A/N: So. Many. Familiar (virtual). Faces. Thank you so much for still being here and indulging me. Updates may be a little slow, but I'm doing my best. Also note that the social media platforms are a year or two ahead of the timing in the show, but I'm pushing the timeline forward on them as if they existed universally within the PLL show timeline.
Another note: there might be a slight trigger in this chapter.
Chapter 1:
Seasons in the Sun
o ~ O ~ o
~ 3 Years Later ~
Warm rays of the sun beamed down on Alison as she lounged on a towel on the sand. Her hair was still wet from the salt water, but the heat was drying it out. Her eyes were closed beneath her large designer sunglasses, letting her other senses overtake her.
The sand below her towel was soft, making it a perfect little bed by the beach. The waves drowned out the sound of the other beach-goers. It was comforting. A constant gentle rhythmic white noise. It was a far cry away from the drama in Rosewood.
Her bikini was nearly dry, but there were still a few spots that were damp.
She adjusted her sunglasses and opened her eyes. When she lifted her head beads of water droplets rolled down from the tips of her hair.
The cool sensation of the water dribbled down her tanned body. She felt a spray of the ocean water in the breeze.
She had come to California for a few reasons.
The first reason was the same reason everyone with a dream went to the west coast.
Fame and fortune.
But Alison had an advantage that not everyone had. She had been invited out for a modeling job.
She had gained quite the following on her Instagram. After years of hiding as the girl who had come back from the dead, she had embraced her identity. And while she didn't talk about the specifics of what happened when she was on the run or what happened when she got back…she did share a portion of herself for everyone to see.
She loved the interaction and the attention. It made her feel less alone. She kept aspects of her life private. She didn't talk about her family or her friends, and she was guarded about the content she put out.
The other reason she'd left Rosewood for Malibu was much harder for her to talk about.
The three years she'd spent back east had been extremely difficult. She hadn't told anyone what happened. She hadn't even told her friends. They'd all been busy, so she hadn't talked to them much. She had spoken to Emily a handful of times, but she hadn't told her she was coming to the west coast.
She was just going to focus on her career for now…and to try to get past what happened in Rosewood.
She pushed up against her elbows and looked around, searching for her bag. She pulled her phone out and sat up.
She flipped the camera face-forward and held up the phone until she had the perfect shot of her face. She snapped it and then took a few others for good measure. She scrolled through, looking for the best one.
Her agent had told her she needed to update her followers as often as possible to keep her engagement high.
She scrolled through the filters and finally found one that fit. Then she captioned it Salty and Sweet and threw in the hashtag #OceanBreeze and posted it.
It immediately generated a bunch of likes and comments. Alison watched as the likes came pouring in. After a few minutes she put her phone away.
A rush of cool water surged over her and she squealed in surprise.
When she leaped to her feet and spun around she saw one of the boys she was sharing an Airbnb with holding a bucket and grinning at her. Across the beach she heard a bunch of laughter and saw the rest of the guys high-fiving.
"Nice one, Ty!" A tall chiseled blonde with the mind of a twelve-year old whooped.
She faced Tyler, who had a sheepish smile on his face. His jet black hair glistened in the sunlight. There was a mixture of mischief and nerves in his dark blue eyes.
He was one of the nicer guys in the house. She was surprised that he'd doused her with the water, but the guys had probably sent him because she would have ripped into the others.
She kind of liked Tyler. But not enough to sleep with him.
She had only been in two relationships since Emily left, but neither lasted very long. She'd met a nice girl who worked at Welby when she was visiting her sister. They'd hit it off and dated for about a month.
The next relationship was even shorter. It was a guy she'd met at a bar one night. They'd exchanged numbers and flirted for about a week and then went on a few dates. After three weeks they realized that they wanted different things, so they broke up. They were still friends though. He was one of the only friends she had in Rosewood. Alison had seen on his Insta that he'd moved to Colorado and he'd gotten engaged. She had congratulated him.
She realized after those two short relationships that she needed to work on herself before she could be with someone else. So that's what she'd been doing over the years.
Alison shook her head and sent water slinging from her hair, some of it hitting Tyler in the face.
"Really, Tyler?" Alison rolled her eyes.
She basically lived in a frat house, but she didn't mind because it was convenient and close to the beach. And it was one of her only options. She knew it was a risk to stay there, especially since she was the only woman there. But so far the men hadn't tried anything. Alison drew a very clear line. She also locked her door when she was in her room.
"You looked hot. I just wanted to cool you down." He lowered the bucket and winked at her. "Also, the guys kind of dared me. Let me buy you a drink to make it up to you."
Alison wasn't going to turn down a free Mai Tai.
"Make it two." She flashed a flirty smile at him, knowing he'd fold immediately.
"Sure. Sounds like a fair trade." Tyler ran his fingers through his wet hair.
The rest of the guys were walking towards them, some with their cameras out.
"Yo, DiLauretis, you should have seen your face!" The blonde, Chad, laughed. "Where you going, Ty?"
"Just grabbing some drinks." Tyler shrugged. "Stay with her and keep her safe." He puffed his chest out, acting macho in front of the rest of the boys.
The comment earned a sarcastic eyebrow raise out of Alison.
Primate. Alison thought to herself.
"Oh, well, I do declare…" She uttered in a southern drawl, "I hope my rich daddy fannin' his inherited royal wealth around is enticin' enough to attract a nice virale man who can protect me. I'm so very helpless on my own."
If he only knew the half of it...
"Hey, there are dangerous men out there…" Chad put his arm around her and she immediately ducked away from him.
Don't I know it.
She frowned at Chad. She smelled like his sunscreen now.
She felt dirty.
Her eyes drifted to the water. She had to wash the nasty male testosterone off of her.
"I'm going for a swim. Alone." She warned with a glare so they wouldn't follow.
A few of the boys made cat noises rawr-ing and started swiping their imaginary claws in the air.
Alison shot them another glare and they shrugged and walked away.
Frothy water licked her heels when she reached the edge of the shore. She dug her toes into the heavy wet sand.
She waded into the water waist deep, letting the waves bob against her body. The tide was rolling in, so the waves were getting substantially bigger.
She watched as a surfer rode a large wave that was coming towards her.
He zig-zagged through the top of the water effortlessly. It was hard not to be in awe of that level of skill.
She was enjoying it up until the moment he took a sharp turn and lost control of his board. He tried to correct, but ended up on a course directly towards her.
It was too late for her to do anything. She heard him shout a warning, but seconds later the board hit her and he fell on top of her.
She was pulled under by the tide and was swept further out to sea. She had a hard time keeping her bearings.
The last thing she remembered before her head was swept under a large wave was someone running across the beach and plunging into the water, swimming towards her.
God, don't let it be Tyler.
The last thing she needed was for a man in the Airbnb to save her after she'd confronted them about being able to take care of herself.
She was pulled underwater by the riptide and was convinced she was going to drown. She popped up for air, but was sucked back down a few seconds later.
Her heart pounded in her chest. She'd never imagined that she would die drowning. She had gone through so much in life. It seemed like such a trivial way to die.
After a few minutes she managed to pull herself above water again. By that time someone had wrapped an arm around her and was dragging her back to shore.
She felt the wet sand against her toes and managed to stumble along with the person bringing her out of the depths.
Once they reached the shore she fell forward on to her hands and knees, sputtering and coughing.
She knew she should have been grateful to whoever had gotten her to safety, but she felt miffed when she heard the laughter of the boys mocking her…
"So much for taking care of herself."
"…doesn't know how to swim."
"Her boobs should have kept her afloat."
Her adrenaline kicked into high gear, and unfortunately that adrenaline included a deep resentment at being embarrassed.
"Oh, my God. What the fuck was that?" Alison growled, digging her fingers in the sand. "I was fine! There was no need for all that drama!"
She pushed herself to her feet, her face twisted in an angry glare.
"You're welcome." A familiar voice she hadn't heard in ages replied dryly.
Alison froze in place.
No.
Her anger slowly melted away.
She looked into a pair of familiar brown eyes.
The brunette was decked out in red lifeguard gear, her sleek hair pulled back in a ponytail that was dripping water against the sand.
How did I miss her?
Why hadn't she noticed her?
It hurt to see her.
All she could think about was how Emily had promised to keep in touch, but then she went crawling back to her old girlfriend.
