The Sixth Doll~ Pretty Little Liars

Into the Deep

"Shana, they know I'm hiding something."

Isabel, Spencer, and Emily all stopped abruptly when they heard Jenna's voice.

"If the cops really thought that, you'd still be there answering questions," Shana assured her. They were sitting at a lunch table, talking about...?

"I should have told them about Alison," Jenna whispered, and Isabel stared at Spencer, eyes wide.

"It's too dangerous," Shana replied in a soothing voice.

"It's too dangerous not to say anything at this point!" Jenna hissed.

"Just give me a little more time to figure out where she is," Shana replied hastily.

Jenna leaned in frustratedly. "I don't have much time left."

"I'm not leaving your side until I take you back to Philly in the morning," Shana promised, but Jenna still seemed worried. "Okay? This'll all be over soon. Promise."

Jenna nodded, so when Shana got up, she did, too, and the two of them walked off.

Isabel, Spencer, and Emily shared a dark look when they were gone. Alison? Alive?

-

Isabel, Spencer, and Aria helped Paige set up for Emily's surprise party.

"Am I crazy, or did it sound like Jenna was saying she knows Alison's alive?" Isabel whispered as they set out food.

"That or she knows who killed her," Spencer shrugged. "Either way, this could lead to 'A' and who's setting up Hanna's mom."

Aria, who was still up until then, picked up some cups. "Yeah, but Jenna's not just gonna tell us."

"Well, she might if we could pry her away from Shana," Spencer replied, pulling out some ice cream. "Jenna's really vulnerable right now, and not just because she's losing her sight again."

"How does that even happen, anyway?" Aria frowned.

"Yeah, one minute you have it, the next minute, poof, it's gone?" Isabel added.

"Well, Toby said that that operation has a really low success rate, so apparently she's one of the unfortunate ones," Spencer said as she pulled more items out of the bag.

"Hey, has Toby had any luck in New York?" Isabel asked, remembering what Caleb told her.

"He traced that number back to an empty apartment, and the landlord said that it was rented out to a girl," Spencer explained with a knowing look. "He wouldn't give the name, but he did give a forwarding address."

"To where?" Aria pressed.

"A PO box in Philly," Spencer replied. "He's on his way back from New York right now." The door swung open to reveal an agitated Paige. "Hey."

Paige just walked over and looked at the table full of food with a disapproving look. "Guys, Em's gonna be here at 6:30." She shifted the bag in her hands. "We gotta hurry up."

She started to walk off, but Spencer stopped her. "Oh, did you invite the whole swim team?"

"Yeah," Paige nodded. "But don't worry, Shana won't show up. I made it clear she was unwelcome."

"Well, could you call her and make it unclear?" Isabel asked, looking over at Spencer worriedly.

"We kind of need her to come," she agreed.

Paige stared at them. "Why?"

"Because until tomorrow morning, wherever Shana goes, Jenna goes," Aria replied darkly.

-

Later, Isabel bounced around the party, supplying drinks, checking on the food, and talking to the girls.

"Hey," she smiled, walking by Aria.

"Did you-" Aria began, but then she saw someone, and pulled Isabel behind a pillar.

"Whoa, whoa, what's going-" Isabel started, and Aria clamped a hand over her mouth before she could say anything else.

When Aria let go of her, Isabel stared at her pointedly.

"I just saw Jake," she huffed. "With a blonde giraffe."

Isabel raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you two just friends or something?"

"We are," Aria shrugged. "They just seem a bit too cozy."

"You're jealous, Aria. Believe me, I know a jealous person when I see one," Isabel replied bitterly. Because the last time someone said that to her...

"I'm not-" Aria protested, but then Paige turned off the music.

"Okay, guys," she called, running away from the window. "She's here. Everybody get ready. Somebody get the lights."

Isabel turned off the lights and dove behind the couch. Emily knocked on the door, and Paige answered it.

"Hey, birthday girl," she smiled. Emily just walked past her, upset. Paige closed the door, turning to face her. "Everything okay?"

Emily crossed her arms. "Why did you lie to Dominic?"

"Surprise!!!" everyone shouted, jumping out. The music started up again, and people were shouting and whooping.

"Hi! Happy Birthday!" Aria laughed, hugging Emily.

"Happy birthday," Isabel grinned when it was her turn to hug Emily. She seemed a bit... off, though.

-

Unfortunately, there was no drinking at this party, but Isabel tried to have fun.

She was talking with some guy when she heard shouting coming from outside. When she went to investigate, she saw Jake, Aria, and Emily hovering over a sopping wet Jenna. Shana came running out, and it seemed that all hell had finally broken loose.

After Jenna was loaded onto an ambulance, Isabel, Spencer, Aria, and Emily talked about what happened.

"Did somebody push her in?" Aria frowned.

"I think somebody hit her first," Emily whispered, pulling out her sleeve, which had a smear of blood along the cuff of it. "There was blood on the back of her head."