Just a few minutes later Emily was seated in the Vanderwaals impeccably clean living room. There was a tea set on the table and Mrs. Vanderwaal was busy preparing herself a cup. Emily and Mr. Vanderwaal had both turned down her offer. Emily was too nervous to drink anything and Mr. Vanderwaal looked slightly freaked out, as if he were afraid of what was going to happen.
The house was silent except for the sounds of Mrs. Vanderwaal's spoon clinking gently against the sides of her little china cup as she stirred sugar into her tea. Emily looked at her and took in her perfectly groomed appearance, and could tell she was a strict mother. Emily had always thought that Spencer's family was the definition of uptight, but from what she had seen so far, they were loose compared to Mona's Aria's family probably appalled Mrs. Vanderwaal, who appeared to be the one in charge. Mr. Vanderwaal seemed to be a little afraid of his wife.
Mrs. Vanderwaal finally looked up at Emily and took a sip of her tea. "So Emily, what did you want to talk to us about?"
Wasn't it obvious? Why else would she be here? When she first set foot inside the house she had had no idea what she was going to say, but when she opened her mouth now words fell out. Words she hadn't exactly meant to say, but it was a question that had to be asked.
"Why do you want to kill your daughter?" she asked bluntly.
Mr. Vanderwaal swallowed.
Mrs. Vanderwaal set her tea down, her face showing no changes. "Emily, we've already explained this to you and your friends. I know it might be hard for someone of your age to understand the situation, but she's been in a coma for a month now. We just don't think she's going to come out of it."
"We do." Emily argued.
"Emily, you're only eighteen." Mrs. Vanderwaal stated. "You can't possibly understand what's going on."
"Mrs. Vanderwaal," Emily said firmly, her voice not wavering a bit. "We understand a lot more than you give us credit for. We've all had to deal with things no teenager should ever even have to think about. Family problems, Ali's disappearance, Ali's funeral, everything Ali put us through when she was still here. We were stalked and bullied by your daughter for a year. She hit Hanna with a car. She tortured us and put us through hell. I killed someone. Trust me, we understand the situation."
"That's what I don't understand." Mrs. Vanderwaal said. "I think it's wonderful that you girls were able to forgive Mona for everything she put you through, but I don't understand how you could have forgiven her."
Emily paused and took a breath before she answered. "I can't really explain that, but I promise you it wasn't easy. We've forgiven her, but we haven't all been able to get over it. I don't think we ever will, but what's the use in living in the past? What would we accomplish if we continued hating Mona? It's a pointless waste of energy."
She didn't mention that they had been forced to work things out with Mona by the new, seemingly much more vicious A.
Mrs. Vanderwaal folded her hands in her lap and looked at Emily with a steady gaze. "Why don't you explain why you don't want us to sign the DNR?"
Emily gaped at her for a moment, slightly baffled by the request. Finally she was able to think again and chose her words carefully. "First of all, she's our friend and we care about her. And we all think she's going to pull through if we give her some more time."
"Why?" Mrs. Vanderwaal asked.
"This may sound weird, and I don't know about the others, but I feel like she's trying to come back." Emily said, not exactly sure how to explain. "She's squeezed my hand, and I know that happens with coma patients, but this wasn't just a muscle spasm or something. I could feel that she isn't ready to give up. It's not her style. She's a fighter and you have to give her a chance to fight."
Suddenly Mr. Vanderwaal excused himself from the room and Mrs. Vanderwaal looked fearful.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked.
"Emily, I promise you we love our daughter." Mrs. Vanderwaal said as she rose and ushered Emily toward the front door. "But you have to let us handle this in the way we see fit. We aren't playing a game."
Before she could reply Mrs. Vanderwaal had rudely shoved her out of the house and shut the door in her face. She stood there for a moment, staring at the door, unsure of what had just happened. She considered busting back in and begging them to change their minds and suddenly realization hit her.
We aren't playing a game.
That last sentence hadn't made any sense when Mrs. Vanderwaal had said it, but now Emily couldn't help but think it might be some kind of hint or message. They weren't playing A game. They didn't want to sign the DNR and end Mona's life. A had something on them or simply wanted Mona dead and was using her parents to do it. It wasn't their choice at all. They were afraid of what A might do to them or to Mona if she came out of the coma!