Heartache turned to rage.
She had no idea what to say, so she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Emily? You're a lifeguard?"
She remembered watching her in the pool years ago.
She was beautiful in the water. It was hard to be mad at her when her toned body was dripping wet.
Forever my mermaid…
Emily seemed as surprised as she was.
"Alison?"
Hearing the brunette's voice sent a pang of pain through her heart.
She doesn't have a right to say my name anymore. Not since she broke my heart.
But she stared at those gorgeous full lips that had tasted every inch of her body, and she couldn't help but feel a little twinge between her legs...a warm wetness soaking into her bikini bottoms.
I should have pretended to be dead. Gotten a little mouth to mouth…
"Are you okay?" Emily reached out like she wanted to sweep her hair behind her ear, but she hesitated at the last minute.
"I told you, I'm fine."
She wasn't sure where the anger was coming from. It wasn't Emily's fault. She just felt humiliated in front of the crowd. What if one of her followers had caught it on camera?
She'd be a laughingstock.
"Waves can get a little choppy this time of day." Emily reached back and released her hair from her ponytail, shaking it loose.
"It wasn't the waves. I know how to swim." Her cheeks were bright pink. "A surfer came out of nowhere."
She saw the guys approaching.
She didn't particularly like the idea of them lurking around right now. Her eyes darted to the men and then to Emily, who was rolling her hairband on to her wrist.
"Holy shit, dude. That wipeout was insane. You could have died." Chad gestured to the water.
"What happened?" Tyler was holding a mixed drink in his hand, a drink Alison wanted to gulp down in one fell swoop.
A third guy who said nothing just handed her a pair of sunglasses and gawked at her and Emily.
There were too many eyes on her. It was overwhelming. She barely knew these guys. She'd rather just be with Emily.
Emily peered at her and immediately sensed her needs.
"Give her some room." Emily grumbled in annoyance, leading the blonde away from the army of onlookers. "I'm going to take her to get checked out. You gentlemen enjoy the beach."
Alison scoffed at the word gentlemen. They were anything but gentlemen.
The guys didn't question it. They wandered off to ogle scantily clad women having fun in the sun.
"I don't need to get checked out. I'm fine." Alison tried to keep her irritation in check.
"I know that." Emily looked at the men.
Alison slowly put it together. Emily had done it to get the guys away from her. After three years, she still knew what she was thinking.
"Oh. Thank you. They can be intense sometimes."
"Weird crew you're running with." The brunette scratched her eyebrow.
"They're not my crew." Alison crossed her arms across her chest, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
"I didn't know you were in Malibu. You should have called me."
Why didn't YOU call ME? I was heartbroken after you left.
She realized she was being insanely dramatic.
Emily had called her. Not often. Not a lot. But she'd called to ask how she was doing.
Hearing her voice opened up the floodgates every time.
Alison had masked her heartbreak with anger and hatred. And it had made her cold and distant.
Emily gave Alison a perplexed look, waiting for an answer. Unlike Alison, she hadn't totally shut down.
No…she wouldn't shut down. That's not the Emily Fields I know.
"Yeah, calling didn't seem like a good idea. I didn't think Paige…" she hissed the name with venom, "…would like that very much." She sneered at Emily's girlfriend's name, a sing-songy sweetness in her voice that hit Emily like a dart.
"What happened with Paige wasn't planned. We ran into each other." Rather, Paige had run into her when she came to Malibu for a trip. "It didn't start out that way."
"But you did get back together with her?" Now Alison was confused. Had she misinterpreted everything?
"We…tried, but we only dated for a few weeks. We broke up over two and a half years ago."
Alison did the math in her head.
From her Instagram it looked like they had started dating a few weeks after Emily got to California.
But they hadn't lasted.
A sick feeling churned in the pit of Alison's stomach.
She had only seen that one photo of Paige and had assumed the worst.
For three years she had been punishing herself…and Emily.
She never called Emily. Emily was always the one who called her. Alison never asked her about Paige. Her pride was too wounded.
But she had been wrong. She had been angry and mean and moody, though she had tried to hide it. She obviously didn't hide it well enough, because Emily's calls had become less frequent as time had gone on.
How did I get this so wrong?
"Paige and I were just…" Emily ran her fingers through her wet tangled hair. "We didn't work. We are two different people striving for very different lives."
She nagged you until you couldn't take it anymore.
A smug look radiated off of Alison's face. Paige had always been obnoxiously overbearing.
"I can't believe you still hate her so much." Emily frowned, pulling back an inch.
"I..." Alison sucked in a breath. She was being a bitch. "I'm sorry. It's not like..." Not like I'm still in love with you, "...it just brings back all the bad things that happened in high school. I wasn't trying to be a jerk."
I was absolutely trying to be a jerk.
Emily scrutinized her for a few seconds and then relaxed her stance.
"Paige doesn't even live in California. She transferred to the University of Florida to finish up her last year. I think she's actually studying abroad right now. I'm not sure. We haven't really been in contact since we broke up. She didn't take it well."
"Oh." There was so much that Alison liked about her response that she couldn't decide what she loved the most.
They weren't together anymore. They didn't talk. Emily wasn't completely sure if she was in the country or not. She was thousands of miles away.
Something dawned on Alison.
"We didn't stay in touch after we broke up…"
Her stomach gurgled. Her heart was like a jackhammer in her chest.
Emily hadn't stayed in contact with Paige. But Emily had been in contact with Alison after she'd left Rosewood.
What did that mean?
"How long have you been here?" Emily asked.
Alison was surprised that her Instagram hadn't tipped Emily off that she was in town.
Then again, Emily wasn't very present on social media. She had stopped posting about a year after she left Rosewood.
"About a month. I got a modeling gig. My agent thinks it could turn into television spots and movie roles. Apparently I have star potential." She dragged her fingertips through her hair. "My Insta took off a year ago. I'm not sure if you saw that or not. Everyone wanted to hear my story. I haven't really told it, but I'm still a hot commodity because everybody loves a mystery."
Her celebrity status made sense given what she'd gone through back east.
A dead girl returning to life. And the mystery behind it…because she wouldn't talk about it. Despite what her followers thought, it wasn't because she wanted to be coy and cool. She just couldn't go back to those dark days. She couldn't face her trauma.
"That's great." Emily's smile was still as radiant as ever. She looked happy and healthy. Her body was glowing. Alison wanted to touch it. "I'm pretty bad at navigating socials to be honest." Which was something Alison already knew, because Emily's settings were at the highest privacy that someone could get. She didn't use her real name and her profile photo was a discreet shot where you couldn't see her face. "I'm glad yours took off. But I have a…well, you know…the girls and I are all really sketchy about socials."
Alison felt a discomfort in her chest. Her sister was part of that reason.
Alison followed all of her friends on Instagram, but she hadn't talked to the girls much. She'd tried to keep in touch. She knew Hanna was in New York and that Spencer was in DC. Aria was a little more active than the others. She had packed up to move from Georgia to Massachusetts to finish out her senior year. She had a publishing job and a book deal waiting for her there. She had to use social media to promote the book she was working on, so she was online more.
"Do you talk to the girls a lot?" Alison asked.
"Hanna has come out to see me a few times. And I went to New York for a week last summer to visit her and Caleb. Aria and I try to talk once a week. And Spencer keeps in touch, but she's interning for a really intense politician right now." Emily chuckled.
Spencer had taken a job interning with her mother's Senatorial team during her last year of school, so she barely had time to eat and sleep, much less maintain friendships.
"Mrs. Hastings always did scare the hell out of me." Alison felt herself softening, flowing more naturally with the conversation.
"Spencer has been working with her 24/7, so she's not around a lot. But we talk on the phone once a week. She has come out here a few times on press circuits. A few months ago she was in town and we had dinner."
Alison wasn't sure whether to be sad or angry. No one ever came to visit her. They DM'd sometimes, but that was it.
"Everyone is doing really well. Even Mona reached out…"
Alison flinched at the name. She had such a complex history with Mona. If she ever got a message from her she might lose her mind. Then again, she didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to Mona. Alison's sister was the reason she'd stayed in Pennsylvania. And Charlotte had done terrible things to the girls, too.
"What did she have to say?" Alison's lips tightened in a grimace.
