I'll Drive You to the Hospital--Paily
Emily sat up, blinking, trying to figure out what had woke her up. She’ thought she’d heard a noise. Had it been a dream? No, it had been her phone. She grabbed at it eagerly, probably too eagerly, wondering if it was Paige responding to her earlier message. No, that couldn't be right. It was the middle of the night. Even if Paige was shaken up about the rat in her locker, she wouldn't be calling back at this hour. She squinted at the text, and panic filled her at the message. Help. Please. That was all Paige's message said. As quickly and quietly as possible, Emily slipped out of the house, thankful that Pam was a heavy sleeper. She drove to Paige's house, breaking about five traffic laws in the process. She banged on the door, but no one answered. Her panic growing, she rooted around for the spare key kept in a potted plant and let herself in.
"Paige?" she called, unsure if the girl's parents were home. No answer. She rushed up to Paige's room and paused outside the door. She could hear muffled cries coming from inside. Swallowing her worries, she opened the door. Immediately, she felt her blood run cold. Paige was curled up on the bed, sobbing, a puddle of blood forming on the sheets beneath her wrist.
"Paige? Oh my god," Emily gasped, rushing over to her ex girlfriend.
"I'm so sorry. I sorry, I shouldn't have told to the police about Alison. I'm so sorry," Paige sobbed. Emily frowned. Had Paige hurt herself because of her?
"I mess everything up. I can't do this, I can't do it anymore. I'm sorry."
"Paige, come on, get up," Emily said sternly, wrapping an old shirt around Paige's wrist to try to stop the bleeding. Paige had cut deep, though, and the blood quickly soaked through. She could smell the alcohol on Paige's breath.
"What are you doing here?" Paige asked, looking at Emily with unfocused eyes.
"Get up. I'll drive you to the hospital," she said. Paige stood, but still seemed confused.
"Why are you here?" Paige asked, allowing Emily to support her weight as they walked to the car. Emily's frown deepened.
"You texted me, remember?" she asked.
"I got your message," Paige said. She didn't remember texting her, but she must have.
"It won't be a dead rat next time. It'll be a dead me. She'll kill me," Paige said, her eyes wide with fear. Emily buckled Paige's seatbelt and hopped into the driver's side.
"Nobody is going to kill you," Emily said. Paige shook her head.
"They will. Everybody wants to kill me. Alison did. Nate did. Now Mona does," she slurred. Emily shot her a worried look, noticing that her eyes were dropping.
"Paige, you need to stay awake. Stay awake for me, okay? We're almost to the hospital," Emily said. Paige didn't seem to register her presence anymore. Emily accelerated, praying they made it to the hospital on time.
---
Paige woke up to blinding lights and a throbbing wrist. She forced her eyes open and was shocked by the sight in front of her. Emily was asleep, her head resting on Paige's stomach. She was holding Paige's unbandaged hand.
"Em?" she questioned, wondering if she was hallucinating. Emily startled and sat up.
"Paige! Oh thank god," she exclaimed, tears pooling in her eyes. Paige frowned. Why was Emily crying over her?
"Where am I?" she asked. Emily's face scrunched up in concern and she stroked Paige's cheek gently.
"You're in the hospital," she said softly.
"You brought me here?" she asked. Emily nodded.
"I'm sorry I bothered you," Paige said. Emily shook her head, her hand still touching Paige's face.
"Why would you do that? Why would you try to...?" she trailed off, the words too difficult for her to say. Paige sighed and looked down.
"I wasn't trying to do anything. I just... I needed to feel something, something besides... I don't know how to explain it. But I wasn't trying to kill myself. Someone else will do that soon enough," she said. Emily frowned.
"Don't say that. No one is going to hurt you," she said. Paige shook her head.
"Don't you get it? Yesterday was just a warning. Next time she'll kill me," Paige said. Emily sighed.
"There won't be a next time. You only gave me info because I pressured you, and I'm not going to do that again," Emily said firmly.
"Why are you even here?" Paige asked, suddenly uncomfortable. She missed Emily every second of every day, and as good as it felt to having Emily here, touching her, it was only going to hurt her more in the long run.
"I wasn't going to leave you alone," Emily said. Paige grimaced.
"You should go home," Paige said. Emily shook her head and squeezed Paige's hand.
"I'm not going anywhere," she promised. Paige squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears away.
"Emily, please. You're just making it harder. You're going to leave eventually. Just go," she begged.
"Paige. Look at me," Emily ordered. Paige opened her eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere," Emily repeated. It was too much. Paige turned her head to the side, unable to keep the tears from falling. To her amazement, Emily slipped into the bed next to her and pulled her into her arms.
"It's okay. You're okay. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. Everything's going to be okay," Emily promised. Paige cried onto Emily's shoulder, wishing that the words were true.
"Nothing's changed, Emily. I still told the police about Alison and you still hate me for it," she whispered. Emily sighed and ran her fingers through Paige's hair.
"I never hated you, Paige. I was angry, but I never hated you. And something has changed," she said. Paige frowned.
"What?" she asked.
"In the car... You passed out. I was so afraid I was going to lose you. And I realized that I don't want to live in a world you're not part of," she said. More tears fell from Paige's eyes.
"Kiss me?" she asked. Emily leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Paige's lips.
"Go to sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up," she promised. Paige closed her eyes, letting the sound of Emily's heartbeat lull her to sleep.
True to her word, Emily was in the exact same place when Paige opened her eyes the next morning.