Chapter Text
After violating a few traffic laws on the way, she was finally back at the barn. It looked pretty sparse. Most of the furniture was still there but everything else had been packed away, probably in Paris by now.
She picked up her phone from her desk and dialled Mona's number, she picked up on the third ring.
'What do you want, Spencer?'
Her voice sounded croaky, it could have been she had bad reception but it wasn't that.
'Mona please, hear me out, before you say anything.' She pleaded, starting to pace in front of her desk.
'Fine.'
She sounded more upset than angry. Spencer hadn't really seen her upset much, the last time could have been when they found her in the hole in the Dollhouse.
The thought of the Dollhouse made her shiver, Mona had told her about her five month stint there. If Spencer had thought her time there was awful, it had been nothing compared to Mona's experience.
'Mona, Toby kissed me. Alex slept with him pretending to be me, and told him I loved him. I don't. It meant nothing to me, I promise.'
She ran a hand through her hair and stopped pacing, waiting to hear her answer. She could hear the bustle of the airport in the background. After a pause Mona said;
'A kiss like that means something. It doesn't matter if he kissed you, you kissed him back. Look I have to go, I'm going through security.'
She didn't sound upset anymore, but she was, Spencer could tell. She had built all her walls up again, ones Spencer painstakingly tore through. It hurt but wasn't undeserved.
'Please Mona, it didn't, I don't have feelings like that for him. Not like I do for you.'
Mona took a sharp intake of breath. It was the first time either of them had talked about their feelings.
'Spencer it doesn't matter now, I really need to go. But you need to choose, me or him. And I don't care if it's him, I just want you to be happy.'
She hung up.
Spencer choked on a sob. Why was this happening to her? Mona fully believed she was going to stay in Rosewood, that Spencer was going to pick Toby over her. Just abandon her in France, never seeing her again.
She lay down on her bed and cried. She cried for heartbroken Mona and Toby, her lost sister now rotting in a cell, and for herself.
What was she going to do?
_
She lay in bed for the rest of the day and night. She slept restlessly, tossing and turning.
Spencer shifted onto her back and was suddenly flooded with coldness, she missed the warmth of Mona beside her.
Sunlight finally started seeping into the room. She threw the covers off and grabbed her phone, sending an SOS text to the girls.
She dialled up the airport, asking for the soonest flights to Paris. She then paid an obscene amount of money for today's last available ticket. She printed it out and shoved it in her bag.
She got a text that they were meeting up at Hanna and Caleb's apartment. She may have driven a tiny bit over the speed limit to get there.
Everyone was already sitting down when she arrived. Aria stood up to greet her.
'Spencer where were you yesterday? You missed the party.'
'Um-'
Hanna, who had her feet up on Caleb's lap, interrupted before she could say anything.
'Also Mona called and said you weren't coming with her to Paris. She was like, crying and stuff. What did you do?'
'You made Mona cry? Jesus Spence.' Alison said as she bounced one of the twins on her lap. Spencer thought she was kind of a hypocrite. She’d made Mona cry plenty of times in school, so who was she to judge?
'Right, I'm going to say what happened and you guys can't say anything till I'm done, okay?'
The room fell silent as they all nodded at her.
'What happened was, before the party, Toby asked to talk to me and he told me that I slept with him and that he loves me. I didn't sleep with him, Alex did. And then he kissed me and Mona saw.'
She stopped to take a breath. During this she had started pacing along the front of the living room.
'Wait Toby-'
Aria started to say. Spencer held up a hand and she went quiet again.
'And then Mona told me she was going to Paris alone. I went back to the barn to call her and she told me that I had to choose, but that she'd be happy if I was happy.'
Spencer had finished pacing, suddenly exhausted and pulled up a chair and slumped down on it.
'Now she totally hates me and thinks I'm leaving her for Toby.'
She hung her head, looking down at her hands.
'Spencer that's ridiculous.' Hanna said bluntly. She then changed her tone to a softer one when she saw the looks the other girls were giving her.
'She doesn't hate you. She's upset because she saw you kissing your ex, when the two of you are supposed to be like together or something.'
'Wait, she likes me? Did she say we were together?' Her head popped up. She was pretty sure Mona liked her back but this could be definite proof.
'Well no.' Spencer sighed. 'But you totally were.'
Emily, who had previously just been watching, spoke up.
'Spence you look at Mona like she hung up the stars personally for you, and she looks at you with so much adoration and love it's sickening. Of course she likes you back. But you royally screwed up here.' She gave Spencer a pointed look, to drive home the point.
She rubbed her face with her hands. She had really fucked up.
'I know I did, but when Toby and I kissed there was something there. So I don't know what to do.'
She looked up at them and they all either glared at her or looked exasperated. It reminded her a bit of when they found out about her and Mona.
Ezra, who Spencer had honestly forgotten was there, finally broke the silence.
'Spencer are you actually debating this?'
He looked to her for an answer, she licked her lips in response. He rolled his eyes before replying, Aria was so brushing off on him.
'Okay. Think about your feelings for Toby, then think about your feelings for Mona. Which ones are stronger?'
He held out his arms in front of him, palms to the ceiling. He moved his hands up and down like weighing scales when talking about Toby and Mona.
She thought about his words. Sure she admitted she felt something for Toby. But like she had told Mona, it was truly nothing compared with her feelings for the former -A.
If she picked Mona, Toby would probably get over it and move on. If she picked Toby, Mona would probably never get over it. Not going so far to seek revenge, probably, but would always hold herself back, never allowing her walls to fall again.
Leona would also have much to say if she didn't pick Mona, and she really didn't want to get on that woman's bad side. Especially if she was anything like her daughter.
Mona was probably already at the house now, sitting in the living room. Probably listening to a record, thinking she'd never see Spencer again.
The thought hurt.
Remembering the plane ticket in her bag, she pulled it out holding it in her hands. If she left now, she'd arrive at the airport slightly early for her flight.
She nodded to herself. She had made a decision.
'I'm going to the airport.'
She knew it was the right one when Hanna muttered 'Finally(!)' under her breath and had to be nudged by Caleb.
_
The flight felt excruciatingly long. In reality it was only a seven hour flight, but it felt like it lasted a whole day.
By the time she got to their house it was late. She was worried Mona wasn't going to be up.
She knocked on the door, her insides tied up in knots. What if Mona didn't answer and she had to sit outside all night? Or what if she slammed the door in her face?
The door opened and the warbled singing of a Mitski record floated out. Boxes were scattered around, with stuff over the floor. Spencer's boxes had been pushed to the side, untouched.
On the coffee table, next to the record player, was the house plaque she ordered.
'Spencer?'
Mona's eyes were red from crying. All her makeup had been wiped off and she looked ready for bed. Spencer's breath caught when she saw Mona was wearing her Georgetown university sweatshirt as a pajama shirt.
Spencer cupped her hand on Mona's cheek, saying softly;
'I choose you Mona. I'll always choose you.'
The look on Mona's face was all the confirmation she needed to know she felt the same.