CHARISMA - the sweet unknown {PLL}

When Life Gives You Lemons

Aria slept for at least 11 hours that night. The moment Spencer had laid her down on her bed she passed out. The next morning, when she finally woke up, she took a moment to realize where she was. Spencer's room was so neat and clean, Aria knew right away this couldn't be her own room. She stretched and yawned before she made her way downstairs. The weather was lovely and Spencer was sitting outside on the terrace, reading a book.
"Hey", Aria murmured and sat down next to Spencer.
"Good morning", she replied and put the book down. "How are you feeling?"
Aria took a breath and felt her head, "Okay, I guess. A lot better than last night, definitely. I just hope this won't have any serious effects."
"I'm sure they would've told us at the hospital", Spencer smiled. "Do you want breakfast? It's never too late for that."
It was already 12:30 and Aria's parents had called twice. But Spencer told them They were busy going through their college applications and that Aria would come home later.
"Thanks, I'm not ready for food, yet." Aria needed to get something off of her chest, "Spencer, I need to apologize."
Spencer raised her eyebrows, "What for?"
"For lying to you", she began, "and also for suspecting you. Especially Alisha, gosh, I really need to talk to her about this. I'm so mad at myself I let Ezra make me believe that she'd do this to me. I've known Alisha all my life, she's not a jealous person and she'd never hurt me." She paused and hesitated for a moment, "But I just can't get rid of the feeling that this has something to do with her."
Spencer put a hand on Aria's shoulder, "It's okay, Aria. I know what you mean, though, I have the same feeling. But I think we just need to remind ourselves that Alisha is affected by this as much as we are."
Aria shrugged, "I guess you're right."
Nobody said anything for a while before Aria continued, "The weird thing is, what happened last night was horrible, but we can't blame it all on A, can we? We're the one who have been lying to each other."
"I agree", Spencer nodded, "but we'll be able to deal with this, I'm sure. Seems like you're not the only one who needs to think of a good apology."
"There's some things that can't be forgiven", Aria said eventually and stood up, "Thanks for letting me crash here. I should go home now."

Walking from Spencer's house to Aria's took about 15 minutes. The fresh air made her feel a lot more alive and better than she did after waking up. Aria has had a hangover before but this was different. Apart from the last remains of a headache she felt more vibrant than ever. Thinking about the night before and what she and her friends had to reveal to each other reminded her of how much she hated lies. You can't control being lied to but she was in charge of the lies she told. And she was more than determined to stop lying from today on.
She unlocked the door to her house and heard her parents talking to each other in the kitchen. From the smell that laid in the air she could tell her mother was cooking. She passed by the living room and greeted her brother, who was watching TV. As she walked into the kitchen her heart was racing.
"Hello darling", her mom gave her a weird look, "Is everything okay?"
"To be honest", Aria glanced at her dad, "nothing is okay."
"Did something happen last night?" Mr Montgomery asked alarmed.
Aria shook her head, "Last night is not what this is about."
"Why don't you take a seat first", Ella Montgomery had a strong sense for other people's moods and she knew her daughter was upset.
"I don't want to sit down, mom", Aria said and her voice was shaking with anger. She was mad that everyone always tried to make things look like everything was alright when it clearly wasn't. "I've been hiding this from both of you, but I've come to realize that there is absolutely no need to hide it anymore. Everyone in this house just does what they want anyway, so why not me?"
Her parents exchanged worried looks but patiently waited for her to go on.
"I'm dating Ezra Fitz", Aria said eventually.
Her dad didn't understand at first, he knew he had heard the name before but it took a moment for him to put the pieces together. Ella, of course, was quicker to get the message and her mouth dropped open in shock, "You've got to be kidding, Aria."
"Do I look like I'm up for a joke?" Aria crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Ella", Mr Montgomery turned to his wife, "isn't this your colleague from school? How old is he?"
"Yes, he's Aria's English teacher", she replied and put down the wooden spoon she had held in her hands the whole time. "I'm going to have to talk to him about this. Aria, that's not legal. Mr Fitz is misusing his position."
Aria had already expected this kind of reaction, which is why she has kept the best for last. "Don't worry mom, everything is alright with Ezra. You'll have more important things to deal with."
"What are you talking about?" Her mom asked.
"Why don't you ask dad?" Aria looked from her mom to her dad and raised her eyebrows. "How's Mrs Vanderwal doing?"
Mr Montgomery went pale from one second to the other and he couldn't help but glare at Aria in shock. After a moment he whispered, "Aria, that was years ago."
"No, it wasn't", Aria contradicted. "And it's about time mom knows about it. She doesn't deserve to be treated like this. You don't get to lie to her, and me, and Mike, pretending everything's fine, thinking we're all stupid enough to believe you."
"What's going on?" Mike must have heard the rambling and he joined them all in the kitchen.
"Mike, go to your room", Mr Montgomery demanded.
"He deserves to know truth as well, don't you think?" Aria interfered.
Ella finally found her voice and tried to clear the situation, "What on earth are you talking about, Aria?"
Before Aria could answer her dad took her arm and gave her a meaningful look, "Aria, don't ruin our family over nothing."
"I'm not the one who is ruining it", she snatched her arm free and looked at her mom, "Dad is cheating on you."
"What?" Mike exclaimed and all of a sudden Aria actually felt bad that he had to witness all this. But she meant what she had said, Mike deserved the truth. Just like her mother.
"Why would you say that?" Her mom asked a little taken aback.
"I saw them together, several times", Aria walked around the counter and stood next to her mom, "he even admitted it to me. Mom, I should've told you, but he promised me it was over. Until I received this photo." She fumbled her phone out of her pocket and showed her mom the picture that A had sent to Alisha. There was no chance her dad was able to deny this now.
Ella's face changed the moment she saw the picture. Aria had always wondered if she was suspicious, if she had a slight idea that there was something going on. Now she knew that her mom hasn't had a clue. The expression on her face mirrored her whole world breaking into pieces.
"Ella, let me explain", Mr Montgomery tried to move past Aria but she wouldn't let him. "It's nothing, really."
"Nothing?" Ella repeated and her eyes met those of her husband. "I know all the words in the English language with all of their meanings. Trust me, I am well aware that this isn't nothing."
"I'm so sorry mom", Aria took her phone out of her moms hands and put it pack into her pocket.
"Aria, Mike", she didn't look at them but her voice was very clear, "please leave. I need to talk about this with your father, alone."
Aria walked over to her brother and put a hand on his back to push him out of the kitchen. He had been standing there, petrified, with a painful look on his face. They reached the hall and he turned to his sister, "How long have you known?"
Aria sighed, "That doesn't matter. It's all over now."