A/N: And drama drama drama. Let me know your thoughts, love getting reviews and hearing what you think :) If you're still reading, thank you! :)

Chapter 6

Alison was in the lounge room alone when her mom walked in.

"Hey, weren't you two going to watch a movie?" Jessica asked as she placed the grocery bags on the bench of the kitchen and walked over to her daughter.

"Yeah…" Alison could barely look at her mom, "I guess I upset her. She's in her room."

Jessica's face flooded with concern, "Did you two have a fight?" she asked, "Are you okay?"

Alison sighed and looked at her mom, "I guess I confronted her about the fact that you two are sleeping together so you know… tension."

Jessica was shocked, "How…"

"Emily was sick. I came home early," Alison shook her head, "I heard you, mom."

Jessica closed her eyes for a moment, "I'm so sorry, Alison, I never meant for you to find out like that."

"Or at all," Alison guessed.

"I know it's complicated, Alison – "

"Mom, don't," Alison cut in, "I can't right now, okay? Just… she's upset. She needs you more than I do right now."

Jessica gritted her teeth, "Alison, we need to talk about – "

"Mom, it's been like bombshell after bombshell, okay? And this one is… insane. I can't even process… I'm going to go and stay at one of the girls' tonight," Alison said, "You really should go to see Charlotte. She's pretty upset."

"Okay," Jessica gave in, "Just let me know where you are, please."

"Yeah," Alison muttered, "Sure."

Charlotte sniffed and wiped her sore eyes. She buried her face in her pillow and continued crying. She didn't even hear the door open. She only realised her mom was there when she sat on the bed. Charlotte turned over to see her and crawled in her chest, continuing to sob.

Jessica ran a hand through Charlotte's hair, "Shh, honey, it's okay."

"I just want her to love me and now she's going to hate me," Charlotte cried.

"No, honey, she doesn't hate you," Jessica said soothingly, "I think mostly she's mad at me."

"I don't want that either," Charlotte sniffed.

"Sweetheart, she's had to a lot to digest over the last few weeks. Let's just give her some time," Jessica said quietly.

Charlotte nodded.

Jessica pulled away a little, placing a hand on Charlotte's face, "Charlotte… you need to tell me the truth. Do I take advantage of you?"

"No!" Charlotte shook her head vehemently, "Mom, it's not like at all. Please don't start doubting this, us."

"I just need to be sure, sweetheart," Jessica murmured, "I never want to hurt you or lead you into something you don't really want. If you wanted this… to stop, it would be okay. We would be okay, just like before."

Charlotte bit her head, "I don't want to be like before, mom," she said quietly, "I'm in love with you. I want this. But if you don't…"

"I do," Jessica reassured her, "I love you so much, Charlie," she stroked her cheek, "I just know none of this is going to be easy. I know how much you love your little sister… how much you want to be a part of her life… "

Charlotte nodded, "I do… but I'll make it work. All of it. I don't care how hard it is. I love you both."

"I will do anything I can to help you," Jessica whispered.

"I know, mom," Charlotte smiled for the first time in hours, "Right now, I just want to lay with you a while," she snuggled back into her mom's chest.

Jessica lay down, running a hand through her daughters hair, "Do you want me to put the tv on?" she asked.

Charlotte chuckled, "No, it's okay. This is nice," she said quietly.

Emily watched her friend concernedly. Alison had rocked up unexpectedly, which was fine, it wasn't like Emily minded, but she'd hardly said a word since. She just sat on the bed flicking through magazines far too quickly to actually be reading anything. Her brow was furrowed, her eyes crinkled at the side like they always did when she was frustrated.

"Ali…" Emily was cautious, "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Alison shrugged, rolling onto her back and holding the magazine above her.

"You're super quiet, that's all," Emily pressed, "Are things weird at home? Well, I know they're weird at the moment but – "

"It's complicated, Em," Alison sighed, letting the magazine fall down by her side, "Like really complicated."

Emily nodded, "Yeah, well… your friend is your sister – "

"That's the simple bit compared to this," Alison muttered.

Emily frowned, "Oh. Well, you know you can tell me anything. It goes in the vault, Ali, you know that," she assured her.

Alison looked at her; of course, knew she could trust Emily, it was just saying the words out loud, "I mean… you know Charlotte's adopted, right?"

