. And Alison is the only person she can lash out at right now but she doesn't mean to, it just happens.
But the blonde bites her tongue, trying not to argue with the injured girl who just saved her life.
"We need to at least get to the main beach so I can bring you a medical kit," she finally says, slowly and carefully. Her own foot feels weird though – as if it's no more attached to her body, but at the same time as if it's a very painful reminder of today's events.
"Can you even walk that far?" this time there is concern in Emily's eyes as they flicker up from her feet and Alison sighs heavily, trying to manage a very faint smile.
"I have to," she shrugs and tries standing up, but the wave of this freaking pinpoint pain is too much to handle and she hisses, almost falling to her knees.
"Here, show me," the brunette says as she comes closer to Ali and looks closer, only to see an extremely swollen, bruised foot, and her guess is – metatarsal fracture and a broken toe, but she can't be sure, can't do much without checking with the specialist first.
"It's not me who must visit a doctor," she states seriously.
"We have to clean your wound. I'll be fine," the blonde hisses stubbornly.
"Sure you will," Emily raises her eyebrow at her and offers a half-smile. "After you visit a doctor."
Alison has no idea how they managed to reach the covered part of this cove– she couldn't get there at all if it wasn't for this brunette that seems to be her lifeboat. But it terrifies her what she sees in these amber-brown eyes – both terrifies and excites, actually, because it's raw fear mixed with deadly determination. And as Emily lead her to the secluded part of the beach, the blonde had felt how tense her body was, and just how strong she has to be to survive even one day on the run.
"How do you cope?" she asks quietly as she looks at the wound one more time and makes a swift decision. She forgets about the aching pain in her foot and focuses on Emily. Brown eyes widen as Alison pulls off her soaked thin tunic and rips it into pieces as best she can. She reaches for Emily's arm gently and swathes it with the shredded fragment of tunic she'd managed to rip, and Emily winces once again. There is no hesitation in her actions- the blonde is truly doing everything out of genuine care.
Emily gulps subtly as she distracts herself from the searing pain of the saltwater mixing with her wound. Little cries spill from her lips as she closes her eyes in pain every couple seconds, but mostly she lets her eyes run over Ali's body appreciatively. The blonde has innocently left herself in her super skimpy and revealing bikini. There's just so much smooth skin being shown off, and Emily swallows guiltily, bringing her gaze back to the blonde's face.
Ironically, the the sun has almost set behind them, skimming across their exhausted faces, and it's like the storm never happened – the tranquility is unbelievable, and the only thing that's different is the distinct smell of the ocean, the wet sand and lots and lots of seashells.
"How do I cope? It's nothing, I've been injured before," Emily waves her left hand to go round the question and she focuses on looking at Alison's feet. She's incredibly downplaying the severity of her injury.
"You know what I mean –"
"Ow!"
"Sorry," Alison says sheepishly and loosens her grip on the brunette's arm.
"Emily, you know what I mean. How is it…being on the run?"
"How about we make a deal. You go to your beach house and call a doctor. When you come back, I'll tell you everything."
The blonde narrows her eyes and a tiny little part of her temperamental self comes back.
"How about NO," she says with a smirk, a plan already forming in her head. The brunette looks at her carefully, eyeing her every move. "We'll sit here and wait. And then you come with me."
She states it so matter-of-factly, and it sounds more like an order than anything else. It takes Emily by complete surprise and she blinks a few times before she even articulates a word.
"You're kidding," she snorts with sad disbelief. Even if she desperately wants to, it's not safe for her to just stroll into the open with Alison. She's seen the news reports warranting her arrest.
"I don't look like I'm in the mood for cruel jokes, do I? You're not in this alone anymore," Alison deadpans, and she crosses her arms defensively, awaiting Emily's answer.
"Yeah, I've heard that once before," Emily mutters under her breath, the words leaving her mouth before she manages to stop them.
"What?" Alison shoots her a confused look. But the brunette merely looks away, her jawline hard as she stares out towards the ocean. "You're not. Aren't you glad that you're not?"
