A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this up. School and life have just really been kicking my ass and I literally forgot about this story. I'm gonna get my shit together and start writing again as much as possible.
Hadley POV
"Abby! Avery! Wait up!" I shout down the hall, awkwardly jogging to catch up to my friends
The slow their pace but don't stop walking completely
"Hey Hadley. Where's Lilly?" Abby asks
"Don't know. Don't care." I mutter
Avery sighs heavily. "Alright, what happened this time?" she asks
"She was being annoying." I tell them
They roll their eyes at me. I get mad at my sister for "being annoying" at least once a day and I don't even live with her. I think my friends are starting to get more annoyed with me then I am with my sister.
"If she tries to call or text either of you, just ignore her. I don't feel like putting up with anymore of her shit right now." I order them
"Hadley," Abby says, "This doesn't have anything to do with Aria, does it?" she questions me
"No." I lie
"Hadley." she presses
"I don't want to talk about it!" I shout
"Fine, I'll drop it, just know that I'm here if you wanna talk." Abby says
"I know that, I just can't talk about this. Not now and certainly not here." I tell her, gesturing around the crowded hallway
"So, where do you wanna go for lunch? Abby asks, changing the subject
"I thought we were going to my house." Avery says
"There's no way in hell I'm going anywhere near your dad's house." I argue
"Not Andrew's house, my mom's house. I may stay at his place during the week but my mom's house is my home." Avery clarifies
"So is that where we're going?" Abby asks
"But Aunt Ali never has any food in the house." I argue
"I asked my mom to order take out from Morelli's." Avery says
"We've had Morelli's every night for a week and a half now. I can't stand the smell of Italian food anymore." I sigh
"Alright then I'll just text my mom and have her order some pizzas instead." Avery says
"Avery, pizza is Italian." Abby reminds her
"Well pizza sounds fantastic to me." I tell them
"Line Break
"So now that we're somewhere more private, will you please tell us what happen between you and Lilly?" Avery asks, stuffing her face with pizza
Luckily, we were interrupted by her mom before I got a chance to say anything.
"Hey, Avery!" Alison shouts from the other room
"Yeah Mom!" Avery shouts back
"Are Lilly and Brooke coming?" Alison asks
"No! Just the three of us!" Avery replies
"You should have told me that before I ordered all these pizzas!" Alison shouts
"Sorry Mom! Just take some to Dad and Uncle Toby!" Avery suggests
"I just got back from lunch with them 30 minutes ago!" Ali shouts
"Well I don't know what else to tell you! If you don't mind, the girls and I are trying to have a very important conversation!" Avery shouts
"Are you two always like this?" I ask
"Only when Mom is too busy working in her office to get off her ass and walk in here." Avery says
"And since when do you call Lorenzo 'Dad'?" Abby asks
"When I'm talking to him I usually still call him Lorenzo, but when I talk about him I tend to refer to him as my dad. He's certainly more of one then Andrew ever was and he loves me like I'm his own." She explains
"Liam loves me like I'm his own and he's more of a dad then just a step-dad to me too, but I'd never call him by anything other than his name." I argue
"That's different. My dad is a dead-beat. Your dad is just dead." Avery argues back
"God, Avery have a little compassion. He was our uncle too, you know." Abby says
Avery rolls her and goes back to stuffing her face.
