Disclaimer: Still don't own it
Aria looked like she was going to panic.
This was understandable given what had happened to me when I had an unexpected visitor all those months ago.
Aria went immediately to her closet and pulled out a large metal bat; the same type that Ashley had when one of the twins had broken into her house. She gripped it and was heading to her door when I stopped her, motioning for her to listen as more noise could be heard from below. There were the sounds of banging and the moving of objects. There was a chance that it was Mike who was below because he might have left his room during our conversation.
"Stay here, I'll go," I told her as I moved towards the door.
"Are you sure; you could get hurt," she said, obviously not thinking about what she just said which was common with these girls.
"Seriously?" I asked dryly and Aria could only look at me with an apologetic smile at her moment of idiocy.
Sighing, I headed out the closed door and into the darkened hallway. Given the sound of loud music coming from Mike's room, it was apparent that he didn't hear what was going on downstairs. That was dangerous since A could have broken in and hurt his sister at any time; which my former boyfriend would never had forgiven himself for. I proceeded down the hall to the stairs and looked down to see some familiar people bringing in their belongings. I then headed back to Aria's room to tell her what I saw.
"Your parents are home," I told Aria as she stood in front of her bed, gripping the bat; I kept myself from smiling when she jumped when I had come through the wall.
"They are? They're not supposed to be home for another couple of days," she informed me and it seemed that her parents really were back together.
"Well they are downstairs; are you parents back together?" I asked, more curious than anything else.
"That's a complicated answer; mom is living with us right now because her place was damaged by A," Aria informed me.
"A attacked your mother?" I inquired, surprised by the news. With that revelation, certain things were starting to make sense.
"Yeah but no one else knows but Ezra so I would appreciate it if you keep it to yourself," Aria said and I was momentarily confused by her request.
"Why would you want to keep that a secret; shouldn't the other girls know about this?" I asked, sitting on the bed next to her. I kept my distance because my form had a reaction by those who got too close.
"Because Emily and Spencer are starting to suggest that we go to our parents about all of this since things keep getting worse," Arai stated and I could understand why that thought would come up.
"Maybe that is not a bad idea," I admitted as I thought about the idea.
It was something that I had always feared might happen back when I was still A. After all, common sense would say that you could only push someone so far before they went to the authorities on their situation. While I had been careful to make sure that I never forced the girl's hands, there was always that possibility; especially when they had found out that I had still been A right after I was released from Radley. This was why I made sure that I had kept Toby a secret so that they were powerless to do anything.
"It's a terrible idea; if we tell our parents then they might go off the deep end and go after Alison in some way. We don't have any hard proof it is her and even though we now know she has a sister, no one would believe us," stated the girl in front of me and that was a good point.
These girls had too much of a bad reputation to be trusted; especially with Alison re-assuming her mantle in town.
"Plus A might retaliate in a big way because you brought her game out in the open," I said and Aria nodded.
"Well if everything goes according to plan, by next week you guys will be A free for the rest of your lives," I said and that seemed to lighten Aria's mood a bit.
"You might be gone then," Aria suggested and that had occurred to me earlier though I never really had time to think about it.
From by brief conversations with the Reaper, there was a Heaven and a Hell. If I somehow managed to successfully resolve everything on Friday, then I will definitely pass on to either of those places. Since I was destined for Heaven in the first place because I would have redeemed myself, hopefully I would go there and find peace for eternity. If not, then at least I had the benefit of knowing that Alison and Courtney would be there with me at some point.
"Yeah; guess you guys will finally be free of me," I said, wondering what she thought about that. Though I wasn't the main cause for their troubles, I was still responsible for a good amount of the drama in their lives.
"You'll still be missed; especially by Mike and Hanna," Aria said and it even seemed like she would somewhat miss me when I passed on.
"My mother too; this sucks for her the most because she doesn't know the truth of why I am really gone," I said to Aria as sat there and conversed with her.
