Disclaimer: Characters belong to I. Marlene King and Sara Shepard!
August 26th, 2020.
Anna begged her not to send the invitation. They had been lying in bed together, Anna's head resting in the nook of Paige's collar bone, and Paige drawing circles on Anna's arm when Paige brought it up. In retrospect, bringing up her ex-girlfriend after making love to her current fiancée had not been Paige's brightest idea.
She looked up at Paige those wide blue eyes Paige had fallen in love with, filled with tears and said, "Don't send it. Please don't send it. I know you promised her and I know how much that promise means to you but I'm begging you not to send it." And Paige almost broke. She almost gave in. But she couldn't. She owed this to Emily. She owed her closure. She owed herself the very same thing.
The breakup was close to five years ago and it had long since stopped hurting the way it used to. Anna helped with that. But Paige never forgot the promise she made to Emily the last night they spent together. Most of that night was hazy for her. She remembered only bits and pieces, everything else disappearing into some kind of emotional void. The memory of the promise they shared was her only truly clear memory of that night and something she carried with her every day of her life.
She supposed it was possible that there was something to be said about the fact that when Anna finally said 'yes', one of the the first things Paige thought was that the door was now officially closed on she and Emily.
Paige knew how Anna felt about Emily. Anna knew all of the dirty details regarding Emily and her relationship with Paige. Paige hadn't kept anything from her. The two of them had met a time when Paige needed somebody to listen to her. When she was broken with half of her pieces still lying on the floor of Emily's apartment. Anna had put her back together and for that Paige would be eternally grateful but she couldn't give Anna this.
She had to keep her promise.
She took the invitation from the box when Anna wasn't looking. She got Emily's current address from Reagan Reid, a mutual friend she and Emily still shared. It was the first time in years Paige had spoken to Reagan about Emily. When the two of them had broken up, for good, Paige had begged Reagan to keep any information she might have had about Emily to herself. That it was better for the both of them if Paige had no clue where Emily was, what she was doing, or who she was doing it with. Reagan had kept her word and the two of them never discussed Emily together until now.
It wasn't surprising to Paige that Emily was still in California. Emily had always made it quite clear that California was where she belonged.
Anna had been away at a conference for work when Paige decided to finally send the invitation. Paige knew she wouldn't be able to stand looking into Anna's eyes before she sent it. If she did she would back out. So she waited until Anna was safely away in some suburb of Chicago. She down at at her desk, putting the pictures of she and Anna face down on the desk. She let her pen hover just over the paper. She couldn't just send the invitation on its own. She had to say something. Anything. This was it. This was their closure and it had to be done right.
Everything she thought of to say fell somewhere between too heartfelt and too bitter to send. Part of her wanted to write a long winded letter, writing out all of the feelings she had kept to herself for the past five years. Part of her just wanted to write, Thanks. For all of the good years and the happy memories she gave her. Thanks for letting her go when it was clear all Emily wanted to do was hold on. Thanks for being the first person to ever hear her out and listen to everything she had to say. Thanks for being the best first love someone could ever ask for. But all of that was too much.
Finally, she decided to keep it simple. Short and to the point. The way Paige knew Emily liked things. I had to keep this promise was all she wrote.
It wasn't much but it was enough. It had to be.
When it was finally sent, along with the rest of the invitations, Paige broke down. She cried over Emily Fields for the first time in years in her fiancée's arms. Her heart, which had been put back together carefully with scotch tape, super glue, and glasses of gin, burst again. That night was long and Paige cried for nearly four hours straight until there were no more tears left for her to cry.
Then, she had to ask Anna to put her back together one more time.
After that last night, Paige vowed to put Emily Fields in a box, away for good. Paige had given them both the closure they desperately needed and now they were finished. Permanently. Emily Fields was nothing more than a former teammate and friend.
She couldn't keep doing this to herself and more importantly, she couldn't keep doing this to Anna.
September 2nd, 2020.
Emily was curled into a ball on her living room couch when her roommate came home.
Emily's stare was blank, her hands clutching the sides of the invitation. She had picked it up off of the floor, her fingers tracing the letters of Paige's name. When her fingers finally got tired, she stared at it until all of the words started to blend together and blur from the tears clouding her vision. It was over. They were over. Done. Finished. Forever.
A pair of comforting arms slid around Emily's shoulders and Emily relaxed into them. "Oh, Em. I'm so sorry." Came the whispered words of comfort from her roommate, Hanna. Emily let out a choked sob.
