Silence is the worst thing (Emison)

Chapter 28

Chapter 28
The day had been long and it didn't please Emily at all.
She thought that if she was somewhat patient she would be rewarded by seeing Alison but it was only mid afternoon and she knew that nothing would change.
Spencer, Hanna and Aria had stayed for a few hours but the mood of the hospital was bit over powering for them, so Emily insisted they leave for a while.
And so, she was alone. Well, she felt there was a presence in the room and for a moment, she enjoyed that moment.
After being alone for less than half an hour Emily felt the wave of everything that had happened hit her. Alison was somewhere in that hospital, in a coma, because she couldn't protect her.
She had failed.
But there was still a slim chance that Alison was going to wake up. She just had to see the blonde, to touch her, to hold her. She just had a gut feeling that if she did, Alison would wake up.
Alison had never left Emily's side; her head had been resting on the bed, her face in the brunette's direction. She didn't know what to do, the doctor had said it was up to her to fight but she didn't have any clue on what to do and she certainly didn't want to leave Emily's side.
If she could just feel the brunette's touch she would be okay, she would somehow know what to do.
Lost in thought she almost didn't realise a tear falling from Emily's eye but before she could subconsciously wipe it away the brunette and sniffed and did it herself.
"Emily." Alison whispered, not knowing what else she could do.
"It's hard." Emily mumbled, her eyes closed and picturing her blonde beauty in front of her. Alison's hand instinctively went to support her but there was a soft knock at the door that interrupted both their thoughts.
"Come in." Emily said, wiping away another tear and moments later the door creaked open. A bunch of soft blonde hair poked through as Cece smiled sympathetically.
"Hi." The blonde said half entering the room, Emily watching her carefully.
"Hey." She replied, wanting to be happy to see someone that reminded her of Alison.
"Look, I'm really sorry, I know you probably hate me because you think I'm a bad influence on Ali, but she's like a sister to me."
"I don't really understand where the apology was there," Emily chuckled. "But it's because of you and all the other influences in her life that have made her into the girl I love and there is no way I'm going to hate you for that."
Alison smiled and felt her heart melt at Emily's understanding nature.
"May I?" Cece motioned to the closet chair next to the bed and Emily nodded with a smile.
"Have you seen her?" She almost blurts out, unable to contain the question she had been thinking the moment the older blonde had entered the room.
"No, they're being real assholes and not letting anyone but her parents see her." Cece crossed her arms in frustration and huffed slightly, reminding Emily instantly of Alison.
"I have to see her Cece. If I can just touch her... I know she'll wake up." Emily played with her fingers, trying to display the sense that Alison was holding them.
"How do you know that?" Cece asked will quirking an eyebrow.
"I just know." Emily blushed slightly but she tried to hide it, still feeling Alison's presence in the room was enough to make her forget about embarrassment.
"Well then... let's go get our girl back." Cece stood and quickly grabbed the wheelchair at the other end of the room. Pushing it towards Emily she moved her eyes between the brunette and the chair, smiling devilishly.
Alison looked between the two girls with curious eyes, were they actually going to try this? They were going to risk getting in trouble, for her? Quickly standing Alison stood between Emily and Cece, if they were going to do this, she may as well make it worth it.
"What?" Emily's mouth dropped slightly before Cece quickly walked t her side, pulling the bed sheets off she nodded her head towards the chair.
"You heard me, let's go."
"But Mr. DiLaurentis said-"
"Screw him, I don't know about you but I need my Ali Cat back." Cece pushed the chair next to the bed and waited for Emily to make the next move. Smiling she moved her legs from the bed and slowly flopped herself into the wobbly chair.
Cece let a sigh of relief and pushed Emily to the door, opening the door Emily stuck her head out and gave Cece the all clear. Alison was close behind, watching as the two girls began making their escape.
"I don't even know where she is." Emily said realising that she actually been told much at all about Alison.
"I do, I spent about an hour trying to convince the nurses there to let me see her." Cece began wheeling Emily through the relatively quiet hallways of the hospital, she would have found this unusual if she wasn't so focused on seeing Alison.
