Pretty Little Liars: The Beginning {Episodes 1-10} (REVISED)

60. Spencer 🤓

When the sun rose above the city of Rosewood, almost every single teenager in town woke up with a killer hangover, a sure indicator that they had a fun night at the Kahn party. Most of them lounged in bed, either too lazy or too hungover to get out of bed. Spencer, Emily, Hanna, and Aria were out of bed as soon as the sun shone in the sky.

The girls had agreed to meet at the shed they used to hang out at that morning. Spencer needed to tell the girls what had happened after the other girls went back to the house after the Jenna Thing happened, and the only place she felt safe doing that was at the shed. She knew that A might be lurking nearby, but if they already knew about the Jenna Thing, what could really be the harm?

They hadn't quite made it to the shed yet, but she figured this deep in the woods, away from any prying ears, was as good a place as any. She launched into the story, and she could see each girl processing it. "Alison wanted us across the street so that she could have it out with Toby," Spencer finished. "Ali had something on him."

"Besides being a total perv who peeped in our windows?" Hanna interjected.

"Yeah, something way bigger, and she was threatening to tell everybody," Spencer said. "That's why he took the fall for us."

"Why are you waiting until now to tell us?" Aria asked.

Spencer shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Ali made me promise, and I guess I was scared. I thought if we never talked about that night again, it would just go away."

"Well, it's not going away. Not unless we toss our phones and join the Navy," Hanna said.

Spencer crossed her arms and started down the path. If there was one thing that she didn't need, it was another reminder of A. She still found herself glancing over her shoulder and in between the trees, searching for any sign that someone was in the woods with them, a not so friendly face. Of course, there was nobody though. Ironically, a rabbit did run across the path as they made their way.

"Look, there's four of us and one freak sending messages," Emily said. "If we just talk to each other like this, I feel like it makes it easier to deal with everything."

Spencer led the girls over the same hill to the same big tree from a few days earlier. One hundred and thirty six steps left to the shed where they could finally start to let go of Ali and her drama.

"I think Emily's right," Aria said. "There's way too many secrets. We shouldn't do this out in the middle of nowhere. We should do it where we can see it every day."

"You mean, like, somewhere in school?" Hanna asked.

"No," Aria said. "In town. We should ask if we can put a bench somewhere. And you know what?" She paused and looked at her friends. "Whoever did this to her, if they're still in Rosewood, we should make them look at it every day too."

Hanna shrugged and looked away from Aria. "What? You hate the idea?" Spencer asked.

"No! No, I just had a rough night," she replied.

Spencer thought it was a great idea. Already, a million ideas were flying through her head. They would put in the bench and then have the memorial before they unveiled it. It would be a final goodbye to Alison and the horrible thing that happened to her.

A branch snapped. Spencer's head turned to the forest, where the bushes were rustling as if someone was running away. There was no way that that was a rabbit. Spencer threw her bag down and took off after the noise. This was their chance to finally figure out who had been stalking them. They emerged in a small clearing, expecting someone to be on the other side where they could at least get a glimpse of them. No such luck though. Whoever it was was gone.

Spencer pushed her hair out of her face as the rest of the girls caught up with her. They looked disappointed too that they hadn't caught anyone. Even just a hint would've been helpful. Anything. Hanna gasped behind Spencer. "Look," she said.

She pointed at the ground. At first, Spencer didn't know what she was looking at, but then she saw it. A purple beaded bracelet, just like the one Alison had given to her after the Jenna Thing, just like the one Emily had wrapped around her wrist. "Is that yours?" Spencer asked the group.

"Alison's," Aria said breathlessly.

It was almost as if a ghost was standing in the woods with them, blowing the cool autumn air over their necks and sending chills down their spine as they looked at the bracelet. They could almost hear Alison's laugh in the wind as it rustled the leaves. Hanna quickly picked it up and stuffed it in her purse. Spencer thought that was a good idea. They needed all the evidence that they could get.

Spencer led the way back out of the woods. A had still been out in the woods, following them, watching them, listening to them. Didn't this freak have anything better to do? Spencer went home. She had a lot to think about. If A knew the truth about the Jenna Thing, then why wouldn't they say anything? Why taunt them with Alison's bracelet in the woods? And if they knew so much, then why didn't they just come forward?