A/N: Yeay! So happy you all reviewed and gave me your thoughts. Glad you all don't mind this story being overly long. Just for that, might as well have a triple chapter update right? ;) Enjoy!

She launched herself in Jason's arms before he could even say hello to her. Surprised that she was tightly attached to him, he quickly recovered from the shock and held her close. This was another one of those times that she needed him.

"I got you," Jason murmured as he held her in his foyer.

"My dad is still cheating on my mom," she sniffled while keeping her head buried in his chest.

"What?" he asked pulling back a bit. Wiping Aria's tears, he shut his front door and planted himself in front of her.

"He's s-still do-oing it," she hiccupped. "H-he's still c-cheating on m-my mom."

Doing his best to calm her down, he grabbed her things from her shoulders setting them down on the floor and then walked her to his couch where he had been watching TV. Sitting her down gently, he made sure she was comfy before going to get her some tissues and shutting the TV off.

"Here you go," he said helping her wipe her teary eyes before wrapping her in his arms.

"I c-can't believe h-he's still doing t-this," she stated sadly.

"Aria, when did you find this out?" Jason wondered while rubbing up and down her arms.

"Today," she sniffled. "Jason," she said pulling away to look up at him. "What do I do? If I tell my mom then she'll be crushed. My whole family will be. But if I don't…" Aria trailed off knowing the consequences to that. Then Jason would get hurt – by 'A'.

"Then what Aria?" he asked her. "You don't have to tell them."

She shook her head. "I can't let my mom fool herself again." She took a few more deep breaths like Jason had been instructing. "The last time he did this and I hid it from her, it almost broke us. She was so heartbroken by it. I can't do that to her…to us again."

"And your dad?" he wondered. Aria shrugged, "why would he do something like this again?"

"Maybe you need to confront him first," Jason tried. "I mean did you see your father actually cheating on your mom?"

"Kind of," Aria replied quietly. Shaking her head, she moved to dive back into Jason's arms. "I…I don't even want to see my father right now. My family for that matter either."

"You're welcome to stay here," he murmured against her hair. "You always are."

With relief, Aria nodded. "But you're going to have to face the truth sometime." She froze again, Jason's words ringing in her ears. A hard incessant knock was at the front door, which made him break from her. Standing up to get it, he swung the front door open and found Emily looking very antsy.

"Hi, This is for Aria, I just came to drop this off for her… oh look there she is," Emily said with a forced smile as she invited herself in and walked to her blotchy eyed friend. Handing over a bag that Aria knew wasn't hers, but Spencer's; Emily bent down and shoved it in her hands.

"There is a time limit," she gritted out. Glancing up to Jason, Emily saw that he was staring at her quite inquisitively. Trying to be subtler, she bent down to hug her friend. "Needs to be done by 7pm tonight," she whispered in Aria's ear. Getting up again, she gave her a pointed look and then said a goodbye.

"Thanks Jason," Emily called, leaving as quickly as she came in.

"What was that all about?" he asked confused, coming to sit back down with his girlfriend. Emily had slammed the door practically in his face, as he stood there surprised by her entry and exit

"Just dropping off clothes," Aria said robotically. Sitting there frozen, Aria was unable to think. She had to tell her mom by tonight. How was that going to happen?

"You okay?" Jason wondered, sitting next to her with a confused look. She seemed lost.

"I-I think I have to go tell my mom," Aria stated dazed. "I-I can't let her find out before I tell her."

"But I thought you were going to talk to your dad to see if he was really guilty?" he asked confused.

"I know he is," Aria shrugged. "I can't take his word for it because he could lie."

"Aria, your dad isn't that kind of person."

"He made me keep his affair a secret for over a year before going to Iceland," Aria told him stiffly. "He didn't want my mom to find out and said that it would break up our family. He made me promise to keep it a secret between us."

Surprised again, Jason tried to provide Aria with all of the logic she needed since she couldn't seem to produce it herself at the moment. "And did he end the affair?"

Aria shrugged. "Ali soon went missing after that and he decided we could all use a fresh start in Iceland. My mom thought my dad was thinking for my best intention, but it was actually for his, so he could reevaluate things with my mom and try to start over."

"But he didn't see the woman he was cheating on with your mom when you guys came back right?"

"Not till now. He's moved on with someone else."

"Ar," Jason said turning her face to look at him. "You need to think this through a little bit more. Sleep on it for a night or something. You don't have to do this all right now. Like you said, you just found out. You are in shock."

"Shock or not Jason, I can't let my mom hear about this before me," she breathed out again. It was true how important Aria needed to be the one to tell her mother. She promised herself she wouldn't make that same mistake as she did last time. But Aria also knew that if she surpassed her time limit 'A' had given her, Jason's life would be at risk. She had to do this today and it was already 1pm – only six more hours till her deadline.

