Kismet

by snowballs

The death of Paige's parents caused the decline of the relationship between Emily and Paige. Overcome by her loss, Paige leaves Rosewood to search for answers while Emily, guilt-ridden for her indirect role in Paige's loss, struggles to come to terms with her decision. Paige's unexpected return dredges up old wounds and feelings, forcing them to confront the issues between them.

9. Aftershock

DISCLAIMER: Pretty Little Liars and all its characters = never mine. All characters in this fanfic except for maybe five belong to PLL. A few events in this fanfic were borrowed from the storyline of the PLL TV series. Since I never read the books and mostly focus on PAILY stuff when watching PLL, I have no clear idea about 'A' and their motives for torturing the Liars. That said the motives of the 'A'-team in this fanfic are entirely of my own creation.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the lengthy version of what this fanfic is all about, please refer to the Author's Note in the first two chapters.

~I will never get tired of saying thanks to all your AWESOME, AWESOME reviews about the story! Again, sorry I only post one chapter each week.~

~This story's going to be done a few days before 3b starts so the chapters are going to be quite lengthy. Thanks for taking the time to read my fanfic and following it.~

~EyeOpener16: Thanks for the PM.~

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Chapter 9: Aftershock

"The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding." – Albert Camus

Paige couldn't get to Dani fast enough. She struggled to run faster, desperate to get as far away as possible from Emily. She was exhausted, her breathing ragged. She couldn't believe she had the stamina to run the distance from Emily's home to the motel. Emily's hurtful words reverberated in her mind continuously, fueling her desire to widen the distance between them. I don't want to be with you. She choked back a sob and almost lost her balance before she staggered in an effort to regain control of her steps. Run. Keep running. Keep moving because if you stop. Her steps faltered once more. The world will start reeling. So run faster. She forced herself to slow down when she finally caught sight of the motel sign and stopped to catch her breath, resting her hands on her knees and bending over to regulate her breathing. She was trembling so hard and she was breaking into cold sweats but she forced herself to gain control of her movements before making her way to the room she shared with Dani. You're almost there.

Her heart hammering, she opened the door and saw her best friend worriedly pacing around their room, one hand holding the phone near her ear. Once Dani heard the door open and close, she turned to look at it immediately, pocketing her phone before breathing a huge sigh of relief.

"Oh my god Paige I've been calling you for hours. Where have you been?!" Dani asked agitatedly.

Dani. She was always worried about Paige, always there for her. She was the only person she was able to count on when she thought she had no one ever since she left Rosewood. All these years Dani buried her feelings for her to be the friend Paige felt she didn't deserve. Dani patiently waited for her to finally notice how much she still loved Paige all these years. Dani will never hurt her like Emily did. Dani will keep her heart safe. Dani. Dani. Dani. Emily. Paige shook her head, trying to will away thoughts of Emily. Dani.

Wordlessly, she walked towards Dani and hugged her tightly. She knew she was still trembling and she was sweaty from all the running she just did but Dani didn't seem to mind. Her best friend hugged her back closely.

"What's wrong?" Dani asked worriedly. "Paige, what happened?" She asked, extremely concerned as she stroked the back of her best friend's head in an effort to soothe her.

Trying to keep her voice from wavering, Paige clung tight to Dani, terrified that if she let go she was going to collapse from utter devastation. "I want to try." Paige whispered brokenly as tears flowed from her eyes freely. "I can't promise it will be easy but I want to try and be happy with you."

---

Emily didn't know how long she stood in front of her house motionless. It seemed that time stood still and when it finally started moving again, she found herself bending over to pick up the flower Paige brought for her earlier tonight. It was ruined. The anger and devastation Paige felt from the words Emily uttered to her just moments ago making her step on it before hastily running off like she couldn't get away from Emily fast enough. Choking back a sob, she turned to get inside her house as she crossed her arms and pulled them close to her chest in an attempt to comfort herself. She won the game. But instead of feeling victorious, she felt like her heart was just violently ripped out from her chest because at that moment she knew she just lost Paige forever.

---

Emily quickly turned her attention back to Paige, her mind racing, trying to find a way to explain what she just saw. "Paige, what are you doing here?" She asked, confused. "You shouldn't be here." Emily said, trying to make it sound like it was Paige's fault that she saw what Emily just did.

Right place, wrong time. Right place, wrong time. Paige stood for a moment before opening her mouth to speak. "What are you doing? Why are you with her? You said it didn't feel right. You said it was a mistake." Paige said, the pain and confusion evident in her voice.

"It was." Emily began. "But it's not that simple." She said, her heart pounding wildly.

"Yes it is." Paige said incredulously. "Either you were lying to me when you said it was a mistake or you weren't. So which is it?" She asked, her voice cracking.

Emily looked down and noticed what Paige was holding in her hand. A yellow tulip. Hopelessly in love. With a sickening feeling, Emily realized why Paige was there and she couldn't bring herself to look Paige in the eye knowing she was going to see the heartbreak she was feeling reflected in Paige's eyes. But she forced herself to look up anyway and what she saw in Paige's eyes was beyond the pain she felt. Oh my god.

"Paige…" Emily said, her voice breaking as tears welled from her eyes. She shook her head sadly. "You shouldn't have come here. I didn't want you to see that." Emily said once again, trying to put blame on the girl standing in front of her for finding it in her heart to forgive Emily so soon. "I didn't want you to find out this way."

Paige scoffed. "Why?" She asked incredulously. "So you could keep lying to me? Answer my question Emily. You said you knew the kiss was a mistake the moment it happened. That your relationship didn't feel right. Were you telling the truth or were you lying?" Paige asked, eerily calm.

Emily swallowed hard. "I was lying." She said brokenly.

"But you said it was a mistake." Paige said disbelievingly. "Don't do this. Emily you can't be with Tara. Please. Listen to me." She pleaded desperately.

"No. You listen." She said firmly, interrupting Paige. "This is why I told you to see where things go with Dani. The thing with Tara may have started as a mistake but after you left I fell for her. She was there and you weren't. What was I supposed to do?" Emily asked, fighting back tears.

The words Emily uttered made Paige visibly flinch and she took a step back. "You fell for her?!" She asked disbelievingly. "So those things you said yesterday, about surrendering, about me seeing where things go with Dani because you didn't want me to be alone anymore. You said all of that just so you could get back together with Tara? Is that what you're saying?" Paige asked, the anger and disbelief evident in her voice.

Emily bit back a sob. "I didn't know how else to tell you. The reason I ended things with her was because I wanted to tell you about the cheating first. That's why I said it didn't feel right. When I said I wanted someone else, I meant the person Tara has become to me after you left. I wanted us to have a fresh start and the only way to do that was to tell you the truth before getting back together with her." She said, desperate to make Paige accept what she was saying. "Because as long as you didn't know about the kiss she will always see herself as a mistake. But she wasn't. That's why I told you. I will not apologize for moving on Paige. I don't regret falling for Tara. You left me remember? You gave me that note on my birthday saying you were letting me go. Tara was there." She explained forcefully.

"Like she was there when I was in Radnor?" Paige asked, dejected. "I guess she always swoops in to save the day huh? But I'm back now. I'm here now so why do you want to be with her?" She asked, confused.

"Did you really think it would be that simple?" Emily asked in disbelief. "That just because you decided to return after all these years I would immediately go back to you? Well guess what, it doesn't work that way. You may be back but the Paige I knew and loved is gone." She said sadly. "You said no, remember? When we had dinner the night you came back, you said we should just be friends. I gave you a chance. I needed to know where we stood before I decide to see where things go with Tara. I figured I at least owed you that." Emily explained, the hands she kept all this time to her sides, balling tightly into fists.

"Wow. I guess I should be so lucky that my ex-girlfriend considered our history before getting back together with the girl she cheated on me with. That she wanted to try because she owed me. Don't do me any favors Emily." Paige said cynically.

"You don't get to be mad at me Paige. I said I still loved you but you didn't want to be with me. Spencer's right. I can't keep holding on to someone who just wants to be friends with me." Emily said indignantly.

"But I thought you understood when I said that I couldn't be the person you needed me to be at the time?" Paige said, hurt.

"I did. But that's when I realized it was a mistake that I held on to you for so long because after all those years you still can't get past the accident." Emily said quietly. "I can't go back there Paige. Those months were horrible and dark and I don't want to go back to that. I don't want to feel that way again. Tara understood. She saved me. Because unlike when I'm with you, I feel good about myself when I'm with her." She continued, forcing herself to keep looking at the girl whose heart she was breaking with every lie she kept uttering. "She paid attention to me. She was sensitive to my needs and I can be myself around her. But most of all, she was there for me when you…"

"Bailed on you?" Paige finished for her. "When I bailed on you?" She asked disbelievingly.

"When you bailed on us. Paige I had no choice but to move on because you left me!" Emily exclaimed, struggling to fight back her tears.

"I didn't say you shouldn't have moved on. I wanted you to move on. But to do it with the girl you cheated with when you claimed it was a mistake?!" Paige said, visibly upset. For a moment she just stood there and stared in sorrow at the girl standing in front of her, trying to wrap her head around everything Emily was saying to her. "Let me ask you something." She said hoarsely.

"Paige…" Emily begged, somehow knowing what the girl was going to ask. Please don't ask me that. I don't want to keep lying to you. Please.

"No!" Paige said crossly, refusing to let Emily shy away from answering her question. "No." She repeated coldly. "You made it sound like your actions were a consequence of mine. That you cheated on me because I made you feel like I didn't want you anymore. That you started doubting our relationship because I was pulling away. And that because I left you moved on." Paige said as she took a small step closer to Emily. "So now I'm asking you. What would you have done? If I stayed? If I said, 'Okay I won't leave'. Will you still tell me about the kiss?" Paige asked breathlessly, hoping against hope to hear what she wanted to hear from Emily. But she didn't.

