No Escape

Unfamiliar Territory

Alison was sitting on her bed, her small bag beside her when Emily arrived. Emily was greeted with a smile, and she returned it, even though there was something in her that wanted to approach Alison, run her fingers over her face, her hair. Because seeing Alison felt like something of a gift after watching her almost die. She could almost forget how Alison had played her in the past. Emily awkwardly motioned to Alison's bag. Almost.

"Do you need help with that?"

"No, I'm-"

But Emily was already reaching for it, swinging it up to her shoulder. She gave Alison a smile again, before motioning for her to follow. They were quiet and they knew it was because they didn't know what they were anymore. Not after the fight they had. Not after what happened.

"Where are the others?" Alison was trying to make light of the situation, because it felt like there was an air of discomfort around them. It felt like she was having a hard time breathing because of it. She didn't like it. She used to be most comfortable around Emily. Now Alison wasn't even comfortable around her, which meant she wasn't comfortable around anyone anymore.

"Um..." Without thinking about it, Emily had opened Alison's door before moving to sit on the driver's side. "Spencer has a Decathlon team meeting. Aria said she needed to spend time with her mom, and Hanna... I think she said shopping."

Alison nodded, not knowing what to say after that. It really only sounded like they wanted to give Emily and Alison time alone. Maybe to talk. Or maybe they just really had other stuff to be busy about. Alison forced down the expectations she was used to having. She couldn't expect anyone to be at her beck and call anymore. Everyone had their own lives. She couldn't manipulate the girls into being her lackeys. They've grown when she was away, and she was happy about that, while she watched in the sidelines.

Alison put on her seatbelt while Emily shifted to drive. "What about you? Don't you have somewhere to be? I could have asked Jason to pick me up. Or dad."

Lie. Her brother never visited her, and her father, after realizing she wasn't dying, stopped visiting in favor of working. Alison didn't expect any less.

"I don't mind," Emily responded politely, eyes on the road. There was another stretch of awkward silence, and Emily felt like it was the longest car ride she'd ever had in her life. She didn't know what Alison wanted from her. Hell, she didn't even know what she wanted from Alison. She was still with Paige. Strong, dependable, uncomplicated Paige. And it felt like she was settling.

They were both relieved when they finally arrived at Ali's house, but neither were aware that they both felt that way. Alison tried to hide her distrust of the place. The place she'd once called her home was a place where she was attacked, a place where she was kidnapped. Emily was following close behind her, and Alison hoped that she didn't notice when Alison had hesitated with her hand on the door. Emily was going to leave in a few minutes, she thought. Alison should force herself to get used to the place.

They entered the living room, and Emily placed Alison's bag on the couch. When Emily stood, they both had nothing to do around each other anymore. So Emily motioned for the door. "I should-"

"Wait." Alison closed her lips, as if regretting calling out to Emily. She needed to be able to deal with this on her own. She needed to stop depending on someone who didn't really want to be around her. Emily has been a great friend. Alison hadn't. She had never even been a good friend. If she wanted to change things, she would have to start there. And sometimes that meant letting go.

Alison finally looked up. "Thank you. For... for the past few days." She saw Emily start to speak, but she raised her hand. "Let- let me finish." She hated that she was faltering when she talked, hated that it was so difficult to draw on the courage she had before, hated that she couldn't even be confident around the one person she thought she'd always feel strong around. "I really appreciate that you've been visiting me, sometimes during class hours," she added in a teasing tone. "And... and I want you to know that I'm going to make it up to you."