CHAPTER 10
POVS SPENCER
I get out of bed with a thousand emotions in my body. On the one hand, I was very happy to have found out who Elizabeth was, despite the circumstances. However, everything good about that night had been ruined when Melissa's fiancé, Wren, came over and my sister caught us kissing. I don't feel like going down to breakfast and meeting my family, but I have no other choice.
''Good morning,'' I say once I get to the kitchen where the three of them are having breakfast. The look my sister gives me is hellish and my parents seem to hold back a little, but they look disappointed.
''It will be a good morning for you,'' Melissa tells me bluntly. My parents say good morning little one. Before I sit down to eat, Melissa leaves the kitchen.
''I'm sorry, I…,'' I say to my parents, but I don't know exactly what to tell them.
''Honey, we're not happy with what happened, but it's not entirely your fault either. He is much older than you and he shouldn't have even considered it. Your sister will end up getting it but give her a little time. When you see that she is calmer, try to talk to her,'' my mother tells me. I can't believe that for once she is supporting me too and, on top of that, my father seems to agree with her. Lately they don't stop surprising me.
''Thanks Mom. I'm going to leave since I'm meeting Elizabeth to go somewhere with the other girls,'' I tell them hurriedly. We should already be going with the other girls to the shed.
"Oh, that's great, I'm glad you're spending time with Elizabeth now. I think she needs people to trust more than ever. We have to try to get her to open up to us little by little. I owe it to her mother," my father tells me melancholy.
''Don't worry, dad. From now on we don't plan to leave her alone. We are a team,'' I tell them before going to look for Elizabeth.
I her I'm heading towards Elizabeth's house. I was hoping I wouldn't have to see her grandmother's face, but when I knock on her door she appears with a fake smile.
''Hello, Spencer, what are you doing here?'' she tells me with that fake smile.
''I'm coming to look for Elizabeth. We have agreed to go somewhere. Would you mind calling her, Mr. Hale? Please,'' I also say with my best fake smile. She wouldn't be the only one.
While I wait at the door, I see how Mrs. Hale calls Elizabeth. When she comes down, she has bigger bags under her eyes than mine. She says goodbye to her grandmother with what seems like a brief argument and comes running to the door. She would surely want to free herself from her grandmother quickly.
POVS ELIZABETH
I quickly walk away from my grandmother and go to where Spencer is. I refuse to have any arguments with my grandmother today. I slept badly after A's message last night. Plus, I've had nightmares about the accident again, sure I had to remember everything again.
''Good morning, sorry you had to meet my grandmother alone,'' I say, a little ashamed of my grandmother's attitude. She then she says that I embarrass her.
''It doesn't matter, with me she puts on a fake smile and that's it. She can't look bad in front of a Hastings. I'm more sorry for you that you have to put up with it every day,'' Spencer tells me. She is very right. It's unbearable to have to see her every day. University come to me.
''Well, let's go to my car to go to the forest, we're a little late now. Do you think so?'' Just when Spencer tells me that, I am paralyzed.
"What's wrong with you? Any problem?" Spencer asks me worried.
''I... it's been a long time since... I haven't gotten into a car. I've only done it twice since the accident happened and they haven't exactly been very pleasant trips,'' I tell her without wanting to look at her directly because I was embarrassed.
''Hey, it's okay, it's normal for that to happen to you after what happened to you. You don't have to be ashamed of those things in front of me,'' she tells me in a very calm and low voice, trying to make me relax.
''Look, let's do something. Let's get in the car and I'm going to go slowly. If you feel bad, we stop and if necessary, we walk, even if it is a little far, it doesn't hurt me to do a little sport,'' she tells me, laughing, this last bit.
"Well, okay, I'll try not to have a panic attack trying to," I also say with a smile, but clearly worried.
We get to his car, and I stare at the passenger door. I can't do it, but I see Spencer looking at me patiently and I decide to do it. I take a deep breath and enter my personal hell.
''Okay, now you take a deep breath and, look, take this ball. It sure helps you relax and focus on something else,'' she hands me the rubber ball that she had in the car drawer. It's quite soft. I like the idea.
''Thank you very much,'' I send her a grateful smile.
