039 — she's better now

season three —
episode fourteen

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A FEW WEEKS AFTER the Halloween Train, Aspen decided she'd crash with Hanna for a while.

Due to feeling suddenly unsafe in her own apartment. Partly because of Nate.. Lyndon knocking her unconscious and taking her as his hostage and then him dying at the hands of Emily and herself.

Which lead to Jason being shot in the side of his torso. To the point where Aspen felt too paranoid to stay in her own apartment knowing Jason needs his own space at his own house alongside Bowie.

Now that Garrett's also dead. Aspen's anxiety has been rocketing super high leading the blonde to panic and anxiety attacks.

Aspen lays snuggled in the spare couch/bed in Hanna's bedroom allowing the exhaustion from the past few to melt away with a good nights sleep.

Hanna awakens with a gasp feeling a presence over her previous sleeping figure.

"Is it a bad time?" Mona whispers, "What are you doing here?" Hanna questions.

"My doctors released me." Mona responds, "In the middle of the night?" Hanna lowly exclaims.

"Look Hanna, I need your help. My parents are forcing me to go back to school, and I'm... look, I'm so scared." Mona explains.

"Mona..." Hanna exhales, "Everyone knows what I've done, and I have no one in my corner." Mona says.

"If you're expecting me and my friends to forgive you... especially Aspen. Which be quiet, she's right over there." Hanna states gesturing to Aspen's sleeping figure.

Mona swallows nervously praying that the blonde girl won't wake up anytime soon.

"I don't expect them too, but, Hanna, you're different. Wren said you were my guardian angel. He said that you stood up for me." Mona voices.

"You are not defenseless, Mona. You spent the last two years majoring in torture." Hanna snaps.

Aspen inhales and exhales moving around on the bed alerting the two girls into zipping their mouths shut for a moment.

"So, you don't believe that a person can get better?" Mona inquires.

Hanna looks around nervously and not sure if she wants to allow the girl who did horrible stuff to her best friend back into her life.

"Hanna, I had a breakdown, but I've turned the corner. I'm on new meds, everything's changed. I'm not proud of who I was. I'm not proud of what I put Aspen through. She was nice to me. But please. Just try to see me for who I am. Now." Mona begs looking at the Marin girl.

"I do see you, Mona. You're freaking me out." Hanna mutters.

"Hanna!" Regina—Hanna's grandmother exclaims from just outside the bedroom door.

Mona looks at the door with a scared look on her face, "Who's that?" Mona asks in a hushed whisper.

Hanna looks over at Aspen again scared she'll wake up and see the brunette who caused her a lot of trauma in the same room.

"Yeah, grandma?" Hanna questions, "Are you alone in there? I heard voices." Regina utters.

"Uh, no, no. It's just me. I'm... reading out loud. Go back to sleep." Hanna suggests looking at Mona's desperate pleading face.

Regina—Mrs Marin walks away from Hanna's bedroom back to the guest room to go back to sleep like Hanna suggested.

"Thank you!" Mona inaudibly whispers thankful for Hanna not dobbing her in to her grandmother.

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THE NEXT MORNING, Aspen wakes up to the news of Mona's appearance last night while she eats her breakfast.

Needless to say, nothing stayed down for too long.

"I can't believe she was in the same bedroom as me." Aspen mutters with a shiver.

"She actually sounded genuinely sorry, Spen." Hanna explains walking alongside the blonde girl towards the school since Aspen has a few fashion students to train before the fashion event in a few weeks time again.

"I'm sure she did, Han. But, I'm never trusting her again. She poisoned, made me have a miscarriage and then gave me a severe concussion. I just can't forgive her." Aspen explains.

"I know. I don't expect you to forgive her anytime soon." Hanna responds with a gentle smile.

Aspen and Hanna both meet up with Spencer and Aria just outside the school's main entrance.

"Hey Spence. Hey Aria." Aspen greets with a polite smile, "Hey." Aria and Spencer simultaneously respond.

