Infatuation (PLL Emison AU)

A Dangerous Game

A/N: When I  originally posted this chapter on AO3 and fanfic I was having hella mixed feelings given what was (and is still) going on in Ukraine.

It felt odd to post this chapter given what was happening in the world, though I've been told by readers that fiction is the only escape they have from the horrors of the real world. I was torn between pausing this story or continuing. I decided that if I can provide a comfort to anyone in these uncertain times by simply letting them get lost in a story, it is worth it to post. It sucks that this violence continues to happen in civilized society, over and over again...all over the world. And it's always innocent people who suffer. I'm sick of it.

I stand with Ukraine.

My heart breaks for this world.

I never ask readers for donations, but if anyone should feel so inclined...I encourage you to do some research on organizations who can help Ukraine. Voice of Children, International Rescue Committee, The Humanitarian Organization "CARE", and many more organizations are taking donations. If you enjoy my work and you'd like to do something nice for me, I ask that you do something nice for others instead. If any of my readers are in the hotzone, know that you have so many people behind you. Stay safe.

*****

Chapter 27:

A Dangerous Game

Emily popped a few muscle relaxers and some anti-inflammatory medications and fell asleep with ease.

Alison didn't fall asleep at all. Her thoughts were racing. She felt like crawling out of her skin. She spoke in a one-sided conversation to the person stalking her.

How did you get Maya's key?

How long had this person been following her?

Her kills were infamous. The media had made her into some kind of murderous vigilante. Anyone could have known about Maya and Lyndon. But not just anyone could have gotten access to a key that belonged to a dead girl...especially one she'd been wearing the night of her death.

How deep does this run?

How much do you know?

She tried not to fidget, afraid to wake her sleeping wife...though given the amount of medication the brunette had taken she could probably sleep through an apocalypse.

I'll protect you from the zombies, Sleeping Beauty. She imagined herself reaching up to tuck a lock of Emily's hair behind her ear, but she didn't move from her side of the bed.

She was terrified to move, paralyzed in a stasis between twilight and fully awake. She laid still, staring at the ceiling.

Maya St. Germain.

The key belonged to Maya St. Germain.

But what did it unlock? What kind of horrible secrets did this stalker have behind closed doors?

She was itching to slip out of bed and start driving around town, but she didn't want to risk Emily waking up and finding her gone.

Plus she'd promised to protect her from zombies. What if Emily had another nightmare?

I'm a wife now. I have responsibilities.

She'd just have to lie in torturous agony about it all night. She bit her lip and started playing a proverbial game of "Is it bigger than a breadbox or smaller than a breadbox?" Did the key go to something obvious or something more subtle?