Because Emily just looked away, not saying anything. And the silence broke her heart all over again.

Paige was reeling from the meaning of Emily's silence and she shook her head, disappointed. "You know, I never thought I would say this but something good came out of my leaving. You found a way to be honest and you got what you wanted, moving forward with your life without feeling guilty for leaving me behind." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

She waited for Emily to look at her again before continuing. "I have tried so hard to understand why you cheated on me twice." Paige said sadly. "I always said to myself, forget your insecurities. Put Emily's needs first. This isn't about you." She said, the devastation evident in her voice.

She took her eyes off Emily for a brief moment and stared at the darkness surrounding them, seemingly at a loss, before looking at the girl once again. "There's this saying… that no one could make you feel bad about yourself unless you allow them to. I think it's supposed to make you feel confident about yourself. But when the person who does it means everything to you, that thinking goes out of the window." Paige said sadly. "So in case you didn't know. You made me feel like I wasn't good enough." She admitted, wiping the tears from her eyes, finally deciding to be selfish for once and reveal to Emily how she really felt about her cheating.

Emily scoffed. "You're one to talk. I could say the same thing to you. You want the truth? You want to know why I fell for Tara?" She began, fighting the urge to cry. "It's because for the first time in a long while she made me feel good about myself the way I am and I didn't feel pressured to change for her. Just like when I was with Maya and Samara. I miss feeling that way." Emily said, willing herself to keep looking at Paige. "Ever since we became a couple, I felt I had to change for you just to be worthy of your love. It's exhausting."

Paige bit back a sob with those words. Why was Emily doing this? "I didn't think I was pressuring you to change all this time." She said quietly. "It was entirely up to you if you wanted to change. Because the desire to be better for the one you're with shows how much you love them. But most importantly, I didn't want you to change just for me. If you felt the need to change I thought it was because you wanted to be a better version of yourself." Paige continued, her heart breaking at the implications of Emily's words.

"So I guess if you felt pressured to change for me all this time, you didn't see me as worthy enough for you to want to be better on your own. Which kinda sucks because…" Paige bit her lower lip and smiled sadly, letting the tears flow. "All this time I have done nothing but try for you."

Emily willed herself not to cry. Almost there. "I told you to see where things go with Dani. You should have listened to me." She said harshly. "I don't want to be with you Paige."

Paige looked at the flower she was holding in her hand and dropped it to the ground, stepping on it. "Then I guess you were right. I'm such an idiot for thinking you wanted me to forgive you. My fault, for choosing to find a way to trust you again rather than start something with Dani." She shook her head, starting to back away from Emily. "I need to be with someone who doesn't lie and cheat and risks a three-year relationship for something she claims to be a mistake. So I guess you made the choice for me. You want to be with someone who would make you stop wanting to be better? Then by all means, be with Tara." Paige said callously before turning her back to Emily and running away.

---

Paige woke up to the smell of coffee coming from somewhere inside the room. She opened her eyes groggily and tried to focus on her surroundings. As usual, her nightmares woke her up again in the middle of the night. It took some time but after some tossing and turning, she finally regained the sleep that eluded her. But it wasn't enough. She wanted to go back to sleep but the scent of the coffee and the feeling of the cold hard floor beneath her finally forced her to get up. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she looked at the girl sitting on the bed, her legs swinging on the edge, amusedly studying her. She shook her head, smiling herself.

"Good morning." Dani said, grinning widely. "Sleep well?" She asked teasingly before getting up and handing Paige a cup of coffee.

Paige gratefully took it and breathed in the aroma, wrapping her hands around the small cup in an effort to warm her cold hands. "Thanks." She said before taking a sip and looking up at Dani.

"This is getting silly." Dani said, sitting on the bed once again. "It's been a week Paige. You're going to get sick if you keep sleeping on the floor. Are you sure you don't want to rethink the idea of renting the room beside this one… since you so adamantly refused to sleep beside me?" She asked, her brows furrowed in concern.

Paige shook her head. "No. I don't want to rent another room. I'm fine sleeping on the floor." She said assuredly, finally getting up and sitting beside Dani.

Dani sighed, looking at her best friend. "I can't let you sleep on the floor while we're dating so… do you want to stop dating instead?" She asked anxiously.

Paige smiled wryly and took Dani's hand in hers, squeezing it lightly. "No. I don't want to stop dating you." She said, causing Dani to grin. "Call me old-fashioned. It's just that I'm not comfortable sleeping beside the girl I like, in this case, you, when our relationship isn't there yet." She admitted. "I can sleep on the floor for a while longer. But thanks for the concern. You're so sweet." Paige said softly before giving Dani a quick kiss on the cheek.

Dani felt herself blush and stared for a moment at their hands. "I have an idea." She said hesitantly. When Paige said nothing, she continued. "I was thinking, maybe this whole sleeping apart thing is because we've been staying in this motel room for quite some time now it seems like we live here. So what if we spent the night somewhere else?" Dani asked shyly.

Paige smiled at her. "Go on." She said encouragingly.

"Well, your birthday's coming up and if I remember correctly, you seemed to favor the lime Jell-O at one of the restaurants at the Hamptons." Dani said, starting to play with their fingers. "So what do you say we return there just for the weekend to celebrate, rent a house by the beach, and then we sleep in the same bed? If you're still weirded out, you can go back to sleeping on the floor. Or the couch." She said hurriedly.

Paige tried to keep her expression neutral, refusing to show Dani that the memory reminded her of Emily. For the past few days, she tried her best to focus on Dani that she avoided interacting with Emily and her friends, choosing to follow-up leads on her own. Emily's words still hurt her and even if she couldn't bring herself to hate Emily, she didn't want to be around the girl who broke her heart once again.

She sighed. "What's wrong with celebrating here in Rosewood?" Paige asked. "I'm not particular with the lime Jell-O. We can have it store-bought. Or better yet, we can forego the whole thing and just have a regular cake instead." She said, trying to get out of going back to the Hamptons. "As long as I get to celebrate it with someone I care about, I don't have any complains."

"That's sweet but are you kidding me?" Dani asked, shaking her head. "The entire time we were there, the only time I saw you light up was when you found out that the restaurant offered lime Jell-O in their desserts. I want to see you light up like that again." She admitted. "Besides, there's that small matter of the lead we found about the boat. It's no coincidence that it led us back there."

"I don't know, maybe we can follow that lead after my birthday instead." Paige said, still reluctant to go.

"You're probably right but I kinda want to start sleeping on the same bed with you again. Not just because we're dating but because I want to stop worrying about you getting sick." Dani said, not ready to give up. "Besides, I already invited everyone." She muttered under her breath.

Paige smiled. Dani's so sweet. Her smile suddenly faltered as the words Dani just said finally registered in her mind. Quickly, she removed her hand from Dani's and stood up, an overwhelming feeling of dread coming over her. "Who's everyone?" She asked nervously as she watched Dani grin at her sheepishly.

---

"Do I really have to go?" Emily asked begrudgingly before bringing the covers above her head, effectively covering herself from head to toe.

Hanna reached out to gently take the covers from Emily's grasp and nodded her head forcefully. "Absolutely." She said before sitting on Emily's bed. "Tell her she has to go." Hanna said, looking at Spencer and Aria who were standing near Emily's door.

"You have to go." They said at the same time, eliciting a groan from Emily.

"Why?" Emily said, her question muffled by the pillow she decided to use to cover her head this time. "Paige loathes me." She said dejectedly as Hanna once again took what she was using to cover her head. "I said all those awful things and then I practically pushed her to be with Dani. Now you guys want me to come to the Hamptons for the weekend to celebrate her birthday and possibly get front row seats as to how their love story unfolds? No way am I subjecting myself to that." Emily said adamantly.

"Well we can't exactly leave you alone. 'A' might find a way to get to you while we're gone. We're not willing to risk that." Spencer said, finally moving to sit on Emily's bed as well.

"Kinda too late to worry about that Spence. I really needed that last week." Emily said, forcing herself not to cry.

"I know. I mean, we don't want 'A' to go after you again." Spencer said sympathetically.

"So let's just not go. Problem solved." Emily said, finally sitting up.

"Well I kinda want to go 'cause Caleb's going and I kinda want to spend time with him away from all this 'A' drama." Hanna admitted sheepishly.

"I have a paper to write about the Wally Findlay galleries there so I have to go." Aria chimed in. "I mean I was supposed to go with Ezra but Malcolm came down with something. So this trip is kinda important to me." She explained.

Emily looked at Spencer expectantly. "Well… the reservation's kinda in my name and I sort of already put down a deposit for the house so I have to go." Spencer said hesitantly. "In my defense I didn't expect that you would pull this kind of thing on Paige so…" She said, letting the sentence hang.

"Me?" Emily said exasperatedly. "I blame that horrible text 'A' sent me. It's not like I had a choice." She said, getting upset once again at how she chose to handle the situation.

"Emily, the text said to kiss an ex; it didn't say anything about trampling all over Paige's heart after." Aria interjected, causing three pairs of eyes to glare her way. "I'm just saying." She said hurriedly. "You kinda went a little overboard."

Emily groaned. "I panicked." She said, resigned. "I mean, Tara and Paige weren't supposed to know what I was up to." Emily said, grabbing her phone and showing the message to her friends once again. "That was the rule of the game." She said as she held up her phone so that they could read the message once again. Displayed on the screen is the message 'A' sent of a photo of the graves of Paige's parents with the message below it which read, "Two down, one to go. You know I can make it happen. So let's play a secret game of Push and Pull. If you win, Paige gets to live. First kiss an ex; can you guess what's next? – A".