"It's over, Han. It's really over. She-she's getting married." Emily forced out between sobs. Hanna stroked her shoulders, whispering comforting words into Emily's hair as she cried.
"I know, Em. But you knew this was coming. You two haven't been together in a really long time." Hanna gently reminded. The reminder only caused another wave of tears to crash over Emily.
"It hurts so much, Han. I never thought I'd feel like this again." Emily mumbled into Hanna's shoulder. And that was true. Emily had encouraged Paige to move on. She knew this was coming. She had spent years preparing for it. But this, this invitation hit her like a tornado and all it left in its path was complete and utter destruction. Hanna kept her arms wrapped securely around Emily until her tears finally subsided. Once Hanna heard Emily's sobs quiet, she carefully asked,
"Em, I hate to ask this but. What are you going to do? Are you going to go?" Emily tightly shut her eyes, trying to picture Paige standing at the end of the aisle, dressed sharply in one of her favorite suits, watching a girl who wasn't Emily walk toward her. Looking at her like Emily always dreamed she would look at her when she walked down the aisle to meet her. The thought sent a shudder down her spine and a nauseous feeling to her stomach. She clenched her teeth, sitting up against the pillows behind her back. Slowly, she nodded.
"I have to. I won't be able to let her go until I see her say I do to someone else. I-If I don't go I'll never stop holding on." Emily admitted. Hanna's eyes softened, a familiar look of pity entering them. Emily had to turn away. She had gotten that look, over and over again in the past five years, and she was sick of it.
"I'll come with you." Hanna decided. Emily tried to protest but Hanna shook her head. "No Em, you don't have a choice here. If I don't go, you might make a bad decision and I won't have that on my conscience." Emily only sighed and nodded.
"Fine. There was an rsvp card in the envelope if you want to fill out later. I don't think I can look at it." Emily muttered, tucking her legs underneath her. She looked haunted. Her eyes were emotionless and the bags underneath them were so dark it looked as if she hadn't slept in days. The emptiness of her eyes was nothing Hanna wasn't used to seeing. They hadn't lit up the way they used to in years. Not since Paige. Hanna knew how much Emily still cared for Paige. It was obvious to anybody who took two minutes to talk to her. Paige was the love of Emily's life. It pained Hanna to know that Emily wasn't the love of Paige's. Anything that made Emily break down like this stupid little invitation did pained Hanna. Emily was her best friend and she would stop at nothing to put some light back into the girls eyes. Even if that meant accompanying her to the wedding.
Hanna stood from her spot on the coach. She took the invitation from Emily's weak grip and brought it to the kitchen table with her. Hanna picked up a pen, ready to check yes in on the rsvp card when something gave her pause. She turned back toward Emily.
"Em, can I ask you something?" She said tentatively.
"Sure." Came the faint reply.
"If we go to this thing, do you promise me that you won't do anything to stop it?" Silence hung in the air after Hanna's question.
"Yeah, Han. I promise." Emily finally replied, her voice flat and emotionless. Hanna nodded, not completely convinced, but choosing to believe that Emily's moral compass was still in tact. Hanna stared down at the rsvp card. Hanna had a feeling that somehow, sending this rsvp card could change everything. Before she had a chance to overthink it, she checked the yes, I'll be attending box and indicated that a plus one would be attending as well. She stuck in her purse to mail off tomorrow before returning to her spot next to Emily on the couch. The girl still hadn't moved.
"You want me to get you anything? Tea? Tequila? Pay-per-view porn?" Hanna attempted to joke. Emily gave Hanna a halfhearted smile.
"No. Just. Sit here with me for a little while?" Emily asked, turning her broken eyes toward Hanna, who nodded, moving in closer to Emily. Emily rested her head on Hanna's shoulder and the pair stayed like that until Emily finally drifted off to sleep.
September 3rd, 2020.
The next morning, Emily woke to an empty living room and note on the table in front of her.
Morning sleepyhead! I bought bagels and smoothies. Bagel's on the counter, smoothie's in the fridge. Oh, and I called into work for you. They know you're not coming in. RELAX TODAY! I mean it. Give yourself a pedicure. Use that weird head massager thing Aria bought you. Please.
