The Key Is Under the Mat--Spanna
It was the worst fight Spencer had ever had with one of her parents. And that was saying a lot, since fighting was practically a sport in her house. But this one had been different. She’d been asking her dad questions about Radley, and why he’d been talking to Jessica so much. All she wanted was for Toby to know the truth about what had happened to his mother. And she wouldn’t lie, she was still angry at Peter and Jessica for having an affair, and hurting Veronica. The fight had gotten ugly, and she’d run out the front door, not looking back even when Peter shouted at her to return. It wasn’t until she was a block away that she realized she had nowhere to go.
Toby was obviously out. Emily was still pissed at her for following her to the meeting with Alison. Given her suspicions about Ezra, she knew she’d never be able to look at Aria right now. She picked up her phone and dialed Hanna’s number, hoping the blonde hadn’t taken Emily’s side in the argument.
“Spence?” Hanna answered on the first ring.
“Hey. I can’t stay at my house. Can I come over?” Spencer asked.
“Of course. My mom’s out of town, and I’m out, but I should be back in a few minutes. When do you want to come over?”
“Um, now,” Spencer said, not mentioning that she was already halfway there.
“The key is under the mat. Let yourself in. I’ll be back soon,” Hanna said. Spencer thanked her and hung up.
It was a half hour before Hanna returned home, but Spencer didn’t mind being alone. She actually fell asleep waiting for her.
“Spence? Are you okay?” Hanna asked worriedly, shaking her friend’s shoulder. Spencer sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
“Yeah, sorry. I’m just tired,” she said. It wasn’t a lie. Between the secrets her dad was keeping and her investigation into Ezra, she’d hardly slept in a week.
“You want to talk about it?” Hanna asked, sitting down next to Spencer. The brunette shrugged.
“I had a fight with my dad,” she said simply. Hanna nodded, understanding completely.
“See, this is why I don’t talk to my dad,” she said with mock seriousness. It worked, and Spencer laughed.
“Unfortunately I don’t have that choice, since I live with him,” she said. Hanna nodded sympathetically.
“What was this fight about?” Hanna asked. Spencer sighed.
“You know how he started out being so insistent about helping Toby find out why Radley covered up his mother’s death?” she asked. Hanna nodded.
“Well, ever since finding out that Jessica DiLaurentis was on the board there, he’s been pushing Toby to take the deal they’re offering him. I tried to ask him what’s going on, and he got really mad. And really defensive. I don’t know if he knows something or if Jessica is blackmailing him or what,” she complained.
“Does Jessica have something she could blackmail him with?” she asked. Spencer hesitated. Her mother already knew about the affair, and Jason, so while it would be humiliating for her family if that secret came out, she didn’t think it would be strong enough to keep Peter in line.
“I don’t think so,” she said.
“Maybe he just thinks Toby won’t win?” Hanna suggested. Spencer shook her head.
“That’s the thing. Toby could win. He could find out the truth. But now my dad is dangling dollar signs in front of his eyes, and I think he’s going to take it,” she said. Hanna frowned.
“Why? Why would he do that?” she asked. Spencer shrugged.
“My dad can be very persuasive when he wants to be. I tried to tell Toby that my dad is just pushing this deal because of Jessica DiLaurentis, but he doesn’t seem to care. Now he’s mad at me. Everyone’s mad at me,” she said. Hanna put her arm around Spencer.
“I’m not mad at you,” she said softly. Spencer smiled and laid her head on Hanna’s shoulder.
“Thanks, Han.”
“And Emily will get over it. You had her best interests at heart. Which is exactly what I told her, and I also told her that if I’d known what she was doing, I’d have done the same thing,” Hanna said. Spencer’s eyes widened. While neither Aria nor Hanna had said outright that Spencer was wrong for following Emily, neither of them had openly supported her either.
“Did you really mean it? Or were you just saying it to stop her from being mad?” Spencer asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
“I meant it. I love Ali too, and I want to know what’s going on, but I don’t trust her. For all we know, she killed whoever was in that grave before faking her own death. Why else would she have disappeared the way she did?” Hanna questioned. Spencer nodded, relieved someone understood her line of thinking.
“That’s what I tried to tell Emily,” she said. Hanna snorted.
“Well that’s where you went wrong, suggesting that Ali could be dangerous,” she said. Spencer frowned.
“What should I have said?” she asked.
“That it would all be a set up that had nothing to do with Alison,” Hanna said simply. Spencer considered for a second. Maybe Hanna had a point.
“I’m starving. Do you want to order a pizza?” Hanna asked, already getting up. Spencer nodded.
“Sure,” she said softly. Hanna gave her friend a small smile.
“Spence, it’s going to be okay. With Emily, with Toby, with your dad. It’s going to work out. I promise,” she said. Spencer returned the smile, but it wasn’t real.
It wouldn’t be okay. Not when her dad was keeping secrets, Alison might be dangerous, and Ezra might be A.