right where you left me || pretty little liars

01

one

Alison watched Lottie as she ate her breakfast, her perfect smile with her perfect teeth. One year after her disappearance and she was still making me hate myself. One year on from that night she was felt like someone new.
Someone who didn't want to be friends with someone like Ali ever again.

Not that she had friends anymore, just a friend. The group had fallen apart after the dust settled, Aria left for Iceland, Hanna had a make over and became the new it girl with Loser Mona by her side, Emily my once best friend forced on swimming, Spencer worked and studied and Lottie? She floated around with no sense of belonging or goals.

Uneasiness filled her stomach the longer she looked at the picture, forever frozen in time, forever perfect, forever capable of ruining everyone's lives. She threw the rest of her breakfast away and the plate in the skink.

A bright pink post it note caught her attention,  in Rebecca Howell's neat handwriting. "working double shift, don't forget it's your father's week"

A sigh left her lips, since the divorce each week she had been past in-between her parents. 
This week she would have to face her dad and over-bearing step mom.

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Sat at the top of the stairs, Lottie smiled as she wrote, another pen pal letter, after the group fell apart they were the only person she had. It felt different to be friends and not having to say everything, that it was okay to keep something secret.

"Lottie?"

She looked up, Aria stood at the bottom of the stairs, a shocked look on her face.
What until she saw Hanna.

Lottie had changed she thought, of course Aria remembered her as shy with pig tails and dresses but now she wore her hair straight down her back, swapped the dress for ripped jeans and her dad old leather jacket.

Aria looked different too, she swapped the goth to boho.

"Hey" she closed her notepad and stood, "I didn't know you were back".
Aria smiled, making her way up the stairs. "only got back yesterday", Lottie nodded and smiled.

Neither spoke, what was once easy wasn't.
"How was Iceland?" she questioned.
"Good" she nodded. "How's life at the Howell House?" Aria asked.

"Houses" Lottie corrected, Aria looked confused, "my forks spilt up right after you left actually then my dad married his mistress / secretary like last month, of course they planned it the week I was there".

"awhh i'm sorry Lo" Aria gave her a one arm hug.
A true smile tugged at Lottie's lips, "They weren't that happy so it wasn't shocking. Just now I'm not happy, Sallie, that's the mistress tries a lot but I'm just not".
"Well maybe the guys can help" Aria said happily.