Thanks for the great feedback last chapter. You guys are awesome. Apologies for all the shattered hearts, but to be fair I did warn you. You all knew what you were getting yourselves into. :p
Runawaybaby555 - I hope that helped repair your Sparia heart a little... or was it even more sad because then they could maybe have had a future if fate hadn't intervened? ;)
ihavealifeiswear - if you've finished sobbing now, hope you enjoy the next chapter. It's not TOO sad, I hope.
Sgdp1261 - tragedy is pretty heavy, so occasionally I do like to throw in something to lighten the mood a bit. Buuut, now we're back to the sadness.
insertnameherex - I'm glad I'm converting you to being a tragedy-lover. Chances are I'll be writing a lot more of it in the future, so maybe I'll see you in some of my other stories later on. As for my age, I'm curious as to what you guys all think. So review with your guesses and I MAY tell you if you're right. ;)
KooshGID - thanks for the review, as always. You're always so lovely and I really appreciate your words.
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February 14th
McDonald is on his fifth cup of coffee. By now he's so tired that he's even putting up with the vending machine stuff. Hanna and Emily are both sipping their own coffee, but he has a feeling it's more to give them something to do than because they want the caffeine hit. If he were in their place he wouldn't want to be awake.
Hanna takes a sip of her coffee, then wraps her hands around it to warm them up. "We tried to help," she says. "After… the funeral was hard. She wouldn't leave her bed for days."
"We weren't sure she wanted us there," Emily adds, setting her coffee aside and giving it a look of displeasure. "But we didn't want her to be alone."
He nods, encouraging them to go on. The tears have stopped and although they both still look absolutely haggard, they seem calmer. They keep leaning against each other for support, both literally and metaphorically. They'd been holding hands a few moments ago, and when the coffee had come Emily rested her hand on Hanna's shoulder, as if worried that if she wasn't touching her, the other girl would be torn away from her too. They'd already lost two friends, and they were doing everything they could not to lose each other. He wonders if there's something more between them, but doesn't ask; it's none of his business.
"She kept pushing us away. And we understood why, but… it still hurt," Hanna says. "We finally got her to agree to leave the house. We didn't want her to be alone on Valentine's day, not when… you know, she was alone."
"There was this party," Emily goes on. "Hanna and I were going together – it's our first Valentine's Day as a couple - but we didn't want to leave Spencer by herself. Eventually she agreed to come with us, but she was only going to stay for an hour or so."
"It was a start, right?" Hanna seems unsure, like she's hoping he'll tell her that they did the right thing, that this isn't their fault.
"So she came to the party with you," McDonald says, making a note in his book. And so there is something between the girls. They're heading towards the conclusion of the story, and now he might be able to piece together what happened tonight. Or rather, how it happened. He knows what Spencer did, and he knows why, where, and when. All that's missing is the how. "What happened then?"
"She didn't stay long. We tried to make her feel welcome, even though she didn't know most of the people," Hanna says. "I lost track of her for a bit. I don't know where she went…"
"She came back looking really upset though," Emily adds. "I mean, I guess it was the whole Valentine's Day thing. We probably shouldn't have brought her."
She gives the impression that she'd cry if she wasn't so tired. Instead she just stares at her hands, and he wonders if she's counting her sins or her shortcomings. That's what he'd be doing in her position. But he knows this isn't her fault. Hanna seems to understand this as well, because she leans her head on Emily's shoulder and rests her hand on her friend's. Emily appreciates the gesture of comfort, but it doesn't seem to do much to ease her guilt.
"What did you do once you found her again?"
"She said she wasn't feeling well and that she was going home," Hanna responds slowly, not looking at him. She's looking at their hands, at the way Emily's fingers fit neatly between hers. "We offered to taker her – we didn't want her to be alone. But she said she'd be fine."
"I knew we shouldn't have let her go," Emily bursts out, as if she could have somehow prevented this.
"You didn't know," he says comfortingly. Emily quietens, but she'd still close to tears. He decides it's best to do this quickly, like ripping off a bandaid. "So she left after that?"
"Yeah," Hanna says, and Emily nods.
"But you girls were with her when she…" He doesn't want to say it, but he knows it's best to be explicit at this point. "… when she murdered Mason Winters. How did you end up there?"
"She said she'd call when she got home, but she didn't," Hanna says. "We waited for about twenty minutes, but she didn't call. We were worried something was wrong, so we called her. When she answered she told us where she was, at the diner across from the gas station. She said she was okay, that she was just having some dinner and trying to clear her head, but we were still concerned. So we went over there."
"And what did you see when you arrived?"
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Suspenseeee. Don't worry, the next chapter will be up tomorrow. :)