Emily's POV

I looked at the time on my cell phone for what seemed like the millionth time. The tiny digital clock in the corner read 2:09.

I sighed. I guess A wasn't going to make an appearance this time, after all, there's only so many times one can fall for the 'I have something you want' trick. Perhaps we've used it too many times.

I hadn't heard anything from Spencer, so I assumed she hadn't seen anything from her hiding place, wherever that was.

Aria's POV

It felt like we'd been standing by my front door for a while.

"Spence?" I asked tentatively, pulling back slightly to look at her.

Her eyes met mine and she nodded, signaling me to continue.

"Let's go upstairs," I said.

Spencer nodded again, and I let my hands slide up her back, and down her arms, finally taking her hands in mine and guiding her upstairs to my room, never breaking contact with her.

We sat down on my bed, and I wrapped my arms around her once more, again making sure not to break the contact I knew she needed right now.

I looked at her, she seemed so broken right now, far worse than I'd ever seen her before. I wondered what had happened, but I knew better than to ask. Spencer would tell me when she was ready. All I knew was that whoever was responsible for making Spencer feel whatever she was feeling right now, assuming it was someone that had done this and not some random event, I wanted to hurt them, to make them feel more pain than Spencer was feeling.

Spencer's phone went off and I felt her tense up, and not the usual, I hope to God it's not A texting me tense that we all seem to get. It was worse.

Spencer's POV

I didn't look at the message I had just received, I didn't even look at who it was from. I didn't think I could handle it if it was from A or Toby, who I now knew were one and the same.

I could feel Aria's eyes on me, and I knew she must be wondering why I was here, why I was crying, why I was currently stiff as a board. I felt her arms tighten around me.

"Toby and I broke up," I said, my lip beginning to quiver. I tried to hold back my tears, but they fought me and eventually they won.

Aria pulled me closer to her and rocked me back and forth.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to me.

I knew I should tell her the reason we were broken up. She deserved to know, but I couldn't bring myself to utter the words. It was hard enough just knowing, and though I knew it was wrong to keep it from her, I just couldn't tell her. And she wouldn't press, she wouldn't nosily inquire why like Hanna would have, she just held me, comforting me, whispering to me in a soothing voice.

Aria's POV

I didn't know what to say after I told her I was sorry, but I kept spitting out words anyway. At this point I wasn't even sure what I was saying, but then I wasn't sure that Spencer was really focusing on what I was saying either. She seemed so far away, and that only made me pull her closer to me.

Emily's POV

I didn't hear anything from Spencer, even after I texted her. I wondered if the reason A hadn't shown up is because A had found Spencer instead. I pushed the thought aside, hoping it wasn't true, trying to convince myself that the idea was ridiculous. Spencer had probably just fallen asleep watching from wherever she had parked her car.

I found myself at the corner of my street, not quite sure how I had made it home so fast, nor why I had walked there and back in the first place. Taking the car would have been much easier.

When I got to my house, I saw Paige waiting for me on the front porch. Her eyes lit up as she saw me get home and I smiled at her as she ran towards me.

"Where have you been?" Paige asked worriedly.

I took her into my arms, and her arms wrapped around me instantly, her hold on me getting tighter with every passing second.

"I'm sorry I worried you," I told her, "I just went for a walk, it ended up being longer than I first intended, but I had my cell phone, you could have called me."

Paige looked dumbfounded. I knew she loved me more than anything, and I thought it was adorable the way she sometimes overlooked the simplest of things.

"Oh, yeah, right," she said, "probably should have done that before camping on your front steps, huh?"

I laughed, and kissed her cheek.

"Let's go inside."

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