The girls were sitting in the living room of the Hasting's manor, Aria and Valerie were slumped on the couch, rereading the letter A sent to their mom.

"A sent this letter to our mom." Aria mumbled, looking over the letter in one hand and holding a cup of coffee in the other.

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Emily reassured the sisters, "It's your dads mistake, totally."

"No, it is my fault." Valerie sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

"You did not hook up with her and then ask your kid to cover for you." Spencer told her.

"Ali said, we should've told our mom right after it happened." Aria said.

"Ali?" Emily questioned, "Alison knew?"

"Yeah, she was with us." Valerie told them.

"So, Alison saw this Meredith person?" Spencer asked.

"Meredith?" Hanna asked enthusiastically, "Her name's Meredith? Ew, that's not even a cute girl name. I'm seeing big pores and mousy roots." Valerie smiled slightly at her remark.

"Han," Spencer said, "I think it's a little too soon to joke." Spencer told her, sending the girls sympathetic looks.

"I'm sorry, but if you're gonna cheat you might as well do it with someone who deep-conditions her hair occasionally." Hanna remarked.

"Here," Spencer said, handing Hanna a bagel, "Put something in your mouth besides your foot."

Hanna turned to the girls, "I'm sorry. Okay?" She apologized, "Look, all I'm saying is that when my dad left, laughing sometimes helped, so did crying." Hanna explained.

"Our father hasn't left guys." Aria said frantically, "I mean this happened over a year ago."

The rest of the girls didn't say anything, "You really think he's gonna leave?" Valerie asked.

"Look, whatever happens, we're here for you guys." Emily assured them.

Valerie sighed and fiddled with her hands, "Thank you guys for staying here," Spencer said, changing the subject, "I couldn't of been here alone."

"When's your family getting back?" Hanna asked sympathetically.

"This afternoon." Spencer replied.

"Weren't you gonna clean off the mirror before they get here?" Aria asked.

Spencer looked around nervously, "Want me to come with you?" Valerie offered. Spencer nodded her head.

"We should all go," Aria said.

"Uh, yeah, you know what? It doesn't take all five of us to clean a mirror, so..." Hanna said, not wanting to go back up there.

"Why don't you four go and I'll just wait here." Hanna suggested.

"Fine, okay," Valerie said, "You just stay down here... alone. But make sure you lock the door." Valerie teased.

"Great, you spray, I'll wipe." Hanna said.

The girls all got up to go upstairs when Hanna's phone dinged, "Well, the creatures back," Hanna said, "We should've never unblocked our phones."

"EVER WONDER WHAT'S GOING ON WHEN YOUR BACK IS TURNED?" -A

📎Attachment...748493..

"Open the attachment," Emily said. The video played out, it was the girls rushing up to Spencer's room looking at the message written on the mirror.

"Was that shot from inside your closet?" Aria questioned.

"A was watching us," Spencer realized.

The girls all went upstairs to Spencer's room, and walked toward the closet. Spencer slowly opened it causing something to fall from one of the shelves, making the girls scream.

"Guys," Aria said, bending down to pick something up, "Check it out." Aria revealed to the girls a tube of lipstick, she swatched it on her hand and walked over to the mirror to compare the color.

— — — — — —

Valerie sat on Aria's bed reading Romeo and Juliet, while Aria stood by her makeup. Mike walked into the room, looking completely oblivious. Valerie couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt in her chest.

"How do you not poke your eyeball?" He asked humorously.

Aria visibly looked distraught, "What's up Mike?" Valerie asked.

"Uh, nothing." He mumbled, "Look, uhm, are mom and dad acting weird with each other?" He asked..

"What do you mean?" Aria questioned, though she already knew the answer.

"I mean, I don't know. There's a vibe." Mike explained.

"Yeah, maybe." Valerie said, trying to play it off as nothing.

Mike gave both his sisters a look of uncertainty, "Look, don't worry about it, okay?" Aria reassured him. She grabbed her backpack and was ready to leave for school.

"You're only gonna do one eye?" Mike asked, chuckling, "Is that a new cyclops look?"

