CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

"Where are you headed off to?" Byron asked when she got home from school.

"Well, I mad an appointment to see Dr. Sullivan, but she is booked today, so she had to fit me in tomorrow," Aria told him, "So, I'm going over to Spencer's to hang out with her and Hanna for a while," she said.

"Are you going to be home for dinner?" Byron asked.

"Sure," she told him.

"Mike's got a game. We'll be home by six if you could start the salad," Byron said.

"I can do that," Aria said. She still hadn't told her parents that she had regained her memory. She wanted one more night just to be sure. And an appointment with Dr. Sullivan, who she was sure was going to ask about her parents.

"Good," Byron said, "Meredith got the job," he threw in as if just talking about the weather. Even though Aria knew it was bound to happen, hearing it confirmed was another thing.

"The job at Rosewood High?" Aria asked incredulously.

"Yes," Byron said, "Are you going to be okay with that?" he asked.

"Well, who gets to tell mom?" Aria asked slinging her purse over her shoulder.

"I'll tell your mother," Byron replied.

"I gotta go," Aria said.

"Be home by six," Byron said.

"Yep. I'll start the salad," Aria said leaving her father behind in her room.

When Aria got to Spencer's she and Hanna were hovering over Spencer's laptop. They had Maya's website up on the screen. Hanna had skipped school to go see Mona when she realized she was allowed to go see her. Mona kept repeating a phrase; 'Maya's away sleeping sweet; until Garrett's all rosy, count on me'. Hanna said she just kept repeating it over and over again. Hanna went on to explain that Mona would always make up acronyms to speak in code with Hanna, but Hanna never really understood it, until that point. The phrase came out to W-W-W-M-A-S-S-U-G-A-R-A-R-C-O-M. It didn't take long for Spencer to realize it was a website; .com. They found the site, but there was a 'magic word' they needed to get in. They thought Emily would know what it was, but she didn't. So, Spencer had been trying to crack it since she got home from school.

"Hey," Aria greeted setting her purse on the counter, "Nothing yet?" she asked.

"Not yet," Spencer said.

"So, when are you going to give up?" Hanna asked.

"That is totally the wrong attitude," Spencer said.

"We have to know what is on this!" Hanna shouted.

"Okay, but it's not a piñata. I can't just whack at it with a stick," Spencer told her.

"Yeah, you aren't really getting anywhere," Aria said when Spencer crossed another code off on her list of many codes, "I'm just gonna come right out and say it, Hanna. If you want into this site in this century we need Caleb," Aria told her, "Caleb is back from California so…"

"I wouldn't even have to tell him what it's for. I could just ask for tips on how to get around a tough password," Spencer said.

"Yeah, you know what, go ahead," Hanna said, "At least one of us might be able to be in the same room as him."

"Okay, I'll talk to him at school tomorrow," Spencer said. Hanna's phone chirped, and she took it from her purse to look at it. It was a text.

"I've gotta go," she told Aria and Spencer, "I'll talk to you guys later," she said and headed for the door. Before she could reach the door, Toby burst through it. Hanna walked around him and left.

"Do you know where he is?" Toby asked walking up to Spencer.

"Hey, Toby," Aria greeted.

"Aria," he said shortly not taking his eyes away from Spencer.

"Where is who?" Spencer asked.

"Jason," Toby said.

"Aria, why don't you take your stuff and my laptop upstairs and I'll be up in a few minutes," Spencer said.

"No," Aria said leaning back against the counter folding her arms across her chest.

"What do you mean where is he?" Spencer asked when she realized Aria was not going anywhere.

"The house is locked up and his car isn't in the garage," Toby told her.

"I just saw him this morning," Aria said from behind them, "Yeah, I'm here. I exist. I'm a human who can be spoken to about her boyfriend," she said.

"Sorry," Toby and Spencer apologized at the same time.

"Um, when this morning did you see Jason?" Spencer asked.

"After you went back to sleep. I wanted to see him, so I walked over there," Aria said, "He was sitting on the back porch."

"Was he acting strange?" Toby asked.

"No," Aria replied, "We were just talking. He was sobered up and beating himself up about what happened, but he wasn't acting like he was about to leave," she said.

"So, maybe he's just out," Spencer said.

"He's not driving around with a busted-up front end," Toby said, "That car is evidence. He's not out, he's gone. Across state lines paying cash to fix his car."

