Return to Mt Horizon

11

Sophie's pov
No one knew what to say. I looked at her team and the Cliffhangers, no one could talk. After a minute Scott finally spoke up. "That skank." He whispered. Peter stood up and looked at him, Emily did the same. "Scott. Don't talk about her like that. No matter what she did, she's human." Peter said. Scott looked up at him and stood up too. "No. All that girl does is infect everything she comes in contact with."

"Hey." Emily said, she was pissed. "Boo hoo, your friend ditched you. Big deal. My best friend lied about every aspect of her life. She had her reasons so chill the fuck out." She stated. "Prentiss, you can't mean that. She stole that girls life. What are we supposed to tell Sandy? We know that girls mom and we have to tell her that both her daughters are dead. You're okay with that?" Morgan had asked.

"Derek, she was assaulted every single day. You don't know how it feels to leave your whole life behind. Always looking over your shoulder. Afraid to tell the people you love who you really are. It is terrifying, leaving to make your life better." Emily said, sitting back down. He scoffed at her and leaned back in his chair. "Like you would know."

"She does." This time it was Penelope on the couch. She hadn't moved since Shelby left. "Emily knows this. We all remember what she did for Declan. She did leave her whole life behind. Ian forced her to stay in the US but it was for the better. She lived because she left." Emily turned away from her team and stared at the wall.

"If Emily had remained Lauren Reynolds, she would've been killed. If JJ, had stayed on the streets, she would be dead." Rossi added. Scott scoffed and walked behind the couch. "She was safe here. She was going to graduate and get out of here." I was going to say something but Daisy snapped at him. "Where would she have gone? We all had a place to go back to. She didn't."

Juliette nodded. "I had my mom, you and Daisy had dad's, Ezra, Kat and Auggie had parents. They weren't great but it was something. Who did she have? A stepdad that didn't get arrested and a mom that covered up her abuse." Peter nodded. "She was going back to the streets no matter what. That was always her plan." I looked towards the door she just walked out.

"She's not coming back. Peter she's running again." He looked at me and ran out the door, everyone followed. "Does everyone have their car keys?" I asked, everyone nodded. "The kayaks." Emily figured out. I nodded and led them down towards the docks. "Shelby!" I yelled, she couldn't have gotten far.

Sure enough, the shed lock had been broken into and one was missing. "Peter take Scott, Ezra and Auggie and try to meet her in a kayak. Kat bring Penelope, David and Spencer and try to cut her off at the bridge in a car. Daisy, Juliette, run with Derek on that side of the river I'll go with Emily on this side. Grab walkies and let us know if something happens. Deal?" I made sure everyone nodded before grabbing the walkies and flashlights and passing them out.

I led Emily though the woods, she was fast but I knew where to go. I let her run before and I'm not going to let that happen again. We ran for a while before I saw something in the water. "There." Emily said, pointing at the tipped over kayak in the water. "I don't see her." I stated. Emily ran ahead of me and I let everyone else know.

I shined the flashlight on the water, desperately looking for something. "Wait go back to the right." Emily said, moving my hand to shine on something under the water. It was her. I dropped it and took my shoes off, she was underwater. The water was freezing but I needed to get her. Emily helped shine the light and walkie everyone else.

Luckily, the water was calm so I could dive down and grab her arm. She floated up and was strangely heavy. "Emily, help me with her." I yelled. She got in and held Shelby above the water as I tried to see why she was heavy. I found logs from the shed tied to her ankles, weighing her down. Shelby had never been good at tying knots, so they were easy to undo.

Emily pulled her towards the side while I got out and pulled her out of the water. "Is she breathing?" She whispered. "She will." Is all I could say. Emily sat by her head while I started CPR, I wasn't going to lose her like this. "Please, please, please. Come back to me Shelby." I was whispering, I know she could hear me.