There was something about nature that Ivy really loved. Maybe it was the fresh air that made you feel relaxed from the moment you stepped foot outside. Maybe it was the singing birds that sung a song so relaxing that it could send you to sleep. Or maybe it was the freedom you felt when outside.
There were loads of things that amounted to her love for nature. The birds, pretty flowers, the bright sky.
This was why she wasn't too bothered with wandering through the woods on a Thursday afternoon, even when she could've used that time for catching up on homework.
She was venturing through the woods towards the shed with the rest of the girls. Emily had suggested going to the shed they used to hang out in, but Pam, Emily's mother, encouraged them to make it into an almost memorial for Alison.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now the girls were becoming frustrated because of the hundreds of bugs attacking them.
"Who's idea was this again?" Hanna asked.
"Emily's Mom."
"The shed was me. My mom just said we should do something for us," Emily clarified.
"Well, couldn't we do something without mosquitoes?" Hanna whined. She was the one most bothered by the insects. They seemed to be attracted to her more than anybody else.
"They're not mosquitoes, they're gnats," Aria corrected.
"Whatever! They're small and annoying, and they're flying up my nose." Hanna batted her hands in the air around her, attempting to get rid of the gnats.
"Well, they're attracted to your perfume... and your hair product, and your lip gloss," Spencer replied with a chuckle.
"So, what are you saying, I attract flies?" Hanna raised her brows at Spencer.
"Gnats," Aria rebuked.
Glancing around the woods as she trailed behind the group with Ivy, Emily expressed her concerns, "Why do I feel like this is the wrong way?" Her browses furrowed, assessing their surroundings.
"No, this is it," Spencer declared. She nodded towards one of the trees that stood near them. "I remember that tree. It's the halfway point. There's 136 steps left to the shed," Notified Spencer.
Some of the girls paused, glancing over to Spencer with puzzlement in their face. They were equally as confused as to how Spencer would remember that since the girls hadn't returned to the shed since Alison disappeared.
"Have you been out here since... Alison?" Emily queried.
Spencer shook her head rapidly. "Me? No. No way."
"But you remember that tree..." Aria gestured to the large tree in front of them that stood in between two different paths, pointing in each direction.
"I don't think it's that weird. We used to come out here every day in the eighth grade," Ivy noted.
Spencer nodded, sending Ivy a thankful smile, before she expressed her point, "I think this is the wrong place to do this, whatever you call it... shrine,"
"It's not a shrine. It's just a place to remember Alison," Emily corrected with a huff. "What's wrong with that?" She questioned.
"Doing it way out here makes it look like we have something to hide," Spencer pointed out.
"You're worried what other people think?"
Spencer spun back to Emily. "Well, aren't you? Do you really want to give that creepy detective more reasons to question us?" She fired back.
Ivy and Hanna met each other's gazes, both of them shifting uncomfortably after the Wilden was brought up.
They hadn't spilled to any of the girls what had been going on in their house. None of them knew about how close Wilden was to them. He had stayed in their house, and had slept with their mother to drop Hanna's charges.
Suddenly, Hanna set off through the woods, following the trail to the shed.
The girls each shared a look, before rushing to follow after her.
Climbing over some loose branches that had fallen, Ivy clambered after the girls, trying to act normal so nobody would suspect she was lying.
"Hanna, why are you so quiet?" Aria questioned.
"I'm trying to keep the bugs in my nose and out of my mouth," Hanna responded. She continued to move through the woods at a quick pace, trying to avoid the topic of Wilden.
"You're allowed to have an opinion on this," Emily told her.
"You want my opinion?" Hanna spun on her heel to face them, and blurted, "I say we hold off and not remember her till we know for sure she's not still here."
"What?" Each of the girls gaped at her, struggling to believe her words.
"You think she's still alive?" Emily's wide eyes never left Hanna for a second.
"Hanna, they found her body."
Aria stepped in, beginning to freak out, "Stop. I'm officially scared. Can we just not—" She started.
Hanna interrupted her, "—You know, you asked for my opinion. I don't believe she's really gone." She took off again, leaving the girls behind.
"We went to her funeral!" Spencer shouted, trying to catch up with her.
"Yeah, and when we left we all got a text from her."
"It wasn't her. Someone is messing with us."
"How do you know? And what about all those nasty messages? I mean, how does this 'A' person know stuff only Ali knew?" Hanna argued back, coming to a stop in the middle of the woods.
Ivy's eyes dropped to the floor where her foot was awkwardly fiddling with a loose tree branch. She muttered under her breath, "Actually, Ali didn't know what 'A' texted me," She admitted. The girls' gazes spun to her in shock, raising their brows expectantly. Ivy suddenly shook her head at the looks she was receiving. "I'm sorry but I'm can't tell you," She disclosed.
