How About Forever? [Emison Fanfiction]

Thanksgiving

Alison’s POV

It’s been two weeks since I’ve last spoken to Emily and today is the day she comes home to spend Thanksgiving with me. Just thinking about her makes my heart pound even though I know it’s ridiculous to feel nervous after we’ve been together for almost a year now. Time has flown by and although the last few months have been tough, I feel like this is my reward for being patient for so long. Words can’t describe how excited I am to see her, despite the mental battle I’ve been fighting for the past three weeks.

“Alison! Are you going to the airport to pick Emily up?” My mother calls from downstairs.

“Yeah! Just wait one sec, mom!”

My eyes flicker across the cabinet underneath my desk that I haven’t dared to open ever since I moved here over three years ago. Inside that cabinet holds everything that I’ve been hiding and running from since I was around sixteen years old. For the past month, my conscience has been gnawing away at me, urging me to open it. My eyes flicker from the doorknob to the cabinet hastily as a voice in my head beckons me to open it. Do it, Ali. You need to either find closure or come to terms head on with it and accept the consequences. Remember what Aunt Jean said… 

“Ali if you don’t come down now, then I’m leaving without you!”

“...Actually mom, I think I’m going to stay home to help arrange a surprise for her! Tell her that I’m out running errands, will you? I want to surprise her.” I shout back, desperately trying to make myself sound as convincing as possible.

“Okay, honey. Be ready in an hour and a half and make sure the stuffing doesn’t overcook!”

A wave of relief washes over me, though it does not last for long. The ache in my heart won’t go away and the thought of what I’m going to do next makes my stomach churn. With one last resolute deep breath, I swallow my fear and reach into my purse, withdrawing the small key that I carry everywhere I go. My hands begin to tremble as I edge closer and closer to the keyhole and it’s almost enough to make me crack until I think about Emily and how I’m doing this in part for her. The lock clicks after I turn the key and the cabinet slides out slowly, providing me with a sight that I’ve grown to fear yet yearn for on a consistent basis. Pulling out the dusted scrapbook from my drawer, I can nearly hear my racing heartbeat pounding in my ear like a bass drum. In one deliberate movement, I open the cover of the book, which creaks slightly due to the fact that it hasn’t been opened in years. A million pictures and notes greet me on the front page alone, flooding my brain with memories that make my heart cringe. A small crinkled piece of paper falls out of the book and I quickly retrieve it, unraveling it to see the contents. I almost immediately regret it as the note along brings nearly instant tears to my eyes. In pale blue pen, the all too familiar handwriting scribbled: “Two years down. Infinity more to go. I love you, mi amor. See you at 7 xx”. As I tear through the scrapbook, there’s nothing stopping me from bawling my eyes out anymore. Note by note, picture by picture, my past is blatantly displayed in front of me and there’s nothing I can do to try to run from it now. I don’t realize how much time I’ve invested in wallowing in my despair until my phone buzzes with a text from my mom. 

Mom: We’ll be home in fifteen minutes dear! Tell grammy to take the cherry cobbler out of the freezer and put it in the fridge.

I hastily wipe my eyes and place the scrapbook carefully back into the drawer, giving it one last gaze before locking it. Who knows when the next time I’ll open it will be? Shit, I told my mom that I was preparing a surprise for Emily when I actually didn’t. What do I do now? My train of thought is abruptly interrupted when an incessant snuffling sound at the door knocks me out of my trance. Two seconds later, Pepe pops his head through the door and trots over, wagging his tail happily.