Sometimes, when she woke up, Emily didn't know where she was.

It didn't happen always, no, but when it happened it was quite disconcerting.

There were days when the brunette opened her eyes to be faced with a gray chipped roof, lying on an old, empty bed, listening to the distant come and go of the traffic on the outside, feeling the cold of winter slipping between the sheets.

And she didn't have idea where she was.

Those days she had to wait a few seconds with a heavy heart for her brain to react and deduce that she was in the capital of France, that she had been there for a while and that she wasn't alone, no matter how deserted the room was.

She found it somewhat difficult to reach those conclusions while keeping a quiet pulse when the four walls around her were completely impersonal and seemed about to collapse so, lately, when she started to wake up and had the feeling that that mattress on which she was wasn't her home mattress, the girl had chosen to remain with closed eyes until her mind reached consciousness with her body.

That morning was one of those mornings when, without even opening her eyes, she sensed that she wasn't in Rosewood. But, unlike other mornings, rather than feeling her heart jumping in her chest, Emily was only able to perceive a comforting warmth flooding her whole body. She had the feeling of being covered by something softer than the sheets, something that, even though weighed on top of her figure, kept her quiet and wrapped, in peace.

That morning was one of the few mornings in which Emily didn't wake up alone in Paris.

The brunette remained with motionless eyelids for a few seconds, concentrating on the unmistakable texture of another skin over hers, on those beats duplicating the ones coming from her own heart next to her ribs, on the extra bursts of warmth regularly colliding against her neck.

She was in Paris, in a ruined room, in one of the less central districts of the city, living from a job that could have an unknown expiring date… and she was there with Alison.

It seemed unbelievable that she was still able to get exited just thinking about having the blonde only to herself, by now she should be used to it.

She smiled without realizing it and only knew that she wasn't the only one conscious in that room when a kiss landed on her right collarbone.

Alison sighed over her, beginning to stir, not getting a single centimeter away from her body. The brunette felt the girl's muscles contracting while she yawned, returning to relax the next second. Emily smiled with more enthusiasm and rested her chin above the blonde's head, strengthening the hug she'd been giving her all night.

- Are you awake? – Alison asked in a whisper, stroking her left side, almost tickling the girl.

- Yes… - The brunette answered softly and instantly received another kiss and another one, the blonde's lips walking over her neck.

- Good morning. – She said in her ear, before standing up slightly, until she was able to put her mouth a few centimeters away from hers.

- Hi…

God, what an amazing way to wake up.

Her hair was between her fingers, her tongue in her mouth and her body on top of her own figure. She, everywhere.

When Alison left her lips Emily opened her eyes and felt like she was in a dream, a dream of golden locks, blue eyes and a subtle smile, a tremendously beautiful dream.

- I wish every day of my life could start like this. – It slipped from the brunette and the blonde raised both eyebrows before her lips curved even more upward. Emily blushed instantly, she usually kept that kind of sentences in her head.

- It's something possible, you know? If I quit my job, like today… - Alison began to say, looking naughtily at her, stroking the outline of her chin with one finger, as if the temptation of that possibility was able to change the opinion she knew the girl had about that topic.

- Ali, you haven't quit your job, you've just taken the afternoon shift. – She reminded her, and the blonde rolled her eyes.

- I know, it sucks. – She admitted, lying on top of her one more time. – I just want to have a day off, without having to see all those idiots, is it too much to ask? – Emily laughed, when she wanted Alison could be like a child, a whimsical and difficult child. – I wanna stay in bed with you without worrying about anything, without obligations.

She said the last word as if it was an insult.

Independent adult life was turning out to be not exactly simple.

Waking up early, going to work, eating, touring the city to buy the cheapest thing she could find for breakfast for the next morning, making sure to pay the hotel in which she lived, praying that nobody would rent their future flat, arriving to an empty room to wait alone for hours until her girlfriend was back from work every night to just give her a brief goodnight kiss before going to sleep.

It wasn't easy, at all, and each time it was harder for her to see a silver lining.

- Hey… lets go day by day. – The brunette told her, stroking her hair. – Maybe not every day it's going to be like this but today we have the whole morning for us, we should enjoy it. What do you want to do?

Alison took a moment to think about her answer. The blonde turned to look at the clock on her nightstand. It was barely 9 a.m.

