Vodka Kisses

0102- The Jenna Thing

Sat in the Grille with the girls brings back too many feelings. 

"What was Jenna doing there?" Aria asked whilst I made my way through the garlic bread I ordered. "I guess she's back." Spencer suggests and I nod. "I think that was quite obvious." I say and my phone pings. Everyone looks at my phone. 

"It's just Noel, he wants to hang." I say and they ease.

"That cop acted like we were suspects or something." Hannah says  and I nod. "Do you think we looked guilty?" Emily asks and I scoff. "Definitely." I say.

"We haven't done anything." Aria says and I tilt my head to the side and give her the 'really' look. "Except lie about the Jenna thing." Hannah adds and I nod. "Thank you." I mutter and text Noel a 'no' as he texts me for the millionth time.

"We promised we'd never bring the Jenna thing up, remember? It never happened." Spencer says and I raise an eyebrow. "Yet here we are." I say sarcastically and Spencer rolls her eyes.

"Have you found a way to forget?" Aria asks and Hannah pours vodka into our coke. I smile at her, grateful. "I still wake up sometimes in the middle of the night." Aria continues. "Aria. It was an accident." Spencer quickly diffuses.

"It's medicinal. For cramps." Hannah suddenly says and I look to see an old man staring at her with disapproval.

"I don't get it." Emily starts. "How does 'A' know something about me that only Allison knew." She says and I sip on my drink anxiously at the thought of someone else knowing my stuff.

"Ali knew all of our secrets, but... we never knew any of hers." Aria says and this time I just play with the straw of my drink. I did. "I knew some." Spencer says.

"Go on." Aria says and she glances over to me. "Talk." Hannah encourages. "I can't." Spencer defends.

"Spence! No, you're not gonna drop a bomb like that and just clam up!" Aria argues. "She'd so kill me if I told you." Spencer says and this earns an eyeroll and a scoff from me. "She's dead." Hannah says.

"Ali was seeing an older guy that summer." I supply for Spencer. "You knew?" Aria asks turning to me and I just shrug. "I knew she was keeping something from me... from us." Emily quickly covers.

"Well, why didn't she want us to know?" Aria asks and I shrug, easy, the same reason I kept it a secret. "He was an older boy and he had a girlfriend." Spencer supplies. Maybe not so much when you put it like that. Logan was an older boy, yes. But I was his only girlfriend around that time.

"Who was it?" Emily asks and Spencer looks at me. "She never told me his name." She says and so they turn to me. "She didn't tell me either." I add.

"Okay, that's only half the secret." Hannah says. "It's more than you ever got from her." Spencer defends.

"How is that Ali told us nothing, and we told her everything?" Aria asks. "Because she made us feel like we were part of something special." Emily says. "We were." Hannah smiles. I'll keep my comments to myself about how we were pathetic then. No one really talked to us, she picked us out to make her feel better about herself.

"I miss that." Aria says. 

"Me too." Spencer adds.

"I miss Ali." Emily continues and her hand flies to her friendship bracelet.

"I can't believe you still wear that." Hannah points out and I nod. I have no clue where mine is today. "Ali still wears hers. Wore." She says softly.

"When Ali didn't come home that night, I knew something terrible must have happened. But there's always been some part of me that imagined she'd just show up." Spencer says and I nod.