Aria looked back in the mirror, pulling her eyeliner back out. Mike walked off.

"He's gonna find out sooner than later, and when he does it's physically gonna be the hardest thing I've ever dealt with." Valerie told her as soon as Mike stepped out, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"I know." Aria sighed, "But we'll get through it." She promised.

The girls walked downstairs to see their parents bickering, "Hey," Ella said, cutting off whatever Byron was about to say.

"Hi," Valerie mumbled.

"Do you girls want some breakfast? There's yogurt." Ella offered.

"No, I'm good with a granola bar." Aria told her.

"Same."

"I'm going, uh, going to work, I've got office hours." Byron said, "Hey good luck with that French test girls." He said, kissing the top of both their heads and heading out the door.

"Look, Mike knows something's up," Valerie stressed, "Are you gonna tell him?" She asked.

"Yeah, you know, when I can." Ella shrugged.

"Okay, well, just don't wait too long. It was way too hard to keep it from you for a year. I don't wanna have to do that to him too." Aria said.

The expression on their mothers face changed drastically, "A year? You've known about this for a year?" Ella asked, looking between the girls.

"Yeah, I thought dad told you..." Aria began before she realized the truth, "He didn't tell you that he asked us to–"

"Mom, we can miss first period if you wanna talk." Valerie offered.

"It's okay," Ella assured, "This is between me and your dad. Don't worry."

— — — — — — —

The girls were standing around Spencer's locker, Hanna was putting on lip gloss while Spencer was grabbing books from her locker.

"You don't seriously think a blind girl broke into my house." Spencer deadpanned, "That would take a lot more than a walking GPS."

"Well, I didn't say that Jenna was alone," Aria insinuated.

"Let's not go to the Toby place," Emily pleaded.

"Why not?" Valerie asked, "Do you think her guide dog left behind his lipstick?" Valerie snickered, "I mean come on, Toby has just as much reason to hate us as Jenna does."

"Yeah, Em, do you wanna ask what your lab partner was doing? If you know, maybe he took a break from sitting on his porch pulling the heads off of squirrels." Spencer bantered.

"Spencer!" Mr. Sheldrake calls out, walking up to the girls, "Sorry ladies, I didn't mean to interrupt, but I hope you're as proud of your friend as I am." He hands Spencer a big fancy envelope with her name written in cursive on the front, "Congratulations. My instincts were right. This just makes it official."

Spencer shoves the envelope in her locker, once he walks away, "What's that about?" Aria asks.

"An essay contest." Spencer tells them.

"Did you win it?" Valerie asks.

"Aren't you at least gonna open the envelope?" Emily questions.

"Why should she?" Hanna asks, "She wins an award just for waking up." Hanna jokes.

Hanna takes Spencer and Valerie's arms as they walk down the hall together to their classes.

Valerie walks into her anatomy class and sits next to her boyfriend, Kane. Luckily English wasn't the only class they had together.

"Hey," She greets, sitting down on a stool and placing her bag on the floor.

"Hey stranger." He says, kissing her cheek, "So, homecoming is coming up and I was wondering if you'd wanna go with me?" He asked.

"Of course, who else would I go with?" She teased, leaning her head on his shoulder, "You know, this would be a lot more romantic if there wasn't a dead frog sitting in front of us."

He laughed, and threw one of the rags sitting on the lab table over it, "Better?" He asked.

"Much." She responded, wrapping her arms around him. He liked that she was comfortable with pda. He liked that everyone knew she was taken by him.

After school Valerie had soccer practice. She hated that every time she was out on the field, she thought of Jason. Ever since he kissed her on the bleachers she couldn't stop thinking about it every time she played. He was embedded in her brain.

Valerie sighed, slinging her bag over her shoulders and walking out onto the field, where a girl on her team named Sarah was waiting for her to arrive.

"Hey, Val." She said harshly.

"What do you want?" Valerie asked, rolling her eyes.

"I want you to give up your spot as captain." Sarah said.

