***Chapter 31***

**Aria's POV**

The quickest way over to Ali and Jason's was through Spencer's backyard, so I took that shortcut waving to the officer who was posted outside of the house before walking up to the door. I hoped that Jason would answer, not Mr. DiLaurentis. I knocked hesitantly on the door, thinking that maybe this wouldn't be such a good idea. Suddenly, the door swung open and Jason was standing there, his button down shirt undone since it was pretty late. He looked a little disheveled, but it looked really good on him and my heart skipped a little in my chest at the realization.

"Hey, Aria. What's wrong?" he asked, immediately assuming the worst. There was panic in his face, eyes wide as he frantically looked me over.

"Nothing. Just wanted to see you." I admitted shyly.

He stepped aside and I walked into the house. Once the door was closed, Jason turned towards me and pulled me into his arms. I sighed at the warmth that he provided me and leaned my head against his chest. One of his hands moved from around my back to smooth my hair and I gripped him closer.

"Are you sure that nothing is wrong?" he asked again, pulling back so that he could look down at me. Blue eyes tracing over my face trying to find something wrong.

"I don't know." I told him, starting to shake a little.

"Hey, it's alright. I got you." He comforted, pulling me close to him again.

I just needed a moment I thought, just a moment to get through everything that had been happening in the past few days. I felt like I was falling apart and at this moment he was holding me together. We stayed like that for a few minutes, while my body trembled against him and tears stung my eyes, before he pulled back again, looking at my face which was streaked with tears.

"Come on." He led me into the kitchen, flipping the light on as he went.

He kept a hold of my hand as he led me over to the counter where I sat down at one of the barstools. Then he moved over, putting the tea kettle on and grabbing down two mugs and a box of hot chocolate mix. I smiled that he knew what I needed to make me feel better.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked while we waited for the water to heat up.

"I don't know. It's just there's so much going on and I feel like I don't have any control." I couldn't meet his eyes when I said it, feeling like I was falling apart and didn't want him to see it. My hands were buried in my hair, clutching desperately for control.

"Alright, what's been going on?" he asked me.

Just then the kettle whistled, breaking into our conversation. He turned away from me, pulling it away from the heat and mixing our drinks quickly. I thought he was done, but he moved to the fridge, grabbing out a can of whipped cream and adding it on top of both mugs. He passed one to me and I moved to take a drink but he just smiled at me.

"Come on." I frowned at him for a minute before standing up.

He took my hand once more and led me up the stairs, into the hallway. I paused for a second when he pushed open his bedroom door. I had spent so much time in this house, had been in nearly every room and knew some parts as well as I knew my own house. But this room was uncharted territory. I had never set foot in here when I was younger, and it felt like sacred ground that I was trespassing onto. I took a steadying breath before following him into the room. He settled down on the bed, leaving plenty of space for me to climb on and not be right next to him. I ignored that though, sitting right next to him, enjoying the warmth that radiated off of him. I sighed as I leaned my head onto his shoulder.

"Talk to me." He encouraged, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"We think that Charles is alive." I stated it bluntly, causing him to stiffen next to me.

"You guys have thought that for a while, but I thought you had realized that he was dead."

I looked up at him, seeing that he was dead serious about it. It made me a little nervous, seeing him that determined and knowing that I would break that determination. It must have been weird for him, having some memories of his brother and then having that name tarnished with horrific acts. Maybe that's why he wanted Charles to be dead so much. I looked down at my mug, maybe it wasn't the best plan to talk to Jason about this. But at the same time, I knew that if it was me I would want to know. And A hadn't been upset so far in what we had included Jason in, no punishments or threats directed at Sarah after he went searching at his aunts house.

"The only record of his death in Radley was a work order for the courier to take his organs for donation. But with the medication he had been taking, no one would want his organs." I told him, unable to look him in the face as I said it.

"That doesn't mean anything. What about the tombstone?" he was abrupt, dismissive.

"There was a girl, she was in Radley the night that Ali disappeared. Apparently, they locked down the entire place because two patients escaped. Bethany and Charles."

"Do you trust her?"

Wasn't that the question for the ages? After everything that we had been through the last few years, it was difficult to trust anyone. The amount of things that I held back from my own family just because I wasn't sure it would keep them or me safe. But this was different, needing to trust what Leslie said through Mona still filled me with doubt. Yet Mona had suffered more than the rest of us down there in that hell hole. Leslie would have to have something pretty big on Mona to get her to misdirect us.