"She was just checking in. I think she wanted to reassure me that she'd never spin-out the way she'd done in Rosewood. We talked a lot about mental health. Everyone still has PTSD from…" Emily bit her lip and trailed off. Talking about Charlotte to Alison felt weird. "It's a lot…thinking about high school. Mona knows what she did was horrible. She knows she's part of the reason we all have PTSD. She started the game, after all. I think she just wanted to tell all of us that she's in a better place mentally. But she did mention she still has trouble sleeping and that she's on a ton of different medications."
Charlotte had brutalized Mona. Mona had been in her demented Dollhouse for months before Charlotte kidnapped the others.
Alison wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for her or not. Mona had tried to kill all of them. It was complicated. But in the end she knew that no one deserved to be tortured, not even people like Mona.
She'd learned a lot about mental illness when she visited Charlotte in Welby.
Alison suddenly felt the need to spill the secrets she was holding in. She wanted to tell Emily about what had happened in Rosewood with Charlotte and what really drove her to come to Malibu in the first place.
She hadn't lied about the offer of fame, but there was another reason she was there.
"Well, since you're here, why don't you let me show you around?" Emily sank her toes into the sand and then flicked them back up.
Alison had missed her little tics. She used to flick her toes when she was nervous.
Was she nervous?
Had that little tic been because she still felt something for her?
She was standing there asking to show her around and acting like a kid with a crush.
It was so insanely sweet.
Alison had wanted to spend time with Emily for years, but she didn't want to just give it away for free.
After all, Emily had spent her last day in Rosewood confessing her love only to start dating her ex when she moved.
Was any of it real?
Or was she just something Emily needed to get out of her system?
Before Alison could answer, a loud whistle interrupted their conversation.
Alison wanted to kill those fucking frat guys. Two of them were eyeballing Emily's body. Tyler was standing with them holding her drink, patiently waiting. Even his eyes were on Emily.
A fiery murderous rage turned her vision into a flash of white. No one…no one hit on her girl.
Laxatives in their beer tonight. Every. Single. Fucking. One.
"Hey, babe…wanna see my rescue tube?" Chad grabbed his crotch and winked.
Emily ignored him. She was probably used to being hit on. Women everywhere were almost desensitized to catcalls because they heard them so much.
But Alison clenched her fists and shot back,
"You mean that thimble in your pants? Good luck finding it!" A shade of fury flickered behind Alison's expression and she imagined ripping every limb from his body.
Fuck the laxatives. I'm gonna lace his drink with arsenic.
"Go back to your cave-dwellings you overgrown barbarians!" Emily waved them off without even looking at them.
Alison lifted her brows, intrigued by the boldness and nonchalance of the motion.
Emily had grown a tremendous amount being out on her own, and for the first time Alison could see and appreciate that growth.
It made her incredibly sexy.
Her eyes skirted Emily's body, appreciating her curves. She was in incredible shape. Her abs were taut from all the swimming. Her skin was smooth, the sunscreen on it making her glisten. Her long dark hair hung down over her shoulders in cute messy waves. Water droplets on her body sparkled in the sunlight.
Alison licked her lips, the taste of her skin coming back to her. She felt a hot burning sensation between her thighs.
"Idiots." Emily rolled her eyes, snapping Alison out of it.
She looked over and saw that the guys were still staring.
"Want me to beat them up?" Alison asked.
"No. Just let it go. It happens all the time." She uttered, clearly annoyed.
If it happened all the time that meant Alison was going to be putting a lot of laxatives in a lot of boys' drinks.
Alison peered up just in time to see Emily turning on her heels and walking back to her lifeguard stand where she could perch above the beach and watch for anyone who might need saving.
Of course she saved lives. She wouldn't be Emily Fields if she wasn't putting herself in danger to save others.
She was still stunned that she hadn't noticed her before today.
She'd been coming to the beach with the guys for weeks, though they didn't always hit the same spot. The beaches stayed pretty busy, so the lifeguards probably switched out shifts.
"How long have you been a lifeguard?" Alison trailed behind her, but not too quickly.
She didn't want to seem desperate.
"Since I got here. I usually do it every summer and sometimes between my breaks in my schedule at Pepperdine. I take most of my classes online in the summer, except for Labs. But the rest of it is virtual, so I can do it at my leisure and work when I need to." Emily reached for a towel and tossed it to Alison.
"Weird. I can't believe I haven't seen you here. I've been coming since late May."
"We alternate shifts. Cover different areas." She grabbed her own towel and toweled off. "Where have you been staying?"
"Uhhh…well…" She glanced at the cavemen hooting and hollering in the sand.
"Really? With them?"
She saw the instant Emily's imagination ran wild, probably wondering if she was sleeping with them.
"They're my current roommates at an Airbnb…which is more like a frat house most nights." Alison watched as the corners of Emily's mouth pulled down against her lips.
"Is that safe? Do you even know them?" Emily glared warily at the boys. They looked like trouble to her.
"They're fine." Though Alison didn't mind that the brunette was being overprotective.
She liked seeing the fire in Emily's eyes.
There was a pause as Emily considered something.
"Do you know how long you're staying? Are you looking to make it more permanent?"
"I mean…yeah, probably. I'm already booking gigs." Alison couldn't help but brag.
"Why don't you come stay with me until you can find something more…not them?" She sneered at the guys, who were oblivious.
"You don't live on campus?" Alison asked.
"No. The Army has a GI bill that helps cut the cost for Army Brats. It helps a little with tuition. Not everything, but it cut the costs a bit. I'm paying my way through, too. Three jobs."
She looked amazing for someone who worked three jobs and went to school full time.
"The GI bill gave me a chance to save up. And my parents help out when they can."
She rubbed the back of her neck, like she was uncomfortable accepting their help…like she was a financial burden.
She'd always worried about money, which is something that Alison had never had to worry about. The blonde made a silent promise that when her career took off she'd shower Emily with all kinds of riches.
"Is your dad still overseas?" Alison asked softly.
"Yeah." Emily squinted. Alison wasn't sure whether it was from the sun or if she was fighting her concern about her father being in active combat. "He checks in though. We talked a bunch when the condo came into the picture. He gave me a ton of solid advice. I was scared I wouldn't be able to do it, but we crunched the numbers. Turns out he was right. I was able to scrape together enough to buy it. It isn't much. It's pretty small, but it's all I could afford." She paused and looked at the guys horsing around on the beach. "I've got room for you if you're interested. It would be nice catching up." Emily pulled her sunglasses on over her eyes, which Alison didn't much care for. She wanted to see her eyes. "What do you say? Want to come stay with me?"
Alison smiled. They'd been talking for three minutes and Emily was already offering her place up.
The brunette still had that amazing swag. The pull between them was palpable. Emily would always be her weak link.
But she wasn't going to give in that easily.
"I'll let you know. We can catch up later. Wouldn't want to distract you from poor dainty little drowning girls." She'd moved past her embarrassment from the public gaping at her like she was a little child who couldn't swim. "Plus I have plans with the guys." She wiggled her fingers and waved to them.
Tyler whistled back at her and the other guys started shoving him and teasing him, grins on their faces.
She glanced back at Emily in time to catch a curious raised brow.
"Something going on there?" The brunette managed to keep her poker face, but was she jealous?
God, that's a cute look on her.
"No. We're just friends. He's the most tame dog in the pack. He's harmless, babe." The babe had slipped out, but instead of making it a big deal she ran with it.
An amused smile tugged at Emily's lips, but Alison couldn't see her eyes behind her sunglasses. Was she flirting back?
"You still have my number?" Emily reached for a bottle of sunscreen. "It hasn't changed."
"Mine either. I'll text you." Alison watched as Emily rubbed the lotion on her arms.
"Sounds good." Emily peered out at the water, double-checking to make sure everyone was safe. Then she looked down and lowered her sunglasses so Alison could see the sparkle in her eyes. "It was really great to see you, Ali."
Butterflies exploded in Alison's stomach. Billions of them. Or maybe they were birds. Whatever they were…they were flapping their wings inside of her. It caused her entire body to buzz.
She swallowed back the "I love you" she had geared up and ready to go on the tip of her tongue. She'd never stopped loving her. She wondered if it was the same for Emily.
She clutched the sunglasses that one of the frat boys had brought over.