Hanna
Emily felt a smile creep over her face. She was lucky to have a friend like Hanna, who jumped before Emily even had to say so. Hanna had been her rock since high school. Like Emily, Hanna had grown so much since they graduated high school and moved to California together. Emily had attended Stanford, Hanna UCLA. They were only a highway away from each other and that kept them close. Following Emily's breakup with Paige, Hanna asked Emily to move in with her so she didn't have to be alone. It was an invitation that Emily graciously accepted, knowing that if anybody would help her, it would be Hanna.
The agreement initially had been that Emily would stay with Hanna until her lease was up the following year or until she felt ready to get back on her feet. But then the end of Hanna's lease came and went and Emily still didn't feel ready to be on her own so the two rented another apartment together, where they had been living ever since. Hanna saw Emily through multiple breakdowns over the breakup, her father's heart attack, her father's funeral, PaigeGate 2017, and now this. Emily couldn't imagine having anybody else by her side through everything.
Emily glanced down to the clock on her phone, seeing two missed calls from her mother and a text from Hanna. Her mother never left any voicemails, not anymore, so Emily had no choice but to call her back to figure out what it was she wanted. Emily's leg was shaking gently underneath her as the dial tone rang through her ear. After the third ring, Emily heard a familiar, "Hello?"
"Hey Mom, it's me." Emily said into the phone.
"Emily! Thank god. I was starting to worry about you. Hanna called this morning, baby. She told me what happened. How are you?" Emily sighed. Of course. She bit down on her lip, taking a long, deep breath to calm herself down.
"I'm alright. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. How are you?" Emily attempted to divert her mother's attention. Her mother scoffed into the phone.
"Oh don't give me that. No trying to change the subject. Talk to me, baby." Her mother pleaded gently. Emily sighed, running a hand through her knotted hair. She winced as one of her fingers got stuck on a knot.
"There isn't anything to talk about Mom. She's getting married. I got the invitation. That's it." Emily replied shortly. She didn't want to think about this anymore.
"Well, are you going?!" She asked, her voice lilting up toward the end her question. Emily couldn't blame her Mother for asking her all of these questions. She was alone in their big house back in Rosewood. Her father had died of a heart attack close to three years ago and since then, Emily was the only person her Mother had to talk to. Emily felt a twinge of guilt for not being physically there for her mother – right now and immediately after her dad died. She had spent about a week in Rosewood for her father's funeral but she was out nearly as quickly as she came; leaving her mother alone to mourn her father. She was selfish, she could admit that, but being in the same town as Paige killed her. And after what happened between them after her father's funeral….she couldn't stay. She tried to convince her mother to go back to California with her, so she wouldn't be alone, but her mother was having none of it. She convinced Emily that she would be okay without her. So Emily had left. She called her mom every day, just to make sure she was still surviving. The loss of her father had been hard for both them. It still hit Emily hard some days, days when she saw soldiers out and about, days when she heard a joke that would have made her father laugh, days when she watches old re-runs of Family Guy and imagines her father next to her doing silly impressions. The ache in her heart was ever present and though it had been three years, it still hurt.
"I- yeah. I am. Hanna's coming with me." Emily replied, her voice low and shaky.
"Good. You need closure baby." Her mom cooed. Emily could hear the sympathy in her voice and it instantly made her want to hang up. She didn't want to be pitied. Not by Hanna and most certainly not by her mother. She could handle this. She'd survived almost five years without Paige. She could survive the rest of her life.
Probably.
"I don't need anything. I'm fine, really. I'm happy for her. She deserves to be happy." Emily stated, a note of finality in her voice.
"Of course she deserves to be happy. But so do you! And I hate seeing you, hearing you, like this. You're still so broken, baby and I want you to be happy." Her mother's voice was breaking and suddenly, Emily couldn't handle it anymore. She closed her eyes.
"I am happy, Mom. Listen, I have to go. I made an appointment for a pedicure and I'm going to be late. I'll call you tomorrow." Emily said flatly, hanging up before her mother had a chance to get another word in. Her head collapsed against the back of the couch. The talk with her mom had drained her. Phone conversations with her mother had a funny way of making her feel wracked with guilt. She knew why she felt that way. Emily never forgave herself for leaving her mother alone in Rosewood. Emily should have stayed – she knew that and there isn't a day that goes by she doesn't regret her choice. But Emily was used to living with regret – it was a feeling she knew well.
Her head was spinning and though she had just woken up from a full night's sleep, she felt like she hadn't slept in days. Emily let her eyes flutter closed and slowly, she drifted back to sleep.
