Chapter 86*

Aria's POV*

I appreciated the girls for staying over and talking through everything with me Friday. It had soothed some of the pains that had come back over the course of the evening. Even the fight with my mom, it had been safe to tell the girls about that too. Letting them know the mistake that I had made, slipping about what had happened in New York. Not that we were the best at not mentioning that one, since Jason had asked me why New York would make me more intimidating to the other girls after we had sat down with the girls and gone over what had happened to me in the dollhouse.

And then a lazy Saturday, hanging around the house with my friends had been exactly what I had needed. Even if it did mean them teasing me about my new relationship with Jason, mostly the way that I blushed when they mentioned him. It made going a day without him a little easier, but by the time that Sunday morning rolled around, I was missing him something fierce.

"How about over there under the tree?" Jason asked, pointing out a sycamore tree that stood off to the side of the open field.

"That looks perfect." I leaned up to press a kiss to his lips in approval, enjoying the openness of the action.

The grass was high as we made our way towards the tree. This area of the park surprisingly quiet, despite the beautiful weather. The air was dripping with the heat of early summer and pollen filling the air. Maybe that explained it then, I realized, as my nose itched from the cost of spring days. It was prime allergy season, and walking through a field of grass and wildflowers, while idyllic would set off a mild allergy attack on just about anyone. Still, I appreciated the space, being able to settle in and be completely alone for a little while. We were even far enough from the parking lot in the park that I couldn't see the cop car that had followed us here, all in the name of protection.

It was an unsettling change. The increased level of observation. But I guess I should have expected it after the gallery on Friday. At some point, even the Rosewood police would realize that Jason and I were prime targets for Charles and it would be a good idea to keep a close eye on us. Even when we weren't at our houses, which had been the main concern previously. And almost made me want to stay inside forever. I hoped it didn't last long though, the proximity of watching eyes made me feel exposed and claustrophobic at the same time. Like I was under a microscope, pressed between glass slides.

"What all did you pack?" I asked, as I realized that Jason was spreading out a large checkered blanket from the picnic basket.

"It's mostly food from the Grill." he laughed off the explanation, as I moved to help him spread the large blanket across the grass. It was shaded, which would help prevent sunburns but might make me a little chilled. "But this was so we'd be comfortable."

"Have I told you how much I appreciate you recently?" I pulled him towards me, hand twisting in the fabric of his shirt.

"Maybe a few times." his lips curled in a smirk, and I couldn't help the huff of laughter before bringing our lips together.

It was an electric feeling, everytime I kissed him. One that I was revelling in being able to have anytime I wanted. It was like a spark igniting my heart, making it beat a little faster. But also making it a little easier to breathe, at least once I had my lips to myself again and could gasp in a breath.

"You should look in the basket." his lips hovered just a fraction over mine, warm breath brushing across my skin.

I arched an eyebrow at him, wondering what other surprise he had managed to put into the basket. But he didn't answer, just watched as I pulled away and moved towards the basket. The light was dancing in his eyes like laughter as he waited for me to open the wicker basket. It was an old school thing, and was probably a family tradition. It was more something that you would see in old movies than I would expect anyone to own. Though I could weirdly see his mom wanting one of these to take on family picnics, despite the impracticality for a family of four. Or five, a little voice whispered in my mind, but I shoved that all down. Jason had carried it on the walk away from the parking lot until we had found the perfect spot to set up for our date.

The lid lifted easily and I peered inside. It was mostly an assortment of what I would expect for a picnic, a couple of containers of salads and some fruit and cheese, obviously packaged at the Grill for this trip. As well as a glass bottle of a pink sparkling juice, when I pulled it out of the basket I saw it was Blood Orange. And then further inside, there were a couple of books. One a novel with a black and white picture across the cover that I couldn't read at first, the other a blank black book. And beneath it, a metal tin, long and smooth. I pulled the tin out, hearing the sound of wood clacking against itself within, as well as against the sides of the container. Opening it, there were an array of black sketching pencils, ranging in different hardness, as well as an eraser tucked in at the bottom. For a moment, my heart leaped up to my throat, worried that he had brought a notebook for me to write in. And I almost shook my head, that wasn't something that I was ready for. Had Emily mentioned this to him? Or Spencer? I knew that they had gone for a run together earlier today. But I shoved that down, reaching again into the basket and pulling out the blank book. It fell open in my hands and I laughed in relief when I realized it was my own sketchbook.