"Paige wasn't supposed to see that kiss. But then she showed up so she saw it anyway. So then I figured I could use what she just saw instead to push her away so…" Emily couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence. She felt herself tearing up when she recalled every hurtful word she said to Paige. She didn't know how she could fix things now.

"We know." Hanna said, touching Emily's arm lightly. "All we're saying is that maybe this trip could be a means for you and Paige to find a way to start being civil around each other. We can't let 'A' drive a wedge among us when we're getting closer to finding out what happened the day of the accident. Remember, we still need to figure out that whole ransom note lead." She said, trying to put a positive spin into things. "How about this? Why don't you invite Tara to come along? Like they always say, the more the merrier." Hanna suggested when she saw that Emily is still reluctant to come with them.

Spencer frowned at those words. "Hanna, I think that saying is applicable for people who frequent orgies and couples who like to swing. In this case it's more like, more people, more drama." She said. "Em, don't even consider bringing Tara along. Are you trying to recreate the Trojan War or something?" Spencer asked, shaking her head.

Emily rolled her eyes. "I'm not Helen of Troy." She said wryly.

"Think again. To those two, you are. And I don't think Paige will be jumping for joy when you show up with the girl you cheated with then supposedly chose over her." Spencer said before getting up. "Just, don't make any rash decisions. You don't need to bring Tara along, we can keep you company." She promised.

Just then, their phones made a beeping noise and they sighed before reading the text. The message contained a photo of Paige and Dani walking hand in hand as they wandered the streets of Rosewood, the message below making Emily change her mind about not inviting Tara.

"Out with the old, in with the new. Say hello to Rosewood's newest 'IT' couple. – A"

"Oh no." Aria said, alarmed, when she noticed Emily was making a call. "Somebody stop her." She said to Spencer and Hanna but it was too late.

"Hey Tara. It's Emily. Listen, do you have any plans this weekend?" Emily said into the phone, ignoring the silent pleas of her friends to end the call. She knew she was going to regret it later but she couldn't handle spending two days in the same house with Paige and Dani. Since Paige thought she got back together with Tara anyway, she might as well see where things go.

"I guess I'll give Paige and Dani a heads up." Hanna said before getting up to make the call, the dread of having to tell Paige about Emily's impromptu plus one evident in her voice.

Aria rolled her eyes at Spencer. "I guess it's 'more people, more drama' then." She said, shaking her head.

---

"You guys okay back there?" Caleb asked as he tried to concentrate on the road ahead of him.

A chorus of grunts and 'no's answered Caleb's question. They were almost near the house they leased for the weekend when they came upon an unexpected detour and the road was anything but smooth. For the past few minutes, Emily and Spencer, who occupied the middle seats in the van they rented for the trip, managed to knock heads more than once to their absolute discomfort and Hanna, who sat beside Caleb in the passenger seat, constantly bounced up and down much to her irritation. Tara, who sat beside Emily, somehow remained asleep the entire ride and Aria, who sat on the backseat beside Dani and Paige, kept bumping her head on the window. The only people who seemed to actually find the humor in all of this are Dani and Paige, who seemed oblivious to the others' discomfort and kept giggling whenever a bump in the road gave them a reason to sit closer to each other.

"I'm parched." Dani said when she finally stopped laughing.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Paige asked worriedly before moving to get a bottle of water from the bag between her and Aria. "Here." She said, handing over the bottle to Dani loosely.

Just then, another bump in the road caused Paige to drop the bottle of water and she quickly leaned forward to grab it from the floor just as Emily, who sat in front of her, leaned back. Before Paige knew it, her lips were brushing Emily's nape and the brief contact made them gasp inaudibly. The bottle of water forgotten, Paige immediately turned to see if Dani noticed what just happened and was relieved to see that her girlfriend was staring outside the window. Emily noticed on the floor the bottle which rolled next to her and picked it up, trying not to show Paige that she was still reeling from the sensation of the other girl's lips on her skin. She turned to look at Paige and gave her a small smile.

"Here." She said timidly as she handed over to Paige the bottle of water. Might as well try to start being civil around each other before we get to the house.

"Thanks." Paige said, barely glancing at Emily as she moved to take the bottle, careful not to make contact with Emily once again.

Another bump in the road caused Paige to grab Emily's hand instead and for a moment their eyes met. Paige saw the pain their brief contact brought her reflected in Emily's eyes and she gently removed her hand on top of Emily's.

"You know what, it's yours. I can just get another one." Paige said quietly before grabbing another bottle of water beside her. Turning to Dani, she saw that the brief exchange she and Emily had just now didn't go unnoticed this time and she smiled apologetically. Paige opened the bottle and removed the cap before giving it to her girlfriend.

"Thanks." Dani said, taking the bottle Paige handed to her. "It's fine." She said, smiling reassuringly.

Paige gave Dani a grateful smile in return and held Dani's hand in hers, suddenly terrified to let it go.

---

"Room keys, get your room keys here." Spencer said once she got the keys to the house after filling up the necessary paperwork.

The two-story house they rented for the weekend fronted the beach and the breathtaking view somehow lessened the tense atmosphere in the van the moment they arrived. That is, until they had to pick rooms. Since the house had four bedrooms, they decided to occupy the rooms in pairs, with Spencer and Aria sharing a room on the ground floor across from Caleb and Hanna. That left Dani and Paige to occupy the other room on the second floor, much to the chagrin of Emily. Caleb and Hanna refused to switch rooms with her and Tara, saying they wanted easy access to the Jacuzzi outside, while Spencer and Aria insisted that they are creeped out by the floor to ceiling wall in their room that is made of glass which fronted the beach. Emily reluctantly settled in the room she shared with Tara and started to unpack.

"I could take the floor." Tara offered timidly even if the bed could fit two people. "I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." She explained.

Emily shook her head. She dragged Tara into this mess. The least she could do was share the bed. "It's big enough to fit two people Tara. We can share." She said reassuringly. "Just, no cuddling." Emily added lightly.

Tara laughed. "I promise to keep my hands to myself." She said as she raised her right hand as if taking an oath. Emily managed to give the girl a small smile. "Finally!" Tara said, clapping her hands together. "I thought I would spend the entire weekend with the Grinch. Good to know the Emily I know and like is still there somewhere." She said, sitting on the bed to face Emily. "Listen, don't let Paige and Dani see you like this." Tara began. "I'm not stupid Em. I kinda know why you asked me to come along and I am fine with it." She admitted. "But since we're here I think it's a good time as any to talk about the sudden kiss you gave me last week. I mean, you said yes, right? So I really want to see where things go. One last time." Tara suggested.

Emily didn't say anything for a moment before finally nodding once, deciding she could try to make things work with Tara. "Okay. One last time." She agreed, making Tara grin.

---

"Okay, so what else are we forgetting?" Caleb asked as he looked at the list of ingredients he and Dani planned to buy for dinner that night. "We've got all the ingredients for the seafood pasta, the salad and the s'mores."

After they have all settled in, the group decided to huddle in the kitchen to plan for dinner. Since Paige's birthday was the next day, they planned on staying up late so they could welcome Paige's birthday once the clock struck 12.

"Ooh. Lime Jell-O." Dani exclaimed suddenly while grabbing the list Caleb held in his hand. "Remind me to swing by 'The Bistro' later to buy one." She told Caleb while adding it to the list, much to the confusion of the others except for Paige and Emily. "I can explain." Dani said hurriedly.

"Dani." Paige cautioned, embarrassed to let the others know about her weird preference for the gelatinous food over cake around this time of the year.

Dani smiled teasingly while holding Paige's hand. "This girl right here doesn't like cake." She began. "I thought at first it was just a one-time thing when we celebrated her birthday here two years ago. We had dinner at 'The Bistro' and she was anything but happy the entire time. It was seriously the most depressing birthday dinner ever." Dani said, giving Paige a small smile. "But then when it was time for dessert, her face lit up and she ordered lime Jell-O. I thought she was kidding but she said it will always be better than cake so I just let her order it." She animatedly said as she told them of Paige's fondness for the food. "But when we celebrated her birthday in my apartment last year… I had to make her one from scratch just to cheer her up." Dani said, shaking her head, amused. "So we have to buy lime Jell-O at 'The Bistro'." She concluded, starting to head out of the kitchen with Caleb.

Paige felt her cheeks flush from embarrassment when all eyes turned to her in surprise but the only ones she met were Emily's. No one knew of the significance of the lime Jell-O except the two of them. But only Paige knew the significance of that moment. Suddenly, it was like everyone disappeared and it was just them, transported to the time when Paige celebrated her first birthday with Emily.

---

"Is that what I think it is?" Paige asked, grinning widely at Emily as her girlfriend placed a plate of food in front of her. It smelled good.

"Mushroom risotto." Emily smiled proudly before sitting on Paige's lap and wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck. She kissed Paige gently on the lips before pulling back. "Happy birthday babe."

Paige shook her head in amazement before kissing Emily on the cheek. She looked at the plate and grinned once again. "You cooked this for me? It smells good. Thanks." Paige said, extremely touched as she gently wrapped her arms around Emily's waist.

"You said it was one of your favorites so… I tried to learn how to cook it." Emily admitted shyly. "Well dig in." She said, grabbing the spoon and taking a serving of the food to feed Paige. "How is it?" She asked nervously.

The rice was undercooked and there was too much butter and wine but she didn't want to discourage Emily in her first attempt at cooking something, especially for her, so she swallowed the food and smiled at her girlfriend gamely. "More." She said, much to the delight of Emily.

After a few more spoonfuls, Paige suddenly felt nauseous and her stomach started to spasm. She couldn't bring herself to eat another spoonful and she had to tell Emily.

