CHAPTER 26: Distance Hurts

ARIA'S POV:

"Hey, do you need this?" Spencer asked as she held up a bag of popcorn.

"No, my mom bought popcorn yesterday." I responded.

The two of us were shopping for the get-together we would be having soon for Christmas. I was going to go by myself, but decided it would be more fun to have a friend, and Melissa insisted that Spencer get out of the house. I knew she was feeling pretty down, considering her attempts to see Emily had gone badly.

Emily's mom had even finally insisted that Spencer call her before she drove over so that she could talk to Emily first and save Spencer the trouble. So far nothing had changed, and Spencer was suffering from it.

I sighed, and Spencer cocked her head.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking about this past week." I replied.

"Oh. Well, don't worry about it. I'm sure Emily will talk to me eventually." Spencer spoke of hope, but her eyes were dark and sorrowful.

"I know. I just don't understand why it's taken her so long to build up the courage. It's odd. Unlike her." I wondered.

"I don't know. Hey, didn't you need this?" Spencer grabbed a jar of salted peanuts.

"Ooh! Yes! Those are my favorite." I smiled, growing excited for the get-together.

Spencer placed the bottle in the cart, and continued walking forward. I followed her, glancing around as we walked, keeping an eye out for items on our list.

Once we were done, I grabbed all the items and placed them into the trunk. Spencer was sitting in the passenger seat, waiting for me. She wanted to help, but I had noticed her cough had gotten worse, and insisted that I was fine considering we had only a few things.

When I finished, I walked up to the door and hopped into the car.

"Thanks for letting me go shopping with you." Spencer smiled, and I could tell she was just as happy as I was to be doing something with her friend.

"Of course!" I laughed. The roads were covered in snow that had fallen the night before, and everything was clean and crisp. Spencer stared out the window, coughing every thirty seconds.

"Spence, are you okay?" I asked. "You don't sound like you're feeling well."

"Oh no I'm fine, my throat's just a bit dry." She replied, but I didn't think she was being honest.

"If you insist." I pulled into my driveway and we walked into my house. My parents were gone, and Mike was in his room watching something.

"Why don't you go sit on the couch. I'll put these in the kitchen and we can watch a movie or talk or something." I suggested.

Spencer nodded and walked over to our living room. I walked into the kitchen and put the groceries away. I could hear Spencer's cough from the other room, and I was worried that she was coming down with something. She had spent who knows how much time in those woods in her pajamas, I would have been surprised if she hadn't gotten sick.

I grabbed the cough syrup and walked back into the family room. Spencer eyed me suspiciously before rolling her eyes.

"I'm fine Aria." She sighed irritably.

"Oh come on, just take it! I'll feel better if you do." I insisted. She rolled her eyes again and gulped down the liquid.

"That stuff is disgusting." She made a face at me and coughed again.

"Yeah, well it helps." I set the bottle down on the coffee table and sat next to Spencer. I flipped a movie on, but after twenty minutes or so we weren't into it.

"Hey Aria?" Spencer turned and looked at me.

"Yeah?"

"Why….why do you think Emily is avoiding me?" She asked, sorrow filling her eyes.

"Oh Spence, I'm sure she's not avoiding you she's-" Spencer shot me a look.

"Okay, maybe she's avoiding you. I guess she just needs some time. I mean, this is a touchy situation for her. Remember Allison?" I reminded her.

"I guess. But you'd think she'd at least tell me she wasn't interested by now instead of hiding in her room." Spencer sighed and closed her eyes.

"You're right. She's acting pretty strange. Would you like me to try and talk to her?" I suggested.

"Oh no, that's okay. But thanks Aria, you're the best." Spencer smiled and scooted closer to me.

"I wish I could help more though." I admitted. "I feel so helpless sitting here, watching you guys fight. I know Hanna talked to Emily when she left your house, but other than that she hasn't really been speaking to any of us."

"I don't know. I guess I'm not important enough to her." Spencer snapped.

"Spencer, don't say things like that!" I scolded her. She rolled her eyes.

"Come on Aria, if I really meant anything to her, she would have made the effort. I'm sick of waiting for her to talk to me." Spencer replied coldly.

"Stop it! You guys are perfect for each other, she's just having a hard time accepting that." I tried reasoning with the upset girl, but she wasn't really listening.

"If she's having such a hard time then why did she kiss me."

I fell silent. Spencer had a point, and I couldn't argue. Man, I hated it when she was right. Curse that lawyer blood that runs in her…

"Sorry Aria. I didn't mean to get all personal, I was just upset about it." Spencer apologized.

