"Paige?" Emily said as she entered the girls bedroom. She looked around, not noticing Paige on the other side of the room at first. When her eyes landed on the girls shaking form. "Paige? What are you doing?" It was as if Paige didn't hear her. She walked over to the other side of the room and crouched down to Paige, sitting in front of her. She reached over and grabbed the girls hand, halting Paige's back and forth movement over her scar. Emily let out a small gasp when she saw the scar Paige was making over.

"How did this happen?"

"Alison." Was all Paige responded with.

"Alison did this to you?" Emily asked, confused.

"I did this to myself, because of something she did." Paige said.

"Hey. Talk to me. We can consider this your therapy session." Emily said, trying to make the girl calmer.

"She, uh, she found out about me being gay before I told anyone. She caught me looking at one of the girls when we were changing in gym. She used it against me to bully me. One day after school I was in the pool, getting ready to try out for the swim team. She came in and said she was going to tell my dad that I was gay, that I had hit on her several times and she was sick of it." Tears started running down Paige's face at the thought of that day and what she did. Emily squeezed Paige's hand as a show of support that she was still there. "She followed me home and stayed outside of my house. I ran to my bathroom, thinking that my life was over if she told my dad, and grabbed the razor I usually used. I was holding it to this spot." Paige runs her hand over the scar that was about six inches long on her inner thigh. "I heard a car door close outside, just assumed it was her coming to the house, and pulled it across my thigh." Paige lowers hear head thinking about that day.

"Did she tell him? What happened to you?" Emily asked slowly.

"It was my dad coming home." Paige laughed out, but it was a laugh that made Emily's skin crawl. "I didn't even hear his car in the drive way. He knew I was home so he came up to ask me about the swimming I had been doing for try outs. Him knocking on the door was what woke me out of the trance I was in, watching the blood run down my leg."

"Was it a lot?" Emily asked, looking at the scar on her leg.

"More than what I was used to." This made Emily cringe. No one should be used to cutting themselves and the amount of blood that comes with. "I cleaned it up, wrapped it tightly and taped it up. It hurt the next morning when I got in the pool, worse so than the initial cut, but I just worked through it. Two days later I made the swim team and Alison was gone. Moved away. And I haven't seen her since." Paige trailed off.

"Since today?" Emily asked.

"Nine years." Paige stated. "Nine fucking years. I never thought of her once. Not since the day they said she was gone."

"I'm so sorry Paige." Emily said.

"It wasn't your fault." Paige said, looking up at the girl. "She was just a bad person."

"She still is." Emily said. "We dated for a year and a half. She moved about four months ago. She hates it here. Hated this house, my car, this puppy." Emily said as she handed Parker to Paige, the puppy licking the girls face, making Emily smile at the girl.

"Who could hate this puppy?" Paige asked, laughing at Parker.

"Alison. It took me a long time to see what everyone else saw in her. She did a really good job at lieing and hiding that part of her from me." Emily said sadly. Paige reached over and lifted Emily's face with her chin.

"But like me, you got away from her, that is what matters." Paige said looking into Emily's eyes.

"That name, that she called you. Why did she call you that?" Emily asked slowly.

"Because of the marks from fresh cuts on the back of my thighs. She would see it during gym class when we were changing." Paige spoke quietly.

"She was horrible, still is." Emily said.

"I can't deal with her, Emily. If she comes here to see you, I have to go home." Paige said frantically.

"You, are safe here. She is not allowed in this house. In my home." Emily said, determined.

"Thank you." Paige said. Emily stood back up, holding her hand out for the girl to take.

"Come on, change into your bathing suit, we are going swimming." Emily said. Paige allowed herself to be pulled up off the floor.

"I don't really feel like swimming on my vacation." Paige said putting air quotations around the word vacation, speaking sarcastically.

"Trust me, swimming in the ocean, best medication in the world." Emily said walking towards the door, turning back to tell Paige to be downstairs in five minutes.

When Paige entered the kitchen she was wearing her usual swim suit that she wore to train in. She watched Emily walk in, carrying Parker. When she stood back up, Paige saw that she was wearing a bikini. The color, a deep red. Paige felt a tightness in her chest when her eyes roamed to Emily's flat stomach, lower to her hip bones. Paige wanted to run her tongue over the length of skin that was now exposed.

"No, no that won't do." Emily said when she looked at Paige. Emily had a small party in the inside, seeing how Paige was looking over her body, the look of lust burning in her eyes. "We are swimming for fun, not for the Olympics. Go into my room and go through the top left drawer, find a two piece suit and don't come out until you find one."

Paige turned and walked into the girls room. It was warm and inviting. It smelled like Emily. Vanilla. It was a scent that Paige was growing familiar with the more time she spent around the girl. She looked around the room, taking in the soft colors around her. On the walls were photos of Emily, and what Paige assumed were her friends. Another photo of Emily and an older couple.

"Mom and dad." Came a voice behind Emily.

"That is what I figured. You look like your mother." Paige said, looking back at Emily leaning against the door frame, now wearing a black cover up over her bikini.

"She would be so happy to hear that." Emily said as she pushed off the door frame and made her way into the room. She began going through the drawer that she had told Paige help bathing suits. "Here, something tells me you would look really good in blue. Go in there and change."

Paige made her way into Emily's private bathroom. After shutting the door she started to take her suit off, replacing it with the one Emily gave her. She turned to leave but stopped when she saw the perfume bottle sitting on Emily's counter top. She picked it up and smelled it, and it smelled just like Emily did. She noticed that Emily used vanilla scented shampoo as well.

"Been too long since you wore a bikini?" Emily shouted, breaking Paige from her thoughts. Paige threw the door open and stepped out.

"Yea, didn't know what tied where." Paige said.

"Hmm, I was right, you do look nice in blue." Emily said with a wink as she made her way out of the bedroom. "Let's go swimming then!"

After laying their towels down and setting a cooler beside them, the two girls made their way to the waters edge. It was hot out, and the water felt like bath water as Paige stepped into it, heading out until it was up to her waist. Emily was still standing at the edge, up to her ankles when she looked up at Paige. The way the light was reflecting off the water, making Paige's skin glow made the girl look beautiful.

More beautiful, Emily thought. The bikini she was wearing was hugging her hips the right way, the top barely covering the girls breasts. Emily ran and jumped head first into the water beside Paige. Wanting to splash the girl, but also wanting to give her body time to cool off. Paige McCullers was making Emily feel things she hasn't felt in a long time. This was going to be a very rough time for the girl.