Insert old Rose titanic meme, "It's been 84 years..." My sincerest apologies for the absence. I could be honest and tell you that I lost all motivation and couldn't be arsed, but let's go for 'abducted by aliens instead'. Here's chapter 13, I think, is it 13? Meh, whatever number it is its here and I am working on wrapping this thing up and giving you an ending so we can all sleep better at night. So on with the show, I believe when we last saw our characters they were trapped in the bunker surrounded by the Russians...they weren't? Oh well you may be really confused by this chapter then...
When Alison awoke the next morning her head felt like there was a brass band marching through it. She groaned and attempted to open her eyes.
"Hey," She heard Emily's voice next to her, it was laced with concern, "How are you feeling?"
"Like hell." Alison replied, shutting her eyes again, "How much did I drink?"
"Do you remember anything from last night?" Emily's voice still sounded very concerned.
Alison desperately searched her memory, "I remember going up to the penthouse, then it all gets a little fuzzy."
"You got spiked." Emily said, anger now replacing the concern.
"How?" Alison attempted to open her eyes again and sit up.
"I'm not entirely positive, but I think it was…"
"Mona." Alison finished off her sentence with a sigh.
"Yeah, I don't have any proof though."
Alison managed to sit up in the bed and turned to Emily, "So what did she get?"
Emily rubbed the back of her neck and didn't meet Alison's searching eyes.
"Oh god," Alison felt sick, "Was I an absolute mess?"
"A bit." Emily still didn't meet her eyes.
"What did the paps get?" Alison was getting irritated that Emily wasn't being very forthcoming with information, "Did I stumble out of the doors? Did I say something embarrassing?"
"You said a lot of things." Emily mumbled, looking away.
"Emily, tell me what I said? What did they get?" Alison was feeling frantic now.
"They didn't get you saying anything." Emily still wasn't looking at her, "Do you remember anything that you said?" Emily's voice had a hopeful tone to it.
"I don't remember anything." Alison shook her head, it wasn't a pleasant sensation.
"Oh." The hopeful tone changed to disappointment.
"What did I say?" Alison was still desperately trying to get her brain to remember anything.
"I'm sure you'll remember if it was important."
Alison felt too much like shit to be playing this cryptic game with Emily. She was losing patience, "What aren't you telling me Emily?"
Emily took a deep breath and finally met Alison's eyes, "Someone got a picture."
"Of what?" Panic set in.
"When I realised you'd been spiked, I picked you up and got you in the elevator." Emily stopped, as though mentally preparing herself, "I phoned Spencer to meet us in the lobby, the plan was to get you out the back…" Emily's voice tapered off.
"What happened Emily?" Alison's voice had a hard edge to it.
"Someone beat them to the elevator, I assume it was Mona's plan to get you falling drunkenly out of it or something…" Emily voice started to shake.
"A photographer?" Alison tried to force any memory to appear in her mind, but she had nothing.
"Yeah, a photographer." Emily looked down and began to fidget with her hands, "When the doors opened you kissed me on the cheek and I'm pretty sure he got a picture of it."
Alison scrambled out of bed, "Where's my phone?!"
"It's in your bag." Emily still didn't look up to meet her eyes.
Alison, still unsteady on her feet, staggered across the room to her bag and pulled her phone out.
"I mean, is it really the end of the world?" Emily finally looked up.
"Are you kidding? This is a fucking disaster!" Alison spat back at her, unlocking her phone expecting to see hundreds of messages and missed calls.
"You kissed your girlfriend on New Years, it's not the worlds biggest scandal." Emily's voice had a hint of anger to it now.
"Exactly! Of course it'll be the worlds biggest scandal today!" Alison couldn't understand why Emily couldn't grasp the severity of the situation.
"It was only on the cheek anyway, I mean I was holding you in my arms, but it could all be worse." Emily said, as if it made it all ok.
"It's enough, once the press get a hold of this story I'm screwed." Alison snapped.
"But you said to give you until New Years, I assumed that meant we could stop hiding this."
"Well that's exactly why you shouldn't assume things!" She looked back at her phone, shocked to discover only generic Happy new year messages from some people and one from her father's secretary requesting she and Emily attend a meeting at 11am to discuss the latter's contract. She quickly opened the Internet and searched her name, it was just the usual, nothing to indicate that the photograph had indeed been taken.
"How bad is it?" Emily's voice broke through her confusion.
"It's not, there's nothing there. He must have missed the shot." Alison looked up from her phone, "We have to meet with my father at 11am to renew your contract, but that's it."
"We? Why do you need to come? And seriously, on New Year's Day?"