''Nothing, I'm glad I could help you with this. I will help you as much as possible to overcome it. If you get overwhelmed, let me know. By the way, does music or any type of music bother you?'' Spencer asks me.
"Well, I like Pop as long as the music is not too loud, otherwise it overwhelms me a little," I tell her. I appreciate that she asked me.
''Perfect, well let's play a little Britney Spears softly. I feel like 'Baby one more time' today,'' she tells me, laughing.
I spent most of the car ride pressing the ball, playing with it, and breathing deeply every time we hit a bump. Spencer often asked me if I was okay, but I only responded with an attempt at a smile that turned into a grimace.
''We have arrived, and you have achieved it! Have you seen how capable you are?'' Spencer tells me very happy.
''Thank goodness, a few more minutes in the car and we would have had to stop. Thanks for the help and the ball!'' I say, already relieved to be able to get out of the car. It has been complicated, but I am excited to have achieved it.
Once we get out of the car, we find that the girls are waiting for us at the beginning of the path that leads to the shed.
"Hey, girls, I'm sorry I'm late," Spencer tells them. I was still trying to recover from the car ride, but I smiled at them in greeting.
''All good? I notice you are a little upset," Aria tells us.
"Yes, we just didn't sleep very well tonight," I tell them, not wanting them to know anything about the accident yet. Spencer gives me a knowing look.
"Well, let's start walking, right? It's a long way to the shed," Spencer says, trying to divert the topic.
We walk for about 10 minutes before anyone says anything. It's obvious that it's quite early and neither of them really wants to socialize. At least I'm not the only one this time. I was calm in silence, but the sprain was starting to bother me a little.
"And whose idea was it?" says Hanna, who seemed tired of walking through the woods. She didn't seem like much of a nature lover.
"From Emily's mother," Spencer says.
"It's just me. My mom just suggested that we do something together and try to put it all behind us," says Emily. It didn't seem like a bad idea to me, honestly. I wanted to leave everything that happened last summer behind me.
"And that something couldn't be without mosquitoes?" Hanna complains again.
"They're not mosquitoes. They're flies," Aria corrects her.
"I don't care. They're annoying and they get in your nose." Hanna can't stand the forest for another minute.
''Because they are attracted to your perfume. And her hairspray. And your lip gloss," Spencer scoffs.
"Are you implying that I attract flies?" Hanna asks humorously.
''It is also because mosquitoes are cold-blooded insects, just as our organisms have an average temperature of 36.5º, it is the perfect place for flies to warm up. That's why they're chasing us,' I tell her, although she looks at me with a surprised face.
"It can't be, now it's not just Spencer. Now we have two brainiacs in our group," says Hanna with humor. Spencer gives her a somewhat murderous look.
''Hey, what did we say about humor?'" Spencer says to Hanna, I guess referring to me.
''Don't worry about its Spencer. I've gotten better at that over the years. Unless it's something really weird, I know when someone is making a joke. Also, I have very mild autism. I have some social difficulties, but they are not huge like other people. When I feel comfortable with people, it usually doesn't show much, because I manage to open up,'' I tell her between laughs. I find it a little funny how protective she is treating me since she knows who I am.
''You've seen? She has understood my humor. Besides, she laughed and everything, right Elizabeth?'' Hanna says, sticking her tongue out at Spencer and giving me a loving smile.
"Okay, but if you don't understand a joke or humor that comes out of Hanna's mouth at any point, tell me. Sometimes she says strange things that I don't even understand," she tells me, laughing.
''By the way, can I call you Liz? Your name is nice, but I love Liz as a nickname,'' Hanna asks me.
"Yes, no problem," I say, smiling. I'm not going to tell her, but that was the nickname my parents and brother called me. I missed someone calling me that.
''I think we made a mistake,'' Emily says that she had not been very attentive to the conversation in case we got lost.
"No, we're doing well. That tree sounds familiar to me. We're halfway there. There are 136 steps to the shed," Spencer says without any hesitation.
"Have you come back after Alison?" Emily asks, surprised that she knew that. It doesn't seem strange to me, because I had also counted them every time we came, but I guess it's just a thing for brainiacs like Spencer and me.
''I? No.'' says Spencer.
"But you remember that tree," says Aria, also surprised.
''It's not that strange either. We used to come here many days. And then,'' Hanna finally says, leaving the doubts behind.
