Hey guys, so here is the next chapter for These Ties That Bind. Hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Carmen.
"It's insane; how many words to they expect you to learn in one night?" Hanna asked as her, Aria, and Spencer were at the Hastings house to study for their SAT test the next day. "Unless your name is Spencer or Carmen."
"Stringent." Aria asked Spencer, looking bored as Hanna sounded.
"Uh, tough; inflexible." answered the brainiac, continuing to write notes. Like she needed to study anymore.
"It's not like we will ever use these." Hanna complained while writing down her own notes.
"It's about getting into college." Spencer said as she continued to write. Getting into a good college meant everything to Spencer. Everyone knew she was going to end up going to some school like Harvard anyway.
"It's not like you need to learn anymore big words," Hanna smirked as she teased her friend. "You're already scary to anyone under the age of fifty."
"I'm not scary," Spencer whined as she turned to Aria. "Am I scary?"
"A little." Aria smiled as Spencer pouted. Just then the door opened and Spencer straightened up.
"Hey mom."
Mrs. Hastings came walking into the kitchen as she smiled at her daughters friends. "Hey girl's, what smells so good?"
"Garlic bread," Spencer picked up the container and offered it to her mom. "Want some?"
"I can't," She declined as she opened her phone. "God I miss food."
"Why don't you ask your mom about taking Alex to-" Hanna was silenced by the look Spencer gave her.
"Where's Emily and Carmen?" Mrs. Hasting asked, taking in the absence of the two tan girls.
"They should be on their way."
Carmen parked her car on the cemetery road. She took out an umbrella from the backseat and opened the door. Quickly opening it, the chill in the air caused goosebumps to rise on her flesh as the wind cut through her clothes. Walking passed headstones; some old, some new, Carmen made her way to the gravestone of her first love. Seeing the smiling face of Alison caused a small smile to appear before it was diminished.
"So Ali, a lot has happened. You've left us, a psycho bitch has started tormenting us and...I've found someone. Someone I never would have guessed I'd be with. It's Emily. Shocker, right? You're probably pissed because you're a very jealous and possessive person, but I hope you're also happy for me. I really care for her. I've only felt this way with you and I have a good feeling about it. I still feel bad though; like I'm cheating on you. Guess that doesn't make sense though," Carmen talked to her best friend like she was alive and in front of her.
Carmen needed someone to talk to that wasn't Emily. Hanna already had enough problems and Aria and Spencer didn't have a clue about anything.
"Will it work? I'm not really sure, but I hope so. Of course, no one can replace you, Ali. I have no doubt that if you were still here, we would've been at my house, warm and dry, cuddled together, but that's only in my dreams now. I'll always love you so don't get too mad. Anyway, I have to go; big test to study for. See you later, Alison." Carmen kissed her fingers then placed then on the smooth, wet stone. She then started making her way across the muddy ground back to her car. Once inside, she checked her phone.
3 new messages.
Spencer: Would you hurry up? We still have knowledge to learn!
Hanna: Look, I know you don't need to study, but I swear to God, I will hurt you if you leave me alone with team Sparia :(
UNKNOWN: So you and Emily are happy together? We'll see how long that last.
Xoxo -A
Carmen bit her lip hard. If that bitch A did anything to screw this up, it would piss her off beyond belief. Then again, it was exactly what Alison would do.
Emily rushed into her room, wet and muddy as the storm raged outside. She threw her bag on the bed before stripping off her jacket. Grabbing the bag, she quickly shoved it under her bed. The ringing of her phone startled her off the floor. Taking it out of her pocket, she opened up the unknown message.
UNKNOWN: THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH YOU CAN BURY, EMILY. YOU'RE NOT DONE WITH ME YET, BUT YOU WILL BE DONE WITH CARMEN. -A
Emily felt so helpless. The swimmer had no idea how A knew this stuff. She just shut her phone, buried her dirty face in her hands, and silently cried, praying for the best. Another ring signaled a new message. Emily braced herself, but sighed in relief at the name that flashed across the phone screen.
