Chapter 10
A/N: I have to start out by apologizing for making you guys wait so long for this chapter. You literally wouldn't believe the last three weeks of my life, let's just say they've been hectic.
If you've bared with me for the long wait, I hope you enjoy this chapter, because it's an important one!
Make sure you leave a review if you enjoyed, or DM me on twitter /sashayfields! I appreciate any commentary or feedback :)
Alison and Emily came walking back into the house, hand and hand, after a long night of family discussion with Pam. It had gone surprisingly well, and Alison felt especially happy after realizing Pam was another great addition to her newfound family.
"I had a great time tonight." Alison said, slipping her hands into Emily's. She wished everyday could be as great as the one she had had.
"You're acting like we were on a date." Emily said with a small laugh. "But we're living in the same house." She loved the way Alison took their relationship seriously.
"I know. It's still nice to pretend like we're young again, make up for all that lost time." She responded, kissing Emily softly.
It took a minute for them to realize they had an audience, Spencer and Aria were still sitting in the kitchen, reeling from the latest gruesome message.
Alison seemed to notice their apprehension, and went to pick up the locket, which had been thrown in frustration. She looked it over carefully, once, and then again, before setting it back down.
None of the women said anything. Alison pulled Spencer into a bear hug, one the woman obviously needed. She hated seeing Spencer being targeted like this, she didn't deserve it on top of everything else she was dealing with.
"We'll find this person, I promise. Neither you, nor Mary, will get hurt." Alison spoke the comforting words to her cousin.
"You can't promise that." Spencer said, not allowing the facade of her words to hold up, "none of us know what A.D. will do to us, and when."
Aria spoke from her spot at the kitchen table, "But, we do know we can face it, together."
Emily moved in closer to the group, she really appreciated these girls, and wanted them all to stay safe. "At least we'll try." She said with a smirk.
From across the house the four could hear as the game board's speakers turned on, emitting a terrible screech. They looked at one another, before running to the guest bedroom they had stowed the game away in.
"It's my turn." Spencer said with a sigh, she knew even though she had had a punishment, she still had to take her turn.
The girls looked on cautiously as Spencer rolled a solid five on the die, and picked up her little figure to move it. She landed on a reward card square, she was surprised, she didn't think the game wouldn't let her off too easily, especially not after she betrayed it.
She picked the card from the deck, looking at it with a hitched breath, "Get out of jail free card." She looked at it in puzzlement, "it's a phone number." She explained to the other three standing around her.
Alison took the little card from her, "How will you know when you need to use it?"
"Probably when I'm about to go to jail." Spencer responded, rolling her eyes. "I knew this board game was a monopoly rip off." She took the little card back and stuck it in her purse, saving it for a time when she might need it.
"So, what now?" Emily asked, not exactly sure where they went from here. "You just wait until the Rosewood PD comes knocking?"
"A.D. always has a plan." Aria explained with a grim expression, "I'm sure we'll figure it out when it wants us to figure it out."
With that, the girls decided to sleep for the night. Aria didn't feel like going back to Ezra's empty apartment, so she crashed in Spencer's guest bedroom.
The small girl couldn't sleep, so she stared up at the ceiling for a while, contemplating her life up to that point.
"Hey Spence?" She whispered out into the air, hoping to find her friend was awake.
"Yeah Aria?" Spencer responded groggily, she had been asleep, but wouldn't let Aria know that. She was up for whatever conversation Aria needed to have.
"Do you ever think about what you'd do when it ends?" The tiny girl threw the idea out. "I think I'd get married to Ezra and then move away from here, far away from here."
Spencer considered this for a moment, "I would stay here, marry Toby, move into his house. I'd babysit Emily and Alison's kids, and help Mary run the Lost Woods." She said sleepily, not even realizing the secret she had just blown.
Aria sat up, confused at what she had said. "Did you say… babysit Emily and Alison's kids?"
Emily and Alison, who had just overheard the conversation, walked in. "Yeah, she did." Alison said with a smirk, and shot Spencer a look. "We wanted to tell you ourselves, but Spencer helped us out with that."
"What are you two doing up?" Spencer asked, shooting up from her pillow, fully awake now.
"We couldn't sleep either, and we heard you two chatting so we figured we might as well all be awake together." Emily explained, sitting on the bed across from the other two, Alison sat next to her.
"I'm pregnant." Alison began, hand on her stomach, "With Emily's eggs, it's twins." She finished, smiling widely at her secret finally being revealed to her other best friend. She didn't feel the need to go into the dark backstory behind the twins, just the fact that they were Emily's.
Aria smiled back, pulling Alison into a hug. "I'm so proud of you two, you're going to make great mothers." She sighed at all she had just learned, this day turning into the longest she had experienced in months. "Wow."
"That's what I said." Spencer replied with a laugh, launching her head down onto the pillow. She was growing tired as the night wore on.
"Who else knows about this?" Aria asked out of curiosity, secretly, she was a little offended it had taken them so long to tell her.
"Mary, Pam, and us." Alison said simply. She couldn't think of anyone else she had told. It felt like it had been years since this all had started, when in reality, it had only been a few days.
Alison felt herself elicit a yawn, signifying that her body was ready to get some sleep. She leaned her head onto Emily's shoulder as the girl stopped conversing with Spencer, and took Ali's hint.
"Alright, we're going back to bed." Emily said, lifting Alison's head off her. "It looks like this new mom needs some sleep"
"Night you two." Spencer said cheerfully, letting out a yawn herself, Aria trying to hold it in, but yawning after her.
"Spencer." Aria threw out again, causing Spencer to great from next to her as she had just settled down again.
"Yes, Aria?" She questioned, still not having the heart to deny conversation with her friend.
"You don't think A.D. will try and hurt the twins, do you?" Aria asked warily, now all she could think about was the two new lives that were mixed up in this mess. "They deserve to have normal lives."
Spencer had considered this quite a bit as well. She had worried about the lives of her future little cousins, and swore she wouldn't let anybody touch a hair on their head. "If A.D. wants those babies, they'll have to get through me first."
Aria nodded, content with that answer, and looked over to see what Spencer was thinking. She found that the girl had finally fallen asleep, and decided to do same.
