Cece's Chapter.
I'm sorry to everyone who cried while reading that last chapter- I honestly didn't think it was that powerful. Sometimes, when I write, I'm pretty desensitized to the emotions- they're just words as part of a story. I suppose on one hand, it's a good thing because it means I can convey emotion well, but on the other it wasn't supposed to be that brutal.
So, here's a tribute chapter dedicated to CeCe Drake. It's her last 48 hours alive- her story and thoughts. I didn't plan on writing this, but it's how I had envisioned she would be.
x-x-x
Cece really fucking wishes that Emily would stop pacing. It's giving her a headache. Not to mention it's 3 am. It's not like Alison's dying, she's just passed out. And the older blonde has had one too many stupid nights involving drugs to really be too concerned.
"Emily," she tries to say without irritation in her voice. "She's not going to die. The doctor said so. She was just drugged, and it's not enough for it to be an overdose."
"I know that," the Pocahontas look-a-like says as she continues to pace and Cece rolls her eyes. She loves the two younger girls, but their antics really grind her nerves some times.
She's never been an affectionate person. Her parents died when she was younger, years ago. She doesn't miss them really- they never paid attention to her. It was something she could relate to Alison about. Her grandparents had kicked her out at eighteen, and she's been on her own since then.
And since then, it's been one shit storm after another to hit her- having to find a job, shitty living situations until she got money, getting involved with the wrong people, drunk mistakes, drug use- trying desperately to find a place to belong.
Cece remembers the day she met Alison. It was comical, really, in her mind. Alison had wandered in, looking for a job.
"You?" Cece asks, amused as she looks the timid blonde girl up and down. She looked like she was sixteen, she couldn't be any older than eighteen or nineteen. "You want to work here?"
"Well, yeah," Alison had stammered. The older blonde could tell she intimidated the younger girl.
"Have you even had sex before?" Cece teases, eyebrows raised.
"Of course I have!" Alison had retorted a little too quickly, cheeks turning red.
"Fine, come with me, I'm in charge of screening the new girls anyway," she told her. "Do you want to start now?"
"L-l-ike right now?" Alison had asked, surprised.
"Now or never," Cece said impatiently and Ali nodded so she followed the older blonde to the dressing room. And Cece doesn't expect her to last more than 30 minutes in here, the girl doesn't look bold enough to make a first move.
When she turns around, she sees Alison blushing furiously and realizes the younger girl had totally been checking her out. She can have some fun with this.
"Strip," she orders with a smirk and watches Alison's eyes widen. Cece notices how fearful she looks, was she coming off too harsh? She clears her throat. "I mean, this is a strip club."
"Right," Alison replies weakly and slowly takes her top off, leaving herself in a plain black bra. She fumbles with the buttons on her jeans, her hands shaking.
"Sometime today," Cece taunts and decides to mess with this poor girl. As soon as she sees she's undone the button, Cece goes up to her, drops to her knees, and pulls her jeans down in one swift motion.
She hears the girl gasp loudly as she stands up and gets right in Alison's face.
"Nice, you have a tight little body," Cece says in a husky voice and she smiles at the way Alison blushes.
"Loosen up, I'm just messing around with you," the older blonde says as she takes a step back. "I know I'm hot and all but please, don't fall in love with me or anything like that."
Alison scoffs, a real smile finally gracing her face.
"If I give you lingerie, can you go change?"
Alison nods and goes to while Cece heats up her curling iron and fixes her own hair.
When Alison comes back out, dressed in a hot, seductive red set of lingerie, Cece smiles and motions to the chair.
"Sit here kiddo," she says and Alison obeys. Cece does her hair and makes small talk with her. And when she finishes, she turns Alison around and does her makeup. When she steps back, she sees a very seductive, hot looking girl in front of her.
"Damn," Cece says crossing her arms, pleased with her work. "Look in the mirror."
Alison stands up and looks in surprise, caught off guard by how bold she looks.
"Why do you need this job so bad anyway?" Cece asks, curiously. The teasing tone is left out of her question, and she looks at Alison sincerely.
"Nobody else will hire me," she says sadly as she looks away.
"Look kid I'm no resume wizard but I'm sure someone will hire you-"
"No, you don't understand, trust me no one will hire me," is all Alison says, pleading.
"Are you a psychopath? Killer? Did you do time in jail?"
"What? No!" Alison defends herself in horror.
"Cool, well, then, I'll hire you as long as you go out there and own the floor. Here are the rules. You are allowed to go up to people, you can touch them, do what you want- just don't do sexual acts for money or you will get fucked over."
"I wouldn't," Alison quickly says.
"Good, and remember, they can't touch you inappropriately, or really at all, but it's all circumstantial I guess. Like if a nice guy just has his hands on my thigh and doesn't move it I don't say anything."
