The Heart of Beacon Heights

Flesh and Blood

A/N: Did I kill you with the antici...pation? JFC, I can't believe I let so much time lapse. I didn't mean to let so many long months pass between chapters. I won't bore you with the trite details of my life. Let's just say...things happened. Not like...murder hornet and global pandemic bad, but enough to derail me for a while.

I realize it's been a loooong time, so for a brief refresher (you may also see previous chapter's author's note): Alison moves across the country for a teaching job in Oregon. Mona is there. There is pie. I don't know why there is pie. Some stuff happens. Dana Booker is all mad. Claire Hotchkiss is suspicious AF. Emily disappears. Taylor is alive *dramatic gasp*. A body is found in Emily's car outside Rosewood. Dylan is mopey. Caitlin says something smart. Ava gets into a bar fight. Claire Hotchkiss is a survivor (she not gonna give up, she will survive, keep on survivin...). Alison stabs Emily (aww, young love). Mona says something snarky. Alison says something bitchy. More stuff happens. Perfectionists being framed with some of Nolan's trinkets. Killer is in the woods. Taylor and Claire tell Mona and Alison to butt out. They gon' kill a bitch. Booker is Booker (and also has an equally annoying sister and a...complicated history of love). Tanner smells a rat. The killer is RIGHT THERE.

In conclusion: you're about to find out why you should never go to a secluded cabin in the middle of the woods.

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Chapter 11:

Flesh and Blood

He took a calculated step forward. His face was still occluded by a dark hood. Alison's entire body felt cold. She slowly tore her eyes away from the screen. She glanced up towards the window and took a step towards it, reaching for the blinds. A weird shock of morbid curiosity was driving her.

Logically, she knew who it was. They were connected. They'd always be connected. But her heart had put up blockades. She refused to believe it. She had to see it with her own eyes.

She reached up to push the curtains aside, but felt a sudden jolt that nearly knocked her off of her feet.

"No." Emily grabbed her, yanking her back. "Stay away from the windows."

Of course Emily had stepped in. Of course her wife was pulling her out of harm's way. It was Emily. It had always been Emily. She was her only family. Emily and the twins.

Her babies. God. Her children. Would he hurt them? If something happened and she and Emily didn't make it out of this would her daughters be safe?

Please protect them, Pam.

She knew Emily's mom would do anything for her grandbabies. Pam was a fiercely protective mama bear. It's where Emily had gotten it from. She was firm, but fair. And she had such a soft spot for the twins. Lily and Grace loved their grandma. The only grandparent they knew. The only one who was worth a damn. Emily's parents had been the perfect pair. They were nothing like Alison's parents.

Alison inhaled a shaky breath, a precursor to the tears of betrayal and the anguish she felt bubbling to the surface. She lost sight of where she was for a few seconds, but then she felt Emily's strong arms wrapped around her, whispering in her ear that it would be okay.

"I'm here, Ali."

Alison couldn't reply. She couldn't think. The shock had taken over. She felt pain. She felt numb. How was it possible to feel nothing and everything at the same time?

They watched the chilling live feed. He stood completely still. It's almost as if he was baiting her...taunting her. He was an omnipresence in her life. He always would be.