"I don't know. But it would explain the lair and his obsession with Ali. If he actually was your brother."

"So my brother might be alive?" his voice had softened, the fight leaking out of him.

"He might be." I said, unable to keep the tremble out of my voice.

I was back to the fear that someone related to Jason and Ali had done those horrible things to us. Had hurt us in so many ways. Had tormented me both inside and out of the dollhouse. I closed my eyes, trying to push back the thoughts. Maybe that was why Charles had thrown Jason in my face while I was down there, had kept making me think of him all the time. That so many of my memories of Jason were repeated down there in that nightmare. The memory of the shock coursing through me because I wouldn't say I loved Charles over Jason, sprung to my mind, my muscles tensing in anticipation of the current burning through me. A silent sob wracked through my chest.

Jason moved, leaving me alone in my pain. I was vaguely aware that he took the mug of hot chocolate out of my hand. The heat slipping from my fingers and the cold returning, but it was so far away. I was trapped in memories of that place. I felt a hand reach for my face, brushing my hair and I flinched back hitting the wall as I moved as far as I could from the contact.

"Aria." He sounded broken and hurt and another sob shook my chest.

I couldn't breathe, my lungs seized up in panic. I knew better than to make a sound, knew that it would only bring pain. Still, I shook against the wall, knowing what was going to come. I almost wanted to beg, but I knew that it would do nothing. It never did.

"Aria, it's me. It's okay." Jason's voice sounded and I sobbed all the harder, unable to climb out of the memories and back to the present. This would be the trick Charles would try, take away any comfort that Jason could give me. Steal one more memory from me. Strip me down to my core, and then leave me shaking in the cold and dark.

"Please, Aria. I don't know how to help. Please talk to me."

I stopped shaking tensing my muscles to stillness, Charles had never said please. I took a breath, Charles had never called me Aria. I took another breath, there was a different scent than in my room, than in my prison. My fingers tightened on the linens, the texture unfamiliar, softer against the skin of my hands. I peeked my eyes open, the different surroundings easing my anxiety a little. I wasn't in my room. Jason was sitting next to me, his expression a combination of pain and fear.

"I'm sorry." I muttered, knowing that there was no reason for me to be freaking out on him.

"You okay now?" he asked cautiously.

"I think so." I responded, before lowering my legs so they weren't pressed against my chest anymore.

He looked at me for another moment, wanting to know I was okay. I leaned forward, burying my face in his chest. He hesitated for a moment before he wrapped his arms around me. One of his hands came up and threaded through my hair, his fingertips brushing gently against my scalp. It was incredibly relaxing, having him soothe me like this. It felt like safety, not only the warmth, but how his hands moved through my hair and how he held me tightly. It was slow, and easy. So we sat there in the silence, just breathing.

"What happened there?" he asked, after a few minutes.

"I can't stand the thought that he's your brother. Then I remembered some of the things that he did, threw you in my face. I just couldn't get out of the memories." I spoke to his chest, knowing that was the only way that I could get it out.

"What do you mean? Threw me in your face?"

I swallowed, knowing this was the closest I had ever been to actually telling someone about what happened down there. The police had only wanted to know the parts that left evidence on my skin. I hadn't wanted to talk to my parents, the other girls, or even Dr. Sullivan about what had happened. I took a deep breath, being comforted by the scent of Jason's cologne.

"He made us play games. Every day. Who do you love more was his favorite. If I didn't answer or he didn't like my answer he shocked me." I told him, for the first time saying what had happened. "He made me choose between my parents, my friends. The one that he kept trying was if I loved him more than you."

"Aria." He sounded pained when he said my name, his grip on me tightening.

"I never gave him the answer he wanted." I said with a smirk, it was my greatest defiance in that place. "There were a couple times he shocked me until I passed out. But he never got me to say it."

His chest shook beneath me and I knew that he was trying to keep from crying. I didn't want to look up, didn't want to see that I had hurt him. I tightened my grip on him, wanting to take away his pain. Heartbroken that I had done this, damaged his image of his brother.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." He finally said after a moment, his voice somewhat scratchy from holding in his tears.

"You know, you're the first person I told about that." I said with a hint of a laugh in my voice.

"What about the other girls? I figured you would tell each other everything." He sounded confused.

"Uh, no, actually. We haven't really talked much about what happened down there. We all went through hell. And it's just been hard to talk about it. Even with each other. We have an idea, but don't ask."

"Like why you came out with pink in your hair?" I tensed as soon as he mentioned it, my heart breaking that he knew that. I felt a tear slip from my eye down onto his chest, soaking into the fabric.