"Now stop trying to avoid the topic at hand. What's going on with you?" Abby asks, turning back to me
"I don't want to talk about it." I say, sipping my Dr. Pepper
"If you don't talk about it, we can't help you." Abby says
"Maybe I don't want your help." I argue
"If you didn't want our help or advice, you would have just came up with some lie when we asked about Lilly." Avery argues back
"I'm sick of lying all the time. My mom always knows when something's bothering me but I can never find it in myself to tell her because I know she's got much bigger problems to worry about." I sigh
"So this isn't all about Lilly? It's about your mom too?" Avery asks
"At first I was mad because I felt like she was trying to steal away what little time I have left with my mom, but I'm over that now. I'm just sick of listening to her bitch all the time like she's the only one who has problems when it reality she has it better then all of us." I explain
"Just because your mom has cancer doesn't mean Lilly has it any easier than you. You don't get to decide who's the most miserable because it's not a contest. You can't compare you misery to anyone else's." Abby says
"You have no idea the amount of hell I'm going through. My dad died when I was too young to remember him and now my mom is dying so don't you dare try and tell me that Lilly's got it worse then me with her stupid boy troubles!" I shout
"Ok, I'm not even going to argue with anything you just said because I know it will get me nowhere. Instead I'll just tell you this, if your mom doesn't make it, you're going to need all the love and support you can possibly get and you'll realize that pushing Lilly, your sister and best friend, away is a huge mistake." Abby says
"But it's her mistake to make, Abby. She has to do what she feels is best for her right now. She might make the wrong choice but it's her choice to make, not yours." Avery argues, coming to my defense
"I'm not trying to tell her what to do, I'm just trying to save her a little bit of heartache. My sister died and me, Brandon, and my parents shut out everyone. I can't speak for them, but it made everything so much harder for me. There were so many times when I could have used the love and support of my friends but I was too stubborn to ask. I'm just trying to save Hadley from going through what I went through." Abby argues back
"I'm not you Abby! I don't need you or anyone else trying to save me! I can take care of myself!" I shout
"But you don't have too!" Abby argues
"Well maybe I fucking want to! It's my life and I'm gonna live it however the hell I want to!" I shout
Line Break
I took my time on the drive home from school. I wasn't looking forward to seeing my parents today. I had a lot on my mind and I didn't feeling like talking to them about it. They always know when that happens and they always encourage me to talk it about. Usually I don't mind, but today was different. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts for a little while, but I knew there was no hiding from them.
"I'm home!" I announce, dropping my bag next to the door
"Hi, Sweetie." Mom says, walking out of the kitchen
"Hi, Mom. How are you feeling?" I ask
"Physically, not quite as bad as usual, but emotionally, not so great. Results are in. It's definitely cancer. I told the girls today and it was really hard. Emily tried to act like she didn't know but the girls called her bluff immediately. I think Spencer took it the worse." Mom says
"I'm sorry your day sucked. Mine sucked too." I tell her, giving into my emotions a little
"What happened?" she asks
"Well, all five of us got into a fight this morning, I had two fights with Lilly, Brooke gave us some pretty shocking news, and Abby, Avery, and I got into a disagreement at lunch. It was crazy." I tell her
"Should I even bother to ask what you were all fighting about?" she asks
"Probably not. Everything's fine now, but I still have to apologize to Lilly. I'll go by her house later." I reply
"Em said Lilly been having a rough time lately but won't open up about it. Do you have any idea what's going on?" Mom asks
"I think it's just a lot a little things. I bet today was especially rough for her though. She found out you're sick, found out Nick has been cheating on her, and we're not on good terms today." I explain
"You're her best friend Hadley, you gotta be there for her even when it's not convenient for you." Mom tells me
"I know." I sigh
"So, what was Brooke's news?" she asks
"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you." I say
"I guess that means she told you she's pregnant." Mom inquires
"Hanna?" I ask
"And Ali. We met up again a little while ago. Apparently she was willing to open up to Ali but not Hanna. There's two possible baby daddies." Mom says
"She didn't tell us much." I say
"In Hanna and Caleb's eyes, Brooke is an angel. Its got to be really hard for to her to come to terms with something like this. Just give her a little space and she'll open up more when she's ready." she says
"I guess you're right." I sigh, "I better head over to Lilly's. It's time we ended this silly fight and forgive each other."
"That's my girl." Mom smiles, hugging me tightly
"I love you Mom." I say, hugging her back
"Love you more." she says, kissing my forehead
At the Fields-St. Germain house
"Hey Hadley, what are doing here?" Ty asks, as I step out of my car
Ty was just leaving as I was getting to the house.
"I came to see Lilly. Is she here?" I ask
"Yeah, but good luck with that. She's been locked in her room crying ever since she got home from school." he says
"Yeah, I figured." I sigh, "So, where are you off to?"