"Just stay here for a little while," he bargained. "Relax, watch some TV, talk to me. Get your mind off of it before you go back home and face your mom with your decision."

Finding it to be not the worst decision in the world, Aria quietly agreed and kissed Jason tiredly. "I'm sorry if I ruined your day," she murmured with her head on his lap.

"That's the last thing you could ever do," he spoke, running a hand through her long hair.

Aria stayed for a few hours at Jason's then, actually falling asleep in the process. When she woke, it was almost 6pm. Startled; Aria quickly went to grab her things and leave.

"Ar," Jason said from the kitchen. Wiping his hands, he walked over to her cupping her face.

"I need to go," she said quite persistently.

"Stay here, eat," he commanded.

"I can't Jason. I really need to go," she pushed. The clock was ticking now. It soon became 6:15.

"Let me drive you home then," he decided. Throwing the towel on the counter, he went to grab his keys and wallet. "Come on."

Making sure she had everything, Aria walked outside with Jason, letting her take her home.

They pulled into the driveway with silence all the way here. Aria was lost in thoughts about 'A' and her parents while Jason kept glancing over to his girlfriend worried. This, he had known, had not only destroyed Aria's family once, but now for a second time he wondered how she was going to handle this.

"Thanks," Aria murmured to him with her bags in her lap.

"Aria, if you need anything…"

"I know," she smiled sadly to him. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay the night."

"You still can," he bargained. Looking up to her house, Aria saw a curtain move and knew her mom had already seen her.

"Rain check?" she asked him.

"Always," he sighed, leaning over to kiss her.

"Call me later," he chimed as she stepped out of his car. Nodding, she shut the door and waved goodbye.

It was all too soon that Aria walked inside and saw her mother in the kitchen. Her father, Byron didn't seem to be home from work yet.

"Hey mom," Aria said ready to start her speech. Glancing to the clock she saw it was almost 6:40.

"Hey sweetie," Ella smiled to her daughter. Cleaning some lettuce for their dinner, she looked up and saw Aria distraught. "What's wrong?" she wondered, dropping the vegetable and wiping her hands to see her daughter.

"Is it Jason?" Ella wondered stepping to hug her. "Did you two have a fight?"

Aria shook her head, tears suddenly streaming down her face. "Mom, I have to tell you something," she sobbed.

"Okay, okay, what is it?" Her mother wondered worried. Bringing them over to the table, the two women sat down.

"Dad is cheating on you again," Aria confessed, trying to muster up as much bravery as she could.

"What?" Ella asked startled.

"Mom…I…"

"How do you know this?" Ella cut in. "Did you see him? Is it Meredith again?"

Aria shook her head, wiping some tears. "I don't know who it was but I…I have proof mom. And I…" Taking a deep breath Aria squeezed her mother's hands, which were wrapped around hers. "The last time when Dad was cheating you were disappointed in me. You made me promise that we wouldn't hide anything from each other again and that if I ever found something out like this again I needed to come to you. I am mom, I didn't want to know about this again but I found out and I don't know what to do…"

"What…how…" Ella was lost for words. Her husband was cheating on her again and she didn't see it.

"What proof Aria?" she finally asked. Swallowing hard, Aria stood up and went over to her bag. Taking out the folded pictures from her purse, she wobbled over to her mom and handed them to her.

Ella shakily took them, gasping as she flipped through the few of them. Putting a hand over her lips, tears fell from her eyes and she crumbled with hurt.

Aria wasn't sure what to do. This had now destroyed her mother. Going over to her, Aria wrapped her arms around Ella and cried with her.

"What's going on?" Mike asked coming down the stairs. Seeing both of his family members crying, he went over to them and glanced to the pictures on the table.

"Mike," Aria said with teary eyes.

"What the hell is this?" he questioned to his sister. Mike's eyes were now furious and hurt was displayed across his face. Slapping them back down at the table, Mike brushed past them both and slammed the door on his way out from the house.

Unsure of what to do since her mother was crying out for Mike and in hurt, Aria kissed her mom's head and went after her brother. "Mike!" she called running out of the house.

"How could you do this Aria?" he questioned with tears streaming down his cheeks and betrayal in his eyes. "How could you show these to mom?"

"What did you want me to do?" Aria yelled back. "You wanted dad to keep cheating on her? You wanted him to come home and play happy family when it was all fake? Don't you think that is going to hurt mom more in the long run?"

"You didn't have to show her," he cried out.

"She had a right to know!" she yelled back to her brother from a distance. "She didn't want to go down this road ever again and made me promise to her if I ever saw him doing this that I had to tell her!"