"Once you get in you'll only have one chance." Cece broke the silence first, they had been walking for several minutes and had gone passed several doctors, holding their breath each time someone looked at them.
"One chance is all I need." Emily murmured bravely even though she was slightly terrified because she knew if they were caught there would be serious consequences.
Cece walked passed the nurses desk and smiled innocently, they didn't seem to think much of it since Emily was in a wheelchair, and so they let her continue down the hallway.
"How did you know that would work?" Emily questioned when she turned to look back at the nurses who had continued with their work.
"I didn't." Cece replied casually before turning down a hallway and out of sight of the nurses' station.
Stopping at a door both girls looked up and down the corridor before looking through the glass window.
And there she was.
Alison was lying down almost lifeless, covered with an oxygen mask and many other tubes. Emily felt tears dwell in her eyes at the sight but tried to remain strong.
Alison stood a few paces behind the two girls; she was watching carefully as Emily went to open the door but was stopped by a voice calling up the hallway.
"Hey! What are you two ladies doing?" A large looking security guard was walking towards them, he didn't seem threatening, he was more just doing his job but Cece quickly walk to him and sighed with relief. Emily looked on rather confused.
"Oh thank goodness! I thought we were going to be walking around all day! Sorry to bother you but I was wondering, see my friend here, she has a rare form of memory loss and we can't remember where her room is. Could you help me find it?"
Cece placed her hand flirtatiously on the man's shoulder before flicking her eye laces playfully. Alison sighed to herself at how quickly the blonde's charm worked, that was Cece for you.
Looking towards the confused brunette Alison reached for her hand before looking at herself lying down in the other room.
"Oh, ah yeah... sure. Did you want to bring your friend then?" The guard was slightly taken aback by Cece's flirtatious and rather bold nature but smiled never the less.
"Well, I would but she's getting a bit flustered from being moved around so much. Maybe we could go find the room and a nurse might be able to help us?"
"That's not a bad idea." The guard's smile grew larger as Cece continued to play with his arm.
"Awesome. Emily? I'll be right back! Don't move from this spot!" Cece slowed her words down and almost yelled them in the brunette's face, however being so surprised from the interesting way Cece chose to speak Emily could only manage a nod.
Smiling the blonde slowly turned the guard around and briefly turned her head to look back at Emily, waving her hand for the brunette to go into the room when the pair was out of sight.
"So ma'am, do you know what ward she is in?" Emily heard the guard say before turning around a corner with Cece still holding his arm playfully.
"Goodness Cece, you said I had a memory loss problem, not a hearing problem." Emily chuckled as she watched the two disappear. Even Alison managed to laugh before looking at herself once more.
"Come on, Em." She whispered hopefully, though she knew no one could actually hear her.
Emily slowly turned her wheelchair back to the door and before entering the room she looked up and down the corridor once more.
Wheeling herself into the room, she made her way to the side of the bed, the sound of constant beeping and other mechanical noises echoed throughout the room.
Her arms ached with each roll forward of the chair as she made herself push against the wheels.
"You're almost there, Em. You can do it, just touch my hand. That's all I need." Alison stood by Emily's side, hoping that her presence was somehow encouraging the brunette to push on.
Reaching the side of the bed Emily extended her arm to reach for the pale Alison.
The blonde's breathing was barely noticeable but it was still there, faintly moving up and down in her chest.
Alison watched as she waited for the brunette to touch her, to feel the warmth of Emily's skin against her own would be enough to wake her from this slumber.
Moments later Emily felt someone grab her shoulders and pull her back.
"What are you doing here?" Kenneth yelled as he pulled on the chair aggressively so Emily was nowhere near Alison, destroying the only opportunity she felt she had.
Quickly he pressed the nurse's aid button not far from the bed and stood between her and his daughter.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away! This will be satisfying."
"Mr. DiLaurentis, you don't understand-" Emily tried but Kenneth merely silenced her by striking her across the face with the back of his hand. Feeling the sting stick against her skin Emily placed her hand over the sore surface before letting a tear fall from her eyes.