"That's okay," Aria reassured, placing a comforting hand on Ivy's arm. Trying to stop the conversation from getting any worse, Aria jumped in, "Anyway, this conversation is giving me a hive."
"That's a bite. Mosquito," Hanna teased.
Emily turned to the girl next to her and asked, "Spencer, have you got any more messages?"
"Haven't you?" Spencer responded.
SNAP!
The sound of a tree branch breaking caught the girls' attention. They stopped in their tracks, conversation halting, as they glanced around the woods in worry.
"What was that?" Emily's voice wobbled with anxiety. Eyes still glued in the direction the noise came from, Emily leant closer to Aria and questioned, "Did you hear that?"
"Yes, I heard that. I'm standing right next to you," Remarked Aria.
"Hello?" Hanna called out into the woods. "Is anybody out there?"
"It's probably a rabbit," Spencer whispered, reassuring the girls.
Hanna ignored her words and called out again, "Hello?"
"It's a rabbit, Hanna. It's not going to answer you," Spencer stated. But even she was freaking out a little.
Each of the girls had a gut feeling that they weren't alone in the woods and thought it was likely that 'A' had followed them out there.
"Can we just get to the shed?" Emily suggested.
SNAP!
"Okay, that is definitely not a rabbit. Someone's out there," Hanna murmured.
"Let's turn around."
DING!
Simultaneously, each of the girls' phones rang.
They pulled their phones from their pockets to check the text. And it was no surprise to them as to who was texting them.
BLOCKED ID: Heads up, BFFs. It's open season on liars and I'm hunting... -A
—————————
Nerves knotted in the pit of Ivy's stomach as the bookstore came into her view. Ivy had never worked a day in her life, and she had no idea what it would be like.
Luca informed her that it was a more relaxing environment, so it wouldn't be too bad on her anxiety and stress her out. He promised her that.
Still, she was understandably nervous for her first shift.
Ivy pushed open the door and ambled through the doorway. The bookstore was a bit cooler than outside, which immediately made her a bit relaxed.
An unfamiliar woman was sat at the counter when she arrived, her head buried in a book. She had dark, brown hair, and it had fallen over her eyes meaning Ivy couldn't get a closer look at her face.
Feeling a pair of eyes on her, the woman's gaze drifted away from the page as she searched for the culprit.
Her eyes beamed when she recognised who stood before her. "You must be Ivy!" She stretched her hand out in front of her with a soft smile. "I'm Martha."
Ivy's first thought of Martha was that she was so pretty. She had this aura around her that immediately made Ivy want to be friends with her.
Ivy returned the smile, and shook Martha's hand. "I am. Nice to meet you."
"You too." Martha grinned. "From what Luca and Mr Daniels have told me, I already love you."
"What did they tell you?" Ivy tilted her head, her lips pursed together.
"They mostly talked about how you're such a lovely person and an absolute joy to be around," She disclosed.
"Aw stop, I'm gonna cry." Her hand rested over her heart as she grinned. "They are so so lovely," Ivy gushed.
"I know, I know. I'm just so amazing." Luca wandered out from the back with a wide smirk on his face as he approached them.
Martha shook her head at him. "Don't let it get to your head, idiot."
"Oh, I definitely will."
Martha rolled her eyes. To Ivy, it seemed to her that Martha and Luca shared a sibling-like bond, and teased each other about things constantly. She immediately knew they would bring a lot of chaos and joy.
Martha's gaze landed on Ivy, annoyance still lingering on her face. "Anyway, we should get started."
"Of course. Let's do it." Ivy nodded.
Ivy followed after Luca and Martha as they guided her around the store, showing her all the systems they worked by, and taught her how to work the coffee machine.
She picked up things fast, and took mental notes of where things belonged and the type of systems they implemented. She held onto their every word they spoke.
It was obvious to Ivy that she already loved the place. It wasn't hard when there were people on the team who were so enthusiastic about the store.
"Nothing exciting really happens in the shop, but it's fun." Luca glanced back at her with a wide grin. "You get free coffees and hot chocolates anytime you want—"
"—And we have a snack cupboard that we all chip
in on so that it's always stocked," Martha chimed in.
"We have a friendly smile on for customers, but it looks like you won't have a problem with that." Luca gestured to the smile resting on Ivy's face. "We get shipments in of new books every once in a while, and have to put them on shelves. We mostly store away things and sit at the desk answering questions from customers, or catching up on homework when it's not busy," Explained Luca.
Martha nodded. "Yeah we all love books so it just gives us a chance to read—"
"—Or study," Luca added.