"Hey! I thought you were playing Mona's bodyguard." Aria voices looking at Hanna.

"Okay, I said I'd be around for her." Hanna responds, "I'm thinking maybe we all should be her friend." Emily suggests.

"Nope. No, thank you." Aspen mutters looking at her cousin tying her bike to the rack.

"I mean, if Mona knows why Garrett died, right after he told that story about Aria's dad..." Emily explains tilting her head at Aspen knowing it might be a rough subject to speak about with her.

"Stop!" Spencer states shaking her head motioning for Emily to be quiet.

"What's going on?" Hanna questions confused sharing a look with Aspen beside her who's also confused.

"Nothing. We're not gonna talk about that." Spencer utters, "No, go ahead. Talk about it. Just do it when I'm not here." Aria snaps.

"Aria!" Spencer exclaims, "What's next?! Are we all gonna start wondering if my dad was on the Halloween train, too?" Aria quizzes.

"Wait.. what?" Aspen wonders, "You actually believe that my own dad would drug me, and then lock me in a box." Aria mutters with a low scoff walking towards the entrance.

"Oh. Great." Aspen groans noticing Mona standing at the staircase with multiple students sending taunts as they pass her, "Welcome to Mona 2.0." Spencer sighs.

"I'm gonna be late. I'll see you at lunch." Aspen voices walking into the school past Mona ignoring her.

Aspen walks into the classroom of Mrs Lockman's waving at her in greeting before making her way towards her trainee, "Thank you for doing this." Melanie says.

"No worries at all. Honestly, it's a pleasure." Aspen responds with a smile.

Eventually, the bell rings signalling lunch and Aspen's knockoff time, said girl walks into the corridor spotting Jason walking towards her with a small smile, "Hey." Jason greets.

"Hey Jase." Aspen responds walking towards the courtyard noticing the girls waiting for her before hearing Hanna and Mona shriek in horror and disgust seeing a brain inside Mona's locker.

"Oh." Aspen groans in disgust watching Mona grab the said item and throw it away with the knife making the surrounding students gasp in fright at the threat of Mona with a knife.

Before said girl dumps the knife into the same trashcan walking towards Lucas and whispering something to him which makes him shrivel in fear.

Aspen takes notice of her boyfriend's stance leaning against the wall at the end of the hall before walking towards Hanna.

Who's just spoken to Lucas before watching him limp away from them not answering Hanna's questions.

The four girls enter the ladies room talking amongst themselves, "So, wait, wait. Someone stole that from the bio lab? They have cow brains up there? I didn't even think..." Aria rambles.

"That's because you got excused from dissection based on vegetarian grounds." Spencer voices.

"Guys, people are gonna think that we put that in her locker." Emily states.

"It wasn't vegetarian, it was humanitarian." Aria says correcting Spencer on why she was excused making Aspen lowly chuckle. "Are you still hating on me?" Spencer questions.

"Possibly..." Aria responds in fake annoyance, "Guys, pay attention! People are gonna think that was us." Emily exclaims.

"How? When? We were all being held hostage by Meredith. And Aspen was with one of her fashion students. It wasn't in her locker before first period." Spencer proclaims.

"So now we're depending on Meredith to be our alibi? See you in jail." Emily states.

"Well.. I mean, Melanie would vouch for me. Not the point, though." Aspen mumbles seeing Emily glaring at her lightly.

"I gotta say Mona's a lot stronger than me. I would've lost it. I kind of felt sorry for her..." Aria voices.

"Yeah, me, too." Emily responds lowly.

Spencer and Aspen share a look with one another hearing what Aria and Emily just said about Mona, "Um. What the fuck?" Aspen exclaims.

"Okay, are we done? Feeling sorry? Because she's done a lot worse to us, guys. A lot!" Spencer firmly states gesturing to Aspen beside her.

"Hello. I mean, she poisoned me and made me miscarriage and then gave me a concussion." Aspen mutters looking at her cousin and Aria who shrink back from her glare.