Alison, who had been watching the events unfold in front of her, moved to Emily's side and tried to cup the brunette's cheeks in her hands.
"What is going on in here?" Alison recognised the voice as the young nurse Jackie. She was standing at the door, with the same security guard from before standing close behind her.
"I want this girl arrested, Jackie!" Kenneth screamed.
"Sir, with all due respect I just saw you hit this young girl." Jackie said confidently as she moved to Emily's side.
"Get her out of here!" Kenneth barked towards the security guard.
Emily decided then and there that it was now or never. Forcing her legs to move she stood from the chair and ran to Alison's side in an attempt to touch her but the security guard had caught her and was pulling her out of the room before she could make any contact.
"Ali!" Emily screamed, feeling very weak but glad her oxygen mask was somehow still with her.
"No!" Alison screamed as she tried running for her but within seconds Kenneth and Jackie had exited the room, shutting the door loudly behind them. Trying to move the door handle Alison failed to escape the room, it was like she physically couldn't budge the medal object from moving.
She was trapped.
Looking through the glass she saw Kenneth yelling at every single person that was around him, even Toby had suddenly shown up.
"I want her arrested!" Kenneth barked again.
"I'm not arresting her Mr. DiLaurentis, not after you just assaulted her. Unless that is of course, you'd like to be arrested as well?" Toby's question was rhetorical but it was enough for Kenneth to calm down.
"Fine! But don't go near my daughter again, you murderous slut!" Kenneth pointed down the hallway, indicating for them to leave.
"Come on, Miss Fields, we need to get you back to your bed." Jackie said in a calming manner, ignoring the fuming Kenneth in front of her. Helping Emily back into the chair, Toby and Jackie departed.
Emily felt tears well in her eyes, she had failed and now there would never be a chance of helping Alison.
"You are very lucky I'm not going to your supervisor about this!" He screamed at the innocent security guard. "And as for you Cece, keep your distant!"
Kenneth pointed his finger in front of the unimpressed blonde and turned down the other hallway and out of sight.
"So... you're friend doesn't actually have a memory loss problem?" Cece looked away from the direction Kenneth had disappeared and looked towards the guard who had broken the silence.
Now that she looked at him she realised how young he was, maybe no more than a few years older than her, she actually felt bad for putting his job on the line.
"No. It's a long story." Cece rubbed her forehead before looking back into Alison's room.
"Well, since you almost cost me my job, I think you owe me a coffee. That way you have all the time in the world to explain everything." The guard smirked playfully, causing Cece's eyebrow to quirk at his confidence.
"Is that so?" She challenged, crossing her arms playfully.
"I believe it to be necessary." He countered light-heartedly with a soft smile.
Emily was silent for the entire journey back to her room. The overwhelming feeling failure coursed through her as Toby and Jackie forced small talk.
"Emily, I know this is hard but please be careful. I won't be able to let you off so easily next time." Toby broke Emily away from her thoughts just as they stopped at the door to her room, Jackie still behind her.
"I'm sorry, Toby." She wiped away a tear before looking up at him; his eyes apologetic as he placed his hand on her shoulder supportively.
"I'll let your parent's know what happened, okay?" It didn't really seem like Toby was asking a question but Emily nodded in response anyway. "Monitor her for a few minutes, make sure she is alright."
He told Jackie before saying his goodbyes and disappearing, leaving Emily alone with the nurse.
"Miss Fields-"
"Jackie, was it? Please, just call me Emily." Emily interrupted her as they entered the room and moved next to the bed; she stood from the chair and forced her body back onto the lumpy mattress.
"Okay, Emily, I don't know if I'm crossing a line here but what you did was very risky. But it was also very brave."
"I didn't even succeed; I promised her I wouldn't forget about her, she's going to think I've left her." Emily felt tears threatened to break through the surface of her eyes but she held them back.
"I'm sure she knows you haven't given up." Jackie said softly with a smile, pulling a small torch out of her pocket she turned it on and checked both Emily's eyes for any signs of a concussion from the hit Kenneth had given her.