"We also have a place for used books and for people to exchange books," Martha informed her. She gestured to the stocked bookshelf by the door.
"Aw, that is so smart. I love that," Ivy admitted, admiring the bookshelf with a smile. She loved trading books with people and exchanging them, that's what made the bookstore more appealing to her.
"Right. That's it." Luca clapped his hands together with a bright smile. "Do you have any questions?" He wondered.
Ivy shook her head. "Nope. Everything seems to be okay."
"Okay, well, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask," Martha insisted. "You'll meet Harry soon and I'm sure you'll love him. He's pretty hard not to like. We're all pretty close—like a family."
Luca chuckled, nodding along to Martha's words. "So, welcome to the family, Ivy! We're so glad to have you here."
"I'm so excited to be here." She grinned.
——————————
Ivy was quick to escape her house the next morning. Wilden had stayed over again, and Ivy couldn't hang around him for long. He gave her the creeps. So she escaped as soon as possible, and grabbed breakfast on the way to school.
"How was your first day? Was it okay?" Spencer turned to her and asked.
The two were ambling down the hall towards their lockers as they chatted away. It was clear to Ivy that Spencer was having a rough morning, but she decided she wasn't going to push her into spilling. Spencer would tell her when she was comfortable.
Ivy nodded, a smile appearing on her face. "It was really good. I love it," She admitted. "The staff are so close; They're like a family."
"Aw, that's good. Do you feel like you're a part of the family?" Spencer asked her.
"I do! I feel really welcome and already part of their family," Ivy gushed. She already felt comfortable around the staff. She knew they would be a close group.
"Are you working tonight?" Spencer wondered.
"No, not tonight." Ivy shook her head. "I'm working tomorrow though," She informed.
The two girls wandered over to Spencer's locker. They had to pick out the books they needed for their first class. Ivy had biology first, so she had to pick up her book and homework for that class.
When Spencer opened up her locker, all her books tumbled out onto the floor.
Ivy immediately dropped to the floor to pick up the books, collecting the papers together and placing them on top.
From afar, Aria noticed what had happened and approached them. She started to help the two pick up Spencer's books from the floor.
Catching the title of one of the books, Aria's head tilted. "Russian history?" She queried.
"Yeah." Spencer nodded.
"How many AP classes does it take until your brain explodes?" Aria joked.
Spencer let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm already drowning in there," She confessed.
"Why? What's drowning for you, B+?"
Placing her books back in her locker, Spencer turned to Aria and answered, "First paper's due Monday, and I've written two words. My name." She took the papers that Ivy had handed to her, and slipped them into her folder, and placed that back into her locker.
Shaking her head, Ivy immediately started reassuring her best friend, "That's okay. Take your time," She comforted.
"Well, what's going on?" Aria's brows furrowed as she gazed at Spencer. "Hey, you're not still freaked out about what happened in the woods yesterday, are you? Look, we do not have to do this thing for Ali until we figure—"
"—No, it's not just that. It's... It's everything." Spencer let out a small sigh. She glanced between the girls as she added, "Is there any chance either of your families want to adopt me?"
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
Their conversation was cut off when the three girls' gazes drifted from each other and searched for what was causing the noise.
Jenna and Toby strode around the corner with their heads held high. Jenna clung onto Toby's arm as he guided them through the busy halls.
Ivy hadn't seen Toby since the night of the fire. He had taken the blame for their actions, and he was the one to be punished for it.
Now he was back, and helping Jenna.
Once they had passed, the group of girls had joined each other's sides, immediately bursting from the sight they had experienced.
"He's back, too? When did that happen?" Aria queried, starting to freak out.
"Maybe she needs help sending radioactive emails," Hanna suggested.
"Or maybe sending a few on his own," Added Spencer.
Ivy shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he's just back," She uttered.
"Hanna?"
Looking over Hanna's shoulder, Ivy watched as Detective Wilden approached them. Ivy could tell that he was on a mission. He was trying to force information, that they didn't have, out of the girls.
"The cops on campus too?" Aria muttered in disbelief.
Hanna spun around just as Wilden had wandered up to them.
"I just spoke with your principal, asked him if we could have a chat," Wilden notified.
Hanna shook her head. "No, I have to get to class," She argued.
"Don't worry. You've been excused," Wilden explained. "Let's go." He nodded in the other direction, gesturing for her to start moving.
With one last glance at the girls, Hanna started ambling down the hall in the direction Detective Wilden wanted her to, letting him follow after her.
"What's going on? Why just her?" Aria whispered, once the two had turned the corner.
"He probably thinks she's the easiest to crack," Noted Emily.
"She is," Spencer reminded.
