No Escape

When Things Go Wrong

The phone in Emily's hands felt heavy as she stared at it, unsure of what she wanted to do. Calling her mother to give her a heads up that the police were coming for her wouldn't do her any good. She knew Pam would turn herself over. Working for the police force once usually gave people a sense of justice that was difficult to overcome.

Emily pursed her lips, hands tightening around the phone she'd been staring at for the last ten minutes. These didn't help her contain the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"Emily?"

She looked over towards where Alison's voice came from from the entrance to the kitchen, and Emily was reminded of the night before. She had been so happy. She thought things were finally settling down for her. She was planning a future with the girl who had made her whole day yesterday into a day she'll never forget.

And then suddenly everything was in chaos again, and Emily found that she didn't know what to do to fix things.

What Alison saw in her eyes must've been bad, because in flash, Alison was beside her, taking the phone from stiff fingers and pulling on her hands so they could wrap around Alison's waist. Alison wrapped her own steady and strong arms to embrace Emily firmly, pulling Emily's head to her shoulder and she felt the first hitch of Emily's shoulders that signified a wracking sob.

Emily clung, not knowing what she was supposed to do now. She had been too busy enjoying her time with Alison, feeling like they were already living together as a couple. Aside from the three or four times she would call her parents during the week, she would never give them a thought. She had been so consumed by what she had with Alison that she hadn't given her parents much attention. And now it seemed like she was losing her mother.

She wanted to pull away, pushing Alison back, but just the loss of Alison's arms around her made Emily feel a hundred times more alone so she let Alison pull her back in, collapsing against her.

But her whole body was weighed down by the fact that she had stolen the keys that was getting her mother in trouble. She had wanted to know more about the dead detective's motives because of Alison. And somehow, in her confused mind, Alison was partly to blame for what was happening. And she was having a hard time reconciling her thoughts with her heart.

She let Alison take her upstairs to tuck her to bed when she had finally stopped crying. She curled into herself as Alison hovered over her, fingers running through her hair. After a moment, she found the strength to reach up and place her hand on Alison's wrist, stilling the movements.

When Emily spoke, her voice was hoarse and without the usual strength with which she held herself. "Will you give me time to myself? Just for a while?"

Alison visibly hesitated eyes searching Emily's for a sign that this was a vain attempt at trying to deal with things herself. But Alison saw the clarity in her eyes despite the tears and she nodded, placing a tender kiss to Emily's temple. "Not too long, ok?" It was clear in her eyes, what she didn't say. Don't push me away.

Emily only nodded, averting her eyes from Alison's and Alison could only place another kiss to her temple as she descended the stairs.

Alison busied herself in the kitchen. They had skipped breakfast because of the news so early in the morning, so she made lunch. She knew Emily probably wouldn't eat much, but she had to try. Alison was almost done with the meal when she heard the knock on the door, and this time, she didn't bother getting Emily to open it.

She answered the door and saw Hanna, Spencer and Aria on the other side, looking worriedly at her.

"Emily called us over," Spencer said in explanation. "What's going on?"