Chapter 26:

Will the Real Jenna Marshall Please Step Forward?

"Spencer, what the hell are we doing here? This place is giving me the heebie-jeebies. And could you have picked a scarier time to go? Seriously, this is like…Radley Witching Hour."

"Aria, shut up, please." Spencer growled under hear breath as the two made their way down the hall towards Jenna's room. They had walked up all nine flights of stairs to make it there, and the entire time, Aria had held Spencer's arm in a death grip, clinging to her side as if the walls would suddenly melt away and the crazy residents would be unleashed to eat their faces off like zombies.

Needless to say, Spencer probably shouldn't have talked Aria into watching Night of the Living Dead two nights previous…

Although visiting hours were long over, Will had promised Spencer that he had talked it over with the board and permitted her to see Jenna whenever she saw fit, whether it be in the middle of the day or the dead of night – as long as Jenna was okay with it.

The woman behind the front counter had informed Spencer and Aria that Jenna hadn't been very conversational for the past few days, and the only time she spoke a word was for the nurses when they gave her her medication. It made Spencer's blood run cold and Goosebumps rose on her skin. Was there some way that Jenna had known of the accident? Did she know it was going to happen? Is that what she was inferring?

She hoped to find out the answers tonight.

Fiddling with the key the nurse had given her, Spencer unlocked the door and gently turned the handle, cautious of Jenna being on the other end. Aria clenched down harder on her arm, her acrylic nails sinking into her skin like shark teeth. Spencer cursed under her breath and pushed the door further open, taking a deep breath before making her way inside.

The other side of the door was like a dark whole – pitch black. If Spencer would have closed the door behind her, she doubted that she would be able to see her hand in front of her face.

"Jenna?" Spencer called into the room.

Silence.

"Jenna?" Spencer took a cautious step forward.

Still nothing.

"Jen –?"

"Oh for the love of God…" Aria mumbled behind her, and then tromped forward, pushing Spencer out of the way, "Yo – bitch! Come out of hibernation, we're here to talk to you." She said sternly and reached around for a light.

Suddenly, a single candle flickered to life in the far corner of the room, illuminating the small crevice. Spencer could make out Jenna's wiry hand grasping the candlestick, and the flame shed light on her face, elucidating her features just enough so that she could see her, but still casting dark shadows along her cheekbones and beneath her eyes.

She looked terrible. Like the Ghost of Radley's past.

Or maybe just the ghost of her former self.

Sure, Jenna had always been built tiny, but the subtle curves of her body had flattened down, and now her frame stuck out in awkward points, her bones nearly visible through her skin. Her shallow face projected the image of a skeleton, and Spencer guessed that it had been days since she had last eaten. She was curled up in a ball in the same chair she had sat in when Spencer and Toby had last came to visit her, and she was all but swallowed up by a large, wool blanket.

"You rang?" She asked, her voice dry and sober.

"Jenna?" Spencer asked slowly, taking a step towards her.

Jenna raised her eyebrows, as if expecting her to go on.

"Uhm, sorry we're here so late, but we came to talk to you." Spencer said, struggling to keep calm. The whole thing was like a setting for a horror movie. The once-scared Aria now flopped easily on Jenna's bed, tucking her feet under her, as if she were right in her own home.

Spencer cleared her throat and turned back to Jenna.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Jenna asked, calmly, yet guarded. Her voice was as cynical as ever, but it felt as though her bitterness was directed towards something else.

"Oh, like you don't know!" Aria cried, exasperated.

"I didn't ask you, who said you could sit on my bed and, for the record, I actually don't know." Jenna shot at Aria, her tone now very, very harsh.

Aria shut up, looking to the other side of the dimly lit room, but staying right where she was on Jenna's bed.

Spencer took a deep breath. "Why are there four very angry men in a gang that want you dead?" She asked bluntly, refusing to beat around the bush.

Jenna looked up, surprised. She met eyes with Spencer, who stared back with a level gaze, arching an eyebrow.