"Where did you get this?" I looked up at him as I began flipping through the book, it wasn't one that I had used in a while, only the first couple pages were filled and I realized that this had been one of my art class books. The pages were filled with various exercises, things I woudln't do all on my own.

"Mike grabbed it. Apparently it has been laying around in your living room for the last couple months. We didn't want to go into your room to grab your things." he reassured, and the thought hadn't even crossed my mind that he would go into my space like that. "But I had asked Spencer what she thought you might like to bring along for a relaxing day outside, and she thought this might be a good idea."

My face felt like it was going to split open I was smiling so wide. The edges of my lips hurt from the unfamiliar strain. He leaned in and gave me a kiss on the temple, settling down next to me.

"It's perfect. Thank you." I loved that he had been so thoughtful about this. Wanting to surprise me for our first real date, but also wanting to make sure that I was having a good time and felt safe. It was a nearly impossible list to plan to. My needs so varied and feeling inconsistent right now. And I don't think I had ever felt so seen. Certainly not by anyone who wasn't one of the girls. "You know you didn't have to, right?"

I felt a little guilty at the work that he was putting into making me happy. Paired with the knowledge that there was a sketchbook already in my purse, sitting innocently at my side. It was uncomfortable in a way, being known like this. Something that I didn't know to associate with safety. And that was the thing about Jason, was that he always radiated safety to me. Even when I was stressed, he never made me afraid. And it was such a contrast, between him and A. Being seen by Jason meant being taken care of, being seen by Charles meant pain. It was most similar to when Mona had shown up with our coffee orders, knowing exactly what we would want and anticipating the need. Showing how deeply she knew us in that moment, as though it was a friendly action. But even that had unsettled and disturbed me in a way that this didn't.

"I know, but I wanted you to be able to relax. I thought maybe sketching the scenery would do that for you." he shrugged, dismissive of the praise that I was putting on him, like it wasn't a big deal.

"And the book?" I had to know why he had brought both a book and the sketching material. Did he think I would turn down the opportunity to sit in quiet and sketch?

"That's for me." He reached into the basket and pulled out the paperback. "So I don't get bored while you're sketching. "There's also a speaker in case we want some music, well more than just the birds and highway."

I hadn't realized that I could hear the highway nearby thrumming with traffic, it was a low undernote. And one that I had been completely ignoring for a while, but now that he had mentioned it I couldn't push it to the background.

"I'd appreciate that. I don't think I'm going to be able to ignore the cars now." I laughed, before nodding towards the book in his hands. "Angela's Ashes? That's a bit of a weird choice."

I hadn't heard much about the book. To be honest, what little I had heard about it made it sound pretty pretentious. And not something that I would expect Jason to be reading. It wasn't even in Ezra's wheelhouse. But that was just basing it off of an episode of the Office, so maybe it was something else.

"Yeah, that's the face I made. But my sponsor thought I might like it. Apparently it's a lot funnier than it seems."

"Haven't read it, so I guess I can't judge. Let me know what you think." there were probably worse books to read after all, but this almost felt like his sponsor might be playing a trick on him. Which didn't seem quite fair. Were they allowed to do that?

"Any preference on music?" he reached for the speaker and turned it on, the little light flicking on, as he pulled the attached cord out and connected it to his phone.

"Not really, just something quiet."

He put what sounded like Fleetwood Mac on, as I grabbed out the salads, cutlery, and cups. It felt very fancy for just a quiet meal outside. I would have been happy drinking from the bottle. But somehow this made it feel a little more put together. Intentional. My salad was one of my favorites from the Grill, and I looked at him, wondering just how close of attention he had been paying when we went out to lunch. I glanced at him as I chewed on a walnut, seeing that he was staring off into space. His face was slightly in profile, letting me take in the line of his nose and chin. The way his lips pouted just so. Before he realized I was looking at him and he turned his attention to me, mouth full of salad.