Emily was woken up by Hanna violently shaking her shoulder. "Em! Em! Wake up! Jesus, did you take a whole bottle of sleeping pills?" Hanna was mumbling to herself. Emily stirred, yawning.
"No need to cause an earthquake. I'm up." Emily muttered between yawns. Hanna stared at her with wide eyes, her hands on her hips.
"Did you sleep all day?" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in clear exasperation. Emily shrugged.
"Didn't feel like moving. Too much effort." She replied shortly, another yawn coming from her mouth. Hanna shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Scoot over. We have a skype date with Aria and Spencer, remember?" Hanna reminded Emily, whose eyes widened in clear shock.
"Shit! I completely forgot. I don't even have a bra on!" Emily squealed. Hanna laughed as she opened the computer and loaded skype.
"Like they care. We've all seen you in way less." She replied dismissively. Emily laughed, adjusting her hair over her shoulder. The skype screen loaded and Emily braced herself for another interrogation. She was sure that if Hanna had told her mother about the wedding, she had told their best friends as well. Spencer popped up on the screen first, still talking loudly into her Bluetooth. She held up a finger, rolling her eyes. Emily and Hanna both laughed, signaling for her to take her time. They were used to this. It was actually surprising that they even managed to get Spencer on the screen. The woman was normally so busy all she had time for was a quick hello. Spencer had gone to UPenn, like her family had wanted, and studied to become a lawyer. After completing law school, she went on to become the youngest partner at Hastings and Hastings law firm, working alongside of her mother. Emily was, undoubtedly, proud of what her best friend had accomplished so early in her life, but talking to Spencer always left Emily feeling a bit empty. Like she had done nothing of worth with her life. Spencer was accomplished. She'd checked off everything on her list of goals, meanwhile Emily was still living with her best friend, bouncing from job to job and extremely far away from doing any settling down.
Aria popped up on the screen next. She had her hair thrown up in a messy bun, her plaid shirt falling off her shoulder. She had lines of green strewn across her face and a four month old bouncing on her lap. Her eyes were wide with stress and Emily felt herself wince. God, poor Aria. If Spencer was the picture of career stability, Aria was the picture of familial stability. Emily shot a sympathetic grin at Aria who smiled halfheartedly in response. Spencer finally got off of her Bluetooth and Emily started the conversation off, waving at the screen, cooing at the baby in Aria's lap. "Do we have a special guest today?" Emily said with a smile. Seeing the baby in Aria's lap was the brightest part of her day so far. Aria rolled her eyes.
"I couldn't put her down. She would cry and cry if I tried to put her in the bassinette so here we are!" She grumbled. Hanna laughed from Emily's side.
"Whoa there, calm down Mrs. Fitz. Where's Ezra?" Cue another eye roll from Aria.
"At school. Again. You know, I think he might be living there. I swear his kids aren't going to remember his face." She bitterly replied. Aria had married Ezra shortly after she had graduated college. Aria had always dreamed of being a Mom so it was no surprise to any of them that Aria was pregnant within months of her wedding. She'd had she and Ezra's first child just after her 22nd birthday, a little boy named Connor. They waited a while, until Connor was in school, before trying for another baby but Aria wanted a big family. One wasn't going to be enough for her. Sure enough, Aria gave birth to their daughter, Alison, just four months ago. Aria had had a difficult time adjusting to being a stay at home mother of two and it was clear to all of her friends that she was about at her wits end. Her husband, Ezra, was a teacher at Rosewood High School and spent more time at school than he did with his family and it was killing Aria. It was written all over her face. As was Alison's lunch, apparently.
"Hire a nanny, Aria! Then you could get back to work and you wouldn't have all the stress of raising children on your shoulders." Spencer suggested.
"No. I don't want to miss anything this little girl does." Aria cooed down to her little girl, kissing her on the head as she gurgled happily, her fist in her mouth. Emily felt a familiar pang in her stomach. She envied Aria. The girl had gotten everything she wanted with the person that she wanted.
Emily tried not to think about the fact that Paige was about to get everything they had ever wanted….with someone else. Emily tried to focus all of her attention back to her friends, who had been discussing the pros and cons of Aria getting a nanny when Emily tuned out.
"What do you think, Em?" Aria asked, attempting to bring her into the conversation. Emily snapped her attention back to Aria's corner of the screen.