Carmen: Hey gorgeous :)
Want to come over and 'study?' ;))
The swimmer smiled as a bright smile painted her face. Carmen sure could turn her mood around. A blush then spread from her chest to her face as she thought of the 'studying' Carmen had in mind, but texted back her reply nonetheless.
Emily: Sure, what time?
Carmen: Doesn't matter chica
Emily: Okay be there in a few
Carmen: Can't wait ;)
Emily just shook her head and laughed at the girls teasing. She knew Carmen wouldn't pressure her like Ben had. Hell, Emily wanted it with Carmen but the genius was so focused on waiting. Emily's ever growing libido didn't want to wait. She had waited too long, although, she supposed the Latina was right.
Quickly jumping in the shower, she washed off all the mud leaving her tan skin flawless. Leaving her hair down, she dressed in some yoga pants, and a Rosewoof Sharks hoodie then went to her car. After texting Carmen that she was on her way, Emily made her way to the Torres house.
The house was dark, making Emily wonder if the girl was really home.
Emily: I'm here...
Carmen: Doors unlocked, too lazy to get up, come gets your cuddles on with me.
So Emily just walked in to find the Latina lying on the couch, watching some scary movie.
"You know, with a stalker on the loose, you think you would at least lock your door."
"Well, if the stalker looks like you, then let them come 'attack' me anytime," The Latina looked up with a wink. "You look hot."
Emily swore Carmen was lying. Here she was in a hoodie, yoga pants, hair dripping wet. Of course, Carmen's hormones were as bad as a teenage boy's. "What are we 'studying?'"
"How about anatomy? I'm having some trouble in that class." The Latina smirked, eyes looking dark and dangerous, making Emily shiver.
"You don't even have that class." Emily rolled her eyes as she sat at the end of the couch. Carmen smirked before grabbing Emily and pulling her down to lay behind her.
"Doesn't mean I can't get better at it." Carmen whispered, licking her lips as her eyes twinkled.
Emily's eyes darkened, almost black, as she focused on the Latinas pouty lips which pulled into a smirk before crushing their lips together.
Sparks exploded where their lips connected, working together in sync.
Carmen grasped Emily's face in her hands while Emily's went to hold her waist, but seeing as how they were laying down, didn't work well. Emily pulled away with a growl, which made Carmen shiver.
"Damn." Emily growled as she pulled the smaller girl on top off her. Carmen was now straddling the swimmer, amusement and desire etched on her face.
"You said a dirty word." Carmen smirked, but it disappeared as Emily moved her leg, making it rub a certain spot against Carmen's cotton shorts. The Latina drew in a sharp breath and let it out. Heat throbbed at her core, begging to be released.
"Em, we c-can't." Carmen stuttered out but Emily kissed her hard, grabbing onto raven locks. Their tongues battled for dominance, which Carmen won. She tasted every inch of Emily's mouth, taking in the minty sweet flavor. They were so caught up in each other, they didn't notice the dark hooded figure standing outside a window. Neither did they realize both phones go off.
UNKNOWN: YOU MIGHT WANT TO CLOSE THE WINDOWS BEFORE YOU GET BUSY. WOULDN'T WANT ANYONE FINDING OUT ABOUT THIS, WOULD YOU?
Emily was at her locker the next morning, still shaken up from the night before. All she wanted to do was see her girlfriend and get the test over with.
"Still haven't heard from Toby, huh?"
Emily forced herself not to jump at the familiar voice. Detective Wilden stood on the side of her locker door.
The swimmer shook her head. "No." She did now want to deal with him today. She wasn't in the mood for it.
"Well let me know when you do," Wilden said, not letting up. "Alison's memorial was vandalized last night."
The dark haired girl just stared in front of her, trying not to give anything up, but uncomfortable in the cop's presence.
"Any idea where he could be staying?" The blonde asked, seemingly accusing Emily of hiding Toby.
"I don't know anything." Emily snapped, hoisting her bag on her shoulder.
Wilden took note of the mud on Emily's shoes. "Maybe you should check you're basement." With that, Emily shot Wilden a glare then walked away to the library.
