"He's a liar and a coward."
- Aria Montgomery
We were all in Aria's living room later that night. Apparently, Ezra was writing a book about all of us and she found out about it last night.
"Did you actually read any of this book?" Spencer asks curiously.
"A few pages. Bits and pieces. Ezra knew who I was before we met. He knew who all of us were. And he knew Alison too." Aria says with tears in her eyes.
"So he admitted to being in a relationship with her?" Emily asks confused.
"Yeah, a brief one." Aria says sadly. "Then he must be Board Shorts." Hanna says as she turns to me.
"Well, Ezra didn't try to kill Alison. His whole book is trying to piece together who did it." Aria explains to us.
"How is he gonna do that when the police can't even figure it out?" I ask annoyed.
"I don't know. He has a theory though." Aria says annoyed. "And? What is it?" I ask confused.
"He thinks that one of us did it." Aria says as she turns to me.
I just scoff as we all turn to her in disbelief. "You're kidding right?" I ask in disbelief.
"Well, now we know it's a work of fiction." Emily says in disbelief. "Which one of us is he trying to pin it on?" Spencer asks curiously.
"I didn't get that far." Aria says quietly. "You didn't think to ask?" Spencer asks frustrated.
"Why? We know that that's not true." Aria says annoyed.
"Just because he wrote a book doesn't mean he's not 'A'. You know, he could be using it as a way to place the blame on one of us and keep suspicion off of him." Emily suggests to us.
"No, he doesn't need to do that. He knows that Ali's alive." Hanna says confused.
"But he didn't know that when he started writing the book." Spencer says annoyed. "Guys, listen, Ezra's not 'A'. He's a writer who found a great opportunity to make a name for himself and he used me. He used us." Aria rambles on frustrated.
I sigh and look down as we all stay silent.
"So wait, what are we saying, that all of that stuff in that room in Ravenswood, that was just research for his book?" Spencer asks confused.
"He's been working on it for years." Aria says annoyed.
"Well, we've seen the surveillance equipment, so we know he's been watching us." Hanna says annoyed.
"He's probably just hoping that we'd lead him to Alison, so he could finally get his big ending." Aria says annoyed.
"If he's been watching us, then he has to know about 'A'. I mean, how could he sit back all this time and not do anything to help you?" I ask as I turn to Aria.
"It's simple. He never really loved me." Aria says sadly.
~
It was the next day in school when Emily and I hung out with Emily in the court yard. "What's up with Spencer?" I ask as I turn to her.
I turn to Emily worried when we see Spencer sitting on the bench alone curled up against the wall. I sigh as we walk over to her. "Hey. How are you feeling?" I ask concerned.
"Nauseous, achy, tired. Other than that, fantastic." Spencer says sarcastically.
"Can we do anything?" Emily asks concerned.
"No, thank you for asking." Spencer says with a small smile. "Are you sure?" I ask as I turn to Emily.
"Yeah. Please. Let's talk about anything other than me." Spencer says annoyed.
I sigh as we take a seat on the bench next to her. "Shana called me this morning." Emily says nervously.
"From Georgia? Did she say why she left?" Spencer asks curiously.
"All she said was she needed me to drop Ali's money off to a P.O. box in Wallingford before 6 p.m. today." Emily explains to us.
"Wallingford? That's over an hour away." I say as I turn to Spencer.
"Yeah." Emily says annoyed.
"I don't think that you should go." Spencer says as she turns to her. "Why not?" Emily asks confused.
"One minute she's here and in the next she's not and then she's calling out of the blue for an urgent money drop." Spencer rambles on to us.
"We know Ali needs the money, Spence." Emily says annoyed.
All of a sudden we hear a door slam and see Aria walk by us angrily. I turn to them confused as we get up to follow Aria into the building.
"Aria?" I ask as we walk up to her.
"What's going on? We thought you were taking the day off." Emily says confused. "Need to speak to Ezra face to face." Aria says annoyed.
"Well, wait, Aria." Spencer says as she tries to stop her.
"No, I don't know where the truth begins and where the lies end." Aria says annoyed. "Hey, listen. We don't think you can get answers, okay?" Spencer asks as we stop our tracks.
"And you certainly deserve them." Emily says in agreement.
"But confronting him at school is not the best idea." I say worried.
I gulp nervously as Aria storms into his classroom. "Where is Ezra?" Aria asks frustrated.