The next morning, Alison and Emily woke up after an actual peaceful night of sleep. Alison was spooned in Emily's arms, savoring the warmth of her girlfriend. She murmured lightly, "Morning Em."
Emily tightened her grip on Alison, planting a soft kiss on the side of her neck. "Morning Baby."
Alison's head fell back down onto the pillow groaning, "I wish we could lay here forever."
"I know." Emily responded, humming lightly. She gave Alison a small smile. "But we have to get the day started, you know we do." Emily had always been the morning person of the couple, whereas Alison could sleep until noon if Emily let her.
"Just five more minutes?" Alison groaned, rolling over again.
Emily thought of a way to get Alison up and moving, and had a small brainstorm. "Well.." She began, sitting up. "You can lie here for five more minutes, and I'll go cook us some breakfast."
That was all Alison needed to hear, and Emily laughed at her reaction to the thought of her in front of a stove. She shot up, brushing the hair out of her eyes, and throwing on a sensible shirt. "I'll make the breakfast."
The two came down the stairs, running into Spencer and Aria on their way down.
"What do you want for breakfast this morning?" Spencer asked kindly, "You cooked the casserole for us last night, so breakfast is on me."
Alison thought for awhile, but came to her decision finally, her pregnancy cravings kicking in. "French toast, definitely French toast."
The girls all laughed at Alison's stomach taking control of her mouth, the woman now licking her lips hungrily. She was just happy she wouldn't have to do the cooking for once. Emily always insisted on it, and she knew the swimmer meant well, but the girl really couldn't cook.
"French toast it is." Spencer said with a smile, "Aria, you can help me. Let them rest."
When they got down to the kitchen, Alison sat down into a kitchen chair, not looking elsewhere before doing so. It was the other three, however, that noticed the mysterious figure standing in the kitchen.
On instinct, Emily grabbed a knife from the counter, willing to protect her friends, and future children. "Show yourself, or I'll use this knife!" She shook out wildly.
With this, Alison looked up from the table, jumping up from her seat in fear. She cowered behind Spencer, fearing for her girlfriend who was standing dangerously close to the shadow. Said shadow had broken into their house, was waiting to strike in their kitchen, and she had been blissfully unaware.
The mysterious figure did turn around, shocked at the sudden gesture.
"Jason?" Alison asked in disbelief, holding onto Spencer tightly.
Her brother had disappeared months ago, right after he finished his night shifts at the hospital. One day he just stopped answering calls and texts. He had missed so much, he had missed everything. So why was he back now?
"Ali. I'm so glad to finally be home." Jason said, running up to her and hugging her. He had missed his sister after all this time. "I need to talk to you, urgently. I've been waiting for all of you." He continued, addressing the other girls now as well. He seemed oddly calm at seeing them all walk out together.
"Wait, so you waited in our house, for us to wake up, so you could talk to us? Jason, why didn't you call?" Emily said somewhat frustrated at the man's way of doing things.
"When did this become your house?" Jason asked suspiciously.
Alison stood in front of her girlfriend, fuming at the way her brother was treating Emily, "This is her house, because she moved in."
"And what exactly, is it, you need us so urgently for?" Emily asked, stepping in front of Alison now. It seemed as if the girls were taking turns at defending each other, and Spencer and Aria watched in astonishment. Emily didn't care if Jason was her brother, he had hurt Alison, and left her alone.
"You can turn off your protective girlfriend attitude, Emily." Jason said, rolling his eyes. "I'm back because I finally found what I've been looking for." He explained, shuffling paperwork in his hands. The girls hadn't yet noticed the papers, but were curious to his reasoning.
"Maybe we should call Mary… she's just as involved in this as we are." Spencer suggested, assuming Jason was referring to the A.D. situation. She didn't want Mary being ghosted out of this process.
Jason sighed out in disgust, "Why would we call Mary?"
Spencer knew how Jason felt about the woman, but thought he might've matured, moved on from past experiences. So many things had happened, but he still held a grudge. "Why wouldn't we call Mary?"
"You want to call Mary, to talk about the evidence against her?" Jason asked, not sure if the girl was understanding. "When did you all become friendly with the crazy woman?"
Alison and Spencer looked at him, neither knew what to respond. Jason had missed everything, he didn't know about what Jessica had done to her, about how she was Spencer's mother, he knew nothing. He still thought she was the enemy.
"Hold on, you came back to blame Mary for all of this?" It was Spencer who finally spoke to Jason, disbelief sinking in.
"Who else?" The man asked, still not seeing how the girls were misunderstanding this.
"I don't know… someone that's preferably not my innocent mother?" Spencer snapped back at him before anyone else could. How dare he come back after all this time, unannounced, and just start throwing blame?
"Did you just say 'innocent' and 'mother'?" Jason asked, again left in shock. "What the hell did I miss?"
"Everything. You missed everything because you weren't here being the brother you're supposed to be." Alison snapped, shaking as she stepped back next to Emily, tears forming in her eyes.
"You know who was here? Mary. And now you're back claiming she did god knows what." Spencer finished the argument that Alison was too afraid to continue. Aria held onto her shoulder, rubbing it softly, trying to calm her down.
"Hello girls!" Mary said cheerfully strolling into the house. "How did the conversation with Pam -" She stopped mid-sentence, upon seeing the group all standing around Jason.
"Hello." Jason said, turning to the woman with a deep smile that Mary could tell meant the exact opposite of happiness. "Aunt Mary, it's been so long since I've last seen you!"
Alison took a deep sigh, realizing this was about to turn into a full on catastrophe. Her heart sank, wishing Jason wouldn't of come back, that things could've just stayed normal. She knew her aunt meant the best, but the woman really did have the worst timing.
"The conversation with Pam went great!" Alison confirmed before Mary could reply, trying to pretend like Jason wasn't in the room. She turned to Emily for some sort of assistance, "She's excited for us, and really supportive." Emily figured out what she was doing, and decided to play along.
"Always has been, she's great." Emily said, smiling and proud of her mother. She had really grown to understand and accept her for all of her relationships, even though it started out rocky.
"Can we get back to what I came here for? What I've been gone months gathering?" Jason asked, he didn't care that Mary hadn't replied yet, he only cared that he get his word out, his evidence shared.