"Em, I don't feel so good." Paige said ruefully. She had the sudden urge to vomit and she hastily got up, apologizing to Emily before rushing to the bathroom. This is bad. She started breaking into cold sweats and she felt like she was going to pass out from the pain.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked as she followed Paige to the bathroom, extremely worried. "Oh my god Paige you look really pale."

Paige tried to smile but had to vomit again. "Okay, this is bad." She said, looking up at Emily. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way but the risotto, what kind of mushrooms did you use?" Paige asked as she tried to focus on Emily.

"Wild mushrooms." Emily answered, sitting in front of Paige before brushing a few strands of hair away from her girlfriend's face. "Why?"

"I'm guessing you took it to mean wild in the literal sense so it's not store-bought?" Paige asked, feeling a sudden urge to vomit again as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Realization dawned on Emily and she hastily ran to get the phone to dial 911. "Hold on!" She shouted as she ran to the hallway. Paige tried not to lose consciousness but the pain was too much and she lost the battle to stay awake.

88888

"Hey." Paige said faintly and she struggled to smile as Emily entered her hospital room. "Why are you just standing there? Come closer." She said weakly, confused as to why Emily stayed by the door.

Emily shook her head and fought back tears. "I almost killed you." She said in a small voice.

Paige struggled to sit from the bed and her effort to do so finally spurred Emily to approach her. "Careful!" Emily said worriedly as she held Paige by the arm to help her sit.

Paige brushed a strand of hair away from Emily's face and touched her chin gently. "Hey." She said, forcing Emily to look at her. "I'm okay. My throat's a little sore but otherwise I'm fine." Paige said, wiping a tear that escaped from Emily's eyes.

Emily hugged Paige tightly. "I'm so sorry. I promise I won't cook for you again." She said apologetically.

Paige pulled back to look at her girlfriend. "Don't say that. You can still cook for me. Just, steer clear of mushrooms." She said, trying to lighten the mood, but Emily's eyes started to fill with tears again. "Em, it's my first birthday that I got to celebrate with you. I don't want to look back to this day and remember that I made you cry." Paige said, touching the side of Emily's face lightly. "So can you please smile for me?" She asked weakly.

Emily brushed the tears from her eyes and nodded before standing up. "It's still your birthday." She said, as if a thought suddenly occurred to her.

"Yeah. Are you planning on stripping for me or something?" Paige teased. "I mean, I'm still a little weak so I can only watch but I'm not picky." She said, smiling weakly.

Emily flashed her a huge grin and kissed her quickly. "I don't want you to just watch so let's do that some other time. I'll be right back." She said before hurriedly exiting the room, leaving Paige extremely confused.

88888

"What's all this?" Paige asked, her brows furrowed in confusion as Emily entered her room again, this time with an armload of food and a dazzling grin on her face.

"Well like you said, it's still your birthday and our celebration was cut short so I figured we could continue it here instead." Emily said as she deposited the food on a chair and dragged it near Paige's bed.

Paige managed to give a weak laugh and shook her head. "You know I can't eat any of that, I'm still a little queasy." She said as she studied the food Emily got for her. "Where did you get these anyway?" Paige asked curiously as she moved to her right so that Emily could sit beside her, careful not to disturb the IV attached to her right hand.

"Vendo machine and hospital cafeteria." Emily said, grinning shyly. "You don't have to eat any of it; I just want you to feel like it's a birthday celebration." She said as she kissed Paige on the cheek. "But they didn't have cake though so I thought you could settle for this instead."

Paige watched as Emily grabbed a cup of green Jell-O and peeled the top off. "It's lime." Emily explained before producing a birthday candle and sticking it in the middle of the Jell-O. "I can't exactly light this in here so just pretend the wick is burning." She said before turning her attention back to Paige. "Go on; make a wish before the candle melts." Emily said, smiling at her tenderly.

Paige looked at Emily for a while and kissed her gently on the lips. "Have I told you how much I love you?" She asked, her lips mere inches above Emily's, her voice catching in her throat.

Emily knew she was blushing and her heart was pounding wildly. "Yes but I never get tired of hearing it." She said quietly. "And I'll never get tired of saying how much I love you too."

Paige kissed Emily one more time before pulling back to look at her girlfriend, grinning widely. "I can't think of a wish." She admitted.

"What? How come? Everyone wants something to come true." Emily said, looking at Paige quizzically.

"That's not accurate." Paige said as she took the Jell-O from Emily's hands to set it down on the bedside table. She moved a little bit more so that she and Emily could lie down on the bed and she intertwined their hands. She studied it for a moment before speaking. "There comes a point in one's life when they realize that they've got all they need right beside them. They experience this feeling of complete certainty and unexplained bliss. So they stop wishing. Not because they stopped wanting or looking but because everything else falls short when you compare it to that feeling." She looked at Emily and smiled at her softly. "So it's not that I don't have a wish. It's just that I'm there."

---

"Blueberry cheesecake." Paige said suddenly, startling the others. She broke her eye contact with Emily and looked at Dani. "I want Blueberry cheesecake this time. I don't want lime Jell-O anymore." Paige said distantly before standing up and exiting the kitchen, leaving in her wake a confused Dani and a devastated Emily.

---

"Hey. You okay?" Dani asked as she entered the room she shared with Paige, leaving the door ajar.

Paige looked at Dani briefly before staring at the ceiling once again. That was too close. What happened downstairs minutes ago. A week has passed since their fight but she still couldn't handle being around Emily and she was losing control of her emotions. She had to get out of there so she hastily retreated to the safety of the room she shared with Dani and lied down on the bed, just staring at the ceiling, trying to numb the pain.

Dani slowly approached her and positioned herself on top of Paige, placing each leg on either side of her girlfriend, effectively straddling her. Paige moved her hands to place it on Dani's hips and took a deep breath, giving her a small smile.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Paige said quietly. "Shouldn't you and Caleb be grocery shopping right about now?" She asked wryly.

"That can wait. I just wanted to make sure you were fine before we left. What happened down there?" Dani asked, brushing a strand of hair away from Paige's eyes.

"Just a memory." Paige admitted, staring into Dani's eyes.

Dani smiled understandingly. "I knew that lime Jell-O had something to do with Emily." She said quietly.

"I'm sorry." Paige said resignedly.

Dani shook her head. "It's fine. We're trying, right?" She said, taking Paige's hand in hers. "What about Tara?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about her being here. I guess in a way it makes things easier. I can't do anything if Em wants to be with her. I just hope she doesn't hurt her." Paige said thoughtfully.

Dani leaned her head close to Paige's, supporting her weight using her hands, letting her hair frame their faces. Paige finally smiled. "Are you going to be okay while I'm gone? Because Caleb and I really need to get going." She said reluctantly.

Paige touched Dani's cheek with one hand and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "I'll be fine. You can't let us starve to death. And don't forget my cake." She said lightly.

Dani rolled her eyes and laughed. "One blueberry cheesecake coming right up." She moved to get out of bed when Paige suddenly pulled her close, making Dani lose her balance and she found herself lying on top of Paige.

"Thank you." Paige said quietly, closing her eyes, terrified to let go of Dani.

Dani rested her head on Paige's neck and closed her eyes as well, but not before her eyes fell on the figure standing by the door. Emily. Their eyes met and Emily tried to brush the tears that fell from her eyes before hurriedly walking past them. I can't let you hurt her again. Dani thought as she hugged Paige tighter.

---

"Okay, let's go." Dani said to Caleb as she got in on the front seat of the van.

Caleb looked at Dani for a beat before starting the van. "So, you and Paige, everything good?" He asked as he started the drive to the town. "That thing in the kitchen was a little weird. Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She's fine. We're fine. It's only been a week but so far it's been good." Dani said, trying to hide what was bothering her. But Caleb saw it.

"So why aren't you happy?" He asked, confused.

Dani distractedly looked at the passing scenery outside the window. "Because Paige isn't happy." She admitted.

"What do you mean?" Caleb asked, concerned.

"I know that Paige chose Emily that night. But something happened between them and she won't tell me what. You should have seen her when she got back Caleb. She was trembling so hard and she was so devastated. I've never seen her like that. I think if I let go of her when she hugged me she would have collapsed from the grief." Dani said, finally turning to look at Caleb. "Did Hanna say anything to you?" She asked despairingly.

Caleb shook his head. "No. But for the sake of our relationship we don't really talk about Emily, you and Paige. We try to remain neutral. So I didn't ask and she didn't tell me anything."

Dani sighed. "Paige is hiding." She said quietly. "I don't know what happened but Emily must have said something so devastating because I think Paige is terrified of being around her."

"So why are you letting Paige use you as a shield?" Caleb asked incredulously. "Dani I don't want you to get hurt."

"It's not like she doesn't care about me Caleb. She's trying." Dani explained. "I love her so much and even if we're dating now she's still my best friend. If the only way for her to get through this is to be with me then I'm fine with it. I can still take it. I'm not going to just standby and watch as Emily hurt her again. Not this time. So unless that girl does something that would convince me otherwise, I'm not letting Paige go." She said with determination.

"Okay. But just know that I'm here for you when things go south." Caleb said, realizing it was pointless to argue with his sister.

Dani chuckled. "Wow. Thanks for the support Mr. Ray of Sunshine." She said lightly.

"I'm serious." He said, briefly taking his eyes off the road to look at Dani.

"I know. And I love you for looking out for me. You became the brother I never got the chance to grow up with." Dani said sincerely.

They rode in silence for a while before Caleb finally spoke up again.

"So, where to first? Local market and cake or murder mystery?" He asked when they stopped at an intersection.

"Murder mystery. It might take long and we don't want our food to spoil." Dani said as she looked at the street to their left.

