**Chapter 9**
***Aria's POV***
Spencer was over in about 10 minutes, so I didn't really have too much time to worry as a result. I heard the doorbell ring and footsteps coming up the stairs before she burst into the room. She looked me over appraisingly as though to make sure that I was fine.
"Are you okay?" she clarified, taking a step towards me.
Before we were taken, she wouldn't have hesitated to move forward and hug me; I could see that's what she wanted to do. I wondered for a moment what exactly Charles had done to her that she hesitated, what I had done to her. I stood up from my seated position, and she seemed to give in and move to embrace me. I grabbed her back, happy that I wasn't being rejected. She pulled back and guilt rose through me at taking comfort from her, nausea building as I looked at her.
"I'm fine, Spencer." I reassured her.
We both went and sat down, her on the chair beside my desk and me on the bed. I grabbed one of the throw blankets that I kept at the foot and covered my legs with it.
"How is the case against Andrew? What did they ask you?" she questioned once I was settled.
"She said that the case is strong. They are just waiting on a DNA test to come back. All she asked me was if we ever saw him without the mask."
"Why would they need a DNA test? Did they find proof of him in the silo?" she jumped on the information I had let slip.
I paused for a moment, realizing exactly what I had shared. I still didn't exactly want to share what had happened or how they had gotten a hold of any DNA from Andrew in the silo.
"Umm, yeah. Apparently there were traces of his DNA on the clothes in my room." I lied, covering up the actual source.
"How are they sure it's his and not something he planted so that he could get released."
I shifted uncomfortably on the bed, my guilt increasing. Now she was worried and I couldn't calm her worries without telling her everything. I wasn't sure I could handle talking about what had happened, and especially without revealing what I had done to her and the others.
"They're pretty sure that it's his, it should make the case really solid." I reassured her as best I could.
"Aria, if he planted that he could get released. He could be out there, waiting to grab us again." She argued.
"Spencer, it'll be fine. The police are sure, he won't be able to touch us."
I could tell that she was still uncertain but would drop the topic for now. She fidgeted in her seat. I felt guilty like I was failing her and I couldn't stop the apology that tumbled from my lips. She looked uncomfortable at that, so I looked away, my eyes traveling over to the window.
"So Hanna wants us to go back to school tomorrow." She broke the silence, looking down at her phone, which was cradled in her hands.
"Yeah?" I questioned, feeling stiff and cold where I was sitting. So they were talking without me, they must have known what he made me do.
"Are you up for that? Cause I'm still a little nervous."
"I don't know, going to the coffee shop didn't work out too well yesterday." I admitted looking down.
"What happened?"
I opened my mouth to respond when my mom called for me to go downstairs. I gave Spencer an apologetic look which she waved off, before heading downstairs. My mom was waiting in the living room, fidgeting slightly and my nerves sky-rocketed. I wrapped my arms around my waist, warming my hands between my sides and upper arms.
"I've been trying to think of how to ask you about what happened at the police station today." She began hesitantly.
"I think you just did." I responded cautiously, not liking the direction this conversation was going.
"What did you need to talk about without me in the room?"
"We just had to talk about some details and she knew that I didn't want you exposed to it." I responded with a shrug in an attempt to dismiss the subject.
"Aria, you can talk to me about what happened. You don't have to keep it all to yourself." I could tell that my not telling her hurt her, but I also knew that it would be better if I kept it to myself.
"I don't need to talk about it. And you don't need to know."
Her face fell and I felt my heart break a little. I had hurt her, like I had hurt my friends. I shivered as the feeling of cold increased with the growing guilt. I was hurting her to protect her, just like I hurt the girls. Suddenly, I was back in the grey room, the cold metal biting into my bare skin. I felt goose bumps break out over my skin, remembering the sensation of the electric current running through me and searing my nerves.
She touched my shoulder and I recoiled, biting painfully into my lip so that I didn't make a sound.
"Let me help, please. I want to understand." She pleaded, the hurt expression spread over her face.
"You can't understand." I began, seeing her pain grow. "And I don't want you to."
Tears began to form in her eyes and I couldn't handle watching her fall apart, so I retreated back upstairs, longing for the warmth and comfort of the shower. But Spencer was still here.
Returning to my room, I found Spencer fidgeting nervously as she waited for me to return. I grabbed an extra blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders in a sad attempt to stave off the cold that threatened to take over me. Then grabbed the blanket and pulled it back over my feet.
"You okay?" she questioned, checking over me, as I must have looked shaken.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little cold." I dismissed her concern, ignoring the strange look that she gave me.
"So what happened at the coffee shop?" She returned to the previous topic, accepting my dismissal.
"I kinda flipped out on Ezra. I wasn't paying attention and he touched my knee. I screamed and flinched and the whole shop was watching me." I admitted, looking into my lap at my hands as I summarized what had happened.
"Well, it could be worse." She shrugged.
"How so?"
"Apparently, Hanna tore apart her bedroom. Her mom called mine to see if I was doing the same thing."
I looked around my room, memories of my imprisonment rising from the objects which surrounded me. "I've thought about doing that too."
"So have I." Spencer admitted, looking down in shame.
Maybe Hanna had the right idea with destroying her room. Spencer and I both seemed to be bottling everything up, so maybe changing the room would be healthy. My hands slid across the bedding beneath me. Memories of building a blanket fort with my brother along with curling up in the winter with my mom filled my mind. I remembered pulling all the blankets from my bed and dragging them downstairs with me for movie nights with the girls when we were in middle school. Just the touch of the fabric brought the memories to mind. No, I wouldn't let him take these memories from me. That room in the silo wasn't my room, it was my prison. Here with the window, with the sun shining through the window, with the noise from Mike in the room next door, this was my room.
Spencer's phone buzzed, drawing us both from our thoughts. She looked at the screen and frowned, my hand instinctively twitching towards my own phone.
"My mom wants me to come home now." She informed me dully.
"How are things going with her?" I questioned as we both rose.
"Like I was never gone." She stated, grimacing.
I pulled her into a hug, being careful to go slowly, the way that I needed people to do with me. We held tight to each other for a moment before she pulled away, going downstairs on her own. I didn't want to face my mom again just yet. With Spencer gone, I grabbed my bathrobe and headed to the bathroom for a shower. The heat felt wonderful on my skin and comforted me as I cried.
**End Chapter**
