My brain is foggy from Katie's visit. Knowing she's here and actually bothered to talk to me still doesn't make any sense. The fact that anyone from this family came to Rosewood would never make sense. Even Aria can't understand what is going on but she knows that I'm a bit shaken up from the unexpected visit and tries to calm me down once I lock the door. I'm so shaky that I have no idea how to react and am quiet on the ride home.

When we get home Uncle Byron's in the family room, my face being shocked gives away my emotions right away. So I just tell him that she came by and where she's staying and by the look on his face now I know that he doesn't know how to react to that. He knows that my family has always put me, my parents and Jeff down for living here, but he never saw how badly they treated us. He didn't even see what happened after they died to know the extent that the Hastings went through to get custody of me and not be forced to go to the next best (Katie) when they were in Iceland. So the best advice he can give me is to see what she has to say, that maybe after all this time of no contact she's changed and grown from the impact of losing her sister. I highly doubt it, but Uncle Byron means well and I decide to take him up on that advice. Or at least be civil for his sake.

All I know is by the time I head to bed I can tell that it will be a rough night for me. It consists of me tossing and turning, lying awake in deep thought. The memories of her and my family causing years of hurt, flashbacks of the accident. Seeing her was way too much in one shot.

A few days later I humor Uncle Byron's thoughts and call Katie up to ask her to meet me at the park. We end up getting some ice cream from a truck that passes by not long after and then we sit on a bench in pure silence for a while. Eventually after the awkwardness we get talking and catch up. I tell her about school, how I'm running the store now and getting ready to play basketball on top of all this. She's impressed at how dedicated I am to being committed to school, sports and a job. Then she goes into her trying to go back to college to be a clothing designer. Despite her taste in clothes being a bit dark and twisty, she's always been pretty good at making them. She had graduated from Kean University when she was 22 for a major that she didn't even want, business with some graphic design on the side. Graphic design was for her benefit because she thought it would help with her advertisement whenever she did decide to pursue her dreams of being a fashion icon. But taking on business classes was for the purpose of her aunt and uncle, who took her in after her parents died. They thought design in any way was a waste to pay for college in that type of profession. Now she's old enough to make her own choices so this is where she stands.

As she drops me off back at home in her beat up car I think about how it was a decently nice day for once with her. We haven't been on good terms for so long that any type of normal day seems suspicious. That was my first mistake, thinking she was here for normal reasons, because then everything gets a little awkward when she confesses that options for college hadn't been the main reason to come to Pennsylvania. So I compose myself a bit, kind of having a hint where this is going as I ask what's the actual reason for coming to a town she hates. That's when she says it's because the entire family wants me home with them and not here where it seems like my life won't go anywhere. They think that this town is not good for me and wasting my time.

Now I laugh and give her a look like I can't believe she just said that, my hand on the door to her car to get out. "You're all out of your minds. I knew it was too good to be true that you'd be visiting out of the goodness of your heart."

"It is out of the goodness of my heart. I just want to be here for you, Jessie."

I shake my head and laugh again, now getting heated. "A little too late for that." I say with an annoyed tone now, staring at her with a hint of anger. "I don't need you anymore."

Now I see the old Katie pop out for a split second, her eyes darkening in some anger to my words. "I think you should have more respect for me." her voice is kind of like venom, like a snake ready to strike.

Katie's temper was never the best after losing her parents at a young age. It can seriously mess up a perfectly great kid (I'd know). But losing them a few years before the age of 15 had to have been a million times worse. My mom tried to be there for her when she could. Their aunt and uncle took Katie in when this happened because obviously mom was already married and had me so it was hard to add an almost teenager into the mix. I'm sure that made her angrier, but not so much that she hated me. It happened more and more as she got closer to college, and then she met some guy there that was not the best for her, basically controlled her, but she fell in love with him. This made her meaner than ever, and as far as I know, she's actually still with him now.

I smirk now, because her stupidity to understand and grasp why I hate her and the rest of the family baffles me. "Please. You have to be joking. You put me through hell growing up and when my life turned into a literal nightmare you did nothing to help me." I take a quick breath but don't let her butt in, "You let our family blame me for surviving that car accident like I was the one who caused it. Then let them belittle me till I was almost sent back to New Jersey by my ears knowing damn well that I wouldn't be happy there."

She sighs and shakes her head, the flames slowly dying out. "I am sorry for allowing them to do that. But I stand by wanting you back with us in New Jersey. You would have been better off."

I shake my head, gripping the latch to the door more. "No. I'm better off here where I grew up. Here with my friends and the people who actually love me like I'm their family. Not treated like someone who was just a piece of property that can be hauled away like nothing. No one cared about what I wanted or my feelings."

