The Unbreakable
Chapter Nine:

"Wow, nice place," Paige said as she followed Hanna down the front hallway. "I'm impressed,"
Hanna was currently just showing Paige around her home. Hanna's home was probably the biggest, and maybe most nicest out of all of her friends. Hanna always told herself that a little hard work really pays off, her house was a great example for that expression.

Hanna smiled to herself and pointed to the staircase that was leading into the basement. "And that is the basement. It has another bedroom with a bathroom down there, and there's a TV room. I usually do my yoga down there," She explained as she continued walking.
Paige followed her. "Holy, how much did this place cost, Hanna?" She asked.
Hanna walked into the kitchen, with Paige still following behind her. She sat down on a bar stool at the kitchen island and shrugged. "It was 2.1," She answered.
"Million?" Paige asked.
Hanna nodded. "Yep,"
"Wow," Paige said, her eyes still wandering around the room, astonished.
"Now, enough about me. Tell me about you!" Hanna smiled.
She was excited to hear what Paige has been doing with her life. If there was anyone special in her life, and what she does for a living. It was always so interesting learning about people.
Paige sat down beside Hanna. "You didn't tell me anything about how you and Caleb got this house and those adorable munchkins!"
Hanna giggled. "Well, we saved up for a while and made this big purchase. And the kids, well you know how those were made. It was fun making them,"
Paige laughed. "Oh wow, you haven't changed at all!"
"Well, thank you," Hanna thanked.
Paige looked around her one last time and looked back at Hanna. "What do you wanna know about me now?"
Hanna scrunched her nose and stared at her. "Hmm, why'd you leave? And what have you been doing ever since, huh?" She asked.
Paige sighed. She knew that question was coming. She left out of the blue after graduation and none of the girls heard from her. She had left because she knew Emily was going to break up with her, but she didn't want to hear it. She thought it would be better to just leave and not look back. It hurt less.
"Um," Paige said licking her lips, and trying to find the right words. "It's complicated,"
"Come on," Hanna encouraged her to go on. "I told you my life story, now tell me what's up with you."
Paige stared at the blonde. She got enough courage to continue, but as she was about to answer the question, Caleb came home.

"Hanna?" Caleb said, closing the front door behind him and looking around.
"Caleb, I'm in the kitchen!" Hanna's sweet voice called out.
Caleb smiled and put his laptop bag on the floor and began to walk into the kitchen. When he walked in, he noticed Hanna talking to Paige.
"Paige?" Caleb asked, surprised.
Paige looked at him. "Caleb, hey,"
"What brings you here?" Caleb asked, walking over to Hanna and kissing her on the head.
"Welcome home, babe," Hanna greeted softly, before letting Paige continue.
"I was just doing some shopping and I ran into Hanna. She invited me to dinner with Spencer and everyone else." Paige answered.
Caleb nodded. "Well, the dinner is in about an hour so Han," He looked down to face his wife. "Go get ready now, so we aren't late."
"It takes a long time to get ready," Hanna defended. "I just had a baby a few weeks ago, nothing fits me!"
"Few weeks ago? Wow," Paige said, as she stared at Hanna's pancake flat stomach. "Moms must envy you. You lost all your baby weight already?"
"No," Hanna shook her head. "I look like a obese cow."
Caleb kissed her again. "You do not, babe," He told her sweetly. "You're beautiful."
"Thanks," Hanna looked up lovingly at her husband. She then got up. "Well, we're not gonna be late this time. Spence loses it when we're late. I'll go get ready."

Spencer laid the last few dishes on the kitchen counter. She and Emily had cooked spaghetti, garlic bread, chicken and a some brownies. Savannah was already here, she was waiting in the living room for the others to arrive, and was watching Penelope while Emily went home and changed.
Hanna had called and said that she would be over any minute, and Aria was running late, due to the whole pregnancy thing.

"Spencer?! We're here!" Hanna called out as she closed the front door behind her. She was now standing in the hallway of Spencer and Toby's house with Caleb, Paige, Luca and Bryn.
Spencer rubbed her head and went walking into the hallway to greet her friends. "Thank you, Hanna. For that very loud reminder that you have arrived," She joked and pulled Hanna into a hug.
"You know you love me," Hanna smiled and pulled away.
"Hi, Auntie Spencer." Bryn Rivers smiled.
Spencer bent down to her niece's size and kissed her on the head. "Hi, your majesty. I have some fruit roll ups on the counter for you," Spencer said as she ruffled Bryn's hair. "Save some for Sophie though,"
Bryn smiled at her aunt before making her way into the kitchen.