"Oh don't apologize! You're fine, besides, this is a good way for you to speak your feelings." I reminded her.

"Whatever. I think I'm going to head home before the weather gets worse." Spencer got up to leave, and I followed her to the door. The sky was dark, and it looked like a storm was on the way.

"Okay. Thanks for shopping with me Spence!" I gave the tall girl a tight hug. "And get some sleep! Before you get even more sick!" I yelled to her as she was getting in her car. She flashed me a thumbs up, and pulled away.

"That girl is so stubborn sometimes…" I groaned as I pulled out my phone. It was time to give Emily a call.

SPENCER'S POV:

I got home earlier than I thought I would, and made my way to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Melissa was sitting on the couch, watching the weather forecast.

"Hey Spence." She called from the couch. I grabbed an apple and sat next to her.

"Are mom and dad home?" I asked.

"No, they were supposed to get home today, but the weather is getting so bad they were worried they'd get stuck. They really wanted to be here for you though. I told them about what happened and they were really upset they weren't here to help you." She explained.

"Okay." I felt happy that my parents cared about me, they cared more than I would have thought, judging their attitudes and lack of presence.

"Do you have plans for the rest of the day?" Melissa turned to me. "Are you going to try Emily again?"

I laughed coldly, causing Melissa to gain a confused and worried look.

"No. I'm so done with her. I guess it just wasn't meant to be." I snapped coldly.

"Spencer-"

"No, it's okay. I'm over it. If I really mattered to her she would have said something earlier, and not waited so long." I scoffed.

"I get that you're upset, but it's only been four days." Melissa reminded me.

"Four days of constant attempts to contact her. She didn't even shoot me a text message. I just figured, in matters as serious as this, you'd think she'd respond a bit faster. If it was important to her of course, which it obviously isn't." I growled.

"I don't know what to say Spencer." Melissa admitted. I coughed into my elbow for the third time in that minute, wincing as my throat burned.

"Spencer, are you okay? Do you need to go to the doctor?" Melissa asked calmly.

"No I'm fine, just a dry throat. The weather's been bothering me all day." I lied. I wasn't in the mood to see a doctor, and my throat was actually feeling better than it did earlier. Must have been that disgusting medicine.

"Okay, well why don't you get some sleep. I'll wake you up if anything changes with Mom and Dad." Melissa smiled.

"Alright." I didn't want to refuse sleep, it sounded so good at the moment. I yawned, and headed upstairs, yearning for the comfort of my bed.

ARIA'S POV:

"Yes?" Emily sounded irritated.

"Emily?" I asked, not expecting her to answer my call. "Are you okay? Why haven't you called me back? Or talked to Spencer?" I bombarded.

"Aria, calm down. Yes I'm fine. I haven't felt like talking, and Spencer…I don't know." She rambled off.

"Emily, I understand you are probably feeling guilty with what you did, but I can't just sit here while the two of you grow further apart." I rambled.

"Oh come on, it's not that dramatic. It's only been two days." Emily sighed.

"Two? Try four!" I reminded her.

"Four? Really? I guess I've lost track of time." Emily admitted.

"Yeah Emily, but you've lost more than that." I scowled.

"What do you mean?" Emily's voice rose in pitch.

"Spencer! I talked to her today, and she was really upset. I mean it Emily, I know you're trying to give her space, but turning her down is only hurting her more."

"I'm sure she wasn't that upset." Emily laughed. "This is Spencer we're talking about."

"Yeah?" I questioned. "The same Spencer we've seen the past few weeks?"

Emily fell silent.

"She's going through a tough time right now, and you're just making things worse! She's been trying to reach you, because she finally built up the courage to tell you her feelings, but every time you turned her away! You have got to make things up to her." I scolded Emily.

"Gosh, I didn't think of it like that. I was just so scared she as going to yell at me, I didn't even want to risk the chance." Emily sighed.

"I'll go talk to her."

'Really?" I was surprised. "I mean, that's a good idea but the weather's getting really bad."

"This is more important right now. I can't believe I didn't realize that sooner. God I hope she doesn't hate me."

"I'm sure she doesn't hate you Emily." I sighed. "Good luck though." Considering Spencer's earlier attitude, I knew Emily would need just as much luck as Spencer.

"Thanks. See ya." Emily hung up, and I closed my eyes. I hoped to god that these girls would figure it out, or who knows what could happen.