The bathroom door creaks open revealing Mona, "No. I'm not doing this. Call me selfish or whatever. I'll see you girls later on." Aspen voices grabbing her handbag from the sinks and walking out of the bathroom leaving Mona and the others inside to talk to one another.

Aspen walks out from the school noticing Toby, "Spen, hi." Toby greets hugging her.

"Hey Tobes." Aspen responds embracing the male, "Are you alright?" Toby asks with a worried frown.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Aspen mumbles receiving a look off Toby like he doesn't believe her.

"Tobes, I'm fine. Here's Spencer. Now, enjoy your lunch." Aspen states smiling at Spencer and mumbling a goodbye to Toby.

Aspen strolls off towards her car before stopping hearing sniffling coming from beside her.

Aspen scoffs seeing her boyfriend standing close to Mona comforting her.

"What the actual fuck." Aspen mutters looking over at Spencer with a tear filled expression on her face.

Before hurrying off away from the school seeing Jason initiating a hug with the person responsible for the loss of her baby.

Aspen sits in her car for a while wiping away her tears hearing her phone chime with an incoming text.

CREEPY HAROLD IS IN OUR SCHOOL!
WITH A BAG OF MONA'S STUFF!
MEET AT THE BREW?
— HANNA

Aspen sighs putting on a fake happy expression and begins driving to The Brew to meet the others.

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SPENCER AND TOBY RUN alongside one another huffing and puffing due to their run.

"Oh, under ten! Beat it." Spencer exclaims sharing a high-five with Toby with smiles on both of their faces.

"I think we earned some hot tub. Spence, you want me to fire it up?" Toby inquires noticing Jason's vehicle parking outside his house.

"Yeah. Just give me a second." Spencer responds.

Spencer walks towards Jason seeing him unpacking boxes from the back of his car.

"Hey, Jason." Spencer voices capturing the male's attention, "Hey there, Spencer." Jason tiredly responds.

"What's going on with you and Mona? Did you go to her or did she come up to you?" Spencer quizzes demanding answers from her step-brother.

Jason glances over at Toby noticing him walking towards the two of them listening in to the conversation.

"Look, I know that her first day back wasn't exactly a bubble bath. Okay, but... you should be careful. And you really should make sure Aspen's alright." Spencer suggests.

"What am I missing here? What's wrong with Aspen?" Jason questions confused.

"Jason, she's dangerous. Ian and Garrett are both dead. Jenna's awol. I'm starting to think that Mona might have..." Spencer explains trailing off after a while.

"Got it. I'll keep that in mind." Jason responds with a nod.

"Look, Toby can hear this. He knows her resume. She once tried to kill him by unscrewing a piece of scaffolding. She cannot be trusted." Spencer says looking back at Toby before looking back at Jason.

"People around here used to say the same thing about me. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt before I cut them off. But, thanks for the tip." Jason states.

"What about Aspen? Huh? You're hanging around with someone who did awful things to your girlfriend. What's Aspen gonna think about all of this? After all, she already saw you hug Mona at the school earlier." Spencer frustratedly exclaims.

Jason comes to an abrupt stop just before stepping on the staircase of his patio, "What I do, is none of Aspen's business. Or yours." Jason declares slamming the door shut of the house leaving Spencer looking back at Toby shocked.

Placing the box on the kitchen counter of his house, Jason gently pats Bowie's head since the dog has greeted him happily seeing one of his owners.

"Come on, Asp. Answer my texts." Jason mumbles to himself staring at his phone seeing the messages he's sent Aspen have been left unanswered.

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ASPEN SITS IN THE usual spot of The Brew perking up hearing Aria, Hanna and Emily—in her apron due to working her shift walking towards her.

"You're sure you didn't tell her?" Aria asks clearly freaked out about what was outside Ezra's apartment earlier.

"Okay. Why would I tell Mona that Ezra has a kid?" Hanna responds confused, "If Ezra would've opened that door..." Aria mumbles.

"He didn't, all right? So just breathe. What'd you do with the basket?" Hanna quizzes.