"Yeah, not gonna happen, but thanks for the offer." Valerie said sarcastically, going to walk away from her. Sarah grabbed her arm in a tight grip, making Valerie wince from the pain.

"What the hell?" Valerie asked, trying to pull away her arm.

"Do it or this arm will be snapped in half." She threatened, making Valerie anxious.

"You're crazy!" Valerie shouted, trying to pull away once more. Sarah didn't like that, she put more force onto her arm, making Valerie cry out in pain.

"You think I'm kidding bitch? Quit, or you're screwed!" The girl shouted, Valerie didn't wanna give up though. She was tired of letting psychos like her win. Valerie used her other hand to pull Sarah's hair causing her to fall back on her ass.

Valerie grabbed her bag and ran back into the school, she went into the locker room and put her bag down. She began hyperventilating, looking down at the nasty bruise forming on her arm. Valerie closed her eyes, trying to calm her breathing when someone grabbed the back of her shirt and threw her to the floor.

"I told you bitch, I wasn't playing." Sarah fumed, kicking Valerie when she was already down. Valerie got up quickly and Sarah kept swinging at her. Valerie fought back, pushing her into the lockers. That just pissed Sarah off more, she pulled Valerie's hair and punched her.

"What the hell is your problem!" Valerie shouted.

"My problem is you! You steal my spot as captain, you steal my boyfriend, you're destroying my life!" Sarah screamed, throwing Valerie onto the cold hard floor.

"You're boyfriend?" Valerie questioned.

"Kane! He was my boyfriend, but then met you and dumped me!" She ranted, tears running down her face.

"What?" Valerie asked, "When did he break up with you?" She was finally able to catch a breath, now that Sarah wasn't attacking her.

"The day after Noel's party at his parent's cabin. Not that it's any of your business whore." She muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. Valerie's heart was racing in her chest. Kane had kissed her when he was still with Sarah, and Valerie had no idea until now.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Valerie apologized, looking at Sarah with a sympathetic look. Sarah could tell she had no idea, seeing the distressed look on Valerie's face. It didn't make her feel guilty for what she did though, she still wanted to be team captain and Valerie had taken that from her.

Sarah walked past Valerie and left her sitting alone on the cold locker room floor. Valerie brought her knees to her chest and sobbed. Her whole life had been crumbling apart. Her parents were probably getting a divorce, Kane lied to her, A was tormenting her, everything was just falling apart and she had no idea how to fix it.

Valerie had gone home to go clean herself up, she still looked a mess though, her lip was busted, she had a blackeye and she had a nasty bruise on her arm. She hated how she looked, it made her insecure.

Valerie's phone dinged, it was Spencer, telling her to meet her and Hanna at the grill. Valerie wiped her tears and brushed her hair and headed out the door. She walked through the door and saw Spencer and Hanna in the middle of a conversation, she walked over to them and sat down.

"Hey," She said.

Spencer and Hanna both stared at her face, "What the hell happened to you?" Spencer asked, concerned. She took Valerie's face in her hands and looked at her wounds.

"Just this crazy bitch on my soccer team who said I stole her spot as captain and stole her boyfriend." Valerie explained while Spencer was still examining her face.

"Okay, first of all, you earned that spot and second, Kane's your boyfriend not hers." Hanna defended her friend.

Valerie sighed, "Actually Kane was her boyfriend."

"Yeah, but he broke up with her, right?" Hanna asked.

"Uhm," Valerie mumbled, tears pricking the corners of her eyes, "He got with me when he was still with her." Valerie revealed as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"What?" Both Hanna and Spencer said in unison.

"I didn't know, he played me." Valerie sobbed and Spencer wrapped her in a tight, comforting hug.

The bell that rang when someone opened the door went off and the girls turned their heads, "Emily," Spencer called out, signaling her to come sit with them at their table.

Emily hesitated for a minute, but then came and sat with the group. Spencer and Hanna began explaining what happened with Valerie to Emily. Valerie tuned it out, feeling too hurt to say anything else.