''It's not the right place for... What did you call it? An altar,'' Spencer says.
''It is not an altar. It's to remind Alison, what's wrong with it?'' Emily doesn't understand why they object so much to the topic.
"It may seem like we're hiding something," Spencer says worriedly.
"Are you worried about what they think?" Emily asks Spencer. Well, the truth is that I wouldn't want to have to go back to the police station to be questioned ever again. Especially having to endure the questions after my grandmother, which were even worse.
''Not to you? Do you want to give that inspector more excuses to question us?'' Spencer tells her.
''Hanna, why are you so quiet?'' Emily asks her, annoyed that she didn't say anything. Probably because she is never silent.
"Because I don't want bugs getting in my mouth," says Hanna. I don't know how she managed to survive the summer camp she told me about when we first met at Emily's house.
''Could you tell us what your opinion is?'' says Emily, tired of being ignored.
''Do you want to know it? We should wait until we're sure she's not here,' Hanna says.
''What? What are you talking about?'' the rest of us say. I can't believe what she's implying.
"Do you think she's still alive?" Emily asks, scared.
"They found her body," says Spencer, not believing what Hanna is saying either.
''Stop you're scaring me, why don't you...?'' Aria's voice shakes as she says it.
''Hey, you asked me for my opinion. I don't think she's dead,' says Hanna.
"But we did go to her funeral," I tell her. Spencer looks at me in agreement.
"Exactly," says Spencer.
"And when we were leaving, we received a message from her," Hanna replied without doubting anything about what she was saying.
"It wasn't hers. Someone played a bad joke on us," says Emily.
They continue arguing about whether Alison is A and if she is alive until we hear a noise in the trees. We paralyzed just the moment we heard it.
''What's that? Have you heard? Emily asks, clearly scared.
''Yes of course. Don't forget that I'm by your side,'' says Aria now clinging to Hanna's arm.
'Hello? Is there anyone there?' Hanna asks, trembling.
"It must have been some animal," says Spencer, trying to calm us down. I was close to running away, although I think that with my bad foot, I don't think I would get very far.
"Hello?" continues Hanna.
"He's an animal, he's not going to answer you," Spencer replies.
''That didn't sound like an animal, Spencer. You know,'' I say, somewhat scared, as I get closer to her.
Noises keep being heard.
''See, that wasn't an animal. There's someone there!'' Hanna shouts.
"Let's get going," Emily whispers, but before we can run to the trailhead, everyone's cell phone rings.
"The ban on liars has been opened and I'm going to get out of Hunting." - A
We all looked at each other scared and ran out of there. Just when we don't have much left to get to where the trail ends, I bend down because I couldn't stand the pain in my foot anymore. Spencer sees me and walks over to me quickly.
''I'm sorry, I had forgotten that you had the sprain. Do you mind if I touch you?'' Spencer asks me, wanting me to feel comfortable.
''Yes, don't worry, I trust you,'' I tell her, and she immediately helps me get up.
"Stand behind me and climb on my back," she tells me confidently.
"But... you're going to get hurt," I tell her without wanting her to get hurt because of me.
''Don't worry. I do sports and you probably don't weigh much. Come on, get in,' after this I decide to get in behind her and we quickly get to where the cars are. It seems not, but Spencer Hastings is pretty strong. We decided to go home and leave the rest for tomorrow. Great, now I would have to endure the car ride home again. I didn't even have the option of walking because my foot hurt a lot.
The next morning, I get back into Spencer's car, a little forced by her. She told me that my sprain needed at least a week without much effort, and I wasn't going to get it by walking half an hour to school every day. It's not that this was bad for me, but I couldn't stand having to spend more time in a car. Twice in one day had already seemed like a lot.
''Hey, is something wrong? I've seen you a little tense these days. You can trust me too for anything, okay?'' I tell her once we've gotten out of the car, and I feel like I can breathe.
''Yes, it's just that these days have been a little difficult in my house. Please don't judge me, but I kissed Melissa's fiancé. I wanted nothing to do with him, but he gave me those English eyes and I fell, and now of course, Melissa is angry with me, and I don't know how to solve it,'' she tells me, trembling a little from helplessness. It's obvious that this has been weighing heavily on his conscience these days.