I shook my head, not needing an answer right now. Just relishing the relaxing atmosphere we had managed to create in just a few minutes. Someplace completely separated from the rest of the world. All the drama and pain of the last few weeks completely left behind. Even the sun was coming out and shining from behind a cloud, shining onto my foot which was the only part of me not in the shade and noticeably increasing the temperature.

I didn't finish my salad, it was good, but between that, the juice, fruit, and cheese, there was no way I was going to be able to eat it all. Instead, I closed the lid and put it back into the basket, it would hopefully stay cool enough in there to save for later, Jason had put a couple of ice packs in the lining of the basket. He passed me the empty container that had held his salad, fork neatly tucked inside and I put it into the basket as well, gathering up all the trash. It would make packing it out easier.

Then I settled back against the tree, looking out at the landscape around me. Trees circled the clearing, far away on the other side of the path. While bees floated above the flowers, moving from one flower to another. The sun cast some interesting shadows as the light filtered down through the leaves above. Jason shifted on the blanket, stretching out to lay on his side, propped up on an elbow as he held the book in front of him. I focused back in on the paper, taking in the pose that he was inadvertently striking. It took shape quickly on my page, but as I kept glancing up for reference, he kept shifting. First it was his arm position, trying to find a more comfortable position than so much weight resting on his elbow. Then his legs, crossing and uncrossing, as though it would somehow make him more comfortable. I was working on the lines of shadow crossing his face as he focused on the page, when he sat up, completely ruining the reference. I huffed a laugh, seeing the frustration on his face.

"What? It's not as comfortable as they make it look in movies." he justified, sitting fully upright and crossing his legs to rest the book on his knee.

"And you watch movies with the male love interest lounging at a picnic?" I teased, it seemed a pretty particular scenario, that was mostly seen in movies like Midsummer Night's Dream or Pride and Prejudice.

"Sometimes." he answered, looking down as though slightly embarrassed.

"Do you watch romances?" I tried to level a look of mock judgement at him, but instead ended up giggling.

"You're the one who called me a love interest." he shot back, placing his book face down to save the page as he moved towards me.

"That would be cause you are." I glanced between his eyes and lips as his face was suddenly directly in front of mine.

"Good." he flashed a smile before closing the distance and capturing my lips in a quick kiss.

It was over too quickly, the sigh leaving my lips as he pulled away. I opened my eyes to him back to sitting with crossed legs, leaning on one raised knee.

"Why don't you lean back against the tree, and I can lean against you." I offered, already moving forward.

"You sure it won't disrupt your sketching?" he glanced down at the sketchbook, where I was already flipping away from the incomplete sketch of him reclining, no sense in continuing that without my reference.

"I'm sure." I assured, letting him take my spot against the tree before moving back to rest against him, settling in the gap between his legs.

He kept his book down to my left side, reading where it shouldn't interfere with my ability to draw. I tried to focus on the scene before me, the field of flowers and bees. The scene was starting to take shape on the page, but his heat radiated into me. Warming me throughout, and his breath tickled against the sensitive skin behind my ear and ruffled the hair at my neck with every exhale. I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the sensations he was stirring in me. The soft gentle touch against me. And then his lips brushed against the back of my jaw, and my breath caught.

A tremendous surge of desire flooded me, my pulse quickening at the sensation. I was suddenly acutely aware of every place that our bodies touched, which as I was fully leaning back into him was a lot. My skin felt warm, fevered in a way that was almost unfamiliar it had been so long. My sketchbook slid out of my hands, landing on the blanket facedown with the pencil somewhere around it. As my head tilted backwards, exposing more of my skin to Jason's lips, I couldn't help the soft sigh that left my mouth. My hand reached up behind his head, twining through the silky hair at the back of his head, hair that he hadn't gelled or styled like the front. Turning my head, I moved to capture his lips, pressing into him to deepen the kiss. One of his hands worked its way into my hair, grasping the back of my head so he could tilt my mouth up to meet his.

