CHAPTER TWO

Emily slid down into her own hospital bed. They had admitted her as well; Jason had done significant damage to her shoulder with the knife. Aria and Hanna, seemingly untouched, sank into the less than comfortable hospital chairs that were sitting between the two injured girls beds. Spencer was in an undisturbed, possibly permanent sleep except her eyes were open. Since they had found her in Allison's room, she hadn't spoken a word. The doctors called her catatonic. In addition to that, Ian had broken one of her ribs and she had significant bruising all along her abdomen and neck. Toby was slumped over Spencer's waist. Both his hands holding one of hers. His eyes were shut but Hanna knew that he was only pretending to sleep. A thin line of tears clung to his eyelashes like soldiers ready to charge. Hanna turned to Aria who, just like Hanna, looked tired and broken. They had sustained the fewest injuries but the weight of their friends' new medical problems took a toll on their scratched and bruised bodies. The Hastings hadn't yet flown in from their business trip and Emily's mom couldn't be reached. Ms. Marin and the Montgomery's were on their way.

"Hanna and I are going to go see if our parents are here." she squeezed Spencer's hand causing Toby to look up. He too, gave Spencer a squeeze before following the girls outside.

"Please tell me what happened."

"Toby-"

"Please."

Hanna and Aria looked at each other, silently communicating if Spencer would want Toby to know what Ian did to her. A new arrival saved one of them from making that decision.

"There's my mom," Hanna pointed. Mrs. Marin looked torn between hysteria and relief at seeing her daughter. Aria never thought she would see the day that Ashley Marin left the house without a perfectly done up face. Hanna left Toby and Aria and went to her mom who burst into tears the second her arms wrapped around Hanna's thin frame. Aria wondered how long she would have before Byron and Ella made their way to the room.

"Toby," Aria sat down next to her on the floor. "Spencer will be okay. She has to be."

"What happened?"

Aria took a deep breath. "We were looking for a copy of the videos, you know the ones Spencer threw at Ian to get away in the bell tower. Well we found them at Jason's. Emily and Hanna did, actually. We split into two and they took the upstairs. We were about to leave when Hanna remembered she left something upstairs. Once we were up there, Jason came home. Emily figured she could outrun him, if any of us. So the three of us took the other stairs that led into the kitchen and Emily threw something so he would go upstairs so we could get out downstairs. I don't know what happened. She must have gone back for something, because there is no way that Emily is that slow. But Jason got her, and then Ian got us. When Ian took us upstairs Emily was on a bed tied up."

"She wasn't-"

"I don't think so."

"But would he have?"

Biting her lip, Aria paused and then nodded slowly. "He raped his sister. I don't think there is a line for Jason. And Ian, he went after Spencer. That's why..."

"The bruises, the ribs. Is that why she won't speak? Did he-"

"Yeah."

Aria was unprepared for what happened next. Toby stuck his hand in his mouth and bit down hard but still the cry of anguish that seeped passed was the most heart wrenching sound she had ever heard. He then sank to his knees and let the tears fall.

Stunned, Aria stood watching Toby fall apart for almost a minute before sinking to her knees next to him and taking him in her arms. They rocked back and forth ignoring the looks from passing nurses and police officers who were roaming around the hospital hallways more for appearances than protection of the girls. Doctors had forbidden them to be questioned until they were medically cleared, and although Aria and Hanna were technically fine, neither girl could be questioned without a parent.

When Toby's ragged breathing became more steady, Aria let her mind drift. She wasn't sure if she did the right thing by confirming Toby's correct assumption. She certainly didn't expect him to react like this but then she remembered what she saw in those videos. Jenna forced herself on Toby. He knew better than any of them how Spencer might be feeling.

After several more minutes, the two realized their position and made their way to a set of empty hospital chairs.

"Are you okay?" Toby asked.

"Better than them," she whispered. "Ian and Jason ignored us, mostly. Ian was so... I don't even have a word for it. Determined? He was determined to hurt Spencer. It was horrifying. I didn't think," she had to stop again. A few more tears crept from her eyes. "I wasn't sure-" she buried her face in her hands and began to sob again. This time Toby wrapped his arms around Aria, whose body was shaking so badly that even Toby shook slightly.

"It's going to be okay," Toby soothed even though he didn't believe it when he said it. Holding Aria was just as much for his benefit as it was for hers because it gave him something to do with his arms and kept him in place. Otherwise he would be on his way to Rosewood Police Department dead set on knocking down anyone who stood between him and Ian Thomas.

"Aria!" Byron and Ella, both looking very frazzled, sped from the hospital doors over to where Toby and Aria were standing. Byron got to Aria first and wrapped her in a hug "What happened? Where-"

"Mom, please. Not now."