"Why?" he sobbed, now upset with hurt instead of anger. "Why did he do this?"

"I don't know," she sighed, stepping over to her brother and taking him in his arms. "I really don't." Letting him sob over and over on her shoulder, she waited till he calmed down to try and talk to him again.

"I can't go home," he told his big sister as she went to guide him back towards the house. Aria sighed but agreed to that. Their mother was hysterical.

"Why don't you see if Jason's home okay? Or at least keep your cell phone on you so I know you're okay?" she asked him.

Nodding, he took his phone from his pocket to show her and then backed away.

"Be home before sunrise Mike?" she called to him. Waving to her, she knew he got the message so she went back to calm things down.

Approaching the house wasn't easy and it didn't get any better when she realized her father was home with her mother. They were fighting – yelling like before.

"Ella!" Her father called. Hearing some rustling, Aria finally entered the house after hearing something break. It was a glass vase, holding flowers from the week, which her dad brought home for the two of them. Ella always claimed that it brightened up the house so her dad took the honor of buying some for her.

"Mom!" Aria called as Ella went to pick up something else to hurl at her husband.

"Aria, go upstairs," Her father commanded.

"No, she does not have to listen to you Byron," Ella cried. "You are a shame to this family. Look at what you have done to us!"

Byron, looking sullen, tried to talk to his wife with no success. "I want you out of here Byron. I want you to pack your things and get out of this house," Ella snapped.

Unable to get in much, Bryon finally did as he was told, leaving both of his girls in his wake.

"Mom…" Arai trailed off.

"Go to bed Aria," she commanded without looking at her. Opening her mouth to argue, Aria decided it wasn't the best time. Her mom wanted space so that's what she was going to give her.

She could hear her dad shoving things into a bag and Aria could only imagine how upset he was. Tiptoeing to her room, Aria went and laid on her bed to face the ceiling. It had been too long of a day with too many events occurring.

Rolling over, Aria texted her friends to see if they did their bad deed too. She could only imagine how hard Hanna's was going to be and she wondered why Emily hadn't gotten one yet. Sighing, she also scrolled through her messages to check for Mike.

Not seeing anything, she typed a text to her brother and hit send.

With her fingertips drumming against her stomach, she waited patiently to hear from him. It was now almost 8:30 and she had no idea where he was. What happened to communication? Aria thought to herself. Hearing a buzz from her phone and more fighting from her parents down the hall, Aria opened her phone.

All done. Talk later – Spencer.

I've destroyed my family – Hanna.

Feeling sad at both, she agreed to talk tomorrow and shut her phone again. Where the heck was Mike?

Her phone began a constant buzz then and Aria checked the caller ID to who it was. Jason's name flashed across the screen so she decided to pick it up.

"Hey, your brother crashed at my house? Just thought I'd let you know," he said as she said hello.

"Thank God," Aria breathed in relief.

"So how are-"

"ARIA!" her father called storming into her room. Quickly shifting her phone behind her back, she stood still as her dad's face went red.

"No Byron!" Ella screamed to him as he came close to shaking his daughter senseless. "Just get out!" she cried. "Get out of this house!"

"How could you do this?" Byron yelled to his daughter who had now backed away to the wall of her bed. "What have I done to you to do this to me?"

Aria still too startled to react swallowed hard. "It wasn't…it…I-"

"It wasn't her fault," her mother stated for her to him as she became more collected. "I had a right to know."

"Ella, I-"

"Get. Out." Ella forced again to her husband. "And don't you dare come back."

Byron, who glanced to each female, gripped his bag tighter and stormed out of the room. Ella, who was completely destroyed now, kissed her daughter's head and walked out of her room with tears down her cheeks.

"Ar? Aria!" a voice called that brought her back into motion.

"Yea," she replied completely dazed at what just happened.

"I'm coming to pick you up. I'll wake your brother and-"

"No, Jason no, its fine," she stilled. "I'm okay."

Silence came over the line and Aria laid on her bed. "Thanks for taking Mike in. He's already had a rough time."

"Of course," He sighed, "Can I please come and get you?"

"I'm okay," she answered automatically without even thinking.

"Are you sure? I don't mind coming to get you? I'd feel better about it anyways Ar."

"My dad's gone," she said emptily, figuring out what he was getting at, "and my mom locked herself in her room."

Feeling vacant and numb, Aria curled herself against her phone, "will you just stay on the line with me?"

"Always," he spoke gently as he listened to Aria breathe and silently cry.