"How do you know about them?" Jenna asked after a moment, her voice quiet and a bit shaky.

"Because last week I was cornered in an alleyway, wearing your jacket, and nearly died on the spot because they thought I was you."

Jenna didn't answer. She looked away, appearing to be ashamed.

"Jenna?"

Nothing.

"Jenna, why are they so mad? If they were willing to do to you what they did to me…then well, you must have done some pretty low stuff. That sob story you told us about Garrett probably wasn't even true, was it? You just made that up so we'd feel sorry for you. Are they the reason you tried to hurt yourself?"

No answer.

"Jenna! Answer me!"

Silence.

"Jenna!"

"Well, what am I supposed to say?!" Jenna spat back, her voice now loud and clear. "That Mitch and I were in serious trouble? That we were on the FBI's wanted list for selling illegal drugs? That we were so dirt poor and couldn't pay any bills and were kicked out of our apartment and that was the only way? Because it was! We were in so much trouble, Spencer! Like, you have no idea! I went to bed every night terrified of what would happen. I would wake up every day at dawn and have to move with Mitch somewhere else to avoid being spotted by the cops. We went to a new town every morning. And we'd have to disguise ourselves before even going into any restaurant or shop. It was living on the Lamb like no other.

"But then we met up with Asher. He was Mitch's older brother. He had been part of the drug deal originally, and had helped coordinate with Mitch to smuggle them into the country. He and his cronies – the rest of the gang. He told us that we would be all right, and that he had arranged a place to stay for us in hiding in California. He was set to meet us there the weekend before I returned to Rosewood. One night, when we were in Baker's Field, a few days before we were supposed to meet Asher, Mitch hatched a plan. He wanted to turn Asher and the rest of the gang over to the cops to clear our name. At first, I fought him on it. I didn't like the idea of someone else taking all the blame for it. I had only met Asher a few times, but I wasn't willing to do that to anyone, let alone my boyfriend's own brother. But then he reminded me of what our lives would be like if we went through with Asher's deal: always living in hiding, always in silence, not a friend in the world.

"So I agreed. The next morning, we went to the nearest police station and told the cops the story – well, our made-up version. Two days later, while on their way to California, Asher and his gang were spotted and taken to jail. They spent about a month in the slammer before they could get someone to bail them out. I'd moved out of Mitch's and returned to Rosewood soon after their arrest. Mitch and I were never able to get along after it. We blamed each other for the drug deal, saying that it was each others' fault. The last I'd heard of the gang, they were on parole, but by then, I was already living with Jason. I thought it was all over. My name was cleared, right? I could go on with my life again. Try to forget.

"Just when I started to get comfortable, I got a phone call late one night. It was Asher; he only spoke for a moment, but he said that he knew where I was, and that he would find me. He said that he had already killed Mitch in secret and was now planning his revenge on me.

"And that…that's when I knew there was no way out. I didn't call Garrett that night; I'm not even sure he was home. But after my attempt to…make the pain go away, when I woke up in the hospital and heard I was going to Radley…I was scared, but…at the same time, I felt like at least it was a place that I could be safe.

"And then you and Toby came to talk to me about what happened and…I knew I couldn't tell you the truth. Not only is it hard to talk about, but I couldn't risk anyone else finding out about it. Especially not Asher."

Spencer shook her head in awe, "Why didn't you just turn yourself in? Give up?"

Jenna shook her head vigorously. "I couldn't." Her voice broke on the last word. She swallowed a lump in her throat and tried to control the oncoming tears. "I was scared and…I didn't know what to do. Mitch was very thorough with his instructions; I knew that if I disobeyed him…he'd leave me on my own to deal with the cops."

"Yeah, well, because of you, Spencer got seriously hurt." Aria said, her voice cold.

"Why would they think you were me?"

"They were drunk. And I was in your jacket. Which reminds me," Spencer reached into her messenger bag. "Here." She tossed Jenna's jacket into her lap. "I hope there's not too much of my blood on it." She said cynically.

