Title: Better With You
Rating: T with potential for M (Will warn if it gets to that)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in relation to Pretty Little Liars or in relation to any pop culture references that are made in this chapter.
Summary: After spending a large portion of their Summer apart, the girls are back together for their senior year at Rosewood High. Mona is in Radley, Garrett's been arrested, Maya is dead, and emotions still run high. Emily returns from Haiti in hopes to move past what she's been put through, and finds happiness in an unexpected place. A Spemily focused story with mentions of Ezria and Haleb. Storyline with "A" but not the main focus. The story follows the regular season one and two storyline, and begins after the opening scene of season three, however the night ends differently.
A/N - I am so sorry for the lack of update last week! Finals are amiss, and consequently I don't have time to write. Bare with me though, I promise it's not permanent!
Chapter 10 – Cabin Fright Night
"A tried to run you down with their car?" Aria questioned, completely shocked at the information that Spencer had just revealed. The two were mindlessly sifting through a rack of costumes as Spencer explained to the girl what had taken place the night before. "So what, was A feeling nostalgic or something? First Hanna and now you?"
"Except this one isn't Mona. I mean she ran Hanna down because she thought Hanna figured it out. I on the other hand, was almost killed for the purpose of A demonstrating their ability to end my life at any given moment," Spencer elaborated.
"Was that it though? Or was A trying to tell us that they killed Garrett?" Aria questioned. Spencer took her eyes away from the clothing rack and looked to Aria, her eyebrow raised.
"Let's be real, Aria. The number I got the texts from was blocked. That had set up written all over it. A was just trying to teach me a lesson," she explained. "I just can't believe I fell for it."
"Hey Spence that could have been any one of us," Aria told her in a comforting voice. The two walked away from the wall of clothing and exited the store before beginning to head to a different store. Aria glanced at her watch briefly while the two were walking. "Where are Hanna and Emily? Shouldn't they be here by now?"
Spencer let out a sigh as she looked away, trying to avoid the conversation at hand. Aria picked up on it though, and refused to let Spencer dodge the discussion. So she asked again, which prompted the taller girl to lead them to a set of benches for them to sit and talk at.
"Emily and I are kind of… Fighting at the moment. Which sucks because we had this phenomenal night last night. But naturally it didn't take long for A to completely ruin it," Spencer explained. Aria looked at her, waiting to give more of an elaboration on the situation, so Spencer continued. "Well, we had our first time last night –"
"You WHAT?!" Aria squealed in excitement. Spencer looked at her wide-eyed, gesturing for her to lower her voice, but Aria couldn't help it. She was so excited and happy for her best friend. "How are you JUST telling me this? Spill, Spence."
"It just kind of… Happened. Actually, I have to give some credit to Mr. Fi – I mean, Ezra. Emily mentioned a novel that he recommended she read. She asked me to tell her something I'd never told anyone before, so I spontaneously came over, found this quote from the book and used it as my way to tell her I love her for the first time. Then one thing led to another and it just… Happened. And Ar… It was incredible," Spencer explained. Aria smiled warmly at her, giving her a congratulatory hug.
"Let me guess, 'I've never had a moment's doubt?'" Aria glanced at Spencer who blushed and looked away while nodding. "Ezra suggested our entire class read it; I actually did. But wow, who knew Spencer Hastings was such a romantic?"
The two girls shared a laugh. It was true, nobody expected Spencer to be the type of person who would spontaneously come up with romantic gestures. Heck, even Spencer didn't think she was that soft. But Emily had a tendency of bringing out the best in her, and Spencer loved that about her girlfriend. It didn't take long for Spencer to figure out that she would do anything just to see Emily smile; and that's exactly what she did that night.
"But I screwed it up by leaving to go meet Garrett after she fell asleep. I thought I could sneak out and come back undetected, but it took longer than expected and by the time I got back, she had noticed I was gone. Naturally I had to tell her what happened, and she was livid," Spencer told the girl.
"And let me guess, she decided that you and I would go shopping for costumes today, and she and Hanna would go separately because she wanted space?" Aria questioned. Spencer looked at her, confused at how she knew exactly what happened. "Rosewood is a small town, not sure how much space she was looking to get here."
