It had been six years since Spencer Hastings had left her hometown, and all that went with it. Six years that she had left for college. Of course, she had come back a few times - for the Holidays, mainly. But it was never the same. And it was always for a very short period of time : she could only stay with her family for so long.
But this time, this time she was coming back for three whole months - which, in her head at least - seemed like forever.
Of course, she was happy and eager to see the people there: her friends mainly - even if they kept in touch, it's never the same through the screen of a phone - but she did not look forward to going back in the town where everything happened.
She needed to, though. At first, she thought she could come up with an excuse so as to avoid all of this, just like she managed to do every time. However, for once, too many things came up at the same time for her to turn it down.
The first thing came up around seven months ago, when her friend Hanna called her to tell her she was two months-pregnant and absolutely wanted her to be around for when she'd be having the baby: in February. In September, it was Emily who called her to tell her she and Alison had finally saved a date for their wedding in March and that, as one of the Bridesmaid, she absolutely needed to be there. If she wasn't convinced already, it was Aria who called her up in December, begging her to come back for a while for her child's (who also happened to be Spencer's goddaughter) 2nd birthday.
So maybe it was guilt of not being there for major moments of their lives, or maybe not wanting to talk to them, of maybe just because she missed her friends so much; the point is she finally agreed to come back to Rosewood, and since she never did things halfway: she even managed to get a contract in Philadelphia for the time she'd be there; which meant she was bound to spend three months in the city she was so reluctant to go back to.
And even if she was not the kind to let her emotions be shown, even if she had prepared herself for a while now, and even if she had spent last night on the phone with Hanna - and then, genuinely thought she wanted to be there - now that she was on the plane to get there, getting closer and closer, Spencer Hastings could finally admit: she was freaking out.
The plan was: Alison would come pick her up at the airport - because Hanna was way too pregnant to drive all the way to Philadelphia, Aria was taking care of little Arthur, and Emily was working all day. Then, she'd drive her to Rosewood, where she'd directly go home and get all of her stuff into the barn - where she'd be staying. And tonight, she'd go at Emily's and Ali's, who had prepared a little get-together for her return. That was the plan. But shouldn't she know by now that nothing ever works according to plans?
She landed 20 minutes late. Which, she thought, wasn't so bad because she did not expect Alison to be on time anyway. But when arriving upon Baggage Claim, and waiting and waiting for her suitcase to arrive, it never did. After about 40 minutes of waiting - and all luggage and passengers gone - Spencer cursed and made her way to the Front Office, where a lady that was clearly annoyed explained to her that somehow, her luggage had been boarding into another plane and that she should to have it in two days from now. Of course.
She decided to try and stay calm and took out her phone - which she did not even think to check in the mean time - and she was now convinced she had at least five missed calls from Alison who'd be either really pissed, or really worried. But when turning on her phone, there was nothing. And when she called her to ask if she was there, Alison did not answer. Of course.
So her new plan by now was to call Emily. She was really unsure about her picking her up, but she decided to try anyhow. When she finally did, after five rings, she seemed to be in a rush:
« Spencer? Everything okay? »
She tried her best to stay calm and polite to her friend who, she knew very well, didn't have anything to do with all that had happened.
« Hey Em, yeah I'm at the airport and Ali's not there. Do you know if she was still planning on coming and get me? »
« Yeah, yeah she should be there. Are you sure she's not? I though you guys were in Rosewood already ! Wasn't she supposed to get you like an hour ago? »
« Well, yeah, she was, but then my flight got delayed and the Aircraft company has lost my luggage so I'm only getting out now. Anyway, she's not there »
« Oh no.. » Emily seemed really bothered by now « Look, maybe I can try and call a friend, and… »
« No, Hanna's not really able to drive here and Aria was busy. It's fine, don't worry »
« What about your parents? Or maybe I could ask my mom.. »
« Em, really it's okay, I'll just take a cab, and.. »
« Oh I know ! I think Toby's in Philly today, I'll call him and get him to.. »
« Em, I'm getting in a cab literally right now okay? Don't bother ! I'll see you tonight, bye! »
And like that, she hung up. Okay, so she might have lied a little, saying she was getting on a cab, but there was no way she was letting Toby Cavanaugh drive her back to town right now. They might still be friends - or at least friendly - but she did not want to bother him like that after almost five years of not talking to each other. She'd take a cab to go home.
Or so she thought. Turns out, the traffic in Philly at this hour was just insane. She sighed and decided she'd take a train to go back to Rosewood, and it's only once she was seated that she knew maybe - just maybe - coming back was not that good of an idea. She was not ready for all the Rosewood drama.