"It is nice to see you again Jason, I'm so sorry we had to part so soon all those months ago." She thought for a moment, "Oh wait, you're the one who kicked me out, my mistake." Mary had tried to be nice to him before, but after Alison had told her the truth, she had no respect for her nephew.
"I know what you've done Mary, and I'm going to tell everyone the truth now." Jason threatened, but his words didn't affect her at all. She knew she hadn't done anything, and Jason's words were empty threats.
"Do enlighten me then, because I'm rather curious about what 'evidence' you found against me while you were 'away'." Mary mocked him. She knew Jason was lying because she had seen him at the hospital just a month before, so he couldn't have been gone too long.
Mary shot a look to Spencer, trying to remind her of the conversation they had those weeks ago. Spencer did remember, she remembered that Mary had seen Jason in the hospital, the night after she had woken up from her coma. So how could Jason be away, when he was in the hospital just short of a month ago?
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean." Jason responded innocently. He looked at Mary, who was boiling on the inside, and then to Spencer who looked just as angry. He realized he had pushed multiple buttons.
"Don't pretend like you don't know, I know you haven't been out of this town." Mary was still gaining leverage on the fight. She had caught him in a lie, and Alison looked over to her, curious on what proof she had.
"Mary, I haven't been in Rosewood in months, I don't know what you're talking about!" Jason yelled out in frustration, turning towards the other girls. "Don't you see she's lying to you?" The man had finally snapped.
"Why would I lie to you? Any of you? I've told you everything, every terrible, disturbing, detail!" Mary said, feeling tears form in her eyes, she looked desperately to her niece, and to her daughter. She wasn't going to have her family torn away from her again, not like this. She was grasping at anything she could now, wishing that this wasn't happening, not now, not when she had just worked so hard to get them back.
"Alright Jason. Let's see what you have before you continue any other accusations." Aria said, trying to be fair to both. Alison agreed, she loved both her aunt and her brother. Thank god they had the tiny girl there as mediator, or else this would've broken out into a fight a while ago.
Spencer however, wasn't having it.
"I don't even care. I don't care because the past is the past so whatever it is, I don't need to know." Spencer said, even though she was curious. She stood next to her mother, unwilling to be apart of this.
Mary offered her a small smile, her daughter was always loyal to her, no matter what.
"I have proof, proof she stole the Carissimi Group money." Jason said finally, passing Emily the papers he had been shuffling in his hands for minutes now.
"I'm telling you, I didn't steal that money!" Mary argued again. "Archer stole it all, even my share, and took off running to wherever." She still hated to even say his name, it felt disgusting to even think of him. She could see the pain in Alison's eyes as he was mentioned, Emily held onto her tighter, showing her the papers.
"That's true." Jason admitted. "But you're leaving out one important detail. "You murdered him, and switched the funds, that he stole, to be given to you, your name is signed on the document."
Mary felt tears flowing down her face, tears of anger, tears of sadness. "I would never steal from any charity, or from you, Alison."
Alison wasn't sure at this point, she looked between Mary, the paper, her brother. What good reason did Jason have to lie? She had the signature right in front of her, she had seen Mary's barely legible handwriting many times before, and it looked exactly the same. She hated to even think Mary was responsible, but she had her doubts.
"Oh come on! This isn't even good acting! Tell me you see through this!" Jason argued again, breaking into Alison's thoughts. "I have all the evidence right here!"
Emily looked to Alison, trying to see how she was reacting to the information she had been given. The girl looked pale, sick to her stomach. She was going to have to choose between her brother, who she had known all her life, and her aunt, who she had known for barely a month. Her aunt, who had worked with her evil husband, had pretended to be her dead mother, had locked her up in an insane asylum.
Mary didn't even acknowledge what he was saying, or notice the stares from the girls. She wasn't sure how he had gotten her signature on the document, wasn't sure how this was working on the girls. But she was sure of one thing, she hadn't been the one to kill him. "I don't know how you got the papers you did, but I definitely don't have any money, and I definitely didn't kill that son of a bitch." She finished, wiping her tears.
Of course, the girls knew the murder part was true, because they had been the ones to kill him, but they couldn't tell Jason that.
"You do have the money, and you're waiting to take advantage of Alison and then run with all of her money too." Jason said, now fuming. "And I'm not going to let you." Alison looked at her brother, she didn't know what to believe.
"Trust me, if I had money I wouldn't be living in the rotted dump that is the Lost Woods, and I definitely wouldn't be living paycheck to paycheck." Mary said, she hated having to admit that, not in front of everyone she cared about the most. It wasn't something she was proud of, but it came out in the moment.
"Aunt Mary… why didn't you tell me?" Alison asked, she felt a deep feeling of pity settle in her stomach. She had been eating nice warm meals, and making casseroles for Spencer and Aria, while Mary had been living off nothing.
"This is exactly what she wants! To make you feel bad for her, that's how she's going to manipulate you!" Jason was trying his hardest to make the girls see what they were obviously missing.
"I don't want pity. If I wanted pity I would've mentioned that a long time ago." Mary said, she hated having Jason on her back, attacking everything she said and did.
"God. She's insane, and you all are blind to it!" Jason was about done with this conversation.
Mary flinched when he said the word insane, not like she hadn't heard it before. It still hurt, it cut her deep hearing Jason say it. Alison flinched as well, but she wasn't about to step forward and say anything about it, she wasn't about to take sides.
Spencer stepped forward, moving in on him. "Don't call her that!" She hated him for coming in and acting like he was in charge. She hated the other girls for not speaking out against him, she hated that Alison wasn't fighting back against her brother, who was obviously lying.
"Let's not go placing blame, Jason. I know what you did to your sister." Mary shot back, finally being brave enough to go on offense.
Alison shot Mary a look, she had promised not to tell anyone what Alison confessed to her that day at Jessica's grave. "Aunt Mary…" She said warningly, but it seemed as if Mary didn't even acknowledge her words.
"And what's that?" Jason asked flippantly, "It's your turn to enlighten me."
"That you used to hit her." Mary snapped out finally, rage taking over her ability to make the right decisions. She hated Jason for what he did to Alison, hated him for coming back and trying to make her look like the villain, after she had worked so hard to prove she was the exact opposite.
