I woke up to the sound of the birds singing, with the morning sun shining brightly into the room. I stretched my arms and opened my eyes properly to look around me. I was in Ali's bedroom, I couldn't work out why, but figured that I must have stayed round the night before.
There was a knock on the door, and Ali's Mom walked in, "Good morning, did you sleep okay?"
"I slept fine thanks… What happened last night?"
"What do you mean darling? Nothing happened last night. Now come on, up you get!"
She left the room and I sat up and looked around me. Why did she call me darling? Why didn't she find it strange that I woke up alone in her daughter's bedroom? Where was Ali?
I got up and threw on the clothes I assumed I'd been wearing the previous night and headed downstairs. As I walked past Mrs DiLaurentis to go home she shouted after me, "Where are you going dear?"
"Home!" I shouted.
I ran out of the house before she could get another word in.
I walked in the door and looked around, it didn't look like anyone was home. "Mom? Dad? Melissa?"
No response. I walked upstairs to my bedroom, the first thing I noticed was how tidy it was. I was neat, but my bedroom was never completely spotless like it was then. I just assumed my Mom had been in and tidied up while I'd been at Ali's. But then I noticed that all my photos of me and Toby had gone, and there were more photos of me, Hanna, Aria and Emily with Ali than I remembered having. Maybe Mom had decided to put some more photos of us with Ali in my room because it was close to the anniversary of her death. That was the only close to reasonable explanation I could think of.
I woke up to the sound of the door opening. "Toby?" I asked quietly.
"No…" said a voice that I recognised.
I looked up at the doorway, it was Officer Garrett. "What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I could ask you the same thing…" he said, seeming concerned.
"What do you mean?"
"Well I didn't expect anyone to be here… But it doesn't matter, seeing as you are here…" he trailed off as he came closer to me.
By this point I had sat up on the edge of the bed. He came and wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. I don't know why I did what I did next.
I opened my eyes and rolled over in my bed, I saw Garrett lying next to me and suddenly realised what I had done. I'd cheated on Toby.
I sat upright in bed, just staring at the window opposite. Garrett suddenly woke up and sat up next to me, "So, who do you think killed Spencer?"
His question shocked me so much that I fell off the bed. I pulled the duvet up around me and stared at him in shock. "What? I…" I couldn't get my head around what he had just said.
"Who do you think killed Spencer?"
"You mean Ali?"
"No… You're Ali…"
I ignored what Garrett had just said because my thoughts had gone back to cheating on Toby. "Wait… I just cheated on Toby with you…" I shook my head in disgust at myself, "Get out Garrett"
"What do you mean you cheated on Toby? Ali you're with Emily…"
"Why did you call me Ali? Ali's dead. I'm not with Emily I'm with Toby!"
"Ali calm down… What's going on?"
"Get out!" I screamed as I grabbed his clothes from the floor and shoved him out of the room.
I sank down to the floor behind the door and reached for my phone. I wanted to call Toby but I couldn't find his number in my contacts. I threw my phone across the room and burst into tears.
After I had sorted myself out I'd walked down to the graveyard, and sure enough, there was a gravestone with my name on it;
"Spencer Jill Hastings
Beloved daughter of Veronica and Peter.
Sister of Melissa.
April 11th 1994 – September 1st 2009"
I knelt down on the ground in shock. I had no idea what was going on, but from everything that had happened so far on that day, it seemed that I was Ali, and that Ali was me. Somehow we had switched places, switched bodies. She had still died, but as me.
"Alison?" said a voice behind me.
I looked round, it was my- No, the real Spencer's Mom. "Hi Mrs Hastings"
"You miss her dearly, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do"
"I've just seen your Mom, Emily's waiting for you back at yours. I'll give you a lift"
I reluctantly agreed. I didn't really want to see Emily. She'd think I was Ali, and I had no idea what level their relationship was at…
I was sitting alone with Emily in Ali's room, when suddenly she leaned in and tried to kiss me. I instantly jumped up. "What are you doing Em?"
"Ali what's wrong?"
"I'M NOT ALI!" I screamed. The confusion had finally got to me.
"What do you mean you're not Ali? What's wrong?"
"Em! Listen to me. I am NOT Ali"
"Yes you are!"
I grabbed a pillow and started to hit Emily with it and I just kept screaming "I AM NOT ALI!"
I woke up and looked beside me. Toby was peacefully asleep and I was relieved that what I'd just experienced was only a dream. I planted a kiss on Toby's forehead and went back to sleep.