𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄- 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐃

𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

"𝐈 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔," Rhiannon stated. Alana, who was smiling down at her cellphone, glanced up and set it down. Since she had last seen Spencer, since she'd kissed him, it was as though Alana was under some sort of spell. Twenty-eight years of living, and she had never once thought that she'd ever feel like this. She couldn't explain the giddy feeling she got whenever her cellphone rang. It was a new fix, and Alana was addicted. For the first time in ten years, she thought she had something else to live for. She had always assumed that she'd die by the time she finished this thing, but now she had a reason to want to keep living, to want to not get caught. She'd never be normal again, not after everything she went through- but this was the closest Alana had felt to being normal in over a decade.

"What's wrong?" Alana questioned, taking note of Rhiannon's nervous expression. Yesterday, the FBI had finally come digging around at Rhiannon's place, which they'd anticipated. Alana spent months training Rhiannon on every single thing to say. She taught her how to control her micro expressions and her body language. She made Rhiannon repeat her story and her alibi until it was engraved in her brain, because Rhiannon needed to not be tied to any of this whatsoever. Alana had taken plenty of forensic counter measures so that they would profile their killer as being a male. Rhiannon had set up her computer to ping her whenever someone did a search involving her name. It was how she'd known the FBI was coming in the first place.

Seeing Mallory Hale was a surprise though. One that Rhiannon wasn't expecting, but she'd handled it well.

They didn't have much time to clean the apartment, to make it look like Rhiannon was living alone there. It was why Alana lived out of a duffel bag most weeks. But with the FBI digging around more, they decided it was better for the both of them if Alana started spending the night at her own house instead of Rhiannon's apartment. But since neither one of them were used to sleeping alone at night, Rhiannon almost always ended up at Alana's house before midnight.

Alana nearly jumped out of her skin when that knock came on the door, and she'd had nothing else to do except hide in Rhiannon's closet until they left. It killed her knowing that Spencer was just down the hall from her, and he had no idea that she'd been hiding there. It's not like they could search her apartment without a warrant, and at the time, they had no probable cause to get one. Of course, being a total idiot, Alana had knocked over that stupid picture frame when she'd went to stash her bag under the bed. When Mallory entered the bedroom, Alana had held her breath, praying she wouldn't find her in here. The way she eyed the closet, like she knew Alana was hiding in there, was enough to make her heart stop in her chest.

Strangely enough, Mallory looked incredibly similar to the way she'd looked before she left. Alana thought that she had guts for showing up here, especially since she knew that her and Rhiannon were always at each others throats when they were kids. Now it was even worse, since Mallory was someone who had the potential to unravel everything they'd worked for. It made Rhiannon hate the girl even more.

"Can you sit down for a minute," Rhiannon begged, motioning to the couch cushion beside her. "I need you to listen to me for a minute. And I mean really listen." Alana furrowed her brows and sat down beside her friend- the closest thing she'd had to a sister. Whatever Rhiannon was about to ask of her, she would do it. No questions asked. Rhiannon had done the same for her ten years ago, and Alana owed this girl her life. She'd be dead if not for her.

"Are you okay?" Alana asked, turning to face her.

Rhiannon shook her head slowly. "I'm fine," she assured her. But Alana knew something was bothering her. "You know, Lana, you've been really happy these last few weeks," she pointed out.

Alana hummed, "Have I?" It wasn't a secret, either. Alana just enjoyed being coy sometimes.

"You have," Rhiannon repeated. "I'm happy for you. You know that I'm happy for you. I know I was reluctant about this before, but I really do want the best for you."