"Whisper, whisper, whisper," Jenna spoke up, gaining the girls' attention as she walked past them. "Almost feels like Alison is still here."
——————————
"Nope. No answer." Ivy slipped her phone back into her purse with a frustrated sigh.
None of the girls had heard from Hanna since Wilden took her to the principal's office to question her. An hour had passed since they last saw the girl, and the girls were worrying.
Had Hanna told him something? Did she tell Wilden about 'A'? Has she been taken to the police station?
They had called. They had texted. None of them had heard a peep from Hanna.
"What are you doing? Is that a new phone?"
"Yeah, I'm checking my Kin. I'll just write on Hanna's wall from here," Aria informed. She started typing away, trying to gain Hanna's attention.
"If she's not answering texts what makes you think she's checking Facebook?" Emily questioned.
"It's Hanna," Ivy jumped in. There had been several points where Ivy had tried to get a hold of Hanna, and she only replied through Facebook.
"See." Aria gestured to the older Marin girl. "It's worth a try." She shrugged.
"What's going on?" Hanna appeared in front of them, and asked.
Stepping away from in front of Hanna's locker, Aria allowed Hanna to access it as she spoke, "We've been trying to get a hold of you. What happened in there?" She wondered.
Hanna opened her locker, sliding a few books into her locker, and trading them for others. "Nothing, just the same old stupid questions," She answered, shaking her head.
"You were in there for an hour, Hanna. What else did he ask?" Spencer queried.
Slamming her locker shut, Hanna spun to face them, plastering a fake smile on her face. "Nothing." She shook her head. "He just took a couple of calls, and we just sat there, waiting for him to shut up."
Ivy stared at her sister's face, trying to read her expression. She could see through Hanna's lies. Wilden clearly had targeted Hanna because of his fling with Ashley.
If he decided to go after Hanna, Ivy was definitely next.
"Well, is he going to question all of us alone now?" Aria queried, starting to worry. She didn't want to be questioned by Detective Wilden alone. It was intimidating and it felt as though he thought she had something to hide.
Hanna shrugged. "Who knows?" She quickly averted the topic, trying to avoid the interrogation, as she knew she would crack under pressure from her friends, "Look, let's do this at lunch, okay? I have to hit the ladies before my next class," She told.
Flashing them one final smile, Hanna stood up from her locker and strode down the hallway towards the toilets.
"Is she being weird?" Spencer asked when Hanna escaped their range.
"She's being weird." Emily nodded. "I'll see you guys at lunch."
The girls quickly departed, each going their separate ways towards their next class.
Ivy wandered over to her locker, pulling out her math textbook. Math was still her least favourite subject, and now that she didn't have Jason to help her out, Ivy was suffering on her own.
That was one of the reasons she missed Jason. He was really smart, and she missed his help.
The girl dug her hand into her purse, searching for her phone. After she found it hiding behind a bag of apple jelly rings, Ivy pulled out her phone and fired her sister a text
ivy <3: you need to get better at lying. i can see right through you.
ivy <3: please tell me all about it later
Not even a moment later, Hanna replied.
hanna <3: fine i guess. i hate you
hanna <3: i'll talk to you later
Slipping her phone bag into her purse, Ivy clutched onto her textbook as she ambled to her next class.
For a cop, Detective Wilden seemed to cause a lot of problems. He weaselled his way into things and had such creepy determination that freaked Ivy and the rest of the girls out.
They had nothing to hide, so why was Wilden so invested in making their lives miserable?
Ivy just hoped Wilden would leave them alone soon.
——————————
However, he was not leaving anytime soon.
Detective Wilden sat at Ivy's kitchen counter, and she hated it. Ivy was trying to finish some last minute work she still had to complete while she waited for Hanna, and Wilden kept glancing over at her and asking questions.
She hated ignoring people, but Wilden was getting on her nerves. Ivy had to shut those questions down, and pushed her earphones in her ears.
Hanna ambled into the kitchen, and headed straight towards Ivy. She pulled the earbud out Ivy's ear, and asked, "You ready to go?"
"Yep. Let's go." Ivy nodded, and she started to pack her things away.
"How are you getting home?" Ashley wondered. "If there's any drinking, I will pick you up," She told them. Ashley was quite a protective mother to Ivy and Hanna. She would do absolutely anything for them. And being reckless and irresponsible by drinking alcohol at a party with a bunch of people, who were mostly strangers, really worried her.
"Or I could take you. If you don't mind riding in the squad car," Wilden suggested with a smirk. "I wouldn't use the cuffs," He teased.
Ivy shook her head. "We're fine, thanks," She replied. She was trying to refrain from being harsh towards Wilden, but he was pushing her buttons.
