Secrets

Chapter Twenty

Aria sat at one side of the love seat in Seth’s living room. Her long legs curled under her petite torso and her hand twirling through her light brown hair. Spencer sat at the other end, her brown hair in a ponytail and her hazel eyes tired. Across from the love seat, Seth sat with her head on Charlie’s lap, her blond hair sprawled out. Charlie held the remote, smiling down at her every few minutes. 

“You know what?” Spencer said, breaking a moment of silence. “If Chloe doesn’t even show up, I won’t even care. Who needs Chloe?”

“You guys do,” Charlie said to Spencer.

Spencer raised her eyebrows as Charlie. “Really now?” 

“Yes. I mean, how long have you been friends, exactly?”

“Only our whole lives,” Aria said, glaring at Spencer. 

“Yeah, but I’m just saying if after all this time she has the nerve to think of this plan and then not tell us about it beforehand is just suspicious and I feel as though I have been betrayed.” Spencer shrugged. 

“Maybe it was a spur of the moment plan, maybe she couldn’t have told us or it would’ve looked suspicious,” Seth said, trying to justify Chloe’s decision.

“It looked suspicious anyways!” Spencer cried out. “I just think Chloe is only telling us part of her story.” As soon as Spencer finished her sentence, the doorbell rang. “Speak of the devil.” Spencer glanced at the clock. “And she’s a half hour late.”

“Spence, be nice,” Seth told her, walking to the front door to let Chloe in. 

“Hey guys,” Chloe said, smily widely. Her shiny dark brown hair sat on her shoulder in a side ponytail and her floral dress with black tights was only mildly inappropriate for late January weather - Spencer assumed it was a tip from her new friends. 

“How are the little demons doing?” Spencer asked, getting up and going to Seth’s fridge. 

“They aren’t demons.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “They’ve just been telling me all their guy drama and other drama.” She waved her hand away, symbolizing she was pushing away Spencer’s rude remarks. 

“What kind of drama?” Seth asked, raising her eyebrows at Chloe.

“Guys, this is a little middle school, don’t you think?” Charlie said, walking over to the island next to Seth. “It sounds like a conversation my 14 year old sister would have with her friends.”

“Well, I’m sorry Mr. Smarty Pants that they’ve done a lot of rude things to me thank you very much,” Spencer remarked, smirking.

“Spencer it’s time to grow up. You’re going to have a child in four months time.” Spencer rolled her eyes, drinking out of the water bottle in her hands.

Aria walked over to the island. “Chlo, what did they say?” 

“They just talked about the same things we all talk about. It was really no big deal,” Chloe said.

“Okay, really now. They did not say anything about us while we were over there? I find that a little hard to believe,” Seth said. 

“Well, they did say something, but it wasn’t necessarily about us.”

“Then what was it about?” Aria asked. 

Chloe sighed. “It was about your brother. He did something to Paige.”

“What did he do to Paige?” Aria asked, coming closer to Chloe. 

“Well, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but they said that Mike, kinda, raped Paige.” Aria’s jaw dropped. “Yeah right!” she shouted. “My little brother was not ever threatening! How could he have raped someone?”

Charlie nodded his head, in agreement with Aria. “Yeah, the kid was what? 15? There was no way that he could have done something like that at such a young age.”

“Wait a second, guys,” Seth said. “Aria, where were you when you found your brother? Like, were you outside of Pike?”

“Yeah. Kane and I had just gotta off and then I heard a gun shot and I ran to it,” Aria answered.

“Well, remember when Bryce was telling us all the dirt he had? Remember how he said Paige was involved in a gang outside of Pike and had sex with someone in the gang while she was high?”

“It all matches up,” Spencer said, seeing where Seth was going. “Maybe Mike was that gang guy.”

“Okay, c’mon this is a small town. That kind of stuff doesn’t go unnoticed.” Charlie said.

“Maybe because it’s been all pushed aside next to Mike’s murder case. This is the first big thing to happen in a while. Right now, they aren’t worried about whether Mike may have raped someone but who killed him. Paige obviously hasn’t said anything because that would probably make her a suspect and -”

“Spence, stop talking,” Aria said. “I know who killed him. I know who it was.”

“What do you mean you know who it was? How do you know who it was?” Chloe asked.

“When I found him, there was a blonde there. It really looked like someone I knew. Maybe it was that blonde. Paige.”