The blonde utters the last words so softly, as if she doesn't dare to upset the brunette with her tone. The brunette can't really focus when her eyes keep guiltily wandering to Alison's cleavage and she tells herself to knock it off cause now is not the time or place.
"It's too much of a risk, Alison," she finally utters and Alison tries for the life of her to stop that weird flutter inside of her ribcage at the sound of her name escaping this girl's lips. "Somebody could see me, see us. We'd both be fucked."
"Well I'm not leaving without you," Alison states firmly. She adjusts herself slowly but hisses sharply as her foot moves uncomfortably.
"Oh for Christ sake," Emily grumbles as she leans down to inspect the foot, ignoring the fiery burn in her shoulder. "Definitely just a trauma fracture. Did you hit it on a rock?"
Ali nods feebly and Emily grabs at the ripped up tunic on the ground and rips it some more. "I'm going to wrap it okay? Just until we get to the ER-"
"I can't go alone," Alison stares at Emily like she's grown a second head. "And seriously I'm not letting you out of my sight."
"Why? So you can turn me in?" Emily asks, a hint of a playful tone appearing.
"I wouldn't do that to you," Alison shakes her head seriously, sombering the moment a bit. The brunette nods carefully, and she feels at a loss.
"Look if you don't go get that foot checked out it could lead to a lot of problems down the line, like not being able to walk-"
"What about your shoulder?"
"It's nothing, it's just a gash-"
"I'm not going without you," Alison states once more, her defiant blue eyes meeting Emily's. The brunette stares back, equally intense. How did too such defiant people find each other?
x-x-x
"It's dark enough," Ali says quietly as she peers out from the cove. Dusk has passed, and they've been lazily sitting around in awkward silence for the past hour. Emily has herself propped up against a rock, drifting in and out of sleep. Her left hand is still holding on to her right arm in pain. It rests on where the bandaged material is.
"Hm?" Emily asks, her eyes fluttering open as she tries to give herself energy.
"It's dark enough, come on, time to go," Alison coaxes gently but Emily looks at her warily through half open eyes.
"You go," she says as she shuts her eyes again. "It's not like there won't be bright lights at the ER."
"Fine, then we won't go," Alison says dryly as she crosses her arms. This catches Emily's attention and she opens her eyes again to argue.
"But your foot-"
"It's fine, it can wait," Alison says matter of factly. "I don't think your shoulder can. But since you refuse to come see a doctor, at least come to my house."
"I don't want to."
"You don't want to? Or you don't trust me?" Alison asks, her voice laced with hurt. "Because I bet a fucking hot bath and new clothes and bed sounds pretty great right now."
"Look it's not you I don't trust," Emily grimaces as she shifts and a pain rips through her shoulder once more. "You saved me and I saved your life. But other people aren't so forgiving and generous."
"My brother and his girlfriend are out for the night, my Nana will be easy to slip by- no one will know you're in the house. I have my bathroom in my room, and I can lock my door. I swear I won't let anything happen to you."
Emily looks at her warily once more, hesitant to listen to her.
"What about your foot?" she asks pointedly, gesturing towards the injury.
Alison's face softens slightly, looking at Emily with a pleading look. "I can limp. But I'm gonna need your help. So, you kinda have to come."
x-x-x
"Easy there," Emily says through a strained voice as Ali once again stumbles while holding onto the brunette, her hand clutching a little too tightly onto Emily's shoulder near the injury. It hurts like a motherfucker, to say the least. But the blonde is as pathetic as a limp deer as she tries to hobble along the sandy shoreline without putting pressure on her foot.
"I'm sorry," Alison grimaces as she pauses and Emily consequently pauses too. "That's it over there. That's my house."
Emily doesn't say a word and simply nods. The blonde's thoughts wander to if the brunette recognizes this area- what if she was the one who had saved her that night at the party?
"It's really quiet," Emily observes.
"Well yeah, who goes out on the beach after a storm?" Ali counters with a small smile.
"True."
The two look like injured soldiers as they make their way slowly to the large beach house. As they approach it from the back, Emily's eyes narrow and her ears strain as she hears a faint noise.