Carmen walked into the library, a dictionary in her hand. The Latina was memorizing every word she could. She looked up when she heard her name called and saw her three friends and girlfriend sitting at a table by the window.
"Hey guys." The Latina said as she sat down on the right of Aria where Emily sat on the left.
"You're actually reading a dictionary?" Hanna asked in disbelief. If she even touched that book, it would burn her.
"I want to make sure I make a good score." Carmen rolls her eyes. Was it hard to believe she was gorgeous, rich, and cared about her grades?
"Of course you will, you're a total genius." Emily smiled, blushing a bit as her girl smiled at her.
"Thanks Em. I bet your score will rival mine though. Let's face it, It's hard to believe, but I can't just get by on my looks." The genius winked while playfully throwing her hair back.
Hanna sat back and smiled at the secret couple. She wondered when they were gonna tell the other girls.
"So what's going on?" Carmen asked, taking note of the tension in the air.
"What do you mean?" Aria asked, surprised that the girl caught on to anything.
"Oh please, I can see it on all your faces." Carmen rolled her eyes at the group. They seemed to think they were good at hiding things from her.
"Alison's memorial was destroyed." Spencer said quietly as Carmen's eyes narrowed.
"Well, that explains why I saw dumb ass here."
The girls were all silent, thinking about their situation. No doubt they would be questioned later by the cops. It was getting real old seeing uniforms around here.
"Is that my mom?" Aria asked, looking out the window. Sure enough, there was Mrs. Montgomery. Aria got up and made her way to the hall.
"Well, guess I'll finish this until test time." Carmen said and started reading a page. After about 8 seconds, she turned the page.
"Woah, did you even read that?" Hanna asked shocked. She knew Carmen was smart, but she scanned the page like a computer!
"Yeah?" Carmen said more as a question, not sure why her blonde bestie was shocked.
"Thats totally awesome!" Hanna exclaimed but then quieted down after receiving a look from a teacher.
"My reading average in 220 words per minute." Carmen told them while going back to read, leaving the other 3 girls speechless. They learned something new about the Latina everyday.
Everyone signed in and got seated. Of course, the group of Liars were with each other.
They were getting their stuff ready when someone walked over.
"Sorry about the memorial; shocking that something like that would happen and nobody saw anything." Wilden said, scanning the girls faces for anything he could use against them.
"Well everyone here was studying for the exam we're about to take so you might want to look for witnesses somewhere else." Spencer said, even though she had no idea where Emily and Carmen were.
"So you were studying together?" Wilden asked, seeing that unlikely.
"Yes, we were all studying together." Emily stated as Spencer and Hanna looked at each other in confusion.
"Yes, all of us." Aria added as Wilden just glanced at all of them.
"Okay."
The girls relaxed when he left, Emilys phone vibrating.
HEY EM-YOU WEREN'T THE ONLY ONE WITH GREAT EXPECTATION. CHECK IT OUT. -A
"Emily, whats going on?" Spencer asked after the girl had turned her phone off.
"Yeah, where were you last night?" Aria asked, uncomfortable that she had lied to a cop directly.
"I told you, I was at home." Emily said in confusion, wondering why they were questioning her.
"Why didn't you tell him that?" Spencer asked.
"What happened to all of us sticking together?" Emily asked, her fear turning into anger.
"Guys stop," Carmen cut in making them look at her. "I'm sure Emily has a good reason, but for now lay off. We already have the cops questioning us, we don't need to question each other."
The girls stopped after seeing Carmen was right. They needed to stay together if they wanted to get through this.
"Forget it." Emily stood up and grabbed her purse, glancing at Carmen who smiled at her.
"Where are you going?" Aria asked, watching Emily curiously.
"To the restroom, but if you don't believe me, we can all try to squeeze in one stall." Emily walked away, leaving a shocked group of girls. What was going on with Emily?
Emily made her way to another part of the library, seeking out a certain book.
