They left the cafeteria about ten minutes after CeCe paid her coffee and exited the local with a certain brisk. They had spoken about meaningless things, well, CeCe had spoken, they both had just listened to her monologue. It seemed like the girl was in charge of a little antique shop and that, she even had got her own apartment in a pretty centric district of the city. She wasn't dating anyone but, just like in Rosewood, she had a different plan every night. She suggested them some places and talked about the wonders of Paris, but they avoided getting into the conversation during the whole time, they still had too many things to solve to be able to pay attention to the main shops or to the names of the big Parisian avenues.

- We need those jobs. – Alison said, while they walked slowly down the street, back to the hotel. The sky had turned cloudy and the wind was blowing colder and colder around them.

- How much money do we have? – Emily asked, she didn't want to get to much into the "money theme", because she really didn't want to know where their monetary funds came from, but she was seriously worried about how many time they would be able to pay for living under a ceiling.

- Enough for a month on that house of terror, though we should be careful with what we spend for eating…

In that moment, Emily's stomach rumbled and the girl blushed. They hadn't eaten anything solid since the plane, and that poor coffee they had drunk minutes ago just had stoked the brunette's appetite. Alison smiled.

- Maybe we should start to get worried about the food. – The blonde said, feeling the emptiness of her own stomach. In her years of hiding she got used to not eating during some periods of time, but still she could feel the effects of the hunger weakening her body.

- I think I saw a supermarket on our way to meet CeCe…

- Vivian. – Alison corrected her and the brunette looked at her with a questioning glance. – You must get used to call her Vivian.

- Will I also need to get used to call you Estella?

- No! – She exclaimed it more horrified than she felt about considering that question. She liked that name, but she preferred to listen to the soft "Ali" that Emily pronounced every time she addressed her. – And I won't call you Natalie, at least not when we are on our own.

- Someday we'll get confused. – They would have to fake being completely different people in that country and the brunette wasn't sure if she would be able to lie so convincingly, even though the practice that, against her will, she had acquired over the years.

- Then we'll have to be careful, because if not…

Everything happened so fast… just in seconds. Alison's foot leaving the sidewalk. The horn of the unstoppable car. The scream that got drowned in the brunette's throat…

- Hey! – The blonde shook her hands that, as the rest of her body, had been covered by a weird mix that looked like mud, but was a little more liquid. – Idiot! – The car was already gone, leaving behind it the claxon's echo and the waves that its speed had generated over the surface of the huge puddle that now was sliding off Alison's clothes, she was dripping dirt, everywhere. – What an asshole…

- Ali! – Emily chided her, still holding the blonde's arm. If she hadn't reacted in time, she didn't want to know what would have happened.

- It was his fault! – The girl defended herself, feeling her hair. It was going to be impossible to get rid of all that crap. – He should have stopped, or not accelerate anymore! – Actually the crosswalk's light was red, but Emily wouldn't think of making it clear.

- You should change… I'll go buy something for dinner. – The brunette said, making sure that no other vehicle was driving in the vicinity before crossing to the other side of the street.

- What? I won't leave you alone. – In another time, another past time, Emily would have had to contain the emotion that phrase would have caused inside of her. Now, she looked around nervously, hoping that they weren't getting too much attention.

- It won't take me long. – She glanced at the sky. – Looks like it's gonna rain and also, you can´t go anywhere like that, people will start looking at you. We'll go faster if we split up.

- But…

- Go, I'll be okay. I'll see you there in no time.

- Are you sure? – She didn't like that plan, not at all.

- Yes, go.

- Okay… - She accepted reluctantly.

Emily watched as the blonde marched down the street, still shaking her clothes, looking over her shoulder occasionally to where she was standing, accelerating her pace. When she lost sight of her, the brunette reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She looked at it with apprehension. Emily didn't thought she would have the chance to use it so soon.