"Okay, Toby, calm down," Spencer said looking over at Aria who had taken a seat on the couch. They both knew Toby was right.

"I'm sorry, Aria, but Spencer covered for Jason and I covered for her," Toby said, "And you covered both of them. So, now we're all lying to the cops and we have no idea where Jason is."

"I was just trying to protect him!" Spencer shouted.

"I think you're the one who needs protecting," Toby said.

"He's my brother, Toby," Spencer said.

While Toby and Spencer where arguing Aria grabbed her purse from the counter and ran up to Spencer's room. She took her phone from her purse and called Jason, hoping he would answer. She was surprised when he actually did.

"Aria, I can't talk," Jason said.

"Why not?" she asked. He didn't say anything, "Okay, give me one good reason why you can't, and I'll hang up right now," she told him, "A good reason, Jason. Not something stupid."

"I'm getting my car fixed," he told her.

"Okay, how does that affect your ability to talk to me?" Aria asked, "I mean, unless your doing the fixing on your own. I would be impressed by that. I have never seen you fix a car before. I mean construction, you're pretty good at, but I don't know about cars."

"Aria—"

"No, Jason, this is not fair to me or Spencer or Toby, even," Aria said.

"What does Toby have to do with anything?" he asked.

"Spencer covered for you. Toby covered for her. I covered for you and Spencer and by extension, Toby," Aria said, "You left us here to deal with this mess."

"I- "

"I'm not done yet," Aria said, "It's not fair that I am finally better an you just take off. I don't get it," she told him."

"I'm not going to be away forever, Aria," Jason told her, "I'll be back."

"When?" she asked, "When will you be back?"

"I don't know, babe," he said.

"Just tell me something. Did you know you were going to leave when we saw each other this morning?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, I did," he told her.

"Okay," Aria said, her voice shaky.

"Okay, what?" Jason asked, "You can't just say okay like that and not say anything else," Jason said.

"I just did," Aria countered, "Maybe you shouldn't have just left like you did," she said.

"Aria, I- "

"I've gotta go," she said, "I have to go make dinner for my dad and Mike. I was going to ask you to come with me, but not anymore," she told him.

"I had to go, Aria," Jason said.

"Okay, maybe you did. But was it really that impossible to tell me?" Aria asked. Jason didn't reply, "That's what I thought. I guess I'll see you when you when I see you she said and hung up before he could respond.

"Was that Jason?" Spencer asked from the doorway.

"Uh, yeah," Aria told her, "How much of that did you hear?" she asked.

"About fifty percent. Maybe a little less. I thought you were about to cry for a second, but you held it together," Spencer said, "Did he say anything about where he was? Why he left?"

"No. To both of those," Aria told her, "He told me he couldn't talk, but I kind of made him. He said he will be back, he just doesn't know when," she said.

"I guess that's something," Spencer said.

"You know what the kicker is? He knew he was leaving when we saw each other this morning and made it seem like we were all good," Aria said. It was then that the tears came, "He said he was looking for an apartment around here, even though the only good ones are in Philly, so I wouldn't have to travel an hour just to seem him, or the other way around. He can't live with his dad, is what he told me," Aria told Spencer, "Does that sound like someone who is about to take off just a few hours later?" she asked wiping tears away.

"No. It doesn't," Spencer said sitting down beside Aria, wrapping her arms around the tiny girl.

"Can you just whack me over the head like a piñata until I forget everything again? Things were so much easier when I didn't remember," Aria said.

"I'm gonna kill him," Spencer said, "I am going to drive around until I find him and murder him."

"Why don't you just wait until you know where he is. It would save you a lot of gas money," Aria told her.

"True," Spencer agreed, "Maybe he'll be back in time for the Halloween Train. That isn't too far away. Then I can just push him off and nobody would even know," she said.

"And here I thought Emily was the morbid one," Aria said.

"Yeah, maybe I shouldn't kill him," Spencer said, "You know the sad thing about my life is that I've only know about Jason being my brother for…less than a year and we have a better relationship than Melissa and I probably ever will," Spencer told Aria.

The next morning Aria walked with Spencer to find Caleb. They found him easily in the student parking lot in a new car.

"Nice car," Aria said catching his attention. He turned to look at Aria and Spencer.

"It is very impressive," Spencer said.