Finding the title GREAT EXPECTATIONS, she quickly grabbed it, flipping through the pages. Some lines were highlighted, but she didn't understand why A wanted her to find the book. She closed the book then opened up the cover. A blue envelope fell out onto the ground. Emily bent down and picked it up, looking at the front.
It was a letter from Emily to Alison.
The other four girls were sitting in silence, studying for the exam to come when Spencer's phone rang.
DEFINE "DESERTION."
SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE ABOUT TO LOSE EMILY. WHO'S NEXT? -A
Spencer quickly showed the other girls who started looking around for their tormentor, but saw no one.
Emily sat on the floor in the now dark library. She was reading a highlighted section when she remembered a time when she was sitting right here. A time before Alison went missing.
Emily had been sitting in the library, reading a book when she heard giggling coming from behind her. Looking through the bookshelf, she saw Carmen and Alison sitting on the floor.
"You should let me braid your sometime." Alison said as she ran a hand through raven locks.
"Ali, we'll be okay, right?" Carmen asked as Alison smiled.
"That's why I love you Carmen. You're big on happy endings," The two girls just smiled and stared into the others eyes. "So is Dickens by the way."
Carmen smiled at Alison as she explained how Pip gets Estella in the end. Alison was uncomfortable with her soft side showing in public.
"Can I read you something?" The golden haired teen asked. Of course, the Latina said yes in a heartbeat.
"'I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be,'" Alison smirked, turning to the Latina who stared into Alison's soft blue eyes. Ali's vulnerable side was showing.
"Did you get to that part yet?"
Of course she had. Alison just wanted to tell Carmen her own feelings without using her own words.
Carmen couldn't help herself. She leaned over and captured Alison's lips with her own. The kiss was sweet and slow with a spark igniting between them. Their lips fit perfect together and it all felt right. Carmen pulled away with a smack to see Alison smiling at her. A smile that was only reserved for her.
Emily couldn't bear watching; it broke her heart. It made her angry at Alison. Ali didn't deserve Carmen. She was cruel and manipulative. Carmen was sweet and amazing. Envy built up in Emily's heart. Rage towards Alison being able to have what she couldn't have, but wanted more than anything.
Emily remembered that well. The feel of hot anger coursing through her veins.
Now all that was left was guilt. Carmen had loved Alison. Alison had loved Carmen. Emily just hadn't seen that until it was too late. Looking at the letter in her hand, reading a single line, she felt ashamed.
You don"t deserve her. You never will. You use her to humiliate me and for that, I am starting to hate you.
Emily heard a noise, like a door closing. She quickly dropped everything and made her way to the front of the library. The storm had shut the power off, giving the library a creepy feel.
"Hello?! Is anyone here?!" Emily shouted over the thunder and rain. As she stopped down an aisle, a book fell of the shelf behind her. The swimmer looked at the aisle over, then started walking. Another book fell, but she saw no one. Making her way quickly to her bag, she saw it wasn't there. Neither was the letter.
"Where's my bag? Where's the letter?" She was freaking out. If someone read that letter, things could be bad for her.
The athlete quickly made her way to the locker rooms where everyone else was. She saw Carmen sitting on the floor, her head resting against the lockers, eyes closed. The Latinas eyes opened up and as soon as she saw Emily, she jumped up faster than anyone thought possible and launched herself at her girlfriend. Wrapped in a tight hug, the swimmer heard a question asked.
"I was so worried. Where were you?"
Pulling away, Carmen looked Emily over for any signs of harm. Emily found her heart skip at the concern in hazel eyes.
"I didn't hear the announcement, I was looking for my bag." Emily told her and saw relief flood into her eyes.
"It's probably in the library."
Hanna walked over to them, glancing between the two.
"Guys, if you two were hooking up last night, you can tell Aria and Spencer." That caught both girls off guard.
"What are you talking about?" Carmen asked, genuinely confused about what Hanna said. Carmen hadn't 'hooked up' with anyone since she was in Mexico.
"It doesn't have to be this huge secret," Hanna smiled at her best friends. "It's not like I fell apart."
"Can we not talk about this in here?" Emily said and Carmen had to agree. The girls locker room wasn't an appropriate place to talk about such things.