"Aunt Mary" Alison was the one to snap now, she had had enough with this. Once the woman started bringing her personal information, her secrets, into this, it was enough. "I think you need to go." She tried to remain calm while kicking the woman out of her house.
Mary looked up at her niece, the girl she had held so dear, and she realized. "You don't believe me, you really believe him?" She looked at Emily, then to Spencer, pleading one of them to back her up, one of them to help her, but not one of them spoke up.
"I don't know what to believe." Alison replied solemnly, not bearing to look at her aunt anymore. "But I think it's best, if you just go."
Mary nodded, accepting defeat, accepting that nobody believed her. She was shocked, but she understood, the proof was pretty compelling. The only thing she could do now, was respect Alison's wishes, and try to clear her own name. "Fine, I'll go." Mary gave in reluctantly, moving past Jason now, "I'm so close to figuring you out, it's only a matter of time now" She whispered to her nephew menacingly, before walking out the door.
Spencer watched painfully as Mary walked out the door, she couldn't believe this had happened, that Alison had let this happen.
"That woman really is nuts." Jason muttered to himself, happy he had gotten back in time to stop her. He loved Alison, but she was really gullible when it came to family members.
"Her mental health is besides the point." Spencer snapped, seeing that no one else was going to stick up for Mary.
"You're right, Spencer. The point is, I have proof she did this, and I'm bringing it to the police" Jason replied with a smirk, still proud of himself for finding the evidence he needed.
"You can't, Jason. Please, you can't turn her in, not yet…" Spencer moved forward now, tears forming in her eyes. "Give her a little bit longer, please, she's my mother, I need a little bit longer with her." Spencer was making up any excuse, any ploy, to get them more time, to prove the woman's innocence.
"Fine, I'll give her another twenty four hours, only for you Spencer." Jason said, wondering when he had become so lenient.
"Thank you." Spencer nodded, knowing she had no time to waste. No one else would help her mother, so she knew she had to. She almost stormed out of the house in pajamas, before realizing that she had to go upstairs and change.
Alison stormed up the stairs behind Spencer, trying desperately to get a moment alone with her. Spencer didn't even want to look at Alison, much less talk to her.
"Spencer, please…" Alison begged, wanting the girl to just give her a chance.
"What do you want, Alison?" Spencer snapped, "Here to apologize for not defending Mary?"
Alison's eyes darted around the room guiltily. She hadn't felt great about not speaking up for her aunt, but the woman had really made her angry when she brought up Jason. "I guess." Alison confessed miserably.
"Well I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." Spencer said bitterly, changing her shirt. "Mary is."
Alison looked at Spencer miserably, "I can't, not while Jason -"
Spencer cut Alison off, realizing now why Alison hadn't spoken up. "You really are afraid of him."
"I'm not afraid of him." Alison shook out harshly, she wouldn't let Spencer believe that.
"So then why didn't you stand up for her? It's clear whose side you're on when you're not scared to admit it." Spencer pointed out to the younger girl, waiting for Alison's response that never came.
Alison just sat down at the edge of the bed, feeling terrible about the whole situation. She didn't know what to say.
"My god, he really did hit you." Spencer realized that Mary had been telling the truth after all. "Alison why did you never tell me, Emily, any of us?"
Alison considered this, if only she had spoken up sooner. "I was young, and stupid, and afraid."
Spencer grabbed her hand, "And you don't have to be afraid anymore, just stand up to him!"
Alison wasn't sure about that, it didn't sound like a good idea. Jason never liked when she stood up to him. "I don't know Spencer, I think I need to think about it for a while. I need some space." She decided finally.
Spencer knew how much admitting that meant to Alison, and decided to let her have her time to think. "Alright, if you promise me you'll think about it, and talk to Emily about it, I'll give you space."
Alison nodded, not sure what to say besides, "Thank you."
Spencer gave her cousin one last hug, quietly going over all the different ways she could murder Jason in her head. "I have to go now, I'm going to get Mary out of jail."
"You are?" Alison asked curiously, "How?"
"I have a few ideas." Spencer smirked, turning back and shooting Alison one last smile before walking out the bedroom door.
She sauntered down the stairs, looking over at Emily and Jason deep in conversation. She marched over, breaking into the conversation, and smacked the man in the face, before turning back and walking out the door, leaving the two in shock.
Mary slammed the door behind her, collapsing onto her bed in tears. How had this happened, how had her family turned on her so quickly? This wasn't happening, she couldn't believe it.
She had given up, Alison believed Jason over her, Emily always followed Alison, Aria hated her from the beginning. Mary wasn't sure what side Spencer was on, but her daughter had shown loyalty earlier, so she kept her hopes high.
In a matter of time, the police would come knocking on her door to take her away for the rest of her life, for murder and money embezzlement she didn't commit.
It was hopeless, her life was hopeless. It was all falling down before her very eyes, and there was nothing she could do about it. She didn't know where she could go to find evidence to clear her name, who she could turn to with her theory about Jason.
Mary heard a knock at her door. "I don't care if you're here to apologize, I just want to be left alone for the rest of the time I have as a free woman!"
A voice that fit the brisk knock came from the other end, "Don't be ridiculous, you know I don't apologize!" It was Veronica, and her snide response caused Mary to roll her eyes.
Mary sat up from the bed, wondering if just ignoring the woman was an option. "What are my chances of you going away?"
Veronica laughed, "Not very likely."
Mary sighed, realizing that she might as well let the woman in if she wasn't going to go away. She opened the door, finding Veronica in her normal refined business wear. "Why do you always feel the need to come at the worst times?"
"Funny, I always seem to catch you while you're crying." Veronica replied, walking in without being invited.
"Isn't there some place else you'd rather be?" Mary asked, she didn't see why Veronica was wasting her time.
"This might surprise you, but I'm not a very busy woman, especially now that my house is burned down and my business has gone to shit." Veronica said flippantly, smoothing the bed covers as she sat down.
"Well I'm going to jail, so don't we all have problems?" Mary replied, sitting down on the bed next to her. She didn't want to hear Veronica's complaining.
"So what did you do this time? Broke someone's heart? Stabbed someone in the heart? Maybe robbed a bank?" Veronica remarked. She noticed it struck a nerve with Mary, "My jokes are not appreciated I see."
