Chapter 74*

Aria's POV*

As I sat on the back porch, the low sound of voices inside the house against the background hum of my neighborhood reverberated around me. A dull hum against the voices of the cops out front who must be out of their cars for how loud they sounded. It was unsettling how this had become my life. It had only been a few weeks that I had been back from the dollhouse. And while time felt like it was flying by in a flurry of schoolwork, and A investigating, it still amazed me how easily I had settled into this as the routine of my life already. I dropped onto one of the patio chairs, planning to wait out the rest of Tanner's visit out here. It would save me from learning anymore about what she wanted to do to use tomorrow night to finally be done with this case, or at least move forward with an actual lead. I so wanted it to just be about the contest, dealing with the stress of being a finalist against college students was already intimidating enough. Adding anything else into the mess felt like it was going to crush the little semblance of normalcy and excitement I had managed to craft out of this.

It was maybe ten minutes before I figured it was safe enough inside to head back into the kitchen and set the kettle to heat. Then before my parents realized what I was doing, I headed upstairs to my bathroom to brush my teeth and maybe use some mouthwash. Coming back down the stairs with a minty fresh mouth, I saw it was only my dad sitting in the living room.

"You okay, dad?" I asked, the hunched arc of his back enough to worry me about what he was feeling. Had something happened in the end of their meeting with Tanner?

"Oh yeah, sweetie. I was just thinking maybe it would be better if I also came to the gallery opening tomorrow night. Mike could go to his banquet alone." he tried rationalizing.

"No way." I shot it down, concern taking over me. Mike was doing better lately, since he and Mona had gotten together, but I was still terrified of a relapse. "You should go with Mike. While I would love to have you there, his Lacrosse banquet is just as important."

"We do go to his sports banquet every year." he tried to argue, but I shook my head.

"And Mike has worked hard all year for this. Not to mention this was his first year as a starter." I reminded, knowing how crushed my brother would be if no one seemed to care about what he had accomplished this year, or how uncomfortable it would be to be the only one on the team with no parents there to support him.

He seemed to be taking a moment to consider what I was saying and, knowing that Mike wasn't currently home, I decided to push a little more, not worried about him overhearing something he might misinterpret.

"My stuff is already taking over the family in a lot of ways, I know having the cops watching our every move isn't ideal for anyone. There's so much that isn't normal, that he needs some normality, let him have this. He deserves to be recognized for the work that he's put in. I never want to see him like he was again. He's been doing so much better." I could feel my throat tighten at the thought, closing off the ranting that had somehow taken over, I didn't want to see my little brother so depressed he could barely drag himself out of bed and do the things that he loved doing.

"You're right. I know he doesn't want to miss it." he conceded, as the kettle in the kitchen gave an airy whistle before quieting itself.

"Do you want any tea?" I asked, moving towards the kitchen.

"No, I'm alright. I'm going to have to go back to campus in a little bit anyway."

With a hum to acknowledge that I had heard him, I headed to make myself a cup of tea. The motions of brewing a fresh cup of mint tea in a vain hope to settle my roiling stomach so routine at this point that it felt like I blinked and was done. While I waited for the tea to steep, I pulled out my phone to text Emily..

Aria: Hey Em, ready to hang out whenever you are. My dad is heading back to school.

While waiting for her response, I scrolled back through my messages, looking back over the one that I had gotten from Clark yesterday. A picture of the postcard sized advertisement that the contest was putting out.

Clark: They used your photo! They must really love your stuff.

Aria: Just my stuff? You mean that isn't your tree right there?

It was awesome seeing both of our works featured so prominently on the advertising, it made it seem like we really had a chance. Even if only one of us could win. Clark hadn't needed to share the info about the contest with me, especially since it seemed to be increasing his competition. But I was really glad to have a friend to share photography with, especially one who already had some idea about what all I was going through lately. Even if he did sometimes try to ask me about the investigation. Those questions were easy enough to shut down and move on from. And they meant once he knew I didn't want to talk about something, that he would respect it and we could go back to being normal friends, him just overlooking the weird little habits I had.