"I have no idea, we haven't spoken since Christmas Day. Maybe he just sees it as a way to make me come into the office, it's not strange him working today." Alison was just as confused by the request as Emily, but it was the only explanation that made sense. Right now she was just relieved that she'd had a lucky escape, "We have an hour, better start getting ready."
She moved to head to the bathroom when Emily's voice stopped her again.
"Are we going to talk about the fact that absolutely nothing has changed?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean it's a brand new year and we're still in exactly the same place. If the picture had come out then at least we could stop hiding, it wouldn't be the ideal way for it to happen, but we'd be able to move forward at least."
"Did you want the picture to come out?" Alison couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"I didn't WANT it no, but I'm just asking, do you have any intention of this ever coming out at all?" Emily's voice was unmistakably angry now.
"Well I have no intention of it coming out like this! You just don't have a clue do you Emily?!" Alison matched the brunettes anger with her own.
"I don't have a clue? That's laughable Alison because most of the time I feel like I'm the only one of us living in the real world." Emily scoffed back.
"Well we're not in the real world right now, we're in my world and there are different rules here!", she threw her hands up in frustration, "You don't get the luxury of telling people that it's none of their business in this world, or for people not to have an opinion on every aspect of your life! They find the slightest bit of information and then they dig, Emily! They dig and dig and dig and they keep digging until you're at the bottom of that hole staring up at them, unable to move, unable to call out or help yourself in anyway! Then when you're incapacitated at the bottom of that hole, with the people who were supposed to help you, care about and love you staring down at you, that's when they begin to fill it in. With you still down there and they don't care whether you survive or not, it's all about self preservation at that point. They only look out for themselves!"
"Yeah, I get that Ali, I do." Emily's voice was softer now, she climbed out of bed and slowly wiped away the tear that Alison didn't even realise had begun to make its way down her face, "But I'll be there to pull you back out of the hole, I won't leave you down there."
Sweet Emily, always trying to save her. What she didn't seem to realise was that she wouldn't be able to reach down to pull her out, because they would bury her too.
"We have a meeting, we'll talk about it later." Alison turned and continued out of the room.
"Yeah later, just like always, but later never comes does it Alison." She heard Emily mutter after her.
Alison bristled at the use of her full name, but carried on. She had been all for taking that step a week ago, but the situation she had just found herself in suddenly made the reality seem far too daunting. She was more torn than she'd ever been. It wasn't like she'd never been attacked by the press before. She had a bigger understanding of it than Emily would ever know. After the Rollins debacle it had gotten so bad that she'd ended up escaping to France with her "friend" CeCe for months. That was until a story broke that revealed that her supposed friend had actually been sleeping with Rollins for the majority of their relationship behind Alison's back. That was the start of a whole new shit storm. The entire experience had broken her completely. While the story of CeCe's betrayal turned out to be true, there were also plenty of other stories that weren't. That was the power of the press, people believed what they told them. That and if you had the slightest hint of a skeleton in your closet, they would find it. At a time when she was at her most vulnerable, the press had somehow turned her from a victim into a source of ridicule and scandal. They didn't care and they would be more than willing to do it again.
They'd gotten ready in cold silence. Alison wanted to be able to tell Emily all the right things, but she felt like right now they would all be lies. The truth was she felt like she needed more time, how much time she didn't know. All she knew was the feeling she got when she thought about the truth coming out and it wasn't a pleasant one. She knew she was being selfish, but she was the one with everything to lose here and Emily didn't seem to be as understanding of that as she once was. It made Alison angry at her.
They made their way into the building and got into the elevator to go up to her fathers office. She dared a glance at the brunette who was, as she knew she would be, looking very uncomfortable. She knew she hated elevators, a part of her wanted to take her hand and help her relax, but she knew it wasn't an option, even if they were on good terms. The doors opened and they both stepped out, still not acknowledging each other.
"Miss DiLaurentis, go right in. Miss Fields will be called through shortly." The secretary greeted them.
Taking a deep breath she opened the door and stepped into her fathers office.
"Good morning Alison," Her father greeted her, not looking up from his desk, "How are you feeling this morning?"
"I'm fine thank you," Alison always felt like a child in her fathers office, something about it made her feel small and powerless. She moved forward to take a seat in front of him, as he closed the file on his desk.
"I believe we have much to discuss." He finally looked up, his face was stern and unfriendly.
"I don't think we have that much to discuss," Alison tried to maintain a confident façade, "Fields is more that competent at her job, just renew her contract."
"And this is her being competent at her job is it?" He asked as he pushed the file toward her.
Alison took the manila folder and opened it, her breath left her body as she audibly gasped. The photographer had gotten the picture after all. There was no mistaking it was her in Emily's arms, one hand cupping her bodyguards face as she placed an open mouth kiss on her cheek. Eyes closed, Emily's face registering shock as the photo was taken.