"Going to kick our sister's douchebag of an ex-boyfriend's ass. If he thinks he can cheat on my baby sister and get away with it, he's got another thing coming." Ty says angrily
"Ty, don't be stupid. You're 18, and you will be charged as an adult when Nick and his parents file assault charges against you. Choose your battles wisely. We've already got 'A' to worry about, we don't need this too." I argue
"If whatever idiot you're dating ever does anything to hurt you, I'll kick his ass, but now it's my other little sister that needs protecting." Ty says
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." I sigh
Line Break
"I'm sorry Hadley, but I don't think Lilly wants to talk to you right now. She came into my office at lunch in tears. She said that Nick was an ass and you were a bitch. When she got home, she was crying again. She ran straight to her room and locked herself in." Emily says
"It's probably better if you just go." Maya says
"I just want to apologize. All this stuff with my mom is causing me a lot of stress and anger and I took it out on her. I was wrong to do that. I want to try and make things better. She's my sister and my best friend." I argue
"And that's exactly why it hurt even more when you said all those awful things to her." Maya says
"As a mother, I'll do anything to protect my daughter, and if that means kicking you out of my house, I'm gonna kick you out." Emily says
"You know where the door is." Maya says
"Ok, I get that you're just trying to look out for your daughter, but Lilly and I are the one's in high school so why are you two the ones acting like a couples of bitches?" I question them
"Hadley, we love you, but you need to go. My daughter came home in tears because of you so I really don't like you right now." Emily argues
Before anyone else can get another word in, we her footsteps coming down the staircase.
"Did you guys ever even consider the fact that I might actually want to hear what she has to say?" Lilly questions her moms
"Lilly, hey. I um, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I came here to apologize for being a bitch." I stutter slightly
"I forgive you, and I'm sorry for the way I acted too. You're my sister and my best friend. I hate fighting with you." she says
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was just-"
"Why don't we go talk in my room?" Lilly cuts me off quickly
I can't believe I almost mentioned 'A' in front of Emily and Maya. That would have been a disaster.
Line Break
"So it looks like '-A' might not be our only problem right now." I confess
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lilly asks
"Well, our big brother is pretty pissed about what your ex-boyfriend did to you. When I got here, Ty was leaving to go find Nick." I tell her
"Serves the son of a bitch right. Mess with me, you have to deal with my crazy family who is a little on the homicidal side." she laughs it off
"You don't see this as a problem?" I ask
"I'm sick of being screwed over by guys. I'm sick of guys in general. If Ty wants to beat his ass, let him. I think Uncle Toby will proud of him for defending me and will make sure any possible charges against Ty don't stick." She says
"So what, are you swearing off men now?" I tease
"I really should but in reality the next Mr. Wrong will come around sooner rather than later and I'll fall for him and get my heart broken again." she sighs
"Do you ever feel like you'll never find 'The One'?" I ask
"I'm young, I'm in high school. I try stay optimistic." she says
"I'm not so sure I believe in that anymore." I confess
"Why not?" Lilly asks
"My mom claimed to be in love with Ezra at two different points in her life but both times ended up being wrong. How can someone be so sure in the moment and be wrong in the end? And how can my mom be in love with Liam even though she's still in love with my dad?" I question
"Love is extremely complicated and sometimes its hard to believe, but one day there will be a person in your life that makes you forget how you ever questioned it to begin with." Lilly says
"You really believe that?" I ask
"Yes, because someday I want what my moms have, what Uncle Toby and Aunt Spencer have, what Caleb and Hanna have, what your mom and Liam have, and what Aunt Ali and Uncle Lorenzo have." she says
"That's a nice idea, but I'm not so sure it'll ever happen for me." I tell her
"I know it's hard, but you just have to be patient." she says
Line Break
Since Liam had to work tonight, Emily and Maya invited me and mom over for dinner. It was really nice to not just sit there and not eat in awkward silence for a change. Mom and Liam have been fighting alot lately which makes family dinner really awkward. They don't want to fight in front of me, but they also can't just sit there and pretend that everything is ok just because I'm around.