"Are you sure we're still on the clear?" He asked as he pulled the lever of the van's turn signal downwards.

"Yeah. If anything changes Paige'll let us know." Dani said, checking her phone just to be sure.

"Then let's go get us some answers about the owner of that boat." Caleb said determinedly as the light turned green.

---

"You found this in Alan Moore's house? The house near the one Ali's family stayed at the summer they came here?" Paige asked as she and Dani stood beside the van, their backs turned to the house behind them in an effort to conceal what they were doing.

"Yeah." Dani said before pocketing the photo once again, grabbing the last bag of groceries as she and Paige made their way inside the house.

After returning from their trip, Dani asked Paige to help her with the groceries so she can tell her girlfriend inconspicuously what they found, while Caleb went inside to start the preparations for dinner that night.

"Well do you know who it is?" Paige muttered under her breath as she opened the kitchen door for Dani. Dani gave her a grateful smile as she went ahead of Paige, carrying in her arms the last of the groceries.

"Where are the others?" Dani asked Caleb when she saw him by the kitchen sink, washing the salad greens.

"Out by the beach. All of them." He said pointedly.

"Okay then." Dani said as she lowered the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter before facing Paige, leaning her back against the counter as she did so. "No. We don't know who it is yet. We didn't have time." She explained. "We just grabbed what we could and got out of that place before anyone saw us and realized we're crashing. Not that they would notice. Those hippies were high as a kite. We were in luck when we got there. They were having some sort of party and just let us in."

"I think it's because of that hairstyle of yours." Caleb said wryly from behind Dani.

Paige studied Dani and smiled. She did look like a hippie. A gorgeous hippie. Before she and Caleb left the house, Dani decided to wear her hair up and styled her long strawberry-blonde hair into a braid, which then served as a headband, leaving a few short strands of hair to frame her face.

"I like it." Paige admitted, taking Dani's hand in hers.

Dani felt herself starting to blush and she cleared her throat. She wasn't used to Paige paying her this much attention. "Anyway, yeah, they let us in and we hurriedly went from room to room, trying to find out what we can about Mr. Alan Moore. We didn't find anything except for the photo in one of the rooms so we took it. We figured it was better than coming back empty-handed. Besides, if it's useless we can just throw it away." She said nonchalantly as she began playing with their hands.

"I don't know." Caleb said as he began taking out the groceries from the last paper bag. "I still think it wasn't a coincidence that the name of the owner of the boat occupying Kenneth DiLaurentis' boat slip at the marina happens to be the same as the one who owned that house near the one Ali's family stayed at." He explained.

"Yeah. It's not that far of a leap actually." Paige admitted as she finally closed the gap between her and Dani, placing her hands on the countertop, effectively locking Dani between her arms.

Dani smiled and wrapped her arms around Paige's neck. They just stared at each other for a while until Caleb cleared his throat behind his sister. "PG-13." He said in between coughs.

Paige rolled her eyes at Caleb but refused to distance herself from Dani. "As I was saying, you guys were right. There are just too many coincidences surrounding that boat. It's weird enough that those people were aboard that boat when we can't find out their relation to that name. But Ali's dad subletting his slip to someone who turns out owned a house near their choice of summer home is weird as hell. It really was worth checking out. I think we need to check the house Ali stayed at again. We might've missed something."

"How?" Caleb asked as he turned his back to start preparing the seafood for the pasta.

Paige shrugged. "I'll call the owners later. I'll tell them it was sudden but I was passing through and I needed a place to stay for a few days. You guys said it was empty, right?"

Dani nodded as she started playing with Paige's earlobe with her hand. "Yeah. No one's leasing it right now." She said distractedly.

Paige shifted her attention back to her girlfriend. "Then I'll call them right now." She said as she moved to pull away from Dani.

"Uh-uh. Not so fast." Dani said, giving her a teasing smile.

Paige smiled and leaned forward to give Dani a kiss. "Oh. I'm sorry." An achingly familiar voice from behind her made Paige stiffen.

Swallowing hard, she distanced herself from Dani and braced herself as she turned to face Emily, who was standing by the kitchen door, the pain of seeing Dani and Paige in an intimate position seconds ago evident in her face. Emily just stared at them for a brief second before finally finding her voice.

"I didn't mean to interrupt. I- I was just going to get some water." Emily said hoarsely. She felt her throat constrict. She had to get out of there. "But I can get it later." She said before hurriedly turning her back to them and running outside, but not before Paige saw the tears escape from Emily's eyes.

Don't run after her. Paige thought to herself, gripping the countertop to stop herself from bolting and hurrying after Emily. She made her choice and it's not you. The sooner you accept that fact, the sooner you'll get used to your role in Emily's life. Turning to Dani, she gave her girlfriend a weak smile. "I'll go make that call now." She said quietly.

Dani nodded wordlessly and followed Paige with her eyes as the girl slowly headed upstairs. "Don't say it." She warned Caleb behind her just as her brother opened his mouth to speak.

"Just help me with the pasta." Caleb said, resigned.

---

"How about a game of I never?" Aria asked as she looked around her. She rolled her eyes when they shook their heads. "Well I'm running out of ideas here."

After dinner, Caleb and Paige managed to start a bonfire by the beach and they all decided to sit around it, eating s'mores and drinking wine coolers as they waited for the clock to strike 12. They have been sharing ghost stories for the past hour when they finally ran out of scary stories to tell. But there was still an hour left to kill.

"Game of suck and blow?" Spencer suggested beside Aria.

"Using what?" Aria asked, amused.

"Yeah. Didn't think of that one." Spencer admitted before taking a bite out of her s'more.

"Why can't we just watch a film inside? It's starting to get cold out here. I think some sports movie is on. Rudy? That's a good film right? Em loves that film." Hanna suggested.

"Actually, Emily doesn't want to see that film again." Tara spoke up from beside Hanna. "Something about keeping a promise?" She asked, looking at the girl who sat on her other side to see if she got right the reason why Emily stopped watching that film.

Emily averted her eyes from Tara's and caught Paige's questioning gaze for a brief moment before looking at the sand at her feet.

"Game of truth?" Tara suggested uncertainly. "Or dare. Truth or Dare?" She clarified.

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea." Caleb, who sat on Hanna's other side, said hesitantly as he looked from Emily to Dani, who sat on his other side. He knew these two wanted to clear the air about some things so a game of truth or dare would be disastrous right now.

"Could be fun." Dani said, looking at Emily with her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Let's do it." Emily said, looking at her bottle of wine cooler before taking a sip.

"I'll go first then." Aria said, noticing Caleb's look of concern. "Spencer. Truth or dare?" She asked, looking at her friend.

"Dare." Spencer said, bored.

"I dare you to say the words 'in bed' after everything you say for the next 5 minutes." Aria said, grinning widely.

Spencer rolled her eyes and smirked. "Fine, in bed. That's easy, in bed. I just won't talk in bed." She couldn't help but laugh with the others while she shook her head. "I swear in bed."

Aria tried to control her laughter. "But it's your turn. So you've gotta ask your truth or dare question before you decide not to talk in bed."

"Hanna in bed. Truth or dare in bed?" Spencer asked, trying hard not to laugh.

Hanna wiped her eyes briefly and tried to control her laughter before answering. "Truth. I don't want to end up like you for the next 5 minutes." She answered before dissolving into laughter.

Spencer grinned. "What is the weirdest thing that you have ever eaten… in bed?" She asked amusedly.

Hanna's mouth dropped open and the others laughed. Spencer made good use of her dare. "Beer and turnips." She admitted after a while to the others' amusement. "What? I needed to fart and a website said it was the best fart food." Hanna explained as the others chuckled. "My turn. Tara." She said, looking at the girl beside her. "Truth or dare?"

"Ooh dare definitely." Tara said excitedly.

"I dare you to do 7 consecutive cartwheels." Hanna said, not able to come up with anything good.

Tara stood up and prepared herself. "I haven't done this in quite a while so I'm a bit rusty." She warned them before executing her first cartwheel. Her second to the last cartwheel sent her near the shore and she ended up executing the last cartwheel in the water, much to the others' amusement. She returned to them shivering and dripping wet before sitting down beside Emily. "My turn." She said while trying to dry herself. "Paige. Truth or dare?" Tara asked demurely, looking at the girl who sat in silence between Dani and Aria.

Paige held Tara's gaze for a moment before looking away. "Truth." She said quietly as she held Dani's hand in hers.

"When did you fall for Dani?" Tara asked as she tried to warm herself.

Paige bit her bottom lip, struggling to tell the truth. She knew everyone's eyes were on her, but the only ones she was aware of were Emily's. She knew Emily wanted to know the answer to that question as well. She squeezed Dani's hand reassuringly and answered. "After our non-date Valentine's date here." She said, smiling at the memory. "We decided to go out to celebrate Valentine's Day but just as friends. We had dinner and there were these liquor-filled chocolates compliments of the restaurant. This girl right here apparently has a low tolerance for alcohol but she ended up eating 10 so I had to support her the entire walk home. I couldn't carry her to bed so I just let her crash on the couch. I tucked her in and that's when I started to see her for the first time." Paige knew her answer would hurt Emily but she didn't want to lie to Dani knowing her answer meant a lot to the girl. "I just sat there for a moment and watched as my best friend slept and I thought to myself there was nothing holding me back. So I let myself fall." Paige said, meeting Dani's gaze, refusing to take her eyes off her girlfriend because she couldn't bear to look at Emily, knowing her words devastated the other girl.

"My turn." She said after a beat when no one said anything. There weren't many people to ask. Aria, Emily, Dani, Caleb. She can't ask Aria because that would end the game, Emily is out of the question, and she can't ask Dani knowing her girlfriend will ask Emily once it's her turn. The last thing she wanted was for them to fight. "Caleb. Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Caleb said nervously.