"I got a phone call in the early hours of this morning from Dean, the picture was sold to him. I tried to use my pull with him and our years of friendship to get him to bury it, but business is business. He did me the courtesy of 24 hours to get our shit together, so how about you start talking so I can begin to do that." Her father used the same voice he used when he was disciplining an incompetent employee.
"Dad I…" Alison began, words failing her.
"No bullshit Alison, what the hell is this?!" He had completely lost his cool now.
She tried to find the words, anything at all. Her lies usually came so easily to her, she could manipulate anyone with a few well placed words, but right now as she sat in front of her father with the picture on her lap, all she could do was stare at it.
"Ok, well if you won't tell me what's going on, how about we get Miss Fields in here."
"No," Alison finally found her voice, "I can explain."
"Well I'm all ears Alison." He leaned back in his chair and gestured for her to begin.
"I was spiked, I don't even remember it happening." It wasn't a lie, "Fields told me about it this morning, you can see the shock on her face. It was a drunken, one off, over friendly gesture."
"Well if that was the case, we could spin that in your favour. Drugged at a party, being grateful to the bodyguard."
"Exactly." Alison forced a smile, relief setting in. However it was short lived.
"That's not the case though is it Alison?"
"I don't know what you mean." The uncomfortable feeling settled itself in her chest again.
"Look underneath that picture."
She moved the photograph to reveal another, Emily moving the hair out of her face as they stared at each other with affection in the park. She remembered it was just before the brunettes birthday. Underneath that another picture, this time from the charity luncheon. Alison stood looking at her mother, Emily behind her, one of Alison's hands reaching back and holding Emily's. Beneath that, a picture taken the night her stalker was apprehended. Alison with an arm wrapped around Emily's waist as she had led her to the ambulance.
"You see as individual photographs they mean nothing. The person taking them, no doubt after some dirt, probably didn't realise their significance and value until they took the one they did last night. However after last night, they painstakingly went through every shot they had and now, well now they have a story don't they." Her father had nothing but disdain and venom in his voice. "I'm assured there are even more of these little moments in the archives."
Alison could do nothing but look up in horror.
"I believed they were grasping at straws, that it was all misunderstanding, but then I went through your statements." He picked up another sheet from his desk, "You charted private jets to Rosewood, which explains where you spent thanksgiving. There are a few other discrepancies that couldn't truly prove anything, but then I discovered you'd purchased property in Rosewood too. I thought it strange, but imagine how much more strange I found it when I discovered that property to be in the name of a Miss Emily Fields."
"Listen, Dad…" Alison honestly had no idea where she was going with her sentence when she started it, but it didn't matter, she was soon cut off again.
"You've had your fun Alison, you've rebelled and experimented, but it ends now. No more, it's over. You will not shame this family. She can keep the house and I have an envelope here with a generous severance package in it. After this meeting you will not see her again."
"You can't do that." Alison found her voice, it was shaky, but she found it.
"I can and I will." His tone left no room for argument, he buzzed his secretary, "Send her through."
"She won't take the money." Alison spoke with more strength than she currently felt.
"Oh please Alison, they always do." He chucked without mirth.
Emily entered through the doors, no idea of what was in store for her inside. Alison wanted to turn and look at her, she wanted to apologise, she wanted to fight for her. However she remained glued to her chair, staring down.
"Ah, Miss Fields. Nice of you to join us." Kenneth greeted as she moved toward the desk, sensing the obvious tension in the room.
"Is there a problem?" Emily asked, still unaware of the revelations.
"There is, but not for much longer." He all but snarled at her.
"What's going on?" Emily looked at Alison for answers, she could feel her gaze burning into the side of her head, but she still couldn't bring herself to look. Instead she just held her hand out to give her the folder.
"You see, my daughter here has been foolish. The fun is over, no more meal ticket for you. Your contract will not be renewed. You can keep what you already managed to scam from this family, I will even give you a leaving bonus. After you leave this room though, you are to have no more contact with Miss DiLaurentis, do I make myself clear?" He stood up and tried to hand Emily the envelope.
"I don't want your money." Emily scoffed, refusing to take it, "I don't care about the job, don't renew my contract, but Alison is a grown woman and she can see who she wants."
"I see, you've made the mistake here of thinking that you have a choice."
"There's always a choice." The comment was aimed directly at Alison.
"Is this more serious than I've been led to believe?" Kenneth also aimed his question at Alison.
Alison swallowed hard. She wanted to say yes, she wanted to tell her father that he couldn't stop her from being with Emily.