While she worked Emily processed the young nurses' words but before she could reply her parents entered the room, rather flustered.
"Emily! Sweetie! Are you okay?" Pam ran to her side and brought the startled brunette into a tight hug. Jackie sat down in the chair next to the bed and observed the brunette carefully, watching for any signs that she might have any injuries.
"Mum, I'm fine but... I can't... breathe..." Pam quickly loosened her hold and brought her hands to Emily's cheeks.
"Did he hurt you?"
"He got the cut on my sore cheek but I'll be fine." Emily rubbed the area softly and looked up at her father who had a completely unimpressed look on his face.
"I should go and give that man a piece of my mind!" Wayne said while he paced vigorously around the room.
"Dad... I tried to see Alison. I was lucky I didn't get arrested." Emily looked over at Jackie who was still sitting in the chair, a supporting smile on her face as she watched Emily calm her parent's down.
"It doesn't give him the right to..." Wayne shook his head in frustration but never finished his sentence. Pam held his arm and pulled him to sit next to her on an available seat.
"I needed to see her..." Emily whispered, feeling the strong sense of failure rush through her again.
"You will, Emmy." Wayne said confidently, but both his and Pam's facial expressed displayed uncertainty and Emily understood why. There was no way Kenneth was going to make it easy.
"Emily, I'm a supervising nurse in the ward Ms. DiLaurentis is in, if you want... I can give you my number and if you ever want to check up on her, I should be able to tell you." Jackie broke the silence between the Fields family and watched as they all processed her proposal.
"Can... can you do that?" Emily stuttered, slightly stunned at the offer.
"Hmm... it'll be our little secret." Jackie winked playfully before pulling a small notepad from her pocket and writing down her number. "I work most days."
Ripping the paper she handed it to Emily and smiled.
"Why are you doing this?" Emily paused before taking the paper, though Jackie was very considerate she didn't know if it was right to risk her job.
"Because I'm a big believer in keeping promises." Jackie smiled briefly before leaving the room without another word, Emily had a mildly surprised expression on her face before looking down at the paper the young nurse had given her, there was a number followed by a small note:
Stay strong, she needs you
Humming to herself in slight astonishment Emily looked up at her parents and felt a smile spread across her lips.
"Em, Doctor Williams said you could come home today. You're stable and there isn't much injury."
Pam would've found Emily's smile contagious if it hadn't disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
The brunette was disappointed by the fact that she was leaving the hospital, she felt she was leaving Alison.
"When?"
"Well, we've just got to finalise some paper work and discuss medication and oxygen tanks with him. So, probably later this afternoon." Pam answered almost matter-of-factly.
The drive home was silent except for the soft hum of music on the radio in the background. Wayne was driving and Pam was in the passenger seat holding his hand comfortingly.
Emily felt a pinch of jealousy as she sat in the back and observed her parents, knowing she couldn't hold Alison's hand was hurting and what was worse was she hadn't felt any presence since before the run in with Kenneth.
It was like it had disappeared.
Though Emily was feeling slightly confused about sensing such a presence in the first place she now felt it was the overwhelming numbness of loneliness hover around her instead.
She didn't know how but she knew that it was Alison watching over her.
But now she wasn't.
Pulling up in the driveway Wayne stopped the car and pulled out the wheelchair from the boot. Helping the brunette into the chair he wheeled her all the way inside, no one spoke.
It was a creepy silence that Emily would have found extremely uncomfortable if her thoughts were so consumed by Alison.
"Why does Kenneth think I killed Jason?" Emily murmured when Wayne stopped at the stairs to help her up them.
"We don't know, I guess when he was told the news he jumped to conclusions. Everyone's tried to tell him but before anyone can even speak he'll interrupt." Wayne said as he guided Emily's arm over his shoulder and they began their slow ascend of the stairs, Pam was close behind holding the oxygen tank.
Emily didn't know how to respond, she didn't want to tell Kenneth the truth if he was that angry.
How would he react then?