The way that my spine had to twist to keep kissing him was uncomfortable, so without breaking contact, I turned around in his arms, moving up his body to better maintain the connection, focusing on the way his mouth moved against mine.

A shrill chirping noise made me jump back, like an electric shock surged through me, stinging my every nerve and leaving me oversensitive. Instantly, I could feel the sting of heat in my eyes, as the pain of memory took back over. Opening my eyes, I saw Jason's face only inches from mine, his lips parted and he was breathing hard as he watched me back.

I could curse the fact that I had left my phone on, despite that being one of the things that Lt. Tanner and my parents had apparently agreed upon as an expectation for me to continue going out without a police escort keeping me in eyesight all the time. The idea of that had been enough to make me hyperventilate. So I would take what I could. Right now, that meant dealing with the fact that what was turning into a make out session with my boyfriend was just painfully disrupted by my phone going off. With an annoyed sigh, I unlocked my phone and my face froze as I read the message.

Emily: 911. My place.

Emily: Need to talk. Now!

I could feel the panic surging back through me. Did something happen? Had she heard some Sara? That had to be it, right? Em was so worried about Sara right now, because we hadn't heard from her. Something must have happened. Maybe Sara came back and had more info to share? My breathing was erratic, panic making it hard to focus on anything.

"Aria, are you alright? You're not breathing." Jason's voice cut through the fog of panic that had enveloped me.

"I have to go to Emily's." It blurted out, the fear was too much for me to think through.

He stared at me for a moment, as though making sure that I was okay. Which I very much wasn't right now. I didn't know what was going on, but this couldn't be good. There had to be an important reason that she had said we had to get there now.

"Alright, let's go." he reassured as he brushed the hair behind my ear.

I blinked in response. That was it? No panic? Nothing? His reaction was calm enough that I didn't understand. Unsure why I was anticipating more pushback from him. But taking a breath, I closed my eyes and accepted what he was saying.

"Right, thank you." my voice was still shaky, the adrenaline of panic not worn off.

I moved away from him, the warmth that went along with his presence, even on a hot day, slipped away as I did. It felt like my entire body was shaking as we went through the movements of clearing up the lovely little picnic place that Jason had created for us. I stepped back as he packed away the blanket, and aside from some bent grass, it didn't look any different from when we had arrived. It squeezed my heart, seeing our lack of impact. How our memorable time would be invisibile to anyone else.

The walk back to the car was longer than it had been on our way out. The weight of whatever was happening back in the real world not only settling hard on my shoulders, but my feet were dragging at the idea of facing whatever it was. The bright taste of iron filled my mouth as I realized that I had chewed through my lip as I worried. I licked at the open wound as we walked, tongue jabbing back into that sore spot.

The cop was out of his car as we passed back into sight of the parking lot, and I felt my anxiety skyrocket. Something must be going on. Something that the cops were a part of, otherwise why would he be so on edge.

"You okay?" Jason asked, feeling my hesitation start to pull him back as I slowed down.

"Not really." the lie that had been about to form on my lips failed me, and I spit out the truth. That things weren't alright. "Do you think he was going to come and get us?"

I nodded over at the officer, who was still outside of his squad car. Keeping his attention fixed on us, despite the distance we still had to cover. The impatience in his posture was visible from here.

"Maybe, but the only way to find out is to ask." Jason prompted me along, gently tugging on my hand that was still clasped in his.

I took a steadying breath as we got closer. I wished that the cop hadn't parked right next to Jason's car. But it made checking in with them before leaving easier, so it could be worse. It still made me feel like there was more attention on me and my actions, more than I liked.

"We're heading over to the Field's house. Is there something going on?" Jason asked the cop, nodding to the radio that was sounding in his cruiser again.

"I was about to come and let you both know. Tanner is over there and needs to talk to all of you." the officer explained.

"Understood. It shouldn't take us long to drive over." Jason nodded to the cop, as though dismissing him.

The officer glanced between us, attention snagging on my face for a moment before he nodded and climbed back into his patrol car. I saw him reach for the radio, continuing a conversation that I wasn't a part of as Jason pulled me over to his car. He moved to put the picnic basket back into the trunk of the car while I climbed into the passenger seat. My body was shaking with anxiety as I heard the trunk slam and his door opened.

