| 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 |
tackling an enemy is never easy.
especially when the enemy is faceless and nameless,
threatening to spill every secret the girls have ever had.
and as you know, secrets never stay hidden in rosewood.
[JASON DILAURENTIS x O...
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I DON'T KNOW WHERE I WANT TO BE LESS. Rosewood or taking Jason to rehab.
I walked into my house to see the girls there. Thank god. I let out a sigh and smiled. As I made eye contact with them, I broke down. I've been holding it in since I saw Jason at the police station. I had to stay strong for him, but I'm falling apart. Seeing Jason like that was so hard.
"Bella." Aria said softly and came up to hug me. The rest stood up and wrapped their arms around me. Once we released, we all sat down in the living room.
"So, what happened?" Emily asked softly.
I started from the beginning. "Mrs. D called me at 2 in the morning the other night telling me Jason was arrested. I went with her and spent a few days with him at his apartment in Philly. It was so hard to watch, guys. He relapsed bad. When we walked in and saw dozens of bottles scattered everywhere, I thought I was gonna choke. We dropped him off at rehab earlier. I just got home." I paused. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you everything. It was just too much to explain over the phone and-"
"No no don't apologize, Bella. We understand." Spencer said to me and rubbed my shoulder.
"How is he now?" Aria asked.
"Sad. Really sad." I shook my head.
"Has A said anything about it?" Spencer asked. That's another thing that terrified me. A has been dead silent about this whole thing. I figured A would have some snarky remark to rub in my face on how we don't need them to ruin our lives.
"Nothing. Maybe A's too preoccupied locating Ali." I paused "Enough about me. What's going on?" I asked and they got to talking.
Shana knows Alison is alive and has been in contact with her. She reached out to Emily. Emily isn't sure she believes her.
"I told Shana to find out what Ali said to me when she pulled me out of the barn."
"When we were looking for Dr. Sullivan?" Aria asked.
Emily wordlessly nodded.
"What did Ali say to you?" I asked.
"Uh, that's something I want to keep just between us." Emily replied.
"Well, Shana's obviously lying. I mean, Ali never mentioned her name once." Hanna exclaimed. Neither did Jason.
"There were a lot of people in Ali's life we didn't know about." Emily replied. She had a point.
"Wait, Shana knew Paige first? So what are we saying, that Paige is on Ali's list, too?" Spencer asked.
"I don't know. Maybe."
"Even if they were friends, why would Ali trust Shana more than us? We were her best friends." Aria said.
"Are you forgetting? Someone's been tormenting us for years." Emily deadpanned.
"Making our lives miserable, one text at a time." Hanna added.
"I think Shana's who we always thought she was: one of A's minions. And if A wants us to stop looking for Ali, then that must mean Ali wasn't hurt last night." Spencer said to us. I will never trust Shana.
"So A wants us to believe Shana's story so we stop looking for Ali and he can find her." Hanna said and we all nodded. Except Emily. She doesn't want to believe it.
"Come on, Em. You don't seriously believe that Shana moved all the way up from Georgia so she could hunt down the person who tried to kill her childhood friend, do you?" I asked. It doesn't make sense.
"Ali could make someone love her enough to do that." Emily replied and I sighed.
Maybe Shana is telling the truth. I want her to be. That's one more person who wants Ali home.
***
Emily called Spencer and I and asked us to come over immediately. She talked more to Shana.
"Shana knew the conversation we had outside the barn. Word for word."
"Well, A has a way of knowing things that seem impossible to know." Spencer replied.
"I looked into it and her story checks out. Shana did grow up next door to Ali's grandparents." Emily said. So that means Shana wasn't lying about that.
"That doesn't mean she's in contact with her now. Look, I took pictures of some of the stories in Ali's journal before A got it, and there are descriptions of other places that she could be hiding. We can keep looking." Spencer tried. She doesn't want Emily to go through with anything which I get, but it's not her choice to make.
"Ali wants to meet me tonight." Emily let out. Both of our eyes widened.
"Like she wanted to meet you at the kissing rock yesterday?" Spencer asked.
"Wait, what?" I asked. I'm officially lost.
"Not important anymore." Emily paused and looked back at Spencer. "She needs our help, Spence."
"Did Shana tell you this? Look, even if it were true, why would Ali only want to meet with you?" Spencer asked.
"I don't know. Maybe A can't watch all of us all the time." Emily replied. Her and Ali had an unspoken relationship. I understand why she wants to see Em.
"Look, I know you wanna believe this is Alison reaching out to you, but it's not Ali, okay? This is A." Spencer said.
"Spencer, let her go. I-I think this is her, for real. This might help Ali a lot." I interjected. Emily looked at me with a soft smile.
"Well, you're not going alone." Spencer said after a moment.
"That's the only way she'll meet me. Spencer, I told you because I didn't want to lie to you. I told Bella because she's dating her brother. Don't make me sorry that I did."
"I get why you have to go alone, Emily. I do. But please, be careful and be aware. I won't interfere as long as you let me know when you get there and when you leave." I said to her and she nodded.
She turned to Spencer who just had an uneasy look. I don't think it's gonna turn out well.
***
At the end of the night, Emily called me crying hysterically.
"What?" I asked frantically.
"I-It was her. It was really her b-but Spencer-" She cried.
"Spencer what?"
"She came and ambushed us and Ali ran and I couldn't find her. She's gone. S-She'll never trust me again."
"Hey. Hey. Breathe. Now we know Shana has contact with her. I-I can try and talk to her, okay? This isn't over."
"O-Okay. But I'm so mad. I can't-"
"Where are you?"
"Home."
"I'm coming over, okay?" I said.
"Okay." She replied and hung up. I had a feeling Spencer was gonna fuck this up. She just wanted Emily to be safe but Emily told her she had it under control.
I got to Emily's and said hi to Pam before I went in her room. I saw her in there laying on her bed, facing the wall. I crawled in next to her and rubbed her shoulder.
"I know, Em. I know." I whispered and she cried a little harder.
Alison is messing up our lives all over again and she isn't even back.