Mary looked at Veronica seriously, trying to forget about the joke entirely. "Jason is back, he has some papers, that make it look like I killed Archer Dunhill and stole all the Carissimi group money."
"And did you?" Veronica asked seriously, even though Mary looked at her like she was joking.
"That's almost as funny as you thinking I'd break someone's heart." Mary muttered under her breath.
"What's so funny about that?" Veronica argued, not seeing anything wrong with the statement.
"Well, there aren't many available women around here." Mary responded, grimacing at the thought of trying to find available women her age, it was nearly impossible. "And if you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly an easy person to love." She knew she would never experience that kind of love with anyone in her life, that point in time was over for her.
"I've noticed." Veronica muttered under her breath, causing Mary to look up at her curiously. "You're extremely difficult, sarcastic, and very emotional." She said a little louder, trying to cover what she had just insinuated.
"And insane." Mary added on. "You forgot insane."
Veronica looked at Mary, trying to see past the cold hard front she put on, the facade she was trying to hide behind. "I wasn't going to say insane"
Mary didn't know what to say to her, so instead, she answered her original question. "No, I didn't kill Archer, and I didn't steal any money, from anyone." She felt miserable. "Of course, no one believes me, and Jason is going to the police."
Veronica thought for a moment, "Well, if you need a lawyer, I think I know a good one."
This caused Mary to laugh, looking at the woman with appreciation. "You'd really help me? I find that unlikely."
"For one thing, I believe you, even if no one else does. I don't think you have one harmful bone in your body." Veronica admitted finally, "For another thing, my business is failing, so I'll take any hopeless case I can get."
Mary scoffed, "I don't know whether to be thankful for you offering your services, or pissed for you making that comment."
Veronica laughed, "Be thankful."
Mary nodded, giving her silent thanks. No way in hell would she ever actually say the words 'thank you' to Veronica Hastings, ever.
"Well, if you want to be alone for your last hours of freedom, I'll let you be alone." Veronica said, giving into Mary's wishes. She felt terrible about the situation Mary was in, wishing she could do more to help her.
"Wait." Mary stood up behind Veronica, grabbing onto her hand to stop her from leaving. "When I go to jail, you can stay here as long as you want, until they turn the utilities off at least."
Veronica couldn't believe how selfless Mary was. The woman was going to jail, and she was only worried about where she, the woman who had hurt her, would stay after the Lost Woods went un-cared for. "Don't worry about it, I always figure something out."
"I know you do." Mary confirmed, looking at Veronica again. The woman looked at her with pity in her eyes, a look she was familiar with by now.
"Please, don't look at me like that." Mary begged, letting go of Veronica's hand that she hadn't realized she was still holding.
"Like what?" Veronica asked curiously, trying to reach for her hand again, but Mary moved farther away.
"Everybody always looks at me like I'm a small child, like I need their help." Mary explained, "Just because I've been through some things, doesn't mean I need pity, from anyone."
"Trust me." Veronica began, "I'm the last person to ever give you any pity."
"But you did, just now, just for a split second. I saw it in your eyes, as if you felt for me, if only for a moment." Mary confronted the woman, waiting for her reaction.
"So what if I did?" Veronica felt as if she was being tested for her feelings now, "So what if I care about you from time to time, what are you going to do about it?"
"What do you want me to do about it?" Mary posed the question angrily, her breath hitching in her throat as Veronica stepped closer to her.
"I think you already know." Veronica responded equally exhausted with having to play this game over and over again.
"I hate you, Veronica Hastings." Mary breathed out, seeing how her emotions were being messed with yet again. "You know how I feel about you and yet you continue to play these games with me, why?"
"We're playing games with each other, Mary." Veronica said, feeling tears form in her eyes. She would not cry in front of Mary, she would not allow herself.
"So then why can't we just stop?" Mary yelled out finally, wiping the tears out of her eyes. "Just this once."
Veronica looked at Mary, dumbstruck. Her mind racing with so many different thoughts, so many different things she wanted to say in that moment. But her mind wouldn't work with her mouth, and no words came out.
"I'm not just the emotionally unstable woman you get to treat like a piece of plastic when you're bored, Veronica. I am more than that, I am so much more." Mary spat out, tears pricking at her eyes. "You don't just get to stroll in and say you care about me, when I know tomorrow you'll be back to demeaning me. I don't deserve that, no one deserves that."
Veronica closed her eyes, trying to muster up the remaining strength she had left. "Mary, I -"
All of a sudden, the door to the cabin burst open and in came running the young girl who both women knew as their daughter.
"Spencer?" Mary asked, distancing herself from Veronica hastily. She wiped her tears away, so that her view of her daughter was a clear one.
"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" Spencer asked, looking between the two with raised eyebrows.
"No."
"Oh god no."
Both Mary and Veronica spoke immediately against Spencer's theory. They looked between each other, and back to Spencer.
"Veronica was just leaving." Mary informed Spencer with a smile, turning towards Veronica and giving her a telling look. She still hated the woman for whatever she was trying to pull, anger pulsing through her.
"That's right, I was." Veronica nodded, feeling a little disappointed she didn't get to say what she wanted to. She grabbed her coat and headed towards the door. She turned back for a moment, giving Mary a knowing smile, "Good luck."
With that, the woman was gone, and Spencer was more confused than ever. She didn't have time to question it though, the only thing she had time for right now, was getting down to the bottom of this document.
"Spencer, what are you doing here?" Mary posed the question finally, looking now to her daughter, who was rummaging through her purse.
Spencer looked up, retrieving a small card and waving it triumphantly in the air. "I'm getting you out of jail."
"What?" Mary questioned suspiciously, she stood up now and moved to look at the card in Spencer's hand. "'Get out of jail free card?'" Mary observed the phone number as Spencer began to dial it.
"I took my turn in the game, last night." She began to explain. "I landed on a reward square and it gave me this, I was wondering when I might need to use it."
Mary took the card from her now, surveying it closely. "And you think I'm the right person to use it on?"
Spencer took the card back from her, "Why wouldn't you be?"
"Because." Mary sighed, "What if you need it later on, down the road somewhere?" She didn't want Spencer wasting her chance at freedom on some stupid document that might send her to jail. Mary knew A.D's tricks were ruthless, and she didn't want Spencer to make the wrong decision.
