Tapestry of Scars

AliTruism

Chapter 5:

AliTruism

Emily finally relented, letting Alison take her to see one of her contacts from the hospital, Cece Drake. Alison had known Cece since they were in diapers. She'd been like a sister to her.

They'd gone through a few pre-med classes together before Alison chose Psychology as her path. Cece had picked General Medicine. She was just finishing up med school and was starting her residency. And she was always joking with Alison that she needed as much practice as she could get. But when Alison showed up at Cece's house hauling a bleeding Emily with her Cece's initial reaction had been,

"When I told you I need to build my portfolio I didn't mean to go out and find strays that need help. I meant like...give me your old fruit so I can practice my stitching on it." She helped Alison get her through the door. "Jesus, what happened to her?"

"Just help me." Alison ordered.

They got her to the couch, where Emily promptly passed out from the pain. They tended to some of her injuries. Emily was in and out of consciousness for a while, but she finally woke up long enough to let Cece do a thorough exam on her. She sat up on the counter and slipped her shirt off for Cece to get a better look at her injuries.

Cece tried not to focus on her scars. Her eyes kept drifting to her tattoos. Emily was too drowsy to come up with anything cheeky to say. When Cece finished she handed Emily back her shirt.

Emily pulled her shirt on over her bruised chest and stomach. She grimaced and hissed. She slid off of the counter and asked Cece if she could use the bathroom. Cece pointed her in the direction of the restroom and then walked into the living room, where a very worried Alison was trying to keep her mind occupied by cleaning up their mess.

"Is she going to be okay?" Alison asked.

"She really needs to be X-Rayed. She's bruised to hell. I can see the external damage, but who knows what's happening with her internal organs?"

"She's refusing to go to the hospital."

Cece grumbled and guffawed at that. Then she sighed.

"At the very least she needs to be monitored. She has a concussion and she's probably got some minor internal bleeding. I mean, I can get her something for the pain, but..."

"No." Alison cut her off. She didn't want to risk Emily overdosing again. "No. She's...she can't take anything. She's...allergic."

Cece eyed her. She obviously didn't believe her. But she didn't push her.

"Go with RICE then. You remember what..."

"Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. I'm not a complete novice. I remember the basics. Give me some credit." Alison scowled at her.

"Okay, sellout." Cece rolled her eyes.

"Just because I chose Psychology does not mean I'm a sellout."

"Someone couldn't cut Anatomy." Cece teased.

"Bite me, Cece."

"Ohh, kinky." Cece winked at her. "But I don't think tall, dark, and brooding in there would appreciate it."

"We're not..." Alison had a hard time meeting her friend's gaze, "It's not like that."

But Cece could see it written all over Alison's face.

"You slept with her, didn't you?" Cece called her out. One difference in her friendship with Cece compared to Aria and Spencer was that Cece knew things about Alison before she announced them. She just looked at her and she knew.