When she turned it on an avalanche of missed calls and messages collapsed the device, just as she had thought that would happen. She didn't stop to see from who came those contact attempts, she already knew. No, what Emily did was dial her country code and the number she would always know by heart. A tone was all it took for her to get an answer.

- Hello? – A tired, bruised, weak voice, with a hint of desperation, spoke from the other side of the line, and Emily couldn't help the instant knot that appeared in her throat. – Who is it? – She was paralyzed, had even stopped breathing. And if she had been concerned about something else despite that voice, maybe she would have noticed how her heart stopped. – Emily?

- Mom… - She whispered, and with that syllable the tears flooded her eyes.

- Emily… - Her mother said her name again, this time with relief. – Emily, where are you? I've been looking for you two days, two days! You weren't answering my calls, no one knew where you were, for a moment I thought… I thought…

- Mom… - She tried again, this time letting her hair cover her face, avoiding the stares of the people that where transiting the street, the last thing she needed was to put on a show.

- Emily, tell me… please, just tell me if you are fine. – The anguish made her vocal cords tremble.

- I'm ok, mom, don't worry, I… - She began to walk down the street, looking for somewhere with a little of privacy.

- How do you expect me not to worry? I almost called the police, if Hannah and the others hadn't convinced me that…

- Have you talked with the girls?

- Of course I've talked with the girls! I was about to call your father…

- Did you call dad? – She should have thought that all that would happen, everyone would worry and try to find her, but she had chosen not to pay attention to the consequences of the decision that had taken so little for her to make.

- No, not yet, I was going to do it tonight. Emily, you don't know… you have no idea the hell I've been through during these two days… - Ms. Fields sighed and the brunette imagined her taking a seat on the sofa, holding her forehead with one hand as she concentrated in quieting the beating of her heart. How hadn't she thought about her mother before?

- I'm sorry mom, I'm so sorry. – She felt two tears rolling down each of her cheeks, setting the course of a river that would arise soon.

- Listen, now… now it doesn't matter, just tell me where you are so I can go to pick you up and… and when we get home we'll talk…

- I… I can't tell you where I am…

- What…? Emily Fields! Tell me where you are right now!

- I can't mom, I really can't…

- Emily!

- I'm not in Rosewood! Or… near Rosewood… - For a second it seemed like they were playing one of those stupid guessing games and Emily thought she was losing her mind for being able to do such a comparison.

- What do you mean…?

- You can't come and pick me up! Neither call! Or…! – Maybe she should have left the cell phone in her room, on the bed, where she hadn't been able to stop looking at it while hurriedly preparing her bag, thinking that sooner or later she would have to show signs of life.

- What are you saying?

- Mom…

- You're gonna tell me right now…!

- I can't! – She shouted it with all her might and with all the pain of the world, because she knew that with that yell her mother would stay mute as she also knew that, in a matter of seconds, all she would hear would be the inconsolable crying of the last person she would want to hurt.

- Why are you doing this Emily? What have I done wrong? Do you need… you need space? Is that what it is? Do you want…? – That conversation was turning into a wail that seemed endless.

- Mom is not that, it's nothing of that… - Tears flowed freely down her face. She didn't know how to say what she was doing or what was the reason why she was doing it because, at that moment, she didn't even know herself. – I… Ali…

- Alison? Are you with Alison? – As she said it being with the blonde seemed to be the most dangerous thing in the world… and maybe it was.

- Yes…

- Emily, you don't have to save her from anything, if she is in trouble…

- I'm not saving her from anything mom.

- Then what is it? Emily, tell me. Maybe I can do something. – She was using her desperate tone, a step away from falling into her anger tone.

- No… you can't, I…

- I know she's your friend and that you had suffered a lot during these past years thinking she was dead, but… - She was trying to understand the situation, really, she did, but it's difficult to reason or understand anything when your daughter is missing with a person you would never trust because you know she's a compulsive liar.