''I don't judge you, Spencer. We can all make mistakes at some point. Also, since I was little you always told me that your sister had good taste in men and you always liked them,'' I say between laughs, remembering how Spencer always spoke to me enthralled about the boys her sister dated.
"Hey, that's not true," she tells me, but then she can't contain herself and says, laughing, "well, okay, you're a little right. Thank you for listening to me, I was a little embarrassed to tell the others."
''Nothing. You help me, I help you,'' I say when we have already entered the institute.
There in the hallway we meet Aria. I greet her for a moment, and I head towards the mathematics class. I didn't want to be in the hallway when everyone else walked by.
Lunch time arrives and I see Spencer waiting for me outside class to go with her to the dining room. It was a very nice detail on her part.
''Hey, by the way, have you had any problems with Stephanie today? If she bothers you again, don't hide it from us, we will help you'' she tells me as we stand in line to get our food.
"Don't worry, I met her in class, but she didn't even dare to look at me. I think you scared her quite a bit the other day,' I tell her between laughs. It still surprised me how angry she and Hanna had gotten.
"I'm glad, if she messes with you again, I'll go after her with all the fury of the Hastings," she tells me very seriously. It was even a little scary.
When we have already taken the food, we approach the table where Emily and Aria are. I hadn't seen Hanna yet today.
"Hey girls, where is Hanna? I haven't seen her all day," Spencer tells them.
''Apparently Wilden has been interrogating her all morning. We don't know why it's taking so long,'' Aria says, worried about Hanna.
''I can't handle him anymore. He treats us as if we were the guilty ones and he does not look for the real culprit. He just wastes time. I can't stand it,'' Spencer was already fed up with him and I don't blame her. He made my hair stand on end every time I saw him.
We continue eating the unappetizing food from the school cafeteria, when Emily starts talking about the party that's happening tonight. ''Are you going, Liz?'' Emily asks me with intrigue.
"I don't think, I don't think I'll feel comfortable at the party," I tell them, a little embarrassed. I don't know if I would be able to handle loud music this week. I just want to spend a little time playing football to relax, but the coach told me to rest my foot and not play until next week.
''Come on, come with us. I won't leave your side and if you feel uncomfortable, we'll leave, okay?'' Spencer tells me. Lately she has taken to trying to get me out of my comfort zone.
"Well, I'll think about it, but I don't promise that I'll stay long," I tell her seriously.
Just six hours later it's time to go to the party. Spencer takes me in the car again. She won't let me get away so easily.
'Wait a minute, Liz. I have to give you something before we get into the party,'' Spencer tells me just before we get out of the car. I was a little impatient, I didn't want to stay in the car any longer.
''What is it?'' I ask her, intrigued.
''These are headphones that will cancel out much of the noise from the party and help you be more comfortable. You can continue listening, but more muffled, and no one will notice, because they are very small and are camouflaged by the hair,'' she tells me, somewhat excited. Yes, I was excited. I couldn't understand how I had gone from having no one, to having more and more people who cared.
''But but…. How... have you thought about this? Thank you very much, Spence,'' no one in a long time had had so many details with me. A tear slides down my cheek.
''Hey, don't get excited, or else I'll cry too, and I'll lose my serious title,'' she tells me between laughs, ''it's nothing, really. I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable at the party. I wanted you to be able to spend time with us and have a good time,'' she adds, smiling.
She doesn't let me talk anymore and she tells me to go down because everyone will be waiting for us. I still haven't fully processed what just happened, but I put on my headphones and follow along. These are quite comfortable. I hope these help me tonight.
''Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. We're not leaving each other all night, okay? Just try to have a good time with us,'' she tells me when we are entering the mass of teenagers already at the party. If she had noticed I was nervous, inside I was even more so.
We get to where the girls are, and they already have some drinks prepared for us. They talk for a while, while I'm still a little nervous, so I don't listen to them much until they get to an interesting topic.
"And he went after Ben? What was Toby doing in the girls' locker room?" '', asks Aria. Apparently, Emily was saying that Ben had tried to get on with her and Toby had defended her.
"And does that surprise you? He's a pig. We caught him looking at us through the window while we were changing," says Spencer. We didn't really see anything, Alison just told us. I wasn't sure that had happened, although I wouldn't discuss it with Spencer right now. She is stubborn.
