Matters of the Heart

Chapter 7: On the Rocks

Chapter 7:

On the Rocks

After she left Ali's house Emily took a walk to sort things out. She gazed at the stars. She'd forgotten how peaceful her town was at night. The rest of the world seemed to fade away. She breathed in the fresh evening air and listened to the sound of the crickets chirping. It was a relaxing change of pace. For a few quiet minutes she was able to forget about the fact that she was wrapped up in Alison's world again. It was hard for Emily to keep her feelings in check when Ali reached out to her like this. It's not like it was the first time. It was a pattern with the two of them. Ali had been through so much turmoil in her life, and the person she'd always leaned on was Emily. It was impossible for Emily to say no to her. Ali knew Emily would always be there for her, so when bad things happened she did everything she could to keep Emily close.

When they were younger Emily had never been able to tell how much of Ali's love was real and how much of it was just Ali trying to keep her close. There had been times that she felt like Ali was sincere and really did love her, and there were times that she had seen her pull away the moment things between them got too real. Their intimate moments were all very crystal clear to Emily. She had decided her feelings about Ali a long time ago, but Ali couldn't seem to make a decision and stick to it.

And even if Alison had finally made up her mind, Emily had so much going on in her life that they'd probably be doomed before they got started. Their timing always seemed to suck.

Her phone beeped. It was text from Hanna checking in. Emily sent her a quick text back to let her know everything was okay. She glanced at the missed call from Hollis Medical Center and saw she had a message. All of the worst possible scenarios ran through her head, but it was just an automated call from the pharmacy letting her know she had a prescription ready. She'd been so anxious to get out of the doctor's office she'd forgotten to stop by the pharmacy.

She hung up her phone and looked up just in time to see a tuft of blonde hair round the corner. The gait was unmistakable. Ever since Sara Harvey had been electrocuted she walked like she was made of glass. Emily crossed the street and peered around the corner and saw a car pull up next to her. The passenger door was pushed open from the inside. Sara looked around before she climbed in the car. Emily tried to see who was driving, but the windows were tinted. The car came around the corner and she ducked behind a parked car as they drove by her. She tried to snap a picture of the car with her phone, but it was gone before she got the chance.

She was kicking herself for not being quick enough with her camera the next day when she was telling Hanna and Spencer about it on the walk over to Alison's house.

"Well, what did it look like?" Hanna asked.

"I don't know. It was dark." Emily frowned.

"And you're sure it was Sara Harvey?" Spencer asked.

"I had nightmares about her for months. I'm sure." Emily nodded.

"I don't understand why she's even still in town," Spencer said.

"To ruin our lives," Hanna said flippantly. "She's probably got a bunch of evil minions doing her bidding."

"Yeah, but why would she cared who killed Charlotte? She hated her. She crucified her on the witness stand." Spencer pointed out.

"To save her own skin. She wasn't kept in that dollhouse. She was out in the world...helping Charlotte torture us. I'm telling you right now, that bitch wasn't stockholmed." Emily countered.

"Have either of you gotten anymore messages from the new Uber-bitch?" Hanna asked.

Spencer and Emily shook their heads.