Jenna looked down at the jacket and then back up at Spencer.

"I thought I knew you better than that, Jenna. I thought you were better than that…" Spencer said slowly, shaking her head. "You think you know people. And then they go and surprise you."

Spencer crossed the room in haste, grasping the arm of Jenna's chair and leaning into her face. She made sure that her hair fell to one side, revealing the white line of scar tissue that inched its way over her ear and disappeared into her hairline behind her head. Jenna stayed frozen, trying to stay in control of her composure. "But just so we're clear, Jenna…" She said, her voice low, "You owe me. You may not have known it was happening, but I took a major blow for you. And I'm not saying now, but one day, I'm going to come and collect. I promise you." Said Spencer, the whole time keeping her gaze even with Jenna's.

With that last word, Spencer pulled back and blew out the candle.

"It's beautiful. Samara will love it." Toby confirmed.

"Thank you." Emily smiled triumphantly. "I did go to like a billion stores to get it in this color, but I think it'll off-set her eyes quite nicely."

Toby nodded, handing the pale blue scarf back to his best friend. After Spencer had left for her mysterious chocolate run, Toby had called up Emily – who hadn't gone to bed early since her freshman year of high school – and asked her to come over and finish wrapping last-minute presents with him for the Christmas gathering the following day.

"Are you all ready for tomorrow?" Emily inquired. The two sat on the floor of Toby's living room, surrounded by a sea of wrapped gifts, tissue paper, bags, and bows. The decorated tree stood salutatory in the corner.

"As I'll ever be." Toby grinned. His eyes wandered to the wrapped gift beneath the tree – the one in shiny gold paper, standing out amid the other presents.

"I'm excited for you." Emily smiled back. "It's been well worth the wait."

"I'm doing the right thing, right?"

"Absolutely. You're taking a chance on love – what's more right than that?"

"Very true." Toby agreed. He stuck a bow on the top of the present he had wrapped for Hanna – a new pair of boots that Spencer had picked out from Macy's. "You know, I'm actually getting the hang of this wrapping thing." He chuckled as he set the gift beneath the tree.

"Oh please." Emily teased, "It still looks like a Martha-Stewart-Epilepsy-Fit."

"Gee, thanks, Em. Your words are always so poetic." Toby rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I try." She shrugged. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing? With this beta-test relationship thing I have going on with Samara?"

"Of course. You're taking a chance on love. What's more right than that?" Toby winked.

"Okay, Robert Frost, your poetic language only does you good if you think of it yourself…"

"Well, hey, it's true! I think it's great that you and Samara are taking it slow; it'll work out better in the long run since you're so far apart most of the year."

"Yeah, don't remind me…" Emily replied under her breath.

"…But that'll all be changing soon." Toby gave her a knowing look and reached over to nudge her shoulder.

"I can't wait to tell everyone tomorrow." Emily gave a serene smile, and let out a soft breath before returning to her gift. "Alright. That's the last of mine. I should probably get going – I don't want bags under my eyes for the party tomorrow."

"Yeah, I should probably get some shut-eye, too. I hope Spencer gets here soon – it's not like her to be out so late."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Knowing her, she probably got sidetracked and ended up at Hanna's. Ten bucks says that they're on her couch watching Bridesmaids right now." Emily got to her feet, and Toby followed suit.

He chuckled. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll give her a call after you leave."

"Sounds good. I'll leave my gifts here for tomorrow. G'night." Emily smiled and waved goodbye as she made her way through the door. "Oh, and Toby?" She said.

Toby looked up at her as he reached to pick up the last scraps of leftover wrapping paper, "Yeah?"

"'My love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.'" She quoted perfectly. "I think you know who it's by."

Toby chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I do."

"You both are infinite, Toby. Your love is infinite. Always remember that." And with a wink, the dark-haired mermaid disappeared out the door and into the frosty night, leaving Toby alone, laughing to himself and picking up the rest of the paper.