"Your feelings?" she laughs gently, now sounding fed up. "All of our feelings were in the dumpster when Stephanie, Joey and Jeff died, you twerp." She leans in closer to me now and I have to do everything not to flinch, "You made it seem like it was all about you. Like you were the only one who lost people that day."

"I was grieving too!" I stare at her, anger in my eyes more noticeable now. "And you didn't care to sympathize with me at all. You know how this feels better than anyone, losing parents. I even lost my brother. You just tossed me aside because you couldn't stand me." My breath picks up slightly from getting upset, "You loved seeing everyone walk all over me. And this is why I chose Rosewood over being with you."

Her hand snaps towards me so fast that I have no time to react as she back hands me across the face, anger seeping through her. My hand goes to my cheek where she slapped me, mouth open in surprise. I pull my hand back and see blood all over it and realize that her ring scraped me up. Then in an instant she grabs onto my shirt and forces me closer, feeling her other hand grip onto my chin so harshly that it hurts. "You have some nerve talking to me like that. Ungrateful piece of crap."

There's the angry and moody Katie I remember when we were kids. Mind you she never got this rough with me before, but I knew it was always there all along. "O-ow. Katie that hurts."

She laughs, an unsympathetic one and it kind of alarms me. "Oh I'm sorry. Did your shit mouth finally get you into trouble? Do people treat you like royalty here because your family died?" She smirks, "With this attitude of yours I highly doubt it."

I grunt a little when she squeezes my chin more, my face almost completely against hers now. "S-Stop. Let go."

"Oh no, hun. You want to step on everyone's toes and act like there are no consequences for those actions. But here it is, finally slapping you literally in the face."

"K-Katie…"

She ignores my pleads at this point, a deadly look in her eyes as it shuts me up. "I came here at my own free will, talked to you like an equal and you ended our nice day with an attitude. I do not appreciate that."

I go to defend myself as I open my mouth, but her hand makes another gesture as if to smack me again and I flinch in fear, not saying another word at all. This was new territory for me, having family being the one to assault me, and I have no idea how to handle this type of situation.

"You listen here, brat." She grips my chin harder and I whimper slightly from it, my eyes on hers even though it scares me. "Whether you come home with me or not is not my problem. I was just the messenger and I did not need your guilt trip when I was trying to be the bigger person here."

Not sure what to do I breathe a little heavily through my nose, her demented eyes borring into mine like she's seeing how I'd react next, as if hungry to hit me again. But I don't give her that satisfaction, keeping my mouth shut.

"Now...you have till Sunday to let me know what you decide. But no one needs to know about this." She gestures in a way where I know she is making it her point that no one needs to know that she put her hands on me."Got it?"

My nose makes a puffed out noise of breathing heavily, nodding at her words. Then she smiles and lets me go, ushering me out of her car. I don't hesitate to practically run out of it and towards the house. I don't look back until I get to the top of the steps and she honks at me. I jump to the sound and turn to look at the car, her fake smile back on her face.

"Sunday." she repeats and then drives off.

What the fuck just happened?

...

"So, I say that when Hanna is all healed up we go take her shopping." Mona says from across me at a Chinese Buffet in Philly Monday the following week. I promised I'd have dinner with her so after going home to relax for a bit and then showering she picked me up and now here we are. "Since her surprise party tanked hardcore because of Lucas trying to start a fight with Sean."

"Yeah, sounds good." I say back in a half-assed way, only slightly paying attention to her as I scoop up my chicken lo mein to eat it, being so distracted lately since Katie showed up. I never mentioned the rough way she handled things, playing off that my cheek got busted up from something falling on me at the store. It was the only excuse I could think of since no one was home when I got back so I acted as if I went to the office when we were done. It sadly seemed to work, half wishing they would see through my lie. Then I also didn't bother to tell anyone that she even asked me to go back to New Jersey. I already knew my answer, so there wasn't a need to worry anyone about it.

Snapping fingers come to my face seconds later and I slowly stare up, Mona looking at me confused. "What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" I raise an eyebrow, even though I know exactly what she is getting at.

"You're acting weird. You have been for almost a week."

I half smile and shake my head, "It's nothing. I'm fine."

Her hand goes to mine now, forcing me to pay attention when I stared away from her. "You're not fine. I know the difference between regular Jessie and Jessie who is in her head too much. Spill."

I half smile, liking that she actually seems to get me. It's still hard to tell her without saying what Katie did. But I finally sigh, "My mom's sister visited me last week."