"Hadley, are you ok?" Ty asks, snapping me out of my thoughts
"Huh? What?" I ask
"Are you ok?" he asks
"Yeah, I'm fine." I tell him, a fake smile across my face
"Are you sure because you've been pretty quiet almost the entire time. You're never quiet." He says
"I've just got a lot on my mind." I sigh
"Honey, if you're worried about me, don't be. Your father and I were talking earlier while you were over here. I've decided to start treatment on Monday." Mom says
"I'm glad, but that's not what I've been thinking about. I'm worried about something totally different. And Liam is not my dad so stop calling him that." I tell her
"Hadley, he adopted you two years ago. You don't have to call him 'Dad' but that's what he is." She reminds me
"Whatever." I sigh, rolling my eyes
"Hadley, you know what if you ever want to talk to someone other than your mom or your friends, Emily and I are here." Maya says
"I know, but I don't really feel like talking." I tell her
"This isn't about the elephant that never leaves the room is it?" Lilly asks
She was talking about '-A'. I knew it, and Ty knew it, but thank God our moms didn't.
"No, it's about someone else." I sigh
"A guy or a girl?" Ty asks, "Because you know if it's a guy, I'll take care of them."
"It's not about a guy. It's so stupid really." I tell him
"C'mon Hadley, at least tell me and Ty, we're your siblings." Lilly argues
"You guys wouldn't understand." I argue
"Hadley, just tell us." Ty begs
I look around the table and everyone is watching me, waiting for me to finally spill the beans.
"I'm sorry, but I really can't talk about this right now. I know that everyone is just trying to help, but sometimes I'm just don't feel like making myself vulnerable and baring my soul." I tell them
"Well if someone is giving you hell, just let me know. I'll take care of them." Ty says with a wink
"I just want to go home and lie down. It's been a long day." I sigh
"Well I was planning on us staying here tonight. Emily and Maya already agreed and I don't have the energy to fight with Liam when he gets home tonight. I just need a break from it all." Mom says
"You can't just run from your problems. You and Liam just need to sit this down and talk it all out." I argue with her
"Hadley I'm tired of talking! I don't have the energy! I said I'm staying here tonight and I meant it!" Mom shouts
"So you're just going to run from your problems like you always do?" I question her
"I'm not the only one. You're doing the exact same thing." she points out
"I learned from the best." I argue
"Alright, that's enough. Ty, Lilly, start clearing the table. Emily, help Aria up to bed, I want to have a little talk with Hadley." Maya says
Maya drags me into the living room and shoves me onto the couch.
"What's with this attitude?" Maya asks
"I have a right to get angry sometimes too, you know." I argue
"Of course you do, but from what I've seen and heard, you've been blowing up at everyone lately." she says
"That's because everyone keeps pissing me off!" I shout
"Clearly there's something else going on. If you just tell me, maybe I can help." she says
I look down as I fidget with my hands.