- It's still so early… - The girl muttered, shuffling the possibilities that it offered.

It was a little annoying that the only day she didn't have to wake up early she had awakened at a decent hour, especially considering last night.

"Last night", she thought, starting to feel a rush of images of that strange evening piling in her mind.

The restaurant, the dinner, Nicolette, Demetz, CeCe, the "ballroom", the twins, the bodyguards, the hotel…

- Do you want to sleep a little longer? – The brunette asked her gently, continuing the comings and goings of her fingers through her hair.

Emily was so calm… Did she remember something of the night before or the wine had affected her enough to make her lose her memories? Maybe she simply didn't want to waste the miraculous moment of intimacy they were having.

The room was an absolute chaos, the couple of things they owned were all on the floor, even the white towels Agatha had lent them the night before, but of course, the last thing she would have think about last night would have been those towels.

They should collect it all and start to decide where they were going to have breakfast, and lunch, because of course, that afternoon, about four o'clock, the two would have to be in their respective jobs.

How would be the restaurant after that dinner?

Would Nicolette say something to Emily about the little conversation between the blonde and that woman?

Would the afternoon shift be as horrendous as the one in the morning?

And CeCe? Where would the ex-blonde be at that moment? With her future husband? In her luxury apartment?

Alison began to feel her nerves twitching, the blood gaining speed in her veins. They had so many things to talk and worry about… But Emily was still unraveling her hair and she could hear perfectly how quiet her heart was beating in her chest.

"Fuck it", the blonde decided, surrendering to the whims beginning to run through her body.

- No. – Alison answered to the brunette, rising slowly from her position, letting the thick sheets that covered them, safekeeping their heat, start to leave her body. – I don't want to sleep a little longer.

- Okay… - Emily said after swallowing, watching how the girl's skin was being discovered gradually.

- You still owe me a shower. – She recalled, getting out of bed and turning to face her. – Do you want to pay off your debt?

The brunette was so glad to still be lying on the bed… if she had been standing she was pretty sure her legs would have given up. Definitely Alison, just awakened, disheveled and very naked was something not recommended for her heart.

The blonde didn't wait for an answer, but went into the bathroom and turned on the hot water, giving the liquid time to take the proper temperature. She loved to leave the brunette speechless. They have been together for almost a month and she could still stun her like that.

Alison wished Emily will never stop to look at her with those eyes full of affection and frenzy, full of love.

A few seconds later the blonde smiled sideways while two tanned arms surrounded her waist and the warmth of a body that she was starting to know like the back of her hand wrapped her back.

- That's going to leave a bruise… - Alison commented, adjusting her towel around her chest and looking at her left forearm, yes, that red mark was going to become a very nice bruise.

- Did I hurt you? – The brunette asked, getting out of the bathroom right behind her, removing the excess of water from her hair with one of the towels that were lying on the floor.

- No, it was the stupid tap of the shower. – The blonde answered, approaching her nightstand at the other side of the bed. – There should be a minimum size for bathrooms, this is inhuman.

They had hardly been able to enter the small shower at the same time, much less move. What promised to be a fun and sexy morning had become a painful game of turns and twists trying to reach the shampoo. That wasn't what Alison had had in mind when she finally managed to get the brunette in the bathroom half an hour ago.

- See? That's why you cannot quit your job. – Emily said, her voice attenuated by the thick fabric that fell over her head. – We have to keep saving money so we can have a flat and a real bathroom.

Alison smiled without looking at her, beginning to untangle her hair with the comb. If only Emily knew… They had an appointment the next day at the flat she had found with CeCe. She was going to take the brunette with her hoping she'll approve the place and, if everything worked just fine, by the end of the week they'll be out of that dump. The bruise that was growing on her arm stopped hurting when she visualized each one of the corners of their new flat, she knew by heart even the number of drawers it had. "She's gonna love it", she said to herself, wishing for the hours to go quickly so she could lead the brunette to her early Christmas present.

- Em, I'm not saying that I want to stop working forever, I just want holidays and a new job. – Then the girl turned to face the brunette and found her practically dressed, just about to buckle her jeans button. Damn, she had missed the best part.

- Oh, well, if is just that… - Emily said, shrugging.

