Sara Shepard - Unbelievable

“I…” Spencer sputtered.

“We can put your sister in jail,” Mona whispered. “And we can both be A. We can control everyone. You’re just as conniving as Ali was, Spence. And you’re prettier, smarter, and richer. You should’ve been the leader of the group, not her. I’m giving you the chance, now, to be the leader you’re meant to be. Your life at home would be perfect. Your life at school would be perfect.” Her lips spread into a smile. “And I know how badly you want to be perfect.”

“But you hurt my friends,” Spencer whispered.

“Are you sure they’re your friends?” Mona’s eyes glittered. “You know who I set up as the killer before Melissa? You , Spencer. I fed your good friend Aria all kinds of clues that you did it—I heard you fighting with Ali that night she went missing, over your wall. And Aria, your BFF? She totally bought it. She was all ready to turn you in.”

“Aria wouldn’t do that,” Spencer shrieked.

“No?” Mona raised an eyebrow. “Then why did I hear her telling Wilden exactly that in the hospital on Sunday morning, the day after Hanna’s accident?” She put accident in air quotes. “She wasted no time, Spence. Lucky for you, Wilden didn’t buy it. Now, why would you call someone who did that to you your friend?”

Spencer took a few deep breaths, not knowing what to believe. A thought spiraled into her head. “Wait…if Melissa didn’t kill Ali, then you did.”

Mona leaned back in her seat, the leather crinkling underneath her. “No.” She shook her head. “I do know who did, though. Ali wrote about it on the last page of her diary—poor widdle girl, the last thing she ever wrote before she died.” Mona stuck out her lip in a pout. “She said, Ian and I are having a supersecret meeting tonight. ” Mona did a fake Ali voice, too, but the voice sounded more like a diabolical doll in a horror movie. “And I gave him an ultimatum . I told him that he better break up with Melissa before she goes to Prague—or I’d tell her and everyone else about us.” Mona sighed, sounding bored. “It’s pretty obvious what happened—she pushed Ian to his breaking point. And he killed her.”

The wind picked up the edges of Mona’s hair. “I modeled myself after Ali—she was the perfect bitch. No one was safe from her blackmail. And if you want, no one will be safe from yours, either.”

Spencer shook her head slowly. “But…but you hit Hanna with your car.”

Mona shrugged. “Had to do it. She knew too much.”

“I’m…I’m sorry,” Spencer whispered. “There’s no way I want to…to be A with you. To rule the school with you. Or whatever it is you’re offering. That’s nuts.”

Mona’s disappointed expression morphed into something darker. She knitted her eyebrows together. “Fine. Have it your way, then.”

Mona’s voice felt like a knife cutting into Spencer’s skin. The crickets chirped hysterically. The rushing water beneath sounded like blood gushing through a vein. In one swift movement, Mona burst forward and wrapped her hands around Spencer’s neck. Spencer screamed and jerked back, flailing to hit the UNLOCK button again. She kicked Mona’s chest. As Mona squealed and recoiled, Spencer yanked at the door handle and shoved it open, tumbling out of the car to the spiny grass. Immediately, she pushed herself up and sprinted into the darkness. She felt the grass under her feet, then gravel, then dirt, then mud. The noise of the water grew louder and louder. Spencer could tell she was nearing the quarry’s rocky edge. Mona’s footsteps rang out behind her, and Spencer felt Mona’s arms wrap around her waist. She fell heavily to the ground. Mona climbed on top of her and wrapped her hands around her neck. Spencer kicked and struggled and choked. Mona giggled, as if this were all a game.

“I thought we were friends, Spencer.” Mona grimaced, trying to keep Spencer still.

Spencer struggled to breathe. “I guess not!” she screamed. Using all her might, Spencer pressed her legs onto Mona’s body, throwing her backward. Mona landed on her butt a few feet away, her bright yellow gum spewing out of her mouth. Spencer scrambled quickly to her feet. Mona got up, too, her eyes flashing and her teeth clenched. Time seemed to spread out as Mona advanced on her, her mouth a triangle of fury. Spencer shut her eyes and just…reacted. She grabbed Mona around her legs. Mona’s feet went out from under her, and she started to fall. Spencer felt her arms pressing against Mona’s stomach, pushing as hard as she could. She saw the whites of Mona’s eyes as they widened, and heard Mona’s screams in her ears. Mona fell backward, and in a blink, she disappeared.

Spencer didn’t realize it at first, but she was falling, too. Then she hit the ground. She heard a scream echo through the gulch, and thought for a moment that it was her own. Her head hit the ground with a crack…and her eyes fluttered shut.

Hanna crammed into the back of Wilden’s squad car next to Aria and Emily. It was where criminals—not that Rosewood had many—typically sat. Even though she could barely see Wilden through the metal grates connected to the front seat, she could tell by his tone of CB radio voice that he was as worried and tense as she was.

“Has anyone found anything yet?” he said into the walkie-talkie. They were idling at a stop sign as Wilden decided which way to go next. They had just driven around the main mouth of Morrell Stream, but they’d only found a couple of public-school kids lying on the grass getting stoned. There weren’t signs of Mona’s Hummer anywhere.

“Nothing,” said the voice on the CB radio.

Aria grabbed Hanna’s hand and squeezed hard. Emily quietly sobbed into her collar. “Maybe she meant another stream,” Hanna volunteered. “Maybe she meant the stream at the Marwyn Trail.” And while she was at it, maybe Spencer and Mona were just hanging out and talking. Maybe Hanna had it wrong, maybe Mona wasn’t A.

Another voice crackled through the CB radio. “We got a call about a disturbance at Floating Man Quarry.”

Hanna dug her nails into Aria’s hand. Emily gasped. “On it,” Wilden said.

“Floating Man…Quarry?” Hanna repeated. But Floating Man was a happy place—not long after their makeovers, Hanna and Mona had met boys from Drury Academy there. They’d performed a swimsuit fashion show for them along the rocks, reasoning that it was much more alluring to tease a boy than to actually make out with him. Right after that, they’d painted HM + MV= BBBBBFF on the roof of Mona’s garage, swearing they would be close forever.

So was that all a lie? Had Mona planned this from the beginning? Had Mona been waiting for the day she could hit Hanna with her car? Hanna felt an overwhelming urge to ask Wilden to pull over so she could throw up.

When they arrived at the Floating Man Quarry’s entrance, Mona’s bright yellow Hummer glowed like the beacon on top of a lighthouse. Hanna grabbed the door handle, even though the car was still moving. The door lurched open, and she tumbled out. Hanna started running toward the Hummer, her ankles twisting on the uneven gravel.

“Hanna, no!” Wilden cried. “It’s not safe!”

Hanna heard Wilden stop his car, then more doors slammed. Leaves crunched behind her. As she reached the car, she noticed someone curled up in a ball near the front left tire. Hanna saw a flash of blond hair, and her heart lifted. Mona.

Only, it was Spencer. Dirt and tears streaked her face and hands, and there were gashes up and down her arms. Her silky dress was torn and she wasn’t wearing any shoes. “Hanna!” Spencer cried raggedly, reaching out for her.