"Is that…is that the sound of…" Emily mumbles under her breath and suddenly Alison hears it too. She hears a familiar distant moan, and she rolls her eyes.
"That's probably my brother and his girlfriend. I guess they came back early," Ali shrugs.
"Lovely," Emily says with a sarcastic smile and Alison laughs emptily. But the brunette's smile disappears as she glances at the backdoor in front of them "I guess you're at your destination then."
"Don't you dare think about leaving," Ali says with a serious tone as she grabs onto Emily's good shoulder.
The brunette's eyebrows quirk up at her boldness- she certainly wasn't the same timid waitress from the café when she had held her hostage. "It's too risky."
"If you don't come in, I'll tell the police where you are."
Emily's eyes narrow and darken and Alison's breath hitches as the brunette steps into her and unintentionally backs her against the door, leaning in and slamming a hand down on the door by Alison's face.
"What?" Alison glares defiantly but her heart is pounding in her chest.
"Don't threaten me," Emily says in a low voice, and her eyes flicker with an emotion that Alison can't decipher. Hurt? Why would she be hurt?
"I'm just trying to help," Alison simply says firmly but softly as she lets her hand land on Emily's forearm, lowering her limb peacefully. "Just trust me."
"Would you trust a random stranger?" Emily asks without thinking as she steps back to calm down.
"I already did."
Alison stares evenly at the brunette who sighs and looks away, unable to turn down the offer. Besides the hospitality and promise of safety and comfort, spending a night with another human being just sounds so appealing, let alone an attractive, sweet blonde girl.
"Fine."
Emily tries to ignore the way her heart flutters slightly at the small smile that graces Alison's face.
"Come on," the blonde urges gently and her tiny fingers wrap around Emily's wrist and lead her into the house quietly. Emily is pleasantly surprised at how dim and quiet the house is, and she barely hears a sound other than that constant thumping coming from the same room with the moaning. "Wait here."
Emily nods and obediently waits in the laundry room while Alison hobbles off to the kitchen. She grabs a plastic bag under the sink and throws in some cold leftovers, fruit, and water bottles in the bag.
"Emily," she whispers in a hushed tone and the brunette inches her way out of the shadows cautiously. Alison smirks slightly. "Come on, it's not like we have to pretend we're spies. My nana is in her room and my brother is clearly occupied."
When they leave the kitchen and approach the stairs, Emily frowns at Alison's foot.
"How is this gonna work?"
"Take this and go upstairs to my room, it's the last one on the left," Alison tells her as she hands her the bag of food and Emily stares at her questioningly.
"And then what?"
"I'll meet you up there," Alison shrugs. "It could take me a minute or two."
"Okay," Emily says looking at her uncertainly as she tries to decide whether or not to help and risk getting caught by somebody.
"Go," Ali insists as she starts ascending the stairs and Emily doesn't wait to hear it twice before she hurries up the stairs quickly and figures she's been heroic enough today.
The brunette finds her way and enters the blonde's room almost silently. She shuts the door behind her and tries to take in her surroundings. Alison's room is clean and clearly well organized and decorated. It's also large. There's a queen sized bed in the middle of the room with a desk, a dresser, and a walk in closet and bathroom. Emily can't even begin to imagine what her real room at her house in Pennsylvania looks like. She sets the bag of food down on the desk but something catches her eye as she does so. It's a photo of two blondes, and Emily gasps as she recognizes the second one.
"I discovered I'd go faster if I crawled," Alison announces softly as she opens the door and sees Emily jump backwards from her desk.
"You know Hanna Marin?" Emily asks nervously, her throat suddenly feeling closed up as she begins to panic.
"She's my best friend-" Emily's eyes grow wide with fear as Alison speaks. "Don't freak out!"
"Don't freak out?! Does she know what you did? Did you tell her-"
"I didn't tell her a thing," Alison assures gently, approaching Emily like the way a tamer approaches a spooked animal. "Okay? Calm down. You're safe here."