Ashley flashed him a sharp look of warning, and Wilden held his hands up in defence. "What? It was a joke." He laughed.
Ignoring the interaction behind her, Ivy spun to her sister and disclosed, "I just need to grab my purse. I left it upstairs." The pair had wandered out the kitchen together and ended up at the bottom of the staircase.
"Okay, cool." Hanna nodded, watching as Ivy slowly climbed the stairs. "I'll meet you out at the car. Sean's here," She uttered with a smile.
Ivy had questioned Hanna the moment they returned home from school. And because Hanna was holding it all in, she immediately burst under confrontation.
Hanna told her how Wilden was questioning her about how she looked before and after Alison's disappearance, and she gave her a word for word run down of what had happened.
Throwing a few final things in her purse, like lipgloss and gum, Ivy wandered over to her mirror to check her appearance.
She smoothed a few flyaways, touched up her lipgloss, and stood back to admire her work. Alison had tore down her appearance any chance she had. She tore Ivy's confidence down, and it took a while to build it back up.
Sometimes Ivy stared at herself in the mirror, not knowing who was staring back. No matter what she did Alison would always find a way to mention something wrong with her appearance. Her hair, her thighs, her nose.
She had no idea what she even did to deserve those comments. Ivy had morals she lived by; She tried her hardest to be a kind and loving person towards everyone and everything.
Maybe Alison was jealous of her, but that seemed unlikely considering Alison was above her in all areas of society.
With a sad sigh, Ivy grabbed her purse and strolled down the stairs towards Sean's car.
She barely spoke on the way there, just thinking to herself. Plus Hanna and Sean were too wrapped up in their conversation that Ivy didn't feel right to interrupt.
"Is this dress too short?" Ivy asked once they had climbed out the car. She was trying to pull down the light pink material as she shuffled along.
Hanna batted her sister's hands away. "No. It's perfect. You look gorgeous," She reassured. "Now let's go find some hot guys you can talk to." She grabbed Ivy's hand, dragging her towards the house, before Ivy could speak a word.
——————————
It wasn't long after they arrived at the party did Ivy find her comfort people to stand with. She felt out of place and awkward, but when she found the girls, she felt comfortable.
Hanna was nowhere to be seen, but Ivy figured she was still standing inside watching Sean play foosball with Noel.
When she arrived, Emily disclosed what had happened between her and Ben. Ben tried to come onto Emily in the locker room, despite her protests. Toby found Emily yelling for Ben to stop, and he jumped in, yanking Ben off her and started throwing punches at him.
"He tackled Ben?" Aria questioned, her eyes wide like saucers. "What was Toby even doing in the girl's locker room?"
Spencer scoffed. "Why are you shocked? Toby's a perv. We caught him peeping through the windows watching us undress," She reminded.
Shaking her head, Ivy pointed out to the girls, "We never actually saw him." She took a sip of her drink, feeling a bit lighter the more she drank.
"Yeah, Alison was the one who saw him do that," Emily agreed, nodding her head.
"What's up?" Hanna appeared from the house, and joined the girls' sides. Her brows were furrowed as she assessed her friends' expressions, and she desperately wanted to know what had happened.
"Toby Cavanaugh got into a fight with Ben over Emily," Aria answered.
Emily started to shake her head. "It wasn't over me. God! Look, he just... saved me," Corrected Emily.
"For what? Himself?" Spencer chimed in.
"Ew," Hanna grimaced.
"Well, if we hadn't asked you about Ben, would you have told us about this?" Aria queried.
Emily fell silent. It was clear that she wouldn't have told any of the girls what had happened because of their attitude towards Toby. It was possible that she would tell Ivy, but she would have preferred to keep it a secret.
"Toby is not a good guy, Emily. He could be seriously dangerous," Spencer exclaimed.
Emily scoffed, turning to the girl next to her. "If he's such a bad guy, why'd he take the fall for us?"
Although Emily had a good point, Ivy knew something that she didn't. Toby didn't willingly take the fall for them. Alison had something on him and threatened him so he would take the fall.
Ivy and Spencer fell silent. They stared back at their friends, not knowing what to say.
Noticing their expressions, Aria jumped in, "Is this another secret? Do you two know something that we don't?"
Thankfully, Hanna saved them from having to answer any questions, "Guys, why don't we just, like, chill and talk about this somewhere else? When we're alone."
"I don't even know what just us means anymore," Aria mumbled with a sigh.
Hanna's eyes found Sean wandering out the house, talking to everyone that he came into contact with. He was a very sociable person who knew everyone's name and greeted everyone with a smile. "Yeah, uh... let's talk about it tomorrow, okay? Are we still meeting up at the shed?" Hanna rushed out, backing away from the girls, not waiting for them to reply to her questions.