Spencer turned back to her friends and smiled at Paige. "So, how have you been?" She asked all of them, but making it obvious her question was strictly for Paige.
Paige awkwardly put her hands in the pockets of her jeans and shrugged. "I've been alright. How have you been?"
Spencer nodded and looked back at Hanna and Caleb. "Well, Savannah's waiting in the living room for you guys so go say hi."
Caleb nodded and placed his hand on Hanna's lower back as she picked up Luca's car seat and the married couple made their way into the living room.
Spencer turned back to Paige and smiled. "Wanna come help me set the table? Before Aria, and Em get here?" She asked.
Paige nodded. "Yeah, sure,"
Paige followed Spencer into the kitchen, and the two women began to set the table.

"We're here," Aria announced as she pulled her white BMW next to Emily's SUV.
"There's Auntie Em!" Sophie said from the backseat as she undid her seat belt.
Aria took her keys out of the ignition as Ezra got out of the car and helped Sophie out.
She shoved the keys into her purse and got out of her car. "Emily!" She called out as she closed her door.
Emily glanced at her as she closed her door. "Hey, Ar."
Aria walked over to Emily and hugged her. "Hey, Emily,"
Emily hugged back. "So, how are you?" She asked.
Aria pulled away. "I'm great. Where's Nellie?" She asked as she glanced around Emily.
Emily shrugged. "She's inside. I was helping Spencer, and her surrogate offered to watch Penelope while I went home and changed,"
"Where's Micah?" Aria asked.
"I have no clue," Emily confessed as she began to walk up the walkway of Spencer and Toby's two story home.

"We're here," Aria said as she followed Ezra, Emily and Sophie into the front door.
Spencer appeared in the hallway and smiled at her friends. "You're just in time. We're all in the living room. Come on,"
"Sophie!" Bryn exclaimed as she seen Aria's daughter standing in the hall.
"Bryn, let's go play!" Sophie smiled and followed Bryn into the kitchen.
Aria smiled as she watched her daughter run off with Hanna's. She turned back to Spencer. "So, where's Savannah?"
"In here," Spencer said as she lead Aria, Ezra and Emily into the living room.

"Hi, I'm Aria," Aria said as she shook Savannah's hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you."
Savannah smiled. "Hi, Aria. I'm Savannah. It's so nice to meet you, too. Spencer has told me so much about you," Savannah's eyes lead to Ezra. "You must be Ezra."
"That is correct," Ezra gave a boyish smile. "I'm Ezra."
"So nice to meet you two." Savannah smiled.
Emily looked around the living room for a place to sit. There were two leather arm chairs and a long suede couch. Hanna, and Caleb were sitting on the couch talking to Toby as Hanna breastfed Luca. Bryn and Sophie were sitting on the floor in the dining room playing on Bryn's iPad.
Her eyes lead to the brunette standing in the dining room playing with the two little girls that called her their Aunt.
Paige looked up and her eyes met with Emily's.
The two women stared at each other for a couple of seconds, not daring to say one word.
For Emily, it brought back memories. A lot. Good ones, and the bad ones. And feelings.
For Paige, she felt relief and all of their memories together came flustering back.

"So, how about dinner?" Hanna asked everyone when she noticed the awkwardness between Paige and Emily.
"Yeah," Spencer got up and pointed to the dining room. "Let's go eat! I made spaghetti, garlic bread and some chicken."
"That's sounds divine," Hanna smiled and placed Luca back in his car seat.
"I'll get the wine!" Toby announced as he got up.
"No," Spencer said sternly. "We have two pregnant women in this house and a breastfeeding mother. We'll torture them if we're the only ones drinking wine."
"That's right. Don't you dare drink wine around me. I'd go crazy," Aria laughed.
"Fine, no wine," Toby wandered into the dining room.
The others followed him.

"Mm, Spencer," Hanna said as she put some spaghetti on a fork. "This is so good."
"It is really good," Emily nodded. "So, Savannah...what do you do for a living?"
"I'm a health care assistant but I'm saving up for school to get my degree in early childhood education," Savannah explained as she rested her hands on her growing baby bump. "But I mean, there are other ways to pay for college besides a baby bump and stretch marks."
"So, do you have a boyfriend or anyone special in your life?" Hanna asked.
"Um, no," Savannah answered. "I did. I moved to Minnesota a year ago with my boyfriend James. We were supposed to get married, but well, that didn't work out."
"You'll find someone," Spencer assured her surrogate. "I'm sure you will."
"Yeah, and I'm sure your breasts getting bigger by a couple sizes will help you get a boyfriend," Hanna smirked.
"Hanna, I cannot believe your just said that out loud," Toby laughed.
"No, it's fine," Savannah glanced at Hanna and back at Spencer and Toby. "I think she's funny."
"How about you, Paige?" Aria asked.
Paige glanced up. She had her head down during most of their dinner. Only talking a few words, not adding much to the conversation going on around her. "Um, what?"
"Anyone special?" Ezra repeated what Aria asked.
Paige shook her head. "No, well there was this one girl..."
"Spill!" Hanna interrupted.
"Her name was Samantha. We dated for like a year, then she broke it off when I asked if she wanted to move to Canada with me," Paige implied.

