A/N: Double update!

Chapter 4

Not uncommon, Aria found herself staying up most of the night sobbing—but she didn't exactly know what she was crying for. Ezra, maybe, and what they once had; and Spencer for disappearing with no trace. Toby for being so kind to her in her time of need, and Jake, too, for being there with open arms…

It was nearing eight in the morning when Aria received the call. Sniffling, she picked up her phone from her nightstand and read the caller ID: Toby. "Hey, Toby," she croaked into the receiver, and she knew right away that she sounded pathetic.

"Are you okay?" Toby asked, concerned.

Aria's bottom lip trembled and she managed to sputter a strained "No."

"Why?" There it was again, that sincerity and kindness…and pity.

"I wish Spencer was here," Aria cried into the phone, her hazel eyes covered in a gleam of salty tears. "And I wish I knew where to start looking."

"Me too, Aria." Toby's voice cracked from an emotion he'd been choking down since that night. "Me too."

…

After finding a lake and some berries, Spencer had settled down for the night and curled up under a leafy tree, shivering. But she still woke up just as cold, just as hungry, and just as parched as the day she escaped from A so easily.

Why so easily?

Stretching out, she felt and heard her joints crack back into place. As she lied on her back, she stared up at the sun peeking through the leaves. If she wasn't so beaten up and nearing her deathbed, she would have enjoyed the scenery.

Then, her phone rang. Startled, she jumped up and lunged for it.

Last night there was no service, no matter how long she traveled. Now, there was one tiny bar of hope.

All she got, though, was a note from A.

Can you keep a secret? What you know can hurt you—or maybe one of your BFFs. –A

Oh, yeah, Spencer had told A what she'd learned. She'd yelled it at the top of her lungs while she was bound to that chair, wondering if A was out there listening and if Aria was all right. So A had mistaken Spencer's information as something more threatening to them, but in reality, it had nothing to do with A.

But it did have to do with someone else.

And now A had let her roam free.

…

Meanwhile, Toby and Aria were prepping at the edge of the forest for the hunt. Aria wore a pair of protective cargo pants from the wayward branches, a comfy sweatshirt, and no makeup—and she'd been biting her lip anxiously the whole morning.

"You need to stop before you start to bleed," Toby spoke up when he saw her gnawing again.

"Shut up," Aria sighed, but it wasn't that serious.

Grunting, Toby swung the large backpack full of water, food, a notepad, and a first aid kit onto his back. "Ready?" he asked.

Aria easily put on her own backpack which was much smaller, full of a change of clothes for if they found Spencer and her own bottle of water. "Ready."

The two started trudging through the forest. No words were exchanged. Instead, they just marched ahead.

All was silent—until Aria's phone started blaring its ringtone.

Glancing down at the caller ID, Aria's face paled, and a strange, cold sensation washed over her. It was Spencer.

"Spencer?" she exclaimed into the phone, tears already pouring down her cheeks. Toby came rushing to Aria's side when he noticed she'd stopped and heard the beautiful name.

"Aria!" Spencer cried into the phone, barely comprehendible she was sobbing so hard. "It's so good to hear your voice. I thought I never would again."

"Spence, where are you?" Aria sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Toby listened intently and patiently.

"I don't know," Spencer replied honestly. "Are there many lakes in the Rosewood forest?"

"The lake," Toby said determinedly. "I know where that is!" And he darted off in the right direction.

Aria started running after him. "We're on the way, Spence. Don't go anywhere." With that, she hung up the phone and focused on keeping her eyes on Toby.

It wasn't long until they rounded a large tree and saw the lake, a figure standing on the other side. "Spencer!" Toby screamed, followed by Aria also yelling her name.

A wave of relief washed over Spencer as soon as her body crashed into Toby's arms. Immediately her tears were wetting his shoulder, and he picked her up off the ground in a heavenly embrace. "You're okay," he kept repeating, and she closed her eyes to enjoy the blissful moment of being in Toby's arms again when she believed she never would.

When she finally opened them, she was met by Aria's tear-stained face, her lips wobbling as all the built-up tension dissipated. Reluctantly, she released herself from Toby's gravity-defying grasp. "Aria," she whispered, pulling her friend into a well-needed hug.

"I imagined the worst," Aria said, her nasal passages stuffy.

"A let me go after they knew I had nothing on them," Spencer explained before releasing her arms and looking her best friend directly in the eye.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Aria opened her cracked mouth. "And what is that?"

Spencer let go of Aria's elbows and looked down at the ground, smoothing out her ruined dress. "Oh my God!" Toby exclaimed when he saw the huge gash on Spencer's leg.

"You know what," Aria said when she recognized the overwhelmed expression on Spencer's face, and taking her arm. "That can all wait later. Let's get you home, okay?"

As the three walked away, crooked elbow in crooked elbow, Aria leaned her head down on Spencer's shoulder and sighed. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Spencer smiled up at Toby before relaxing her head on Aria's. "You're tiny," she started, causing the short girl to snort, "but you have a big heart."

Aria gulped, her throat suddenly dry. With all that's been going on with Jake and Ezra, she sure didn't feel like she had a big heart. But that was something she'd needed to hear after a long time. "Thank you, Spence," she replied with a small grin. "That means a lot coming from you."

…

After a long, hot shower, a change of clothes, a warm meal, and a cup of coffee, Spencer was revived and now getting her wounds checked out.

"Ouch," she muttered when Toby dabbed alcohol on her cut.

"I warned you," Toby said, adding a tsk.

"I wasn't blaming you," Spencer mumbled, flipping her wet hair over her shoulder.

"Hey." Toby stopped his inspection and placed his hand tenderly on Spencer's cheek. "You're alive and healthy." Then his face hardened. "I don't know what I would've done if you were seriously hurt."

