**Chapter 10**

***Jason's POV***

I hesitated as I reached up to knock on the door to the Montgomery house. Without overthinking why she wouldn't want me here, I rapped quickly on the door. Maybe I should wait until she's been back longer, I thought as I shifted on my feet. The urge to run away intensified and I was just about to give in when the door opened to reveal Ella Montgomery. It was strange seeing her in the doorway as I knew that she no longer lived in the house.

"Hey, Jason. Come on in." She said with a smile, stepping back to let me in.

"Thank you, Mrs. Montgomery." I returned out of habit.

"Oh, Jason. Call me Ella." She directed with a smile. "I take it you're here to see Aria?"

"Yeah, if that's alright."

"Of course, why don't you join us for dinner?"

I gave a smile and nod of consent, but I could feel my eyes begin to wander looking for Aria. I was anxious to see her alive and well. My mind flashed back to the taunting messages I had received while the girls were gone. I held back the grimace that usually came with thinking about it. My anxiety eased when I saw her walk down the staircase. She paused for a second before a wide smile spread over her mouth and she moved over to me, pulling me into a hug. I made sure to move slowly, so she wouldn't be surprised or react badly. I held tightly to her, feeling how much thinner she seemed now. She had always been small, but the difference from before was startling, how delicate she seemed. I buried my face in her hair, reassuring myself that she was here. Her hair was shorter as well and I knew that she had left the silo with pink streaks throughout. They were gone now, which helped to relieve some of my guilt.

-You were right. The pink looks good on her.-

The message ran through my head again. I pulled her even closer and I heard her let out a contented sigh. I pulled back a little and pressed a kiss to her forehead, unable to hold myself back. Losing her had hurt just as much as losing Spencer and Ali, back when we all thought she was dead. Maybe even a little more. The thought terrified me; that I could be in deeper than I thought.

"I missed you." I whispered; quiet enough that only she could hear me.

"I missed you too." She admitted, pulling me back into a tight hug. "Especially your hugs."

I smiled at her admission, loving the feeling of her in my arms. Of knowing for a fact that she was alright. "You can have a hug anytime you want."

She pulled back, but held onto my hand and used it to pull me into the living room. She sat down on the couch and dragged me down to sit next to her. As soon as I was settled she curled into me, always keeping physical contact with me. I wondered how long she had been kept where she was away from the other girls. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and she snuggled in closer.

"So what have you been up to?" she questioned when we settled down.

I smiled at her diversion, before telling her about how I was going to be counseling at the high school more now, spending a little less time at the real estate office, how I wished I could get Ashley Marin back because she was so much better than my current assistant. I didn't mention Ali, her disappearance, and especially not the texts.

"There's a gallery exhibit opening up in Philly tomorrow night. They're doing an homage to Georgia O'Keefe. So lots of close up nature photography. I can get us in, if you want to go." I offered, knowing that even only being back in Rosewood two days she may be needing an escape from it all.

"I'd love that." She smiled at me.

When she smiled like that it seemed like nothing was wrong. We stayed on the couch like that until her mom told us dinner was ready. We sat next to each other and I ignored how Mike stared whenever she touched me. I noticed that there was no meat on the table and wondered at it for a moment before remembering that she was a vegetarian.

I left after dinner with the promise that I would pick her up tomorrow at 7 to go to the gallery opening. She raised onto her tip toes and pressed a kiss to my cheek. When I looked at her, she looked proud of herself for it. I walked to my car with a smile on my face, remembering how her lips felt on my cheek.

**End Chapter**

AN: So Jason has finally made his appearance, I hope you enjoyed it even though the chapter is short this week. Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing, I really enjoy the responses. This has been living on my computer for the last several years and I'm glad other people are reading it.