Just friends - Hannily/Hemily fanfic

5 - Secrets and Confidants

Aria pov

I was about to walk out of the front door when my mum stopped me.

"Aria, have you seen Mike?" She asked, sounding worried. She wiped her hands on her apron, and I shook my head.

"Not this morning, no." I wondered where he had gone, and why he was avoiding everyone.

"Do you need a ride to school, honey?" Ella asked, and I nodded. She smiled, removing her apron in one swift movement, and then pulling on a jacket. She took her car keys, and I grabbed my bag from the floor.

On the way to school, my mum was silent, and so was I. We hadn't had enough time to talk, what with her workload, and the frequent arguments with dad. To be honest, it was like they didn't have time to be parents anymore. Meredith had ruined that. She had ruined everything. And continued to ruin everything. She was always coming round for dinner, or finding some way to keep dad at Hollis for a few more minutes, which turned into hours. Which added up to days.

She was a bitch, with a capital B.

As we pulled into the car park, Ella turned to me. She looked concerned, but also a little intimidating.

"Make sure Mike eats something today. He didn't have breakfast this morning. And watch out for him." She said, trying to sound demanding. I nodded, taking it in. Most likely, I won't run in to Mike today. Or any other day. He's doing a great job avoiding everybody.

"Sure, see you later." I said, giving a small wave before getting out of the car. She offered me a small smile, but I was already walking away. I needed to meet Spencer.

I needed to talk about my family to somebody. I mean, Ali had known. She had been right beside me when I found my dad in a liplock with Meredith. Ali had been understanding, offering hugs and food and sleepovers. But she had then insisted I tell my mum. At the time, I didn't want to break apart my family. Surely there was some explanation of what I found. But now my family was broken, and I needed to confide in someone before I fell apart myself.

And Spencer seemed to be the closest to me. Don't get me wrong, I loved Hanna and Emily as if they were my sisters, but I always felt better around Spencer. As if I could trust her with my deepest, darkest secrets. So I was trusting her with this one.

And hopefully she would understand enough to keep it to herself. I could only hope.