Emily takes a deep breath, nods, and looks away again. She hates this feeling of pity that she feels radiating from Alison. It's annoying thinking that this girl is probably just helping her out of pity. The thought never occurs to Emily that there could be deeper reasons for Alison's willingness to help.
"Come on," Ali says innocently as she motions towards the bathroom. The brunette feels like she is a hesitant bundle of nerves but she manages to follow the blonde into what turns out to be quite a spacious bathroom. There is a standalone bathtub on the ceramic tiled floor, and marble countertops with the softest towels hanging above them.
Alison goes over to the bathtub and turns on the water, drawing a bath as she goes to her cabinets and grabs a bath bomb out and throws it in the water. She takes the softest looking white towel and hangs it by the bath.
"You can go first, you deserve it," Alison tells her as she turns to face Emily who suddenly looks really reserved, almost bashful.
"I think we both deserve it," Emily says quietly. "Can you…uh… help me um take my shirt off?"
The blonde merely nods with a smile and limps over to the athletic girl and helps her shrug her good arm out of the shirt. She then lifts it up, over Emily's head, and slides it down her injured arm. She steps back and lets her blue eyes rake over the brunette's stunningly toned body left in only a pair of black panties and a bra. Holy shit this girl has the body of a greek goddess, Alison thinks. She doesn't even realize she's staring at Emily's flat, toned abdomen and perfectly round breasts until the brunette clears her throat.
"So, we'll both fit, won't we?" Emily asks cautiously. "In our underwear, I mean, of course."
Alison looks down and realizes she's still wearing her bikini (and Emily hasn't forgotten that fact- she's enjoyed looking for the past two hours).
"It's fine, really," Alison argues weakly as she leans against the counter. She is suddenly a little intimidated but she's not sure why. She doesn't understand why Emily's stature and presence is suddenly making her feel apprehensive. They had just been 'playfully' bantering minutes ago. Still the scented hot bath looks so alluring, even though the blonde thinks she's had enough in-the-water experience for a lifetime.
"Am I that intimidating?" Emily asks softly, her expression gentler than it has been previously.
"A little," the blonde admits without thinking but when she sees Emily's face cloud over with regret, she quickly adds, "but it's not always a bad thing."
"I didn't used to be," Emily sighs as she fidgets and fingers the bandage on her shoulder while trying to avoid awkward eye contact. But she notices the blonde look longingly at the drawn bath and she takes the initiative. She steps into it, still in her underwear, and relaxes as she leans back against the end of it, keeping her shoulder out of the water. "Are you coming in or not?"
x-x-x
The bathroom is peacefully silent as the two relax tranquilly. Alison feels her body slowly unwinding, even though stepping into the bathtub had been uncomfortable at first considering the fact that she'd just almost drowned.
She looks carefully at Emily who's eyes are fluttering shut every few seconds much like they were in the cove.
"How long have you been in Georgia?" Alison asks, breaking the quiet and she watches as those brown eyes open and look at her pointedly.
"About a month," Emily replies as she closes her eyes again. "I was in the mountains in the Carolinas for a while."
"I…I thought I saw you last week," Alison speaks slowly. Those warm brown eyes look at her once more, this time with a knowing look. "I guess this sounds crazy. I was really drunk, but I thought I saw you."
"You did," Emily admits slowly, her voice hushed as if telling a deep dark secret. "I went to that party because an open house means open food. Believe me, I was shocked to see you."
"So it was you," Alison confirms for herself feeling a little less crazy.
"Yeah, you were with some guy," Emily says trying to keep her voice nonchalant but a part of her had been extremely over protective and bitter when she saw Alison half naked with some guy's hands all over her. "But you were pretty out of it, and you seemed kinda panicked, so I intervened. Who was he anyway?"
"I wish I knew," Alison says with a sigh, regret laced in her voice. "I have no idea. I barely remember that night."
"So I saved you," Emily says as she glances up with a lighthearted smile on her face.
"Twice," Alison breathes out with an equally nervous smile. ""How did you know I was out there, today?"
Emily's tan cheeks turns red, and Alison presses for the answer. "Have you been watching me?"