"Relax." Paige said, shaking her head. "I dare you to go down in a split as far as you can." She said, smirking.

Caleb stood up amidst catcalls and prepared himself for what he was about to do. Might as well get it over with. He executed a split and stopped himself from crying out loud before relaxing his stance, bowing to the group as they applauded in amusement.

"Emily. Truth or dare?" Caleb asked, looking at his sister apologetically. Between Dani and Emily, Dani was the more aggressive one and he can't let Dani ask Emily what she said to Paige.

"Truth." Emily said quietly.

"Okay. Who among us has presented you with the worst birthday gift and what was it?" Caleb asked teasingly, not knowing his question struck a chord.

"Paige." She said bitterly, making Paige look her way in shock. "Her gift came in a small box but it held the biggest surprise. She said she was letting me go." Emily said, the anger and pain evident in her voice. "That was one gift I would never ask for."

Why are you so mad at me? It worked out fine didn't it? You're sitting beside the girl you chose. Paige lowered her eyes, willing herself not to say anything. She felt Dani sit closer to her. "I'm right here." Dani whispered reassuringly. Paige bit her lower lip and squeezed her girlfriend's hand. She didn't have the energy to fight back anymore. She was tired of fighting with Emily.

"Dani. Truth or dare?" Emily asked bitterly.

"Truth." Dani said coolly as she met Emily's gaze.

"Did you know that Paige chose me?" Emily asked. She knew she was being mean and had no reason to be this jealous. It was her fault Dani and Paige were together in the first place, but she can't help it.

Dani nodded her head. "Yeah. The minute she came home I knew she chose you." She admitted, startling Emily. "You seem surprised. She's my best friend Fields. And more than anyone, I've been beside her, watching her ever since she fell for you. So I knew the minute I saw her that she came to see you. I knew I was the second choice but honestly, it doesn't matter if Paige chose you Emily. Because in the end what mattered is that I chose Paige, unlike you." She was about to say something more when she felt Paige's hand squeeze hers.

"Dani." Paige said quietly. "Just end the game." She pleaded. She didn't want Emily and Dani to start their bickering once again.

Dani gave Paige a small smile and nodded her head. "Aria. Truth or dare?" She asked, turning her attention to the girl who sat in open-mouthed shock.

"We got it wrong." Spencer muttered to Aria from the side of her mouth. "I never thought I would say this but I think Paige just became Helen of Troy." She said in disbelief.

"I know." Aria replied under her breath. "So much drama."

"Aria. Truth or dare?" Dani asked again.

"Uh, dare." Aria said when she found her voice.

Dani smiled mischievously before taking out a marker from the back pocket of her cutoffs. "I dare you to name all the seven dwarves of Snow White in 15 seconds. If you can't, I get to write the ones you missed on any part of your body of my choosing." She declared, causing the tension just minutes ago to somewhat dissipate. "Don't worry. This isn't permanent." Dani assured Aria as she waved the marker in the air.

"Permanent or not I'm not even gonna ask why you have a marker with you." Spencer said in confusion.

"I'm weird that way." Dani said, winking at Spencer. "And begin." She said, turning her attention back to Aria.

Aria stared at Dani in mock horror before starting. "Uh, let's see. There's Sleepy, Happy, Doc, Sneezy, Bashful, Dopey and..."

"And… time." Dani said, laughing with the rest before standing up and walking towards Aria. "You missed this little one." She said as she wrote the name on Aria's right cheek before sitting beside Paige again.

Aria looked at Spencer expectantly. "Well?" She asked. "Who did I miss?"

Spencer tried to stifle her laughter before replying. "Grumpy."

"Oh great." Aria said, rolling her eyes while laughing with the rest.

When the laughter finally died down, they all sat in silence for a moment, content to enjoy each others' company while they waited the last few minutes left before the clock struck 12.

"Okay I'm sorry. I've tried to endure the cold but I can't wait for a few more minutes. The wind's picking up and I'm still soaked. I'm gonna go head inside." Tara said apologetically, standing up. "Happy birthday Paige." She said, rather cautious as she waited for Paige to acknowledge her.

"I'll walk with you." Emily said, standing up as well.

Paige looked up for a brief moment and nodded her head at them. "Goodnight." She said quietly.

When the clock finally struck 12, the others greeted Paige enthusiastically before heading inside. Dani asked if Paige wanted company but she said she wanted to be alone for a while. When everyone left, Paige brought her knees to her chest and pulled her jacket closer, watching absentmindedly as the embers of the bonfire died. She was surrounded by people who care but she never felt so alone in her life.

"Mind if I join you?" Emily's soft voice behind her made Paige turn around in surprise. She felt her heart start pounding wildly, terrified to be alone with Emily. Relax. It doesn't look like she's going to say those words again. Paige shook her head before looking out into the vast darkness in front of her.

Emily cautiously sat beside Paige, conscious to put some distance between them. They sat in heartbreaking silence for a while before Emily finally spoke up, staring at the darkness in front of them as well. "So. Lime Jell-O. Certainly brought back memories." She began softly, trying to make conversation.

Paige nodded, willing herself not to look at Emily. "It did." She took a deep breath before chuckling humorlessly. "It's funny. If someone told me back then that those people would be so broken today I would have laughed at them for saying something so absurd." She said miserably.

"Yet here we are." Emily said, her voice catching in her throat.

"What do you think happened to those people?" Paige asked, finally looking at Emily. "When did we start hurting each other so much?" She asked, the hurt and confusion evident in her voice.

"People change." Emily said quietly, staring at Paige in sadness as she reminded herself why they're not together. "And that includes us."

"Yeah. But feelings don't." Paige said brokenly, looking out into the darkness again. "At least not mine. Not when it's this strong and real. I don't know. I guess I thought no matter how much we changed, in the end, when it's real, we'll find a way to make it work somehow. Turns out I was wrong about that too." She said dejectedly as she rested her chin on her knees.

They sat in silence once again until she spoke after a beat. "You don't like Rudy anymore?" Paige asked, not looking at Emily.

"I do." Emily admitted. "But, I promised you I wouldn't watch Rudy so that you'd call me remember? So I never watched. I kept my promise all this time." She said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. Unlike you. She stopped herself from saying those words. She didn't want to start another heated conversation with Paige. She didn't want to fight anymore.

"I'm sorry I stopped calling." Paige whispered after a beat.

Emily cleared her throat. "Why do you like that Jell-O so much anyway? You missed out on cake because I landed you in the hospital that day." She said inquisitively.

"It wasn't the Jell-O. It was what I realized at that instant. When I was away, I held on to that moment despite where our relationship stood." Paige said but refused to elaborate any further.

"Well I brought one from Rosewood just in case you were in the mood for one." Emily admitted. "I remembered it too." She said as she produced a lime Jell-O cup and a birthday candle. She carefully peeled the top off and stuck the candle in the middle. Paige watched her wistfully from the corner of her eye. "I can't light this out here because of the wind so just pretend the wick is burning. Go on; make a wish before the candle melts." Emily said quietly as she put the makeshift cake in front of Paige, trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't think all the lime Jell-Os in the world could take care of my wishes right now." Paige said quietly. She took the Jell-O from Emily and looked at it for a while. "But thanks for the sentiment."

Emily felt her heart twist at Paige's words. She wanted to tell her the truth, but she knew it won't justify all the things she said to Paige. Ever since they arrived, Paige seemed reluctant to be around her. Not that she could blame her. The entire day she was reminded that unlike her and Tara, Paige wasn't pretending to be with Dani. She and Dani were really together. And it hurt. It hurt so much she couldn't breathe and the jealousy she felt was gnawing at her. She knew Paige liked Dani, and that she genuinely cares about her best friend. But she wanted to know if Paige was somehow happy being with her because if she is then... then what Em? Then it means you have no choice but to really let her go. "Does Dani make you laugh?" She asked quietly, her voice never betraying the nervousness she felt about hearing the answer to that question.

Paige didn't even bother to look at her. "She doesn't make me cry and given how everything seems so out of control right now, I think that's better."

Emily bit her lower lip, trying to find a way to make Paige forgive her once again. "I'm so sorry I said all those things." Emily said after a beat. "Do you hate me?" She asked, terrified.

Paige didn't say anything for a moment before finally standing up. "I should head inside; Dani's probably waiting for me. I think you should do the same. You shouldn't leave Tara alone." She said distantly as she continued to look out into the vast darkness in front of them, not answering Emily's question.

Emily felt a lump form in her throat and decided to stay behind. Paige must really hate me. "Go ahead. Happy birthday Paige."

Paige nodded. "Thanks." She said, finally looking down at Emily. Before she turned on her heels to leave, she saw Emily visibly shiver from the cold. Quickly, without thinking of what she was doing, she removed her jacket and leaned over to place it on Emily's shoulders. The simple gesture made Emily's eyes fill with tears.

"You might get sick." Paige said softly as she let her hands linger on top of Emily's shoulders. Emily placed one hand on top of Paige's to hold the jacket in position, desperate to find an excuse to touch her. Paige felt her breath catch in her throat and her heart began to hammer wildly. "Thanks for the lime Jell-O. I know I don't owe you an explanation but just the same, I thought you should know. That was the moment I realized I wanted to marry you." Paige said quietly.

She removed her hand under Emily's and gingerly took a step back. Being this near to Emily was unbearable. She didn't choose you. She reminded herself as she and Emily looked at each other. Before she could stop herself, she finally answered Emily's question.

"I don't hate you Emily. I never will. But right now it hurts just being around you." She admitted sadly.