"You too, Em." She shielded her baby blues with the designer shades that she was promoting for a paid partner.
It didn't dawn on her until she was walking away: a huge fucking elephant in the room which should have raised a bunch of questions.
The reason Alison had stayed in Rosewood instead of coming to California three years ago.
She didn't ask about Charlotte.
Emily knew the why in why she'd stayed, but she didn't know the history of what happened back in Pennsylvania.
Alison was trying hard not to drag the brunette back into that world.
She'd been faced with an impossible choice that led her out to Malibu. Her family, bound by blood and lineage. And her chosen family, whom she loved very much.
She'd made the choice, but following through on it was going to be a lot harder.
Alison choked back bile. She dreaded that conversation.
She also dreaded spending the rest of the afternoon at the beach knowing that Emily was right there.
When she reached Tyler he extended the Mai Tai towards her. She took it without hesitation and pulled the little umbrella out and started chugging it…
Because fuck being lady-like.
Who wouldn't get wasted in her position?
"Whoa…you might want to ease up on that." Tyler laughed.
She was ready to tell him to shut up and get her another, but instead she lowered the glass and swished the liquid around.
"I know how to hold my liquor." She shrugged.
She walked towards where she had been sunbathing, nursing the drink. She pulled her phone out and decided to engage her followers again.
It was the perfect setting to interact with her fans and to show off her sexual prowess in front of Emily.
Every so often she would turn to see if Emily was watching her. Most of the time the brunette's eyes were on the sea, sweeping the water to make sure no one was in distress.
Alison caught Emily stealing a glance at her, but from afar it was hard to tell because she played it off so coolly. It was hard to know exactly where her eyes were focused because her sunglasses were occluding them. But Alison felt her eyes on her.
Eventually the beach party wrapped up and ended up back at the Airbnb. Alison changed into a fashionable tank top and a skirt that hugged her body around the waist.
She was mindful of her alcohol consumption because she had a photoshoot the following afternoon.
The music at the house was pumping so hard that she could practically feel the bass in her teeth. The quick techno beats made it into a sweaty dance party in no time. There were a bunch of bobbing heads dancing in the living room.
Tyler and Alison were among the masses. He was a terrible dancer, and the alcohol didn't help. But he shrugged it off and laughed about not having rhythm.
After nearly an hour of dancing and drinking they were interrupted by Alison's phone.
She felt it buzzing against her skin where she had it halfway tucked into a short pocket on her skirt. She caught a glimpse of Emily's name and had to fight back a squeal of delight.
Tyler noticed her excitement.
"Who is it?" He shouted over the music, a drunken grin on his face as he handed her another drink. "Big Hollywood movie producer?"
Better. Something she dreamed about more than advancing her career as a star.
"Be right back!" Alison held her finger up, indicating for him to give her a minute.
She rushed off and found a less crowded area to read the message from Emily.
Her heart was fluttering in her chest.
It took her back to the first time she'd felt something for Emily. Back when she was just a kid. The pitter-patter of her heart. The bubbling sensation in her stomach. Having to hide her sweaty palms.
There was no doubt in her mind the way she felt about Emily Fields.
She smiled at the text from the brunette.
Was really great seeing you today…despite the 'almost drowning' thing. Let me know when you want to hang out.
Alison laughed and bit her lip.
She took a shot of liquid courage. She was so wrapped up in her phone she didn't recognize the bitter aftertaste.
She shot back with a retort,
I was NOT drowning!
She had to refrain from adding "I think you just wanted to wrap your arms around me." Texting an ex while drunk was harder than she realized.
Right. It was all a ruse to get the hot girl in the lifeguard stand to come to your rescue.
She was definitely flirting. Or maybe Alison was just too drunk to interpret her texts.
"To hell with it." Alison chuckled.
You just wanted to wrap your arms around me again.
After she sent it there was a pause in the text chain and Alison thought maybe she'd said the wrong thing.
How drunk are you right now...on a scale of 1 to 10?
For some reason her reaction made Alison laugh. Her hand flew to her mouth and a giddy snort came out.
The elf in the pink tu-tu in the corner has informed me I'm not that drunk.
Oh, so it's THAT kind of party?
Hey, it's California. She sent it and then waited a second before adding, Jk jk. Just a few shots. I'm being good. I'm recovering from a drowning, after all.
So you admit that you needed help?
Never.
Just be careful, okay?
Alison smiled like a dope at her screen. Emily still cared about her. She probably still loved her.
You sound like your mother. She teased. Someone went to the school of Pam Fields.
You take that back!
Alison laughed so loud she thought people might actually hear her over the music.
Prove me wrong. Come party with me.
It's not my scene. I'm winding down for the night. I've got a ton of homework.
Alison heard a crash from the main room, followed by everyone laughing and hooting like apes.
When she looked up away from the screen she felt dizzy.
She slapped her palm against the wall to steady herself. The heat and the alcohol were starting to go straight to her brain.
The hallway twisted around her, spinning her like she was on a merry-go-round.
I think I'm done for the night, too. Alison stumbled towards her bedroom. I'll text you in the morning.
Emily responded with a heart emoji, which only heightened Alison's dizziness. She was practically giddy.
She nearly fell over, but someone caught her by the arm.
"Whoa." She heard Tyler's voice, but she couldn't focus because everything was a blur. "I told you to go easy on those Mai Tais."
She muttered out something about going to bed, but it came out in a drunken stupor.
"You should probably just crash for the night." He started leading her towards the bedroom. "You have that photoshoot tomorrow, right?"
"Uh…" Alison finally looked up and she was in her room. "Yeah. Thanks."
"Sure. No problem." Tyler wiped some sweat from his brow.
Alison didn't respond. She just fell against her mattress and kicked her shoes off. She closed her eyes and smiled at the thought of Emily.
"I'll check on you later to make sure you don't like…drown in your own vomit or something." Tyler's face appeared above her.
"Mmhmm…thanks." She laid her face against her pillow.
She heard the sound of footsteps receding.
She clung to her pillow and was fast asleep minutes later.
Her dreams were warm and welcoming.
At first it was just a comfortable fuzzy feeling, but soon the heat started to rise to the surface.
Her body was sweating.
She wasn't alone.
She could hear the sounds of the waves roaring in the ocean.
Emily's lips on hers.
Warm sand beneath her body.
The smell of the saltwater in Emily's hair.
But then the sky turned grey.
When she looked up Emily was gone.
She didn't smell the brunette anymore, nor did she feel the sand.
She tasted malt liquor and smelled aftershave.
Waves crashed along the shore, then disappeared completely.
Something scruffy rubbed against her chin.
She blinked, and when she opened her eyes she was back in her bedroom.
She wasn't alone there either.
Tyler was on top of her, kissing her and rubbing his hands against her thighs, trying to lift her skirt.
A bolt of lightning shot through her spine. She tried to push him away, but he just gripped her tighter.
"Mmm, hey baby…I heard you moaning for me."
She'd been moaning for Emily.
Emily would never do this to me.
For a brief moment she froze.
Rosewood.
Ian in the woods.
Wilden in Cape May.
Cyrus in the abandoned building.
All the men in her life who had taken advantage of her.
Why the fuck did I pick this testosterone-filled youth hostel to stay in?
Alison snapped out of her mess of a mind and ripped her lips away from Tyler's.
"Stop…" Alison pushed him. "Stop it. Get off of me."
She looked down and was horrified to see that he was reaching into his boxers.
She was trapped. Alone with a horny boy. And the music was too loud for people to hear her scream.
Why had she ever agreed to this living arrangement? It practically put a target on her back.
She should have been more careful.
"I said STOP!" She reached up and clawed his face, sobering up at the sheer panic she felt.
"Ah!" He hissed. "What the hell?" He reached to touch the fresh cuts on his cheeks that Alison's fingernails had left.
She took the opportunity to kick him to the floor.
She scrambled to sit up.
He stood up and scooted back.
"What was that?" Alison scurried to the other side of the bed.
She was trying to get to her feet and was searching for something to defend herself with.
She settled on a glass lamp that she'd unplugged earlier to charge her phone.
"You were humping the bed and moaning! I was about to leave, but you started that shit. You've been coming on to me for weeks. I thought…"
"I was just being friendly!" Alison sneered at him. "That's not a fucking invitation to sleep with me." She threw the lamp at him. It missed him and struck the wall. "Not every girl who smiles at you is consenting to this. This is rape, Tyler!"