She sends Alison out and two hours later comes back to see the blonde timidly sitting on some guys lap. The innocent act works, but not that innocent.
"Is that the new girl?" one of her bosses turns to her and says.
"Yeah, that's the one that just came in today."
"She looks stiff, like she's never had sex before," he says frowning.
"That's what I said," Cece smirks. "Don't worry I'll go help her out."
With that she goes over, not wanting Alison to not get the job. There had been something so desperate about the way she had earnestly asked for the job.
"Shit," she mumbles as she realizes she forgot to give Alison a name.
"I see you met my friend," Cece says seductively and this guy looks like he just hit jackpot when he sees he has the attention of not one, but two hot blondes. Alison is sitting on one of his legs, and Cece slides onto the other, facing her.
"This is-"
"Vivian," Alison quips quickly and Cece scrunches her nose in distaste. What a not sexy name, she thinks.
"Vivian," Cece repeats with a smile. "Isn't her name unfortunate?"
The man laughs at her as Cece wears her best flirty smile, and Ali scowls at her, in the cutest way, Cece thinks.
"Vivian and I know all about having fun," she whispers to him. "Wanna watch?"
He nods, like he's going to explode if they don't.
The timid blonde looks startled. "We do-mmmf?"
Alison is cut off by Cece pressing her lips on hers. When the blondes pull apart, the guy whistles lowly. "That was so hot, you two are something else."
He gives them both tens, and Cece smiles politely as she hops off the man and drags Alison with her.
"You have a lot to learn," she lectures Alison as she throws her lightly into the dressing room.
"I was that bad?" Alison asks looking hurt.
"At kissing, no, at seducing people, god that was like watching a trainwreck," Cece says shaking her head.
"I'll try harder," Alison pleads. "Please."
Cece scrutinizes her and then sighs, giving in. "Fine."
She watches Alison sigh in relief.
"Get out of here kid, come back tomorrow," Cece tells her kindly with a smile. Alison nods and starts to get dressed.
When Cece walks out about half an hour later, she gets in her car, ready to go home. And then she sees that poor girl sitting at the bus stop and she shakes her head, getting out of the car.
"Look, it's not safe for you to wait out here, come with me," Cece orders, no room in her voice for argument.
Wordlessly, Alison follows her.
"Where are your parents? Can't they come pick you up or something?"
"They don't care if I come home or not," Alison mumbles. Cece looks at her, knowing how that feels.
"Then fuck it, don't go home. Let's go do something fun. Do you ever drink?"
And that's how that friendship started. Cece shakes her head. It's been two or three years, and somehow they turned into bickering, inseparable sisters. The older blonde would never tell Alison this, but there are days she doesn't understand why she's alive- her existence has always baffled her, it feels like a long stretch of nothing. But when Alison and her have their days together, which have become far and few lately, Cece feels a reason to stay alive.
Alison is the first good thing she's ever been proud of- she knows that kid owes her a lot, but she owes that kid too. Ali ironically gave her happiness, even though the older blonde had to pull Alison out of her slump.
She never had any siblings growing up, but she imagines if she did she'd want them to be like Alison, minus the part where they makeout occasionally for fun.
It pleases her that Alison has found someone so kind to fall in love with, she really is happy for the blonde. But there's a twinge of jealousy she suppresses- or maybe it's loneliness. Probably loneliness. Still, Alison is her only friend and family- she'll do anything for her, including support her clearly healthy and positive new relationship. Plus, despite Emily's boring appeal to Cece- she thinks that girl is gorgeous and is proud of Alison for landing such a catch.
Neither Cece or Emily get a wink of sleep that night, because as much as Cece won't admit it, the thought of Wilden coming that close to Alison unnerves her.
In the morning, she convinces Emily to come with her to grab coffee downstairs. They talk about mundane life topics that Cece couldn't give two shits about. She could never date Emily, too timid for her taste.
She leans in the doorway, talking to Emily who stands outside. When she hears coughing from the inside, she turns around to see her best friend looking sick.
"Shit," she had mumbled. She couldn't deal with puke, she'd let the girlfriend deal with that one. "Emily she's awake, and she's gonna hurl."
Cece listens to their mushy gushy "I love you's" in amusement, truly happy that Alison is happy.
x-x-x
"Ali?" Cece calls out impatiently. "You know how I hate waiting!"
But there's no answer as she stands in the tiny dressing room, huffing in annoyance as she throws her clothes back on and goes to find the blonde.
"Ali, I'm going to kill you," she mumbles, picturing the blonde standing out there lost in her thoughts texting Emily.
But to her annoyance, the blonde isn't out in the store either.