My phone chirped the moment that I set it down on the counter to finish making my tea, which felt like ridiculous timing. So I tossed the little bag into the compost bin, which was easily half mint tea at this point, that and coffee grounds. It was almost like we didn't really eat much in this house. I grabbed a few more of the ginger cookies and holding them in my mouth, knowing it would help to fill my mostly empty stomach. With a smile and the gentle wafting scent of mint steaming up from my mug, I grabbed my phone again.

Emily: I'll be over in 10

I frowned at the message. That was a little more clipped than Emily usually liked to be, even in texts. Swallowing down the fear that something might have gone wrong since last night, along with a gulp of tea, I headed upstairs, my room at least was tidy. So I didn't need to clear anything up, though I did make sure that my newest bottle of vitamins were at the back of the arrangement of pill bottles. I wasn't sure what all medications the others were taking, so was a little wary about what all information would be revealed on the labels. Then since I had the time now, I figured I'd do a few of the chores that were just sitting around. It helped to alleviate some of the nervous energy that was filling me.

By the time that the knock on the door sounded abruptly enough to make me jump, I had a load of laundry going and the trash had been taken out. She breezed in quickly, but not seemingly too agitated.

"Hey, everything good?" I greeted, hoping that I was just overreacting.

"Yeah, things are fine." her voice was a little higher than normal, which usually meant that she was anxious or upset about something.

"Really?" I asked. "Cause they don't seem fine."

She huffed a little, adjusting her bag over her shoulder before glancing towards the stairs. "We going up to your room?"

"Yeah, sure. No one else is home though." I assured her, the plan had been to look at outfits for the exhibit tomorrow, but it almost seemed like she wasn't sure it was safe to talk.

"It's honestly nothing. I'm just overthinking things." she was already moving for the stairs as she answered.

"Em, what's up? I kinda need you to tell me, I can't guess." I prompted again, following her up the stairs.

"Like I said, I'm sure it's just me worrying." she made it to the door of my bedroom and headed straight in as she took a breath. "But Sarah has been really distant. Like weirdly distant since she moved back to Courtland." she flung herself back onto my bed, bouncing a little as she did.

"What's weirdly distant?" I asked, not having a baseline of her normal behavior. Did Emily have one for that matter? It wasn't like we really knew her outside of the couple weeks since the dollhouse, which wasn't normal by any perspective.

"She's not responding to messages for hours. Or sometimes at all, I have to send a follow up to get a response sometimes."

"She could just be busy." I tried to soothe, it didn't sound that odd of behavior, almost like how I had been when I first got back home. But then again, I didn't really know how close she and Sarah were, what the normal response time really looked like. It wasn't like I had Sarah's number or had ever actually talked to her.

"I know. And she probably is, it's just." she broke off, like she wasn't sure how to continue.

I gave her a little nudge, hoping that would help prompt her to continue. This felt like one of those times that it would be better to just let her get it all out, before trying to problem solve anything.

"When she was staying with me, she needed quick responses from me, and got really anxious if I wasn't around." she tried to explain, and I felt my stomach twist with that context. That was a lot of neediness, especially from someone we had just met. And when Emily needed to be taking care of herself too. "It helped reassure her that she wasn't alone anymore. And I know it tapered off some when she started working with Caleb, she had a job to focus on, and between that and therapy I thought she had enough of a support system. But I was still a part of it."

"Maybe she just needs some space? Or time to think about what she needs? She's been through a lot." I tried to be supportive, masking the worry that this conversation was giving me.

She sighed again. "I know. And I get it. But part of the reason that she moved back to stay with Claire, was so that we could spend time together intentionally. Like go out to eat, or do things without my mom around. And we haven't been doing any of that."

"So are you worried that she doesn't have support now? Or that she doesn't need support from you?" I asked, trying to keep my tone gentle and unjudgmental.

"Both, I guess?" she replied, clearly not knowing what it was.