"Now would be a great time." From the door came the voice of a very tall, very gangly police officer with a surly smile and wrinkles around his eyes. His hair was a dark raven and light freckles dotted his tanned cheeks. He brought his hand up and flashed his badge and didn't take much time to look at anyone in the room. "Officer Alavez." Ella warily shook his hand. "If you two don't mind, I would like to speak with Aria and Hanna," he nodded to Hanna, who had walked over with her mom. "-about what happened tonight."

"No disrespect officer," said Byron. "But I would like to know what happened before you know what happened. This is my daughter."

"Sir-"

"It's okay," said Hanna. "We'll answer your questions." The parents turned to look at Hanna. She looked tired and worn, and even though Aria understood that Hanna just wanted to be done with the questions she wasn't sure if they had all the answers that they would need. The officer shuffled them into a private conference room that doctors usually use to speak with families. Aria and Hanna took their seats while their parents stood behind them. Both Ella and Byron had hands on Aria's shoulder as if they were too afraid they would lose her if they let go.

"You entered the DiLaurentis home this evening illegally, you realize that?" Alavez turned on a tape recorder.

"Hold on a minute," Ashley Marin said hotly. "Do we need a lawyer?"

"I don't care anymore!" screamed Hanna abruptly. She stood up and kicked back her chair. "I don't fucking care. I saw my best friend get raped and my other best friend almost get raped. We were hit and tied up and Ian and Jason were going to kill us. Emily's got a hole in her arm and Spencer is so traumatized from Ian raping her that she's practically in a fucking coma. You really think I care that we broke into Jason's house? I don't care. I don't care." Tears streamed down her face. Aria stood up and tried grabbing Hanna's hand but she yanked it away. "We broke into Jason's house to look for the tapes that he and Ian made. They made tapes of all of us. Alison, Emily, Spencer, Aria and me. We're naked in some of them. He was standing outside our windows with cameras. And Jason? He was raping Ali on a daily basis. A daily fucking basis. In all of your police work how did you never figure out that Jason was a child molester? That he was a rapist? Jesus christ," Hanna was pacing. Several attempts by everyone in the room to calm her down were pushed away; even the officer looked too worried at this point to touch Hanna. "You've been trying to solve Ali's murder and you never came across that information?"

"Hanna-"

"No, Aria." Hanna pushed Aria away. "This is a fucking joke. You're all a joke. What good is a police department if you can't even solve a murder? Where is Emily's stuff? Did you take it? Go get it. You'll find the flash drive. There are videos on it. If you can't understand them don't worry we'll explain it to you. I guess we've figured out that you're all a bunch of good for nothing morons. It's Jason raping his little sister. You know, the murdered one? Alison DiLaurentis? Her. Her!" Hanna grabbed the officers folder that had a picture of Alison in it and thrust it in his face so close that it was touching the brim of his nose.

"That's enough, Hanna!" It was Aria who finally grabbed Hanna's shoulders and shook her into a silence. The entire room was quiet. Hanna and Aria looked at each other for a few moments, only long enough so that Hanna could recognize where she was again, and then as the anger washed over her Hanna collapsed into Aria's tired arms. She wasn't crying. Hanna took in long, slow breaths and exhaled into Aria's torn and dirtied black shirt. Aria rubbed Hanna's back and looked up at the officer who, clearly frazzled from Hanna's sudden outburst, was looking mixed between anger and shock. He collected the various items he had placed on the table and nodded to the adults in the room.

"Another time, then."

"Jason raped Ali and Ian raped Spencer?" Tears formed in the crevices of Ms. Marin's eyes. "You girls were telling the truth about Ian. We-"

"-I'll kill him." hissed Byron. "Did he touch you?" he yelled at Aria.

"Dad, I'm fine. Emily-"

"I need to call Pam." Ella began fiddling with her phone.

"No, wait. The police-" But Ella was already dialing. Ms. Marin had stood up and began pacing the tiny conference room. Byron looked ready to kill and he avoided all of their eyes. The only time he looked up was when Aria's phone jingled obnoxiously from her pocket. She pulled it out, avoiding her father's eyes, and opened the text message that she had been dreading all night.

Don't forget that I'm still here. I know everything and I have the police on speed dial. -A

Aria took Hanna in her arms again and rested with her head atop Hanna's. The two sat in tense silence with their parents, their heads spinning, wondering just how the rest of the world could still be functioning when theirs was crumbling in front of them.

Author's Note: The story from here on out is only mine except for one part that I'll identify in an upcoming chapter.