She could understand his anger but at the same time it wasn't exactly as if she had pulled the trigger and the only reason Alison did was because Jason was going to kill her.
"Do you want any dinner?" Pam offered as Wayne helped Emily into bed.
"No. I think I'm just going to watch a movie and go to sleep."
Grabbing the laptop from Emily's desk Pam placed in on her bedside table so it was in reach before kissing her forehead and departing; Wayne did the same and turned the light off, leaving Emily alone with her thoughts.
Putting on whatever movie she could find first she turned over and let the sound fill her room, she wasn't actually interested in watching the film, it was more just a comfort – to make her feel like she wasn't alone.
Feeling tears finally succeed in their escape Emily sniffed deeply before letting them continue to flow. After what felt like hours she managed to subside the tears before letting her eyes close in exhaustion.
It had been a week and Alison condition hadn't changed.
Not that Emily knew for sure what was going on in the first place, most of the time she was at home in bed. Feeling too tired to even move let alone pick up the phone and call Jackie. She felt like even though the invitation was open for most of the time, calling too often would be too much, especially if the news was always the same.
After the first night at home Emily had woken up from an awful nightmare and assumed the whole mess had been a dream.
But unfortunately it wasn't.
Alison was still in the hospital bed and in a deep coma and Emily felt like a week had been a year.
Spencer, Hanna and Aria had visited Emily most days, to keep her company but to also keep her spirits high, though it seemed like it was failing.
"Why don't you call that nurse? See how Ali is going?" Hanna questioned as she moved from the window seat to Emily's bed.
"I'm worried that if I call it'll be bad news." Emily said simply.
All three girl's lips twitched awkwardly, unsure of what to say next.
"It might be good for you to find out though." Spencer countered rather quietly, taking Hanna's old spot on the window seat.
It was dark outside, the girls had been over for most of the afternoon after school, enjoying the fact that it was now a weekend.
"It's my fault she's in a coma." Emily muttered, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them.
"What? No Em! It's not! It's Jason's fault." Hanna quickly grabbed the brunette's hand in an attempt to comfort her.
"If I had just... just... pulled the trigger first...he wouldn't have...shot her..." Emily had been crying for most of the week so any attempts to cry now would fail, she had nothing left in her to cry. She just felt emptiness.
"Emily, you can't blame yourself for what happened. Ali wouldn't want that." Aria spoke confidently, this was something she felt strongly about, especially since they could all see how much Emily was struggling.
Emily nodded in agreement, mainly just to let her friends believe she no longer felt guilty but the truth was she did and she would forever feel that way until Alison woke up.
Alison was pacing around her room. Watching her body lie in the same position was making her fidget. She wanted to wake up but she didn't know how.
It had been a week and she still hadn't seen Emily, though she had managed to escape her room when a nurse had come in to check on her, when she went to Emily's room it was empty.
She went around looking for hours but after giving up she went back to her room over heard her doctor talking to Jackie, saying that Emily had been discharged hours before.
Alison felt lost, being away from Emily was painful but she didn't want to leave her own body. She just wanted to wake up so she could be with her girl again.
No one had visited her, she hadn't heard from her dad or her mum.
"Come on Alison! Wake up! Why is this so hard!?" She ran to her side in anger and tried shaking herself but nothing happened.
"Alison DiLaurentis! Wake up and get your fabulous ass to your beautiful girlfriend!" Feeling frustration course through her Alison paced around the room and noticed her heart rate machine beep in a weird tone.
Looking over to the machine it went back to normal, raising an eyebrow curiously she walked back over to her body.
Seconds later Jackie entered the room in a rush.
"Ms DiLaurentis?" Jackie's hand went to Alison's head, as if hoping she would wake up.
"Sweetie, I know you can hear me. I saw your heart rate change slightly on our monitor screen. You've got someone who needs you to wake up, can you do that?"
Jackie spoke confidently before leaving the room. Alison was mildly confused but waited for another change in her heartbeat to happen.