I couldn't remember ever seeing her frustrated like this, worried about what was going on with someone. With the possible exception of Ali, but that was basically a given. Everyone worried about what was going on with Ali, sometimes from caring, others from self-preservation. But Emily hadn't been like this even with the people that she admitted to crushes on or dated. Maybe it was because that was always more settled, and she felt more certain about things. But it was weird to see Emily so bothered by a new friend not texting on their normal timeline. Or was this cause she thought something had happened to Sarah? But that probably meant no responses at all, not just delays. Watching the ways that she shifted her gaze around, looking down, more than anything it reminded me of when she was obviously feeling guilty about something.

"Em, I haven't seen you worry like this over other people. Not even Paige." again I kept my voice delicate, not wanting to step on a landmine. "Is there something else going on?"

She paused for a moment, taking a breath before speaking. "You remember Nicole, right?"

I was completely thrown off by that. "Your friend from Habitat for Humanity?" I questioned, not sure how this was related at all.

"Yeah, she mentioned how I had been so happy and carefree on our trip. That helping people seemed to help me." I could hear the start of tears in her voice, and I laid down on the bed next to her. Reaching out and taking her hand in mine. "And I thought, maybe that was it. Maybe I was just focusing on Sarah so I didn't have to focus on dealing with things from the bunker, you know?"

It didn't seem like a question that she meant for me to answer, so instead I just gave her hand a squeeze. Letting her take the time, but making sure she knew that she had my silent support for what she needed to get out. It definitely seemed possible that helping Sarah had been getting her through things. Or more likely avoiding dealing with things. She had been happier after her Habitat trip, aside from the partying that came along with it. But even that had felt like it was because it was suddenly safe to do so. Now I couldn't imagine losing control to anything close to that degree, not after the dollhouse. It seemed like Emily had the same experience as well, focusing in on the moment instead of being able to let go of the fear.

"But then, Sarah kissed me. And I thought maybe it was something more. Like she was actually interested in me."

"Em," I breathed out her name, empathy coating the word as I lay there with her. That was a hard turn.

"And now she's not responding. And I'm stuck with dealing with everything from the bunker and her disappearing on me, all at once. And it's a lot." her pace picked up as she spoke and she finished with a small huff of exertion.

I leaned into her a little more, offering what comfort I could. "I know it's a lot, Em. She could still just need some time and space to get things figured out. It might have nothing to do with you. Or maybe now just isn't the right time."

"Yeah." she murmured and I could hear the sniffle in her voice. She was trying not to cry. I wasn't sure what I could do to help right now, it seemed like the best option at the moment was to just sit in the misery with her. Let her know she wasn't alone. The other option of tracking down Sarah to give her a piece of my mind didn't seem appropriate right now. And I doubted Emily would appreciate it, despite my good intentions. That said, I would save that as a back up option, Hanna was usually down to go yell at people who hurt our friends.

After a few minutes, she pulled her hand away, rubbing away at the tears on her face and sitting up. With a sniffle to get herself back under control, she gave a smile. "Anyway, I didn't come over here to mope about things. We need to find you an outfit for tomorrow night."

"Em, we don't have to. It's not a huge thing. I can just wear anything." I tried to soothe, not wanting her to have to hide the hurt and focus on something as mundane as clothing.

"No way. I said I was going to help you pick out something to wear tomorrow, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Besides, this is your debut as a professional photographer, you should look the part." she paused and thought for a moment, before smiling. "Not the fake glasses though, you don't need that to look artsy."

I could see the image in her head that she was referring to, the thick frames to make me look like I was a New York artiste, and couldn't help the smile in response to the joke. Her smile made me feel a little better at least. I knew that she was just ignoring what she was feeling. But I wasn't going to take this moment of normality away from her. She'd have to deal with the hurt later, when she had time to process. Just like all of us did when we got back. I hadn't understood to what extent she had been putting things off, and instead focusing on taking care of Sarah.

So with my resolve settled, I got up and moved over to the closet. Pulling out two dresses that I had been considering for tomorrow night. And presenting them to Emily to look at.

"I'm torn between these two."