"I trashed it. Why? Did you want the jelly beans? What about you, Spen?" Aria wonders looking at Aspen and Hanna.

"Aria's right, Hanna. Mona's up to something. It's not a coincidence of first day she's back, Harold's also there, and somehow doesn't recognise us." Emily states.

"Look, I'm not saying it wasn't weird.. I just think that maybe he took the job because he wanted to see her." Hanna shrugs, "Why would he want to see her?" Emily questions.

"I mean, she spent a lot of time there. Maybe they were buddies." Aspen suggests looking at the others feeling her chime again making her sigh in annoyance.

"Yeah, well the buddy-moon's over! We need to bust into creepy's closet and see what else he saved for her." Aria demands seeing Aspen glaring at her phone before turning it off.

Caleb rushes towards the four girls noticing them in their usual corner of The Brew.

"Hey." Caleb greets placing his hand on Hanna's waist before kissing her cheek. "Hi. Did you talk to Lucas?" Hanna quizzes.

"Uh. He's not feeling very chatty. But I did find something else." Caleb states grabbing a piece of paper from his backpack, "What is that?" Aspen quizzes.

"It's a transcript from the meeting the principal had with Mona and her parents last week." Caleb states handing Aspen the piece of paper so she can read it along with the others.

"How did you get this?" Emily asks reading the paper once Aspen gives it to her.

"There's perks to knowing the school's pass code." Caleb smirks looking from Hanna to Aspen.

"Nice one, Cal." Aspen says, "Well, what are we looking for?" Hanna inquires.

"Page two. Turns out Mona's parents did not want her to come back to Rosewood High. It was Mona who begged to come back in." Caleb states.

"Fan-fucking-tastic." Aspen mutters leaning back into the sofa annoyed.

"Wait. I thought you said that she told you her parents were forcing her." Aria says looking at Hanna.

"Well,I'm guessing she lied. Mona's back to take care of unfinished business." Caleb firmly utters.

"Hey, Em. Customer." Aspen voices motioning to the person waiting at the register.

"I gotta go." Emily mumbles lowly thanking Aspen for the help.

"Hey, feed me. I'm starving." Caleb groans following behind Emily towards the register to order some food.

"Cal, can you order me a mineral water? I'll pay you back." Aspen asks.

"Of course. And no need." Caleb responds with a polite smile.

"Did Mona sign that card on the muffin basket with M or A?" Aria quizzes.

"Look, could we just take a second before we..." Hanna suggests taking a seat beside Aspen.

"Before we what? Let her destroy our lives again? No. If Ezra finds out that he has a kid through A..." Aria states.

"Ria, don't give A all the power. Tell Fitz he has a son." Aspen suggests, "I can't." Aria responds.

"Why not?" Hanna asks confused, "Because that son has a mother, and she asked me not to." Aria explains.

"Yeah, and every day that goes by is another day that kid goes without meeting his dad, and believe me, that kid might be dealing with it for a long time." Hanna says looking over at Caleb ordering himself food.

Since he brought Aspen's drink over to the girls before returning to the register himself.

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THE NEXT MORNING, Aspen wanders into the Marin kitchen noticing Regina and Hanna watching something on Hanna's laptop.

"Is that the Mona video?" Aspen questions with a yawn, "Yeah." Hanna confirms.

"Ever since I was little, and all through junior high, I was considered a loser. I was humiliated, picked on, and tortured. And as hard as all that misery and torture was..." Mona says sniffling on the video.

Aspen scowls at the screen not trusting Mona's 'sad girl' act for a second, "She sent this to you?" Regina asks.

"Yeah, and everyone else in cyber space. It has 1,600 likes." Hanna explains, "Yeah. I woke up to the email." Aspen mutters in annoyance.

"That child is more twisted than my toes. She's trying way too hard." Regina states.

"Amen!" Aspen exclaims agreeing with Hanna's grandma.

"Hey. You were the one who told me to give her a second chance." Hanna mumbles.

