𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐓 | 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒

twenty-six.

sabrina sat cross legged on her older sister's couch as the girl paced the floor in front of her. "you're making me dizzy," sabrina muttered. "and you're making me crazy," aubrey snapped. "this is the second time i've picked you up from the hospital this month." sabrina had gotten out of there the second the doctors had said hanna would be ok because she felt like she was going to pass out from the anxious feeling that was stirring in her stomach and that was really the last thing the girls needed.

hailey had thought they'd left the hospital before the others because of her presence, sabrina had to lie and say aubrey was losing her mind which at that very moment - it might not have been much of a lie. sabrina had thought she was pretty chill in the car ride home but the second hailey was out of the car, she'd started ranting and hadn't yet stopped. "what if it had been you?" aubrey asked. "i drove you there!" she stayed pacing the floor, sabrina felt exhausted just from looking at her. "but it wasn't me," sabrina reminded her. "and i would've been there regardless of whether you took me or not."

"was it worth it?" aubrey asked, crossing her arms. "putting yourself in danger?" sabrina bit her lower lip harshly because the answer she had formed wasn't the one her sister was looking for. "oh my god," aubrey shook her head. "up until last month you'd scream your lungs out when there was a spider in your room, now someone is hurting your friend group and you don't even react?" sabrina didn't know whether the full extent of what had happened just hadn't hit her yet, she still felt pretty dazed and she tried not to let her thoughts wander too much or they'd wind up thinking of hanna lying unconscious in the parking lot of camp rosewood. she shuddered at the thought.

"it was a hit and run," sabrina said. "it could've happened to anyone, we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." aubrey looked like she was going to implode, it was probably the most freaked out sabrina had seen her. she felt guilty, but she also knew she couldn't tell her anything else about 'A.' it would put the girls in more danger and put a target on aubrey's back. sabrina didn't want that. "you told me that they got some cryptic message and they all were so spooked," aubrey reminded her. "now you want me to believe that one of them getting knocked down was an accident?" sabrina sighed. "i don't know what else to tell you," she replied. "that fortune cookie was a once off, probably someone thinking they were playing a funny prank."

"you can't keep secrets from me," aubrey stopped pacing and sank down onto the couch beside sabrina. "we made a promise, remember?" sabrina didn't need to feel any guiltier than she already did, it was already beginning to eat at her. "i'm not keeping anything from you," sabrina lied. "the message was a prank, the hit and run was an accident." aubrey studied her for a moment, looking for any cracks in her statement. "ok," she said finally. "what happens now?" sabrina furrowed her brows in confusion. "what do you mean?"

"you go back to juggling spencer and hailey, trying to keep them both happy?" aubrey asked. "i don't see it working." sabrina thought of how quickly hailey had jumped to help when hanna was knocked over, how she hadn't asked any questions and instantly bought that it had been a hit and run and not a targeted attack. she'd even tried to comfort aria a little in the waiting room at the hospital, it was a completely different side to the girl but sabrina was relieved by it. "i don't think it'll be a problem," she said. "she was actually pretty helpful the entire time, she didn't lose her mind or pace the ground for thirty minutes straight."

"i'm your sister," aubrey levelled her with a look. "i get to do the floor pacing." she pulled her younger sister into a hug, ignoring sabrina's protests. "and you're sure nothing else is going on?" she asked once she'd realised sabrina from her grip. "yeah," sabrina nodded, hoping the fake smile she'd plastered on was enough to dampen her sisters suspicions. "i'd tell you if something was wrong." aubrey seemed happy with that answer and sabrina knew she should've been grateful that her sister had bought her lies, but instead she just felt like she was drowning in guilt.