Both dresses had halter necks, which meant that I was going to need to wear a jacket at least over them, though I could go for a set of tights cut out to be arm warmers if that was the right vibe. And probably a pair of tights as well. I was still feeling the cold all the time, knowing that it wasn't just in my head hadn't actually improved anything yet. Neither had the increase in iron supplements that my doctor had put me on when I called yesterday about the dizziness and persistent cold. The dress on the right was a black and white plaid summer dress, it was made of a soft cotton material that I loved, very comforting and familiar. But felt a little more like a dress for a picnic than a gallery opening. While the one on the left was predominantly black, but with ballerinas dressed in green tutus patterned across it. It was definitely more of an eyecatcher, and would probably need to be paired with more sedate colors. But it reminded me of a dress I had seen on an actress at an award show, that had wrestlers patterned across the dress.

"I think I like the one on the right more." she said, looking between the two dresses.

It wasn't a surprising take, and one that I had really expected from Emily. She had a more tame sense of style than the other girls. More going for comfort and utility, over loud attention grabbing outfits. With the obvious exception of formal wear, she pulled off sleek cocktail dresses beautifully and when she dressed up it was easy to forget the jock that lay underneath it.

"Yeah, it doesn't really feel downtown art scene though." I contemplated the dresses with a frown, feeling the plaid needed some kind of edge to make it a statement rather than just boring. "Maybe if I add a jacket. I've got a leather one in the back of my closet."

"The one with skulls?" Emily asked, moving from the bed towards the closet, a smile on her face.

"Am I that predictable?" It came out before I thought it through. Of course I was. Skulls were on a good third of my wardrobe.

She moved over to the closet as I was setting the dresses down to go digging. Instead of the black leather jacket, that I knew was tucked at the edges, away from the dresses and tops, she grabbed out the garment bag that was currently in the center of the closet.

"What's this?" she questioned, hand automatically moving to the zipper.

"Oh no, that is not for tomorrow night." I stopped her hand with a light touch and she turned to look at me, interest peaking on her face. "It's my prom dress."

The smirk bloomed across her lips, tilting the corners of her mouth up as she looked back at the bag. Fingers closing slowly over the pull. "The mysterious one that you won't even tell us what fairy tale it's inspired by?"

"Yes, that one. So no looky loos." I moved the garment bag back into the closet, tucking it safely back on the rail, over to the side this time.

"Really?" she questioned as she moved back to sitting down, this time taking a seat on the little vanity stool that was closest to my closet. "Not even a hint."

I grabbed the skull jacket out of the closet before responding. "I made some adjustments, and I really want it to be a surprise. You know how sometimes the right dress just kind of speaks to you?"

"I think your closet speaks a little louder than mine." she laughed.

"I'm pretty sure your closet screams Emily just fine." I teased back.

I wrapped the sides of the jacket around the plaid dress, but it didn't really seem to help add interest to the dress. Actually it made it look a little dreary, the lack of any real color made the grey look more washed out. I pushed the rejected dress to the side and settled back down to sitting on the bed.

"So speaking of prom," I started, edging back onto the subject delicately. "Are you thinking of asking someone? Or would you maybe wanna be my prom buddy?"

She looked like she was about to respond, but I continued quickly, teasingly hoping to entice her to say yes to going with me. "I can promise no drama fun. I'll even throw in some slow dances."

The reluctance to turn me down was clear in her face, but I knew that it was coming. "I do want to ask Sarah." she sounded so cautious that it made me wonder how that was likely to go, given Sarah's ignoring her texts. "It's just. Prom seems so loaded. Especially for a first date, and it's not like we've had a chance to go out and spend time together."

"Yeah, I can see how that would be a lot." I tried not to grit my teeth at the thought. It wasn't that I didn't want to spend time with Sarah. But it seemed like Emily was pinning her hopes on this relationship, and I didn't want her to get hurt. "She's been gone for so long, has she been to a school dance before?"

"I don't think so. Or on a date." she moved back over to the bed and sunk down across the comforter, defeat weighing her down. "I was worried about maybe we had overstepped when we kissed, and when I asked her if it was a real thing or not, she told me she's had so many pretend kisses she wants the real thing."