"That was before I saw her campaigning. Now, I think Mona may be the best argument we got against human cloning." Regina mutters getting up from her seat leaving the two girls in the kitchen together watching the end of the video.

"Before you turn this off, or throw something at the screen, please just hear me out. I've been in Radley for over seven months now. And I wanna tell you about what I..." Mona voices through the video.

Hanna answers the door seeing Lucas on the opposite side of it wanting to give something to her.

"Lucas?" Aspen and Hanna simultaneously ask confused at the sudden arrival of the male.

"Hi. I know you're both on your way out." Lucas mumbles.

"No, no. Come in." Hanna suggests stepping to the side to let Lucas into the kitchen.

"I don't wanna keep either of you." Lucas says, "Seriously, just come in." Aspen softly demands from the table.

Lucas steps into the Marin household holding out an envelope for Hanna to grab.

"Could you get this to Caleb? I tried to find him, but I guess he's not living in the same spot." Lucas explains, "What is this?" Hanna asks.

"It's the last of the money I owe him. Took me a while to get it." Lucas responds.

"Do you want something to drink or anything?" Aspen offers.

"No, I'm good." Lucas mumbles in response limping towards the door again.

"What happened to your leg?" Hanna inquires, "Oh, I had an accident skateboarding. It's kind of hard to explain." Lucas utters.

"What happened between you and Mona?" Aspen wonders, "Nothing. Nothing. I haven't spoken to her in months." Lucas responds.

"Does Mona have something on you, Lucas? Did you do something that you really regret? Did someone stab you in that leg on Halloween?" Hanna questions demanding answers.

"We'll talk about this another time." Lucas mumbles looking at Aspen nervously before looking back at Hanna:

"No, we need answers. Why is she suddenly back at school? Why is she coming back?" Aspen quizzes.

"Aspen, Hanna... yesterday wasn't her first day back. She was sneaking out of there way before she had the doctor's permission." Lucas explains.

"Why? Where was she going? What was she doing? Is she the reason you blackmailed my boyfriend into giving you money?" Aspen exclaims.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That's the best that I can do." Lucas responds in a low tone scared of what Mona might do to him.

"Okay. I get it. I miss you." Hanna states, "I miss you, too." Lucas murmurs turning towards the door getting ready to leave.

"I really am sorry for blackmailing Jason and for Jenna threatening you. I never meant for that to happen." Lucas explains looking at Aspen.

"I know. It's alright." Aspen nods forgiving the male while watching him walk away from Hanna's house.

Hanna sighs sitting beside Aspen gesturing for her to press play on the video once again.

"I know that you ultimately have to own up. Own up to what you've done, and what's been done to you, and then you have to learn to forgive yourself." Mona states.

"Ugh." Aspen groans hating listening to Mona's voice.

"Girls. We should go." Regina demands from the front door, "Yeah. Let's go." Hanna mumbles bumping her hip with Aspen's.

The two of them walk out of the Marin household towards the school for the relay race.

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HANNA, ASPEN AND MS MARIN walk towards the starting point of the race noticing Spencer stood off to the side of them.

"I can't freakin' escape her." Aspen snarls seeing Mona ahead of them with people surrounding her comforting her.

"Spence." Hanna shouts alerting the Hastings girl which makes her walk towards them being quickly embraced by Regina.

"If you look at your maps, you'll see four checkpoint stations. The run will end in front of the school, where you'll pick up your medal and a complimentary swag bag. We will begin in three minutes." Coach says over the PA system for all the participants doing the race.

Aspen smiles seeing Ms Marin up on the stage shooing away the coach beginning to sing the national anthem.

"Look, you guys. If we ditch the track right before checkpoint two, we can cut through the woods behind school." Spencer explains placing a hand on her chest in respect just like everyone else.

"How are we getting in?" Hanna questions.

"It's not locked. They're keeping the bathrooms open for people that are working the finish line. Are you sure that Emily can't meet us?" Spencer questions looking at Aspen.