Emily bit back a sob and nodded. Paige started to make her way back to the house when she heard Emily speak. "If you can't make a wish I'll make one for you." She said. "I wish someday you'd feel that way again. The way you felt that night at the hospital." Emily said, her voice hoarse, trying to stop her tears from falling. "I wish you'd find that moment again. That moment when you couldn't think of a wish anymore." She said sincerely.

Paige just looked at her, the sheer devastation she was feeling evident on her face. I just want you to be happy again Paige. Emily thought forlornly. So if Dani makes you happy I'll learn to let you go. She was startled from her thoughts when Paige spoke.

"You still don't get it do you? After all these years." Paige said heartbrokenly as she choked back a sob. "You're the one Emily." She said fervently. "You're the one." Paige repeated helplessly. "You're my one." She said empathically.

Paige swallowed hard, fighting the urge to cry. "But you left me for Samara, then you went back to Maya. And now you chose Tara. It was never me Emily. If it came down to them or me, for some reason when you have to make a choice, if I'm not the only one standing in front of you, you can't choose me." She said, the words breaking her heart all over again. "You're with Tara. You chose to be with Tara. Thanks for the wish but as long as you're with someone else I will never feel that way again." Paige said sullenly before she made her way back to the house. She never looked back so she never saw when Emily broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

---

Paige slowly woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon and turned to her side, her face lighting up at the sight of Dani sleeping soundly beside her. When she got back from the beach a little after 1 a.m., she thought about sleeping on the floor like she did in their motel room. But Dani was wide awake and she decided to lie beside her girlfriend for a while. They ended up talking until 3 a.m., with Dani trying her best to make Paige smile by making fun of random things, knowing her best friend was somehow devastated once again. When they finally ran out of things to make fun of, Paige decided to open up to Dani about what really happened between her and Emily last week. Dani just listened and held Paige's hand the entire time, knowing Paige opening up to her on her own was a huge step for the girl to take. Paige felt guilty for talking about Emily with her girlfriend but Dani assured Paige she understood and that they're still trying, making Paige feel even worse. Because while she knew with absolute certainty that she will never get over Emily, she can't seem to end things with Dani. She was being selfish. She knew that. But even if they didn't talk about it, Paige knew Dani was determined to keep her heart safe and right now she wanted that. When sleep finally overcame them, Paige decided she was comfortable sleeping beside Dani after all.

"Wake up sleepyhead. We need to get an early start." Paige said, touching Dani on the shoulder to shake her gently.

Dani opened her eyes slowly and Paige found herself grinning. She will never get used to Dani's eyes. Ever since Paige saw her eyes for the first time, she always found herself mesmerized by how blue they were. Her eyes are definitely Dani's best features. Paige thought as she planted a soft kiss on her girlfriend's forehead.

"What time is it?" Dani asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before smiling at Paige.

"Seven." Paige answered before getting up and heading for the bathroom in their room. "Come on. We need to get going. This house is a little far compared to the one we stayed at when we came here the first time." She said, still waiting for Dani to get up.

"Well it's not like we came here to do some sleuthing P. So excuse me if I didn't even bother to find a house near that place." Dani said exasperatedly as she finally stood up and ran a hand through her hair.

"I know that. And it's actually a good thing too. We came here to spend a weekend away from the whole 'A' thing but guess what? It still managed to follow us here." Paige said wryly as Dani slowly made her way towards her.

"Tell me about it." Dani said, rolling her eyes. "I guess it's just our luck that the lead Caleb and I found led here. It's really no coincidence that Ali's family and then later Ali herself, stayed at that house." She said as Paige closed the bathroom door.

"Hence the feeling that we missed something in that house. I know. I know." Paige said, her voice muffled from behind the door.

"What are we going to say to the others?" Dani asked as she checked her reflection in the full-length mirror beside the bathroom.

Paige opened the door and stepped outside. "The truth. Or at least half of it. That we decided to check out the place Ali stayed at one last time. Seems like a waste of opportunity considering we're here already." She said, shrugging.

Dani rolled her eyes. "I know that. Duh. I mean, what are we going to say about why they couldn't come?" She clarified.

Paige waved her hand dismissively. "Caleb's taking care of it." She said before gently pushing Dani to get inside the bathroom. "Now hurry up. I don't think I can control myself and leave you a piece of bacon."

"You're mean!" Dani exclaimed as she tried to catch Paige before the other girl stepped out of her reach, heading for the bedroom door while giving her a teasing smile.

---

"But I want to come." Hanna said imploringly as she sat in front of Caleb during breakfast. She, Spencer and Aria were huddled in the kitchen along with Caleb. They were the first ones up that morning and she and Caleb decided to cook breakfast for the group.

"You can't. I'm sorry." Caleb said apologetically. "We need decoys. I'll go with Dani and Paige to explore the house."

"But we can help too. Five new pair of eyes is better than one." Aria reasoned out, grabbing a piece of bacon and taking a bite.

"You can help us more by doing this. We can't let them catch us all in one place." Caleb said, keeping his voice down.

"Why are we suddenly whispering?" Spencer asked in a hushed voice, confused.

Caleb shrugged. "You never know who's listening. They could be anywhere." He looked at the direction of the stairs to see if the others were awake yet. "Besides, Tara's here. We don't have a choice. We can't exactly take her with us. And it'll be too weird if Paige and Dani are left with her instead of you and your friends. I mean, you guys know Tara. They don't. And then there's the issue of Paige and Tara over Emily. Leaving those two alone isn't a good idea." Caleb explained.

"Caleb's right." Spencer said reluctantly as she looked at Aria and Hanna. "We probably can't even leave the house if she's around. We need to stay put."

"Thank you." Caleb said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'll leave it up to you guys to find a way to tell Emily discreetly. I'll be outside if Dani or Paige ask for me." He said, giving Hanna a quick kiss before standing up and leaving the kitchen.

---

"You don't have to do this. It's just one more day. We're headed back to Rosewood tomorrow morning." Emily said as she and Tara stood near a bus stop, waiting for the bus that would take Tara home to Rosewood.

"I think I have to." Tara said regretfully. "Emily, I don't know what's going on here. I thought we were going to try but after last night it was obvious that nothing is ever going to happen. You were pretty harsh on Dani and Paige in that Truth or Dare game. It's glaringly clear you're not getting over your ex-girlfriend anytime soon." She said, sitting down on the bench. "Then you opted to sleep on the couch downstairs. I think it's pretty clear where you stand when it comes to us."

"I'm sorry." Emily said earnestly, sitting beside her. "I wish I could explain to you my actions recently but I can't. Not without dragging other people into it."

"It's fine Emily. Like I said, I know why you dragged me here." Tara said, giving Emily a small smile. "Consider this my atonement for playing a role in ruining your relationship with Paige." She said, touching Emily's hand for a brief moment. "When you get back to Rosewood, I sincerely hope we can have a fresh start. Like, for real this time. No more surprise, confusing kisses please."

Emily smiled. "I'd like that." She said before standing up once again when she saw the bus making its way towards them.

Tara looked behind her and stood up as well. "You know, I gotta say, after talking to Paige, I finally understood why you were so terrified of losing her. She's pretty remarkable." She said, slinging her overnight bag on one shoulder.

Emily's brows furrowed in confusion. "When did you talk to Paige?" She asked, her stomach tightening into knots. We've met. She suddenly remembered when Paige uttered those words without looking at Tara when she introduced them.

Tara's eyes narrowed into slits. "I thought you and Paige talked about everything when you told her about the kiss?" She asked cautiously.

"Yeah. We talked about why I cheated on her and how she felt since surviving the accident." Emily said, crossing her arms to her chest.

"That's it?" Tara asked, surprised. "Then I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." She said apologetically.

"When did you talk to Paige?" Emily asked, grabbing Tara's arm rather roughly, surprising the other girl. "I'm sorry." She said, releasing her grip. "Why didn't you say anything?" Emily asked quietly.

"Because Paige wanted you to move on. Even she understood that you dropping everything just to wait for her isn't right." Tara said, trying to make Emily understand before she had to board the bus.

"When?" Emily asked, still reeling from the fact that Paige came back to Rosewood without her knowledge.

Tara furrowed her brows, trying to remember. "I think it was a few weeks after we started dating."

"What did she say to you?" Emily asked anxiously, but she already had an idea. And from the way Tara suddenly seemed embarrassed, she was right. "She told you to do all those things for me didn't she?" She said accusingly, trying to understand how she felt about this huge piece of information.

"It's not like she meant any harm when she did it." Tara began gently. "She just wanted to make sure that I would take good care of you since she's gone." She continued.

"No. She wanted me to fall for you." Emily said indignantly.

"Well you never had to worry about that because it didn't work did it?" Tara said quietly. She looked behind her again and saw the bus was nearing them. "Emily, what you and Paige have is truly amazing." She began, smiling softly. "So much so that I wish that I met you and Paige during your glory days because I haven't met anyone who loved someone as much as Paige loves you."

Emily scoffed. "Yeah. She loves me so much that she walked away from me." She said, fighting back tears.

"You're wrong." Tara said as the bus stopped in front of them. "She loves you so much more than you realize. Emily, I can't even begin to imagine the strength it took for Paige to come up to me and choose to give you up that day and every day since then. Not knowing if she will ever get you back. She didn't walk away to hurt you. She did it to put you first." She hugged the brokenhearted girl standing in front of her before whispering in the other girl's ear. "Emily, true love isn't measured by how many times you found your way back to each other against all odds. It isn't just about happy endings and breathtaking moments. That's not how it works. Most of the time to know its strength it's about the amount of sacrifice one is willing to make for the other. I think right now you know that better than anyone else."

---

"Anything?" Caleb impatiently asked Dani and Paige for the nth time, much to their annoyance.

"I swear if we find anything you'll be the first to know." Dani said, rolling her eyes at her brother. "I will come running to you and show you what I found if it means you will stop asking us every two minutes."