"You didn't say no." He looked at his blood on his hands.
Alison was satisfied with the clawmarks she'd left on his face. She hoped they left nasty scars.
"I didn't say yes either! I was asleep!" She grabbed her phone and her heels.
She glanced at the door, wondering if she could get by him. She was still a little unsteady on her feet and he was directly in front of the door.
"Get out of my way." She balled her hand into a fist.
His eyes darted to the door and then back to her.
She was ready to put up a fight if she needed to.
"I said…move." She ordered again.
"You can't put this on me. You were literally all over me. Everyone saw you out there. No one will believe you…"
"Fuck this." Alison let out vengeful growl. "Fuck you." She barreled towards him.
He was ready for her, grabbing her in a bear hug. She threw her head back and managed to hit his chin with her skull.
Gonna have a hell of a headache later.
She clawed at his arms and he hissed out in pain. After a good shoulder-check she was able to get past him.
He lunged after her, grabbing her arm, yanking him towards her.
She nearly dropped her phone and her shoes, but she managed to keep her grip on everything in a single fist.
She reached out with her free hand, palm outstretched, and smacked him hard across the face. It left an angry red imprint.
But he didn't let go, so she reached down and fought below the belt, punching him where it hurt.
He immediately let go and dropped to the floor, moaning in pain.
For good measure she kicked him in his stomach. He curled into a ball as she yanked the door open and raced out of the room.
The adrenaline had basically replaced all the alcohol in her veins with the will to get out of the house alive. She pushed through the crowd until she made it to the front door.
She stopped on the front deck long enough to put her heels on. Heels weren't ideal to be running in, but the terrain was rocky and sharp.
She heard someone calling her name, but she didn't stop to find out who it was.
She darted outside into the humid summer air. It was almost as stuffy outside as it was inside.
She turned down the street and started running. She didn't know where she was running. She just wanted to get somewhere safe.
She ran down another drive and ended up running directly through a line of trees in the yard. She nearly tumbled down a huge hill.
She managed to hold her ground until she got down to the bottom of the hill on to a road outside of the neighborhood. She stumbled, but didn't fall.
She looked up and realized she'd basically just run down a giant sloping cliff.
She took off down the larger road.
She didn't stop running until she reached the parking lot of an Inn.
Her feet hurt and she was a sweaty smelly mess. She let out a shaky breath, adrenaline looping through her limbs and body on a wild circuit.
She sat down on a cement barrier with railing behind it that led to the office. She didn't have any money on her, so it's not like she could stay there. But she was out of the frat house. That was the important part.
She was so frazzled that it took her a moment to realize she had somewhere else to stay.
Emily.
Emily is safe.
Emily is my home.
It didn't matter that it had been three years since they had parted in Rosewood. Emily had offered to give her a place to stay.
I should have listened to her.
I should have gone with her.
She was so grateful that the brunette still cared about her. Then again, she would expect nothing less. This was the same Emily who ever refused to do anything in bed with Alison unless she got clear consent first. Every time.
Emily would never do what Tyler had tried to do.
Alison knew she would be okay with Emily.
She glanced at her phone. It was almost one in the morning.
She was trembling so much that she could barely keep her fingers straight on the screen as she searched for the last text she'd sent to Emily. She fumbled around with her phone for a few seconds before she was able to send her a message.
Hey, I know it's late, but are you still up?
Three little bubbles appeared after a few seconds.
Yeah, what's up?
Alison bit her lip, trying to block out what happened to stay sane enough to get to Emily's place.
I don't feel safe where I'm staying. I need a place to crash tonight.
Her phone immediately jingled in her hand. Alison answered and numbly lifted her phone towards her ear. She couldn't speak. All she could do was breathe heavily into the phone.
"Where are you?" Emily questioned, her tone serious.
Emily had always sought to protect Alison, whether it was from others or from herself. Alison could hear that steady resolve in the way she was talking.
"Are you hurt?" She asked.
"Uh…I don't think so."
"Just tell me where you are and I'll come get you."
Alison looked around.
"I'm at some Country Inn. I can drop my location for you…"
"I know where it's at. Are you safe there?"
Alison took a breath and listened to the surrounding noises. She could hear people at the pool chatting. There were a few couples milling about sharing smokes.
"Uh…yeah. Yeah, I'm pretty sure. There are people around. So I think so."
"Find a woman. Ask her to sit with you." Alison heard shuffling noises on the other end of the phone. She had no doubt that the brunette was scrambling around her condo looking for her keys. "The older the better."
Alison let out a laugh unintentionally, a by-product of the shock.
"You expect me to find Grandma out here knitting at 1 AM?"
"It's California. Trust me, people will be up. This is about sitting with someone safe until I get there. And statistically women are more likely to take care of their own."
"Oh. Okay." She walked towards the pool area. There were some older teenagers swimming and a few people in the lawn chairs. "I'm going to wait by the pool area. There are people here."
"Alison?" She heard a meek voice from behind her.
She almost jumped out of her skin.
She spun around, not sure what to expect.
She saw three teenage girls looking at her in awe.
"I knew that was you! I recognized your outfit from the TikTok you posted earlier." The girl who had called her name was grinning from ear to ear.
She had been fortunate enough to run into her fans, but unfortunately they were younger than her…and it didn't make her feel much safer.
"We love your Instagram." Another girl giggled.
The tension was slowly rolling off of her shoulders.
"Ali?" Emily called for her attention on the phone.
"Yeah. I'm still here. I ran into some fans."
"That's good. But stay out in the open. Some fans are…well…I've seen some obsessions that went too far." A door slammed behind Emily, a lock clicking in place.
"It's a little late for you girls to be out."
It's not safe after dark.
It wasn't safe anywhere at any time for anyone who wasn't a man, something she'd been painfully reminded of back at the Airbnb.
"Oh, it's cool. My Gram is here." The third girl pointed to an older woman by the pool. She had a Kindle in her lap and was watching the interaction closely. "She let us stay up late for a concert tonight. She's so cool."
"Do you mind introducing me?" Alison felt a knot in her throat.
What was she going to say to the old woman? She didn't want to tell the truth.
"Sure, but she's not going to know who you are." The girl waved her towards the gate, letting Alison in. "Gram!" She called. "You'll never guess who we just met!"
The old woman watched as Alison approached, her eyes scrutinizing her.
When Alison got closer she saw a bleached blonde bob of hair and tan wrinkled skin.
"Ali, what's going on? Keep talking to me," Emily said.
"Hold on just a second." She moved her phone away from her mouth and waved at the old woman.
The woman took a few seconds to assess Alison's messy appearance. Her face softened…like she knew.
Emily was right. Women knew women.
"Hi. I'm…"
"This is Alison DiLaurentis. She is like the coolest influencer on Insta."
The young girls all started babbling at once.
The woman's gaze never strayed from Alison.
"Girls, why don't you go finish out your time in the pool before we head back inside?" The woman asked in a deep southern drawl.
Alison would guess she was somewhere from Georgia or Alabama. Her Grandmother had lived in Georgia and sounded a lot like her.
"Can we get a picture?"
"Y'all leave the poor girl alone." The woman waved off their advances.
"It's okay. I don't mind." If anything, it would be a timeline in case something went drastically wrong. The cops would know where to look.
Plus it would look good to be engaging with her fans.
She managed to fake a smile for a few pictures and the girls ran off to the pool, satisfied.
"You look absolutely tuckered out." The older woman pat the flimsy chair next to her. "You okay?"
Alison let out a shaky sigh of relief, tears burning her eyes.
"Yes. Thank you. I have a friend coming to get me." She timidly sat down.
"Well, you can just stay here with us as long as you need, darlin'." A sweet smile washed across her face. "Us gals have to look out for each other, ya know?"
Alison nodded. She wanted to burst into tears at the woman's kind hospitality.
She cleared her throat and spoke to Emily on the phone.
"Hey, I'm safe."
"I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm on my way. Just stay with that family, okay?"
"Okay." Even so, she kept Emily on the line.
She could hear a muffled conversation between Emily and someone else. Then sounds of her jogging.
"You sure you're okay, honey?" The woman asked.