"Hey, are you gonna be okay to head over to Emily's?" he questioned, hand reaching out and holding my chin to turn my face towards his.

My teeth bit once more into my lower lip, the stinging pain returning as it brought the present back into sharp focus once more. His eyebrows dipped together in a frown as he opened the center console and within a moment had a tissue pressed to my lip. I instinctively hissed at the contact with the open wound, intensifying the pain for a moment before it faded again to a low thrum.

"Yeah, I just need to know what's happening." I admitted once the tissue was away from my mouth again. I couldn't break down just because of a little stress. That wasn't really an option. Especially not with the squad car waiting to follow us over to Emily's place.

"If you're sure." he didn't looked convinced as he balled up the blood stained tissue and dropped it into a small garbage bag in the back seat.

I nodded, smiling to try and reassure him. It helped to push my own anxiety back. Things were going to be fine. And if they weren't, we'd figure it out. It was kind of a given at this point that things were going to go sideways. I was honestly more worried about the fact that the cops were so involved than the message from Emily. It felt like we were pushing up against the boundary of lack of response that Tanner would accept from us.

It wasn't a long drive, just a little over ten minutes, and I spent the entire time torn between not wanting to go over there. And so anxious to know what was going on that I wanted to take over driving just so I could speed. Jason reached out his hand out to hold mine as he kept us within legal limits, my anxiety obvious from my constant shifting and fidgeting in my seat.

I don't know what I was expecting when we turned the corner to Emily's street. More cop cars? Or absolute quiet? Either way it was unexpected enough to see the standard patrol car along with a couple unmarked vehicles, and a van that seemed to be related to forensics. I froze in my seat as Jason parked a few houses, unable to get any closer than that given all the activity around Emily's. I was scanning the street as I got out of the car, looking for the other girls. But they were nowhere in sight. Jason walked around the car and took my hand as the locks on the car clicked.

I took a deep breath to steady myself before heading towards the activity. It was fairly quiet, but there were officers walking in and out of the house, along with the occasional forensic tech in a jumpsuit. What were they possibly looking for here? Especially that they wanted me, and I assumed the other girls given Hanna and Spencer's cars, to come over? There wasn't tape or anything blocking off access to the house, but I still hesitated before being waved in by an officer who was near the door.

If I had thought outside was busy, it was completely different inside. There was a lot of movement upstairs, too many pairs of feet constantly shifting on the creaking floorboards above our heads and voices drifting down as they worked. While downstairs it was more sedate, I glanced over to the sitting room and saw Emily's mom standing anxiously by the stairs. Jason squeezed my hand reassuring as I hesitated for a moment, before I pulled him with me towards where the rest of the girls were. It wasn't likely to raise more questions us holding hands as we walked through the house, no more than the cops probably already had given the amount of times I had come over to the house when only he was home or we had gone out on dates.

"Hey Aria, have a seat, honey." Mrs. Hastings invited, shocking me with her appearance as I came into full view of the room.

She was standing behind the couch that held my friends, facing Lt. Tanner and the profiler, Agent Reid. I blinked in surprise at her appearance, but was grateful if she was acting as our lawyer in this instance. There weren't a lot of adults that I trusted, but I knew that she would try and take care of us. Even if she wasn't the best at offering comfort or support.

I took my place on the couch, feeling awkward as I had to let go of Jason and he moved behind the couch to stand behind me. I sighed at the reassurance of his touch on my shoulder.

"What's going on?" I asked Tanner, though glanced over at the other girls on the couch with me. Only Emily was on a separate chair, her fingers were twisting as they interlocked, clearly stressed.

"Aria, do you remember the last time that you saw Sara Harvey?" Agent Reid asked, turning his attention to me as the newest on the couch.

I felt the frown form as I thought about it, turning instead to Emily and asking her. "You still haven't heard anything."

Her face was pinched like she was trying to not cry, and I regretted asking her as she shook her head no. I felt my heart plummet into my stomach, fear mixing with anxiety about what that meant for Sara. I tried to remember seeing the girl, and as much as I thought about it, I only ever really saw her in passing. It wasn't like we were hanging out regularly.