"Do you mean Mr. Fitz?" A lady asks confused.
"Yeah. I need to speak with him. Do you know where he is?" Aria asks nervously.
"Mr. Fitz took time off for a family emergency. Is there something I can help you with?" She asks confused.
"Oh, family emergency?" Aria asks annoyed.
"Right." She says confused.
I take a deep breath as Aria storms back out of the classroom. "God, he's a liar and a coward." Aria says frustrated.
"Aria, wait." I say as I grab her arm.
"I'm fine." She says as she yanks her arm back. "Aria, slow down." Hanna says worried.
"I said I'm fine, Hanna!" Aria yells at her.
I sigh as she starts crying again in front of us. "Okay, let me take you home." Emily says sadly. Aria just nods as I bring her into a hug.
"It's gonna be okay." I whisper to her.
~
It was later in school when my math class just ended. I quickly gathered my things and exited the classroom. I sigh as I see Spencer stand in front of her locker holding a pill bottle in her hands.
"What's that?" I ask as I walk up to her.
"A gift." Spencer says as she hands it to me.
"Don't say I never gave you anything. - A"
I roll my eyes as I turn to Spencer. "Guess it's better than a needle in the arm." I say annoyed.
"Don't give 'A' any ideas." Spencer says annoyed. "I'll take these and throw them away like I did with the other pills." I say as I open up my bag.
"No, I better. I want to toss it far from this place." Spencer says as she takes them from me.
I sigh as Emily walks over to us. "You still up for Operation Money Drop later?" Spencer asks as she closes her locker. "I can't let Ali down again." Emily says as we walk away.
"Hey. Have you talked to Aria?" Hanna asks as she walks in front of us.
"I texted her a while ago, but I haven't heard back." Emily explains to her. "Why?" I ask as I cross my arms.
"I went to her house at lunch and she is not there and she's not answering her cell phone." Hanna says worried.
"I think I have an idea where she might be." I say as I turn to Spencer.
~
The four of us went over to Mr. Fitz's apartment after school to check up on Aria. I stopped my tracks as soon as we entered the place.
Everything was trashed, papers were on the floor, glass was everywhere, and Aria was sitting in the corner curled up in a ball as she stared in front of her.
"What the hell happened in here?" Hanna asks worried.
"Oh, my God. Aria." Emily says as we walk up to her.
"Hey, are you okay?" I ask as we crouch down next to her. "Every secret I told him about Ali and about me and about you guys, he wrote it down, it was all for his book." Aria says on the verge of tears.
"Aria, if it were me, I would've burned this whole place down." Hanna says trying to cheer her up.
"Come on, we're gonna get you out of here, okay?" Emily asks as she stands up.
"Hey. It's gonna be okay." I say as I help her stand up. "Come on." I say as I pull her into a hug. I smile and grab her hand as we lead her towards the door.
"Wait, you guys." Spencer says stopping us.
"This is some of the stuff from Ezra's apartment in Ravenswood. Shouldn't we take it with us?" Spencer asks as she points to the papers on the ground.
"Spencer, not now." I say annoyed. "It's nothing we haven't seen before." Hanna says annoyed.
"Can you grab Aria's bag?" Emily asks as she points to it.
"Yeah." Spencer says as she grabs the bag. I sigh and rub Aria's back in comfort as we leave the apartment together.
~
Hanna and I sat in Aria's living room as we watched her throw the papers into the fireplace. "Are you feeling any better?" Hanna asks concerned.
"Worse, actually. The more I think about it, the stupider I feel." Aria says annoyed. "There had to have been signs. How did I miss them?" Aria asks frustrated.
"Aria, no one thought he'd be capable of doing what he did. He fooled all of us." I say trying to reassure her.
"Yeah, but you're not the one who was sleeping with him." Aria says frustrated.
"And if it weren't for me, he wouldn't know things about you guys." Aria says as she stands up. "Personal things that I trusted him to keep between us."
"Aria, he wasn't just getting information from you." I say as I walk over to her.
"Do you think that's how he found out Ali was alive? The Grunwald tape?" Hanna asks curiously.
"Yeah, well, it makes sense. I just... I don't even know how he would have gotten the tape in the first place." Aria says with tears in her eyes.
I sigh as we all stay silent. "Have you eaten today? Do you want to get some food?" I ask breaking the silence.
"No." Aria says as she wipes the tears from her eyes.
"We can order in." Hanna suggests to her.