- I love her. – She said aloud, for the first time, and the fact that it was her mother who was on the other end of the phone listening to those words only magnified everything. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. – I love her and… and she loves me.

The silence that followed that sentence made her believe that the communication had been cut.

- You have run away with her. – It wasn't a question, it was a statement. – Emily… what have you done?

- Mom, I… I've always been in love with her and when… when I thought she had died… I never imagined that we… that she… and now… - She kept crying, and nothing she said made sense, but the words escaped from her. Suddenly, she felt completely naked.

- Emily, you don't know the mistake you're making. You have to come home, right now!

- I can't…

- Of course you can! And you will! – Now the stage of anger was starting. Now she'll try to make her understand the craziness behind her actions and, to success on that, she would need to hurt her. – Emily, you are just kids, what will you do alone in… well, wherever you are? You know nothing of life, where would you get the money to eat? Where would you live? You are playing a game…

- This is not a game! – She wasn't going to allow her to take that situation as a simple act of teenage rebellion. – I'm here with her because…

- Because you love her. – She cut her with ferocity. – And she loves you. Do you think I don't know what it is like? Fall in love and think that your whole world depends on that person? That if you're not with her your whole life would crumble? I've been there! But I have learned to see reality. – She took a breath and tried to calm down. She never thought that her daughter would reach those extremes of folly. – The reality, Emily, is that you have 17 years and a lifetime ahead, and neither of you know what will happen tomorrow. And maybe you are in love now, but…

- This is not something that will change overnight! – If her mother thought it was a whim of the moment then she knew her less than she thought. – It hasn't changed in years!

- Maybe it hasn't changed for you! What about her? – Great, now she'll try to put her against Alison. – How can you be so sure that she feels the same way about you? How do you know that within a week, or in two days, she won't change her mind and will leave you…?

- I don't know! – She shouted furiously, thankful for the lonely alley she had found to deal with that conversation.

All the doubts she had attempted to suppress, all the fears that had been about to retain her in Rosewood, came down to those last words, the fact that she didn't really know what was going through Alison's mind, or her heart, and she would probably never know. The severe exclamations of her mother began to be like a big bucket of cold water that someone had launched to her head while she slept. They were a hard hit of reality that threatened to leave her unconscious, lying on the floor, unable to get up.

- Emily, you can still stop this madness and come home before your life…

She hung up, closed her eyes and pressed the phone tightly in her right fist, trying to ignore the urge to slam it against the nearest wall and scream until she was left with no voice.

Her mother was right in everything, and the truth of her words lacerated her insides like a corrosive acid, impossible to stop.


- At last! – Alison sighed with relief when Emily opened the door of the hotel room. – It took you a long time.

- I'm sorry. – She apologized, surprised that her voice still had some consistency.

After cutting her mother in mid-sentence and making sure to turn off the phone, she had taken more than twenty minutes to calm down and block any kind of thinking. Then she had returned to the walkable streets of the city and, slowly, endeavoring to erase that catastrophic conversation from her mind, she had bought the essentials and returned to the hotel.

In the meantime, the blonde seemed to have showered and successfully, for there was no sign of the goo that had covered her a couple of hours before. She also must have overcome her fear to meet that elusive rat, because that degree of hygiene probably would have required a long time confined in the bathroom. Although, the brunette didn't notice anything, absolutely anything.

- What happened? – The blonde asked and Emily looked at her puzzled. She had made her makeup thoroughly in the supermarket's bathroom, could it be so obvious that something had happened?

- I don't know what you mean.

- It took you long enough, did something happen? – Alison was worried, really worried, Emily didn't want to imagine what kind of face she was showing to the blonde.

- No. – The brunette sighed heavily and ran her hand through her hair, letting the little droplets that had begun to fall outside just before she reached the hotel spread. If she couldn't seem "normal", at least she would concentrate on looking tired. – The supermarket was packed and there were things I didn't understand…

- You never liked French too much. – The blonde said, oblivious to the suffering of the other girl. – What have you bought? – She approached her to have a look inside the two bags that Emily had left on the bed. Two packs of juice, one of cereal, and sandwiches, many sandwiches.