"Emily," Wilden said approaching the three girls. "We think we found something that belongs to you. Could you follow me please?" He walked off in the direction of the library, Carmen exchanging a look with Hanna before following the cop. Like hell Emily was going to be alone with him. Hanna looked at Aria and Spencer, signaling the other two girls that they should follow.
"Emily is this your bag on the table?" Wilden asked, pointing to a purse that lay on a table.
"Where did you find it?" Emily asked, running her arm nervously.
"I shouldn't have to tell you that leaving your purse in a public place is a bad idea."
Carmen barged through the door, fire in her eyes as Hanna, Aria, and Spencer walked behind her. "What the hell is going on?"
"Oh good, we can all be together for an update." Wilden smirked, pleased about what was to come.
"We're suppose to be in the girls locker room." Hanna told him, crossing her arms. She would never get the image of him in a towel out of her head. Asshole.
"Yeah well then I guess you girls are use to being in places you're not suppose to be." Wilden said, making them all look at him. "Did you tell you're friends where you were last night? When you weren't studying for the test? See, cause I got these interesting photos." He handed Emily his phone. There was a picture of her on her knees at Alison's destroyed memorial.
"That's not why I went there." Emily told him as Carmen took the phone.
"Really? So you didn't go back to the memorial to finish Toby's handiwork or were you just there covering up his tracks?"
"I found it like that," Emily defended herself. "It was already destroyed."
"Really? Then what were these," He reached into the purse and produced the steel statues of the 6 girls. "Doing in your bag? Souvenirs?"
The girls looked on in shock. Carmen didn't want to believe it. She didn't believe it. Why did Emily have those?
"Did Toby ask you to save these?" Wilden continued. He could see she was close to breaking. If he could get the other girls to turn on her, she would break.
"This has nothing to do with Toby!" Emily exclaimed, grabbing the figure from Wilden's hand.
"Em, why do you have those?" Aria asked as Emily looked down at the ground.
"No, you put those in there you creep," Hanna said. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince. "Emily would never do that. The memorial was her idea."
"Oh yes, good cover story,"
Wilden laid the figure down before reaching in the purse and producing a letter. The letter Emily wrote to Alison.
"Would you like me to share this with them? Or would you like to?" Emily tried to grab the letter, but Wilden held it back. "Tell them about the angry letter you wrote to Alison, which is dated by the way. Three days before she disappeared."
Emily glanced at Carmen, scared of what she might see. She saw anger, sadness and shock. Alison hadn't told her about the letter. Emily thought all along that Carmen had known. The Latina was about to find out though.
"You had no right to read that." Emily said, tears pooling in her eyes.
"Emily, what is in that letter?" Spencer asked speaking up. Things weren't making sense. Emily wouldn't hurt anyone.
"Tell her, tell her how you wanted to punish Alison for taking what was yours. How you felt relieved at the funeral. She wasn't gonna be around to humiliate you anymore was she?" Wilden said looking over the letter.
"I went back to the memorial to say I was sorry. There were horrible things in that letter and I didn't mean them. Suddenly, she was gone and...I thought I hated her, but I didn't. I was just angry, but I would never hurt Alison."
"That sounds great, but you left out the part of where you hated her because you were in love with Carmen," Wilden smirked as the girls turned to Emily in shock. All of them except Carmen. "Because Alison had Carmen after all and it tore you apart inside."
"Emily would never hurt Alison. She may have been hurt and angry but she would have never done anything to her." Carmen spoke up, fire in her eyes.
"What about you Carmen? Don't think I didn't take notice of the mud on your shoes. Did you go there together to destroy Alison even more? Maybe you needed to get rid of Alison so you could be together." Wilden said staring the girl down. Maybe the Latina would break.