"It's kinda hard to find anything when you don't even know what to look for." Paige admitted reluctantly, dusting herself off after standing up. "We could cover more ground if we split. I'll take the back and make my way to the kitchen." She said, immediately heading to the backyard of the home Ali stayed at during a summer at the Hamptons.

"Good idea. I'll take the front and make my way to the living room." Caleb said, making his way to the front door.

Dani stood for a moment, trying to process what just happened. Did they really just leave me? "Hey! You guys think you're pretty funny don't you? Oh come on! This is so not fair! Why do I have to search every room upstairs? That's just… so awesome." She reluctantly started making her way toward the marble steps leading upstairs, all the while bothered by a nagging thought. How did Ali even afford this place all on her own?

---

Emily slammed the front door behind her as she entered the living room, making her friends look up at her in surprise and concern.

"How was it?" Hanna asked, putting the TV on mute as Emily plopped down beside her on the couch, exhaling loudly.

"I think it's safe to say they're not getting back together." Spencer said, studying Emily closely. "Hey Em, why are you so…"

"Angry? Livid?" Emily finished for Spencer, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Heartbroken." Aria said quietly. "Underneath that anger you seem so heartbroken."

Emily took a deep breath and looked at her friends. "Before Tara left she accidentally said something to me." She began, trying to control the anger she was feeling. "About Paige. She said Paige talked to her a few weeks after we started dating." Emily shook her head in disbelief. "She came back to Rosewood and didn't even talk to me." She said, defeated.

Emily's friends looked at each other guiltily and decided to come clean as well.

"Actually." Hanna said, fidgeting with the remote control. "We all saw her too at least once." She admitted quietly.

Emily looked at them in open-mouthed shock and stood up, pacing the length of the room in an effort to control her anger. "All this time, you guys have been keeping this from me?" She exploded. "You've all seen Paige when she was supposed to have left Rosewood and not one of you even bothered to tell me?!"

"Please let us explain." Aria pleaded. "Em it wasn't like we sought her out or she went to us, we kind of ran into her." She explained. "But not at the same time." Aria said hurriedly.

"I saw her first." Spencer admitted. "She was on her way to the bus station and I gave her a ride. I didn't realize it then because you didn't say anything, but I knew she was visiting you because when I saw her she was walking from the direction of your house. When you said she was calling you every night, it was then that I realized that she wasn't just merely visiting, I think she stood outside your house whenever she called you." She said gently.

Emily felt her throat constrict. She couldn't breathe. Why am I finding out about this just now? "What did you say to her?" She asked, trying to control her anger.

"I said if you found out what she was doing it won't be pretty." Spencer said hesitantly. "I'm guessing I was right. I'm so sorry Em."

"When did you see her?" Emily asked Aria, ignoring Spencer's apology.

"A few days after we saw the 'FOR SALE' sign in front of her house." Aria said, swallowing nervously. "I saw her at 'Lucky Leons' and I decided to confront her about how she chose to tell you she was leaving for good. I was about to let her have it when I saw something in her eyes that made me realize no one really understood why she left. It was a brief moment but it was like she knew she lost everything because of her decision but it was as if she felt she had no choice in the matter." She explained.

"She always had a choice. She chose to leave, remember?" Emily said, hurt. She looked at Hanna expectantly, waiting for her friend to confess.

"Paige actually sought me out." Hanna admitted, looking down at her hands. "It was on the night of your birthday."

"The gift." Emily said breathlessly, realizing Hanna lied about when Paige gave it to her.

Hanna nodded guiltily. "She showed up on my front step and asked me to tell you I had it before she left. Back then I didn't understand why she couldn't just give it to you. But we had a chance to talk when we went to search for the file in her old house and she said she really was going to see you that night but…"

"She saw me and Tara. Kissing." Emily finished for Hanna. "All this time I thought you told her about Tara." She said, suddenly feeling weak.

Hanna shook her head. "No. I never even knew there was a Tara until you introduced her to us." She said, surprised.

Emily finally sat down, exhausted. "That's why she stopped calling. That's why she talked to Tara." She said quietly. "You're supposed to be my friends. Why didn't you guys say anything?" Emily asked, looking at them with tears in her eyes.

"It's because we're your friends that we didn't say anything back then. We did it for your sake." Spencer said gently, moving to sit beside Emily. "Even Paige didn't want you to find out. She didn't want any of us to find out what she was doing." She said, looking at Hanna and Aria. "Em, at that time seeing Paige again wouldn't have done you any good because she wasn't done looking for answers. She still would have left and we don't want to see you so devastated again."

Emily stood up once again, feeling betrayed. She and Paige needed to talk once and for all. "I know you guys were just looking out for me and I love you for that. I could forgive you for that." She finally let the tears she was holding back fall freely from her eyes, wanting them to see how devastated she was.

"But you guys shouldn't have kept this from me." Emily said, trying to get the words out in between sobs. "The first time she left, she didn't say goodbye." She said brokenly. "I didn't get a proper goodbye. All I got was a letter. She said goodbye to me in a letter. No matter how good your intentions were, you guys shouldn't have kept something like this from me." Emily said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Because even if seeing her meant I would have to say goodbye all over again, I would rather learn to live with that than not see her, not even once, in the time that she was away." Emily wiped the tears from her eyes and headed out the door. She had to find Paige.

---

"You're kidding, right?" Caleb asked, looking at Paige incredulously as he stood beside her, both of them staring at an enormous potted plant that was at the back of the house. "You called me out here for that?" He asked, pointing to the plant in front of them.

"What? Something could be underneath it." Paige explained. "I wouldn't put it past her. Ali could have hidden something there."

"Yeah, like more soil and dirt. I'm not touching that." Caleb said, backing away.

"Oh come on. My arms are sore from all the lifting I've been doing. Help me out." Paige begged as she bent over to try and lift the plant. "Consider this your birthday gift to me." She said, looking up at Caleb teasingly.

Caleb rolled his eyes and bent over as well, lifting the heavy plant just enough for Paige to look underneath it. "Satisfied?" He asked smugly.

"See how easy that was?" Paige said lightly, giving him a pat on the back. "Go back to inspecting your precious table lamps, I'll be inside soon." She said while looking around for a place to look next.

"Well holler if you need me. I'll come running reluctantly." Caleb said, grinning wryly before heading back inside.

---

Dani stared at herself in the mirror as she finished washing her face in the bathroom in one of the bedrooms upstairs. Looking around for a towel to dry her face with, she was disappointed to find there wasn't any. Well, so much for hygiene. She thought as she tried to use her hands to wipe away the water from her face instead. Wringing her hands, she turned to make her way out of the door and accidentally landed her hand on the electrical outlet installed on the wall near the sink. Startled, she quickly removed her hand from it, relieved that she wasn't electrocuted. She continued on her way out when she was struck with something odd. I wasn't electrocuted.

On a hunch, she went inside the bathroom once again and touched the outlet once, twice, trying to see if there was any current running through it. Satisfied there wasn't, she started prying the sides of the outlet, holding her breath in nervous excitement when the cover finally fell on her hand. Peering inside, she saw that it was hollow. A concealment device. Clever. She cautiously reached inside and felt something thin and small at the bottom. Gingerly, she took it out and grinned when she saw that it was a small, black notebook, its pages smelling a little musty. Figures. I wonder how long this notebook's been in there. She thought to herself as she looked at the inside of the cover and saw Ali's name neatly scrawled at the bottom. Bingo. Ali must have accidentally discovered this fake outlet as well. Carefully, she browsed the pages to see what was written inside and she knew she had the answer as to how Ali could afford this place on her own. She was blackmailing a lot of people. These people definitely have motive for wanting Alison dead. She thought, shaking her head as she looked at the amounts written beside each name. You've been busy as a bee Ali.

She hastily read through the names and found two that stood out. Well that's weird. Heart pounding wildly, she returned the outlet cover in its place and made her way outside. Hurriedly going out of the bedroom, she made her way towards the direction of the stairs, excited to tell Caleb and Paige what she found.

"Caleb! Paige! I found something!" Dani yelled, her voice echoing in the large, empty house as she reached the top of the landing. "You guys wouldn't believe this. I hit the jackpot on this one!"

Suddenly, her world shifted. Before she could comprehend what was happening, someone forcibly grabbed the notebook she held in one hand. She didn't get a chance to see who it was. Her attacker seemed to have come out of nowhere, no, behind her actually. She felt the push and before she knew it, she was falling, tumbling down the stairs haphazardly. She desperately tried to stop her fall. She tried grasping at something, anything that could stop her movement but she grabbed nothing but air. It was over just as quickly as it began. She felt the excruciating pain like her head exploded when it hit the floor, and then everything went black.

---

"Dani!" Caleb cried out while rushing to his sister's side. He was on his way to see what Dani was so excited about when he heard the brief scuffle. But he was too late. Heart racing, he saw Dani sprawled on the marble floor, unconscious.

"Dani." Caleb said, shaking his sister violently. "Dani!" He cradled his sister's head on his lap and that's when he noticed the blood. "Oh god, oh god. No. Dani, come on, wake up. Wake up Dani. Paige!" Caleb yelled at the top of his lungs, distressed.

Paige came running inside, startled by the panic and fear she heard in Caleb's voice. When she saw what made him so scared, she hastily ran over to them. "No. No. No. Dani!" She exclaimed, terrified. She kneeled opposite of Caleb as she touched Dani's face gently. "Is that blood?" Paige asked in a daze as she stared at Caleb's shirt. She felt her blood run cold. "Caleb..."

"Call 911!" Caleb said frantically as he held Dani close to him, trying his best to stop the bleeding while trying to wake her up.