Chapter 2: The Reveal
Emily sat at the table in the courtyard of Rosewood High, elbows on the table, plastic fork picking at unappetizing food. She wasn't looking at what she was doing and her mind was even further from her lunch than her eyes were.
"So Caleb had no luck?" Spencer asked pleadingly.
"No go." Hannah answered. "The bank account info on those papers blocked out all but the last four digits. All we have to go on is the bank name and it's not even local. Right now, it looks like he's playing code cracker for the Cayman Islands."
"Ugh!" Spencer slammed her fists down on the table in frustration, causing Emily to jump at the sound. "What the hell? Everything we found in that room! All of it! It's useless! No clues! It's leading us nowhere!"
"And fast." Hannah finished.
Emily continued to stare off into space. Aria narrowed her eyes at her.
"Earth to Emily. Are you okay?" she asked.
Emily gave her head a quick shake, tuning back into the conversation.
"Yeah, sorry. What were we talking about?"
"Just about our pointless trip to Ravenswood screwing us back to square one." Spencer answered in a huffy tone.
"Don't say that, Spence." Aria interjected, attempting to soothe her. " It's not like it was for nothing. We know where A is operating from now. We can -"
"We can what?" Spencer rolled her eyes. She sighed. She knew she was snapping at her friends, but she couldn't help it. They got so close again only to be kept so far away. "Cece got away. Again. We found A's lair. Great. You think they don't know we know? How long before they relocate and put us even further behind the 8 ball? Again"
"Do you guys think it was true?" Emily asked, as if her mind and body were still miles away from the conversation occurring at the table.
The three girls turned to her with matching confused looks.
"Do we think what was true?" Hannah asked.
"What Grunwald said...about Ali?" Emily bit her lip nervously. "Do you think Ali is really alive?"
A quiet fell upon the girls as they looked from one to another. No one wanted to speak up first. No one knew what to say. Finally, Spencer sighed.
"Do I think she pulled Allison out of the dirt? No. No one was buried alive and clawed their way out that night. That woman is either lying to our faces or flat out delusional." Spencer answered.
"There were 2 redcoats, Spencer!" Emily spat out. "We all saw them! And one of them led you to that room! She wanted you to see it!"
"I don't know that, Emily!" Spencer replied back, shaking her head from side to side in exasperation. "To be honest, at this point, I feel like Ravenswood exists purely for my confusion because I just don't know what the hell is going on anymore!"
The bell sounded through the courtyard, signaling the end of lunch period for the 4 girls.
"Why don't we take a break from this conversation?" Spencer asked. "We'll meet up tonight? My place?" Hannah and Aria nodded. Emily lost herself in her thoughts once again. "In the meantime, if anyone hears anything - if Caleb finds anything linked to that bank account, Hannah - we all text. Immediately!"
"Yeah."
"Got it." Aria nodded.
The three girls stood up from the table and began to walk their separate ways. Emily stayed seated, staring off into the distance. Aria stopped and turned back to her.
"Em?" Emily turned to her. "Are you coming? We've got to get to class."
"Yeah...Yeah. I'm on my way." Emily nodded, folding her arms across her chest as if protecting herself from some imaginary cold chill.
Aria gave her a sympathetic look.
"Hey...we're all feeling really messed up right now. That's why we've got to stick together, now more than ever. We'll talk about this all more tonight. At Spencer's."
"Oh, yeah. I can't. I'm working. Closing shift at The Brew." Emily responded, still a distance in her tone and demeanor.
"Oh." Aria answered. "Are you sure? Can you get out of it?"
"I really should work. I called out for that trip to Ravenswood, so I could use the money."
"Ok. Well go straight to Paige's afterward. No lingering in the dark and plenty of cuddles." Aria gave her a cheeky grin.
Emily smiled back at her friend, but barely heard a word she said.
