Issues

Failure

Emily's POV

Chills crawl up and down my back at the sinister greeting.

"What do you want?" I ask forcefully.

"Now is that the way you talk to someone? Let's not be rude now" says the voice on the other end.

"I said what. do. you. want" I repeat angrily.

"A down to business kind of girl. I like it..... You know what I want..... And you've continued to ignore my order even with my lovely display for you" says the voice now chuckling.

"I love Alison more than anything in this world and I'm not just going to stop because you say so" I spit back defiantly. "I will figure out who you are and I will hunt you down and I will bring you to justice".

The person on the other end begins to slowly clap. "Very nice.... what a lovely speech. You love her and that is exactly why you will do what I say in the end. Yet for now, you seem to underestimate me even though I've clearly shown you that I know your every move. I've painstakingly watched you. I'm in your head now and there is nothing you can do about it. Can't you see that I've made it impossible for you to figure out who I am? The hunter has become the hunted. There is no way out. No solution. No victory possible for you. My patience only lasts for so long Emily. I will get what I want. You will break up with your precious girlfriend".

"And how exactly are you going to get me to do that? Why do you even want this to happen so badly" I hiss back.

"The why doesn't matter dear Emily. Results do. You will break up with her. You will end up alone. Just like you deserve to be. As for how I'd make you do it.... Oh there are a plethora of ways.... First of all, I could kill your not so secret confidant that's been helping you investigate me. Jared... he's quite a handsome fella. He seems so in love with his girlfriend too.... It'd be a real shame if his car breaks suddenly failed or he was ambushed in his patrol car late one night. Or say for instance... right now, in this very moment... he's waiting for the subway. It'd be purely awful in this massive crowd if he'd just happen to bump into an oncoming subway. Messy...very messy indeed" the voice laughs at the thought.

"You're a sick bastard!" I yell at the indescribable voice. "Don't you dare touch him! He's innocent in all of this." I continue to yell.

"You still seem to think that you have leverage or any say so in this Emily. You have nothing. I have eyes everywhere. You are not in control" the voice continues to hammer into my mind.

In all honesty, this freak is correct. They are far too connected and far too intelligent for me to fight. They're ten steps ahead of me. I'm fighting in a rigged match. I quickly begin to realize that I can't win this and it's killing my soul.

"Awww.... I hear silence..... is someone finally beginning to understand?" mocks the voice. "Just in case you haven't, let me explain things just a little bit more. You see Alison is sitting in her class right now, completely unaware that danger lurks in the shadows. It'd be a real shame to have such a fine looking woman be beaten to a pulp in an alley on her walk home in the dark. Or maybe I could use one of those guns that you thought you so cleverly hid from me. You know they have your fingerprints all over them. And well.... they definitely wouldn't have mine. And this lengthy, mentally unstable journal I have that details your suspicions of cheating on Alison's part, your jealousy, and your rage would easily support a motive for murder. Or you know... now that I think of it, I could just come up behind her on a quiet street and snap her neck. You see Emily, there are an infinite amount of ways in which I could kill Alison and make you look guilty. And don't think I won't do it. You have until the end of tonight to break up with her. If you chose not to do so, well... I'll just have to kill Jared and Alison. Who knows, maybe I'll even move onto killing Aria, Spencer, and Hanna. That'll leave you all alone with no one in this world to love you. Do I make myself clear?" asks the voice forcefully.

"Crystal" I say trying to fight back the tears welling up in my eyes.

"Just a few more things. How do I know that if I break up with Alison that you won't just go ahead and do all of this anyway? If I break up with her, you'll leave everyone alone and not hurt anyone?" I ask helplessly.

"Oh I promise. Scouts honor... I'll be gone. You'll never hear from me again. You'll be able to continue your modeling life with all of your team. Jared will live on to marry his girlfriend. Alison will be heartbroken, but she will live to move on too. Now do what I said or you know what will happen. Take some time to come up with a convincing breakup. Alison will be done with her class this evening. That's when you'll text her to come over. That's when you'll break up with her. That's where your love story will end" says the voice simply.

"So your mission is to basically make me live in hell and heartache for the rest of my life isn't it?" I spit bitterly.

"Now you get it. Now I suggest you start preparing. The clock is ticking" says the evil voice before they hang up the phone.

Haunting silence engulfs my surroundings as the magnitude of my predicament quickly begins to sink in. There's no way out of this. Alison and I can't run away because this evil bastard will just kill Jared, Hanna, Spencer, and Aria. I can't protect everyone. I can't go to the police officially. That would only anger this freak even more. I've failed them all. I'm a failure. My heart that was once full of so much love and joy is now full of darkness and sorrow. I have to do this. I have to break Alison's heart in order to save her life.

I pick up my phone and text Alison.

Me: Come over after your class.

Alison: Sure thing! I can't wait to get out of this class. I miss you already. See you at 6! I love you babe! :)

And with that, I slowly slump down the side of the cabinet and onto the floor, completely heartbroken and devastated. How am I going to do this? How am I going to break her heart and move on with my life as if she never happened?