Infatuation (PLL Emison AU)

Heart Skips a Beat

A/N: Surprise! Early update! This one comes on the heels of Chapter 19, which I posted mere hours ago. So go back read to be sure you didn't miss it. There's some hella important stuff in it.

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Chapter 20:

Heart Skips A Beat

The full moon on the horizon had a strangely gorgeous yellowish brown glow to it. Emily's hands tightened around the steering wheel, though she couldn't pinpoint why she suddenly felt anxious. She'd been planning it all week, so why was she so nervous?

She glanced skyward, blaming it on the moon. There always seemed to be an increase in crime when the moon was full. Many blamed it on lunar activity, something about gravitational forces affecting neurons in the brain.

Emily thought it was simply because the moon offered criminals more light to scurry about and commit their crimes. Unlike in the daytime, the night of a full moon offered darkness and shadows...places to hide to avoid being caught.

The house was dark when Emily pulled up the driveway. She'd been expecting for Alison to be waiting eagerly on the porch, but she didn't see her.

She shut the car off and walked towards the front door. To her surprise, she found it unlocked and open a crack. She gripped the keys in her hand and glanced from side to side, checking the yard.

A soft wind blew a gentle breeze through the leaves in the trees.

She realized it was the only sound she heard.

Not only was the house dark.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

"Alison?" She slowly opened the door.

She mindlessly reached for her gun only to remember a split second later that it wasn't there.

Stupid fucking dress.

She could have gone back to her car to grab her handgun, but her instincts propelled her forward into the house instead.

She reached to turn on the light, but stopped herself. If something was wrong she wanted the element of surprise on her side.

She listened carefully, but didn't hear the sounds of a struggle. She didn't hear anything except for something that sounded like running water upstairs. She turned towards the noise, hoping that she'd simply just caught Alison while she was in the shower.

She was halfway up the steps when she heard a noise in the kitchen.

Great. The one place in the house where there are sharp instruments of destruction. I should have gone back for my gun.

She tiptoed back down the stairs just in time to hear the back door creep open and then close. She saw a shadow moving in the darkness and then a light switched on.

Emily psyched herself up to run in and bowl the intruder over with a heavy body check, though doing it in a dress was going to be a bit tricky. She looked around for something to use as a weapon. There was an umbrella by the front door, but by the time she reached it the person sleuthing around would have had a chance to grab a butcher knife and a cleaver.

There was the sound of a key sliding into a deadbolt and locking it.

The pipes started to swish with more running water when the kitchen sink was turned on.

Emily caught a glimpse of a bloody hand in the reflection of the stove and her adrenaline started pumping. Fight or flight kicked in and she was ready to fight. She surged forward.