My heart cracked just a little at that. It wasn't fair that Charles had taken Sarah and held her for years. She hadn't had anything to do with us before that. And he just stole her entire life away from her, shoving her into the darkness of the dollhouse. She seemed totally innocent in all this, it wasn't the questionable moral ground of whether she deserved punishment for what she had done wrong like the rest of us. No matter that her friends had shared she wasn't the nicest before she went missing. It felt like she had been living in her own world and the chaotic mess that was our lives dragged her in and buried her under the surface.

And that was without the thought of being the sole focus of Charles' attention in the doll house for years. What had he done to her in that time? It didn't bear to think about it. The way that Mona had seemingly completely broken from her couple of months without support. It had to be horrible, especially in the two years before he took up the A game and started to torment the rest of us. I could feel the churning of my stomach at the idea that maybe Sarah and I had more in common than I thought.

"Well, if she does want to come, we'll make sure she has a great time. She deserves that." I promised Emily, knowing that I needed to make that happen.

"What about you?" she asked after a moment, the look of confusion on my face clear enough that she clarified. "Have you thought about asking someone to prom? It's not 1912 anymore, the girl can ask the guy."

"I hadn't thought of it." and I really hadn't, beyond wanting to go with my friends I hadn't put any thought into going to prom with someone. Asking Emily had been the end of my planning. I knew it was one of those things that's important to embrace in your high school years, making memories with people. But I couldn't bear the thought of going with a date. "I'm not ready for that though, prom is way too loaded for a date."

She tilted her head at me, a mild challenge paired with the raise of her left eyebrow. "I can't think of a single guy who would say yes. And besides, I'm not up for dating. Not yet."

"Not even Jason?" she asked, clearly testing the waters for this conversation.

"No, Em. And Jason knows we're just friends. Nothing more." I defended, hoping that it was in fact still true. After Tuesday, I realized there was a lot more blurring happening between us. The moment in his car where I thought he was about to kiss me, or that I had wanted to kiss him, despite my brain freaking out a little a high point.

She pointedly turned her gaze over to the chair, where a leather jacket was draped over the side of the headrest. Specifically, Jason's leather jacket that he had wrapped around me on Tuesday and that he had left with me to have something to focus on if I got too stressed and panicky.

"So that's not Jason's jacket?" a smirk quirked her lips, and I felt a flush across my cheeks.

"How do you even know what Jason's jacket looks like?" I turned it back around on her, shocked that she had known who's it was at a glance.

"I didn't." her mouth spread into a full self-satisfied grin. "I just guessed. But you confirmed it. "

I pushed down the annoyance that I had fallen for that. But it really seemed like she knew, and how could I deny it when she was bound to see Jason wearing it sooner or later. I would need to get it back to him, despite the fact that it helped me to feel better. Eventually the scent of his cologne would fade from it, and stop being helpful that way.

"That doesn't change the fact that we're just friends, he was just looking out for me." I defended.

"Right, cause throwing himself in front of a ball shooter for you is just a friends thing, then?" her eyebrow raised and I hadn't realized how early the girls had gotten to the arcade. My heart dropped into my stomach, but I shoved it aside. If I reacted now, Emily would know that there was something to it. Read the wrong thing from my reaction.

"Yeah, cause you've never thrown yourself in front of anything to protect me." I shot back, a small grin on my lips. "Or was you knocking Mona and I out from in front of a car actually your declaration of undying love? Cause really, Em, I didn't think I was your type."

"Oh shut it. You know what I mean." she nudged into me playfully. "Jason obviously cares about you. Especially if what I saw at Ali's place last week meant anything."

I felt a flush across my face at the memory. The combination of embarrassment at the memory of Jason being so obviously devoted as he soothed me through the whole conversation, and shame about what I had had to share that day. I also hadn't thought about how much attention Emily was paying to Jason and my interactions, this felt like it was building for a while and she only just got the chance to bring it up.

"He was just supporting me as a friend, Emily. I'd already told him about what happened in the bunker and he knew I was going to tell you all."

She looked at me blankly, clearly expecting more. My lungs felt like they were quivering within my chest, barely able to keep my breathing steady and a slow wave of dizziness rose despite my prone position.

