Matters of the Heart

Chapter 2: Here, Hold My Beer

Chapter 2:

Here, Hold My Beer

The girls met up for Mimosas the next morning. They needed the liquid courage to deal with Alison and the hearing for Charlotte. They talked about what they should say at the hearing. Emily barely heard a word of it. She had a headache because she hadn't slept well. All she could think about was seeing Alison last night.

Her talk with Toby had brought up a lot of unresolved feelings. Alison had never told her that she'd come by after her father's funeral. And Emily still wasn't sure what Toby meant when he said that Alison wasn't who he thought she was. Emily had always known who Alison was at her core. Even during Ali's darkest days, Emily had seen her best qualities. She saw things that no one else saw. There was more to Alison DiLaurentis than anyone could have ever imagined.

"What about you, Em?" Aria asked.

"Huh?" Emily snapped out of her daze.

This lack of focus is why she'd flunked out of Pepperdine.

"What are you going to say?" Aria was looking at her from across the table.

"Oh, um...I don't know." Emily took a sip of her drink.

"Seriously?" Spencer ate a bite of her breakfast. "The hearing is in a few hours. This isn't a high school History test. You can't just wing it and hope for the best."

"Not all of us have to plan out every intricate detail down to the letter." Emily shrugged.

"No, but Pam Fields' daughter certainly would." Aria furrowed her brows at Emily and gave her a look of concern. "How many of those have you had?" She looked at the Mimosa sitting in front of her.

"I want to hear Ali out first."

The truth was that Emily had already made up her mind on what she was going to say at the hearing. She'd thought a lot about it when she first got Alison's letter. The possibility of Charlotte being released had opened up every wound that had healed over the years. But the fear of Charlotte getting out took a backseat to all the other crap happening in her life. She'd faced a lot of fears in her life. Her dad had taught her that fear was natural and that it was the way she responded to it that would make or break her.

"What time are we supposed to meet her?" Emily glanced at her phone.

"Twenty minutes ago." Spencer looked down at her watch.

"Ugh, I'm not ready." Hanna frowned. "How about one more round?"

"I'd be insulted if you hadn't asked." Spencer tipped her glass and finished off her drink.

They delayed the inevitable for as long as they could, but when they got a text from Ali asking where they were they paid their bill and made their way over to Ali's house.

A lanky man with dark hair answered the door. Emily recognized him from a photo Ali had shared online. He smiled at the girls.

"You must be here to see Alison." He waved them in. "I'm Doctor Elliott Rollins. I've been working very closely with Alison in orchestrating Charlotte's release."

"So you're Doctor Doom," Spencer said sarcastically.

"Spencer!" Emily and Aria exclaimed in unison.

Spencer didn't look the least bit sorry. Emily watched Rollins' reaction very carefully. He had a peculiar look about him. His gaze was intense, like his mind was constantly at work.

"I understand why this is difficult for you." Rollins nodded. His answer seemed rehearsed...calculated, "But I can assure you that I wouldn't recommend this if I didn't think Charlotte was fully ready to be integrated back into society."