- I'm glad you can understand it. – The blonde commented, smiling from ear to ear.

- Ali! – The brunette reproached her.

- Em! – She replied with the same tone and stifled a laugh at her exasperated face.

- We can't afford to think about holidays or new jobs. – The brunette explained, her back to her, sitting on the edge of the bed to put on her boots. – If you want to work anywhere else you'll have to do interviews, show that your documentation is real, have a résumé that doesn't seem entirely fake… it's too complicated.

- Do you think I wouldn't be able to get another job? – Alison looked at her nape with a frown, hands on her hips.

- I think CeCe did us a great favor when she introduced us to Demetz. – Being so attentive with her second boot the brunette didn't see the blonde's face of stupefaction.

- What? Now you like that guy?

- No, not at all, he gives me the creeps, but he didn't make us any questions or demanded anything, I don't think everyone is going to be like him.

The blonde snorted and looked for a sweater to wear, being in her underwear next to a window with a considerable hole so close to December wasn't a good idea. She knew the brunette was right but she also knew that she was capable of a lot, of everything really, if she wanted to.

- Besides, I wouldn't risk much your job, honestly, I think is the most stable one. – Finally Emily stood up and turned to Alison, who was still choosing her pants. – I'm still sure Nicolette can kick me out of the restaurant whenever she wants.

- Nicolette… - The blonde muttered sarcastically, settling on the black trousers to accompany the creamy jersey she had already on. – I wouldn't worry about her.

Emily frowned, she hadn't liked the way the girl had said her boss's name, as if she knew her and was completely sure she was harmless.

- Ali? – The brunette began.

- Yes?

- Did you do anything last night?

- Well… yeah, I did many things last night, you among them. – She said with a wink before pulling up her trousers.

- Did you talk with my boss? - She finally asked. They had been separated more than once during the night, it could have happened.

- Maybe… - The blonde answered, starting to fold her pajamas, which she never did.

- Ali!

- What? She exploits you and I don't like it.

- What did you say to her? – Emily wanted to know, feeling her stomach beginning to twitch.

- Nothing. – Alison said quickly.

- I'm sure you said something to her. – The brunette pressed and the blonde snorted, finally meeting her eyes.

- I told her to stop keeping you there after midnight every freaking day, your contract says you finish working at half past ten, not later.

- God, Ali… - Emily ran her hands through her hair, still wet. What had she done?

- Look, we haven't left Rosewood to keep being harassed.

- She doesn't harass me, she is just… hard on me. I'm new, it's normal.

- It is already done.

The brunette sat on the edge of the bed again, very distressed. What would happen when she got to the restaurant that evening? Would they fire her when she reached the door or would they wait to torture her during the whole night with impossible commands? Damn, she was so happy that morning…

- Hey… - She heard the blonde whispering and Emily felt the mattress sinking in her side of the bed. – Nothing bad is going to happen. – She said, reaching her back. – You'll see. I just wanted her to know that you're not alone here, that you have someone who cares for you, someone who loves you.

Alison's hands rested on her shoulders and her lips kissed her cheek quickly, as if the girl was afraid she was too upset with her.

Emily sighed.

- I hope you're right. – The brunette said, placing her left hand on her right.

- You'll see how everything goes just fine. – She assured her again, resting her chin on her hand. – Hey, why don't we go to get breakf...?

At that moment someone knocked on the door and, as always happened when someone knocked on the door, both girls looked at each other and stood at the same time.

They found Agathe at the other side of the door. The woman was carrying a huge tray with two croissants, jam, butter, two cups of coffee with their steaming mugs of milk and two orange juices, oh, and heavy silver cutlery.

It looked like she was about to collapse.

- Let me help you. – Emily said quickly, taking the tray with both hands, feeling the weight in her arms instantly, how had that poor lady managed to get there carrying that?

- Le petit déjeuner. – Agathe announced, with something similar to a smile trying to peek on her face.

- Merci Agathe, mais… vous ne devez pas… - Alison started to say.

- Bon appétit. – The lady finished, before the blonde could say anything more, walking away less slowly than usual, had it been blush that thing they had seen on her cheeks?

- Merci! – The blonde repeated.

- Did you ask her to bring us breakfast to the room? – Emily asked her when they approached the bed, still baffled by what had just happened.