''But you're fine? It had to have been something difficult,'' I ask Emily. It seems to me that the others are forgetting the most important point, which is whether Emily is okay.
''Yes, I'm still assimilating it, but I'm fine. Thank you, Liz," Emily tells me gratefully. The others are still trying to blame Toby when Hanna shows up. She had been with her boyfriend on the other side of the party.
''What's wrong?'' Hanna asks when she sees us upset.
"Toby Cavanaugh got into a fight with Ben yesterday over Emily," Aria tells her. Emily hasn't said any of that. I don't know how they came to such a conclusion when Emily clearly said that he defended her. We should focus on Emily, not Toby.
''It wasn't for me. God! He alone saved me,' says Emily, a little fed up with the subject.
''Of what? Of himself?'' the stubborn Spencer returns.
Aria and Spencer continue saying that Toby isn't a trustworthy guy and he's dangerous, until Emily asks, "If he's really that bad, why didn't he tell on us?"
At that moment Spence remains silent and with a guilty face, as if she were hiding something from us. The others notice her and blame her. Since she doesn't say anything, they all go one way, leaving only Spencer and me.
''Spencer, what are you hiding? Is it so bad that you don't tell the others?'' I ask her, not knowing why she would hide something from Toby.
"It's just, I don't know…" Spencer tries to say, but she is cut off when we see a boy in the distance who looks very similar to Toby.
That's when she tells me that he saw Alison and Toby talking the night of Jenna's accident and how Alison was threatening Toby to tell everyone something. Only she had seen them.
After this, we spend a little more time talking about random things, until Spencer says that she has to go to the bathroom for a moment. I stay on the side waiting for her to return, but when I see that she is taking a long time, I get overwhelmed as there are more people near me, and I start to walk away from the party.
Shortly after walking a little further away, I witness a car crash into other parked cars. I walk over to see if the person driving is okay and am surprised to see that the person in the car is Hanna.
''Hanna! Are you okay?'' I say to her as I begin to hyperventilate. This is bringing back bad memories for me.
''Yes, I'm fine, Liz. Don't worry,'' Hanna says as she gets out of the car, somewhat overwhelmed and she also looked a little sad. I, on the other hand, was the opposite of fine. I knew I was starting to have a panic attack and in front of Hanna.
POVS SPENCER
I had gone to the bathroom for a second, trying not to leave Elizabeth alone for too long, but one of my classmates from the school's Student Council peppered me with questions when he saw me leaving the bathroom. It was not the time, but as president of the Council I could not answer him.
When I returned to where I was before, I didn't see Elizabeth and at that very moment I felt that something bad had happened. I was looking for her at the party, but I didn't see her. I walked a little further from the party and saw a crashed car. I ran quickly there fearing the worst. When I arrive, I see that Hanna and Elizabeth are there. Hanna somewhat upset and Elizabeth in what seemed like the beginning of a panic attack.
''What happened, Hanna?!'' I ask Hanna impatiently. I slowly approach Elizabeth as she doesn't seem to have realized I was there.
''I was a little upset because of an argument with my boyfriend and I took his car and I don't know, at one point I lost control of the car and I crashed. It wasn't very strong, but enough to destroy the car. Liz came to see if I was okay, and she started hyperventilating. I don't know what to do,'' Hanna tells me so quickly that she was close to hyperventilating herself. I go over to try to calm Elizabeth down.
''Liz, Elizabeth, listen to me, I'm here. I'm Spencer. Everything's fine. You're not in any car. You are outdoors. You're not in the accident. We're in Rosewood,'' I tell her, trying to get her back to the present.
It seems like Elizabeth is starting to react a little. Right now, we are sitting on the sidewalk next to the car. I really regretted leaving her alone.
''Spen…Spencer…my…. "My mother," Elizabeth tries to tell me now that she seems to have come out of her panic attack a bit.
''I know, darling, I know. Very sorry. I'm here with you, okay? Can I touch you? Can I give you a hug?'' I ask her, wanting to give her some kind of support, but without overwhelming her more. She nods quickly and I give her a soft hug. She squeezes me hard and starts crying.