"Not like stalking, if that's what you mean," Emily insists. "After that party, I found a cove down on the beach that is protected during high tides. So I've been crashing there. I just happened to see you a few times, and today I saw you go out. And then I started to wonder, 'why isn't she coming back in?' as the storm rolled in."
"You swam out just to save me," Alison says with awe as the realization hits her. Of course, she already knew that, but sitting there alone in that bath, completely vulnerable, with someone who had risked their entire life for her through a dangerous storm was just beyond comprehension.
"It was nothing," Emily shrugs trying to downplay the event but Alison leans forward.
"That's the bravest act I've ever seen," Alison says seriously, her blue eyes dancing with appreciation and Emily swallows as Alison earnestly speaks. "Thank you. Seriously. For everything. "
"You're welcome," Emily replies, the tension in the room seeming to escalate quickly. Luckily, a growl is heard and both Alison and Emily look down at the brunette's stomach.
"Hungry?" Alison asks, her lips curling up into a smile. Emily nods sheepishly and Alison ducks her head under once before coming up, cleansing herself. The blonde gets up and out and Emily has to force herself to look away unless she wants the inappropriate thoughts to flood her mind. "I'm going to go get you some clothes so you can come out and eat and rest."
The blonde steps out and Emily guiltily lets her eyes follow as she stares discreetly at the bubbly round ass. She feels caught up in a dream, like none of this is real. One moment she's hiding out from society in coves all alone, the next she is hiding out in a beautiful rich girl's house after saving her from drowning. Not to mention she had coincidentally held the same girl hostage over a month ago. It all sounds absolutely insane.
x-x-x
"Ahhh Emily hisses, leaning against the bathroom counter, dripping wet from the bath as Alison undoes the bandage on her shoulder and dabs at it with a towel. Alison forgot that before anything else, they should attend to Emily's shoulder. "Fuck."
"Shh, just another second or two," Alison soothes as she internally winces and anticipates the backlash as she holds the towel under warm water and then cleans the wound throughly, getting the dirt out. The little cries of pain hurt to hear and she tries her best to really be careful-
"Fuuuuuck," Emily cries out painfully as she squezes her eyes shut, her body cringing and flinching as tears find their way to Emily's eyes. Alison feels terrible, wants to make the pain stop. She makes a mental note to go get painkillers as soon as she's finished, because her foot is killing her as well.
"It's almost over," Alison reassures and gets the last of the dirt and sand out of the open wound and rewraps it with a thin towel. Emily leans back against the counter, her body tense and her face showing lines of panic. "There, all wrapped and taken care of, for now."
"Thanks," Emily murmurs as she tries to catch her breath.
"See? Not so bad," Alison breathes out as she watches the brunette try to relax again. She rubs Emily's arm soothingly and watches as goosebumps arise and a shiver rips through Emily. Ali innocently smiles, but it's the first time she begins to notice the brunette's possible attraction- and she doesn't mind it one bit.
x-x-x
"Mmmm," Emily can't help but hum happily as she sits on Alison's bed eating a bite of a sandwich while wearing an oversized t-shirt and short shorts from the blonde's closet. Her own clothes are hanging on furniture around the room, drying.
"What have you been eating?" Alison asks curiously, observing the runaway hungrily munching on her food. T blonde sets some painkillers down on the bed next to Emily along with the waterbottle. She also swallows two pills herself, rinsing them down as she sits on the edge of the bed. "And, here are some of my grandma's painkillers. I think they're a bit stronger, for when she hurt her back."
"Pretty much whatever I find in people's trash, you'd be surprised at what people throw out these days," Emily tries to joke as she scarfs down the sandwich. She sees Alison's sympathetic look and she subtly rolls her eyes. She takes the painkillers to appease the blonde and to stop the throbbing pain in her shoulder- part of her hoping the painkillers knock her out into a deep, deep sleep. After she swallows, she flashes a cynical look at the blonde. "Doesn't it bother you that I'm literally a wanted murderer?"
"I know what it's like for everyone to think of you as something you're not," Alison says carefully. "But I have to know the truth."
"About?"
