Wow, thanks for the great response last chapter. Your reviews are what keeps me writing, so thank you.
insertnameherex - quoting Spencer, I like it. I actually sort of had that quote in mind when writing this chapter. Great minds think alike. ;)
Shaynezo - always great to see your name in the reviews section. Apologies for shattering your heart (is it bad I'm a little bit proud of that though?).
Sgdp1261 - is it weird that I started smiling when you said you cried? I mean normally that's a bad thing, but in this context... well, I take it as a compliment. ;) I'm curious about what song you were listening to at the time though.
KooshGID - haha, thank you. I agree that it would be absolutely awful to find someone like that, so I hope I've done a good job conveying how heartbroken Spencer would be after that.
CMR - wow, thank you so much! It means a lot that you'd take the time and go to the effort of reviewing. Your review made me smile a lot; it's great to know that people are enjoying the style/format of the story.
Whew, I have a feeling the A/N is longer than the actual chapter here, sorry! Hope you enjoy it anyway. ;)
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February 14th
"Spencer was the one who found her?" The thought makes McDonald feel slightly sick. But it explains why Spencer is so, well, broken. She'd lost the love of her life less than two weeks ago, and she'd been the one to find her. He can't even imagine what she's going through, and he thinks it's probably better that way.
Hanna nods. "We were all… we're all still grieving. But Spencer…"
"She was devastated." Emily has woken up, and she's looking like she might start crying again. Hanna wraps her arm around her friend and pulls her into a hug.
"I'm… sorry for your loss." He stumbles over the words. They seem inadequate, almost insensitive. These girls hadn't lost Aria; she had been torn from their lives, ripped away from them by inexorable fate. And yet they would blame themselves, because she was their friend and they hadn't been able to save her.
Hanna sniffs, indifferent to his condolences. She's probably heard them a thousand times these past couple of weeks, from people she doesn't know or doesn't care about. None of their words will make a difference – they're not going to bring Aria back. They're not going to turn back time and stop Spencer from ending up at that gas station.
He rubs the bridge of his nose, suddenly very tired. He's unravelling this investigation, just like he's meant to, but he hasn't been presented with a stone-cold criminal with remorseless eyes and a flimsy alibi. Instead he has a scared teenage girl, one who's just lost the love of her life, and who has confessed to murdering a rapist.
"So what happened after.." He starts to say 'Aria's suicide', but by the looks on the girls' faces he knows that's not going to get him anywhere. He needs to phrase things delicately so he doesn't startle or upset them.
"After Aria…" Hanna can't bring herself to say the words either. She looks to Emily, who squeezes her hand in a silent gesture of support, urging her to continue. "After that we… Her parents arranged the funeral. We did a memorial service in Rosewood, with some of her old high school friends."
"It was beautiful," Emily adds softly, and a small, sad smile spreads across her face. He can tell she's replaying the memorial in her mind.
"It was," Hanna agrees. "We had her favorite flowers, and her brother gave this beautiful speech…"
At the thought of Aria's brother the two girls tear up again, and stop talking. McDonald is worried they're going to cry again – he's already offered them tea, how else is he meant to comfort them? – but they seem to steady each other, both girls hanging onto each other like lifelines, and they avert the flood of tears.
"It sounds lovely," he says gently. "How have… how have you two been since Aria's… passing?"
He's trying to be comforting yet professional, but mostly he's just sad. These poor girls have been through so much, and it's not over yet. There's going to be a trial, during which they may be asked to testify. Then there's going to be a verdict, and no matter how that turns out he knows it will be difficult to deal with.
"We've been…" Hanna trails off.
"… dealing," Emil supplies.
He nods. That's all anyone can ever do, really.
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