Don't Cry--Spanna
“A lie for a lie, an eye for an eye. The bell tolls for Hanna. AD,” Spencer read aloud, her heart clenching in fear for her fiancée.
“What does that even mean?” Aria asked, frowning at the text. The church bell chimed, and seven pairs of eyes focused on it.
“The bell tower,” Spencer gasped, breaking out in a run toward the building. The others were hot on her heels.
“Hanna?” she yelled, looking around frantically. She finally spotted the blonde and screamed.
“Spencer, what is it?” Emily asked worriedly. Spencer could only point in horror as sobs overtook her body. Thick ropes were wrapped around Hanna’s waist, suspending her from the bell tower.
“Oh my god,” Mona gasped.
“Get her down!” Spencer screamed. Toby and Caleb both jumped into action, rushing to free Hanna’s body. After a few attempts, they managed to lower her to the ground.
“Be gentle!” Spencer yelled, pushing them out of the way before dropping to her knees in front of Hanna. She cradled her fiancée’s face, tears dripping down her face. She allowed her head fall onto Hanna’s chest, and felt a spark of hope.
“She’s breathing!” she exclaimed. It was faint, but her chest was rising and falling.
“Baby, please wake up, please wake up,” she cried, undoing the ropes that were digging into Hanna’s skin. She gently massaged Hanna’s wrists, trying to restore the blood flow to her hands, which were turning a light shade of purple.
“Please wake up, open your eyes,” Spencer begged. This couldn’t be happening. They were supposed to be getting married in a couple of weeks. She heard voices behind her, but ignored them, focusing only on the woman in front of her. She felt a hand on her shoulder, but shrugged it off.
“Open your eyes, Hanna. Please, baby. I can’t do this without you,” she murmured, caressing Hanna’s cheek. There was blood pooled at the corner of her mouth and a bruise was forming on her cheek, making Spencer feel sick.
“Spencer, maybe we should—” Caleb started to say, reaching out to touch Hanna. Spencer glared at him.
“Get away from her! This is all your fault! You were supposed to make sure no one could get into that room!” she yelled, not caring if she was being irrational. He took a step back, ashamed. A small cough brought Spencer’s attention back to Hanna.
“Spence?” Hanna whispered, disoriented and in pain. Spencer scooped her into her arms, sobbing into Hanna’s shoulder.
“Don’t cry,” Hanna said softly, which only made Spencer cry harder.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Spencer cried. Hanna managed a small smile and rubbed Spencer’s back. She frowned at the sight of her hand.
“My ring. It’s gone,” she said. Spencer grasped Hanna’s hand, squeezing it lightly.
“I’m a bit more concerned with you than your ring. Did AD hurt you?” she asked, realizing what a stupid question it was even as she asked it. Of course AD had hurt her. There was a bruise on her face and chafing on her wrists that proved it. Hanna swallowed heavily and her eyes darted around the room. Spencer immediately took the hint.
“Come on, let’s go home,” she said, standing up. She offered Hanna her hand, and the blonde stood unsteadily.
“We’re going home. Alone,” Spencer announced to the room. There were protests from everyone besides Toby and Ezra, but a swift glare shut them up.
“Do you want a ride?” Toby asked. Spencer glanced at Hanna, checking to make sure it was okay. The blonde nodded.
“That’d be great,” she said.
“We’ll come over tomorrow,” Emily promised. Spencer and Hanna both nodded and followed Toby to his squad car.
“You two will be all right alone?” Toby asked. Spencer nearly rolled her eyes at his protectiveness, though she did appreciate it.
“Yeah. Luckily everyone’s already cleared out. God that would be a mess,” she mused. Toby chuckled, imagining them trying to explain this to Senator Hastings.
“How’d your mom do?” Hanna asked, speaking for the first time.
“She won,” Spencer said proudly. Hanna smiled, happy that all of Spencer’s hard work had paid off.
“All right. We’re here,” Toby announced, pulling up to the barn. Spencer thanked him again and led Hanna inside.
“Do you want a cup of tea?” she offered. Hanna shrugged.
“I want to change clothes,” she said. Spencer nodded and followed Hanna into the bedroom. She pulled out an old t-shirt and some sweatpants and offered them to her. Hanna hesitated.
“Do you want me to leave?” Spencer asked, hurt passing over her face. Hanna shook her head.
“No… I just… Don’t freak out, okay?” she said. Spencer nodded. Hanna took off her shirt to reveal an array of bruises. Spencer inhaled sharply.
“What the hell happened?” she asked.
“I’m not sure exactly. When… When they took me, they hit me on the head and pulled me into a hole in the floor. It was a tight passageway. I got banged around a little. And there was something in the trunk that hit me every time we turned a corner or came to a stop,” she said matter-of-factly. Spencer took a deep breath, trying to keep her promise not to freak out.
“They put you in the trunk?” she asked. Hanna nodded.
“Wait, you said they hit your head?” Spencer asked. Another nod. Spencer bit her lip, hating what she was about to say.
“Han, I know you probably just want to go to sleep, but…”
“But you’re worried that I could have a concussion, yeah I figured,” Hanna said, rolling her eyes. Spencer smiled.
“You know me too well,” she said. Hanna smiled back.
“Will you stay up with me?” she asked. Spencer raised an eyebrow, and led her back into the living room. She sat down on the couch, and Hanna curled into her side.
“Actually I thought I’d go get some beauty sleep while you stayed up,” she joked. Hanna smacked Spencer’s hand lightly.
“You were right,” Hanna said quietly. Spencer frowned.
“About what?”
“About this being a stupid plan. I should have listened to you,” she admitted. Spencer nodded and kissed the top of Hanna’s head.
“I should have tried harder to stop you,” Spencer said. Hanna rolled her eyes.
“Please, like you could have stopped me. We both know I’m not good at listening,” she said self deprecatingly. Spencer frowned again.
“You’re safe now. That’s all that matters,” she said finally. Hanna snuggled closer to Spencer.
“Will you talk about something? Anything?” she asked. Spencer thought for a minute, then recalled a story her mother used to tell her when she was little. Bedtime stories were one of the few activities Veronica and Peter had actively engaged in. Of course, once she and Melissa could read, it was them reading stories to their parents, so Spencer suspected it had more to do with education than bonding. Still, she would never forget this story.
She began telling the silly tale of homesick cats, first making Hanna promise not to fall asleep. The blonde listened contently, her fingers fiddling with the ring on Spencer’s hand. When Spencer finished, she looked down at the girl in her arms and sighed. She wasn’t surprised that Hanna had fallen asleep. As long as she checked on her in a while, she supposed sleep would be okay. Setting a timer on her phone for an hour and a half, Spencer closed her own eyes, holding Hanna tight in her arms. Before she fell asleep, Spencer vowed that they would find AD once and for all, because she had a wedding to have.