"Did you kill her? Maya? She was your girlfriend right?"
"I mean, I may as well have, right? That's what everybody thinks," Emily mumbles as she looks down. Memories flood her mind as she vividly remembers her once seemingly normal life just months ago.
"What everybody thinks and the truth are two completely different things," Alison argues fiercely, her heart flooded with the need to help Emily. "Why are you on the run for something you didn't do?"
"I don't wanna talk about it," Emily says simply, her guard going back up.
"But I do," Alison insists.
"Not now," Emily says defiantly, her voice almost pleading. "Just…not right now. I don't have the strength to talk about it."
"But-"
"Please, Alison," Emily finally begs. The blonde is taken aback by the dripping, sincere emotion spilling from the brunette's lips.
"Ali," the blonde says softly.
"Ali," Emily breathes gently. "I like that."
And just like that, the blonde momentarily forgets her argument and need to hear an explanation. There is something so captivating and mysteriously depressing about the brunette that frightens her yet draws her in.
"You should sleep," Emily reminds her gently, her caring side showing for a brief moment.
"I will if you will," Alison murmurs softly, her warm blue eyes gazing at Emily's tired body leaning against the backboard.
"Deal," Emily replies sleepily as her eyes already beginning to slip shut. But she snuggles down deeper into the blankets, and watches as Alison crawls into bed next to her. Having another person with her for the first time in a long time terrifies Emily- but for once she doesn't feel alone, and that feels amazing. The brunette lies on her back, slightly angled on her good shoulder's side- and she happens to be facing Alison, who angles her body so she's facing the brunette as well.
The painkillers are beginning to kick in, and both girls feel a haze settling over their bodies.
The blonde can feel Emily's sleepy eyes on hers, and for some reason the mysterious brunette makes her feel safe. She can distinctly remember the voices of those reporters on the news talking about Emily's warrant for arrest, and this is probably the stupidest thing she's ever done- harboring a wanted criminal- but it makes her feel alive, makes her feel comforted.
Because Emily could have really hurt her by now if she wanted to. The brunette could have watched her drown at sea, could have watched her been raped by some stupid drunk guy. Hell, the brunette could have really hurt her that first night. But for all of Emily's outward aggression and display of intimidation, the blonde can tell that she's innocent. The blonde can read that Emily is just a victim of a terrible situation, one that she isn't quite sure what it is yet. But she'll get the answer out of Emily eventually. Afterall, Emily saved her, twice. Unnecessarily. Selflessly.
"Alison?" the brunette breathes out in a whisper, half asleep but half very awake- her mind racing with thoughts.
"Yeah?" the blonde asks, unsure of everything and anything at the moment except for the way her body lights up at the anticipation brought on by Emily.
"I…just…" Emily mumbles but her eyes open to meet piercing blue ones staring back at her through the dark. "Today…"
"I know," Alison soothes and brings her hand up to gently hold Emily's cheek, her fingers caressing the soft tan skin beneath her fingertips.
Their eyes hold each other's gaze for a seemingly long period of time, before it's actually Alison that leans in, tilts Emily's face down slightly with her fingers, and kisses her forehead softly, her lips lingering longer than they should (whether it's from sleepiness, the medicine, or something else, Alison isn't sure).
"Thank you," Alison whispers once more, her gratitude clear as day. She feels Emily nod, and she isn't surprised when the brunette tugs on her hand and pulls her a little closer. The blonde isn't stupid, she knows this isn't a normal friendship- friends don't stare intently into each other's eyes with such strong passion, or leave intimate, lingering kisses on foreheads, or feel this strong, frightening yet exciting tension. Friends don't have this magnetic pull that seems to exist between the two of them. And as she drifts off into sleep, she gradually feels Emily's arm somehow wind up slung around her, and the blonde feels safe, curled up with this stranger. Because she doesn't feel like a stranger to Alison. And maybe, just maybe, she won't always be one.
x-x-x
A/N: i love sleepy emison. thoughts? the detailed reviews inspire and make us smile the most :) & don't worry, the emison sparks start to really fly in the next few chapters.