This chapter is short, but there is a lot of information and a special POV appearance by Emily! Happy reading!
-sototallyrandom
I automatically walk towards the table where the girls and I used to sit before all of this happened, but Emily is like an anchor holding me down.
"What is it?" I ask her.
"Spencer's over there." She says in practically a growl.
"Seriously, what is wrong with you two?" I'm becoming impatient for answers. When Emily doesn't say anything, I slide my arm out of the link our arms have been in almost constantly since we got back in touch.
"I'm going to go talk to her."
"Fine. Just call out when you want me to come back. I'll just be at the table beside you." She tells me. I sit down on a seat at our old table.
"Spencer?" I ask.
"Hey." I hear a small murmur from my left.
"Why are you sitting alone?" I ask.
"I always do now." She says. What has happened to my friends while I was gone?
"Why?" I ask.
"Emily hasn't told you?"
"No, no one's telling me anything." I say in frustration.
"We don't get along anymore."
"I noticed. But why?" I know I'm prying, but I feel like I'm trapped in the middle of this somehow like the middle link of a chain, attached to each of them without them being attached to each other.
"Aria!" A high pitched squeal rings out and I don't even have to ask who it is when her arms wrap around me from behind.
"You're back!" Hanna shouts, sitting across from me at the table. The only one not here is Emily. And Alison, but she doesn't count.
"I've been back for a day or two." I tell her, all smiles. I've missed her snide insensitive comments while I was gone. At the blind school people kept telling me I was just like any other seeing person, but all I really wanted was for Hanna to make some kind of joke about it.
"Well, you two catch up, I have to talk to a teacher about extra credit." Spencer says.
"Spencer, wait!" I try to call out to her. She's still avoiding me.
"She's already gone." Hanna sighs.
"What happened between Emily and Spencer?" I ask her. She doesn't answer me for quite some time, but I remain waiting. She finally takes a deep breath and speaks.
"We all feel guilty, Aria." She sighs.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"About what happened to you, we all feel responsible."
"That's completely crazy." I tell her, disbelief probably scrawled all over my face.
"And Emily…" She stops what she's about to say just before I finally get the answer I want.
"Emily what? What happened?"
"She tried to save you, but Spencer didn't let her."
Emily's POV
Spencer has left, so I walk over to find Aria talking to Hanna. I don't want to interrupt and eavesdropping would be rude, so I stand further away from the table and wait. Without meaning to, words glide to my ears from their table.
"She tried to save you, but Spencer didn't let her." Hanna tells Aria. Why would she tell her that?! I didn't want her to know! The memory comes rushing back to me as my blood boils.
"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Ali tells us as soon as she throws the firework through the window of Jenna's garage. We all jump when we hear a scream, and when I look back to the group from the garage, I see a fierce look of worry and determination flickering in her eyes. I know what she's going to do before she starts running, and I reach out to stop her, but she ducks under my arm and runs into the garage to try and get Jenna out.
"Aria!" I scream. I can't even take one step before Spencer grabs my wrist.
"What are you doing?! We have to get her out of there before that thing explodes!" I scream.
"No Emily! We have to go now! It was stupid of her to run in there!" Spencer yells at me. My eyes are watering and I try to pull away, but Ali grabs my other wrist.
"Spencer's right. The police are going to show up any second." Ali says and they both try to pull me away. The firework suddenly goes off and my head snaps to face the garage. The windows light up with yellow and orange and flames leak out of the cracks, blackening everything in its path.
"Aria!" I scream.
"I would have had time to save her if you guys didn't stop me!" I scream at them, finally shaking free. During all of this, Hanna stood on the side looking confused as to whose side she should be on. She didn't even do anything.
"Aria!" I shout again, running towards the side garage door. When I look over my shoulder, the others dart into the trees when sirens go off and police lights flash. They ditched Aria and I. I know I'm going to be the only one to pay the price for this, and I'm not even the real culprit.
I an the only one who rushes into the garage to find a minor-burned Jenna hovering over Aria, who is unconscious on the ground. Knowing Aria, I assume she tried to get Jenna out but when Jenna didn't leave quick enough, she jumped in the way.
"Aria!" I cry out, kneeling beside her. Jenna backs away and I check Aria's pulse and take a deep breath and try to calm down when I feel a steady pulse on her wrist and her neck.
When I finally notice her injuries, I gasp. There are horrible burns all over her face and arms, and some of the skin around her eyes is bright red.
"Aria, you're going to be ok." I tell her as paramedics burst into the room along with police and firefighters, who put out the small flames here and there on cardboard and other flammable things.
I had been the only one to be blamed for the crime, but luckily I got off with only community service for six months instead of time in jail. I have never forgiven Spencer, not for letting me be the only one to face charges, but because I feel like it's all her fault Aria is the way she is. In the time it took for Spencer and Ali to argue with me, I could have rushed in and grabbed her.
I glance over at Aria and observe the light scars still spanning her face on her jaw line, cheek, and forehead. I don't know if she even knows they're there. I look into her eyes and see how opaque they look, like she can't show emotion through them, even though I know she can.
I know it's a short chapter, but at least you now understand the whole Spencer/Emily conflict! And I promise Ezra will be in the next chapter!