Aria looked past Spencer and gestured at the figures that were in the distance behind the girl. Spencer turned to check what she was looking at, and saw Hanna and Emily walking in their direction. She felt her breath catch at the sight of her girlfriend, letting out a deep sigh as the two girls finally noticed them and made their way toward Spencer and Aria's direction. Spencer kept her eyes on Emily as she got closer and closer to them, but Emily refused to spare a glance at the girl. She knew it was because Emily was mad at her, and though it upset her, she understood why the girl was acting the way she was. Finally, Hanna and Emily stopped in front of the two girls. Hanna waved at the girls while Emily stood with her arms crossed, trying to look in any direction but Spencer's.
"Fancy seeing you two here! Find your costumes yet?" Hanna asked the two girls. Aria shook her head no, and the two of them began to discuss the ridiculous costumes that they had seen thus far. Spencer sat in her spot, pretending to listen but really she was trying to catch Emily's gaze at least once. Unfortunately, it was to no avail as the girl refused to partake in the conversation at all. Aria and Hanna could feel the tension between the two girls, and Hanna took it upon herself to try and fix it. "Hey Aria I have to go to the bathroom, want to come with?"
"What, are you afraid you'll get lost or s-" Aria began, but was cut off by Hanna grabbing her arm. Aria was about to shoot her a look, when she realized that Hanna was signaling to the other two girls, wanting to leave them alone to talk. "- I mean, yeah lets go!"
The two scurried off, leaving Spencer and Emily by themselves. Both of their eyes followed the path that their friends had just taken, and Spencer caught Emily rolling her eyes at what Hanna did.
"Subtlety was never their strong suit, huh?" Spencer let out quietly, but was met with silence. "Em can we please talk?"
She could tell Emily was trying not to acknowledge what she had said, and it discouraged the girl slightly. Spencer sighed, but refused to give up. She reached out and took Emily's hand, urging her to sit down next to her. At first Emily was hesitant, but she knew Spencer was persistent and wouldn't give up until they talked. So she sat next to the brunette.
"Okay I'm listening," Emily stated, finally making eye contact with the girl in front of her. She could feel her resolve weakening already, as soon as she looked into her girlfriend's eyes. But she tried as much as she possibly could to not cave.
"Em… I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have run out on you like that. I can't imagine how you felt waking up without me there. But I promise you, it'll never happen again," Spencer stated sincerely. Emily ran her fingers through her hair and let out a deep sigh.
"I appreciate the apology, Spencer. I really do. But you're missing the point here. I'm not mad because I woke up and you weren't beside me. I'm mad because you broke your promise to me," Emily told her. Spencer looked at her and Emily could tell she was unsure of what she was referring to. "You promised me all you wanted to do was see if you could contact Garrett. Not sneak out in the middle of the night and not tell anybody."
"Emily I had to! He said it had to be right then and there and –"
"That doesn't matter Spencer!" Emily interrupted, her voice slightly raised. She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to maintain her composure but she found it difficult to do so. "God, Spencer you don't get it, do you? You could have died! Okay, and then what?"
Spencer reached out to try and comfort her girlfriend, but Emily shrugged her away, not wanting the affection. She saw the tears threatening to fall in Emily's eyes, and in that moment, Spencer knew she messed up.
"Em, I… I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking," Spencer spoke quietly.
"I know you're sorry, Spence. And I get it," Emily told her. "Look, you're the love of my life, okay? You're the person I want to start a future with. But sometimes I just wish you would just remember that and more importantly remember me before making decisions on your own."
She quickly stood with tears finally falling from her eyes. Unable to handle herself anymore, Emily walked away while trying to calm herself down. Spencer contemplated going after her, but she knew that her girlfriend needed space. She saw Hanna and Aria sitting at a table from afar, and immediately after Emily made her exit, the two girls were right next to her. Aria sat with Spencer, comforting her while Hanna went after Emily to make sure she was okay.
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that that didn't go how you wanted it to, did it?" Aria asked. Spencer looked to the ground and shook her head no, feeling completely defeated.
"I messed up, and I hurt her. But I'm going to make it up to her," Spencer stated. She reached for her purse and dug her cellphone out, quickly flipping it open and texting rapidly.
"What are you doing?" Aria questioned, looking at the girl curiously. Spencer looked like a mad person, texting quicker than she'd ever seen her before.