"Yes…yes ma'am." She had never said ma'am a day in her life, but being around her brought it out of her.
There was something strangely comforting about her. Alison had never been a fan of old people, mostly because she was terrified of aging and losing her looks, but she was starting to realize that there was a sense of dignity about aging.
She would never wish anything bad to happen to children, but if something did happen she hoped she'd be the kind of old lady who would stand in front an army to protect the younger generation.
"Thank you so much for this. I…I usually plan things better."
She had no idea what else to say. "What are you reading?" seemed to be a silly question when both of them knew something was terribly wrong.
"Are ya hurt?"
"No ma'am." She shook her head. "I just had a bad night."
"Had many of those in my day, too. Reckon' you'll need some good friends and a nice warm bed. Or…maybe a nice cool one considerin' this heat." She reached up, fanning herself.
Alison put her phone down, but kept the line open for Emily to hear as they started talking about the south.
It turned out she was from a small town in Georgia very close to where her Grandmother had lived.
Alison talked about trips she'd taken to Atlanta, which seemed like an entirely different planet than the rest of a Georgia. A planet she had quite enjoyed.
The woman regaled her with tales of her youth, calming Alison down. She didn't ask what Alison had been through. She simply knew Alison needed someone to talk to.
When Emily finally pulled into the parking lot Alison wanted to give the woman a big hug, but she settled for a couple of dozen "thank yous" and told her to enjoy her stay in Malibu with her family.
She met Emily at the gate of the pool, throwing her arms around her in a hug, holding back tears.
"Thank you so much for coming."
"Of course. You okay?"
Emily peered over Alison's shoulder at the older woman, who simply nodded at her and went back to reading her Kindle.
"Yeah." No.
When Emily walked Alison into the parking lot the blonde was surprised to find a mini-van decked out in rainbow and LGBTQ décor.
Alison cocked her head.
"Didn't realize you went all gay suburban mom out here." She mindlessly trailed her finger across some of the rainbow paint.
"It's not mine. I borrowed it from Samara."
"Samara…" The name rang a slight bell.
"We dated for a little bit in high school. She took a year off after high school and then enrolled in Pepperdine. We met back up when I came out here…"
"Oh…" Alison felt a gnawing pit in the feeling of her stomach. Maybe she had misread Emily's intentions. Maybe she hadn't been flirting at all. "So you two are…"
"No. She's engaged. We run a chapter of a major LGBTQ non-profit together. Samara invested in the van for group trips to events. Works out pretty well. It's not officially tied to the university. Since Samara and I both live off-campus Pepperdine can't get preachy about it. Samara usually drives. I prefer transit, carpool, or to bike to where I'm going, but I wanted to get to you as fast as possible, so I snagged the keys from her."
Alison looked at the little silver letters that spelled out hybrid.
"A hybrid? Aria got to you about saving the environment, didn't she?" Their friend had always been a big activist in any and all things that saved animals and the planet.
"Aria…and an environmental science class I took freshman year. And the fact that I wasn't using my car anyway. Sold it to help pay for the condo. Samara and I agreed on the hybrid as soon as we decided we were getting the van."
Alison nodded absentmindedly.
"What does she think about you taking seedy trips at 1 AM?"
"It's not the first time we've been called to someone's aid. She's pretty chill. I think you two will get along."
"Cool." Without thinking, she reached for the passenger's side door and started to climb in the van.
Emily walked around to the driver's side. She plopped into the seat and faced the disheveled blonde, who still hadn't said a word about what had happened.
Emily could tell she was traumatized. It bothered her.
"Alison…what happened tonight?" She reached out to touch her arm, but restrained herself.
"Nothing. I'm fine." Alison's gaze was fixed on the Country Inn outside the window. "It was just a crappy night."
"You're shaking." Emily's fingers timidly landed on Alison's shoulder, but Alison barely registered the touch. Her mind was miles away.
"I said I'm fine, Emily." She immediately regretted snapping at her as she watched Emily's fingers recede from her shoulder. Sometimes the bitch inside of her took control. "I'm sorry. I know you're doing something nice for me. I shouldn't…"
"I'm not doing this to be nice." Emily furrowed her brows. "I'm doing it because I care about you. You don't have to tell me everything, but at least tell me where you were staying so I can get your things."
"Why?" Alison hadn't thought much through past tonight.
Her main goal had been to survive the night.
"Because you're not spending another second in that house. You're coming to stay with me. No arguments. Now…where is this place?" Emily's hands tightened on the steering wheel.
Alison sat silently next to her.
"Ali…"
"I just want to go back with you." Alison sighed, laying her head against the window.
"What about your stuff?"
"I can get it later." Alison rubbed her finger underneath her nose. It felt wet. Was she crying? She couldn't tell. She felt numb. "I don't want to go back into that house."
"Then I'll get it." Emily started the ignition and put the air on full blast, hoping to cool Alison down.
Alison pursed her lips and set her sights on the road. She had a feeling Emily was not going to back down.
"I think if we take a right out of here on to Westward Beach Road it will take me back the way I came." She tapped on her phone, which was almost dead, and showed Emily the address to lock into GPS.
"You ran over a mile?" Emily took another look at her appearance, her brows raised in concern. She looked at Alison's skirt and heels.
She had run a mile…in heels. She had been running from something horrible.
"I didn't realize it was that far." Alison blinked in surprise. She looked in the rearview mirror at her face, noticing she had a weird post work-out glow. "Really sobered me up." She slowly looked over at Emily as the brunette put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot. "Bet you didn't think your night would end up like this."
"I don't mind." Emily smiled softly at her.
Alison knew Emily was one of the few people in the world who meant it when she said stuff like that.
"I hate that you're seeing me so…messy." Alison felt the urge to take a shower and fix her hair and make-up.
"You're not." Emily kept her eyes on the road, looking for the turn-off. "But even if you were…I like messy."
When she turned to face Alison there was a glint in her eyes from the glow of the blue lights on the dashboard.
Alison couldn't tell whether Emily was trying to make her feel better or if she really meant it.
They drove for a quarter of a mile and then Emily took the next turn.
"Did you really run through all these streets?" Emily asked.
"Of course not. I stayed on the side of the road." She hadn't meant for her response to come out as sarcastic, but her brain didn't seem to be functioning.
She heard Emily muttering to herself about the fact that she'd been running around Malibu in heels at 1 AM and no one had thought to help her.
Alison wasn't sure if anyone had seen her, but there had been cars on the road.
"The people I passed probably just thought I was high or something." Alison leaned back against the head rest, the cool air blowing on her face. "To be honest I was a little out of my mind."
"You know…" Emily gently eased up on the gas as she took a curve, "I'm racking my mind thinking about why you would run down hills and through the streets at night…in heels." She peered at Alison. "You don't have to tell me anything, but I'm pretty sure I know. I saw those assholes at the beach."
Alison looked down at her feet and laid her hands in her lap.
"Someone hurt you." Emily was certain of it. She sighed. "I should have pushed harder for you to stay with me."
Alison jerked her eyes away from her heels and turned to look at Emily.
"No, it's not your fault. I should have accepted your offer." But she was too busy trying to play games.
Her pride got in the way. Again.
No more games. She told herself.
Emily started wringing her hands against the steering wheel.
Alison fell silent as they pulled down the street getting closer to the house.
"It's that one. On the hill. The code to the gate is 425." She was barely able to choke it out.
Emily stopped at a gate and rolled down the window, punching the numbers into a little box. The gate slowly slid open.
When Emily pulled up to the curb she yanked the brake into place and left the van idling.
Alison wrapped her arms around her chest, hugging herself.
"His name is Tyler." Her lips and tongue felt like sandpaper. "The guy…he was…he's the one."
"Did he…" Emily trailed off.
The brunette's jawline flexed, emotions flashing in her eyes. She was fighting between her internal rage and her desire to break down in tears.
"He tried to." Alison nodded.
She could feel Emily shaking in her seat. The ire and heartbreak on her face was almost too much to bear. But she was also was intrigued. She'd seen Emily's temper before, but she didn't get angry often…and this kind of anger was something Alison had never seen before.
Emily took a minute to digest the information.
"Where are your things?" Her eyes were smoldering, her face flushed in fury.
"There." She pointed to a window. "Third door on the right past the bathroom."
She was the only one in the house who had her own bedroom.