"I loved Alison!" Carmen yelled, tears spilling down her cheeks. Everyone was silent. No one saw that coming. Not even Hanna, but Emily knew. Emily could see how much Alison's disappearance hurt the Latina. "I loved her. I would have never hurt her. Last night, I wasn't at her memorial. I was at her grave. I wanted to talk to her and wanted to be close to her. I didn't..." Carmen closed her eyes as more tears leaked out and fell to her knees. No one had seen Carmen in this kind of state. Carmen had never cried like this. It felt as though everything was bearing down on her and it was uncontrollable.
"Leave them alone," Hanna said, her blue eyes now lit up. "Leave them alone or I swear to God, I will rip your head off!"
Before Hanna could carry out her threat, Mrs. Hastings walked into the room. Taking in the sight of a broken down Latina, a beaten down Emily, and a smug detective, she locked her gaze on Wilden. "What is going on in here? Why aren't they in the locker room with the other kids."
"Who are you?" Wilden demanded, not knowing he was now dealing with one of the best lawyers in Pensilvania.
"Her mother," Mrs. Hastings said pointing to Spencer. "If this is the schools idea of keeping my child safe then I'm glad I came back," looking down at Carmen who had stopped crying and was just staring at the floor and Emily who had tear tracks on her face, she turned to her daughter. "Honey, why are they crying?"
"He accused them of killing Alison." Spencer said, walking over to Emily and Hanna bent down to help Carmen on her feet.
"And he went through Emily's purse and he-"
"Hold it, you're questioning minors without an adult present? What police department do you work for? What century do you think you're in?"
"Ma'am I would advise you-" Wilden started, thinking he could intimidate her.
"No, I would advise you to back off because anything they have said to you is inadmissible in a courtroom. Let's go," Mrs. Hastings said, as the girls just stared at the cop. "Emily grab your things."
Aria grabbed Emily's purse as Hanna snatched the letter from Wilden's hand and put her arm around Carmen's waist, leading the girl out the door.
"What's gonna happen to him? Can they get him off the force?" Hanna asked Mrs. Hastings when they were back in the locker room.
"If he's smart, he'll leave before that happens," The lawyer shook her head. "Where did he get that protein bar?"
"I'll get you one." Aria said but then saw Emily and Carmen sitting on a bench.
Aria walked over to them, smiling as they glanced at her. The artist sat on the edge and looked at them.
"I wish I would've known."
"About what?" Carmen asked. There were a lot of things they hadn't been told.
"You and Alison? Emily and Alison? There was this issue going on that none of us knew about." Aria started, feeling like her friends had left her out on an important part of their lives.
Before they could answer the petite brunette, the test examiner yelled out, "May I have your attention please! The storm warning has just been lifted, but the SAT will have to be rescheduled."
Everyone cheered and clapped, even Carmen and Emily. Aria smiled at them before standing up and walking over to the rest of the group. Carmen turned to Emily with tired eyes.
"This has been one stressful day."
Emily smiled at her girlfriend and sighed. "Thanks for defending me."
"Emily, you would never hurt a fly." Carmen smirked before standing up and holding out her hand for Emily to take. "Let's go. We can answer their questions later when we aren't zombies."
Emily just laughed and untwined their fingers together, walking out the locker room and to the parking lot.
"You know Hanna's gonna be on both of us about this right?"
"I wouldn't expect anything else from her."
Everything seemed alright after that. At least, for the night, but all wasn't right. Somewhere, a black hooded figure played a video on a laptop.
"I know you wanna kiss me..."
The face of Alison DiLaurentis paused on screen. The mystery person, thought to be A, pulled the flash drive out of the computer and slid it into an envelope. Rosewood Police Department was on the front with the letter A in the upper left that was changed to Anonymous.
They wouldn't give up on breaking the girls so easily. They just hadn't figured out the right technique yet. Oh, but they would.
Hey, sorry for the late update. I though i did good on updating. Maybe.
Anyway, I don't know how to go about the whole Ian/Alison deal. I mean, Alison really I'd love Carmen so I don't really want to make her a cheater. I need help so send some ideas in a message or review. Thank you.
Hope you liked The Storm, I tried to do it justice. Don't worry, the girls will have plenty of questions for Carmen about her and Ali.
Next, the girls will learn the phrase 'Keep Your Friends Close'...