Unforgettable (Emison)

Chapter 13: "Hiding"

Arias POV
I know alison isn't telling us something. Just to uncertainty and stuttering in her voice goes to show.
I brush it off and take the time to comfort my friend. Spencer is kneeling in front of her, Emily is to her right and hanna is on her left, with me at the end of the bed.
I've noticed how Alison is clinging onto Emily's arm,
And how they're holding hands.
I mean, it could be platonic and all but what A said in that text...
If Ali and Em are dating, why haven't they told us?
It might just be A trying to mess with Emily's head.
And seeing as Maya turned out to be not so dead after all, Emily has enough on her plate.
"I'll get you some water" I say, leaving the girls and going downstairs.
As I turn on the tap, my phone goes off.

Ezra: hey so i was wondering if you want to stop by my place tonight, i'm making pasta;)

I smile at the text. Ezra and I reconnected at the brew that day. We caught up and talked about everything that's happened over the past 5 years.
Ezra was engaged to a girl called nicole but she went missing a few years ago.

Haha i'll be over soon:)
I reply back and start bringing the glass upstairs.

Spencer's  POV
I've known Ali since I came out of the womb, she's a secret keeper.
I can tell there's something she isn't telling us.
There's definitely something going on between Emily and Alison.
Em has always looked at Ali in a different way to how everyone else did.
She loved her.
Emily still looks at Ali that way, but it's different.
I know Ali hurt her, really bad. Emily would never be able to look at ali the same.
I'm kneeling in front of her, trying to figure out what she's hiding.
Aria comes back with a glass of water, that's when an idea pops into my head.

If ali is really hiding something, she wouldn't tell us,
but she would tell Emily.
I give aria a look and gesture to them.
It takes Aria a second to realize what i'm trying to say, but we've always been able to communicate like this without speaking.
She nods.
"Hey guys I think we should give Ali some space for a while and let her rest" Aria says softly and looks at Hanna, who hasn't moved.
"Uh yeah, we should go." I say, standing up.
"I'll stay here, she shouldn't be on her own." Emily says quickly, I knew she would say that.
"Okay, bye Ali" Hanna says and hugs her.
We all hug alison and leave the room.

"She's hiding something" I say once we leave the house.
I look at Aria who nods.
"Really?" Hanna asks, who didn't seem to suspect anything of Ali.
"Hanna come on, it's alison, she's always hiding something" Aria says aggressively. She's small, but she sure can be intimidating at times.
We decide not to take a car but to walk to the brew instead.
It's around noon now.
We walk slowly, Aria to my left and Hanna in the middle, who's smiling at her phone.
"Who ya texting?" I tease her.
She smirks and laughs as I nudge her.
"No one!" She says defensively, hiding her phone from my view.
"Lucas?" I say in shock, as i spot the name on the top of her screen.
"It's not like that!" She says, pushing me playfully. We laugh.
"What is it like so?" I ask, still laughing.
Hanna smiles.
"I don't have to answer your questions!" She says, trying to walk faster than me.
"Well you're gonna have to answer them soon because look who's coming" Aria says, spotting lucas walking towards us.
I look at Aria and laugh.
Lucas spots us and smiles.
"Hey Lucas!" Says Hanna.
"Yeah, hey lucas!" me and aria repeat, laughing as Lucas looks at us confusingly.
"Hey guys" He says slowly, trying to figure out what's going on.
"Uh we were going to the brew if you wanna come." Hanna says, ignoring us.
I nudge Aria and she smiles at me.
"Sorry I can't, I have to get home." He says quickly, noticing me and arias behavior.
Lucas walks past and once we turn a corner, Hanna stands angrily in front of us.
"Okay guys, what the fuck?" She says through gritted teeth.
"Woah calm down there we were joking" I say in between laughs.
Hanna groans and continues walking.

Alison's POV
I think that they believed my story. I hope they did, it isn't safe for them to know what actually happened. Especially Emily, I can't let her know what happened with Paige, she already has a lot on her mind with the shock of Maya being alive so I don't want to add this to her list.
When the girls leave, we're still holding hands, still side by side. 
There's a silence, but it isn't awkward, it's comforting.
Emily finally breaks it.
"I've never gotten a chance to tell you this but"
I freeze, my thoughts frozen in my head.
I don't know what she's about to say, what it's about, if it's about us, I won't know how to respond.
"Thank you" She says softly, gripping my hands a little bit tighter, making sure I knew her presence is still here.
"For what?" I smile.
"Alison you've saved my life, so many times, and i don't think i've ever thanked you for it" She says, looking at me.
"Thank you too" I smile and squeeze her hand.
"I honestly, would be dead if I didn't have you to save my stupid ass" I laugh and she laughs too, inching a bit more closer to me.
Theres another silence, and I decide to speak my mind.
"Look Emily, I've changed over the past few years." I start, turning towards her so our eyes meet.
"I'm a better person now, I've changed." I sigh. She smiles, looking down at our clasped hands.
"I can see that" She says, leaning into me.
I rest my head on her shoulder and she wraps her arms around me, pulling me closer to her.
I can feel her warm breath against my cold skin, which sends shivers down my spine.
In a good way.
Another pause.

"I love you Em" I say into her chest, her heartbeat soothing me.
"I love you too Ali" She says, tightening her arms around me.