Chapter Text
If the girls had known more about their parents’ history, they may have been more alarmed than they were when they got the first message from “A.” Seeing as how their parents had collectively agreed to never subject their daughters to the gritty details of the horrors of their teen and young adult years, it wasn’t surprising then that the true significance was lost on them. And to be honest, the second generation had a less traumatic introduction to the whole concept of A, and therefore their underreaction was understandable.
It started with a text message, sent to all four of them: To twins Grace and Lily DiLaurentis-Fields, to Amelia (Milly) Rivers, and to the youngest of their group, Elizabeth Hastings Cavanaugh—no one called her that, of course, because it was a ridiculous mouthful, but she was proud of the regal sound of her full given name and used it in its entirety every chance she got.
They were gathered at the Hastings barn for a sleepover. Okay, calling it a barn seemed extraordinarily reductive. Grace had smuggled a bottle of wine out of her moms’ wine fridge and was passing around plastic cups as the girls sat in a circle around the floor. The topic of conversation? The recent disappearance of a classmate of theirs, a shy and quiet sophomore whom Elizabeth knew from choir but the others knew only through the recent headlines and news bites.
ROSEWOOD STUDENT STILL MISSING. POLICE HAVE NO LEADS. FRIENDS REPORT RECENT CONTACT WITH UNKNOWN MALE. ROSEWOOD PD REQUESTS COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE IN LOCATING MISSING GIRL.
“I don’t know why anyone would be that stupid,” said Grace, taking a long swallow of her wine. “I mean, I don’t want to speak ill of someone who’s probably dead—”
“Grace!” her sister scolded.
“Then don’t,” Milly added.
“No, I’m just saying that if you’re the kind of person who’s going to go off the grid and meet up with some freak you found online, then whatever happens … can’t be too much of a surprise.”
“That’s not fair. It might not even have happened that way. The cops are just grasping at straws. For all we know she could have been snatched off the street and sold into human trafficking. It’s just awful.”
“I just hope they find her soon,” said Elizabeth.
Milly huffed a laugh. “Yeah, you and me both! My dad has become uber-protecto-guy since she went missing. I can barely leave the house without getting the third degree.”
“Same,” said Elizabeth. “But it’s more Mom than Dad for me. I had to practically sign a blood oath before she would let me have this sleepover. And it’s our property! I don’t know what her deal is.”
Lily smiled. “Well, no offense, Lizzy, but Aunt Spence isn’t really all that chill on her best day.”
“Our moms have been acting kind of weird too,” Grace said. “I was twenty minutes late for curfew on Tuesday and got grounded for a week.”
Milly raised an eyebrow at her friend. “How’s that going for you?” she asked pointedly.
Grace shrugged. “Mom stepped in and told Mama she was being overprotective and smothering. They had it out, but Mom wins most of those arguments. So I got off early for good behavior.”
Her twin snorted. “You got off early because Mama’s soft.”
Three rounds of pilfered wine later and all of the girls were undeniably buzzed. Which, of course, is when Spencer decided to drop by from the main house and check on them. A mad scramble ensued, plastic cups of varying degrees of full and empty being thrust at Grace, who collected them, shoved them behind herself, and assumed an awkward position in an effort to block them from view.
Lily, for her part, took the nearly empty bottle and did the same, just as Spencer appeared in the main room, long brown hair swept up in a neat ponytail and wearing a no-nonsense expression that made them all want to instantly “yes ma’am” anything she had to say.
“Girls, these doors? Are supposed to be locked.”
“They were, Mom,” Elizabeth said.
“Okay, then, you want to explain to me how I just walked right in here?”
Liz shrugged, and Milly piped up. “I might have left them unlocked when I ran to get something out of my car. Sorry, Aunt Spence.”
Spencer looked fondly at the girl who had been blessed with her mom’s sparkling blue eyes and her dad’s irresistible smile and tried to maintain her stern demeanor even though she loved every single one of these kids like her own.
“When I leave here the doors get locked. And no one else goes anywhere until morning. Not to your car, not up to the house, nowhere. Am I clear?” There was a general chorus of agreement that seemed to appease Spencer. “You guys need anything before I go up?” she asked.
“No thanks, Mom, we’re fine,” said Elizabeth.
“Good, then. Just one more thing,” Spencer added. The girls looked up at her blankly, but she just raised an eyebrow at them and held her hand out, waiting. They may have played dumb, but at that moment Lily shifted and managed to knock the wine bottle over. It clattered absurdly loudly against the wood floor and Spencer had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the teens’ horrified expressions.
Abashed, Lily stood up to hand the bottle to Spencer, and Grace followed with the cups stacked neatly together. Before Grace could retreat to her safe space in the circle of her friends, Spencer reached out and caught her wrist, gently but firmly, and pinned her with a serious gaze.
“Gracie, you’re the bartender, I presume?”
“What, why do you automatically blame me? It could’ve been …” she broke off when she saw that Spencer wasn’t buying it. “I brought it, yes. Are you going to tell my moms?”
Spencer licked her lips, considering. “I know you’ve been in some trouble lately, and I don’t want to make that worse,” she said. “BUT. If you pull this crap again, Grace, I will tell them in a heartbeat. Do you believe me?”
Grace nodded. “Yes ma’am.”
Spencer’s expression softened. “Now, you guys think about getting some actual sleep tonight, okay? And please blow out some of these candles; I’d really rather not have to contend with a housefire on top of the underage Bacchanalia happening here.”
She made her way around the circle, dropping a kiss on the top of each girl's head as they all murmured their good nights. They listened to her footsteps crunching in the leaves as she made her way back to the main house, and that’s when it happened. A text notification, pinging almost simultaneously in four separate tones. Grace, Lily, Milly, and Elizabeth reached for their respective devices, and a few moments of silence followed as they each read the words:
I’VE WAITED LONG ENOUGH.
LET’S SEE IF YOU’RE AS GOOD AT LYING AS YOUR PARENTS.
DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT?
ASK THEM. SHOW THEM.
WATCH THEM SCREAM.
-A