"Texting Hanna to find out what Emily is doing for her costume tonight. We may be fighting, but Em is a total sucker for couple costumes. I don't want her to miss out on it just because we're fighting. And if I'm lucky it'll soften her up a little. Let her see I'm really trying for her," Spencer explained. Aria smiled at Spencer's plan. The dynamic within their group of four had shifted slightly ever since two of her best friends started dating each other. But without a doubt, it was for the better. Aria couldn't think of two people more perfect for each other, and the two girls were constantly proving her of that.
Emily stood in front of her mirror wearing only her matching set of a black-laced bra and underwear while putting the final touches on her make up. She put her lip-gloss down on her desk and ran her fingers through her hair. As she brushed her fingers through her wavy locks, she heard a knock at her bedroom door. Emily glanced at her phone to check the time and if there were any missed messages on it, but when she found nothing she was confused.
"Han? I thought we agreed on 8? It's only 7:45, and you said you'd call when you were on your way," Emily stated as she walked to open the door, assuming it was her blonde friend on the other side. When she opened the door however, she was met with a bouquet of daffodils. Her heart melted at the sight of Spencer holding them out to her, an apologetic look plastered on her face.
"I wanted to bring you the most beautiful thing I could think of. But I realized it would be impossible to deliver you to yourself, so I had to settle for these," Spencer explained. Emily couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face as she took the bouquet in her hands and smelled them. The brunette was happy to see that her girlfriend was in higher spirits than she was earlier that day, and it was only after she acknowledged the smile on Emily's face that she began to notice the girl standing almost completely naked. Spencer mindlessly licked her lips at the sight before pulling her eyes away from her girlfriend's body, not wanting to get caught staring. Emily looked up from the bouquet and gave her a warm smile.
"Thank you, Spencer. Usually you only bring a single daffodil when you're trying to apologize," Emily acknowledged, stepping to the side to allow Spencer enter her room. The brunette smirked at the fact that Emily remembered the occasions for which Spencer brought her flowers. The taller girl glanced over at her girlfriend, noticing that she was standing in jeans and a sweater. "Where's your costume?"
"In the car. I didn't want to go tonight unless it was with you. Honestly Em, I could have overflowed your house with daffodils and it wouldn't suffice to make up for how stupid I was," she replied. Spencer allowed her to place the flowers inside of the vase on her desk before continuing to talk. She gently took Emily's arm, which caused the swimmer to turn and face the girl. "Emily, I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I was an idiot, and so selfish which was unfair to you. I love you, so much. You're the best thing in my life, and from here on out, you come first. I will never break a promise to you ever again. Please, forgive me."
Spencer stared into her girlfriend's eyes, unsure of what her reaction would be. She was nervous at the silence, trying to read Emily's facial expressions. When the silence continued, Spencer could feel her confidence fading more and more, until Emily broke into a warm smile before softly placing her hand on Spencer's cheek. Emily leaned forward and Spencer anticipated a kiss, only to be left short when Emily leaned into her hear, whispering softly.
"Want to know the upside to fighting?" Emily questioned in a soft and sultry voice. Spencer nodded slowly. "I hear the make up sex is great."
Spencer grinned and pulled back just enough to catch Emily's lips with her own. She moved her arms around Emily's already bare torso and pulled her in closer while her girlfriend moved her hands to Spencer's hair, her fingers getting lost in Spencer's brown locks. Before the two could move towards the bed, Emily felt Spencer's hands move lower and lower until they were on her lace underwear. She expected Spencer to pull them down, but let out a surprised yelp when she felt the brunette lift her up. The swimmer instantly wrapped her legs around her girlfriend and moved her lips to the girl's neck, sucking on her pulse point. Spencer moaned in her ear as she walked the two of them over to Emily's bed and put her down, instantly falling on top of her. Their lips connected again, and Spencer didn't waste any time allowing Emily entrance to her mouth. Their tongues battled for dominance and Spencer felt herself let out an unexpected moan as she felt Emily buck her hips beneath her. The brunette pulled away momentarily to catch her breath.