- Actually… I didn't know what to take…

- We'll have to find somewhere around here for lunch and dinner.

- I thought we had to be careful with what we spend.

- And we have to, that's why we'll look for a cheap place, but we can't subsist on sandwiches.

Cheap and Paris weren't two words that you could hear together, in the same sentence, very often. The brunette questioned one more time if it was necessary for them to go so far, to a place so expensive.

- You look exhausted. – The blonde said, stroking Emily's cheek, where the brunette could still feel the hot tears that had burned her skin. – Let's eat something, it'll make you feel better.

Each of them ate a couple of sandwiches, leaving hunger seek satiety, and Alison took care of leading the conversation, talking about CeCe, CeCe's friend, the jobs they would have… Emily looked outside. It was raining with increasing intensity, the sun had almost completely disappeared and the night began to dye it all in black.

- … don't you think? Em. – The blonde placed her right hand on one of the brunette's, drawing her attention gently.

Emily got up from the bed without even looking at her and went to close the window, so the water wouldn't get inside. She hadn't paid attention to any of the blonde's words. She even needed a second to lean in the window's frame, resisting the urge to put her forehead against the cool glass. She thought she'll be stronger, she thought she knew what she was getting into, she… a hand in the middle of her back stopped the torrent of thoughts.

- I know you're leaving too many things behind, just for me. – The fact that she didn't want Emily alone wasn't just because of the fear of something bad happening to any of them while being apart, she neither wanted the girl to have time for rethink anything… another of her insecure moments of selfishness. She stepped closer to the brunette's body. – I don't know how to thank you, Em. If there's anything I can do…

"Love me, love me for real", Emily thought, closing her eyes as the blonde's chin rested on her left shoulder. She didn't have to look up to know that her blue irises sought the reflection of her face in the window glass.

- I'm… I'm fine… - The brunette managed to say.

- You're not, and I understand it, but I hate seeing you like this, and I hate knowing that it's my fault.

- Ali…

- It is, Em, it's my fault you're here, away from your parents, from your friends… you cannot even talk to them.

Alison placed her hands on the brunette's waist, making her turn around. Emily wasn't still able to look at her face.

- I wish everything was easier. – And she wished it because of everything, the situation they were in, the one they had left behind, the people they had left behind, for themselves… for everything.

The blonde hugged her, throwing her arms around her, squeezing their bodies hard, trying to express with that gesture how she felt about the brunette. Emily managed to respond the hug and suddenly she felt weak.

- I think I need some sleep. – The brunette said.

Alison parted slightly away from her to look into her eyes, concerned. Neither of them had recovered from the trip, but Emily seemed particularly beaten. Nor all the makeup in the world could hide those irritated brown eyes or the sorrow that had taken over her entire face.

- Yes. Lie down, I'll find the address of CeCe's friend on the map and tomorrow morning we'll go to see him. – Emily nodded slowly and tried to undo the embrace to approach the bed, but the blonde clung to it. – Everything will be fine, you'll see.

They remembered it to each other constantly and, in a way, it was comforting, because it meant that the situation exceeded both of them, that they were terrified, but that they also wanted to make that work, that they were prepared to endeavor and keep going.

Without Emily seeing it coming, Alison kissed her on the lips. The brunette had to suppress the surprised jump at the contact, a kiss in the middle of all that chaos, her kiss, seemed quite confusing, but also… a foolproof anesthetic.

- Rest. – The blonde implored, giving her another light touch of lips, which fell gently in the corner of her mouth.

Who knew what would happen tomorrow? Probably no one, but at that moment, while looking for her pajamas in her small belongings, Emily knew she loved that girl and that the feeling was entirely mutual.