- No, I'm starting to think that she believes we are her new foster kids or something like that. – The girl answered, watching the brunette place the tray in the middle of the mattress, that was a serious breakfast for royals in comparison to the little processed juice and cereals they were used to eat every morning.

- Are you sure you didn't…? – The brunette insisted with a frown.

- No. – Alison assured her. – She does it because she wants to.

They had breakfast in bed, with their hairs half-dried, finally talking about the strange things that had happened the night before.

Emily was pretty happy with how the night had gone. In her opinion, nothing had happened! And that was something to celebrate. Well, yes, there had been some confusion among all those snobs and yes, the restaurant had become a little weirder than usual, but no one had threatened them and no one had walked by with a black hoody trying to kidnap them. If she had to put a name to the worst moment of the night she'll choose that last race while escaping from the guards at the entrance, but not because of those guys loaded with testosterone, no, her heels had been way much worse than that, definitely.

Alison, meanwhile, couldn't get out of her head that revelation about CeCe. She was getting married… CeCe Drake was getting married! Somehow the blonde had always thought that, in case it happened, she would be the first one to know (and the main maid of honor, obviously). But no, she was only aware of that perturbing engagement by accident.

- Seriously, I expected something catastrophic and… nothing happened. – The brunette said, finishing her coffee. She was so full, Agathe was almost worse than her mother with the food.

- Well, nothing… there was something that happened. – Alison said, unable to drink the last sip of her juice. – What about that guy you were talking to?

- Magné?

- Whatever he's called.

- Okay, that was a little weird. – Emily admitted. – But… he did nothing.

- And the "dance"?

- If I have to be honest… the dance was one the moments I liked the most. – The girl managed to not blush when she said it and she didn't hesitate when she took the hand that the blonde had placed on the mattress.

Alison smiled, lacing her fingers with hers. That morning Emily was especially loving.

- There'll be more dances. – The blonde said and then looked at the brunette up and down, just before sighing with longing. – Though… I don't know if there'll ever be a dress more impressive than the one you wore last night.

As the words were leaving the lips of the blonde, Emily's face started to decompose.

- The dress! – The brunette exclaimed, jumping out of the bed.

Where had she put Chloe's dress?

The night before they had arrived to the room half drunk, blinded by lust, so they had stripped regardless of where…

Oh! There it was!

Of course, the dress was on the floor, in a fairly dramatic pose, on top of her bag.

"Great", the brunette thought. She reached down and took the garment in her hands, as if it were a wounded animal. She began to examine the fabric up and down, looking for irreparable damages. It was a white dress and she had thrown it to the ground, as if nothing, Chloe was going to kill her…

- What is that? – Alison asked suddenly and the brunette observed anxiously the different parts of the dress, searching for stains or gashes.

- Where? I don't see… - It was then that she saw how the blonde rose from the mattress and took a step toward her, crouching beside her.

- This. – When she stood up Alison was holding in her right hand the brunette's phone.

Emily forgot the dress almost as quickly as the night before, only now it was a sudden fear what clouded her mind.

- Em?

That should not have happened that way. She was supposed to take her for a walk around the city and, at some point, with sweaty palms and a very nervous heart she would have told her that she had had a mobile phone at her disposal since… well, forever.

- I… I guess I didn't leave it in Rosewood.

The worst part of the situation wasn't the phone in itself but the fact that she had lied to her. The brunette had been pretending since they arrived to Paris that she had no contact with her old life, that she only cared about her.

"Well, I can have other people in my life, right?", she began to reason with herself, "she cannot be angry with me because I haven't decided to forget about everyone but her".

- Have you been using it? – The blonde asked her, serious, but completely calm.

- Yes. – It was absurd to lie.

- With the same card you had in Rosewood?

- Yes… - The card? Who cared about the card?

Alison looked at the device that was in her hand and pressed a button until the screen lit up, without saying a word.

- Ali…

- Wait. – When the phone stabilized and asked for the code to unblock it she gave it to the brunette. – Unlock it.

- Alison…

- Unlock it!

The brunette jumped with that exclamation and did what the girl had asked. As soon as the phone was unlocked the blonde snatched the gadget form her hands.

"I should have told her about it from the beginning", she told herself again, silently watching the blonde's pursed lips.