"Right," Emily nodded.

"Cause you remember how on that Cape May trip, I told you how she kind of hooked up with Jason or something? Not that I know the details…"

"But it's not like they're related… I mean, it's still a bit weird but not as weird as it could be… right?" Emily asked, "Why? Are they still dating or something?"

Alison shook her head, "No, they're not," she said, "She is seeing someone though," she said slowly.

Emily nodded, even though she was feeling more confused by the second, "Someone… you don't approve of?"

"It's… in a really morally grey area," Alison bit her lip.

"Ali, you're killing me," Emily exclaimed, "Just tell me. I mean, it seems like you – "

"It's…" Alison cut in, "god, I don't even know how to say it so I'll just… it's my mom. They're like… together."

Whatever Emily had been expecting it wasn't that.

"Wow, I wasn't…" Emily blinked and regained her composure, "You're sure? How did you even…"

Alison nodded, "I'm sure, Em. They both admitted it."

"How long..."

"I'm not sure, I haven't exactly got every detail," Alison explained, "I mean, when I found out I thought it was so wrong, it's so bizarre. I mean, it's her mom. I mean, adopted sure, but still… then I spoke to Charlotte…"

"What did she say?" Emily asked curiously.

Alison sighed, "She says they're in love."

"Do you believe her?" Emily asked.

"She wasn't lying," Alison shrugged, "I mean, I thought maybe mom was taking advantage or something. It's not like Charlotte has many people in her life that care about her… but my mom isn't that twisted… right?"

Emily blinked, "I don't know, Alison. I'd sure like to think not. I mean, Charlotte is an adult, she knows what she's doing, right?"

"As long as it started when she was an adult," Alison muttered.

Emily looked at her in disbelief, "Ali, you don't think she'd… actually have like… you know… "

Alison thought, "I don't know. It seems like she cares about Charlotte. Really cares. But then she's had this whole other secret life I knew nothing about so I don't know, maybe she could… I mean, maybe that's the real reason she kept Charlotte such a secret… I just never saw Cece… Charlotte as someone who could be manipulated so easily."

Emily nodded, letting the silence fill the air for a moment before replying, "I think you should ask her. Them. Someone. Ask them when it started at least. Then you can be sure your mom didn't cross any line and that Charlotte was you know, an adult."

"I can't even believe I'm considering it," Alison muttered.

Charlotte sat up as she heard the front door. She smiled at her mom who had fallen asleep. She slid off the bed quietly and snuck out of the room, casting one last smile to her mom. She made her way to the lounge, spotting Alison bustling about kitchen, not really doing anything but trying to look busy.

"Hey, I thought you were staying out tonight?" Charlotte asked as she approached.

Alison rolled her eyes, "Am I interrupting your plans?"

Charlotte flinched at the harsh tone, "No, it's good… I want you here, I just wasn't expecting you back so soon."

Alison bit her tongue, "Right, sorry," she sighed, "It's just I have to ask you something and you have to promise to tell me the truth. Like, really promise."

Charlotte nodded, "I promise."

Alison looked her sister in the eye, "Whatever this is with you mom… how old were you when it started?"

Charlotte blinked, "It was just a few months ago."

Alison let out the breath she'd been holding, "You promise? When you were younger, she never…"

"God, Ali," Charlotte looked shocked, "No! No, never anything like that, I swear. Mom would never do that! She's always been really considerate when it comes to that stuff."

Alison nodded, "I just had to be sure."

"You really thought I would hurt her, anyone like that?"

Both girls spun around to see Jessica standing there.

Alison shrugged, "I don't know, mom. No, I didn't think that the mom I know could ever do that to anyone. But you just sprung this whole double life thing on me and now I don't know what the hell I know. You could be anyone now. I don't even know you."

"You do know me, Ali," Jessica stepped closer to her, "I'm sorry I've made you doubt what you believe. I really am. I made a stupid decision a long time ago by keeping all these secrets and just let… " she sighed, "I want you to trust me. Mostly, I don't want you to doubt yourself and your memories. So, please let's sit down. I'll tell you both everything."

Charlotte frowned, "Mom, what are you talking about?"

Jessica avoided her eyes for a moment, "It's about your parents," she whispered, "I know more than I've told you."