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Chapter 11

"Do you think she did something crazy?'

"Like what?"

"Like burn rubber till she hits texas."

"And leave her phone?" Spencer inquires.

"I would, A had his/her/its hands around her neck and keeps reminding her about it.'

"She hasn't slept in weeks." Hannah comments

"Who has?"

"Hannah, did you not see this on Emily's phone?" Spencer hands Hannah the phone, who then makes a disgusted face and hands it to me.

"Is that you?" She asks, showing me a picture of Ezra and I kissing from a few weeks ago. A doesn't know.

"Oh my god, A doesn't know yet." I say in astonishment.

"Doesn't know what?" Spencer asks.

"We.." I hesitate, thinking back to Tuesday when Jason protected me from Ezra after Spencer sent him looking for me. I hadn't told them about it, because they didn't ask once I showed them the pictures Ali took and the box Jason gave to me. "I broke up with Ezra."

"You what?"

"Why?"

"Can we not do this right now? It also has a text, 'clue Ella in and I'll let you out, A'."

"Emily would never send that to your mom."

"Well, of course she wouldn't because she can't 'cause we have her phone and she left in the middle of the night. Where the hell is she?" We move towards the door together and grab our phones and Emily's.

"We have to tell someone Emily is missing," I tell them.

"We can't tell my mom." Hannah says. "Or her parents since their in Texas.

"Then we tell Dr. Sullivan." Spencer concludes.

00000000000

"That's not what we agreed on," we hear Jenna almost yell from across the outside cafeteria.

"Yeah, we think she had help from Garrett," Spencer clues Emily in.

"Yeah but why?" I ask.

Hannah and Spencer sit back and look at me, Emily looking between the three of us until she spots the reason for Spencer and Hannah's sudden hostility towards me. I turn around and see Jason standing a few feet in the doorway talking to his most constant visitor. He must feels our eyes on him because he turns while talking and catches my gaze, sending me a smile and then staring at the other girls till they turn away.

"I think you need to explain why you broke up with Ezra and are blushing from Jason Dilaurentis smiling at you," Spencer accuses sounding like her lawyer parents.

"You broke up with Ezra?" Emily asks loudly, and I can feel Jason's eyes move back to me, the other girls notice and they lower their voices. "Was it because of Jason?"

"No," I shake my head, rubbing my left temple as they all stare at me. "I just couldn't deal with having to hide our relationship anymore, and if I had been dating Ezra last night and told him how my mom reacted to Spencer in the same car as him he would have never gone public with us. I loved him, but I didn't want to spend the rest of Junior and Senior year hiding us." I defend myself quickly and heatedly. "Jason has no influence over my decisions, he isn't brainwashing me, he is just there if I need him."

"How did Ezra take it?" Emily asks before the other two can get a word in.

I hesitate, almost look back at Jason, but bring my hand up from my lap and pour a bit of my water on the makeup covering the bruises. The swelling has gone down but they have gotten darker, Jason said that means they were healing, but it also meant i needed to hide them now. The reactions from the girls melt away any fears they would be on Ezra's side. Emily gingerly takes my hand while her and Hannah gasps and Spencer says "oh my god!"

"Ezra did this to you?" Spencer asks, after looking the bruises over and Hannah fishes out more coverup for me to use.

"He didn't want to believe it, so he tried to kiss me and other stuff... but I got away and Jason picked me up. Then yesterday he came to Jason's while I was getting Ali's box and thought Jason made me break up with him so he tried to throw me in the car, which made the bruise worse" The girls look at me like I'm fragile, a look we have been giving Emily lately, and it makes me self conscious. "I'm alright though, Jason came out before I was in the car and made Ezra leave and then put ice on my wrist." They take this information differently, Hannah nods because she was never on either side on what Jason is or is not hiding, Emily seems relieved I'm alright, and Spencer seems to be thinking of a reason Jason is doing all of this for me if he isn't another stalker. "Spencer, leave Jason alone. He isn't hiding anything in his house, I've been in it more than once now and the only thing in it is all the things we've seen in there for years. No dead bodies, no stowaways in the basement, I don't think he even has contact with Garrett and Jenna, he keeps to himself because he knows what this town thinks of him, what you all think of him."

"You told him?" Spencer accuses, but I just roll my eyes.

"Spencer, you sent Ezra to his house shouting about Jason brainwashing and stalking me, he has a pretty good idea what you think about him, and he knows Emily is afraid of him from the way she looks at him, he doesn't mention Hannah because she doesn't mention him."

"I'm not afraid of him," Emily mutters.

"Look, Jason is my friend, a good friend who has been there for me the past few weeks, okay? Stop trying to bring him down for a crime he didn't commit," I stand up and gather my things, "I'll see you guys in class okay?" They nod and mutter their goodbyes, looking at each other in a way that I know they will continue this conversation after I'm gone. I walk out of the courtyard and towards my locker, feeling someone following behind me. When I reach the locker I turn to see Hannah on my tail and Jason not far behind her.

"Here, you forgot this," Hannah says, handing me her cover up and looking at the bruises. "Did he hurt you anywhere else?" Her eyes travel down a little in question but I shake my head. "Good."

"He'd be dead if he did," Jason appears next to Hannah and watches me apply makeup to the bruise. Hannah stiffens next to him but he doesn't take notice or ignores her. "I told you to put ice on it, not makeup."

"I iced it this morning," I lie to him, grabbing my books and placing them in my bag, I had actually been to busy talking to a therapist. I let out a little hiss when I try to pick up the bag and the strain hurts my wrist.

"Sure you did," Jason comments, grabbing the bag for me and slinging it over his shoulder, I give him a mock glare to which he just laughs at. "I'll carry this to your first class."

"I have my mom first hour, remember?" I remind him, trying to take my bag back. "She'd ask questions if you were walking me to my class."

Hannah, who had just been standing there in shock, takes my bag from Jason and holds it herself, surprising Jason that she managed to get it from him in a surprise attack and surprising me that she didn't take the surprise attack to slap Jason. "I'll carry it for you until we reach the doorway and then you can carry it to your seat so your mom doesn't ask questions."

"Okay, thanks, Han," I say, closing my lock and moving with her. "I'll see you later, Jason." He nods and watches us walk away, a curious look on his face.