"When she finds out, at least she will know you died a hero," the girl in front of me said and that was a surprising statement to make given my role in her life.
"You think I will be remembered as a hero?" I asked, scoffing at the thought. I had very little doubt that people in town would hold me to blame once everything came out.
"Well you tried to fix everything before you died; that has to count for something," suggested the teen as she lay back against her headboard.
"But I also started everything too," I countered, not having as much faith in myself as Aria did; which was surprising given my own sense of pride and arrogance.
"Well we also had a hand in it too; it was our lies and lack of standing up to Alison when she was bullying everyone," Aria stated and she definitely had a point there.
"I think that was what made me mad the most; Alison was a bitch because her mother was in more ways than one. You four have great parents who taught you better," I said to her, thinking about it. It was a little weird talking about this to Aria and not Hanna but it still felt right somehow.
"Well I am really sorry it took your death for us to realize that; especially since we learned a lot about Alison that we never knew because of you," Aria said, also appearing to think about it.
"That also made me mad; you learned the worst about Alison because of me and you four still stuck with her," I stated and I did my best to keep my anger under control.
"She was our friend; you just don't forget about something like that," the girl simply said and I had to admit that she had a point.
As much as I hated the fact that the girls had stuck to Alison after being exposed to my many revelations about her, I suppose it made sense given the closeness of their relationship. Before Alison, there hadn't been much in the way of friendship for three of these girls though Hanna had me. It was also because of Alison that they were now all so close though I could say that I had a hand in that too; though it had not been my original intention. Before her disappearance, they were more like support for Alison than actual friends; like assigned hand maidens to a queen or noble woman.
I suppose I should have a sense of pride since they were the way they currently were because of me and not Alison. Their close friendship was only because of my actions and not theirs; especially between certain members. They hung out more in pairs than when they had been a part of Alison's posse and they all had boyfriends, or in Emily's case girlfriends, after I had separated them from her. So their evolution was only because of my divine intervention into their lives. Aria seemed confused by my sudden smirk until we were both distracted by a knock at the door.
"Aria; are you still up?" asked Ella Montgomery from outside the room. Aria jumped up and went to the door, cracking it open.
"Yeah, what are you guys doing home? I thought you weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow," Aria said as she went out into the hallway. I stayed close by to listen in on the conversation.
"Well the conference ended early so we decided to come home since we didn't want to leave you and Mike alone for too long," Ella said and I could hear the concern in her voice; like a real mother should have.
"Well you guys should have stayed and enjoyed your time in New York," said the teen and I sensed an ulterior motive behind the statement.
"This was a chance for me to check out the galleries and work for your father; not a second honeymoon," chided her mother and Aria looked a little guilty; which I couldn't really blame her for.
"I know; I'm just saying that with what happened to your place, I think you deserve to have some fun in New York," Aria said and I shook my head in agreement.
"Well right now I just need a new place to live; but once that happens, we'll all go to New York together," said her mother and all Aria could do is smile. I could see that she was upset though just by the body language she was displaying.
"Are you going to check on Mike?" Aria inquired and Ella shook her head as we all heard the loud music coming from his room.
"No; given that he is drowning us out right now, I will just give him his space," Ella said as they both entered Aria's room and out of the hallway for a bit more privacy.
"Oh, ok," Aria said as her mother joined the teen on the bed. I stood in the corner to stay out of their way.
"Your father thinks we should get Mike to a therapist," admitted the older woman and both mine as well as Aria's eyes widened in surprise.
"Why?" I asked, curious.
"Why?" asked the teen echoing my own words and by her tone, curious as well.
"Because a neighbor told us that he has been sneaking out at night and the hospital called us to complain that Mike was harassing one of their patients; the girl who broke into Hanna's house last night," answered Aria's mother.
"I'm sorry; I should have watched after him more," Aria said and I got the impression that the teen was blaming herself for what Mike was doing.
