Another Life (emison)

Chapter Seven

Alison looked at her father carefully. He looked a lot older than he had the last time she'd seen him, which had been over Christmas freshman year. God, had two years already passed since then? Her mother sat quietly next to him, ever the subservient wife. Their eyes met and all Alison saw was sorrow.

Her father was the one who made the decisions in the DiLaurentis household. That was a big part of the reason that Alison had been such a rebellious teenager. Of course, her father overlooked anything she did because she was his only daughter and he doted on her. Her mother was the perfect housewife and Alison's relationship with Jessica was good.

That was why her father's decision to cut her off had hurt so much. She had honestly thought that telling them about her pregnancy would have helped her situation. Instead, she'd only made things worse.

"You look good, sweetheart," Jessica said softly.

"Mmmaaammmaaa," Estella murmured, palming Alison's breasts.

"Uh...I think she's hungry," Alison stammered nervously. "I'll just go and feed her quickly."

Alison stood up with Estella on her hip and paused when her mother stood up too. She waited expectantly.

"Could I...come with?" she asked quietly.

Alison bit her lip then nodded once, walking into her room. Her mother followed and closed the door behind her. Alison sat down on her bed and undid the first few buttons on her blouse, smiling at Estella's eager hands.

"Easy, baby girl," she chuckled. "I'm getting there."

Jessica stood by the door and just watched in awe as her daughter fed her daughter. Her granddaughter. Her first grandchild. She swallowed.

"She's beautiful, Ali," she said, her voice coming out a lot less strong than she'd intended. "She looks like you."

Alison looked up and inclined her head towards her mother, indicating that she join her. Jessica finally walked hesitantly over to the bed and sat down next to Alison.

"What's her name?" Jessica whispered, clenching her hand to stop it from reaching out and brushing the dark locks on her granddaughter's head.

"Estella." Alison replied.

"Estella," Jessica repeated in surprise. "After...after my mother?"

Alison nodded, meeting her mother's eyes. "Regardless of how she reacted to me being gay, she was still a very big part of my life and I owe a lot of who I am to her. She's also named after Estella Havisham, from Great Expectations."

"You are a good person, Ali. So much better than me." Jessica started to cry softly.

"Why are you crying?" Alison asked curiously.

"Because I am a terrible mother," Jessica replied through her tears. "Sweetheart, I wanted so badly to come and see you and be here for you when you were pregnant. I wanted to tell your father that we shouldn't have abandoned you. But..."

"I know how he is," Alison said softly. She sighed. "A phone call would've been nice, Mom. Anything, just something to tell me that you still cared."

She looked at Estella again, whose eyes were closed, happily sucking away.

"She's about seven months?" Jessica asked.

"Eight months today," Alison replied.

"Oh," Jessica breathed. "You've done a great job, sweetheart. I'm so, so proud of you."

Alison's throat felt tight. "Are you?" she asked, her natural defences springing up. "Or are you just saying that because you feel guilty about cutting off your only child and by extension, your only grandchild?"