Matters of the Heart

Chapter 12: Full Disclosure

Chapter 12:

Full Disclosure

"You're Emily. You've always been...you."

She could hear Alison's voice gently calling out to her. It was like a beacon guiding her in the dark. As lost as she felt, she knew without a doubt that she would find her way back to Ali.

"You loved me even when I didn't love myself. That means something to me. It means everything. You mean everything..."

Emily focused on the sound of Ali's voice. It was the only thing keeping her from completely fading away. She was tired and her brain was trying to completely shut down, but Emily was fighting it.

"I never want to lose you again."

Alison's voice was trembling, and all Emily could think about was getting back to her and letting her know that everything was going to be okay.

"I want you to know that whatever happens, I'm here. I'm right here with you."

"Alison..." Emily looked around in the darkness. She couldn't see her, but she knew she was there.

She pushed herself as hard as she could, but it was too much. She lost her grip on reality and fell back into the darkness. For a while, everything around her was silent. The darkness reminded her a lot of being held captive in the dollhouse. She started having flashes to the mental torture she'd been put through. She had to talk herself down from it, reminding herself that they had made it out. They had escaped. Life had gone on after the dollhouse. She'd had a life in California. She was back in Rosewood. She was with Alison. She tried to focus on the good, but the darkness started to become overwhelming. What's worse was the complete silence surrounding her. All she wanted to do was wake up.

Just when she thought she might go crazy from the quiet, a soft pulsing beeping noise filled the air. At first she thought the noise was her alarm waking her from a bad dream. She tried to reach out to swat at the snooze button, but her arms felt too heavy to lift. She took an annoyed breath and her chest burned in pain.

Slowly, her senses started coming back to her. Her whole body ached and her throat felt like it was on fire. The beeping noise sped up ever so slightly. When she opened her eyes her vision was spotted and blurry for a few seconds. She looked to her left, towards the sound of the incessant chirping. When her vision came into focus she saw several machines taking a bunch of different readings from heart.

She felt something warm on her right hand. She glanced to her right and saw Alison curled up in a chair next to her bed. She was sound asleep, but her hand was tightly gripping hers. Ali's fingers were curled into Emily's palm. She stirred in her sleep and her thumb gently grazed Emily's knuckles. Emily stared at Alison for a few seconds, then she looked around the hospital room.

When had she gotten here? The last thing she remembered was feeling one of her fainting spells coming on. At least, that's what she thought it was. It took her a few minutes to realize that she hadn't just fainted. Her chest felt like it was one giant bruise and her ribs were killing her. It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer and given her a few good whacks with it. She glanced at the heart monitor again and the realization hit her. Had her heart stopped?

She looked at Alison. Even though her eyes were closed Emily could see how weary she looked. There were lines of faded mascara all over her cheeks from where she'd been crying. Suddenly, Emily remembered seeing a glimpse of Alison's face before she'd lost consciousness. Her expression had been one of pure terror. Emily's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't imagine what Alison had gone through. She hadn't meant for her to find out, not like that. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was cause her any pain.