Once she seems to have relaxed, she starts to fall asleep on top of me. The panic attack must have left her without any energy. I tell Hanna to help me take her to my car, which is not far from there.
"Spencer, what happened?" Why is she like this? I just crashed the car a little," Hanna asks me, clearly concerned.
"Elizabeth lost a large part of her family almost two years ago in a car accident. She was also in the car when it happened. She still hasn't gotten over it. She is afraid of getting into a car and your accident must have reminded her of that night. I can't say more. That's his decision to tell you,'' I tell Hann while I sadly look at Elizabeth, who had already fallen asleep in the car seat. I had told the girls that Elizabeth had lost her mother, but I hadn't gone into further detail. I wanted her to decide whether to tell them the rest.
''Wow, I couldn't have imagined that Elizabeth had been through so much. When she's awake, tell her how sorry I am for what happened tonight,'' Hanna tells me with sadness and guilt.
I say goodbye to Hanna and get in the car to go home. Tonight, Elizabeth would stay with me, I didn't want her to have to deal with her grandmother after this. When we arrive, she doesn't even react, and I have to half drag her up to my room. She is very tired.
I make her a little comfortable on my bed and I'm going to put on my pajamas. Tomorrow I will talk to her about what happened, now the best thing would be to sleep.
POVS ELIZABETH
I wake up with a huge headache and realize I'm not in my bed. I think I'm at Spencer's house. Suddenly I remember what happened, Spencer would bring me so I wouldn't have to explain anything to my grandmother. I greatly appreciate it.
I needed some space. I couldn't fall asleep again because I was thinking a lot about what had happened. I go down to the Hastings' living room and sit on the couch for a while I look out at the calm of the night.
Just as I almost fall asleep again, Melissa walks through the door. I thought Spencer said there would be no one at his house today.
"Elizabeth? How scary, I didn't imagine you were here," Melissa told me that she had jumped with fright when she saw me.
"Spencer and I were at a party, and she told me to stay the night," I tell her without wanting to go into too many details.
''Umm, so you at a party… From your face it doesn't seem like it ended very well or am I wrong?'' Melissa was still quite clever. When we talked on the phone when we were little, it was a little easier to hide if it was wrong, but now I'm afraid it will be impossible.
''Well, it's been a bit of a... complicated night,'' after which I tell her everything that happened tonight. As I tell her she sits next to me, looking at me attentively in a comforting way.
''Elizabeth, I'm so sorry you still have to deal with everything about the accident. If you need to talk more or any advice just know I'm here. You have my number, so don't hesitate to call me,'' she tells me with a clear intention of wanting to help me.
''By the way, are you ever going to forgive Spencer? For what it's worth, she's very sorry and she wants to fix things with you. It wasn't her intention to hurt you,'' I tell her, taking advantage now that we are in calm confidence in the living room.
''I don't know, Elizabeth. I don't know how to forgive her for kissing my fiancé. It's like she wants me to not be happy,'' says Melissa, sighing.
''From my point of view, I think what Spencer has always been looking for is someone who would pay her some attention. You are a good family, but Spencer even at seven years old told me that she felt like she didn't belong in this family. She felt that you didn't love her, that she was failing you,'' I tell her without wanting to intrude too much.
''But that's not true. We love her very much. We would do anything for her," says Melissa, somewhat annoyed.
''Yes, but supporting her when something bad has happened to her is not the same as being always there. I think what she would like is to leave the comparisons behind and start treating you more like the sisters you are. Supporting each other. I would recommend that you talk to her about this, mine are assumptions based on what I know from when we talked when we were little. I would be very sorry if you didn't solve it. I wish I could spend some more time with my brother, but he is no longer here,'' I tell her while some tears fall.
Melissa approaches me and gives me a soft hug, which doesn't feel uncomfortable at all. ''Thank you, Elizabeth. I promise I will try to talk to her and fix it. Remember that you can also call me if you want to hang out, not just for help,'' Melissa tells me as she gets up and slowly goes to sleep. I do the same and head to Spencer's room. Luckily, it doesn't take me long to fall asleep.
POVS SPENCER
It's not until 10 in the morning that I wake up. It seems like Liz needed some more sleep, so I get up quietly to let her rest a little more. When I go down to breakfast, I meet Melissa in the kitchen. I thought she would be gone until tomorrow, like my parents.