"You know, we're expected to be at that party in like 20 minutes right?" Spencer asked breathlessly. Emily panted below her, the look of desire unwavering from her eyes. Spencer looked down at the girl beneath her, who had herself propped up on her elbows, her chest rising as she inhaled deeply. Emily pulled Spencer down and ran her lips up Spencer's neck, the brunette biting her lip to keep her moan in. She came up to Spencer's ear and whispered in a low, seductive tone.
"Well it looks like we're going to be late, now aren't we?"
"Where the hell are they?" Hanna questioned to Aria who stood next to her, sipping on a drink. The two girls were standing in the foyer of Noel Kahn's cabin, trying to avoid the drunken idiots that were running around. The petite girl shrugged while looking around at the people that were at the party; as if she was expecting to see Spencer and Emily appear in the crowd of people.
"I thought you and Em were supposed to come together," Aria commented. She placed her drink on a table next to her so that she could take her phone from her purse. There were still no calls or messages from either girl, and she wasn't sure if they should be concerned.
"We were, but Spencer begged me to let her pick Emily up so that she could apologize or whatever. But Spencer is never late. Should we go look for them?" Hanna questioned. Aria knew the blonde was right; Spencer being late was so out of character. But at the same time, she was discovering that Spencer had a lot of changes in character when it came to Emily. Not in a negative way, though. Just in a different way. "Okay screw it, I'm texting Caleb to tell him that we're going to go make sure they're not dead in a ditch somewhere."
Hanna reached into her jacket pocket to take her phone out, but was stopped by Aria. The blonde was about to protest, but she looked in the doorway to see her Spencer and Emily entering hand in hand with smiles plastered on their faces. The two girls let out sighs of relief before going to meet their friends.
"It's about time, you two. You were supposed to be here like an hour and a half ago," Aria told them. The couple looked at each other with lustful gazes, and Aria immediately knew why they were late.
"No kidding, we were about to send out a search party," Hanna added.
"Sorry, we uhm… Were busy with something," Emily tried to lie, but couldn't come up with an actual excuse. Aria pursed her lips, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah you were getting busy," the petite girl murmured before looking away. Spencer, having caught what Aria said, looked at her wide-eyed while trying to hide her smile. "Anyways, you two look great!"
Spencer and Emily were wearing similar costumes; corset dresses that ended just above the knees. Emily sported a black corset dress that flared at the bottom; it was laced with a blood red floral pattern and had a crisscross pattern that ran along its back. Spencer wore a similar dress, however it was black with white lace. She had fake blood handprints that were sputtered on her dress, and she wore an intricate black and red necklace. Both girls had their hair half up, half down and wore black smoky eye make up, however Emily's had a red tint. When they smiled, their fake fangs poked out from underneath, which brought attention to Emily in particular as she had fake blood around her mouth. The look was topped off with the red contact lenses that they wore.
"Thanks, Ar. Same to the both of you!" Emily replied. She snuggled herself closer to Spencer, and kissed her on the cheek before whispering softly. "I'm going to go grab a drink and say hi to the swim team. Do you want anything, babe?"
Spencer turned her attention to her girlfriend and shook her head no while biting her lip before kissing Emily on the lips. She gave Emily's arm a light squeeze before letting her go. The brunette was lost in a trance as she watched Emily leave, she almost forgot about her two best friends standing right in front of her. Hanna snapped her fingers in front of Spencer's face, which brought her back to reality.
"Sorry what? Oh yeah you guys look great!" Spencer added, clearly late to the conversation. She looked over at Aria who was sporting a white dress that was covered in polka dots, with long stockings to match. The band around her waist and attached to what looked like a wind-up knob. Aria had her hair in two braids on either side of her head, and her face was intentionally made to look pale, with deep red circles painted onto her cheeks and a dash of red lipstick on the centre of her lips. "Let me guess. Aria, you're a doll and Hanna… Judging by the incredibly curly hair, tight black pants, leather jacket, and the fact that I just saw Caleb sporting slicked back hair and a leather T-Birds jacket, you're supposed to be Sandy Olsson?"
The two girls nodded at Spencer's accurate observations.
"And you and Em… Vampires?" Hanna questioned, to which Spencer also nodded. The brunette looked past her two friends at Emily, who was surrounded by a pool of girls – mostly all on her swim team, which unfortunately included Paige. But she didn't let it get to her. Instead, Spencer was caught up in admiring her girlfriend from afar; she looked incredible. Before she let her thoughts trail to their pre-party activities, Spencer drew her attention back to the two girls that were now talking in front of her.
