HIDDEN SECRETS - jason dilaurentis

12| misery loves company

"Guys, I'm fine." Aria insisted.

"You don't look fine," Emily noted. And she was right, Aria was unbelievably pale because of how unwell she was. There were prominent dark circles under her eyes, and she looked completely drained.

"So I've heard."

"You sure you don't want us to drive you to your mom's?" Emily questioned.

Aria shook her head. "No, it's her week with Mike, so the guest room's already taken," She said, with a small frown. "And besides, I promised Meredith that I wouldn't tell her about Ali's diary until we talked to my dad, so if I just stay away from her, it's easier to keep that a secret."

Hanna let out a small breath, voicing her thoughts, "I can't believe we're trusting Meredith." She disclosed.

Ivy honestly couldn't believe it either. This was the Meredith that Ivy, Aria, and Alison caught hooking up with Aria's dad in the back of his car. She was the one to inevitably split Aria's parents up. She didn't seem trustworthy.

"I think she's really just as devastated as I am," Aria shared.

"You're not giving her the pages, right?" Hanna questioned.

Thankfully, Aria shook her head, making the girls collectively sigh in relief. "No, they're hidden in a safe place, and they'll stay there till my dad gets home. Then we'll give him the chance to tell us the truth," She stated confidently.

"And what will you do if he doesn't?" Ivy queried.

A small sigh left Aria, and it was clear to them that she had been thinking about it for a while. "I don't want to believe that my dad could have hurt Ali," She confessed. "But if he did do it...This is a family secret that I can't keep," She declared.

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Ivy hated math.

It was stupid, frustrating, and exhausted Ivy. Despite Jason tutoring her in the parts of the subject that she didn't understand, Ivy still hated math. And along with hating the subject, Ivy didn't like her math teacher as he always set unnecessary homework, which was generally due the next day.

Ivy was perched on a seat at the kitchen counter in Jason's kitchen. She had attended school that morning, but as she had a free period last, Ivy phoned Jason to check he was home, and then she walked over there. Her textbooks, pens, and notebooks were sprawled out across the marble countertop, as she worked away on her homework.

And that was what she had been doing all afternoon. Occasionally, Jason popped in the room to help her when she called out for him. He assisted her with the problems she was unable to do. Jason was incredibly good at math, and it showed.

The kitchen was dull, despite the raging sun beaming down on the rest of the town. Cracks in the blinds allowed the sun to stream through ever so slightly, but it wasn't enough, as the room still had a dark hue to it.

She was in the midst of solving a math equation, when the padding of feet against the wooden floor gained her attention. Her gaze landed on Jason who had entered the room, the strap of his backpack resting on one shoulder. He started straight for his girlfriend when he stepped into the room.

"I'm going out," Jason notified.

"What? Where?" Her brows quirked in question.

"I need to run down to the school to grab something, but I'll be back." He promised. He approached her shortly after, his arms slithering around her waist, and he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"You missed," Ivy teased, glancing up at him with a wide smile on her face.

Jason chuckled, and pressed a firm kiss to her lips.