Emison: Different

{Ch. 21} Redemption

Alison's Point of View:

"Was that tree always here?"
"You look really pretty."
"I'm hungry... Are you hungry? I'm hungry."

Those were the three sentences she just kept repeating, as we walked. She was very drunk and I decided that it was probably best to let her get some fresh air. My arm was wrapped around her waist, as we stumbled along the sidewalk. She was walking like a new born giraffe and even though it was hard to get anywhere, I found it very amusing.

"Alison..." She whispered in my ear, immediately pulling away and giggling after. She was like a little girl and it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen in my life. I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

"What?" I asked, as I continued to walk. We were only a block away from my house, but it was cold and I wanted to get there quickly. The last thing I needed was Emily getting hypothermia. She didn't seem to care that much, but I knew she would in the morning.

"You're beautiful." She told me, giggling again. Even though I knew she was drunk, her words still made my stomach erupt with butterflies. She made me feel so happy and I wouldn't have had it any other way. This was my shot at redemption.

I steadied her at my side, whilst I unlocked my door, before dragging her inside with me. I closed the door behind us and took her hand, tugging her into the kitchen. "What do you want?" I asked her, as I grabbed a glass out and began to fill it with cold water.

"I don't mind." She told me, her voice sounding a lot closer than it was before. I handed her the now full glass and she was quick to gulp down the entire thing.

"Slow down." I ordered, giggling a little. "Want me to order a pizza?" I asked, leaning my back against the counter. She nodded. Then, she moved so that she was stood directly in front of me and put the glass on the counter behind me. Our bodies were inches apart, so I froze. I thought she'd move away once she'd put the glass down, but she stayed exactly where she was. She just stared at me. Not in a creepy way, but I still couldn't move. The next thing I knew, her hand was on my face, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. Shivers rippled through every inch of my body.

"I missed you." She told me, with a sad expression on her face. I felt like my body was melting under her soft, angelic touch, but I stayed composed. I wasn't going to let her kiss me. She was drunk and she would most likely regret it the next day. I wasn't going to give her another reason to hate me when she was sober. She seemed to have other ideas. Her eyes landed on my lips and stayed there for a good few seconds. There was no way I was going to mess this up. So, ignoring every inch of me that wanted to comply, I moved my head away from her hand and slipped from her grasp.

I heard her let out a long and sad sigh, but it just wasn't worth it. I didn't want to kiss her tonight. I wanted to kiss her every night. If I did kiss her that night, I might not have the chance to do so.

Another thing I didn't want to do was make it awkward, so I quickly changed the subject. "You wanna share a pepperoni?" I suggested, not making eye contact with her. For some reason, I felt extremely guilty, even though I knew I was doing this for her own good.

"S-sure." She quietly mumbled. Her voice cracked the same time my heart did. I still didn't give in. I ordered the pizza and we made our way into the living room, waiting for it. Emily sat on the sofa in silence, with nothing but a broken look on her face.

"Emily." I whispered, feeling myself starting to get upset too. This was not how I wanted things to go. I just didn't want to hurt her. Yet, I was doing it by trying not to do it. She looked up from her hands and her eyes were glossed over with tears. Fuck.

"I'm sorry." I told her. She didn't say anything, just nodded and continued to stare at her hands. My hand flew to her chin, where I gently used my fingers to raise her head. "I mean it, okay? I'm sorry. Trust me, I want to kiss you, I really do. I just don't want you to get hurt. If you kiss me now, there's a chance you're going to regret it tomorrow... You probably won't even remember it." I explained, trying my best not to cry. She nodded again and tried to force a smile onto her gorgeous face.

"I'm sorry I make everything so much hard work for you... Everything good you try to do, I make a challenge. It's just... I hate it when I can't have you." She admitted, playing with her fingers, as she looked everywhere except my eyes. In the end, she just bit her lip, as her eyes rested on her hands.

"Nothing I've done to you is good. When I saw Paige again that night... it just brought back a lot of unwanted memories... and I panicked. I should not have left you there like that and I promise you I would never do anything like that again. As for right now... well we can talk about it when you're sober." I finally spilled out. At this point, we were staring into each other's eyes, which were both glossed over with tears. She each had our own sad smiles plastered across our faces.

*DING DONG*

"That will be the pizza." I told her, as I scrambled to my feet. We spent the rest of the night eating and watching TV, until we were both utterly exhausted.

"Come on. You need to sleep." I told Emily, who's eyes kept drooping closed every few minutes. She yawned and nodded, rubbing at her eyes like a sleepy toddler. I took her hand and she followed me up to my bedroom. I gave her some small shorts and a shirt, before going downstairs and leaving her to get changed. Whilst I was down there, I grabbed a water bottle and pills for the morning. I had no doubt in Emily needing them.

I waited downstairs for a few minutes, before finally trailing up and standing outside my bedroom door. "Emily... you done?" I asked, after knocking a few times. No reply. I knocked again, but got nothing. I slowly opened the door to see her passed out in my bed. I smiled to myself, as I glanced down at the adorable woman. So peaceful.

I got changed into a similar outfit to her and slipped under the covers beside her. I made sure she was tucked in properly and pushed all of her hair out of her face, before burying myself under the covers away from her. I didn't want her to wake up, possibly not knowing where she was, seeing nothing but my face in hers.

I still enjoyed having her there with me.