Melissa had felt the strain with her sister lately and it bothered her. It always bothered her. She couldn't help but feel resentful of her friends, simply because Spencer trusted them. Okay, so she hated Alison but who hadn't hated Ali at some point in knowing her? She seemed like the little darling of Rosewood but really she was a vicious bitch that had screwed nearly everyone she knew over at one point or another. Melissa could get over her Alison hate, especially if she really was changing the way people said. But she couldn't get over the lost trust between her and Spencer.
Spencer hated her but she was the one who had stolen Melissa's essay and hooked up with not one, but two of Melissa's boyfriends. How did Spencer think that made her feel? And how horrible she felt when Spencer thought she was A but she understood why that happened. Melissa did terrible things to protect her sister, she killed somebody to protect Spencer. It had warped her in a way that hadn't been healthy and as a Hastings she had a proclivity for being one hundred percent fucked up anyway. Melissa resented Spencer too but at the same time, she wanted to hold her and shield her and be the big sister that they both wanted Melissa to be.
Any rivalry between them had disappeared as far as Melissa was concerned. If Spencer felt like her parents put too much pressure on her, Melissa felt that exact same pressure. If she conformed it was because she didn't know what else to do. Melissa was a survivor of the very same household. And when she heard that Spencer had been kidnapped, all she wanted to do was find her sister and hug her and tell her things would be fine. Because sooner or later the law of averages stated that they had to be fine. Even if she killed somebody, even if Spencer had been kidnapped, even if she made out with her brother by accident or even if her fiancee killed himself with the help of a teenage bully.
Now she was getting the chance she was always wanted, to be a mother, to be a big sister. She could start over with Newt. He was fucked up too after surviving his maze ordeal and all Melissa wanted to do was give him a chance. Despite their screwed up lineage, Melissa and Spencer had been given every chance in life by being rich white women growing up in a safe and upscale environment.
Safe. Melissa wanted to laugh. What a fucking joke that was. The safest place in Rosewood was Radley.
When Spencer arrived, Melissa stood up to greet her sister. She hugged her hard but not too hard before letting her go and sliding back into the booth.
"You know the coffee here's not bad," Melissa said. "You know for diner coffee. It's really strong." She smiled weakly. She knew how much Spencer loved her caffeine. Melissa was a coffee junkie herself.
"So how are you?" she started.
Out of all the people in the world, she was glad that Spencer was here. Because if anyone understood Melissa, it was her sister. As much as she would love to see Wren or her parents or some of her friends, she wanted what felt safest and closest and that would always be Spencer. She just hoped it wasn't too late.