"Because if it is, then I won't be able to step in and save you from the press. You're on your own, you'll be cut off completely. You'll have ruined your own life." He spoke quietly and angrily.
"Ruined her life?!" Emily spoke up again, "She doesn't need you, she doesn't need your money and she is more than capable of 'saving' herself!"
"So it is serious?"
"Mr DiLaurentis, I am in love with your daughter." Emily spoke with confidence.
"Is this true Alison? Are you in love with this woman?" Her father sounded beyond disgusted, "Are you going to throw your entire life away for her?"
Alison's thoughts raced around her head. She wasn't ready for this, she wasn't ready to answer these questions. It was all too much, her chest tightened, she struggled to get her breath. Her father was right, she would be throwing everything away. The press would be relentless and it wouldn't just be her they'd go after. They would tear Emily's life apart, sweet Emily, who didn't deserve any of this. They would bury her at the bottom of that hole with her.
"Ali?" Emily's soft sweet voice broke through her thoughts.
She finally looked up to meet her eyes, taking a moment to memorise every detail. The truth was she was completely in love with Emily Fields and she'd never even told her. The thought of Emily having to go through the hell that would inevitably be coming their way was too much to bear. She'd already been through it after Rollins and barely made it through. Could she do it again and make it out the other side? Could Emily? Would they go after Pam? Her friends? Inevitably, she would end up resenting Alison for it. She needed to protect them both and she only knew one way to do that. It wasn't what she wanted, but she saw no other choice. She had to lie. So she took a deep breath and took one last opportunity to drink Emily in, to run the life she had built for them in her imagination through her head one final time. It took every ounce of her strength to keep her poker face, to not let Emily see just what she meant to her. Then she opened her mouth to do what she knew she had to.
"No," She stated calmly, turning away from Emily, "It was all just a bit of fun." She could practically hear Emily's heart shatter next to her.
"Ali? What are you talking about?" Emily's voice broke as she moved to stand so that Alison had no choice but to look at her.
"I got bored and you were there, I never had any intention of having a relationship with you Emily. You were just practice for the real thing." Alison kep her voice steady, pulling on all her years as queen bee and bitch.
"You don't mean that, Ali, you're saying it to make this all go away, but it won't." Emily knelt down in front of her chair so that she was eye level, "Don't you get it, none of this matters." She gestured around the impressive office space, "What matters is this," she took Alison's hand and placed it on her chest over her heart. Alison could feel the steady beat, then she moved their hands so that they were over Alison's own heart, "and this. This won't go away Ali, the press might, but this feeling here? The one that I know you feel, that won't go anywhere."
Why couldn't she just make this easy and leave? Feeling her resolve shaking she tore her eyes from Emily's and stood up. Glancing at her father as his gaze burned into her.
"You're talking nonsense, don't touch me! I don't want to see you again!"
Emily physically recoiled at Alison's words and tone, and as much as it pained Alison know that she was causing Emily this much hurt, she knew it was for the best.
"You don't mean any of it, look me in the eye and tell me." Emily stood defiantly in front of her, "Look me straight in the eye and tell me that you don't love me too."
Pausing only to check her emotional mask didn't slip, Alison looked Emily straight in the eye and told the biggest lie she had ever told in her life, "I don't love you. I never have and I never will."
The pain in Emily's eyes was too much for her to deal with, she needed her to go, "Leave now, you're not welcome here."
"Well then it's settled, take your money and leave and we can start to clean this mess up." Kenneth finally spoke after witnessing the exchange. He held the envelope back out to Emily again.
Emily silently took the envelope and Alison was suddenly hit with an immense amount of hurt. She had no right to be angry, she had just broken the woman's heart, but she still couldn't believe she would take the payoff. Then Emily ripped the envelope in two, dropped it on the floor and wordlessly walked out of the door. Alison felt terrible for even thinking she was going to accept it. Emily was too good for that and too good for her.
"Well you were right, I'll give you that." Her father broke the empty silence.
"I'm sorry?" Alison fought to keep her voice steady, she could feel the tears coming.
"She didn't take the money, the fool." He sat back behind his desk, "Right, let's get this mess straightened out."
Alison remained silent, she didn't trust her own voice right now. It had taken everything she had to do what she did without breaking.
"Oh and Alison," Her father stared her straight in the eyes, "If you ever pull any shit like this again, I will end you myself."
Giving him no reaction at all, she sat stoically, trying to ignore the agonising pain in her chest. Repeating the phrase, 'it was the right thing to do' in her head in the hope that if she said it enough times, it might actually be true.
THE END
Jokes, I'm working on it guys I promise. I also apologise for any errors above, I just wanted to get this out.