"That's a chance I'm going to have to take." Spencer said solemnly, she didn't care, she was using this to help her mother. "Now, are you all in, or not?"
Mary weighed her options for a moment, knowing this might be her only chance. She also figured Spencer wasn't giving up on this, so she made her decision. "I'm all in, call the number."
Spencer did just that, she put it on speaker so that Mary could hear it as well. They waited for awhile, their hearts racing as each ring led to another. What if no one answered? Then what? Despite being tricky, Spencer knew A.D. wouldn't just give her a fake number.
So when the line connected, Spencer's breath hitched in her throat.
"Hello, this is Diane from the Carissimi Group, how may I help you?" A sweet southern accented voice came from the other end of the line.
Spencer looked to Mary, unsure of what to say. Mary gave her a nod, as if to say, 'say something, say anything!'
Spencer cleared her throat, "Hello Diane, my name is Spencer Hastings, and I'm calling to see if I could access some pre-existing paperwork from one of your offices?"
Mary smiled proudly, her daughter was great at this sort of thing.
"Well, Spencer, that would depend on the kind of document you're looking for. Some of it is classified material." Diane responded from the other end of the line.
"The documents I'm looking for, specifically, are involving a transfer of funds from one benefactor to another, do you think you could help me with that?" Spencer replied, holding her breath and praying she had said the right thing, praying Diane could help her.
"As long as you know at least one of the names of the parties involved, I can help you out right away!" Diane said cheerfully, she struck Spencer as one of those women who loved their job a little too much. "Can you give me a name?"
Spencer considered this for a moment, looking to Mary who nodded, encouraging her to give Dunhill's name. Spencer however, decided against it. "Diane, if you don't mind, I think I'd rather do this in person, so I can see the papers myself."
"No problem, Spencer. You can come down to the office later today and I'll help you right out." Diane responded with a tiny chuckle, "Does one o'clock work for you?"
Spencer was relieved this plan was coming together, "Yes, one is perfect for me." She stopped for a moment, "Is it alright if I bring my mother along, she's the one actually looking for the documents."
"Not a problem Spencer." Diane reassured her, "See you both at one!"
The line disconnected, and both women took a sigh of relief, knowing that it had gone over alright. Spencer flopped down onto the bed, wiping sweat off her brow. "That was exhilarating." She murmured with a smile.
"I was nervous just watching you do it." Mary sighed out in disbelief, "You work extremely well under pressure."
"Don't ask me how, I've always been horrible at it." Spencer replied, looking at Mary, who seemed to be pondering something. "Mom, what is it?"
"I was just thinking." Mary began, "You must've learned it from Veronica." She knew she herself was garbage at any sort of lying, but knew that Veronica was great at it.
Spencer noticed some anger Mary held towards her other mother, but it didn't feel right to ask. "Those politicians really know how to weave webs of lies."
"You're going to have to forgive her eventually, Spencer, you know you are." Mary explained to her. "She's just as much your mother as I am, and I think she truly is sorry."
Spencer considered this for a moment, "Have you forgiven her? Because from what I just saw, it doesn't look like it." She looked at Mary with concern, she hadn't seen her mother ever look as upset as she was. Whatever Veronica was doing to her, she wanted to know, she wanted to help her.
Mary sighed, "What you saw, is more complicated than just forgiveness. It's deeper than that."
Spencer was still very confused on the whole situation, and Mary's vague answer didn't offer her any more answers than she originally started with. "If she's hurting you, you need to tell me."
"She's not hurting me, I'm letting her hurt me." Mary replied to her concerned daughter, shaking her head miserably, "Gullible as ever."
Spencer sat up now, looking Mary in the eyes. She hated seeing her upset, but figured that was the least of her problems. "So this isn't just about your impending prison sentence?"
Mary let out a small chuckle, "Not until you reminded me."
"Sorry." Spencer apologized sheepishly. "I didn't mean to make the situation worse, I just…"
"You're confused." Mary finished her sentence, realizing that she hadn't given her daughter many answers. "And I promise you, when we're out of this mess, I'll tell you everything."
Spencer nodded, content with this answer. "Fair enough." She knew she couldn't be told everything, not all at once, not with all this going on. She understood that Mary was overwhelmed, that she had to deal with one problem at a time, she just wished she could help her somehow.
Once Aria had gone home, and Alison had hibernated upstairs to think about her options, Emily and Jason were left to each other's company. Emily wasn't happy about Jason's attitude, how willing he was to jump the shark, so a part of her was happy that Spencer had slapped him.
"So," Jason began. "You're living here now?" He was holding an ice pack to his face, an ice pack Emily had brought him kindly.
Emily looked up from the coffee mug she had been twiddling in her hands. "Yeah, I'm all moved in." She finished with a proud smile.
"Spencer's living here too?" He asked the swimmer once again, looking around the house to see the minor changes that had been made since he last saw it.
"Well, her house burned down, so we couldn't just let her live on the streets." Emily snapped back at him, not liking his attitude towards the situation. She felt like she was being tested, in her own house.
"No need to have an attitude, just curious about what I've missed in my sister's life." Jason said, not trying to anger Emily. Deep down, he had a sisterly affection for the girl, she had always been there for Alison, even when no one else was.
"And you wouldn't have missed it, if you weren't so hell bent on revenge!" Emily yelled out finally, letting all of her pent up anger towards the man out finally. "If you would've cared more about your sister, and less about pinning everything on Mary, maybe you wouldn't have missed the most important parts of her life!"
Jason blinked back the shock at the girl raising her voice. Emily was never one to really snap, unless she was really bothered. He knew he had messed up, "I'm sorry, I missed her coming out, I missed finding out she was pregnant, I missed everything."
Emily felt a strange sense of confusion overwhelm her, realizing something was off. "How do you know about that?"
"Know about what?" Jason asked, just as confused, "Know that my sister came out? It's fairly obvious, considering you're moved in here -"
"No," Emily stopped him, narrowing her eyes at the older man. "How did you know she's pregnant?" She and Alison hadn't told anybody besides Mary, Pam, and the girls. She knew for sure that they hadn't told Jason, Alison hadn't even been in contact with Jason, so why would she have told him?
"It's obvious." Jason said, his voice not wavering. "She's three times her size, obviously hormonal, and she ate five pieces of french toast for breakfast."
