“   uhm, if you’d like, we can––––   ”   lana’s attempt to knock mrs. york out of the daze she’s found herself in is stopped by the woman herself.   i don’t believe you,   she says as her eyes bounce between the two girls.   “   why would we lie?   ”   her mouth hangs open and she momentarily looks to vanessa until she feels mrs. york’s staring daggers at the side of her face. when the two lock eyes, caroline’s mother’s expression goes from heartache to disgust.   you said your name is solana winship, correct?   lana nods, unsure of where this conversation is headed.   but, that’s not entire true, is it? deep down, you’re a willis. and why should i believe someone with a name that disgraced?   oh, okay. well, now she gets it. however, when the words sink in, she doesn’t let it faze her; she just continues to fixate on mrs. york, even as she speaks to the friend beside her.   “   nessa, call the cops and tell them where to go.   ”

ashley couldn’t remember the last time she had slept as well as she did the night before. maybe therapy did work. feeling energized, there was a bounce in her step as she headed out the door. the trip to hq wasn’t complete without her stopping to pick up a few dozen donuts for her coworkers. she had a smile on her face as she entered the office. though she had beat most people there, she approached one of the mysterybusters with their back to the door. with the boxes of pastries balanced on one palm, ashley wrapped her free hand around their eyes. “guess who,” she half-sang, exerting very little effort to make it a difficult guess. 

following vanessa, she enters the york house and they sit side by side on the couch. when lana sees the hope drain from the mother’s eyes, her heart sinks. although, she knows that’ll be the hardest part of it all–––– being the ones to cause this family to let go of any anticipation of their daughter returning home one day. if only the woman would believe them.   “   it’s not a joke, mrs. york. i…   ”   leaning forward, lana holds her gaze and lies straight to her face.   “   i talked to my dad when he was in prison and he told me what happened.   ”    the watered down version sounded a lot better. she’s pretty sure  ‘ he killed her and buried her body down the street ’  wouldn’t be taken well.   where is she?  the question comes immediately after, but lana doesn’t answer.

when the door slams, lana doesn’t even flinch. vanessa is right, it’s exactly what she expected. which is why they prepared for this–––– they have a plan b because there is no possible way in hell she’d leave here without doing what she came to do.   “   she just has to be difficult…   ”   her eyes fall to vanessa’s face and then to the closed door again. there’s another pause before lana’s fist begins to pound on it.   “   please mrs. york! we… uhm, we have information about caroline…   ”   she stares down at her feet, feeling uneasy as the truth is revealed. but, it all worth it because the door opens right back up.   come in,   the woman speaks in a much softer tone now and steps aside, making room for them to enter.

she gives vanessa a stern look of bitterness after she tells her what to do, but reluctantly drops her arm back down to her side again anyway. patients™ is not much of lana’s strong suit, especially when it comes to waiting for something that causes such anxiety. once she finally hears someone coming to the door, she takes a deep breath. here we go. when she feels vanessa’s eyes on her, lana puts on a perfectly fake smile in front of the woman.      and you are?      is asked of the two of them.   “   this is vanessa wright… and i’m solana winship,   ”   just hearing herself say it makes her skin crawl. it’s been a long time since those words have left her mouth.   “   i right down the street from here years ago. i know it’s been a while, but do you remember me?   ”

“ okay, i don’t think he’s been fake murdered and forced into a cult. i’m almost positive he’s still somewhere getting drunk. he’s just somewhere that makes him Not Our Problem™. ” kimi arches an eyebrow at nessa’s soft reprimand to not be mean. ever since blair’s callout, kimi’s been more honest about her feelings. that is to say, the bitch has been mean all the damn time. she lets out a soft scoff, watching as vanessa goes to grab the tupperware. “ god, i’m in love with you, ” she mutters reverently, grabbing a cookie and taking a bite. she won’t admit it, but it actually is pretty tasty. “ this will help the hangover, will not cure the problem of me being here for no damn reason. ”