For a second she seems to not get it, but then it clicks and her eyes widen slowly. "The one who is young enough to basically be your sister?"

I half laugh and then nod, pointing my index finger as if to say bingo. Growing up people always asked if we were sister's since we weren't much apart in age. "That's the one."

Mona is quiet for a few long seconds, watching me carefully. Then she takes a breath, composing herself because even though she didn't know anyone in my family besides my parents and brother she knew enough when we started hanging out non-stop when I went into my low point after they died. She's heard the stories, including the one with what they put me through at the funeral. "So...what did she say?" She finally says, watching me with a gentle look of sympathy.

I sigh a bit and lick my lip, biting it a bit even because I don't know whether to tell her the whole story. No one else besides me and Katie knows what she offered and how she acted in the car. "It's...it's complicated, Mona. I didn't even tell the Montgomerys."

"I won't say anything. You know that, right?"

I smile and nod, rubbing my thumb on my cup of Pepsi now. "I..I know. But I just feel if they don't know then I shouldn't say anything to anyone."

The softness in her eyes makes me feel better, because she's not yelling at me or forcing me to talk. She just nods and tells me she understands and will be here whenever needed.

When we get back to Rosewood we decide to stop to get coffee, and then head off to her house. On the way there I see a police car stopping by Emily's house and out pops... "Toby!" I half yell with a raised eyebrow, "Mona, that's Toby." I look at her in the driver's seat, "I thought he was in custody?"

Mona slows down her car as we pass the Cavanaugh home, staring at the tall, shaggy haired mysteriously handsome teen who is being escorted by one of the cops and his father to the house. I still don't believe he had anything to do with this, but voicing that makes everyone cringe at me.

"He was. Must be on bail till they start the trial." She says that as if she has a sour taste in her mouth, "So demented to let him loose."

I bite my lip, not bothering to say anything to that comment. I think he's sweet and kind, so it doesn't sit well with me that just because he's "weird" that no one gives him the benefit of the doubt. Anyone could have killed Alison that night and he just so happened to give her his sweater. But that's too hard for anyone to grasp because he's the town freak and Alison wouldn't be caught being around anyone like him. Or so we think.

After a good minute of watching creepily because Mona decided to just stop at this point we see that the cops are now giving him a talking to before they leave and I stare at Toby for a while, his dad saying something and walks inside. Toby just stands there for a while, taking a breath and then sits down on his steps seeming defeated. Then he looks towards Mona's car, his eyes kind of lighting up as he smiles at me and waves.

I smile back and give a wave back, worried about him as Mona drives off now. Despite moving now I'm still looking out the window and my head turns to keep staring at him till she has us out of sight. Then I sigh and turn back to the front of the car, feeling really bad for him.

Mona clears her throat when we park at her house, making me look at her because I know she wants my attention. For a second I hold her gaze with a gentle smile, then I sigh. "I know…" I finally say, "You're going to lecture me about getting involved with Toby."

She smirks a bit, as if satisfied with realizing I knew her intentions. "Bingo."

"But…"

"Jessie, no. He's dangerous."

I just shake my head, giving a hand gesture of annoyance. "You don't even know him, Mona."

"Neither do you." Now she shakes her head, like she's stunned with my comments. "Why are you so convinced he's innocent?"

"Because I knew him before what happened with Jenna. He's always been nice to me. He's just misunderstood."

She laughs and rolls her eyes, "I love you, Jessie. I really do because you see the good in people but he was sent to Juvie for setting a fire with his step sister around and blinded her. Now he's being convicted of murder. Those types of things don't convince me that he's a nice person."

I suck on my lip a bit, smiling a little at her now. "I can just feel it, Mona. I think there's more to this."

...

By the time I get back home Aria is in our room, laying on her bed with her face practically glued to her phone. I don't find this odd because there is something going on with her. When she came home from Iceland she was different, no shock there being away for three years. Then they found Alison's body and naturally the vibe of things got more different. I don't hold that against anyone who liked the girl enough to be her friend. But there was something about the day of Alison's funeral that has had her head in the clouds, always attached to her phone, always jumpy. It's like something has her scared and hiding something. It's become more and more noticeable as time passes and now I've kind of had enough of her secrets. But then, who am I to get hypocritical when I haven't told anyone about Katie?

"Hey, Ria." I say as I plop onto her bed by her feet and smile at her.

As if she didn't even notice that I walked into her room she stares at me alarmed, then she relaxes and sits up to give me space. "Hey. You've been with Mona all this time?"

I nod, leaning against the wall as her bed is sideways up against it. "Went to Philly for dinner, and then went back to her house."