Spencer's heart swelled as it always did when Toby showed his loving compassion. Every time he did, she found herself falling more deeply in love with him. "I'm so glad I took up French tutoring," she said with a smirk.

"And I'm so glad I let you into my messed-up life." His face was now looming closer to Spencer's, her eyelashes almost touching his cheek. Slowly, she closed the distance between them and left a sweet, gentle peck on his lips.

Aria watched the exchange while trying to make sense of her own broken heart. Spencer and Toby had their foreheads touching, and Toby whispered something in Spencer's ear that made her blush and slap him jokingly on the arm. Sadly, Aria remembered when Ezra would do the same thing, always saying something dirty or complimentary that made her flush. Would she ever relive moments like that again with someone else?

Or maybe he had broken her.

"Spencer," Aria spoke up without meaning to. In all honesty, she felt like an awkward third wheel. The seriousness in her voice caught Spencer's attention. "I need to talk to you about something."

Muttering something inaudibly to Toby, Spencer slid off the kitchen counter and trudged over to the couch before sitting next to Aria, distress etched on her face. "What is it?"

Aria's throat tightened and felt the familiar lump form in the back of her throat as she took ahold of Spencer's hand. Compared to her clammy, cold one, Spencer's was surprisingly warm and dry. "I…"

"Sweetie, is something wrong?" Spencer readjusted herself so she more easily faced Aria, and she squeezed Aria's hand, hard, in support.

"The night you disappeared A revealed that Malcolm wasn't Ezra's son," Aria explained in a croaky voice. "And now that you're back, I've been thinking about it more and more, and I…"

Spencer hushed her and wrapped her arms around Aria's weeping shoulders. The best friends they were, Spencer already knew what Aria was going to say before she even said it. "You don't have to say it," she comforted her. Even before she went missing, Spencer could see the conflicted looks on Aria's face whenever she mentioned Jake or Ezra.

Suddenly, Spencer pulled away and a new, unreadable look passed on her face. Aria was instantly alarmed. "Spence, what is it?"

"I have something to tell you." Spencer's lips formed a strict line. "And you're not going to like it."

Aria shifted uncomfortably in her seat and tried to hide the warring emotions inside her. "What?"

Taking a deep breath, Spencer grabbed Aria's other hand so that she held both of them. "It's about Jake." The words tumbled out without another thought.

Aria's defined eyebrows rose and her lips parted in shock. "J-Jake?" she stammered unbelievably.

"He's Garrett's cousin," Spencer went on. "And Aria, I don't think he's in Rosewood to smash wooden boards with his fist."

"No," Aria said uncertainly while pulling her hands out of Spencer's. Her heart belonged to Ezra, she knew that, but a small part of it was growing fond of Jake, too. "You're lying."

Aria had a feeling she knew what Spencer was going to say before she opened her mouth. "Why would I lie to you?"

Speechless, Aria bit her bottom lip and glanced up at Toby, who looked equally as shocked from his spot at the counter.

When Aria didn't say anything, Spencer continued her story. "I was taking a break from all this college and Alison stuff and was doing some research on Garrett and his death." Licking her lips, she had to look away from Aria's shattered façade. "He commented once on the Facebook page."

"What's his motive?" Aria blurted out, panic settling in her chest. "Why me?"

"We all knew Garrett was just playing cop to cover his tracks," Spencer explained. "Maybe Jake is playing karate instructor to find out more. Maybe him and Garrett were close."

"Okay, if all you have on him is a bunch of weak leads, then why are we targeting him like he's some suspect?" Aria shrieked. She wished she could hide how freaked out she was from Spencer and Toby.

"It was all over the newspapers. It's not impossible if he may know you were in that box with Garrett's body," Spencer continued. When she grabbed Aria's hand again, she could feel her friend's pulse racing like crazy. "For all we know, he's trying to extract information from you." Aria jumped up from the couch and stumbled backwards, and Spencer stood up in response. "He could be trying to hurt you."

"H-hurt me?" Aria's eyes were wild. "I know Jake. He would never hurt me!"

"You think you know people," Spencer said, quoting Alison, "and then they surprise you."

A heavy silence covered the room, and it was too much of a burden for Aria. "Why would he hurt me?" she whispered, feeling weak and vulnerable for the first time in a long time. The last had been when she'd found Maggie and learned of Malcolm. And the time before that had been when her and the others had gotten arrested for tampering with evidence. And in all honesty…she hated feeling like someone could sneak up on her and make her keel over.

Spencer put a comforting hand on Aria's elbow and looked her directly in the eye. "Because he might think you had something to do with it."

Aria's mouth formed a perfect O-shape. "You think he might suspect I killed Garrett?"

"Not just you," Spencer said. "All of us." Then she quickly added, "He's probably done his research and made the connection. Ian, the bell tower… For all we know, if Garrett and Jake were close, he knows about the N.A.T. club. We were in the papers when Ian went missing, and again when we found the shovel, and again when Garrett was found dead. They're not coincidences."

Crushed, Aria crossed her arms across her chest. "If what you're saying is true…," she started. "…then Jake took advantage of my breakup with Ezra." A dense pit weighed down her stomach. "And even though we'd barely known each other, he asked me out after I kissed him. I thought it was because of the kiss…but maybe it was because I was easy to break."

Spencer stepped closer to Aria and put an arm around her, rubbing circles on her back. At first, Aria did nothing but stare quietly. But then she shrugged off Spencer, pushed past Toby, and collected her coat.

"There's something I have to do," she proclaimed. She was answered by the slam of the door behind her and greeted to the cool night air.

But she didn't feel it. She didn't feel anything but the numbness lodged in her heart, unwilling to thaw.