"Wait here." Without another word, Emily climbed out of the car.
She marched towards the front door with purpose, her long strides meaningful.
It sent a clear message.
No one fucks with Alison DiLaurentis.
Emily reached the front door and started pounding on it. The music had died down a bit as the drunks started meandering off to go to sleep.
The door opened, revealing one of the guys she'd seen on the beach. He looked like the guy she'd seen giving Alison a Mai Tai.
His face and arms were torn to shreds, cuts oozing everywhere.
But she needed to be sure.
"You Tyler?" Emily asked, eyeballing the scratches on his face. Alison had clearly put up a fight.
"I am whoever you want me to be, baby." He leaned against the door frame. His breath reeked of bourbon.
"Ty! Who is it?"
That's all the confirmation Emily needed. She lurched forward, her hand in a tightly wound fist.
Alison watched in awe as Emily's fist made contact with Tyler's nose. Her breath fogged up the window. She pressed her face against the glass.
Her jaw dropped when she saw the blood streaming down over his lips.
"What the hell!?" Tyler stumbled back, raising his hand to his nose to try and stop the bleeding.
"I'm here for Alison's things. Move."
"Dude…" Another drunk guy stumbled over to him laughing. "She laid your ass out."
"Psycho bitch." Tyler spit towards her, a bloody mixture hitting the ground near her feet. Emily didn't budge. She wasn't intimidated. "You broke my fucking nose!"
"Good. That's just the beginning. My father is in the army and he didn't just teach me to fight. I know my way around weapons, too. If you ever come near her again I'll fucking kill you. Now move the hell out of my way."
His eyes widened.
He could see it in the way she was looking at him.
It wasn't an idle threat.
He moved aside and Emily walked through the house until she found the room Alison had pointed out. She started packing her things, pulling things from the closet and checking drawers to make sure she got everything.
Alison had a ton of outfits, which made sense because of her job.
Once she was sure she had everything she started hauling it out to the van, leaving Tyler standing in the living room, dazed. The other guy was snapping pictures of him and laughing.
Idiots. She shot them one last look before storming out of the house and back to the van.
Emily tossed Alison's bags in the back and then moved towards the front of the van.
She shook her hand when she got in the van, glancing at her knuckles. She hadn't shaken the cold fury from her face yet.
"Are you okay?" Alison asked.
"Fine." Emily nodded, but Alison could already see the bruises on her knuckles in the dull light from the street lamp. "Do you want to go to the police?"
"I don't know. He didn't actually…" She shivered. "I mean…I pushed him off."
"He would have done it. And he'll probably do it again. Guys like that are all the same. I would know." A cloud of darkness washed across her face.
She'd told the blonde about how her one and only boyfriend had tried to rape her in the locker room at high school. If it wasn't for her friend Toby Cavanaugh, the boy probably would have followed through with it.
"I'm not going to tell you what to do. It's your choice." Emily's voice was a little less shaky.
Alison rubbed her temples.
She wasn't sure whether to be pissed that Emily had to come to her rescue twice in one day or flattered that Emily still cared about her.
She couldn't be angry at the brunette for her nature. Rushing in like a savior was who Emily was at her core.
"You punched him." She was still in disbelief.
"I'd do it again. I wanted to do more than that, but thankfully my father taught me to be responsible with firearms."
The fact that Emily had a gun wasn't surprising to Alison. She was a military brat, through and through.
"Do you have the gun on you?" Alison was leery of weapons. She'd been on the wrong end of a gun one too many times.
"No, I don't normally carry. It's too risky given I work with emotionally traumatized kids at the LGBTQ Alliance. It's locked in a gun safe at my condo. It's for emergencies only."
"Lucky for Tyler…" Alison growled his name with venom. "If we go to the police he'll tell them you hit him."
"So? Let him. They won't care, not given what he did to you. They'd probably rough him up, too. And even if we did run into an issue I can just call my dad. He'll back me up."
Having contacts in high places paid off sometimes.
"I want to go back to your place. I'll think about it. But I need to sleep first."
"Okay." Emily didn't say anything more as she started the van.
She didn't press Alison for details. She just drove.
Alison watched the ocean crashing against the shore in the pale moonlight until it faded into the background.
She looked over at Emily, who was intensely focused on the road.
It took longer than Alison expected to get to Emily's condo. She lived on the outskirts of Malibu, an area which Alison had yet to explore. She saw so many opportunities in the new surroundings. A chance to rekindle things with Emily. There was also a good possibility she could get great content to further her career. Though if she had to choose between Emily and her career…
She looked at Emily's set jaw line and her determined position in the driver's seat.
Career or Emily?
It would be Emily. It would always be Emily.
She'd made the wrong choice once before. She wouldn't make that mistake again.
"Thank you." Alison reached out to adjust the vent to push the airflow towards her sweaty skin. "For being there for me tonight."
For always being there.
"You're welcome."
When they arrived at her building Alison was surprised by how cute and modest it was compared to the places on the beach.
Emily helped her gather her things.
The moment Alison stepped through the door she realized that Emily wasn't kidding about the space.
It was a one-bedroom. There was a very small living room that was partially furnished that attached to the kitchen.
Even so, it still managed to be a huge presence. There was a lot of open floor space, probably because Emily hadn't filled every nook and cranny with furniture.
"Holy shit." Alison spun around getting a full view of the condo. "How the hell did you afford this?"
"Like I said on the beach…I sold some of my things, including my car. And I saved. And my parents helped. That was part of it. I was also crazy enough to take out a loan. My mortgage isn't too bad. I save on gas by not driving everywhere and I save money on food because of the meal plan at school. I work odd jobs, too. Everything I can to earn a buck. The LGBTQ Alliance is my main gig. And Lifeguarding. I work as a bartender at a hut on the beach sometimes, too. It's tight, but it works."
It's tight, but it works…
If Jason had heard that comment he would have acted like a twelve-year-old and laughed, "That's what she said."
Alison felt a twinge of pain thinking about her brother, but that sadness morphed into anger when she remembered why she left town in the first place.
"I got the frugal gene from my mom." Emily shrugged. "It makes more sense than paying an insane amount of rent when you don't own it."
Alison's head was spinning. The last time she'd seen Emily, the brunette had been a hardworking college-bound student. The fact that she'd matured into someone who had a mortgage was astounding.
"How exactly does a mortgage work?" Alison asked.
She realized she'd never bothered to look the term up before. She came from money, so she was even more impressed with what Emily had made for herself.
"It basically eats your paycheck every month until it's paid off. But the market value is supposed to go up, so if I decide to turn around and sell it...it will be worth more than I paid. Then I can move to another place if I want."
"Who in their right mind would move from here?" Alison put her hand on the back of a worn leather sofa. She recognized it from the Fields' house. A lot of décor had come from her parents.
"Someone who spent her entire life moving because of her dad's career." Emily closed a laptop sitting on a small table next to the couch and moved a textbook off of one of the cushions.
"Right." Alison nodded.
Emily walked her around and showed her the place. It was small, but Alison liked the homey feel of it.
The living room was somewhat bare, which wasn't a surprise to her because Emily had always been a minimalist. She never tried to be showy or flashy. She had a couch, a chair, and two little end tables. There was a small TV mounted on the wall.
The kitchen was old and outdated and needed updating, but the wooden panel cabinets and cheap countertop didn't seem to bother Emily.
Alison caught sight of a clock that showed that it was nearly 2 AM.
She suddenly felt the weight of the day. She was achy and felt dirty.
"Is it too late to take a shower? Would you mind?" She gripped the back of the sofa.
"Of course not." Emily took in her disheveled appearance. "But can I offer some advice?"
"On how to shower?" Alison cocked her head.
"From a forensic standpoint." Her fingertips landed next to Alison's on the back of the couch. "I understand what you're going through, and one thing I learned from experience is that every contact leaves a contact."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…you might want to bag your clothes up. And maybe you should consider using a few q-tip swabs." She picked up Alison's hands to observe her fingernails, peering at the dried blood underneath them.
Alison's skin prickled at her touch. Her fingers were so warm.
"If you do decide you want to talk to the cops I've learned it's best to have insurance."
"Because they never believe the scantily clad girl." Alison nodded. "Got it." She managed a weak weary smile. "Thank you for looking out for me."