"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Why not?" Aria muttered. She spun to Ivy and asked, "How do you handle her?"
Ivy sighed. "It's hard sometimes."
When Aria picked up her purse, and slid it on her shoulder, Emily's brows furrowed. "Where are you going?"
"The gallery," Answered Aria. "I promised my mom."
"Oh, okay. We'll see you tomorrow." Ivy gave her a small smile and a wave.
Aria nodded. "Yep. See you guys tomorrow. Bye." She waved. She spun on her heel and headed towards her car, passing Maya as she did so.
Maya suddenly appeared in front of the last three girls. "Have you checked out the photo booth they've got in there?" She wondered. She held two drinks in her hands, holding one out to Emily.
Emily shook her head. "No. Show me the booth." She took the drink from Maya, and followed after the girl towards the house.
"And then there were two," Ivy spoke up with a small chuckle.
She spun to look at Spencer, only to find the girl staring off in a different direction. Her gaze was transfixed on something in the distance that Ivy couldn't see from her angle.
"Spencer?" Ivy nudged her side.
"It's Toby," Spencer whispered.
"What?"
Ivy moved around the girl, following her line of site to find someone staring at them from a distance.
Toby Cavanaugh was staring back at them, which took them back to the night they would never forget.
JULY 4TH 2009
Ivy was in a daze. How could she let that happen? How could she do that? People were injured because she didn't do anything to stop it.
She needed to be strong. The rest of the girls were panicking and she needed to be strong. She was the oldest, they needed her. She couldn't show weakness otherwise the girls would panic even more.
That couldn't happen. It would only make things worse.
Wiping the tears away, and stopping her quivering lip, Ivy stormed across the road with Spencer hot on her heels.
"Ivy? Where are you going? Alison told us to stay there," Spencer reminded. She had to jog a little to catch up with Ivy's pace, taking long strides once she did so.
Ivy shook her head."I'm not just gonna stand there. I need to know what happened and if we're going to prison."
Spencer and Ivy wandered down the road, following the sound of Alison's voice.
They found her yelling at Toby Cavanaugh on the sidewalk, whilst he just stood back and took it.
"I'll make sure everybody knows!" Alison's eyes wandered over to the two girls coming closer. She stormed over to them, fury in her eyes. "Didn't I tell you to stay over there and let me take care of this? What did you hear?" She interrogated.
The two shook their heads. "Nothing. Nothing," They denied.
"What happened? Are we going to prison?" Ivy questioned, watching as Alison strode past them and headed back towards the rest of the girls.
"No. Toby's taking the blame for us," Alison muttered.
Ivy's brows furrowed. "What? Why?"
"Be quiet for a minute, Ivy!" Alison exclaimed, silencing the girl.
In silence, the three girls wandered back over to the rest of the friend group, who all had their own questions.
"What's going on?"
"What happened to Jenna?"
Alison shook her head sharply. "It's done. We were never here. Let's go." Alison guided Emily and Aria in Hanna's direction, planning to make a quick escape.
"But—" Hanna started.
"—But what?" Alison snapped.
"What if we said it was an accident?" Suggested Hanna.
"No, we're not telling anybody anything," Alison stated, glancing around at the unsure faces of her friends. Her eyes landed back on Hanna once more, rolling her eyes at the hesitant girl. "Damn it, Hanna. Don't make me sorry I ever included you in the first place. I have gone out of my way to bring your big wannabe butt into this group. You better keep your mouth shut, unless you want to go back to spending your weekends alone, with Dance Dance Revolution and a jumbo bag of chips."
"What the heck, Ali?! Leave her alone," Ivy exclaimed, pulling Hanna into her side for a hug.
Alison let out a small breath, turning back to the girl who had tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, Hanna." Alison placed a comforting hand on the girl. "I didn't mean that. I'm just freaked out, guys. This is bad. Really bad. I never would've done it if I thought someone was in there. I just... I don't know what's going to happen... to us."
Still standing around in a circle, each of the girls thought about what could happen to them if they were caught. They would be sent to prison, and it was all because none of them stopped Alison from throwing the stink bomb.
Alison's eyes lifted from the group, finding the flashing lights of the firetruck and cop cars behind them."Can we just go? Come on." Alison placed her hand on Ivy and Emily's arms, guiding the girls out from the scene and they started to walk back home.
PRESENT DAY
"It's not Toby," Ivy alerted. "It was just the shadow across that guy's face, Spence."
Spencer let out a small sigh. "Thank goodness." She spun back towards Ivy and encouraged, "Let's head back inside." She nodded towards the building in front of them.
"Sounds good to me." Ivy nodded.