“  okay  ,  but  you  can’t  prove  that.  ”  his  butt  hits  the  chair  with  a  soft  thump  ,  and  he  grins  at  his  best  friend.  “  okay  ,  but  it’s  different  with  you  !  you’re  my  best  friend  ,  which  pretty  much  means  you  have  a  free  pass  to  steal  my  girl  whenever.  but  VEE  ?  i  totally  understand  ,  i  ,  too  ,  would  dump  me  for  her  ,  but  that  doesn’t  mean  it  doesn’t  hurt  !  ”  hooking  a  foot  around  one  of  the  legs  ,  elijah  effectively  puts  himself  back  on  his  bullshit  ,  but  carefully  keeps  a  hold  on  the  desk  this  time.  “  should  i  just  get  a  new  cat  ?  like  ,  the  jealousy  card  is  sooooo  old  ,  but  i’m  running  out  of  ideas  here.  maybe  if  i  do  make  her  jealous  ,  she’ll  remember  all  of  the  time  we’ve  shared  together  and  love  me  again  ?  ”

lana appreciates vanessa’s use of the words friends–––– even if it is quite a strong one for some of the relationships she has with the group.   “   that sounds… excruciating. but i’m willing to risk the possibility if it means bringing peace to caroline and her family,   ”   she nods once after vanessa’s nudge and starts a path to the front door. taking a hand out of her pocket, lana raises it to ring the door bell. when it finishes ringing and no sign of movement comes from inside the house, her eyes meet vanessa’s.   “   huh,   ”    then, after much deliberation, meaning doing the first thing she thinks of, she brings her hand to hover over the button again and starts to excessively press it.

“ don’t do this to me. i’m dying here. ” as if she’s not disappointed in her own choice of men. she lets out a noncommittal noise, staring at her laptop without turning it on. “ i don’t know what the fuck zach is doing these days. i think i tried texting him, like, three weeks ago and he didn’t answer, so whatever. and i wish i hadn’t been invited. going was the dumbest thing i’ve ever done, i swear to god. ” she looks to vanessa’s desk longingly. “ i do want a cookie, but that’s not a journey i’m willing to make right now. didn’t micah go on, like, a pinterest bender or something ? ” while kimi, like everyone else, received his sos text, she knew better than to take it seriously. she only knows about the food because a) it’s always food with micah, and b) eli made an instagram post of the mess. “ stop encouraging him, or he’s just going to do it again. ”

the evident surprise on vanessa’s face causes a small smile to grow on lana’s lips.   “   uhm…   ”   she sighs, deeply–––– searching for an explanation to how she feels.   “   if i’m being honest, no. i’m not ready for everyone else to find out.   ”   and yes, she’s scared of people finding out. more so now because of the giant platform the group has with netflix. in her short list of fears, that would be solid three for sure.   “   but, i wasn’t ready for any of you guys to find out either and you did. it wasn’t that bad, other being slapped by naomi and all.   ”

“  and  i’m  just  ,  like  ,  over  it  ,  you  know  ?  like  …  i’m  just,  like  …  like,  this  is  exhausting.  you  know  ?  ”  a  long  suffering  sigh  succeeds  the  taylor  swift  reference,  thin  fingers  toying  idly  with  his  hair.  bracing  a  foot  against  the  desk,  he  pushes  until  the  chair  is  balancing  precariously  on  its  back  legs.  the  old  chair  creaks  beneath  the  uneven  distribution  of  weight,  like  sirens  before  a  tornado  and  he’s  content  to  be  swept  away.  “  i’m  tired  of  the  fighting.  it’s  not  even  worth  it  anymore.  i’m  so  tired  of  feeling  hurt  and  rejected  by  someone  who  i  thought  i’d  be  with  forever.  &  i’d  just  rather  ,  like  ,  if  we’re  done  ,  she  just  SAID  SO.  like  ,  it  shouldn’t  be  this  hard.  it’s  fine  if  you  like  someone  else  ,  just  be  upfront  about  it  ,  right  ?  don’t  waste  my  time.  i  deserve  to  spend  my  nights  with  someone  who  values  me  just  as  much  as  i  value  them  ,  you  know  ?  not  a  ––––  a  c  a  t  who’d  rather  sleep  in  my  roomate’s  bed  than  mine  !  ”  reaching  a  tentative  conclusion  to  his  tippi  rant  ,  eli  lets  out  the  huff  that  broke  the  camel’s  back  ;  or  his,  depending  on  where  you’re  standing.  it’s  the  simple  expulsion  of  air  that  tips  the  chair’s  scales  and  send  him  falling.  “  wh  ––––  shit  ,  shit  ,  going  down  ,  going  down  !!!  ”  the  erratic  flailing  of  arms  does  nothing  but  push  him  back  faster,  sending  him  tumbling  to  the  ground  with  an  inhuman  screech.  the  world  turns  several  times  before  it  rights  itself,  and  he  quickly  scrambles  onto  uneven  footing  ,  waving  an  accusatory  arm  around  the  space.  “  THERE’S  A  GHOST  IN  THE  OFFICE  !  ”