"Four." Emily corrected him, thinking about the breakfast Alison had to make for herself yet again. "And she's only a month pregnant, so, no, she's not 'three times her size,' and she's not more hormonal than usual!" She had no intent on hiding her suspicion now. "What's the real reason you came back Jason?"
"To prove to you, to all of you, that Mary is not the person she pretends to be!" He yelled out in frustration, "I've been trying to tell you all along!"
Emily didn't know what that meant, and she didn't care, she was done with all of the chaos Jason had caused. "I think it's your turn to leave." She said passive aggressively, "And don't even think, about bothering Mary and Spencer for the next twenty four hours."
Jason smirked, entirely content with how the conversation had gone. "I wouldn't dream of it."
With that, the man was gone, and with him, Emily's sense of security. Jason was up to something, and she hated that it took her this long to realize it. This conversation left her unnerved, and she didn't care if he was her brother in-law or not, she had to tell Alison what she had just learned, how she felt. She would always be honest with Alison, no matter what the situation.
That's when she remembered, Alison was still upstairs. She climbed up the steps to peek into their bedroom, and didn't find her girlfriend anywhere. "Ali?" She called out, moving to the next guest bedroom, panicking as she tore through closets and bathrooms, pulling apart everything she could find. "Alison!" She yelled out again, she couldn't lose Ali, not now, not here, not this close to her happy ending with her.
Emily panicked, where could she have gone in the hour she was talking to Jason? She should've gone to check on her earlier, shouldn't of gotten distracted. Shouldn't of let Jason distract her. Jason must've been involved, and now she wished she wouldn't of let him walk out of the house. She screamed out, "Goddamnit!"
She ran to grab her phone, dialing Spencer's phone vigorously, praying that with each ring she would pick up, but she didn't, it went to voicemail. She threw her phone down, not knowing what to do at this point. She picked up her phone and dialed Aria's number, her hand shaking.
Aria picked up the phone, "Em?"
Emily was shaking, tears flowing down her face, "Ali, she's missing. I left her upstairs while I was talking to Jason. And, and, now I think he's responsible, because he was sketchy as hell, and now she's gone, and Spencer's not answering, and I can't find her anywhere!"
Aria could barely process all this information, "Emily, calm down, I'll be right over, and then we can try and call Spencer again."
"Aria, what am I gonna do? Should we call the police? I don't want her to get hurt, I don't want the baby to get hurt? What if they're hurting her?" Emily was stuttering now, not even hearing the soothing words Aria was trying to deliver.
"Emily, listen to me, don't call the police." Aria said in a calming voice, "We'll figure this out."
"No offense." Emily snapped out now, "But we're garbage at doing or solving anything, without Spencer, and she's not answering."
Aria was silent for a moment, thinking about their next move. "That's why we're calling in our Plan B."
Emily wiped at her tears, her hand had stopped shaking a little upon hearing the tiny girl's confidence. "Plan B?"
"The next smartest person I know." Aria said, smirking from the other side of the phone, as much as she hated to admit it, she was their best option.
"Mona."
"Mona."
Both girls said the name at once, and Aria disconnected the line, leaving Emily to her thoughts. They were horrible thoughts, all of the worst possible scenarios running through her head. A.D. was horrible, but they wouldn't hurt a pregnant woman, wouldn't hurt an innocent life growing inside her. But yet, the images still flashed through Emily's mind of all she had been put through in the Dollhouse, the extent Charlotte was willing to go, who knew what this person would be capable of?
"I'll find you Ali, I promise."
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Mary asked Spencer, turning to look back at the front door of the Carissimi Group office. She didn't like the looks of the place, something was off about it. Of course, most places looked off to her, considering she had lived in the familiar streets of London for so long.
"It's going to be fine." Spencer reassured the woman, although she wasn't quite sure herself. "We've gone too far to back out now."
Mary nodded, swallowing her fear. "You're right, and extremely brave, another thing you didn't get from me."
Spencer took her mother's hand, "That's ridiculous, you're the bravest person I know." Mary smiled at her, really appreciating the compliment. Spencer looked up at the sign one last time. "Let's not keep Diane waiting."
"Diane's the least menacing thing about this place." Mary said with a shudder after they were finally inside the building. She looked around at the nearly abandoned waiting room, searching for any sign of intelligent life. No one was sitting behind the front desk, nobody sitting in the waiting room chairs.
"Well, I sure do appreciate that." Came the sweet southern accent that both women had recognized over the phone. "And you must be the mother I heard all about."
Alarmed, but still trying to keep her manners, Mary spoke in reply. "Yes, I am."
"Nice to meet you…" Diane stopped mid-sentence, having not obtained Mary's name yet.
"Mary." She answered the unspoken question politely, feeling a little more comfortable in the surrounding area. While she had been distracted in conversation with Diane, Spencer had done a little more surveillance, never sure who or what she could trust. But the place seemed to check out, it appeared normal aside from lack of people.
"Well nice to meet you Mary, and nice to talk to you again, Spencer." The woman said, breaking Spencer out of her thoughts. She extended a hand, and Spencer shook it with a warm smile.
"Why is it so empty in here?" Spencer asked on impulse, realizing it might be rude. "If you don't mind me asking?"
"Well, to be honest, Spencer." Diane began, looking a little upset. "We've been running very low on business lately, ever since one of our benefactor's money was stolen."
Spencer and Mary shot a silent glance at one another, had the woman already figured out about their involvement?
"Yes, I heard about that… it's very unfortunate." Spencer said with a solemn smile. "I only hope you'll be able to figure out who's behind it all, and get the money back."
Diane inspected the two again, as if she was as hesitant about them as they were about her. "Now then, let me lead you to our archive rooms, and we'll see what we can find to help you out."
The woman led Spencer and Mary down a brightly lit hallway, passing multiple offices on the way. Spencer tried to make a mental note of the names in case she might need them later, her tensions still running high. They came to a staircase eventually, with the opposite brightness of the hallway. Diane turned on a flashlight, handing it to Spencer who shone it down the ominous staircase.
"Are you serious? We have to go down there?" Spencer asked, looking from Mary, to Diane, and back down the stairs. She had had a fear of dark, cramped spaces for as long as she could remember.
