Unexpected turn //Jaria+Ezria

Seven

ARIA
"I got it! I finally got it!" I said, holding the manuscript in my hands as I smiled. -A had delivered what I wanted.

I walked downstairs about to go meet my friends at The Brew, but I was stopped.

"Aria?" My mom asked as I went to grab the doorknob. I turned back around to my mom, slightly smiling until I saw a yellow folder.

"What's wrong?" I asked, seeing the blank but slightly painful look my mother was expressing.

"Why did an unknown person named -A send me this?" She asked, holding the photos before spreading them across the table.

"Did you know about this? How long have you known?" She asked, this time expecting me to answer.

"I've known since before we left for Iceland..." I said, admitting the truth.

"You've known all this time...and you never told me?" My mom said, her voice breaking.

"Dad made me keep the secret!" I said, admitting the truth. Just as I told her, dad walked through the front door.

"How dare you keep this from me! How dare you make your daughter keep this from me!" She said, pointing to the pictures. I watched as my dad's face went pale.

"You told her?!" He asked, pointing the finger at me.

"Don't bring Aria into this! You cheated and you kept it from me!" My mom said, tears spilling from her eyes.

I ran out of the house, in tears. As I ran, Jason pulled up. "Aria? Are you ok?" He asked as he parked his car. I got in, crying as he drove off. We arrived at The Brew, Jason following me in.

"Jason? Why are you here?" Spencer asked, confused as to why her half brother stood besides Aria, looking confused himself.

"Aria ran out of her house crying just as I was about to drive by. She seemed upset so I brought her here...knowing that this is where you girls hang out..." Jason admitted.

"You-know-who just dropped a bomb on my family. My mom and dad were fighting as I left..." I said, hoping the would understand what I was saying.

"I'm so sorry Aria..." Emily spoke, giving me a hug.

"You can leave now Jason." Spencer said, still not fond of her half brother.

"No. He's staying. He's technically part of this issue as well since it involves Ali..." I said.

"Aria!" Emily said, confused as to why I just mentioned Ali's name around him.

"What are you guys talking about? What involves Alison?" Jason asked confused.

"Well...we may as well tell Jason everything." Hanna spoke, sarcastically.

For the next hour, we all sat down as we told Jason about that night, Ali's disappearance, her body being discovered, -A: our enemy who exposes secrets about everyone...and most importantly...that Ali is alive, but not in Rosewood. I handed him the manuscript for him to read himself. We also showed him every text that -A had sent us...including the most recent threat.

"Hush, hush...little liar. You have a choice to make. Choose which one you want and I spill the other 2. You have 24 hours to decide." Jason read out.

"So you ran out of your house crying because -A used one of your secrets and dropped it on your family?" Jason said, concerned.

"Y-Yeah..." I said, leaning into him. I cried as he embraced me and hugged me tight. These moments were the moments that I wanted to keep, where Jason stopped pretending to be my friend, and actually acted like my boyfriend even if it meant having to tell the three girls who sat in front of us that we were dating. The girls questioned us, Jason and I eventually telling them that we were in fact dating. Spencer wasn't thrilled.

"Uhh...guys..." Emily spoke, looking up at the TV.

There it was, clear as day. On every TV screen in Rosewood, Ezra's face stood clearly, next to the headline that read: Rosewood High School Teacher Arrested. I wanted to throw up then and there, but I kept watching. The reporter spoke, talking about an unknown person who filed the completed report. -A had obviously forged my signature. The reporter continued to talk about several things mentioned in the police report, such as what he did to me.

"The victim has not yet been questioned, but police say that Ezra Fitz could be sentenced to at least 15-20 years in prison. We'll have more information later this evening." The report ended, with the screen changing. I looked away.

"At least they didn't mention your name..." Hanna said, Emily nodding in agreement.

That's that. Within hours of each other, my family would fall apart and my ex-boyfriend was arrested. -A had the guts to drop two bombs in my life, both of them exploding in my face.
———
After a while, Jason took me back to my place, both my parents cars gone. Dad must have gone down to the station to deal with the issue of Ezra and me. My mom must have gone over to Mrs Hastings house, to deal with legal things between her and dad. Jason stayed with me, holding me tight until I fell asleep.