Liars

C H A P T E R 4

Can You Hear Me Now

"I never want to see another police car in front of this house do you understand me?"

"Yes sir." I look at the floor as my dad has just spoken to the cops and they've just driven away.

"Mr. Adams, if this was my choice the police wouldn't be involved, it was my fault in the first place." Brett tries to explain.

"Very noble of you Brett, but you weren't driving the car, my daughter was." Dad replies and then enters the house angrily.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean t--"

"It can be fixed." He shrugs, but I can tell he's annoyed about it. He loves his car.

"Don't be like that, babe, I did ask you to drive me, and you said no." I remind him.

"I said it was fine didn't I?" He shouts at me and I recoil slightly at his reaction.

"This isn't about the car is it?" I catch on to his problem. It's the fact that I'm not ready and he is.

"Look, maybe right now we should take a break or something." He suggests.

"Is, is that what you want?" I choke slightly.

"Not forever." He shakes his head but I just walk inside slamming the door behind me, and then I head straight back out again through the back door to meet with the girls.

"How bad did your mom and dad bust you over wrecking Brett's car?" Em asks when I meet with them.

"Okay, I did not wreck it, I damaged it. And, actually, everyone's being really mature about it." I lie through my teeth.

"Oh." Em nods as we reach the bench, where the sun is shining and the trees are a bright green with a long stretch of field grass reaching to the road.

"There's no 'oh' about it we're just being grown-ups, that's all."

"Okay, so the town is gonna put in a new bench, and we'll plant the flowerbeds, and there's gonna be a pathway of art tiles." Aria points at the area around us.

"Art tiles?" Spencer asks.

"Messages, pictures, memories of Alison." I explain.

"Oh, like little headstones." Hanna jokes.

"Hanna!"

"What?" She asks.

"We should each do a tile." Emily suggests.

"I've had Alison's bracelet since the day we found it in the woods, and I don't want the responsibility anymore." Hanna changes the subject again, pulling the bracelet out of her bag.

"I don't want it." Aria turns it down.

"Seriously, somebody take this." Hanna whines.

"Look at us, a bunch of babies." I take it out of her hand and put it into my bag to take home.

"There's nothing that 'A' can say or do to get us into trouble without making trouble for herself." Spencer agrees with me, trying to help calm everyone else down even though we're freaking out inside too.

"Are you sure it's a her?" Hanna asks.

"Him, her, doesn't make any difference." Spence pulls out her laptop and opens it on her lap.