"So Aria, why were you panicking over us being late anyways?" Spencer questioned. She and Hanna looked at each other, unsure of who wanted to tell her. Spencer could tell it was something important just by how the two girls reacted to the question. The brunette gave her two friends a look of impatience, and Hanna gestured to Aria to tell her.
"When we got here, there was someone looking for y-" Aria began, but was cut off when she heard Spencer mutter the name in question.
"Jason."
Spencer spotted Jason in the back area of Noel's cabin. He stood by himself, his eyes locked on her almost as though he was waiting for her to notice. She heard Hanna murmur something about finding Caleb, and Aria talking about going outside to find a quiet space to call Ezra, so Spencer excused herself from the conversation and pushed her way through the crowds of people, making her way towards her brother.
As she got closer to him, Jason acknowledged her with a nod and then gestured her to follow him. Spencer was unsure of where Jason was leading her, but she followed blindly anyways. The two came across a door that led to an empty bedroom, and Jason opened it, gesturing for Spencer to enter. He followed behind her and closed the door, leaving them completely alone in the empty room. The two stood face to face in total silence, almost as though each was waiting for the other to start a conversation. Spencer took her fake fangs off to make it easier for her to talk, and began.
"Where have you been, Jason? You completely vanished," Spencer started. Jason looked down at the glass in his hand before looking up at her.
"Have you heard from Garrett?" Jason questioned back, not answering the girl's question. Spencer made note of it but decided not to push the issue, knowing that Jason would only become frustrated if she did. Jason questioning her about Garrett took her aback, considering the last Jason saw of him was when he was arrested for the murder of Alison. As if reading her mind, he gave her a quick elaboration of the background of his question. "We bumped into each other not long ago, Spencer. He told me you were trying to contact him and that he was going to come back to Rosewood to talk to you before he left for good."
"He never showed," Spencer blurted out quickly. It was then that she realized yesterday night wasn't an A setup. He genuinely tried to reach out to her, but he never came. This instantly raised Spencer's concern, worried that something may have happened to him because he was trying to contact her. Jason looked at her in what seemed to initially be disbelief, but immediately shifted to a look of panic. Spencer explained what had happened the other night when she and Garrett were supposed to meet and talk, resulting in a no-show from Garrett.
Silence fell over the room as Jason ran his fingers through his hair and began to pace. Spencer looked at him, unsure of what to do or say. She was about to try and break the tension when she felt a vibration come from her purse, immediately prompting her to take her phone out. Relieved to see that it was just a text from Emily, she quickly opened the message that read: 'Empty room upstairs, 3rd door on your right. I'll be waiting, xoxo'. She held back a smile and gently shook her head at the message. Spencer felt her thoughts begin to wander but she immediately snapped back into reality when she heard the door creak open.
"Where are you going?" Spencer asked, as she saw Jason about to exit the room. He looked back at her, almost as though he was contemplating what to tell her.
"I have to go make a phone call," he explained and began to leave once more, but Spencer grabbed his arm to stop him once more. "What, Spencer?"
"I just… I have one more question to ask you," Spencer began. Jason stayed silent, letting her know that she could ask it. "Do you know anything about Melissa going to Columbia?"
A look came across Jason's face, and Spencer immediately knew that he had information on the subject.
"How do you know about that?" he questioned her in a low tone, as though he thought someone was listening in on the conversation. Spencer noted the immediate change in is demeanor, but opted to not draw attention to it.
"My friend Cayleigh told me about it. Is it true?" Spencer questioned, trying to press Jason for any information possible. A visible wave of confusion came over him.
"Cayleigh? Who the fu – wait, do you mean Cece? How do you know her, I thought she was only friends with Ali growing up," Jason commented, which completely threw Spencer off. In all the time that she had known Cayleigh, she had never mentioned knowing Alison at all. Before Spencer even had a chance to question whether or not they were talking about the same person, Jason took his phone out. He shifted through it, finally finding what he was looking for. He held the phone up to Spencer's face for her to see. "That the girl you're talking about?"
