UNSTEADY 🅰️ LUCAS GOTTESMAN [book one]

COVER FOR ME

...

WHILE Spencer's parents had sent her to rehab to detox from the pills they knew she was taking again, Haley had found out Aria had run off to Syracuse University after the girl had called to apologise. The Marin girl sighed as she stood at her locker, phone pressed to her ear "Where are you now?"

"I'm still at Syracuse."

"Does your dad know what happened?" Haley questioned.

She heard Aria sigh on the other end "No. No. He thinks I'm here for a Prospective Student Week. It's 4 days of campus tours, classroom visits, and a bunch of father-daughter bonding time."

"Don't take it for granted." Haley advised, thinking of all the father-daughter bonding she'd miss out on "But uh, how are you doing? Really."

"Um, honestly, I'm just trying not to think about any of it. Him. Everything."

"You don't have to go through this on your own." Haley reminded her "You know, we can all come up there."

"No, it's okay. I'm not alone." She paused "I just mean that my dad's here with me. Look, I've got to go. The tour's starting. Bye."

Haley sighed as the girl hung up abruptly before setting her phone in her locker. Biting the inside of her cheek, Haley glanced around before pulling what remained of a bottle of vodka and poured it into her coffee thermos. Seeing her sister and Emily heading her way she was quick to shove the bottle back in her bag before grabbing her phone and thermos, turning to them with a faux smile as she closed her locker door "Hey, I spoke to Aria, she:s fine. Distant but fine."

"Makes sense." Emily sighed "Are we still going to Spencer's later?l

Hanna shook her head "It was so weird. I called her cell and her mom answered. There's no visitors and she's not gonna be in school for a while."

"Probably for the best." Emily figured "I saw Fitz's car in the teacher's parking lot."

Haley frowned "Wait, he's back?"

She nodded "Mm-hmm."

"So he just goes to New York to collect the big, fat check for selling us out." Hanna scoffed "And then what, comes back here to gloat?"

The sound of arguing down the hall had them turn to see Mike and Mona facing one another as the Montgomery boy frowned "I wish you would have told me this before I bought tickets. Do you want to go at all?"