"I'm not in any shape to be in a relationship. It wouldn't be fair to him." I rationalized with a shaky breath, trying to keep the rising tears at bay.

"Aria, I get it if you're not ready. I can't imagine what you went through down there, it was hell on all of us." she shifted uncomfortable where she was laying on the bed. "But if it's about being fair to Jason, I don't think you need to worry about that. He's obviously already devoted to you."

It felt a little like a punch in the gut, that it was so apparent that he cared about me. Normal friends didn't plan weekend dates and lay on the couch together watching movies all the time. Or get coffee or breakfast almost every morning. And those were the things that Emily didn't even know about. But it was him taking Tuesday as a personal day that drove the message home. He had other things going on in his life, and he prioritized taking care of me over everything else. The thought made my heart clench a little, partially out of gratitude, but more out of guilt.

"I feel like I'm dragging him through all this awfulness. Our lives are disasters right now." I confessed, feeling the heat start to build in my eyes with tears.

"It's his disaster too. After all, Charles is his secret not imaginary evil brother." she countered, barking out a laugh at the end at just how ridiculous that statement was. I joined her laughing, it was absurd.

The laughter died away and the despair swarmed back over me. Yeah, Charles was absolutely part of his messed up family tree, but it wasn't the same. He wouldn't have to deal with a lot of this if he wasn't taking care of me. Regret and self-recrimination threatened to swallow me up. Emily didn't really know the extent that I was dragging him through the muck that was my life. I had pulled him down to a level that even the other girls weren't having to experience with me.

"I just can't, Em. It's too much to ask." The words just started blurting out, needing her to understand. "I had an abortion."

And just like that it was out into the world. No chance to take it back. No way to put the genie back in the lamp. Panic froze me, while making my thoughts race faster than ever. What could Emily say to that? It had never been a topic before with us. And I knew that she had been raised seriously conservatively. Enough that her parents had freaked out when they found out she was gay.

Silence reigned in the air between us, only cut through by the slow even breaths from Emily. My own lungs had frozen in shock that I had gotten it out. Would she run away? Hate me? I didn't know if I could blame her. I kind of hated myself right now.

The burning had started in my lungs as I waited, tears overflowing from my eyes and pouring down my face, sliding down into my hair in a constant stream. She moved, and the panic that she was about to leave threatened to crush me. But it was into me, her arms wrapping tightly around my upper body, head tucking in next to mine as she surrounded me with warmth and acceptance.

A sob broke free, letting my lungs contract and expand again and draw in fresh air once more. I clung to her. Noticing the shaking of my body only against her solid presence.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered into my hair, barely loud enough to hear over the wracking sounds of my crying.

"It's not- you don't have to be." I struggled to reassure and dismiss through my sobs.

She pulled back, looking down at me and I could see the anger mixing with tears in her dark brown eyes. "I'd kill him if I could."

A watery smile took over my lips as I replied. "Me too."

The quiet as we sat taking in what I had just shared stretched on, our solemn declarations meaning more than it felt like they should. It should just be an assurance that she was with me. That she hated him as much as I did. But it felt more than that. Emily was one of the few people who understood what it meant to kill someone to protect yourself. It connected us in a way that the other girls couldn't fully understand. Emily had killed Nate to save herself and Caleb. She knew just what it meant to say that.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked after the silence had seemed to stretch on forever.

"What? About Charles?" I didn't understand why she would want to know more than I had already shared about the time in the bunker. They definitely weren't happy memories to share, not to mention the aching bruises that were left afterwards.

"I meant about the abortion." her voice softened on the last word, making sure it stayed between us, despite the fact that we were alone in the house. "I know you haven't told the others."

I shifted, uncomfortable at feeling seen that way. She was right though, of course I hadn't told the others. I hadn't even intended to tell her. It had just burst out despite my intentions to keep it close to my chest as long as I could.

