Hold Me Down

Chapter 1

Alison stands in front of her dresser, neatly tucking her freshly folded laundry into various drawers, when Emily barges into her room.

"Gees. Knock much?" Ali says, whirling around to look at the intruder.

Emily's face is dark and angry and Alison wonders what she could have possibly done now to piss off the brunette.

"Sara's gone!" Emily shouts at her.

"What?" Ali asks, setting down the pile of clothes in her arms to devote her full attention to her scowling friend.

"Sara," Emily clarifies, making her voice low and her words deliberate. "She left. Because of you."

"I don't even know Sara," Alison says dismissively, her hair flipping over her shoulder as she turns away from Emily in a huff. She does not appreciate Emily barging into her room and making ridiculous accusations against her, especially since Emily has barely spoken to her in weeks. Ali had tried to reach out to Emily a bunch of times since she and the guys had rescued the girls from the dollhouse, but the brunette has been avoiding her calls and texts. She didn't know what she had done to earn Emily's previous silence or her current wrath, but being shut out by her one-time best friend hurt more than she cared to admit.

Emily inches closer, her eyes fixed on the back of the blonde's head."Well, she's gone now. She went home to her alcoholic mother because Hanna and her big mouth told her I was only with her because I couldn't have you."

Alison looks shocked but somewhat pleased at the thought of Emily still wanting her. She turns back around to address Emily, failing to keep the hint of a smile off her face. "I don't know what you want me to say, Em. I didn't even know you two were together, it's not like you talk to me anymore, but I certainly did not have anything to do with her leaving."

"We're not together anymore. Because she thinks I'm using her as some sort of Alison DiLaurentis stand-in, just like your sick twisted brother did," Emily says sharply.

"Hey, watch it!" Alison warns, her temper flaring at the mention of the troubled older brother she never knew.

For a second the anger in Emily's eyes is gone, and in its place Ali can see that heart-shattering look of disappointment she's all too familiar with.

"Why do you have to ruin everything for me, Ali? Why can't you just let me be happy?" Emily asks, her voice straining with unshed tears.

"Of course I want you to be happy, Em. That's all I've ever wanted," Alison tells her sincerely.

"You're a liar. You want me to be miserable like you," Emily snarls back, easily finding her anger once again. "Well, too bad because I deserve to be happy and I'm going to find Sara and tell her that you mean nothing to me."

Alison sighs in frustration. "What is it with you and this girl? You barely know her, yet Spencer told me you've been blowing them all off to cater to Sara's every need."

Emily straightens up defensively. "I'm being supportive. She's been through a lot. She needs me."

"Or do you need her to focus on so you don't have to deal with your own shit?"

"Shut up," Emily growls.

"Oh, struck a nerve, did I?" Alison asks, her trademark smirk appearing for a moment before she slips back into a more neutral expression. "Is Sara even capable of being in a relationship with you right now? She seemed pretty messed up from what I saw."

"Shut up! You don't know anything about her," Emily snaps.

"I know she needs help. Real professional help. And she's not going to find that help in your pants, Em," Ali says.