"I think…you should do what you want. If you want to stay at home and raise Ali, that's what you should do." Emily replied, hoping their conversation hadn't shifted topics yet. Aria smirked and Spencer and Hanna giggled in the background.
"We were actually talking about Hanna rearranging the living room." Emily blushed.
"Sorry. I zoned out. I'm here now." She replied, fixing her eyes completely on the screen. She noticed Aria's eyes softening and Spencer looking at Hanna. Here it comes.
"How are you doing, Emily?" Spencer asked. Emily sighed.
"I'm fine. I really wish people would stop asking me that." She grumbled, leaning back into the couch. She folded her arms over her stomach, a small pout coming to her lips.
"We're concerned. We know what's happening and we just want to make sure you're dealing with it." Aria reasoned, adjusting Alison on her lap. Emily shrugged.
"Did Hanna call you too?" Emily responded, aggravation peppering her tone. Hanna reached out with her elbow to jab Emily in the side, which she carefully avoided. Aria paused.
"I-no. I actually got an invitation of my own." She reluctantly replied. It shouldn't have surprised Emily. Rosewood had become Paige's territory again. Aria had been friendly with Paige since the two of them now lived in Rosewood together. Emily nodded slowly.
"Right. Of course. I'm fine. Really. Please don't worry about me. Any of you. I'll get through it." Emily practically begged them, not wanting her best friends to look at her and talk to her with the same pity she had already received from Hanna and her mother.
"Well, are you going?" Spencer asked, her eyebrow quirked in curiosity. Emily nodded. God, she was sick of answering that question.
"Yeah. Hanna sent in our rsvp card today." There was a long, silent pause.
"Hey! It'll be a reunion!" Spencer exclaimed, looking to break the uncomfortable silence. Emily couldn't bring herself to say anything more. She was already tired of having this conversation. She'd now had it three times in less than 24 hours and it was exhausting.
"Can we change the subject please?" Emily pleaded. The girls all nodded, switching the subject to Spencer's latest blind date. Emily wasn't paying any attention, her mind completely submerged in thoughts of Paige. Again.
She didn't know the girl Paige was marrying but Emily could only hope that she made Paige smile. She must, if Paige was marrying her. She knew that if she wanted to, she could ask Aria to tell her about her but Emily didn't want to open that can of worms. She knew enough about them. She knew that she clearly made Paige happy. Happier than Emily could and that's what mattered.
Emily tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Aria mention that Ezra was going to be leaving Rosewood, and the country, to teach in India for two months, leaving her alone with their two children. Before Emily's brain to mouth filter even had a chance to turn on, she blurted out, "I could come stay with you."
The idea, while impulsive, wasn't altogether too insane. Emily didn't have any sort of steady job here in Los Angeles. She could afford to uproot herself and go stay with Aria and help with the kids. She needed to visit her Mom anyway. She hadn't seen her in too long. Maybe seeing her Mom would help alleviate some of the guilt she felt.
Hanna quickly turned to Emily. "Oh no. That's a horrible idea Em! You can't be in the same town as Paige two months before her wedding. That spells disaster!" She exclaimed. Aria interjected, desperation noted in her voice.
"I mean, she would be spending all day, every day with me and my kids Hanna. She wouldn't really have time have time to ruin a wedding." Aria reasoned, clearly interested in the idea Emily presented. Emily felt her heart begin to race. She didn't want to admit it to any of them, but the thought of seeing Paige was at the forefront of her mind. She had to know that she was happy. That the girl she was marrying put as big a smile on her face as Emily used to. And seeing them at the wedding wouldn't be enough. They wouldn't be in their natural element. She had to know that the girl made Paige smile every single day, even if they were only grocery shopping.
"C'mon Han, Aria needs help! And I don't have anything steady here. I can afford to take a two month vacation." Emily tried to convince Hanna. Emily knew Hanna would see right through her, she always could. Hanna eyed her skeptically.
"I'm coming with you. Hope you have enough room for the both of us, Aria." Emily grinned and Aria let out of a large sigh of relief.
"You have no idea how much this means to me." She said gratefully. Emily just smiled.
"Don't sweat it. We're happy to help." The conversation went on after that, everybody trading their best stories of the week.