Spencer took the phone from Jason's hands to see a picture of Jason, Cece, and Alison standing on a boat together in what she immediately assumed to be Cape May. Sure enough, they were talking about the same person. The new information was overwhelming, now knowing that in all the time that she and Cayleigh had been friends, the blonde had never mentioned a thing about her. She looked at the picture once more, almost as if she was analyzing it to make sure that the girl in question was her friend. Upon looking at it a second time, she noticed something that had been cut off from the photo.
"Jason, who was standing next to Ali when this picture was taken?" Spencer questioned. She could see another arm around the blonde girl, but it cut off before the full body was shown. Jason took the phone back from her and squinted at the picture, as though he was trying to decipher it just by looking at the arm.
"I… I can't tell. To tell you the truth Spencer, I was high and drunk that entire summer. I don't remember, at all," Jason explained to her. She sighed in disappointment, hitting another dead end about the mysterious trip that Ali had to Cape May. "You know, I'm almost positive that I have a print out of the picture at my house."
Spencer immediately perked up upon hearing this. The two discussed meeting up sometime the following day so that they could both take a look at the photo, and Spencer instantly had hope that she was one step closer to figuring everything out. Following this, Jason gave Spencer a final warning to be careful before the two siblings parted ways and Spencer immediately went to find Emily, hoping she was still waiting in the bedroom for her.
She came across the room and didn't hesitate to open the door, walking in and closing it behind her. Spencer expected to be greeted with her waiting girlfriend, but the bed in front of her was empty. Slightly disappointed, Spencer was about to turn around to head back out so that she could go and find her girlfriend, but was stopped when she felt arms wrap around her waist.
"Took you long enough," the voice whispered from behind her. Spencer grinned, and turned around in the girl's arms finally coming face to face with Emily. She saw that Emily had gotten rid of her fake fangs, along with the fake blood that surrounded her mouth. Their lips instantly connected, and Emily was the first to slip her tongue into Spencer's mouth, exploring the warm cave. Spencer led the two of them to the bed that was just a few feet away from them. She shoved Emily down and allowed the girl to scoot up the bed before climbing on and straddling her. Emily glanced up eagerly and pulled Spencer down closer.
"You'd think after earlier you'd be sick of me already," Spencer whispered to her as she moved her lips to Emily's neck, nipping and sucking it. Emily bit her lip and let out a loud moan.
"Mm, I don't think I could ever get sick of this," Emily admitted. She put her hands on Spencer's legs as she began to move higher and higher until they disappeared under her dress. Spencer moved her lips from Emily's neck and connected them to the girl's once more while running her fingers through her girlfriend's hair, which allowed the clips to come out, her hair now flowing freely. Emily moved her hands around Spencer's backside, giving it a firm squeeze and causing the girl on top of her to grind into her. Her fingers slipped underneath the hem of Spencer's lacy underwear, and she was about to pull them down when the door suddenly shot open.
"Ohhhh my God I should have knocked," the girl let out. Emily and Spencer instantly pulled away, completely embarrassed. "Sorry, I was just looking for you guys because I can't seem to find Aria."
Hanna stood in the doorway with her hand now covering her eyes as Spencer and Emily broke apart from each other, each trying to smooth out their costumes. Emily ran her hands through her hair in order to make it look somewhat presentable, and then the two girls sat on the edge of the bed, leaving a reasonable distance between them. Hanna peeked through her hand, wanting to make sure they weren't in a compromising position before removing her hand completely. Upon seeing that they had separated, Hanna dropped her hand.
"What do you mean you can't find Aria? I thought she was outside calling Fitz?" Spencer spoke, recalling what she'd caught before she went to talk to Jason.
"No, I saw her come back inside after that," Emily told them. The three girls looked at each other, concerned that Aria was missing. Emily and Spencer stood from the bed, and all three of them took their phones out, trying to contact her. None of them got an answer, so they immediately decided to search every room in the entire house, starting with the upstairs rooms. One by one they searched each room, coming up short each and every time. Emily kept her phone in her hand, hitting redial in hopes that they could hear Aria's ringtone. They moved from upstairs to downstairs and scoured the main area, still finding nothing. The three girls came to the last door in the house, opening it to find nothing but a bookshelf and what seemed to be a build up of the Kahn family's old snowboarding equipment.