Alison started to look at the missing calls and unopened messages.

- Mom, Aria, Spencer, - The girl began to read in a monotonous voice. – Aria, Mom, Mom, Hanna, - When she saw the next name Alison raised an eyebrow. – Paige…

- What? – The brunette's eyes grew in her face. Paige? Really? She hadn't spoken with Paige since they had broken up.

- Well, it looks like you've been busy. – Alison said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, handing the phone to the brunette, who looked at her with wide eyes before accepting it.

- Ali… - Emily tried to talk.

- Don't. – The blonde cut her, walking as away from her as the room allowed, turning to not see her face, scratching her forehead with her eyes closed.

- A…

- Don't! – This time Alison shouted and, when she turned towards the brunette, she faced her with angry eyes and red cheeks. – Do you have any idea what you've done? Because I think you don't even know what you've done.

- I…

- It makes no sense for us to cross half the world trying to disappear from the spotlight of a psychopath that could very well be any of those people if you dedicate yourself to make calls home every two minutes! – The brunette swallowed. – As soon as someone sees your phone bill this month they'll know where you've been calling from, Emily! The city, the street, even the number of this fucking room!

- I… I didn't think about that. – Emily admitted, actually the idea of the phone bill hadn't even cross her mind.

- Of course you didn't think about that! – The blonde was completely out of control. – Did you think of something perhaps? God… how have you been so stupid?

- Hey! I made a mistake, okay? – She replied, hurt by that last word. – Sorry, but you don't have to…

- You were not able to hold on without calling your mother for two days? – She made that question in a way that offended the brunette more than the previous insult. – Really?

- I didn't want her to be worried about me.

Alison let out a mix of snort and laugh as answer.

- If you didn't want her to be worried about you then… you should have stayed home!

- What? – The brunette gasped, what the hell was going on?

- You heard me perfectly. I didn't force you to come here.

- Alison, you let me a plane ticket and a letter in which you said you were going to disappear forever, what did you want me to do?

- Whatever you wanted to do!

- I wanted…!

- NO! – This time, when she screamed, there were tears in her eyes, behind her sudden anger there was more than the phone. – You didn't want to.

- Why are you saying that? – The brunette asked, noticing how her eyes started to get moisten. – I'm here, Ali, I've said it a thousand times, I'm right here, with you.

- And you are dying to go back to Rosewood, with all of them. – Tears streamed down her face silently, making her voice tremble.

- No, Alison, don't do this. – Emily took a step toward her but the blonde pulled away, walking until her hand touched the nearest wall.

- Go. – The brunette looked at her in disbelief. – Go, go home, go back to your mother, to… to Spencer, Hanna, Aria, to… to Paige!

- Is this about her? – Could that be just a jealous rage?

- No! It is about everyone! – The girl finally exclaimed. – You could not go without talking to them for a fucking week!

- And what did you expect? – The brunette exploded, she didn't understand what was all that about but she was going too far.

- For you to know what you were getting into. – She answered, now without shouting, still not looking at her face.

For her to know what she was getting into? For her to know what she was getting into?! Really? That was… too much.

- Well, I clearly didn't know. I had no idea you had planned to come to live in Paris. I had no idea I'll have to work or that I'll have to be in this freaking hotel! – Now she was getting defensive. – I left everyone because of you, Alison. My family, my friends, everyone! You cannot expect me to completely erase them from my life! Things don't work that way, I don't work that way.

They were in silence for a moment, both appalled and agitated. There were things they had never talk about, things that perhaps they should have discussed when they had arrived to that city…

- You're right. – Said the blonde, softly, staring at the ground. – It's my fault, I should never have left that note, I should never…

- Do you want me to go? – The brunette asked, all of a sudden. – I have the feeling that you're kicking me out because I haven't been able to dedicate myself exclusively to you.

Emily felt how that terrible conversation was killing her. She felt it, physically. It hurt. Was it what was really happening? Alison had freaked out because she hadn't been able to leave everything for her? Because if that was the case then… well, then the brunette would never be enough for the blonde.

When the time stretched out too much without Alison saying anything Emily took the hint.

Silently, the brunette packed the essentials in her bag, put her jacket on and left, without looking to the other girl even once.