The Marin sisters {mike Montgomery} book one

To kill a mocking girl

"Whose idea was this, again?" Hanna asked
"Emily's mom." Spencer replied
"The shed was me. My mom just said we should do something for us." Emily said
"Well, couldn't we do something without mosquitoes?" Hanna demanded
"They're not mosquitoes, they're gnats." Aria said
"Whatever! They're small and annoying, and they're flying up my nose." Hanna snapped
"Well, they're attracted to your perfume. And your hair product. And your lip gloss." Spencer chuckled
"So, what are you saying, I attract flies?" Hanna asked
"Gnats." Aria said again
"Ugh, shut up, Aria, it doesn't matter" Crystal rolled her eyes.
"Why do I feel like this is the wrong way?" Emily asked
"No, this is it. I remember that tree. It's the halfway point. There's 136 steps left to the shed." Spencer said
"Have you been out here since... Alison?" Emily asked
"Me? No. No way" Spencer denied
"But you remember that tree." Aria argued
"You guys, it's not that weird. I mean, we came out here in eighth grade like, every day... even after." Hanna rolled her eyes
"I think this is totally the wrong place to do this. Whatever you call it.. shrine." Crystal pointed out
"It's not a shrine. It's just a place to remember Alison. What's wrong with that?" Emily said
"Doing it way out here makes it look like we have something to hide." Spencer agreed with her
"You're worried what other people think?" Emily asked
"Well, aren't you? Do you really want to give that creepy Detective more reasons to question us?" Spencer questioned
"Hanna, why are you so quiet?" Emily asked
"I'm trying to keep the flies in my nose and out of my mouth." Hanna said dramatically
"Do not say gnats or I will punch you" Crystal snapped at Aria who quickly shut her mouth
"You're allowed to have an opinion on this." Emily said, ignoring her.
"You want my opinion? I say we hold off and not remember her 'til we know for sure she's not still here." Hanna told them
"What?" Crystal asked
"What are you talking about?" Aria asked
"You think she's still alive?" Emily asked
"Hanna, they found her body." Spencer said
"Stop. I'm officially scared. Can we just not..." Aria said
"For gods sake, Aria" Crystal muttered
"You know, you asked for my opinion. I don't believe she's really gone." Hanna retorted
"We went to her funeral!" Spencer exclaimed
"Yeah, and when we left we all got a text from her." Hanna said
"It wasn't her. Someone is messing with us." Emily said heatedly
"How do you know? And what about all those nasty messages? I mean, how does this "A"person know stuff only Ali knew?" Hanna asked
"Okay, this conversation is giving me a hive." Aria said
"That's a bite. Fly" Crystal said
"Spencer, have you gotten any more messages?" Emily asked
"Haven't you?" Spencer replied
Branches rustled nearby
"What was that? Did you hear that?" Emily asked nervously
"Yes, I heard that. I'm standing right next to you." Aria replied
"Hello? Is anybody out there?" Hanna yelled
"It's probably a rabbit." Spencer said
"Hello?" Hanna yelled again
"It's a rabbit, Hanna. It's not gonna answer you." Spencer said, irritated
"Can we just get to the shed?" Hanna asked, ignoring Spencer, as more branches rustled, seemingly getting closer.
"Okay, that is definitely not a rabbit. Someone's out there." Crystal said
"Let's turn around." Emily said. All of their phones rang and they read the text:
Heads up, BFFS! It's opening season on liars, and I'm hunting.
"Fantastic" Crystal muttered, slamming her phone closed
---
"Morning." Wilden said as Crystal and Hanna entered the kitchen.
"Where's my mother?" Hanna asked sassily
"I guess she ran upstairs for somethin'. I'm trying to figure out what makes this stuff spreadable. You want a waffle or somethin'?" Wilden asked
"No. Thanks." Crystal rolled her eyes
"There she is. It's canola oil!" Wilden told. Ashley
"Darren, why don't you get dressed? I'll take care of breakfast." Ashley instructed
"And on that note, I'm going to get dressed. I'll get a muffin from the grille" Crystal said before running upstairs and grabbing a long skirt from her closet.
__
"Ah! Totally love this color. We should've stocked up on a few more tubes." Mona exclaimed
"Well, I only have two hands. Keep it." Hanna smiled
"Why, is your mom asking to see receipts?" Mona asked jokingly
"It's hilarious." Sean exclaimed
"Sean! What's so funny?" Hanna asked
"Nothin'. Noel's just out of control. Mm, you smell good." Sean said, kissing Hanna
"Save something for tomorrow night." Noel teased
"What's tomorrow night?" Crystal asked, feeling like a fifth wheel
"Noel's parents are leaving town." Sean said
"It means the party of the year is officially on. Think big, think wild, think parental units in a different time zone." Noel said
"I gotta get to practice. Save that smell." Sean said before leaving
"So, the pressure's on." Mona stated
"What do you mean?" Hanna asked
"Not all of us have a Sean to wear to that party, and I'm not gonna spend the night guarding the bushes so you can jump each other's bones." Mona told Hanna
"Okay, they're not gonna be doing it in the bushes." Crystal intervened "Whatever. Have you guys even done it yet?" Mona completely ignored Crystal
"It's not a race, Mona." Hanna chuckled
"Okay mom, seriously. No one's pushing you to be natty ho, but you guys have been going out for months. If you're not together in that way, how do you know you're together-together? How long can you wait before you lose him?" Mona asked as the three walked to class.
Hanna and Crystal heard Aria, Emily and Spencer talking about Toby and Jenna and walked over