"My mom doesn't use it much since the accident," Caleb said.

The accident that this new 'A' caused in California.

They ran Caleb's mom off the road the same day Hanna was going to tell Caleb that there was a new 'A' after them. It scared her that 'A' was after his family all the way on the other side of the country and she backed out at the last second on telling him about it. So, he broke up with her.

"How is your mom?" Aria asked.

"She's still shaken up about the whole thing. She doesn't understand why someone would try to run her off the road, but she's better than she was when it first happened," he told her.

"That's good," Aria said.

"How are you doing?" Caleb asked, "I heard you got your memory back. That's awesome. I just hope you remember how awesome I have always been."

"Oh, you were definitely the first person I though of," Aria joked. Spencer and Caleb laughed, "Anyway, Spencer has a question and I'm not here for it. So, I'll see you guys later," she said heading towards the school.

Aria met Emily at her locker inside. Emily was getting her book necessities for first period. Aria had stopped to get hers already.

"So, what happened with Jason?" Emily asked. Aria wasn't sure if Emily knew about the drunk driving incident, so she didn't mention it, "Toby asked if I knew where he was, but I didn't. It seemed like he wanted to tell me something more but couldn't. Like I had to hear it from you and Spencer or something."

"Jason kind of fell off the wagon last night, if you know what I mean," Aria told Emily quietly, "He got drunk and decided to drive home drunk. Spencer and I were driving to Spencer's and he came around the corner so fast. He passed us and hit a parked car in front of us," Aria continued. They stopped walking outside of the chemistry classroom and Aria started talking more quietly. She, Spencer, and Toby could get into so much trouble if anyone heard and told the police, "Spencer made him move over and drove his car home. Told him not to tell anyone. They basically did a hit and run. No, that is exactly what happened. I got into Spencer's car and I just sat there for…I don't even know how long, but Wilden showed up. He said it was because there was an abandoned car in the road, but it was because of the accident," Aria continued, "I lied and told them I didn't see what happened and Spencer let me use her car to get my medication because I left it had home. I got to Spencer to find out Spencer to Toby what happened and now he was involved. And you know he was going to cover for here. There is no way he wouldn't. So, now it's a huge mess."

"So, you and Jason make up about the whole flyer thing and then decides to drink and drive and now he's nowhere to be found?" Emily asked.

"I guess I could have shortened it to that, yes," Aria said, "He told me he would call me when he can, whatever that means. So, maybe I can find out more then," Aria said, "I think I'm gonna try to call him again later. If he doesn't want to talk to me then I think we might have to break up. If he's not going to be around, what's the point?"

"Don't do anything rash, Aria," Emily said.

"I cannot keep doing this back and forth thing, Em," Aria said, "And now he's not even here to defend any of his actions or anything. I just don't know."

"I'm always here if you need me," Emily said, "All of us are."

"I know," Aria replied.

During a break between classes Spencer showed the girls a text she had received from 'A' while she was talking with Caleb about Maya's website.

UNKNOWN: Mona's almost gone. Hanna's next. -A

Spencer showed them the text.

"What does that even mean?" Aria asked, "Mona's gone where?" Spencer shrugged.

"The doctors at Radley want to send Mona to another hospital," Hanna said, "One with thicker bars."

"How do you know that?" Emily asked.

"Wren told me," Hanna said.

"He did?" Spencer asked.

"Well, he thought I should know," Hanna said defensively, "And he said that Mona's been passing her meds to a visitor she told them.

"What about the 'Hanna's next' part?" Aria asked.

"I don't want to give anyone any of my blood. I need all I've got," Hanna said.

"Technically you don't need every drop of blood in your body to live," Aria said. Hanna rolled her eyes, "But I get it. They've taken and tested so much of my blood it's insane," Aria told her.

"You guys are acting like children," Spencer said, "Besides, my mom is working on it."

"Wait a minute. If they send Mona away, we're not gonna find out why she gave us Maya's website," Aria said.

"If it really is Maya's site," Emily said.

"Are you still having the dream?" Dr. Sullivan asked later that evening at Aria's therapy session. She was sitting in her chair across from the couch that Aria was sitting on.

"No," Aria told her, "Not since I started remembering, but it has only been two days, so I don't want to get too hopeful just yet," Aria said.