"I can't remember. Maybe two weeks ago?" I glanced over to Emily, wondering if that timeline was right. "I bumped into her and Emily downtown as I was leaving the Brew."

I glanced up at Jason, thinking maybe he would remember when that had been. It felt like forever ago. And my days weren't exactly the most distinct from each other. It had been a day that I went to do some work at my dad's office at Hollis. So not a weekend. But that left a lot of other possibilities.

"Before we went to the arcade?" Jason asked, trying to help me out.

"Yeah, was that a Wednesday?" I couldn't pin it down exactly.

"Monday before last, so just about two weeks." he supplied helpfully. "I had a contractor meeting afterwards."

I turned my attention back to Tanner, hoping that I had been able to answer that question at least. But when I looked at her there was a deep frown on her face. I wasn't sure what that meant but it didn't seem like what I knew was helping anything.

"Are you sure about the timeline?" Agent Reid questioned, tone more gentle than I could ever remember hearing from Tanner. "It was before you went to meet Charles for his birthday?"

"I'm not totally positive on the day, it was a while ago. But it was definitely before we went to meet Charles. I know I went to Hollis that afternoon, and Emily had therapy."

It was absolutely before Sarah moved back to Courtland, I didn't think I had even been in the Brew since finding out she had gone back home. And I was pretty sure it was around when I had been picking my photos for the Cardillo Fellowship. My heart sunk at the reminder of the contest, and how badly my chances had been botched.

"Would there be any reason that you would have asked Sara to pick something up from your house for you?" Tanner questioned, looking between Jason and me for an answer.

"No, I don't think she even knows where I live." I glanced nervously over at the other girls, wondering if this was weirding them out too. Had they been inviting Sara over to hang out and I had been the stand-offish one?

"Sara Harvey stopped by your house the day before you went to meet Charles for his birthday." Tanner informed me, and I blinked in response.

"What? Why?" I looked to Emily, hoping she had an explanation for any of this.

"She told the officer out front at the time that you had asked her to grab one of your books that you were lending to Emily." Tanner offered up. "But we were hoping you might be able to clarify why."

"I have no idea." my answer sounded hollow, too confused to have something better to say.

"Did you have any other questions for my clients? Or are you about done here?" Mrs. Hastings cut in, not letting the silence linger.

"We do still need to set up interviews with each of the girls about what happened while they were in the bunker, as well as everything they've been up to since then." Tanner looked at each of us in turn before turning her attention back to the formidable lawyer standing behind us. "But I understand you have a meeting with the DA tomorrow to discuss that."

"Yes, I'll handle the scheduling for that." she sounded so assured and I was momentarily thrown off that she was going to continue to be our lawyer for the interviews.

And then the realization hit me. They wanted us to say everything. I looked over to Emily, who looked like she was about to puke from the anxiety. Something else had happened here.

"Our techs are just about done upstairs. And there will be a squad car stationed here for each of you to ensure an escort back home tonight."

"Thank you." Mrs. Hastings dismissed them, and to my astonishment, they went.

It only took a few minutes for the house to settle back down, the noise that had come along with so many people working inside and out dying down. And I was almost frantic with fear as I looked at the other girls, wondering if it was safe to talk right now. Spencer and Emily's moms were both still lingering in the room, well after Pam returned having waved the departing police goodbye and wishing them a goodnight.

"What's going on? Did something happen?" I couldn't contain the question anymore, it was bad enough having to wait for the police to leave us alone before I could ask. But it didn't feel safe to ask about before. And Mrs. Hastings had clearly wanted the police to leave us alone.

The girls hesitated to answer me for a moment, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Terrified of what they were about to tell me. The only thing that was a hint of reassurance was that Emily wasn't broken down in tears right now. Sara couldn't be dead. That was all I was sure of. Finally, Spencer reached out to grasp my hand in reassurance. And I could see the solemn expression on her face, guilt mixed with fear as she answered my question.

"Sara is missing."

End Chapter*

Hope you enjoyed this one, let me know what you think