"This was the last room, guys. Maybe she went home," Emily stated, trying to be as optimistic as she possibly could. But the girls didn't need optimism right now. They needed reality, and the reality was that their best friend was missing.
"She wouldn't have left without telling any of us," Spencer replied. Hanna let out a sigh and took out her phone, once more trying to call Aria's number. The brunette turned and began to open the door so that they could exit the room, but Emily put her hand on it, closing it as soon as it had opened. "Babe what are you doing?"
"Shh, listen," Emily directed. All three girls went silent, and they heard a ringing sound coming from the empty room. They collectively looked at each other and then spread out in the room, trying to find the source of the sound. Spencer dug through the equipment that was laid on the ground while Emily moved toward a set of boxes that were stacked along the opposite wall. Hanna walked towards the bookcase that leaned against the wall parallel to the entrance, and she could distinctly hear the ringing coming from behind the bookshelf. The blonde stood back and looked at the bookcase, realizing that it was blocking a door that was behind it.
"Guys look," Hanna told them, causing Emily and Spencer to abandon what they were doing and move to where Hanna was. The blonde pointed to the doorframe that was behind the bookshelf, and as soon as they noticed what she was pointing at, all three girls moved to the end of it, pushing the shelf out of the way. They looked at each other once more, almost silently agreeing that they were going to enter the secret room. Emily opened the door and she and Hanna entered in front of Spencer who placed something in the doorway to make sure they didn't get locked in before entering the room as well. The girls looked around the room and found nothing in it but bags and camping supplies. Emily walked around the room and looked at the abandoned room, trying to find clues as to who had been there.
"It just looks like an extra room for people to crash in," Spencer pointed out. She sat down on a seat that leaned against a wall, her foot hitting the bottom of it. Spencer heard the sound it made, and immediately stood from her spot. "Did you guys hear that?"
"Hear what?" Hanna questioned. Spencer kicked the bottom of the seat once more to repeat the sound, but she could see that Hanna didn't understand its importance.
"It's hollow," Emily explained for her. Spencer stood back from it and glanced at the seat once more, before realizing that there was a hidden compartment in it. She lifted up the cushion and inside of it was a bag. Spencer pulled it out of the compartment and as she set it down, Emily let out a gasp. Both girls shifted their attention to the swimmer who stood, wide eyed as though she had seen a ghost. "That… That's Maya's bag."
Before Emily could see what was in it, the girls heard a muffled noise from the seats that came from across the room. All three of them looked at each other and slowly approached it, the sound getting louder and louder. When they were close enough they could tell it was the sound of a muffled scream, which caused them to rush over to it and open the other secret compartment.
"Oh my God!" Spencer let out. "Aria!"
The three girls immediately focused their attention on Aria who was tied up and had tape over her mouth. Ignoring the foul smell that was coming from the space, they lifted her out of the hidden compartment and began to untie the ropes that bound her hands and feet together. Hanna put the girl's head on her lap and slowly began to pull the duct tape off of her, trying to be careful not to hurt her. She tried to soothe Aria who was still screaming through the duct tape, tears running down her face. Once Emily and Spencer untied her, Aria shuffled her body away from the compartment, the fear evident in her eyes. She ripped the tape off of her mouth, and the three girls rushed over to her.
"Are you okay?" Emily asked.
"What happened?" Hanna followed. The petite girl had tears streaming down her face as she just pointed at the open compartment, her arm shaking in fear.
"G-Ga-Ga," Aria stuttered, unable to form a clear sentence. Spencer acknowledged what Aria was pointing to and walked back over to the compartment they had just taken Aria out of. She peered inside and let out a blood curling scream that caused the other girls to rush over, their reactions the exact same.
Garrett's rotting corpse lay inside of the hidden compartment, his eyes still open, with a knife sticking out of a bloody wound in his chest. Spencer put her hand over her mouth almost as though she was willing herself not to let out another scream. The girls all stared at the note that was stuck on his chest, and with a shaky hand, Emily reached out and took it off of him, careful not to touch any other part of him so as to not get her fingerprints on his corpse. The girls unfolded the note and collectively gasped at what it read.
'How many innocent people do you think are going to die at your hands, girls? Consider this your final warning, bitches. What you thought was a lead is now a DEAD end. Stop looking. –A.'
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