"How did you know about that?"

He paused for a moment, afraid that answering would scare me off and send me into another fit of tears. He gave a sigh as he ran his fingers through my hair. "Ali told me, she didn't understand what happened since your hair was brown the next day."

"There was a nurse at the hospital, she got me hair dye on her break. Then helped me recolor it to match the rest."

Jason shifted uncomfortably beneath me, I pulled back a little, taking a look at him but he wasn't looking at me. His whole body had gone rigid, and I recognized the expression on his face. He was hiding something, and felt guilty about it. "Jason? What's wrong?"

"I knew you would have pink hair when you left that place." He admitted, still not looking at me.

"What?" I pulled completely away from him. What did he mean he knew about it before I left that place.

"I got these texts, while you were gone. Little things to make me imagine horrible ways that you were being hurt." He told me, shifting slightly on the bed. "It's why I showed up at your house. I needed to know you were okay."

I remembered the way he had reacted when his phone had gone off around me. The way he froze up in anxiety, before reaching for it. Even in the moment, I had recognized the signs. but other than that he hadn't shown any hints of A's unique brand of terrorism. It hurt that I had missed it and Jason had been suffering. Taking a shuddering breath, I settled my fears down best as I could.

"Can I see the texts?"

He paused for a moment, brushing my hair away from my face so that he could look in my eyes. Maybe he saw the resolve in my eyes, or maybe he was just too tired to resist. He struggled with it for a minute before I could see him give in. "Are you sure you want to see them?"

I nodded, knowing that I needed to see them. To know what Charles had done to hurt him. He sighed and I could tell that he didn't want to show me. Still, he reached into his pocket, digging out his cell phone and bringing up the log from a blocked number. Then he passed me the phone. He had scrolled it up so that I could see the first text in the series.

-Blocked ID: Four little dolls. All mine to play with. You could never say that.-

-Blocked ID: How bad they've been. Did she ever misbehave like this for you?-

-Blocked ID: She's yours for now. How long until she's mine.-

-Blocked ID: You were right. The pink looks good on her.-

The messages continued in much the same style, hinting at little things that had happened to me during the time that he was punishing me. The last message hit me the hardest, it was dated almost two weeks before we escaped.

-Blocked ID: Time's up. She's mine now.-

I dropped his phone, hit by the memory of that pill bottle. My personal timeline had been a little off what had happened in the outside world, but there was no mistaking it. In an instant, I knew that was what he was talking about in the message and it made me sick to my stomach. I felt a sob hit me like a freight train, but I still didn't make a sound. My lungs spasmed in my chest, trying to hold it in. Jason shifted slightly and I threw myself into him entirely, wrapping my arms around him as I buried my face in his chest. He let me cry until I ran out of tears, just holding me and waiting for me to finish.

"I shouldn't have said anything." He said when I stopped sobbing. "Those messages, they nearly destroyed me."

"That last one. He tried to break me. One day I woke up and there was a bottle of pills sitting next to my bed. Enough sleeping pills to be done with it all. He gave me a choice. A way out." I explained, tears streaming down my face as I spoke. The shame that burned through me was overwhelming, but I needed to tell someone. "I couldn't do it though. I wanted to so badly, but I just couldn't do it."

"I'm glad you didn't. When I got that message, I thought that was his way of telling me you were dead. I didn't think you were ever coming out of that place." He never looked away from me, making sure that he could see me as he spoke. "Ali found me, I'd raided my dad's liquor cabinet and was about to down a whole bottle. I don't think I've ever seen her that scared or that mad. She threw the bottle across the room and slapped me. She watched me for days, making sure I wouldn't do it."

"I'm glad you didn't." I told him, repeating his words back at him.

I reached up and held his face between my hands, brushing at the tear that was sliding down his cheek. This was the first time that I had ever seen Jason cry. Not even at his sister's funeral or after his mother was found dead. It hurt to see him like this, so vulnerable. He pulled me closer to him, setting me on his lap before leaning back so that we were nearly lying down. We didn't say anything for a little while, just stayed there forgetting about what we were talking about. I rolled so that I was completely lying down, still wrapped in Jason's arms. He kissed the top of my head and for once I actually felt completely at ease. I closed my eyes and just relaxed.

***End Chapter***

Hope y'all enjoyed this one. Wanted a nice balance of Jason being a source of comfort and Aria actually confronting a few of the things that happened to her. Let me know what ya think.