**Chapter 19**

***Aria's POV***

My phone chirped from its place on the night stand, alerting me to a text message. I raised myself up from the bed, throwing back the blankets. It was from Ali, before I had the chance to open it, another text came in from Spencer. I gave a sigh at the barrage before opening the first text.

-Ali: I just finished talking to my dad. Can you guys come over?-

-Spencer: Are you coming over to Ali's? She's kinda freaking out.-

I typed back a group message to the two of them, saying that I was on my way over. I looked down, realizing that I was still in my pajamas. Quickly, I threw back on my clothes from the previous day and grabbed my purse. The house was quiet, so I didn't worry about telling my dad or Mike where I was going. Instead, making a pitstop at the squad car parked across the street from my house.

"I'm going over to Alison's house." I informed the cop, who gave a nod and then grabbed his radio, alerting the cop who was over watching Ali's house to expect me.

I rolled my eyes as I climbed in my car, but disregarded the fact that I felt like I was being watched like I was a suspect or something. I shook the thought away, knowing that the cops were stationed outside to protect us. I glanced in the rear view mirror, glad to see that the cop was staying where he was and making sure that no harm came to my family, and that no one could break in while I was gone.

I pulled up outside of Ali's house, barely knocking on the door when it was pulled open by Spencer. She stepped back and I walked in, heading up the stairs to Ali's room. I was the last one to arrive it seemed, Ali had already taken up her position on the bed, while Hanna and Emily were standing around her.

"So what'd your dad say when you showed him the picture?" Hanna asked when we had all settled into our spots.

"Did your dad admit that he lied to you and Jason?" I pressed.

"Guys, give her some space." Spencer directed, obviously concerned about the affect this was having on Ali.

"Charles DiLaurentis is my brother." Ali announced after a moment, she looked down as she avoided looking at any of us.

"So why hasn't he been living with your family this whole time?" Emily asked.

"Because he was sent to Radley." Ali admitted.

"I'm so sorry, Ali." Emily comforted, sitting next to Ali and placing a reassuring hand on Ali's arm.

"All roads lead to Radley." Spencer muttered, finding a seat next to Ali's desk.

"So why didn't your dad tell you about him earlier? Why the secrecy?" I pushed.

"He said he wanted us to have a normal childhood without the complication." She said 'complication' with such disdain that it was obvious she was quoting her father.

"So what happened to him? Does your dad know where he is? How he could have done this?" Hanna asked.

Ali shook her head, her eyes beginning to shine with tears. "He didn't do this. My dad was sure it couldn't be him." She explained.

"How can he be so sure?" Spencer pressed Ali.

"Because Charles is dead. He committed suicide when he was 16, he never left Radley."

"How did he do it?" Hanna continued on, her tone blunt as though she didn't believe it. Which I could understand, Mr. DiLaurentis wasn't the best source of information it seemed.

"He took a bunch of pills."

"Where is the grave?"

"They had him cremated, my dad was out of the country at the time."

"I don't believe it. No body. No grave. No proof." Hanna dismissed, beginning to pace across the room.

"Hanna." Emily chided.

"Until I see proof of his death, I'm gonna keep believing that freak is out there." Hanna snapped roughly, which earned her harsh looks from all of us. "Whatever, I'm heading home. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow."

"I should probably go too." Emily said, moving from her seat next to Ali and following Hanna out the door.

I waited until Spencer was heading out to turn back to Ali. "How's Jason doing?" I questioned quietly, not wanting to bring it up in front of all the girls.

"He's alright. Angry at my dad. He stormed off after my dad told us. He's up in his room. Though before I told him, he seemed a little disappointed that his date was cancelled." She teased gently.

"It wasn't a date, Ali." I shot back immediately, uncomfortable with the thought of dating, of being intimate with anyone.

"Hey, it's okay, Aria." She tried to reassure, but I couldn't help how on edge I was.

"I'm gonna go." I told her, heading downstairs after the others. I let myself out the door, locking it behind me.

I stopped by the cop, letting him know that I was heading back home. He nodded and as I walked away I saw him get on the radio. It still made me uncomfortable and I shivered at the fact that they were watching my movements.

I took a handful of pain pills when I got home, trying to make the growing headache go away. I curled up in bed, waiting for sleep to come and take me.

I woke up with the sun streaming through the window. I don't think that I had slept that long, but thankfully I didn't remember having any dreams. My phone chirped as I slowly sat up in bed. I reached over, smiling when I saw that it was a text from Jason.

-Jason: Hey, sorry about last night. Do you wanna go out to coffee this morning?-

-Aria: Definitely, what time were you thinking?- I typed back before grabbing my bathrobe, taking it and my phone to the bathroom with me.

I flipped the hot water on, letting the water get hot while I waited for a reply. I was already mostly undressed when I heard the chirp of my phone. I opened the message, seeing that he had left me a good hour and a half before the meeting time, I typed back that I would see him then. I hopped into the shower, feeling the warmth fill me up. I sighed as the hot water turned my skin a bright pink. The bruises on my hips and thighs were still glaringly obvious. While those on my chest were smaller and healing quicker, now a greenish yellow. I soaped up, washing away all my worries as I felt my muscles ease with the heat. I washed my hair quickly, turning off the water just as it began to cool down.