"I'll always have your back, Ali." Emily moved away from the couch and pointed towards the bedroom. "There is only one bathroom. It's connected to the main bedroom. Come on, I'll show you where everything is."
Emily grabbed two of Alison's bags and moved towards the bedroom.
Alison trailed after her, her pulse racing at the thought of following her into the bedroom. They had so many memories in bedrooms, and Alison missed her touch so much.
Her bedroom was neat, simple, which was somewhat humorous to Alison. She'd been a neat-freak back in Rosewood, too. Her parents had schooled her in military precision. But Alison had also heard Pam say that Emily's room looked like a tornado had ripped through it half the time.
The neatly made bed showed just how much Emily had grown up.
The room was inviting with its soft peach walls and white trim.
Emily pushed Alison's bags up against a wall and walked over to an open door that led to a small washroom. It matched the décor of the bedroom. Everything on the counter was neatly surrounding the sink. A white towel hung from a metal bar near the shower and a matching hand towel hung above the sink.
"So," Emily turned the light on, "extra towels are in the cabinet underneath the sink and the washcloths are on the rack…" She pointed to a rack next to the shower. She leaned towards the medicine cabinet and opened the door, pulling out a small box of Q-tips. "If you decide you want to…they're here."
"Thank you."
"Feel free to take as long as you need." Emily smiled. "And let me know if you need help finding anything."
She turned and moved towards the door, giving Alison her privacy.
But Alison didn't want privacy. She wanted Emily to watch her undress. She wanted Emily to rub her aching muscles and to feel her again.
She slowly undressed, taking care to fold and put the skirt and top aside, heeding Emily's advice. She hadn't noticed it before, but there was blood on her shirt, probably from where she'd ripped into Tyler's face.
She reached for the Q-tips and wet one before scraping it beneath each nail on her right hand. She did a few more for good measure and then moved on to her left hand.
Once she was done she turned the shower on and reached for a washcloth before stepping into the steaming water.
She let it roll over her in cascades. She glanced at the hair products and bodywash. She liked the idea of smelling like Emily, so she eagerly reached for them.
She lathered herself up, closing her eyes and imagining Emily's hands against her body. She repeated the process when she scrubbed her scalp.
By the time she'd finished she had used every single product in the shower.
She quickly toweled off and ran a brush through her tangled hair. Normally she had a whole routine she did with her hair before the next day, but she just tied it up in a messy bun.
Once she was dressed she went to find Emily.
She found her in the living room, making up the couch like a bed. She had changed into a tank top and exercise shorts.
"Hey." Emily fluffed a pillow and laid it against the arm of the couch. "Feeling better?"
"Much."
"Good." Emily searched her bare arms and legs, looking for injuries. She saw a bruise on her arm that made her frown. "So I'm going to crash on the couch. You can have the bed."
Alison wanted to offer for them to share the bed, but she wasn't sure where she stood with Emily.
"Emily, you don't have to…"
"I don't mind. It doesn't look like much, but it's cozy. I fall asleep on it watching TV all the time."
Alison looked at the TV, realizing there was no cable box.
"I stream." Emily explained. "It's cheaper."
My frugal Queen.
When she made it big she was going to buy Emily all the TVs in the world.
"Seriously…the couch is fine." Alison argued.
She wasn't going to inconvenience Emily in her own home.
"My place, my rules." Emily plopped down on the sofa, making herself comfortable.
"Is that so?" Alison sat down next to her. "Well, I'm not moving…so now what?"
Emily chuckled at her determination. The blonde still had her stubborn streak. It was endearing.
"Why don't we watch a movie?" Emily reached for the remote.
She knew she could outlast Alison and stay up longer. Then she could move her defiant ass to the bedroom where she'd be more comfortable.
"What are we watching?" Alison curled her feet up on to the sofa underneath her.
"Whatever you want." Emily handed her the remote.
"You're giving me complete control? What if I pick something you hate?" Alison tenderly took the remote, taking her time so she could feel the electricity between their fingers.
"You won't."
It had been three years, but Emily was confident that Alison knew her well enough to pick something they'd both like.
Alison felt like she'd been handed the keys to the Kingdom. Emily was giving her control of the TV.
She totally still loves me…
"With great power…" Alison hit the button to turn the TV on, "comes great responsibility."
Emily faced her, a puzzled expression on her face.
"Tell me you did not just quote Spiderman." She laughed.
Alison simply grinned in response.
The blonde scrolled through several different options until she settled on a classic. She turned to Emily as she hit play.
"First one to fall asleep loses and has to take the bed instead of this luxurious comfortable couch." Alison challenged.
"I'll take that bet." Emily kicked her feet up on the ottoman.
Alison followed her lead.
Emily dimmed the lights as the opening credits rolled on screen. She peered over at Alison's silhouette.
She knew that Alison was facing her own demons, but she needed to get something off of her chest.
"Hey, Ali…I uh…" She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck as Alison turned to face her. She felt her cheeks flushing, "I just wanted you to know something…so you won't worry if it happens. Sometimes I have nightmares."
Alison knew the exact cause of those nightmares.
She could sense Emily's tension and she knew she was embarrassed, so she tried to comfort her.
"I'm glad you told me." Alison tried not to think of the horrors that Emily had been through.
Charlotte hadn't told her what happened. She'd seemed to feel remorse, but Alison learned as time went on…Charlotte wasn't who she was pretending to be.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Alison reassured her. "I have them, too. I would be surprised if you didn't have them after everything you went through."
"Yeah." Emily uttered under her breath, like she was unsure of something.
Alison wanted more than anything for Emily to open up to her, but she knew there was a chance that Emily might not ever tell her what she and their friends had gone through in that Dollhouse of horrors.
"If you ever want to talk about it…" Alison tentatively suggested.
Emily smiled and nodded at her.
"You too. I know you've gone through a lot, too. I haven't forgotten that."
Alison peered at Emily's hand resting on the couch. It would be so easy to reach out and take it, but she didn't want to do anything that Emily didn't want her to do. She was still shaken from what had happened with Tyler. The last thing she wanted to do was to make Emily feel the way she felt.
They both turned their attention to the TV as the opening credits ended and the movie started. Every now and then each of them would quickly glance at the other, doing their best not to get caught.
Halfway through the movie Emily looked over and saw that Alison's body had relaxed into the sofa. Her eyes were closed.
Emily smiled to herself. She started to get up so she could move Alison to the bed, but she looked so peaceful. She didn't want to wake her. She gently perched forward on the couch and made room to lay Alison down. She readjusted the pillow underneath her head and took a moment to appreciate her beauty.
She swept her hair out of her face and pulled a thin blanket over her so the air conditioner wouldn't chill her in her sleep.
Then she moved to the chair next to the couch and settled in for the night. She knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep. Her adrenaline was pumping too high. She tried to do some of her school work, but she was too upset to focus. Someone had hurt Alison...again.
She kept watch over the blonde, making sure no nightmares dare plague her.
She got up only once to go into her bedroom and open the gun safe in her closet. She picked up her 9 millimeter.
She always kept it unloaded, but she had two fully loaded magazines in the safe ready to grab in the event of an emergency. She checked the spring in the gun. When she was satisfied she put it back in the safe.
She couldn't be too careful. She had something worth fighting for. She would not let the blonde get hurt again.
She walked back into the living room and took her place in the chair again. She propped her elbow against the arm of the chair and rested her cheek against her palm.
Alison always looked so vulnerable and innocent when she slept, but she was normally ferocious when she was awake. The blonde hid underneath that tough exterior.
Emily remembered after Alison got back to Rosewood she got scared and wanted to stay the night with her. Emily had stayed up all night watching over her that night.
She still cared very deeply about the blonde, and nothing was going to happen to her on her watch.
A/N: You'll probably soon find out that this story is mostly character-driven (which is why I categorized it as Romance). It's about Alison and Emily reconnecting. There is a side plot and some mystery, but the focus is heavily on their personal development. It's also not a slow-burn. These two have a history, and this chapter was just the start of their feelings bubbling up. You'll also see more nuances to their personalities. Alison still has her edge and Emily still has her softness.
I hope you enjoy the ride (it's simply a different ride than all the other roller-coasters I've written. It's like...bumper cars. There is a lot of fun, but also some crashes along the way).