Fighting the urge to get frustrated again she paced around the room, hoping that Emily was out there fighting to see her, hoping that she hadn't given up even though the option was a tempting one.
She knew how tempting it was to give up, she was losing hope that she would wake up from this coma. She didn't know how.
All Alison knew was that she wanted to be with Emily.
Jackie had accidently left the door open, giving Alison a chance to walk out of the room.
Walking aimlessly down the random hallways of the hospital Alison watched as nurses and doctors did their nightly rounds. Checking peoples blood pressure, giving them medication and every so often she would see a stray patient that was struggling to sleep walk around.
Looking out a window she observed the lights in the street; they were dull and flickering but somehow she found something photogenic about them.
Alison felt tired and sore. It was as if she was in her body, where the bullet wound would be was stinging and aching and even her head was hurting. It had been hurting like this for almost a week and she wanted it to stop.
Walking down some flights of stairs she made her to the front entrance of the hospital that was always closed after visiting hours.
Outside there was an ambulance passing by and its bright lights ignited the streets. The bright light remained in the streets and the pitch black sky was nowhere in sight.
A soft humming in the background was heard but she couldn't quiet hear it through the doors, going to open them she looked at the bright light and thought briefly how nice and calming it was.
She immediately understood what the light meant.
"Maybe I should..." She thought to herself.
"Ali?" A voice came from behind her, stopping her from leaving the hospital and distracting her from joining the bright warm light.
But when she turned to find the source of the sound no one was there.
"Hello?" She called, walking back the way she came to find the voice.
"Hey Ali... I don't really know what to say..." Alison instantly recognised the voice, it was Emily. She began running to the sound as it echoed down the halls.
"Emily?" She tried calling.
"I really miss you..."
*
Emily watched as Jason grabbed Alison and pulled her back, she wanted to help but she was so out of breath. She wanted to grab Jason and hurt him.
The way his hands held Alison so tightly enraged her but he moved so quickly she didn't even register what had happened until Alison fell to the ground.
He almost pushed the gun into Alison and pulled the trigger, the sound was so loud it had given Emily strength but it was too late.
Alison was lying almost dead on the ground and the sight was enough to drive Emily beyond the point of hysterics.
Quickly she leaped at Jason but he was too quick and then was above her, his hands around her neck.
Emily looked around, it wasn't the alley but instead it was her living room.
His rough hands almost crushing her throat as he tightened his grip.
Then suddenly he was on the ground next to her. Dead.
Looking to Alison her body lay limp on the floor.
"Ali!" She screamed, terrified. "Wake up, Ali!"
Pulling the pale blonde into a tight hold, Emily wept and sobbed.
"Wake up..." Emily whispered to the silent Alison. Her eyes were closed and her skin was cold as ice.
"Ali!" Emily jolted awake in an icy cold sweat. It was a dream. It was just a dream. Alison wasn't...
Seconds later Pam burst through the room and turned the light on.
"Emily? What's wrong?" She asked out of breath, she must have jumped out of bed and run down the hallway in seconds.
"Is Ali..?"
"No she's not sweetie." Pam said, placing her hand over her chest in relief.
"Mum... I need her back..." Emily crumbled into tears before she could even finish her sentence and it broke Pam's heart.
Her daughter hadn't been sleeping at all the last week but this was the first time she had woken up screaming and calling for Alison.
Making a quick decision Pam reached for Emily's phone that was on her bedside table next to the piece of paper Jackie had given her a week ago.
"Here." She said as she dialled the number and waited for it to ring.
"What?" Emily asked, slightly stunned that her mother was suggesting such a thing at this time of the night.
"She said she worked a lot." Pam shrugged her shoulders and gave the still ringing phone to Emily. Taking it with risen eyebrows Emily heard Jackie answer.
"Hi... Jackie? It's... Emily." Emily muttered quietly, clearing her throat several times.
"Oh Emily! Hi, are you okay?" Jackie's voice changed tone twice in such a short sentence, ranging from happy to hear from her to worried to hear from her.
"Yeah I'm fine. I just wanted to know... if Ali... was okay."