I quickly dressed, feeling more comfortable as the days went by with changing clothes, at least while in the safety of the bathroom behind a locked door. I pulled on a pair of leggings, a skirt, and long sleeved top before applying my concealer. The bruises on my face were almost to the point where they didn't need to be covered up anymore, though the scabs where his fingers had dug into my skin were still visible. I looked at the length of my hair before deciding that I would curl it after all, accepting that it was short now. I headed back to my room, in search of the curling iron. It still sat on my vanity, even though I hadn't used it in a while. My eyes traveled over to the bottles of pills on my nightstand, the anxiety pills standing out. Quickly switching the curling iron on to let it heat, I glared at the offending bottle before grabbing it off the table, I took the bottle to the bathroom. The pills swirled down the toilet and I threw the bottle into the garbage before returning to my room. I sat back down at my vanity, finishing my make-up and hair before grabbing my purse and heading downstairs.

"You going to school?" Mike questioned, surprised at seeing me up and about this early in the day. "Cause dad already asked me to pick up your work."

"I'm, uh, actually just going to get coffee. I'm doing some work at Hollis today." I admitted quietly, trying not to feel cowardly that I wasn't going back to school. "Do you need a ride to school?"

"Sure." He replied, slinging his bag over his shoulder and moving towards the door.

I grabbed my keys from the dish and headed out after him. We sat in silence for a while, I let Mike pick the radio station, which meant we were listening to rock. At least it was something that I didn't mind.

"How'd you sleep last night?" he asked after a few minutes of the quiet.

"Alright, I guess." I returned, afraid he was mad about me climbing in with him the other night.

"You know you can come crash with me if you need to, right?" he clarified, making me smile.

"Thanks." I said, somewhat grateful that we had just pulled up outside of school. It was strange that he was being so cool about it, making me feel like he was babying me because of what had happened. Though I was grateful that he had offered it up, as the night I had crashed with him had been about the best sleep I'd had since being back.

He waved goodbye, closing the door after him and heading into the school. I pulled away, annoyed at having to wait in the soccer mom queue who were all dropping off their kids. I only had a little bit before I was supposed to meet Jason at the coffee shop, so I drove straight there. When I pulled up he was walking towards the door, somehow he had amazing timing. I smiled as I parked the car and headed over to meet him. He pulled me into a hug when I walked up, making me sigh at how warm and comforting he was.

"Sorry about cancelling last night." I said sheepishly as we headed into the coffee shop and got into the line.

"Actually, I'm kinda glad you did." He responded, I looked at him shocked. "It meant that I finally got some answers from my dad. I'm glad I did."

I smiled at him as we moved up to the counter, we ordered our drinks and he insisted that I should order a pastry too, matching his order for a chocolate croissant. I looked around at the shop around me, keeping an eye on the people around me. While I knew that no one would hurt me while I was in a crowd like this, I also knew that it was possible for Charles to be hiding out in the crowd.

"Why don't you go grab a seat and I'll wait for our order." He suggested, seeing how anxious I was.

I smiled and nodded my head before heading over and grabbing a corner table. I set my purse down, shaking a little in anticipation as I slid into the chair so my back was securely against the wall. After a few minutes, Jason came over to the table with our order and set it down. I took the latte, grateful to have something to busy my hands with.

"Are you okay?" he asked cautiously, seemingly hesitant to ask me that.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I replied, giving a smile in response.

I think he saw how fake my smile was, how it shook on my face. Or maybe the way that I eyed the patrons of the coffee shop carefully, never relaxing. I took a drink to try and cover up my nerves.

"Aria, it's okay if you aren't. No one expects you to be at a hundred percent." He reassured, reaching out to take my hand.

I flinched slightly at the movement, but accepted his touch. I glanced up, seeing he looked hurt at my reaction. I felt shame burn through me, I didn't want to see that look on his face. It worried me, how much seeing him hurting affected me. I was getting in too deep with Jason, and it scared me. Suddenly, Ali's words from the night before came back to me. She had called our plans a date. I wondered if Jason had thought it was the same and suddenly I felt panic begin to crawl up through me.

"Aria?" he asked, dragging me out of my thoughts.

"Did you think we were going on a date last night?" the question popped out before I could stop it.

"What? Where did you get that?" he replied, not answering my question.

"Last night, Ali said you were disappointed that I cancelled our date."

Jason pulled back from me, running his hands through his hair in frustration. My heart dropped into my stomach, making me feel sick. I shouldn't have asked that, but I needed to know. I didn't want to lead him on and I felt so damn guilty about his reaction. I took a bite of my croissant, wanting something to settle my stomach. I had an intense urge to run out right now, not get an answer but I also knew that I needed one.

"I asked you to go out as my friend. It wasn't a date." He said, making me meet his eyes. "Unless you wanted it to be."

"I'm not ready for that." I said, my voice coming out higher than I wanted it to.

"Alright." He said, giving me an easy smile as he nodded his head. "Just friends."

I smiled back, still nervous though. I turned the conversation around to his work, something I felt was safe to talk about. I drank my coffee and ate my croissant, enjoying the companionship. My nerves were still frayed, but I managed to eat the whole thing and finish my coffee. Suddenly, his phone rang; he pulled it out, frowning as he did so.

"I have to get to work." He gave a sheepish smile.

"More hours at the school?"

"No, at the office. I'm a little behind on paperwork." He admitted before standing up.

I stood up as well, grabbing my purse and coffee cup while he grabbed the rest of the stuff from our table. We walked out of the shop together and he walked me over to my car, pulling me into a hug before I left. I felt tears form in my eyes from how comforting it was accompanied by the guilt from our conversation earlier. I started the engine and gave a wave when he looked back before driving back home. I waved at the cop parked outside my house when I headed up to the front door.

**End Chapter**

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