"How are your family and friends about it?" Dr. Sullivan asked. Aria had not yet told Dr. Sullivan that she hadn't told her parent and she wasn't going to until she did tell her parent, but she could lie. She had gotten pretty good at that.

"They still treat me like I'm made of glass and I'll shatter at any second, but I kind of expected that," Aria told her, "Like they don't want to break me and make me lose anything again."

"Have you talked to them about this?" she asked.

"Not yet," Aria said, "I should probably do that, huh?" she asked.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea," Dr. Sullivan said, "If you want to bring them all in here you can do that," she told Aria.

"I think I can handle it," Aria told her. Dr. Sullivan nodded, "Now, what's the situation with my meds?" Aria asked.

"You need to stay on that medication," Dr. Sullivan told her, "We can lower the dosage, but right now you will be very prone to panic attacks. So, we can lower your dosage from 1mg to 0.5mg. But you will need to take it twice a day for now. So, it will still be like you're taking 1mg for a while, but not all at once," she said, "It will need to be taken every 12 hours or if you feel a panic attack coming on take one. Hopefully we will have you off the clonazepam in a few months and I can get you onto a less aggressive anti-anxiety medication, because I think you may always need them, even if it's just to have around just in case."

"Alright," Aria said.

"And if you ever find out about a pregnancy I need to know right away, because clonazepam and pregnancy do not go together at all," Dr. Sullivan said, "I can diagnose a different medication during the pregnancy."

"Okay, but what if I don't find out about it until it's too late?" Aria asked now worried. Not that she thought she was pregnant, but that her medications could hurt a future child, "Why'd you have to freak me out?"

"I wouldn't even worry about that right now," Dr. Sullivan said, "Talk to me about it when you need to," she told Aria.

Aria was laying in bed that night when she decided to call Jason. The phone rang three times before someone answered. It wasn't Jason.

"Hello?" a woman answered. She had a tone to her voice that sounded like she smoked at least ten packs of cigarettes a day.

"Uh, hi," Aria replied, "Where's Jason?" she asked.

"I am not permitted to give out that information," the woman told Aria.

"Why do you have Jason's phone?" she asked.

"All phones are turned off and turned in at 9:00pm. Jason must've forgotten to turn his off," the woman told her.

"So, you just decided to answer it instead of just turning it off?" Aria asked not meaning to sound as rude as she did.

"I'm sorry, honey, but if someone calls we have to answer and let them know they won't be able to get ahold of whoever they are trying to call until mornin'," the woman told her.

"Sorry," Aria apologized, "Will you please just tell him that Aria called."

"I can do that," the woman told her.

"Can I ask what your name is?" Aria asked.

"My name is Janine. And I'm guessing you're Aria," she said.

"Yeah," Aria said, "Jason just left yesterday without saying anything to anybody and I was worried, so I called. If you could just tell him I called. If he wants to call he can. If not…I guess he won't."

"I'll give him the message," Janine said.

"Thank you," Aria said before hanging up.

That woman did not sound like she was from anywhere around Pennsylvania. She had more of a Boston or New Jersey accent. But the only time Aria had heard any of those was on TV and they always exaugurated accents on TV.

Based on what Janine had told her and how she was speaking about 'not permitted' Aria knew he had to be in a rehab facility or something of that nature. She thought he was just ignoring all of them when he just couldn't use his phone. But at the same time, she thought it might still be a good…maybe not good, but appropriate idea to break up with him. He shouldn't be thinking about her and their relationship while trying to get better. Her head was spinning in circles. He told her he would be back. She could wait for him. She would. If he wanted her to.

AN: New chapter!

So, this was supposed to be in two different parts, but then I decided to put it into one chapter. Since Jason isn't in a lot of the rest of the series I am going to have to make up a lot for him. I already have ideas for that, but would like more if you want to give me some.

Also, the next episode/chapter is the Khan party thing. PM or review and questions for the Truth game they do. Also, there could be a dare part in there if you have ideas for that. (I would like to use some of your ideas for the Truth game though)

ALSO, when would be a good time to bring Alex Drake in (in your opinion(s))? I am having a hard time deciding. I know it is going to be before the Dollhouse. But maybe a specific episode. IDK.

Anyway, thank you guys for all the reviews. You're awesome. Please keep them coming. That is why I keep writing this story. It's possible I will update again tonight. Depends on if I can get the next chapter finished and the way I want it.