"You guys can go pick up the food. I'll be fine to be by myself for 10 minutes." Aria says reassuring us.
"Are you sure?" I ask concerned.
I sigh as Aria nods her head. "Okay, but, no more torching Ezra until we get back." I say as I take the book out of her hands.
"Text us what you want. We'll get it for you." I say as we exit her house.
~
Hanna and I were at the Brew later to get some food for Aria. I sigh and wait in line as Hanna looks over her shoulder. "I'll be right back." Hanna says as she walks off.
"Okay." I say confused.
I smile and walk up to the cashier and get some food for Aria as Hanna walks over to the other side of the Brew. "Receipt?" He asks bringing my attention back to him.
"Yeah. Thanks." I say as I take it from him.
"I'll have it out for you in about 5 minutes." He says as he turns around. I smile and nod my head in understanding as before walking over to Hanna and Detective Holbrook. I was standing close by so that I could hear them, but not close enough that they could see me.
"I was surprised to hear that you spoke up for Mr. Hobbs." Hanna says with a smile.
"Well, that was the right thing to do." He explains to her. "Still. I mean, not a lot of people would put themselves out there like that. It's a great quality. Don't lose it." Hanna says making him chuckle.
"Seriously. Thank you." Hanna says as he pulls him into a hug.
"Your order." The cashier says bringing my attention back to him. "Thanks." I say as I walk up to him.
I smile and turn back around only to see Hanna kiss him on the lips. "Hanna." He says as he backs away.
"Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. I don't know why I just did that." Hanna says nervously.
I clear my throat as I walk over to them. "Hey Han. I've got the food." I say as I hold it up. "I'm sorry, I got to go." Hanna says as she walks over to me.
I turn back around to Detective Holbrook and glare at him before walking out of the Brew.
~
It was later that night when Hanna and I drove around the neighborhood. I quickly turned around when Hanna stopped the car. I turn to Hanna confused when we see Aria get out of her car.
"Aria?" I ask as we step out as well.
"Where are you going?" Hanna asks as we walk towards her. "Ezra's moving forward with the book." Aria explains to us.
"What?" I ask confused.
"He's meeting with his agent in New York right now discussing a release date." She says on the verge of tears.
"Release date? Can you just stop?" Hanna asks frustrated.
"I cannot believe that I actually believed he was going to destroy the book to save our relationship. Now I know that everything he says or has ever said is a lie. It's a big fat lie." Aria rambles on frustrated.
"Why are you going to Principal Hackett's house?" Hanna asks confused.
"That's where we are?" I ask as I stop my tracks. I groan and run forward as I try to keep up with them.
"Cause I'm telling him everything about me and Ezra." Aria says annoyed. "What do you mean, you're telling him everything?" I ask confused.
"I'm not going to be the only one that suffers from this, okay?" Aria asks annoyed. "Aria, if you tell Principal Hackett about your relationship, Ezra is not just gonna suffer, he's going to go to jail." I say as we stop our tracks.
"Are you taking his side?" Aria asks in disbelief.
"No, of course not. Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't do this. I just... I want you to be clear about what will happen if you do." I say warning her. "Oh, I'm clear." Aria says annoyed.
"Aria, look, if this gets out, it's gonna hurt you, too. It'll be in the papers all over town." Hanna says warning her.
"Yeah. Do you think I really give a crap about that?" Aria asks frustrated.
I sigh as she turns around. "Look, this is gonna affect your family too. Are you sure you want to do this?" I ask trying to stop her.
I turn around and follow Aria as we walk back to the cars. "You did the right thing." Hanna says reassuring her.
"Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't." Aria says annoyed.
"So we'll meet you back at your place?" I ask as we stop our tracks.
"No, I really want to be by myself right now." Aria says annoyed. "Aria, I'm not gonna leave you alone." Hanna says concerned.
"Hanna, you are not listening to me. I don't want your company, okay? Neither of you." Aria says as she looks between us.
"Look, I know what you're going through. I've been through this myself. Both of us have." Hanna says as she turns to me.
"Betrayal sucks. I know, but you're gonna get through it. It's gonna be okay." I say as I turn to Aria.
"I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to talk to anyone. I want to be left alone. Is that too much to ask?" Aria asks frustrated.
I sigh as I turn to Hanna. "Okay." Hanna says in defeat.
I put my hands in my pockets as we watch Aria get into her car before driving off.