"Am I late?" Micah Cruz said as he appeared in the doorway of the dining room. "I'm sorry. I got held up at the office. I tried getting off but you know my dad,"
"Hi, Micah," Hanna smiled.
"Hanna," Micah nodded as he walked over to the table.
"Can I get you a plate?" Spencer asked.
"Um, sure. I guess," Micah smiled as he took a seat next to Emily and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "I'm sorry, Em,"
"It's fine," Emily gave a small smile as she began to eat her spaghetti again.
"I'm Micah Cruz, Emily's husband," Micah smiled at Savannah.
"Hi, Micah. I'm Savannah Teefy." Savannah smiled.
"Here you go," Spencer said as she handed Micah a plate with some spaghetti, chicken and garlic bread on it.
"Thanks, Spencer," Micah thanked and grabbed it.
Paige watched as Emily and Micah interacted. She felt a bit of jealously.

"Mommy?" Bryn asked after everyone was finishing their desert, which consisted of homemade cinnamon buns that Savannah had prepared before she arrived and a chocolate lava cake.
"Yes, angel?" Hanna asked.
"Do I have to eat my desert? I don't like chocolate that much." Bryn explained as she pointed to the small plate in front of her.
"Of course not, sweetie. How about you go put it in the trash and play with Sophie?" Hanna suggested as she seen that Aria's daughter was finished eating.
"Yeah. Come on, Bryn!" Sophie smiled and looked at Spencer. "Can we go play downstairs?"
"I don't see any problem with that." Spencer nodded.
Hanna watched her daughter go downstairs into the basement and turned back to the others. "Well, I'm stuffed."
"I swear, Bryn is the only kid that doesn't like chocolate." Aria told Hanna.
"No kidding. Well, she likes chocolate a little bit. But she doesn't like when something is like smothered in chocolate." Caleb explained.
Emily was beginning to say something when her voice trailed off. She heard Penelope crying in her stroller. She immediately stood up and planted a kiss on Micah's lips. "I'm gonna feed Nellie." She told the others.
"Yeah, of course," Spencer smiled.
Hanna watched Emily pick up her daughter, diaper bag and head over to the doors leading to the backyard.
"Why are you taking her in the yard?" Hanna asked.
"Just some fresh air," Emily assured them.

Emily was sitting on the outdoor table set while she fed her daughter. She stared at the plants that Spencer recently bought at Wal-Mart, during the plant sale earlier in the Spring.
"Emily?" Paige said as she stepped out of the house and closed the door behind her.
"Um," Emily put Penelope on her right side of her chest, and covered her breast. "Hi."
"Can we talk?" Paige asked.
"No," Emily shook her head and stood up. "I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Let me explain," Paige began.
"No!" Emily held her daughter closer to her. "You left me, without a reason. Do you have any idea what you put me through?"
"I did it because I wanted to walk away first," Paige told her.
"Why first? What makes you think I was going to walk away?" Emily asked, her voice full of anger.
"Because of what you said on your birthday that year. You told me that we should both know that we were not gonna be together the next year." Paige explained.
"You seriously left all because of that?" Emily raised her eyebrows.
"I always need to be the first one to walk away, Emily. So I don't have to watch the other person leave me." Paige confessed.
Emily took a big breath. "I would've never left you. Maybe we would've moved on with other people during college but we still could have been friends."
"Do you love him?" Paige asked.
Emily looked at her. "Excuse me?"
"Do you love him?" Paige repeated herself, without the tiniest bit of expression in it.
Emily took a breath. "He's my daughter's father, my husband. Of course I love him."
In all honesty, Emily had no idea how she felt anymore. At first she married Micah just because she wanted to move on, and make all of her family happy. But you can never forget, or push away those feelings. But she wouldn't regret anything. If she hadn't got with Micah, she wouldn't have Penelope. She loved Micah. But she wasn't sure she loved him like that, like she thought she did the day she said "I do."
"I still care about you," Paige took hold of Emily's hand. "I've never stopped caring about you. I never stopped loving you."
"I love you too," Emily simply said.

Without consent, Paige carefully kissed Emily's lips softly. She craved the taste of Emily's lips. She missed her lips on Emily's, where they belonged.
Emily kissed back softly, but passionately. It brought back so many unwanted feelings, feelings she tried so hard to leave behind in Rosewood, but felt so good to finally kiss another girl.

There's that Paily kiss/reunion we've all been waiting for!
Did you guys watch the episode tonight? I did, and I kinda liked it. Despite what I said when I found out they were airing some black and white special. I thought it was going to suck. But it wasn't all that bad. I kinda liked it.
Alison looked amazing.
Well, I will update by next week.
Please tell me your thoughts!
Review, lovelies. I love hearing your thoughts, and your reviews keep me going!

~Kyrra