"Yeah, unless she can escape Uncle Wayne and his security system." Aspen responds.

"Why is your grandmother singing?" Spencer asks leaning closer to Hanna, "Because she can." Hanna utters in response.

Aspen glares at Mona seeing her in the crowd, "Hanna and I think Mona was on the Halloween train that night." Aspen reveals leaning closer to the others.

"Say that again." Aria responds shocked.

Hanna and Aspen look at one another nervously before looking at Spencer and Aria with a discreet nod.

All of the sudden, the gunshot signalling the race has started sounds off making Aspen visibly jump startled by the sound.

"Come on. We should go." Aspen whispers beginning to jog alongside Hanna, Spencer and Aria trying to calm her racing heart due to the previous gunfire near them.

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AFTER A WHILE OF jogging, the girls go down into the school's basement seeing Emily at the door trying to open it, "Emily?" Spencer voices shocked.

"Em, how did you get here?" Aspen and Hanna ask confused since Wayne almost made Aspen stay at the house as well but since she's eighteen... she's free to do whatever she wants.

"Long story. Just do me a favor. Don't call or text me until tomorrow. This isn't working." Emily states holding up a paperclip.

"That's because it's a paper clip. You have to use a Bobby pin. Have I taught you nothing?" Spencer questions grabbing a bobby pin from her hair and getting inside the room almost immediately.

"The bag was right here, wasn't it?" Hanna inquires sharing a look with Emily.

Aspen walks towards the desk seeing a familiar book sitting on it.

"That's the book he was writing in." Emily explains while Aspen flicks through the pages reading the notes.

"What does it say?" Aria asks standing beside the blonde young woman.

"Looks like he was writing a long letter to Mona, 'cause he thinks that this is her diary." Spencer explains also flicking through the pages seeing Aspen looking up with a deep breath.

"Is it? Was this in the motel room?" Aria questions.

"Yeah, it was. Buy, you guys... this isn't Mona's. This is Ali's." Aspen explains looking at the shocked expressions on Aria, Hanna and Emily's faces before looking at Spencer sharing a mutual look with the brunette.

"Is this the same one you guys saw in Mona's lair?" Hanna inquires, "I'm positive." Spencer responds looking at a gum wrapper.

"Oh. That wrapper brings back unpleasant memories." Aspen mutters.

"Let me see this." Aria softly demands taking Ali's diary from Aspen's hands reading an entry from Ali in the process.

"Aria, is this about your dad?" Hanna wonders.

Aspen rubs her hand up and down Aria's back seeing the way the girls lower lip trembles at Ali's diary entry.

After finishing reading the page, "Aria." Spencer mumbles, "Don't." Aria demands not wanting to hear it.

A door slams in the hallway somewhere making Aspen and the others jump in fright, "Emily, put this in your jacket." Hanna demands.

"Maybe we should leave it here. If he knows that it's missing, he'll think it was one of us." Emily suggests panicked.

"Us? He doesn't even know who you are. Just take it." Hanna orders.

"Give it to me." Aria demands ripping out the papers and placing the diary back on the table before rushing out of the room almost crashing into Harold.

"Fucking hell!" Aspen shrieks horrified, "What are you doing down here?" Harold questions.

"Um, all of the bathrooms upstairs were full, so we came down here, but we can use the ones on the second floor. We're sorry. You guys, come on." Spencer explains.

Aria goes to step forward only for Harold to grab a hold of her arm seeing the pages in her hand.

"What have you got there?" Harold quizzes, "Give it to me!" Aria snaps trying to snatch the pages from the male.

"I'll scream. Give it to her. Right now." Aspen orders taking a deep inhale of air.

"Spencer? What's going on? Are you guys okay?" Toby asks from the stairway looking at the others confused.

"Yeah, we're fine. We just had to get something I accidentally threw away." Aria responds.

While Aspen snatches the pages from the creepy man and rushes out behind the others handing Aria the said pages receiving a grateful hug off the Montgomery girl.