She smiles, "How was it?"

I half smile back at her, "It was fine. Same Mona as usual, finding things to complain about."

She laughs now and nods, setting her phone aside. "Sounds like Mona alright."

I nod in agreement, silence passing through for a while like we are stumped for more of a conversation. This is another thing that has changed for us, not having each other around for so long we've had a hard time adjusting to being in each other's lives again. Which seemed odd, because we were thick as thieves growing up. People knew that when one of us popped in somewhere the other was most likely going to be right behind the other. That is of course until she started hanging out with Ali and the other girls when they all got noticed by the evil queen.

"Are you okay?" I blurt out, looking at her with caution. I need to know if there's something going on with her.

Her eyebrows go up in confusion, or maybe fear? Her face kind of went pale as I asked those words. "Why wouldn't I be?"

I give a small smile, shrugging. "I don't know. Since Alison's funeral you've seemed off."

"Well..my best friend was murdered.."

I wince at how stupid I sounded saying what I did, nodding. "No of course. I just mean...I don't know how to explain it exactly. Something just seems off with you and the others." she goes to reply but I talk over her, "And I don't mean grieving. I know what that looks like first hand. There's something else going on. You guys jump when your phones go off, you ditch me almost all the time, and even when we are hanging out you either disappear or are barely focused."

Aria sighs a little bit, leaning closer to me and rubs my leg to relax me 'cause I probably sounded worked up. "I know you're worried. I do. But I need you to trust me."

I smile softly, watching her with concerned eyes. "Of course I trust you. I just want to help you get past whatever is happening. You guys left me alone at Mona's party the entire time and I have no idea where you even went off to when it was a limited space just for her guests."

For a few long seconds she watches my eyes, like she understands my concerns. But her eyes look a little mixed of being sad and scared, contemplating even. Then she takes a very hesitant sigh and nods slowly. "I…"

"Please, Ria? I miss my best friend."

She bites her lip a bit, closing her eyes for a split second before blurting out, "There is something going on. I'll admit that. But...we can't say anything to anyone."

I blink slowly at her, scrunching up my eyebrows a bit. The way she forced this out of herself was as if she had been holding this in forever. "What do you mean?"

She sighs again, "I can't explain. At least not yet. The most I can say is that someone has been threatening to spill our secrets to all of Rosewood if we don't keep our mouths shut about certain things."

Shocked that she gave me as much as she did my mouth is slightly open in surprise. Then I clear my throat, not wanting to skip a beat in this conversation. "That's blackmail, Aria."

She nods and rubs my leg again, the look of trying to relax me while not wanting to freak me out is all over her face. "I know. We all know that. We are taking care of it. Right now it's complicated and you can't tell anyone about this. Not even mention to the girls that I told you. This person likes to play tricks and you can get deep into this without realizing it. They'll target you if you get too close."

My eyes widen a bit from her words, connecting dots. "Is this the person who told Aunt Ella about what Uncle Byron did?"

She winces softly, giving me my answer before she even says it. "Yes."

"What…" This is a lot to grasp that someone is blackmailing these girls to the extent of outing even their parent's secrets. "This is insane, Ria."

"I know. But we don't want you or anyone else involved. We are figuring this out, I promise."

I take a breath and pinch the bridge of my nose in annoyance when I close my eyes for a second. This is so not okay. Then it hits me, my eyes snapping back open. "Wait…"

Her face goes confused, watching me carefully. "Wait what?"

"I've gotten some random messages throughout the last couple months about my friends keeping secrets from me."

She blinks so hard it looks like she's about to pass out, "W-What?"

"Look..." I take out my phone and show her the unknown number and texts, her face paling. "This is about you isn't it?"

She reads through my texts, seeing the few things I was sent in the matter of a couple months. It's not much but it's enough to make her scared. "I...it looks like it could be. Yes."

"I want to help." I say firmly, getting her attention back to me. "I don't like that you guys are in this by yourselves."

"Jessie, no. You don't understand how screwed we'll be if this person finds out that you even know. Every time we've tried to tell our parents or done something to expose them things have gotten worse. That's how mom found out. We tried to ignore it and it backfired."

I gulp a bit, absolutely understanding where she is coming from. Knowing that when someone tells you not to say something you listen out of fear. So I don't argue, just glad that she FINALLY told me something to this odd behavior. "I...I get it. I do. I won't tell and I wont' get involved."

"Promise me, Jessie." She says with a scared voice, now seeming to look around like she absolutely messed up by telling me anything out of desperation. "Please."

I smile lovingly and rub her arm gently, "I promise. I do. I promise."