"Excuse me," she stops the nearest store associate. "Did you see my sister? Shorter than me, curly blonde hair, really blue eyes, she was wearing jeans-"
"Yeah, she walked out with her boyfriend," the lady quips while folding clothes.
Cece frowns in confusion. "Wait I'm sorry, that can't be her, my sister is dating a girl," she spits out without thinking. She doesn't notice her use of the word sister, sometimes it just comes naturally. It's not the first time it's happened when she's alone and talking about Alison.
"That is definitely the only girl that was in here that resembles the one you described. She was holding this tall guy's hand," the lady shrugged.
Cece's heart stops.
"Did he look pretty muscular? Hard jaw line?"
"Yes…" the lady responds while looking strangely at Cece who just runs out of there. She looks around, not knowing where to go.
"Fuck," she had cursed and felt tears building. She doesn't want to call Emily, doesn't want to face her- she feels responsible. If she hadn't forced Alison to go to the mall…
"Fuck!" she yells as she gets to her car and kicks the tire angrily. She runs a hand through her hair frustrated, not knowing what to do. She has to tell Emily.
And when she gets the brunette's apartment and breaks the news, she's shocked by her violent outburst, suddenly afraid of what Emily will do.
So she convinces Emily to call Spencer and to hold on, because everything will be alright, she tells herself.
Cece has never been scared speechless, but tonight is the first time.
x-x-x
She watches the girls work together, all of them supporting Emily. Her heart stings, wishing Alison was here. Her best and only friend. But also the only support she knows she has.
When Emily recruits Spencer to go with her to the house, Cece almost wants to insist upon going too. But something tells her Alison's not there, so she stays back, instead encouraging Emily to drink her soup. She knows that when Alison comes back, she'll scold Cece for letting her girlfriend run around without eating.
They must all think she's a cold hearted bitch- especially Emily's sassy friend Hanna. Because Cece doesn't show weakness, she merely hides it. She hides it better than Ali does because she taught that girl how to live like that.
But her world inside is crumbling- she'll do anything to save Alison.
x-x-x
When Cece hears that scream, she almost pushes past Spencer too when Emily does, but her heart is pounding with fear upon what she'll find when she goes down there. She doesn't know how she'll continue living if Alison is dead- and she knows she probably would't. She would wither away, truly fucking done with life.
She sees Alison and her heart almost breaks yet she breathes a huge sigh of relief at the sight of her, alive and well.
She runs over to her and tries to help her but Alison is in a state of panic, as Cece recoils, shocked, as her younger friend shrieks and jerks violently, trying to get away.
"Ali it's me," Cece tells her urgently. "It's me Cece."
The blonde looks at her through thick tears and stares, as if trying to come to her senses while her mouth quivers.
"It's me," Cece reiterates. "I love you."
(It might be the second time Cece has ever said that to her, the first being at least two years ago)
Out of the corner of her eye she sees Spencer come kneel down behind her, and she also sees the tan brunette fighting with Wilden. She's not worried for the moment, she knows Emily has a knife.
But Alison is just sobbing incoherent words as she shakes her head. Cece sees her wrists rubbing raw and she reaches out to the girl, trying to get her to calm down and stop tugging at her restraints. She lets her hand rub Alisons' arm comfortingly.
"Ali stop moving, you're only going to hurt yourself," she says softly, and this is the most affection she's ever shown Alison as she gets closer, despite the blonde's violent shaking, and hugs her, kissing her head. "I'm here okay? We're here. Emily's here."
"Emily…" Alison murmurs through little cries, panic growing again.
"Shit!" Spencer hisses as she sees Emily get knocked to the ground and pulls out her hidden gun, carefully. Cece whips her head to see Wilen get up with a huff of anger and grab a small knife of the table. She sees Emily's knife out on the floor a distance away.
"Emily watch out!" Cece yells with Spencer as Wilden lunges at her and the brunette rolls away just in the nick of time.
But he grabs on to her arm and pulls her towards him, struggling.
"Emily," Alison cries softly as she watches, as if the truth hasn't hit her yet. Cece watches as Wilden gains the upper hand.
"Emily!" Alison screams out in sheer terror and as Cece looks at her face, she knows she has to do something. Because she couldn't live with the guilt if she doesn't. Alison gave her a reason to hold on for so long, much longer than she would have held on without her. So she'll do the same.
With great effort, Cece forces herself to spring towards the two fighting, as Wilden raises his knife. She knocks him over and lands on the brunette with a hiss, realizing she just knocked the air out of Emily.
And then there's a sharp pain in her back, and she screams out, because nothing before has hurt as bad as this. Cece Drake knows it's over, in this moment she knows it's the end. And she's okay with it, she really is- she just hopes that Alison will survive. Because if she doesn't, this will all be for nothing. And that's the last thing she thinks, before her world goes black.