"If I tell you, you have to promise you won't tell anyone. Not Emily, not my parents, and definitely not my sister." I tell her
"I won't tell anyone." she says
"Have you ever fallen for someone that you know you can never be with? Or even someone that you could be with, but you shouldn't be with?" I asked
"Of course I have." Maya says
"Oh yeah, I'm sure there have been multiple people you've wanted to be with but couldn't because you're a lesbian and well, they weren't." I say
"It's not a gay thing, Hadley. Everyone goes through it at one point or another. Ask literally any teenager or adult and they will all tell that they've been there at one point or another." she argues
"Right, of course. I don't know what I was thinking." I apologize
"Just don't ever make assumptions about anyone and the situations they've been through based on race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation." She warns me
"Got it." I tell her
"Now, tell what the hell has been going on with you lately." she says
"Ok so while Lilly and Nick were broken up, he made a pass at me. Of course I shut him down immediately. I would never date my sisters ex. I would never date any of my friends exes either. That's just wrong. Anyways, I told Lilly as soon as it happened. I didn't want to hurt her, but I knew it would hurt more if she found out about it later." I start
"What does that have to do with anything?" She asks, totally oblivious to where this is going
"At the party, I was more than drunk enough to hook up with him if he tried, but luckily Lilly got to him first. Ever since that night I've been thinking about what might have happened if anything happened between me and Nick. I hate myself because I can't get my sister's boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend now, out of my mind. He's all I've been able to think about since that night. I may or may not have had a few dreams about him too. Not sex dreams, just dreams where the two of us were together. I kept telling myself it wouldn't be so bad. People end of marrying their best friend's or sibling's or cousin's ex all the time. I know it's wrong because Lilly clearly still has very strong feeling for him and even if she didn't he's still a douche and he's still her ex. I just can't stop thinking about him." I confess
"Ok Hadley, I know I promised not to tell Lilly, but maybe you should. I think you would really benefit from talking this out with her." Maya says
"No way in hell is that ever gonna happen. I just need to find some other guy to think about. If I'm obsessing over some other guy, I can't obsess over Nick." I argue
"So you just gonna keep running from your problems?" She questions me
"It's work pretty well this far." I say, shrugging my shoulders
"How did this even happen?" she asks
"Well Nick made a pass at me one day and in the moment I thought he was a total sleazeball. Somehow I started thinking about how he used to be such a great boyfriend to Lilly and how I felt comfortable with him and saw him as a friend. I started to think the idea of being in a relationship with Nick wouldn't be so bad." I explain
"I think I know what going on here." she says, "You haven't been in a serious relationship since your own douchebag of an ex cheated on you. None of your relationships have lasted more than a couple of weeks. Since you couldn't make a relationship work, you started sleeping around and realized you didn't want that either. The prospect of a relationship with Nick seemed more promising than anything you've had in awhile. That's why you keep clinging onto the idea of it."
"So what the hell am I supposed to do?" I ask
"It sounds like you just need a little more time to move on. You had your first heartbreak and you're still not over it and that's ok. Take some time to focus on you. You're 16 years old for crying out loud. You don't have to find your soulmate or 'The One' yet. You've got so much life to live. Somewhere along the way you'll meet Mr. Right, but for right now, just enjoy your teenage years. In two years you're going to graduate high school and go off to college. You won't be a kid anymore. Cherish these years. Don't waste them crying over or obsessing over boys." She says
"You know, I read my mom's book. You guys were just as bad off if not worse than we are, but somehow you seem to give such great advice. Whether I go to my mom, you, Emily, Spencer, Hanna, or even Ali, you always know just what I need to hear." I tell her
"One day when you're our age either your kid or one of the other girls' kid will come to you for advice and you'll know exactly what to say. Honestly, I just sit here and really listen when you're talking. When it comes time for me to say something, I usually come up with it on the spot. I never know what I'm gonna say. I don't have these things stored somewhere in the back of my mind. I even surprise myself sometimes." she says
"Maybe instead of being a physical therapist, you should just be a therapist!" I laugh
2 weeks later
My mom is in the hospital for chemo and radiation treatment, Emily and Maya are visiting friends in Stanford, Toby and Lorenzo are on an undercover mission, Spencer's busy campaigning for Mayor, Ali is in Cabo with a few old friends and Hanna and Caleb are in New York. Our parents finally trust us to be alone again and alone together at the beach house. No wild parties this time though. Just me, Lilly, Abby, Avery, Brooke, Ty, Sophie, Conner, and Brandon. Us girls are started our weekend off with a spa day and a shopping spree. After that we went back to the house to eat junk food and binge watch some of our all time favorite movies starting with The Breakfast Club.