"We don't blame you honey; I think we should have listened to you more when he first started dating Mona," Ella said and I took a step forward at that; slightly offended.
"Wait, are you blaming me for this?" I asked out loud with total seriousness. I might have dragged him into this in a way but I am not totally at fault here.
"This isn't completely Mona's fault; you have always said that we alone are responsible for our choices and Mike was happy being with her. I think he is just grieving," said, defending me which I appreciated.
"I do agree with you in a sense but he is acting up because of Mona," argued the older woman and I narrowed my eyes at her. My anger was starting to rise and both women shook at the sudden drop in temperature.
"Mike has acted up before and that was before he was dating Mona. Also, this is Alison's fault more than anything else. She killed Mona and started all of this," Aria said while glancing over at me.
"You and the girls need to let this go; while I am glad that you are not friends with Alison anymore, but you can't let her ruin your chances for a future," Ella said and my mood lightened somewhat at the possible change in subject.
"Speaking of which, are you still going with me to Hollis next Sunday?" asked Aria and her mother nodded.
"I'm sorry your father can't go with you," Ella said and it sounded like Byron had a prior commitment given that I know he would have wanted to be there because it was the university where he worked.
"It's okay, Ezra is busy too and he wanted to go with us," Aria said and the hesitant look on Ella's face was all too evident.
"I thought you two were taking a break while you were focusing on your academic future?" the woman inquired and it seemed that there was something going on behind the scenes.
"We are; it's just that Ezra knows the school well. There is nothing going on," Aria said and her mother stood up and yawned. I had a feeling that the older woman wanted to talk more but saw that it was getting late.
As the two hugged and Ella kissed her daughter on the forehead, I became saddened at the sight of mother and daughter together. I was really starting to miss my own mother and the way she always hugged me before we went to bed every night. As it was, I couldn't even touch my own mother and even say goodbye; much less thank her for being there when I made such a mess of things that led to my demise. Aria must have seen my sadness because she shot a sympathetic look my way as she walked her mother out of her room and closed the door behind her.
"I miss my mommy," I said out loud and I swear that there were nearly tears in my eyes. This situation sucked so much that I wanted get things resolved to I could leave this Earth and pass on to the next phase of existence.
"Have you seen her?" Aria asked me as she sat down on her bed.
"Hanna asked me that too and only a little. I have been trying to avoid her because I just can't stand to be in her presence without breaking down," I told her as I stayed where I was.
"You should see her; if not for her but for yourself. It sounds to me like you could really use some closure and say goodbye before it's too late," Aria suggested and I had to think about that even though it did make some sense.
While I thought about it, Aria got ready for bed.
"So were you just going to stay here for the night?" she asked once she was tucked in. Judging by the large yawn she just made, it was going to be lights out here in a minute.
"If it's okay; I'll think I will just go downstairs though since your place has far more interesting things to read than Hanna's place or even Spencer's," I answered as I smirked. I think Aria grasped what I meant judging by her laugh. Once she shut off the lights, I headed out of her room and downstairs.
While Ella was nowhere to be seen, I saw that Byron was working on some paperwork in the study. Walking inside, I looked at all the books on his shelves and recognized some of the titles since I had read them myself at one time. There had been a few times that I had broken in and been distracted by Aria's father's study. Unlike the rest of the girl's parents, Byron was far more inspiring than even the Hastings. After getting bored, I headed out to see if there was anything else that could keep me entertained.
It was then I realized that I needed to leave and head to Alison's to do some recon. Since things were starting to get tenser because of Mike, I knew that I needed to get the ball rolling if we were to resolve everything. So without letting Aria know I was leaving, I exited the house into the night sky. Aria didn't live too far away from where Alison and Spencer lived so it would not take me that long to get there; especially if I went in a straight line which I could easily do given my state.
"Going for a night stroll?" asked a voice to my side as I almost neared my destination. I nearly jumped since I was caught off guard by the voice.
It was my Reaper.
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