EMILY'S POV

Now that I'd told Hanna and Aria that we would talk, I was starting to dread it. I knew that I should talk to them. I owed it to them really, to tell them the truth, to let them in, to heal myself, to heal us all. But that didn't make it any less terrifying. Talking to Spencer was easy, like second nature, just something I couldn't help but do, no matter how long or how hard I'd tried not to.

But Hanna and Aria were my best friends too. And since I clearly wouldn't be able to shut Spencer out anymore, it wouldn't be fair to any of us to keep Hanna and Aria out any longer.

The worries were still there though. The thought of losing them was something I couldn't bear.

"They love you too, you know" Spencer said, once again seeming to read my mind. "And though time and time again you try to get rid of us, none of us are going anywhere."

I reached over to grab Spencer's hand. I squeezed it gently, a silent thank you gesture. I didn't disentwine our hands, and Spencer made no move to either.

Spencer's speech this morning replayed in my mind for the millionth time and I felt warmth from the mere memory. I was still in awe of Spencer, of all she's given me, all she's done for me, all she's been through and how strong she's been through it all.

"Spence…" I said.

"Yeah, Em?"

I wanted to say so many things. Things about how she felt about me. Things about how I felt about her. Things about talking with Hanna and Aria. Things about my worries. Things about me.

All that came out was: "Can I see those pictures with the pudding?"

Spencer smiled. "Sure."

She led me to her bedroom and booted up her laptop, all the while our hands were still connected. It was an electric feeling, like sparklers igniting throughout my entire body just from her touch. It made me wonder if it had always been this way and I'd never noticed it before, or if it was something new that had started in the last few days or so.

She pulled me closer and I fell comfortably into her lap as she pulled up the pictures of her dad. It was better than I had imagined. His face was some strange cross between pure unadulterated rage and inane uncontrollable laughter.

Spencer's phone went off and we both flinched. It went off a second time, and I could feel the same fear I was currently having radiating from Spencer. She pulled her phone from her pocket.

A beat. A sigh of relief.

"It's Hanna and Aria," Spencer said. "They were both able to get parental permission to sleep over and they're on their way."

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