❝ I genuinely thought the worst of this nightmare was over ❞
Halle Brewster told a lie, and the secrets kept growing. After slaying one stalker, another reared its nasty head, and Halle was starting to wonder if she'd ever be free from the friendshi...
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Held with a gentle touch, Hanna read from the ratty, aged paper that she found under one of her outdoor plant-pots. Its top right corner had wasted away from bad weather and rain over the months since Maya's death, and a hole had been torn through it near the bottom. The pen had began to swell and leak from its intended lettering, but luckily words were still legible.
"'Emily, I'm so sorry for everything'," spoke Hanna, carefully reading it so it was perfect. Her friends watched on as she read aloud, them gathered either on the cot-bed up against the wall of her bedroom or near it. "'I know we're had a disconnect lately. I hope you'll give me the chance to explain. I have to show you something. Don't call my cell. Someone stole it. Meet me at...'"
Picking up on the trailing end, a hooked Aria instantly questioned, "'Meet me' — where?"
"I don't know," said Hanna, eyes narrowed down at the page. "I can't tell. It looks like it's been washed out by the rain."
Spencer turned to the girl in between her and Halle on the cot-bed, her legs crossed and she sat hunched over. "Are you sure that this is from Maya?" Spencer asked Emily.
"Positive," Emily responded, confident in her certainty.
With that said, Spencer quietly replied, "I wonder what she wanted to show you."
"I mean, the police have said all along she probably found something that proved Garrett killed Alison," Halle attempted to reason. "It's what they suggested to Jason and his family."
"Which is why she was killed," voiced Emily, bringing it to a soft close.
"Okay—" Spencer took charge and eased the immediate rush to jump to conclusions. It never worked out well for them before, especially not after the anklet incident. "You guys, we need to slow down," she advised, as Hanna extended out the paper when Aria reached for it, "'cause we have no idea when Maya wrote that note, and it could've been any time after Emily moved in here with you."
While Aria nosied over the letter, Emily checked in with Halle to avert conversation away from her. "So, tulips?" she asked.
"Pink tulips," Halle dryly said. "A knows our favourite things."
"Yeah, A totally ruined hard candy for me last year," Hanna remarked, remembering the smashed love-heart and icing at its glue Mona sent her.
"So, at least you can cross out your first A-message," Spencer replied.
"I don't get why you were so wound up about it anyway." Hanna mentioned. "It's not like you have a bigger secret than any of us."
After she pressed her lips together, Halle contemplated bringing up all the dark thoughts she had churning around in her head. The nightmare she had stung at her temples. Eventually breaking her silence, Halle asked, "Do... Do you guys remember anything more about That Night?"