"This is nice. We never hang out like this anymore." Sophie says
"Maybe that's because you're always working, Ty's always too busy not going to class, Conner and Brandon are too secretive about their lives, and me, Abby, Avery, Lilly, and Hadley are still in high school and you guys think you're too good to hang out with high schoolers." Brooke argues
"Ok I practically still live at home so I see you all the time and pregnant Brooke is not fun to be around. You can't blame me, or anyone else really, for avoiding you." Sophie argues back
"Or maybe we never hang out here because last time there was 10 of us and now there's only 9 of us! Maybe we never hang out here because last time we did Sophie and Chloe had to be rushed to the hospital because they overdosed! Maybe we never hang out here because last time we did, my twin sister was still alive!" Brandon shouts
"Chloe isn't dead because of drug overdose, Chloe is dead because 'A' killed her. I know that, you know that, everyone here knows that! Our sister isn't dead because her, Ty, and Sophie played some stupid game! She's dead because 'A' wanted her dead as revenge for something only Conner could possibly know but won't confess!" Abby blows up
"I told you guys everything I know! Chloe was killed because she was trying to protect me and I have to live with that guilt everyday. If I knew anything else I would tell you guys! We hit a freaking dead end!" Conner argues
"Guys stop! This isn't what Chloe would want, but this is exactly what 'A' wants! We may not have heard from him, her, it, bitch, in a while, but this is far from being over!" I shout
"Would you all please stop yelling? It's really stressing me out and the stress is bad for the baby." Brooke says, rubbing her stomach
"Hadley is right. 'A' wants us to fight and be at odds with each other. And my sister has enough stress in her life between school, our parents and grandparents always on her case, and wondering when 'A' will make their next move. We don't need to be adding anymore stress to her life." Sophie says
"I'm not just gonna keeping faking smiles and pretending that I'm happy and that I'm not angry, and scared, and sad just because Brooke would benefit. If she just kept her legs together, I wouldn't have to walk on eggshells when I'm around her or just avoid her altogether." Brandon argues
"You know what, I have enough of being slut shamed for getting pregnant and I've had enough of being in places where I'm not wanted. Even if Brandon is the only one who doesn't want me here, I'm leaving. I'm just gonna go over to Carter's. His family is a hell of a lot more welcoming than my own." Brooke says, gathering up her things
"We know there's been a lot of tension between you and Brandon lately so we won't fight you on this Brooke. Just, drive safe." Avery says
"You don't want to end up like my dad. Killed in a car accident because 'A' ran you off the road." I joke
"That's not funny, Hadley." Brooke says seriously
"You're right. I'm sorry." I apologize, "But seriously, be careful out there."
"I will." she says, hugging me tightly
The rest of us go back to watching our movie as Brooke heads out the door.
"This has been mostly fun, but-" I start
I'm cut off by the sound of multiple phones dinging, chiming, or buzzing.
We all sigh collectively as we pick up our phones. Brooke shuts the front door, turns around and walks back over to the group.
"'I'm back bitches." she reads aloud
"Did you miss me? -A" I read
Avery stares at her phone in horror.
"I got a second message." she says
"Let me see that." Brandon says, snatching the phone out of her hand
"What does it say?" Abby asks
"You're next." Brandon says
"Ok, this is way too much for us to handle on our own. 'A' just personally threatened Avery! We have to tell our parents!" I cry
"If we do, my mom will drop out of the race for Mayor. And you're mom is really sick. This could kill her." Brandon argues
"It's not going to kill her." I argue back
"Hadley is right. We have to tell our parents. Spencer in the only one still in town so we'll tell her. She'll have Dt. Lindsay and Dt. Lane send some officers to pick us up and make sure we get out of here safely. Lorenzo and Uncle Toby will be back anytime now. They can protect us." Conner says
"No. If we get our parents involved, 'A' will come after them." Brandon argues
"Chloe is already dead because she tried to protect me. I'll be damned if I'm letting this bitch kill my baby sister next." Conner argues
"Sorry Brandon, but you don't get to bully us out of this one. I just texted Mom SOS. When we get back to L.A. I'm telling her everything and you can't stop me." Abby says
Ok so this is a story about the 'next generation' of liars but Spencer, Emily, Hanna, Aria, and Alison are gonna be the main focus of the next chapter and they might start to have a larger role in the story at one point or another. I haven't completely decided yet. Anyways, I'm sorry for making you guys wait for freaking ever for this update but I hope you liked it. I hope people are still reading. Now that Wattpad is so popular, not as many people use this site and I just really hope I still have readers to write for. Well, until next time.
~Stay Weird