Emily stood behind the counter at The Brew with her back to the register absently polishing and stacking coffee mugs. It was halfway through her shift and she was already exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally. She couldn't stop thinking about Ravenswood. About that room. Those pictures. There were pictures of everyone...including Ali.
What if she was alive? Is alive? Where is she? Where has she been all of this time? Is she scared? She's all alone. All of their "hallucinations"...Were they not really hallucinations? What if Ali was visiting them? What if she had been trying to protect them all of this time? Most importantly, is she ever going to come back?
"Early morning?"
Emily turned around, startled, to see Paige leaning on the counter with a warm grin. Paige pulled back slightly at the sight of Emily jumping.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." she said.
Emily rubbed her eyes. "It's fine. I was zoning. It's been a long day."
"I'm sure it has. When I woke up this morning...you were already gone." Paige looked away.
Emily frowned. Her heart hurt for Paige. She looked down and saw her ringing her hands on the countertop and wanted so badly to place a comforting hand on top. She wanted to tell her she wasn't intentionally pulling away, but it was like her mind and her body weren't connected. All she could do was stare at Paige's hands- hands that never hesitated to offer her love and comfort- and not make a move.
"Yeah, I had some things to do." she answered in a flat, monotone voice. She winced at her own tone. Why was everything so hard right now? Why couldn't she just take Paige's hands? Why couldn't she take comfort in her hands, her arms, her kisses, her body? Just like always? What was so different now?
...Ali... She had a hold on her when they were kids and she still did. She always stopped her from seeing anyone other than her and now she was stopping her from even being able to reach out and touch Paige. Emily wanted to curl up and cry.
"Em?" Emily glanced up to see a concerned look on Paige's face. Paige reached out and grabbed Emily's hand, closing the gap and making the contact Emily could not. "Emily, what's wrong? You got back from Ravenswood last night and barely said a word to me. It was late so I didn't think too much of it, but this morning you left before I was even awake and this is the first I'm talking to you all day. What's going on? Did something happen in Ravenswood?"
And out of nowhere, it's as if Emily's mind and body reconnected. There was so much care and concern and pain in Paige's voice - all for her. She squeezed Paige's hands back. "No, I'm fine...or I will be. I'm so sorry if I'm disconnected. It's just...you know how much is going on for me right now..."
'No, you don't.' Emily thought inwardly.
Paige smiled warmly and brought her hand up to cup Emily's cheek, squeezing her hand reassuringly with her other hand. "I know, Em. And YOU know you don't have to hide it from me. I'm here. You know I am."
And with that look, with her smiling eyes, it was Paige once again. It was Paige who occupied her thoughts, her mind and her heart.
Emily swept the bits of dust on the floor into a neat pile in the center of the coffee shop. After Paige left, Emily wandered around the shop with a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was a feeling Paige left her with often, sometimes with a look, sometimes with a kiss, sometimes with a touch. Tonight that feeling was safety, security and comfort - the feeling that while her life was currently reeling, Paige was there.
Because of that feeling, the rest of her shift moved impossibly slow. Emily looked up at the clock on the wall. 10:07 pm. She thought of Paige, in her room, lying in bed, probably watching TV or wrapping up her homework, whatever to pass the time until Emily showed up. She couldn't wait until she got there, until she could crawl into bed with her and try to sneak the bedroom door closed. Emily smiled at the thoughts running through her head as she swept the pile of dust into a dustbin.
DING DING...
The bell over the front door sounded as the door opened and closed.
"Sorry. We're closed." Emily tossed casually over her shoulder without a look back and continued to sweep.
"You used to have time for me..."
Emily froze. That voice. That inflection. That unwavering confidence with just a hint of a teasing smile in the sound...
The broomstick dropped from Emily's hand and clattered to the floor. She turned slowly. Standing in the doorway was the all too familiar cascade of blonde curls, smiling blue eyes, and dimples accompanying a confident smirk.
Emily couldn't believe her eyes.
She was looking at Ali.