"I don't know how to tell them. Especially not Ali. Things didn't go so well the last time I shared things." It had felt awkward, putting myself in that vulnerable position and feeling like Ali was just waiting to take her shot at my soft spots. She was clinging so tightly to Charles being her brother and someone worth knowing. Not accepting that those things could be mutually exclusive.

"Do you want me to tell them?" she offered.

I shook my head. Not able to handle that just yet. "No, not yet at least. I just need some time."

She watched me closely, obviously weighing whether or not this was going to be something that we could really keep hidden for any length of time. Wondering what the odds were that Charles knew about it. Finally, she gave a nod of acceptance, leaving it up to me to decide when to spill the beans.

"Thank you." I appreciated having that space, to try and figure out what I was going to do now.

"When was this?" she asked after a moment of quiet, and I inhaled deeply, knowing that I could share this with her at least. Even if I wasn't ready to share it with the others.

"I went to the clinic on Tuesday. Well, Jason took me actually." I was a little sheepish to admit that Jason knew, and she quirked her eyebrow in surprise. "He's known since the arcade. Charles tried to grab me and telling him was the only thing I could think of to get him to let me go."

"How long have you known?"

"Maybe 2 hours before I told Charles and Jason." I answered with a laugh. "My doctor ran some tests at my appointment that day."

She looked a little surprised. "I'm also anemic if that means anything." I tried to dismiss the seriousness of the conversation.

"No wonder you looked so awful the next day."

"Yeah, it was a rough 24 hours." I shrugged dismissively.

She was quiet for a minute, while that sunk in, before asking her voice hesitant as though afraid she would upset me. "What was that like? Did they have to knock you out?"

I shook my head. "Nothing that dramatic. I just had to take some pills. And have felt like I'm having the worst period of my life."

She made a face.

"Like heating pad, curled up in the fetal position, with muscle relaxers bad." the worst of the cramping had passed yesterday, now there was just fatigue and the ever lingering cold that made me layer even in the comfort of my home. Also the muscle relaxers weren't hurting anything.

She grimaced in obvious sympathy, it definitely wasn't the best feeling in the world. But she at least seemed to be taking it pretty well, that I had kept something else from them. Even after they had questioned me about any more secrets.

"It was nice of Jason to take you though." she acknowledged and I felt the heat return to my face.

"Yeah, he took a personal day from work actually, so he could stay with me through the afternoon." I explained, noting the quirk of her eyebrow for me to continue on. "He made popcorn and hot chocolate, then rubbed my back while we watched Princess Bride."

Warmth flooded through my chest at the memory. The comfort that curling up on the couch with Jason had brought, despite all the pain that was part of it. It had made the day a little better, and I felt some level of pride sharing that with Emily. That I had a support system even when I struggled to lean on the girls because we were all struggling through our own problems. It was a balance that I tried hard to maintain, not leaning too hard and being able to take care of my own problems. But needing support and people helping take care of me as well.

"I was absolutely a mess." I admitted, knowing it was the simple truth. "It's why I can't ask anymore from Jason, he's already helping me more than is fair."

The fear that I was going to push people too far with asking for things hit me again. That I would reach the point where I asked for one thing too far, and be left completely alone. I shoved the need for help down, I could handle things on my own.

"Aria, I get it if you're not ready. But Jason doesn't seem like he's afraid of you asking for any more. He already knows what you're going through and is still here." she assured, pain burning in her eyes and I wanted to shove my own feelings aside to try and fix what was hurting her. "Do you know how rare that is? Don't push it away just cause you're worried he's going to take off."

And I realized she was talking about Sarah. Someone who knew part of what we had gone through, but didn't understand the years of torment and stalking that went along with it. I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Good. Now is that the dress that you've decided on?" she turned the conversation, bringing it back to something lighter, and when I nodded continued. "Then we're going to need to look at your jewelry, I don't think forks are going to be the vibe."

With I smile, I moved over towards my jewelry box. Already having a few ideas about what I wanted to pair with my outfit for tomorrow.

End Chapter*

So Aria is finally starting to share things. Hope you enjoyed this one, let me know what you think.

Also I'm starting to think through perspectives for Prom Night, so let me know if there is someone that you would really love to see their view of things.