The next day Aria woke up to her phone open against her ear. Seeing the connection between her and her boyfriend gone, she shut her phone and sat up stretching. Still overly tired, Aria went on the search for her mom. The house was still quiet and Mike must have still been at Jason's. Peering around, she went down the hall to her parents' room. The door was locked so she guessed her mom was still in there.

Making her way back downstairs, Aria grabbed a quick bite to eat before going to shower and change. Was this how it was going to be from now on? Trying to step back from the situation, Aria called her friends and wondered when they would be meeting up.

"How about the café at 2?" Emily planned. Glancing to the clock, Aria saw it was already a little past noon.

"Sure," she confirmed over the phone, "I'll text everyone."

"I'll do it," Emily spoke up before Aria could hang up. "I'm sure you have enough on your plate as it is. Let me text them."

"Sure…thanks Em."

"Of course," she sighed, "Are you okay?"

"Far from it," Aria admitted. Hearing a beep from her phone, she pulled away to see Mike calling. "Look Em, I have to go Mike is on the other line."

"He isn't with you?" she asked puzzled.

"Out for the night," she explained before switching the lines and hanging up with Emily.

"Hello?" Aria asked to her brother.

"Are they still fighting?" was the first thing that came from his mouth.

"No," Aria sighed, "Mom's in her room and dad is gone."

"Like a coward," Mike noted.

"Like mom wanted him to," she mended. "Are you coming home soon? Did you need me to pick you up?"

"Look out your window," Mike told her. Confused, Aria walked over to her bedroom window like she was told and found Mike and Jason waving to her. Cracking a smile, Aria shut her phone and ran for the men.

Jason was the first one to get a hug. Stepping back, Mike let Aria run into his arms for a long embrace. They didn't kiss, which Mike was thankful for, but they did murmur some things to each other that he didn't get to hear.

"Mike," Aria breathed tackling him next.

"So what now?" he asked his sister.

"We wait," she sighed. Putting his arms around her shoulders, Jason kissed Aria's head for comfort. "Right now mom is trying to cope with this all on her own and dad is just…I don't even know," she sighed. "But I still have my car and anything else. It will be you and I for a while."

"It will pass though right?" Mike asked her hesitantly. "Mom will get better?"

"Of course," Aria said positively. "She just needs some time. In the meantime though, I'll take you anywhere you need to go."

"Do you think we can schedule a therapy appointment?" Mike asked again, this time more quietly.

"Sure," Aria nodded, "lets go check that out."

Guiding the two of them into the quiet house, Aria went over to her mom's phone book and planner and contacted Mike's therapist to get him an appointment.

"Tomorrow at noon. You can skip school early and head over there."

"What about you?" her brother wondered.

"It will be around lunch time so I'll quickly drive you there. Will you be okay to walk home? Or did you need me to come pick you up?"

"I think I'll be okay," Mike decided.

"You know, I can help with something," Jason pitched. He had been overly quiet and the two Montgomerys had forgotten he was there.

"That's okay Jase, we can do this," Aria told him.

"Well if you do need anything," he pushed again, "I'm here."

"Thanks," they both said with a small smile. It seemed to be their trademark or something Jason had decided.

"So anything else happen while I went and hid out?" Mike wondered, "Did you ever see dad?"

Swallowing, Aria mentally prepared herself for that answer. "I did see him. He was…upset which was understandable. Mostly I hid out in my room though, I tried to stay out of everything."

Jason gave her a meaningful look knowing there was a lot more to that since he had heard it over the phone. Aria's dad had gone angry and crazy from what he heard. Jason had literally fought himself on whether or not to just go over to Aria's anyways and pick her up from the house.

"Well, I'll be in my room," Mike decided.

"Okay," Aria smiled, facing him as he left the room; watching him with a careful eye.

"So last night…" Jason started, stepping over to hug her.

"Was long," she decided, falling into his embrace like mush.

"I was so worried about you," he sighed kissing her head. Aria smiled at his words and felt guilty too. She knew what he had heard and assumed the worse but she was okay and was also sorry he had to hear that.

"You and Mike can stay over my place tonight?" Jason offered.

"Thanks," Aria sighed, "but we should really be home for my mom. I don't know how she's taking this all alone in her room and I don't want anything bad to happen."

Jason thought about Aria and her brother while also worrying over their safety. "Did you want me to stay?"

"You don't have to," she smiled up at him. He was being so sweet and loveable but Aria felt responsible for this mess and she didn't want to have Jason tangled in it too.

"I don't mind," he told her with honesty.

"Well I have to meet the girls today. Think you can hang out with Mike for a while?"

Running a hand over the side of her face, Aria let her eyes flutter closed for a few minutes. "Anything for you," he whispered.

"I love you," she declared, opening her eyes to look at him again.

"Love you too," he murmured, bringing his lips down to hers.