— — — — — —

Aria was sitting on Valerie's bed with her, Valerie was explaining everything that had happened with Kane. She told her about Sarah, the cheating, everything. Valerie had sent him a text saying, "we're over."

Mike came bursting through the door minutes later, "Okay, I told you something was up." Mike snapped, "Can you hear them?" He said. Their parents had been fighting downstairs for over thirty minutes.

"Look, whatever it is, it's not about us." Aria reassured him.

"How do you know?" He shouted.

"I just do." Aria said, getting up from the bed.

Valerie got up and walked over to Mike, "Look, go get your stuff. We'll go to the library and study there, okay?" Valerie offered.

"Yeah, but for how long?" Mike protested.

"Just go get your stuff." Valerie said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Aria followed Mike to go help him get his stuff, Valerie sat on the top of the stairs listening to her parents argue, "What happened with her was a mistake!" Byron yelled, his voice slightly muffled.

"What I know is that you used our daughters to hide this from me." Ella snapped at him, "How could you do that to them?" She cried, "I don't even know who you are!"

"I panicked," He said, "I thought I didn't have another choice. I was scared, I was afraid I was gonna lose you."

"You just might." She muttered, ending their argument. Tears were running down Valerie's cheeks as she rested her head against the railing of the stairs.

Valerie couldn't help but wish she had someone to hold her, when she found out of her dad's affair the first person she went to was Jason.

FLASHBACK

Valerie and Aria had confronted Byron about the affair, it's not like they could avoid him forever, but both girls were a mess after the fact, sobbing, with tissues everywhere.

Valerie was so hurt, all she wanted was her boyfriend.

Valerie: Jason, are you home? I really need to talk to you.

Jase: Of course, I'll come pick you up.

Valerie sat at the window seat in her room, staring out the window. Tears were streaming down her face, she kept wiping them away with the sleeves of her shirt, but they just kept coming. Valerie squinted her eyes as the headlights of Jason's car flashed. She grabbed her jacket and went outside.

She opened the car door and got herself situated in the passenger seat, she hadn't even realized she was hyperventilating, "Val, look at me." He said softly. She turned to face him and he saw how bloodshot and puffy her eyes were, "Breathe," He told her, circling his thumb on her cheek. He always had a way of calming her right down.

After Valerie had calmed down, Jason pulled out of the driveway and took her to his house. Luckily, nobody was home, so they went right up to his room. As soon as they got inside, Valerie broke down, Jason cradled her in his arms, telling her it was going to be okay.

"Talk to me, what's going on?" Jason asked softly.

"I–" She stuttered, "My dad– he cheated with one of his students. In his car! And now he wants me to lie to my mom and– I don't know if I can. But I have to, or my family would never be the same, and Mike, he wouldn't be able to handle that, I couldn't do that to him. And my mom, god, she would be so hurt, it would destroy her. It's destroying me." She ranted, burying her head in his chest. He stayed quiet the whole time she spoke, letting her explain every detail.

"And Ali, she told me I have to tell her, and–"

"Valerie, that's not Alison's business, she had no right saying that to you. It's between you and your family, don't let her get involved." Jason told her, running his fingers through her hair, "C'mon." He said, taking her hand and dragging her to his bed. She laid down on his chest, gripping his t-shirt in her hands. His hand slipped underneath her shirt and he trailed his hand up and down her back, comforting her.

"It's gonna be okay, Val. Just know that, and whatever happens, I'm always here if you need someone to hold you." He promised, kissing the top of her head.

FLASHBACK OVER

Valerie was laying in Aria's bed, Mike next to her. It was clear he was catching on to what was happening, and she couldn't stop it. Soon, Aria walked in with bowls in her hands.

"What is this?" Mike asked as Aria handed him and Valerie a bowl.

"Dinner." She told him, getting on the bed next to her siblings.

"Is mom still in her room?" Mike asked.

"Yeah," Aria mumbled.

"And dad?" He wondered, but Aria didn't have an answer for him, she just shrugged and shook her head.

"Do you think they're gonna work this out?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know." Valerie answered, shaking her head.