Hanna hung up the skype call about an hour later and immediately turned to Emily. Emily could see the apprehension in her eyes. "Em. You're not just doing this for Aria. I know that. Spencer knows that. Aria knows that." Emily looked down, her hands inter tangling with each other in her lap. She nodded, urging Hanna to continue. "If we're going to do this, you have to stay away from Paige." Emily nodded, still not looking Hanna in the yes. "I mean it Emily! She's happy. You can't ruin that for her." Hanna warned.
Emily knew that. She did. She wasn't going to get in the way. She would let Paige have her happy ending, even if it wasn't with her.
She just had to make sure Paige was actually happy first.
September 6th, 2020.
It was the sixth of September when Paige received the RSVP card. The RSVP card with the yes, I'll be attending neatly checked off. The RSVP card saying that Emily Fields, and guest, were going to be attending her wedding.
Paige felt the breath leave her body. She swore her heart stopped or was suddenly being squeezed through a tube. She never…
This wasn't supposed to happen. She held the card loosely between her fingers, her eyes glazed over and out of focus. Her feet moved mechanically into the living room, where Anna was crunching numbers for the wedding. She was typing furiously, her eyebrow furrowed as she looked down at her screen. She didn't even notice Paige sit down next to her until Paige reached her hand out and laid the rsvp card on Anna's lap. Paige heard Anna's fingers quiet. She was still staring at her feet, unable to remove her mind from the state of shock it found itself in. There were a few moments of silence between them until Paige broke it. "I didn't think she would want to come." She choked out.
Next to her, Anna let her eyes flutter closed. She knew this would happen. She knew Paige would send the invitation. As much as Anna begged her not to, she knew Paige had to do it. To finally close their book. It wasn't Paige sending the invitation that worried her. It was the possibility that Emily might choose to come. And that fear was clearly not unfounded. Anna took three deep breaths, counting backwards from ten. She wouldn't let herself be angry about this – it wasn't Paige's fault. Anna knew Paige had to let Emily go, for good, before she could truly give herself to Anna and she was prepared for that. "Well, we can't take back the invitation now. I'll make room for her at a table with uh, some of your school friends. And Aria right? They're close." Anna rambled, her voice and hands shaking. Paige rested a hand on Anna's forearm.
"I'm so sorry. I wish I never sent it. I should've just. I don't know. Left her a voicemail. Or sent a carrier pigeon." Paige tried to apologize. Anna only shook her head.
"Please don't apologize. I understand why you had to do it. I'm-I'm not mad at you." Anna paused, looking over at the beautiful woman next to her. "I'm mad at her. I really am. I always have been, ever since I met you, but this? This is possibly the worst thing she's ever done to you. Can't she just let you be happy?" Anna exploded. Paige closed her eyes, attempting to keep the tears that had begun to flood her eyes at bay.
"Don't be angry. Please. I was angry enough for the both of us for a really long time and I'm finally past it, Anna. I don't want to be angry anymore." She turned to Anna, capturing her hand and gently rubbing her thumb across her knuckles. "I love you. I'm marrying you. And on our wedding day, I won't be thinking about Emily. I'll be thinking about how beautiful you are and how lucky I am that you settled for someone like me." Paige finished, looking into her fiancée's eyes. She moved a hand to Anna's cheek, which Anna turned gently into. Paige brought their foreheads together, giving her a light kiss on the forehead.
"I know. I love you too. So much." Anna looked up into Paige's eyes. "But I'm the lucky one. Truly."
Paige leaned in for one more kiss before she pulled away, standing quickly and moving toward their television. "Okay, put that computer away. We have about three weeks' worth of the gay bachelorette to catch up on." Paige exclaimed, pushing any leftover feelings away. She meant it when she said she was finished with Emily. Let her come to the wedding. Let her see how happy Anna made her. It didn't matter to Paige. She was marrying Anna. The true love of her life. That's what mattered.
And the more she repeated that to herself, as the gay bachelorette played in the background, the more she started to believe it.
A/N: Another quick update, I know! It's only been two days since I posted the last chapter but I pounded this one out so quick, I wanted to post it before I started to second guess anything! I'm sorry for this chapter. It actually hurt me to write this, to write Paige with someone else but I had to do it! Also broken!Emily is very hard to write and I hate to say it, but it's not going to get better for them any time soon. Luckily, I have the slightly happier past chapters to keep me going!
Also, I feel like I ought to justify my choice to name Aria's daughter Alison. In the timeline of this story, Alison died and A never hunted them. So they never learned about all of the other terrible things Ali did so to the girls, she was just their friend that died. And they would have paid homage to that!