"I know, our archive room isn't the friendliest looking place, but there's a light switch once we get down there." Diane said, trying to reassure her customers.
Mary looked at Spencer hesitantly, but Spencer ignored her instincts, and made her way down into the stairs, shining the flashlight as far as she could so the other two wouldn't fall. They would go down there, find the papers, and get out, as quickly as possible. Spencer was beginning to think that Mary was right to suggest not coming in here.
As soon as they reached the bottom, Diane flicked on the lights, illuminating a room full of file cabinets. "This is the place." She said proudly, as if showing off her best creation, "It's arranged in alphabetical order, so if you just give me the last name of the person you're looking for…"
Spencer wasn't sure which name Dunhill had gone by for the time being. "The man in question, he was going by a different name at the time, so there's two different possibilities."
"Rollins, was the name he was going by at the time. Dunhill, was his actual name." Mary informed Diane, before she could ask any further questions.
Diane moved to the 'P-T' section of the file cabinets, rummaging through them for a bit before starting conversation to fill the tense silence between them. "You said, 'was,' is this man, departed?" She asked curiously.
Spencer wasn't sure what to respond, "Yes, he is. Sadly departed from our world onto the next." Her strategy was to play a grieving family member, in hopes she might win the sympathy vote. Mary seemed to catch onto her plan, adjusting quickly.
"He was a good man, we were close." Mary added on, sorrow resounding through her words. If there was one thing she knew how to do, it was how to sound sad, she had been doing it all her life.
Apparently this was convincing enough for Diane, who continued to rustle through files. "What was he to y'all? If you don't mind me asking."
Spencer shot a look to Mary, depending on what the woman found in those files, she would find out his age, and possibly other details, so she decided to tell the truth. "He was my brother in-law." She spit out finally, and Mary shot her a smile for her quick thinking. "My sister loved him very much." It pained her to say the words.
"Why isn't she with y'all?" Diane asked again, and Spencer wished the woman would just shut up and find the file.
"She's pregnant, with his baby, and didn't feel up to coming with us today." Mary responded, Alison was pregnant, and never would've come with them, so it wasn't a complete lie
"That's unfortunate, I'd hate to be in her situation. A pregnant widower, how about that?" Diane remarked, hopefully deciding she was done with conversation for now.
Spencer sighed in relief, sitting back against one of the empty desks now. She was done with all of this, she just wanted her proof, and she wanted out of this building. Diane stepped back from the file cabinet now, "It's not under Rollins, so, I'll look under Dunhill."
"Thank you." Mary replied to the woman, seeing that Spencer was at her wits end. If she had to carry this operation, she would.
"So, Spencer and Mary Hastings, huh?" Diane started again, and Spencer moved forward, intent on looking through the file cabinet herself, but Mary pulled her back before she could.
"It's actually more complicated than that." Mary explained with a smile. "She's my biological daughter, and she was adopted, but we found our way back to each other."
Spencer smiled at Mary, admiring that the woman could find kind words towards her in the moment. Mary hadn't given herself enough credit when she said she didn't work well under pressure, Spencer saw that the words flowed out of her in the right moment.
"Now ain't that the sweetest? You two reunited again, after all this time." The woman's smile still never falling from her face. She stopped shuffling through the files when she reached the last name. "Dunhill," She remarked aloud, pulling out the document.
Spencer's eyes lit up, surging forward out of Mary's grasp to survey the file in the woman's hand, her mother close behind her.
"Now hold on." Diane said with a tiny chuckle, "You don't have to bite my hand off, you can have the file." The woman handed Spencer the manila folder, no doubt holding the proof they needed to prove Mary's innocence.
Mary's breath hitched, moving forward to stand next to her daughter, knowing her fate was in the words on this piece of paper. She had never felt more anxious in her life, "Open it." She shook out.
Spencer closed her eyes, not thinking she could trust herself to handle the precious document, her hands shaking. "You do it." She insisted, shoving the file into her mother's hands. She could barely stand to look at it. They had been through all of this and now she was too nervous to go through with opening the damn thing.
Mary held the document, "I don't think I can."
Spencer rolled her eyes, "You know, we make a good team. But we're both chickens."
Mary knew her daughter was right, "That's the one thing you did inherit from me."
Spencer took the file back, prepared to open it and finally face the truth after all. She held her breath as her fingers slipped over the flap of the folder.
"Spencer, wait." Mary stopped her, grabbing her arm. "No matter what we see in this file, we don't tell anyone about it, until we're safely back at Alison's house."
Spencer nodded, understanding Mary's concern for their safety. "Agreed."
Looking again to her mother for the okay, Spencer finally slipped open the folder, pulling the piece of paper out. Mary inched in closer to see what the paper read, more importantly, what the signature on the bottom read.
Spencer read the signature, and gasped out, not believing her eyes. "I can't… I can't believe?" She turned around, shock taking over her senses, eager to see what state Mary was in.
To her surprise, her mother wasn't standing behind her anymore. Her instincts kicked in, and she began to panic, the lights flickering in the downstairs archive room. The signature on the papers, now forgotten to her as she looked around frantically for Mary.
"Mom?" Spencer shouted out into the surrounding room that looked more and more like a cold prison the longer she stood in it. "Mary?" She yelled louder, more desperate this time.
She knew she should've listened to her mother, listened to her instincts, as she felt the barrel of a gun, cold against the back of her head. She put her hands up, trying to save her own life.
"I'm sorry Spencer, I really am." Came Diane's southern accent from behind her. It sounded more cold, and harsh, than it had before when it was sweet, and soft.
"So what are you going to do with me now? Kill me, like you did Mary?" Spencer yelled out, pissed that her life was about to end like this. "I can't believe I dealt with your bullshit small talk, in this dirty basement, only to die down here?"
The woman sighed, her hand not wavering, the gun remaining still against her head. "I had to, she blackmailed me." She whispered softly, as if to not be overheard.
Spencer heard her, however, "Who? Who blackmailed you? Who's she?"
"My orders were to hand you over to her, nothing else." Diane said louder now, and Spencer felt the gun removed from the back of her head, before feeling it come cracking down onto her skull. "That, was for the, 'bullshit small talk' comment." A sharp pain took over Spencer's senses, her ears ringing, and vision blurring, as the world faded to darkness.