"Thank you." Aria mumbles, "Thank god you came down there. How did you know we were there?" Emily questions.

"I got to the finish line early, and then, I saw the three of you go in that back door." Toby explains.

"It doesn't even matter. We're just so lucky you were here." Spencer sighs in relief hugging her boyfriend tightly, "Thanks, Tobes." Aspen smiles.

All of the sudden an explosion is heard beside them and a woman's gut-wrenching screams surround them.

"Oh, my god!" Emily gasps rushing down the stairs with the others hot on her tail looking at the flames spreading around the shed and students and staff screaming Mona's name.

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AFTER HEARING THAT MEREDITH got hurt in the fire, Aspen decided that she'd stay at Spencer's house due to wanting her dog for the night.

"We should get going." Spencer suggests receiving a tired nod off the older blonde girl.

"I'm so tired." Aspen voices with a groan beginning their walk to the Hastings manor.

Aspen drags her feet behind her noticing Jason sitting on the porch of his house with his shirt open drinking a can of ginger ale, "Hey." Spencer greets.

Jason stands up looking at his girlfriend, "Hey.." Jason says staring at Aspen.

"I'm just here for Bowie. Come here, boy. Come on." Aspen explains before patting her slowly healing thigh.

Bowie's head perks up hearing Aspen's voice while rushing towards her with a happy wiggle.

"Hey little guy. Has daddy been looking after you?" Aspen mumbles patting Bowie.

"Of course I have." Jason confirms making Aspen scoff looking up from their shared dog in anger.

"Heard I missed some fireworks at the finish line." Jason voices looking at Spencer now seeing the anger flowing from Aspen's expression and stance.

"Yeah. But Mona walked away without a scratch." Spencer mumbles with a small smile, one that Jason returns.

"Look, I won't say this again." Spencer tiredly voices, "You don't have to. I hear you this time." Jason responds with a nod.

"Can we go? I'm wrecked." Aspen whispers receiving a nod off Spencer.

"Yeah. Good night, Jason." Spencer says looking up at the male before turning around beginning to walk alongside Aspen towards her house.

Aspen frowns feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket while Spencer holds onto Bowie's leash leading the dog into the backyard of her house.

TRUST ME.
TURN AROUND.
FIND OUT WHAT JASON
HAS BEEN HIDING FROM YOU.
— UNKNOWN.

Aspen frowns reading the message before giving in, "I'll be right back." Aspen explains receiving a nod off Spencer who happily takes Bowie into the house so Aspen can go back and talk to Jason.

The blonde girl walks out of the Hastings gate towards Jason's completely unaware of Aria on the phone to Spencer inside.

"I think this bandage will cover it." An all too familiar voice states exiting the DiLaurentis house sitting next to Jason on the steps of her porch.

Aspen gasps hiding in the bushing watching as Mona reveals the wound mark on the opposite side of Jason's healing gunshot wound.

"Ouch." Mona mumbles running her finger over the wound making Jason flinch at the sensation.

Feeling all of the air leaving her lungs Aspen backs up and out of her hiding spot revealing herself to Jason and Mona.

Jason looks up at Aspen seeing her heartbroken tear filled gaze on him before looking at Mona seeing her smirking at the sniffling blonde girl.

"Asp..." Jason whispers standing up resulting in Aspen backing away closer to the Hastings gate again, "Asp." Jason voices again.

"No, no, no. Tell me this isn't true. I thought you hugging her was weird. This is even weirder." Aspen cries looking at the stab wound on his torso.

"Tending to your wound.. even weirder. But it's the exact spot Aria stabbed weeks ago on the Halloween train. She... she was the cause of our.. my miscarriage Jason. How can you do this?" Aspen mutters through her sobbing.

Said girl turns around breaking into a sprint into the Hastings Manor ignoring Jason's shouts for her to come back.

─────── ∘°❉°∘ ───────
TO BE CONTINUED...

𝖊𝖑𝖘 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖘 ⛧
long chapter for ya'll.
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