Ezra POV

"I'm gonna give you one chance to walk away from this. Not because you deserve it but because this is the last thing we need to deal with right now. And when you go, you need to keep going, because of Spencer's parents find out about this they will ruin you," I stare into Ella's eyes trying to understand what she was saying. It had all made sense up until she'd mentioned Spencer.

"Ella... Mrs. Montgomery," I corrected myself at her glare. I understood that whatever right I had to call her a friend had obviously been lost, "I'm not sure what you're talking about. Spencer's dating Toby Cavenaugh."

"And how would you know that?" she grinded through her teeth.

"Because A-" I began rashly, but stopped myself. Coming out about Aria to her mother was only going to make this worse for both of us right now, "Listen, Mrs. Montgomery, I will explain everything if you will give me a chance. But now is not the time and this is not the place. Please, I need you to listen," I met her eyes, searching them as I waited for her response.

She turned her head away with an audible breath, something I'd seen Aria do a hundred times, then turned back to me with cold decisiveness in her eyes, "Fine I will listen. But you get one chance to make this right. One."

I nodded, "I understand. Come to my apartment after you deal with this and I will tell you everything."

"Fine. Now go."

As much as I wanted to stay, to hold Aria, let her know that I'd listened when she called, I knew I couldn't.

Then I saw Spencer being walked to a bathroom by a cop. On my way out I dipped into a side hall behind them where the bathrooms were. I pulled a crumpled receipt out of my pocket and wrote a note for Aria on it, then folded it in half.

The cop was standing besides the door but after a second he turned and went into the men's bathroom, and I took the opportunity to slip the note under the door to Spencer.

Open POV

Spencer saw a slip of paper slide out from under the bathroom door and she dreaded it. Was this A? Here now in the police station. Was there now here they could hide from them?

Spencer leaned down cautiously and picked up the note it was folded in half and in a handwriting she recognized from months of seeing it on a chalk board was written 'Make sure she gets this -E'