''Good morning! How did you sleep?'' Melissa asks me. Okay, this is very strange. Since when has she gotten over her anger?
''Good morning. Yes, I slept pretty well tonight. And you? Is everything okay?'' I say without knowing what else to say.
''Look, I know you're surprised that I'm talking to you, but I want to fix things with you, okay? I have talked to someone, and she has made me see that we should not leave things for tomorrow, because we might not be there tomorrow,'' Melissa tells me seriously.
''I know I haven't been the best big sister and that I could have behaved much better with you. You have always been compared to me and I am very sorry. Part of that is my fault, because I didn't help prevent this competitiveness between us. This doesn't mean that it's still a little difficult for me to accept what happened with Wren, but I want to start doing things better with you.'' I couldn't believe what Melissa was telling me. I went over to give him a hug, while I cried a little. I think I've been wanting this for a long time.
''I'm very sorry for what happened with Wren. I also want us to start treating each other better, as united sisters, without comparisons and who support each other. I guess I always felt a little lonely and when Wren started saying some nice words to me and came closer to me, I couldn't refuse him, but I didn't want to hurt you. I want to have a good relationship with you, not always be fighting,'' I tell her sincerely. Melissa hugs me tighter.
Just when we stop hugging, we see Elizabeth, with a sleepy face, approaching where we are. She has a smile on her face, and she seems to have seen us making up.
"Thank you, Elizabeth," Melissa whispers to her as she gets up and heads out of the house.
''Ahh, then it was you. Thank you very much, really,'' I say to Liz. I highly doubt we would have solved it soon without her.
"I'm very glad that you have started to fix it," she tells me, smiling. She seemed better this morning.
''How are you? Are you feeling a little better today? "You were pretty shaken last night," I tell Liz. I don't want to push the issue too much, but last night it worried me.
''Yes, I'm better. This has already happened to me other times. It's happened to me since I woke up from a coma. In the last year these have increased a little, but, well, I'm getting used to it,'' she tells me somewhat sadly.
''Have you ever been to a psychologist?' I say, somewhat worried that one day all that trauma will get worse.
''Only while I was in the hospital. The day they told me that my mother and sister had died was the first time. She saw me a few more times and diagnosed me with post-traumatic stress disorder. I would have liked to go more times, but my grandmother didn't let me go to any psychologist after that, so I have been dealing with the panic attacks and nightmares as best I could.'' I couldn't believe how bad her grandmother was. I didn't understand why it was like that.
We finished breakfast and I told Elizabeth that the girls had written to me earlier to go back to the forest today. She didn't seem very excited to be back there, but we got ready and went to meet the rest of the girls. When we get to the forest, I decide to tell everyone what I was hiding about Toby. It was time.
"Alison didn't want us to get close so she could talk to Toby alone. She knew something about him," I tell them. They look at me surprised, except for Elizabeth who already knew everything.
"Besides the fact that he is a pervert and that he was secretly spying on us," Hanna asks.
''Yes, something stronger. And she threatened to tell him everything. That's why he took the blame.'' I also wanted to know what he was hiding. I should have asked Alison more times. They reproach me for not telling them, but I clarify that it was because I was afraid and wanted to forget everything from that night. They look at me with understanding.
''Look, there are the five of us and the message geek. If we always told each other things like we do now, we would get along much better," says Emily. She is very right. We should stop hiding everything from each other.
''You're right. There are too many secrets. I think we should do this where we can see it every day. In the town, for example. Let's ask them to build a monument," exclaims Aria. It wasn't a bad idea.
We hear noise and I see Elizabeth bend down to pick up something from where the noise was coming from.
"Look, it's Alison's bracelet," Elizabeth whispers.
We all stared at it, scared thinking about how the bracelet got there.
Hello everyone, this chapter has been much longer than the rest. I wanted to complete this chapter well. I hope you liked it!
Thank you very much for all the comments, they help me so much to write more.
The face I give to Elizabeth's grandmother for me would be Madeleine Stowe, who plays Victoria in Revenge.
And, for those who asked me, yes, of course, there will be a dollhouse episode. It's my favorite episode!
Kisses, have a great week!