——————————
The rest of the party went by in a blur. Ivy chatted away to people, drank enough alcohol to make her a little tipsy and wobbly, and even flirted with a few boys who showed interest in her.
She didn't know what came over her. She would never be caught flirting with random boys when she was clear headed, her anxiety stopped her from doing that. It was the alcohol in her system.
After asking Mona where Hanna wandered off to, she found out that Hanna climbed into Sean's car and drove off without her.
This alerted Ivy; Clearly something had gone wrong and Hanna had freaked out and left. So Ivy had to track her down and figure out what was wrong.
Digging her hand into her purse, Ivy searched for her phone. She needed a ride home, and just hoped someone could come pick her up.
She didn't phone her mother, because she figured Hanna was with her and was probably upset. She needed comforting, so Ivy wasn't going to bother them.
So she phoned someone that she hoped would be kind enough to do her a favour.
"Hey, Ivy. What's up?" Luca answered.
"Hey, so um, this is gonna be so random, and I don't know if we're even close enough to do this yet, but would you be able to pick me up?" Ivy asked. "My ride has disappeared and I'm kinda at this party alone. It's totally okay if not, I'll find another ride, but I figured it was worth a shot. I'm alone, scared, and a bit drunk," She informed him.
"Of course. Where are you?" He immediately agreed, which shocked the girl.
"Noel Kahn's cabin," She answered.
"I'll be there in ten minutes. Be careful."
Ivy let out a small breath, smiling. "Thank you."
Ten minutes later a convertible pulled up beside her with the top open. Luca was grinning at her from the drivers seat. "You called for us? Your knights in shining armour," He declared.
That's when Ivy noticed an asian boy sat in the passenger seat that she didn't know. The boy had black, fluffy hair, and dark hazel eyes. He had this twinkle in his eye, like his brain was always computing, always thinking.
Ivy stood up from leaning against the house, letting out a small chuckle. "Thank you. I am forever grateful."
The boy she didn't know climbed out of the car, and before he headed for the backseat, he stuck his hand out to Ivy.
"Hey, I'm Harry," He greeted with a bright smile.
Harry. The one Luca and Martha had talked about. He worked at the bookstore too.
"Ivy." She shook his hand and exchanged the grin. "I kinda wish this wasn't how you met me for the first time. This wasn't a very good first impression," She muttered.
Harry shook his head, climbing into the backseat. "Relax. Luca and Martha have told me enough about you to know that you're a lovely, kind person," He noted, making the girl feel a little relieved.
Ivy clambered into the front seat, almost tripping over her own feet. She was still struggling to walk in a straight line. "Sorry I crashed your night," She apologised.
"Don't worry, Ivy." Luca shook his head, peering over at Ivy from the drivers seat. "I'm glad you called."
Luca pulled out of the Kahn's property, and started the journey back to Ivy's house.
"Yeah, you think we're just gonna leave you stranded at a party with no way to get home?" Harry queried. "You're a girl, Ivy. Who knows what would happen," He stated.
Nodding, Luca added, "Yeah, we both have sisters. We know what could happen."
"Thank you." Ivy flashed them both a smile. "What were you guys doing anyway? Why weren't you at the party?" Her brows furrowed slightly as she asked. She spun around in her chair to look back at Harry.
"We didn't feel like it tonight," Admitted Harry. "We were working late and just wanted to hang out, rather than go to a party," He informed.
"Wish I just stayed home," Ivy said with a sigh.
"So, what happened? Why did you leave so early?"Luca wondered, glancing over at Ivy as he questioned.
"Hanna disappeared on me. Her boyfriend, Sean, took us, and she took his car, so..."
"—So you were stranded," Harry finished.
"I guess so." Ivy shrugged. "But it's okay, something went wrong and I just need to see if she's okay," She told them.
"She will be," Luca reassured her. "You would've heard something from your mom if Hanna was in danger."
"That's true." Ivy nodded slowly.
"We're nearly at your house. If Hanna's not home, text me and we'll come back to get you and go find her," Luca offered.
Ivy's heart just about melted. She barely knew these boys but she felt like she knew them already. They were lovely and pure. She had known Luca for a day, and Harry for a few minutes, yet both boys were showing that they cared about her already.
She was apart of the family now.
"Thanks for the ride," Ivy spoke up once they pulled up outside her house.
"Of course. We're friends." Luca grinned.
Ivy climbed out the car, throwing them a wave and a smile as she started to back away from the car.
"Nice meeting you!" Harry yelled out to her.
"You too!" Ivy shouted back. "See you tomorrow." She waved.
"See you tomorrow. Bye."
She watched as the boys both waved at her from the car, until finally she spun on her heel and wandered up the path.
