"Aria, if it were me, I would've burned this whole place down." -Hanna Marin
The girls were at Aria's as she explained what had happened. Ezra wasn't 'A', he was just using them all for a book about Alison.
"Did you actually read any of this book?" Spencer asked.
"A few pages," Aria nodded hoarsely, staring at her feet whilst curled up on the couch. "Bits and pieces." She looked positively numb. "Ezra knew who I was before we met. He knew who all of us were. And he knew Alison too."
"So he admitted to being in a relationship with her?" Emily frowned.
"Yeah, a brief one," Aria replied.
"Then he must be Board Shorts," Hanna scoffed.
"Well, Ezra didn't try to kill Alison," Aria said as Isabel pursed her lips. "His whole book is trying to piece together who did it."
"How is he gonna do that when the police can't even figure it out?" Isabel asked skeptically.
"I don't know," Aria shrugged. "He has a theory though."
"And? What is it?" Emily pressed.
Aria took a moment before responding. "He thinks that one of us did it."
"You're kidding, right?" Spencer laughed bitterly.
"Well, now we know it's a work of fiction," Emily agreed.
"Which one of us is he trying to pin it on?" Isabel added, raising an eyebrow.
"I didn't get that far," Aria responded.
"You didn't think to ask?" Spencer shot back.
"Why?" Aria snapped. "We know that that's not true."
"Just because he wrote a book doesn't mean he's not 'A'," Emily argued. "You know, he could be using it as a way to place the blame on one of us and keep suspicion off of him."
"No, he doesn't need to do that," Hanna scoffed. "He knows that Ali's alive."
"But he didn't know that when he started writing the book," Spencer pointed out.
"Guys, listen, Ezra's not 'A,'" Isabel said loudly. They stared at her.
"Yeah, he's a writer who found a great opportunity to make a name for himself and he used me," Aria agreed, and Isabel put a hand on her shoulder. "He used us."
They were silent for a moment before Spencer spoke up. "So wait, what are we saying, that all of that stuff in that room in Ravenswood, that was just research for his book?"
"He's been working on it for years," Aria nodded bitterly.
"Well, we've seen the surveillance equipment, so we know he's been watching us," Hanna added.
"He's probably just hoping that we'd lead him to Alison, so he could finally get his big ending," Isabel scoffed.
"If he's been watching us, then he has to know about 'A'," Emily said. "I mean, how could he sit back all this time and not do anything to help you?"
"It's simple," Aria shrugged, tears coursing down her cheeks. "He never really loved me."
-
Isabel, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer talked by the lockers at school the next day.
"I went to her house at lunch, and she isn't there, and she's not answering her cell phone," Hanna was saying as Isabel walked up.
"I think I have an idea where she might be," she said grimly.
They arrived at the apartment where Ezra lived. To be honest, living next door to him felt so creepy.
Anyway, they opened the door and the place was trashed. Glass was shattered on the floor, posters ripped down, books strewn across the floor, papers decorated the bed, couch, and carpet, and Aria sat in the middle of it with her knees up to her chest, sobbing.
"What the hell happened in here?" Hanna blinked as they walked in.
"Oh, my God. Aria," Emily gaped, rushing over.
"Aria, what happened?" Isabel repeated as she knelt down next to her.
"Hey, are you okay?" Hanna added.
"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 muttered.
"Aria, if it were me, I would've burned this whole place down," Hanna assured her.
"Come on, we're gonna get you out of here, okay?" Emily agreed. "Come on."
They helped her up, and Isabel comforted her as she, Emily, and Hanna got her out the door.
"Wait, you guys," Spencer called. They turned around to see her crouching over some papers. "This is some of the stuff from Ezra's apartment in Ravenswood. Shouldn't we take it with us?"
"Spencer, not now," Isabel sighed, shaking her head
"It's nothing we haven't seen before," Hanna nodded.
"Can you grab Aria's bag?" Emily asked, walking out.
"Yeah," Spencer mumbled. As they waited outside, seconds became minutes.
"Spencer, come on," Hanna called, and Spencer rejoined them with Aria's bag.
-
Isabel arrived at Aria's, since it was her turn to comfort her.
"Aria, how are you?" she smiled painfully, sitting down on the couch. Aria was curled up in a ball on a chair.
"G- great, really, I'm perfect," Aria snapped, and Isabel didn't blame her. Seeing the sad look on her face, she added, "Sorry. It's just... I thought he really loved me, you know. For years, he just..."
"I know, Aria, I know," Isabel nodded, hugging her. "It's not your fault, some people are just like this."
"But I should've known! At least- at least seen the warning signs! How could I be so blind to something that was so obviously right in front of my eyes?" Aria blurted, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I wish I could say you'll get over the pain, that you'll forget him, but... I'd be lying," Isabel said bitterly as Aria cried onto her shoulder.
"Hanna... she told me to burn the pages, but," Aria gulped, staring at the fireplace. "It's not helping. It's like trying to cover a bullet wound with a band aid; it's never gonna work."
"That's actually the perfect analogy," Isabel laughed, and Aria smiled through tears.
They were silent for a second as Isabel watched the flames lick the sides of the fireplace.
"Is that how it was like? When... Was it like a punch in the gut? You never expected him to do something like that, and boom, he just does?" she sobbed.
"Yeah," Isabel nodded. "It's exactly like that."
-
Later, Toby visited Isabel at her apartment.
"Hey, Bella, Spencer's mom hasn't been able to reach you, so I came here," he sighed when she opened the door.
"Come in," she said bitterly, gesturing to her mess of a home. She closed the door behind her, and Toby sat down at her counter.
"Scotch? Really, Bella?" Toby scoffed, and Isabel saw that he was looking at the bottle in her sink.
"It's..." Isabel was about to say 'nothing', but that's what Spencer had said. She didn't want to be a hypocrite. "It's an addiction, yeah, I know that. I'm- I'm working on it."
"Working on it, huh?" he asked skeptically. When she raised her eyebrows, he sighed, "Anyway, I came to tell you that Spencer's going to rehab. It got really bad, so she agreed to go for a while. Just letting you know in case you don't see her in the halls tomorrow."
"Thank you, Toby," she nodded. Toby surveyed her, taking note of her ragged clothes, hair in a messy ponytail, and the circles under her eyes.
"Bella, I know I shouldn't say this, nor do you want to hear it, but I think you should consider getting help as well. I know an alcohol addiction is harder to stop than a drug problem, but it's worth trying. Just know, I care about your mental health and you," he finally said.
"I know," Isabel nodded with tears in her eyes. She helped Toby out, and when she closed the door, she knew he was right. Walking to her bed, she sat down, not taking her eyes off the empty scotch bottle in the sink.
Maybe she should get help. Maybe Isabel should go to rehab like Spencer was.
Like Jason.