"She's doing okay, Emily. Look... why don't you talk to her?" Jackie stood from her desk at nurses' station and made her way down the hall and towards Alison's room. "I'm sure she needs to hear your voice."
"Do you think she can hear me?" Emily shuffled impatiently in her bed, Pam still watching her.
"I think she can, yes." Jackie entered the room and could hear Emily's anticipation from the other end, even though Alison was still in a coma she knew this would help the brunette to remain strong and to hopefully help Alison as well.
"Ms DiLaurentis? There's someone very special on the phone for you." Jackie put the phone on loudspeaker and put it next to Alison's ear in hopes she would be able to hear Emily.
"Ali?" She paused, feeling slightly awkward. "Hey Ali... I don't really know what to say..."
Emily mustered up the courage to speak again, not knowing that this might or might not be the last time she would ever be able to speak to her.
"I really miss you..." Momentarily Alison's heart monitor beeped differently which caught Jackie's attention but she didn't do anything.
Rushing to the sound that was Emily's voice Alison found herself back in her room, Jackie was sitting at her side and her phone was placed next to her ear.
"Em?" Alison questioned as she moved to sit on the bed, completely forgetting that Jackie was in the room because the only thing she could focus on in that moment was the sweet sound of Emily's voice.
"Ali... I know that it might seem hard and I know you probably want to give up..." Emily sniffed as she felt tears fall from her eyes but she drew a deep breath and forced herself to continue. "... But I'm going to be selfish and ask you... to stay. Please Ali. You can't leave me. You can't make me love you so much and then leave. I know you're hurting, I know it will be painful but I promised you I wouldn't forget, I mean, how could I? You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Alison looked at the phone that lay next to her comatose body, listening as Emily broke out into more tears, knowing that this was incredibly hard for her was making sitting there and listening to it that much harder.
"I won't forget Ali, because not only do I not want to forget, I can't. But... if you're hurting, I will understand... If you need to go... I will understand. The only regret I will have is that I didn't get to kiss you one last time. But I'm asking you Alison DiLaurentis, to fight, to come back to me." Emily felt more tears fall down her cheeks as her heart hurt with each word she spoke. Even Pam and Jackie who had been listening to everything were tearing up.
"Please." Emily whispered through her sobs. "I love you, Ali."
Alison felt her pains slowly disappear as she listened the Emily cry, her heart was the only thing that was hurting now and she wanted to give everything she could to fight out of this coma.
Placing her hand upon her own cold ones Alison closed her eyes tightly and breathed in deeply.
"I love you too, Emily."
Suddenly Alison felt a small pain in her chest and the machine to her left began beeping differently, it wasn't a bad different but it was different enough to make Jackie stand up quickly.
Momentarily everything went black and Alison felt the pains in her side quickly return, it was so painful she wanted to scream but the only thing she could focus on was forcing her eyes to open, they felt heavy and very weak. Something she hadn't felt in what felt like forever.
It was the feeling you got when you had stayed up all night because you couldn't get to sleep but at some point you had closed your eyes and then suddenly it was seven o'clock and you had to get up and go to school.
Alison's chest moved up and down as she slowly tried to open her eyes, the weight of what felt like years of sleep lying on them.
"Ms. DiLaurentis?" Alison heard Jackie ask as her eyes flickered between opened and closed.
"Ali?" Alison heard Emily's voice next to her, the faint buzzing of the phone vibrating next to her ear as she waited for Emily to speak again.
She tried to speak but her throat hurt, trying several times to compel her vocal chords to produce sound Alison moved her head slightly. Her eyes opening little by little as she took in her surrounds, the room was dark except for the light from the phone and the machines, Jackie was sitting next to her but she couldn't see her very clearly.
"E-Em?" Alison croaked her throat barely audible but it was loud enough for Emily to jump up from her bed and almost give her mother a heart attack.
"Ali?" Emily asked again, not quite sure if she was hearing things or if it was actually Alison.
"Em... I love you." Alison forced the words from her lips as she felt a small smile spread across her lips and hit the edges of her oxygen mask.