**Chapter 14**

***Aria's POV***

Jason had to be a seriously reckless driver, I decided, finding that he had already found a parking spot by the time that I pulled up outside the Grill. They didn't have a parking lot unfortunately, but at least this time of day there was always on street parking available. I stepped out of my car, turning around to see that Jason was already walking over towards me. I smiled when he came up to my car.

"You ready?" He questioned, turning slightly so that he was facing the Grill.

"How did you possibly beat me here?" I returned, grabbing his arm and beginning to walk towards the restaurant.

"You drive slow." He responded, teasing me.

"Or you drive like a maniac." I tossed back as he pulled the door open.

I walked through the door, feeling the cool air from inside hit me in the face. I pulled his jacket tighter around me bracing against the air conditioning. Jason wrapped his arm around my shoulder pulling me tight against him. I leaned into him for a moment before he pulled away, grabbing my hand and leading me over to the door leading out the patio. It felt strangely date-like as he pulled my chair out for me, but I brushed it off as just being polite.

"So any plans for college?" he opened once we put our drink order in with the waiter.

"No, not really. I haven't really had the chance to check on applications." I said with a shrug.

His face fell when he realized what I was referring to and I felt somewhat guilty for bringing it up. I knew this hadn't been an easy time for him either and I regretted dragging down the mood. I grabbed my coke, taking a long drink in an attempt to erase what I had just brought up.

"Have you thought about talking to someone?" Jason suggested, noticing my reluctance to talk.

My phone chirped suddenly, breaking my concentration. I grabbed it out reading a message from Hanna. She wanted us all to meet up around 3 this afternoon, apparently we had an appointment with the therapist. I stopped breathing for a moment, my mind instantly flashing back to the game that Charles forced us to play as punishment. I knew that the therapist would ask about what had happened while we were taken and I didn't know if I could talk to either her or the other girls about it.

"Aria?" he prompted and I remembered that he had asked me a question.

"Apparently the girls and I have therapy this afternoon." I answered, gesturing with my phone.

"You're not too excited about that?" it wasn't really a question.

I looked away from him, staring at the table. I wasn't excited about the session this afternoon, though I knew that I had to talk to the others at some point. I was still afraid they would hate me. I would feel so much better admitting the truth once I knew they would be safe from Charles.

"I don't really want to talk about what happened." I admitted with a shrug.

Suddenly a warm hand wrapped around my own, I glanced up seeing that Jason had reached across the table in an attempt to comfort me. He gave a small, reassuring smile and I felt the corners of my mouth turn up slightly at the action.

"It'll be okay." He reassured.

I gave a watery smile in return, but Jason didn't know what I had done in the silo, he couldn't possibly understand why I was so anxious. As much as I liked the attempt at comfort, I still couldn't help but feel like the others would hate me when they realized that I was the one who had hurt them so many times. I closed my eyes, the list of punishments I had inflicted on the other girls burning at my eyes.

"Thanks." I replied.

Just then our food arrived and we began eating, our conversation becoming minimal as we ate. I smiled a little at the fact that he hadn't ordered anything with meat. My parents must have mentioned it to him, which I was grateful for. I glanced around at the patio, seeing that we were the only people out here. My phone read that it was a little after 2:30, so maybe everyone had already had lunch. At least I didn't have to smell any meat with us being alone.

"So what's with the no meat deal?" Jason asked after a few minutes.

"I've been a vegetarian for the past five years now, my mom is as well. I just can't stand the smell or taste of it." I dismissed, not wanting to bring up the mostly uncooked meat that had been provided for me in the silo.

I eyed his grilled cheese and tomato basil soup, entertained that he essentially had a little kid's lunch. Apparently it was the grown up version. I bit into a tomato in my salad, trying to hide my amusement.

"What's so funny?" he questioned after a moment.

"I swear I used to have that same lunch when I was like six." I teased, motioning with my fork at his food.

"Hey, I happen to like grilled cheese, even if it is a little childish." Jason retorted, grinning back as he seemed to enjoy the light-hearted banter. "Did you want some?"

"No, I'm good." I replied, taking another bite of my food.

His phone chirped loudly, drawing a frown onto his face. I felt my eyebrow furrow that he was making that face at the sound of his phone. It seemed like how I had reacted when my phone sounded when being harassed by A. He stiffened, but still pulled his phone out of his pocket. I could see him visibly relax when he read the message and suddenly I wondered if something had happened while we were gone that made him so afraid of his phone. He saw the confusion on my face and gave a shrug.

"My dad just texted saying that he needs me at the office sooner rather than later." He explained.

I wanted to ask him about his reaction to the sound of his phone, but at the same time I felt like it was in the same category as him not asking me about what happened while I was gone. It seemed like those topics were best left untouched. As much as I wanted to ask him, I was afraid if I did that then he would ask me about the taboo topics.

We finished lunch quickly and quietly after that, he seemed preoccupied with thoughts about either his phone or work, while I just didn't want to start something. I felt comfortable with Jason, even if I didn't want to share everything with him. The waitress dropped off our check and Jason quickly grabbed the check so I couldn't and put his card down.

"Hey, I can pay for myself." I argued, even though the waitress had already grabbed the check and his card.

"I asked you out to lunch, not the other way around." He rebutted.

"We could have done dutch." I put in, anxious that this was becoming more and more like a date. I felt my heart squeeze in my chest that I wasn't ready for anything like this and I could feel my breathing begin to pick up.

"How about this, if you ask me out to lunch then you get to pay. Sound fair?" his tone had changed to calming and I think he realized that I was on the verge of a panic attack.

I nodded my head, unable to speak with the lack of air. I pulled his jacket closer around me, suddenly feeling like the warm sun that shone all over the patio no longer brought any warmth. He reached across the table once more, so I moved my hand to where he could reach it. I closed my eyes at the warmth of the contact and barely held back a shiver.

"Are you okay?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I reassured, opening my eyes and seeing how concerned he was I gave a small smile.

The waitress dropped our receipt back and then left us alone once more. Jason signed quickly before replacing his card in his wallet and turning his attention back to me. I brushed my hair behind my ear when he stood up and offered me his hand. I hesitated for half a moment before taking his hand. He walked me out of the restaurant and all the way to my car.

"So I'll pick you up at 7 then?" he affirmed, reminding me of our plans to go out to the gallery opening tonight.

"Yep. I'll see you then." I responded, pulling his jacket from around my shoulders. "I should probably give this back to you now."

He paused for a moment before taking the jacket, then pulling me into a hug. I sighed at the warmth but for some reason felt like I was about to break down in his arms. The jacket had kept me warm but also made me feel safe. I buried my face into his chest, feeling the contrast of his tie and shirt against my cheek. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, hand moving into my hair to hold me against him. I tightened my arms around him, shuddering as I attempted to calm down.

"It's okay." He muttered quietly, so low that I wasn't even sure if he intended for me to hear it. "I'm here."

After a few more moments, I felt my breathing slow down as the anxiety in my chest eased somewhat. Jason was comforting me, even after my little freak out. In that moment, I felt totally broken. I pulled away, feeling his hand linger before he pulled away as well.

"I'll see you tonight." I said, climbing into my car. Again he waited until my engine was on before he waved goodbye heading over to his own parked car. I smiled at the sight of him before pulling out of my parking space and driving back home.

**End Chapter**

Hey, sorry for the delays in posting. I've had a couple busy weeks. But have a couple chapters that I hope you'll enjoy.