Luca and Harry stayed outside her house until she unlocked the door and wandered in safely.
Her mom was on the phone in the kitchen when she stumbled in.
Trying not to interrupt, Ivy tip-toed back out the kitchen and up the stairs to Hanna's room.
Hanna was curled up under the covers crying when Ivy ambled in.
She flicked off her heels, took down her hair, and climbed into bed with Hanna. She was still in her dress, but she didn't care, her sister needed her.
Pulling Hanna into her and hugging her, Ivy kissed the top of her head. "What happened, peaches? Do you wanna talk about it?" She queried. Ivy brushed the hair away from Hanna's face, taking note of her red, puffy eyes.
"Not right now." Hanna shook her head. "Can you stay here tonight?" She whispered through the darkness.
"Of course." Ivy pulled her sister into her once more, hugging her tightly, before loosening her hold. "Why don't you try sleep and we'll talk in the morning?" Ivy proposed.
Nodding, Hanna shut her eyes, focusing on her breathing as she attempted to drift to sleep.
It took a while, but soon Hanna had fallen asleep, and it wasn't long after that Ivy's eyes fluttered closed.
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The next morning Ivy stepped in and out of Hanna's room trying to pull the girl out of bed. But Hanna refused. She wanted to stay cocooned up in her bed forever.
Unfortunately, they couldn't. Both of the Marin girls had to meet up with their friends at the spot for the memorial, as they were going to talk further logistics.
Finally, after twenty minutes of groaning and whining, Hanna tumbled out of bed.
Ivy forced her into the bathroom to shower and rushed her to finish changing and applying her makeup.
The two girls stepped out the house two minutes before they needed to. It was a record.
When they arrived at the woods to meet up with the girls, Spencer had decided to share what she and Ivy had watched on that haunting night a summer ago.
"Alison wanted us across the street so she could have it out with Toby. Ali had something on him," Spencer told them.
"Besides being a total perv who peeped in our windows?" Hanna tilted her head as she questioned.
Rolling her eyes, and shaking her head, Ivy ignored her words. "Ali was threatening to tell everybody," Ivy added. "That's why he took the fall for us," She explained.
"Why are you guys waiting until now to tell us?" Emily wondered.
"I don't know," Spencer sighed. "Ali made us promise, and... I guess we were scared."
Ivy nodded. "We thought if we never talked about it again, it would just go away," She told them.
"Well, it's not going away. Not unless we toss our phones and join the Navy," Suggested Hanna.
Tilting her head, Ivy thought over Hanna's idea. "Sounds like a good plan actually."
Spencer started to lead the girls off towards the spot they were planning to have the memorial at.
"Look, there's five of us and one freak sending messages. If we just talk to each other like this, I feel like it makes it easier to deal with everything," Emily pointed out.
Ivy averted her gaze, looking down at her shoes as she wandered after the girls. She knew if either of the girls saw her expression, they would be able to tell she was hiding something.
She couldn't tell them about Jason. Not when she didn't have permission from him to tell anyone. She hadn't spoken to Jason in a year and she didn't want to bring it up.
She and Jason were in the past. It was a short time thing and it would never happen again.
"I think Emily's right. There's way too many secrets," Aria mentioned. "We shouldn't do this in the middle of nowhere. We should do it where we can see it everyday," She proposed.
"You mean like somewhere in school?" Hanna queried.
Aria shook her head. "No. In town. We should ask if we can put a bench somewhere," She thought. "Wait, and you know what? Whoever did this to her, if they're still in Rosewood, we should make them look at it everyday, too."
Hanna let out a small sigh, her mind wandering elsewhere.
Spencer's brows furrowed, spinning to ask her, "Wait, you hate the idea?"
"No." Hanna shook her head. "No, I just—I had a rough night," She mentioned.
A rustling in the bushes alerted the girls of another presence in the woods with them.
This had happened the other day, and that time they received a text from 'A', as the stalker knew they were in the woods.
So they didn't doubt that it was 'A' again.
Ivy's eyes widened, and she looked around at the rest of the girls in shock. Each of them shared the same expression. Someone was in the woods with them, and they were gonna find out who.
Spencer took off after the culprit, with Ivy and the rest of the girls following close behind her.
But by the time they reached the place where the rustling occurred, the person had disappeared.
"Look!"
Ivy followed the direction Hanna was gazing at, and found the purple bracelet each of the friends had.
Although, this time, the bracelet was Alison's.
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hi guys!
i have edited this chapter. it takes a while because the writing is absolutely shocking lol. i have so many blanks to fill in and stuff to add so it's taking me longer than i want.
hope you enjoyed!!!
i love you all so so much!
- k <3