Н’Нˆð‹Ð•Ð„Н‘ Н’НÐ‘НˆðÐ†Ð’ | H. Marin 11

xxx

“Have you seen Cassandra?” the first raspy words to leave the blonde’s mouth were after her terrible ‘accident’ that resulted in a broken ankle, leg and possibility of a spleen removal. “Or the other girls.” she added on, impatiently awaiting her mother’s response. 

Her hair was frizzy and sprawled across the hospital pillow as her eyes were bloodshot and red. The pain from the crash came onto her all at once and she had to resist the urge to scream and shake her whole body to rid herself of the uncomfortable aching. 

She had finally found out who “A” was, and the anticipation of waiting to tell her friends was killing her. 

“Yeah, I sent them home. Aria had to practically drag Cassandra though, the poor thing was worried sick, I thought she’d never leave.” Ashley paused and chuckled to herself. 

“Each time one of them tried bringing her to the car, she’d start swearing at them. The nurse’s threatened to call the police if she didn’t leave immediately.” she finished with a solemn smile. 

Hanna flushed and reached out next to her, trying to grab the telephone. “I have to call them.” she muttered, whining when her mom grabbed her hand. 

“Whatever it is it can wait.” she scolded, crossing her leg over the other on the hard bed. “No. No, mom, it can’t.” she whispered, the throbbing agony from her back slowly creeping up her throat and the rest of her body. 

“I’ll call them.” Ashley reassured her daughter as she stood up and slid the phone out of Hanna’s reach, heading down to the front desk to check in with the doctor. 

Hanna laid her head back against the pillow and clenched her jaw, the few tears spilling out of her eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows together and blinked back the rest of the tear drops. She just wanted the company of a certain brunette. 

It didn’t matter if the rest of her friends were there. She just wanted Cassandra. The Montgomery girl was the first person she thought of when her life flashed before her eyes. She saw memories of them in eighth, their first kiss, their confession, and even moments that had happened this year and with “A”.

She told herself that she was over Cassandra, and that she no longer held a spot in her heart, but now she wasn’t so sure. 

Her feelings didn’t matter anyway. Seeing as the girl had reconnected with a certain bastard brunette boy with no respect for women. Her chances went straight from 100, to when Cassandra first came back, to 0, as of recently. She really was unlucky. 

While Hanna was thinking about the brunette, Cassandra was already in the car outside of the hospital when Ashley sent her a text. 

She never really left, and she’d be damned if she did. Hanna was hurt and she wasn’t going to walk away from that like her other friends. 

So, she hopped out of the car and speed walked towards the back hall where Hanna’s room was. Ashley saw her and quickly brought her into a much-needed hug. “You got here fast.” she pointed out.

“Maybe I never left.” Cassandra shrugged, freeing from Ashley’s grasp. The mother shook her head and quietly laughed, “God, you and Hanna really are stubborn. No wonder you get along so well.”

Cassandra grinned and tried to hide it by staring at her feet. “Where is she?” the brunette asked, remembering the main reason she was here.

Ashley pointed at a room a couple feet down the hall and Cassandra practically ran in there, leaving the red head alone with a happy sigh. She was glad Hanna had someone to rely on. 

“Oh, my God.” Cassandra said, rushing up to the blonde and carefully pulling her into her hands. She pushed back when she heard the blonde grunt. “Sorry.” she sheepishly apologized, rubbing her arm and sitting down where Ashley previously was. 

“Hi.” Hanna smiled, looking up at Cassandra with red eyes and puffy cheeks. “How are you feeling?” she asked, leaning down and rubbing under the blonde’s jaw, carefully examining her for any signs of discomfort. 

“Like I got hit by a car.” Hanna deadpanned, giggling when Cassandra gave her an offended look.

The brunette removed her grip under her jaw and hid her laughter when the blonde let out strings of protest. 

“Hey!” 

“Don’t give me attitude next time.” Cassandra smirked, stroking Hanna’s leg before turning serious. “I was scared to death.”

“I know.” Hanna admitted, attempting to sit up with no help, but ultimately failing. “C’mon, let me help before you hurt yourself.” Cassandra said, holding the blonde’s back as she sat her up. 

She took her time, wanting to relish in the scent of her friend without seeming weird. “You’re amazing.” she muffled out in the nape of her neck. Hanna let out small giggles as the tingling sensation increased while the brunette spoke. 

“I am pretty amazing, aren’t I?” she gloated, feeling a sense of pride when Cassandra lifted her head up and nodded in agreement. 

“The amazingest.” 

“That’s not a word, you know?” Hanna corrected her. 

“Okay, Spencer.” she rebutted, rolling her eyes and admiring the girl. “What about me?” Spencer questioned with raised eyebrows as her and the others, including Ashley, strolled into the room.

Cassandra scooched over to let Emily sit next to her. “Hanna was fixing my grammar and it reminded me of you.” she loosely explained, tossing her arm around Emily’s waist and side hugging her.

Emily grinned and unintentionally leaned into the hold, not paying attention to Hanna’s glares. 

“Does it hurt?” Aria asked, slipping into the chair next to Hanna. “Yeah, kinda.”

Spencer leaned forward, “Do you remember what happened?”

“Yeah, I uh remember.” she paused and gulped slightly, “Um, mom, you’ve been here the whole time. Do you wanna take a break?” she offered. 

Ashley took glances at the girls before her eyes landed back onto her daughter, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” she decided, kissing Cassandra and Hanna on the cheek before leaving the room. Aria got up and hurriedly shut the door behind her, not taking any chances of being heard. 

Hanna closed her eyes momentarily and looked at the brunette, knowing the news to come would affect her.

“Noel Kahn is “A”.” 

“…What?” Cassandra laughed, assuming the blonde was joking. When she saw no hints of playfulness, she frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Wow.”

“I saw him in the woods, and he left an “A” message.” Hanna explained. 

“You saw him leave a message?” Spencer said. “He wrote something on the back of a car window.”

“What car, what did he write?” Emily asked, moving towards the blonde in anticipation. 

“I see you.” Aria whispered, realization hitting her like a bag of bricks. “How do you know?”

“I was in the car.” Aria confirmed, and suddenly the floor became a lot more interesting to this conversation. “Whose car was it?” 

The shorter Montgomery daughter inhaled through her nose and momentarily sat in silence before revealing the big secret. “Ezra Fitz.”

“Mr. Fitz?” Spencer gasped. Aria nodded and played with the rings on her fingers nervously. She didn’t care about her friend’s reactions, but she was too scared to look up and see the disappointment expression her sister would surely have. 

“Aria!”

“Hanna?”

“It was Mr. Fitz.” Hanna acknowledged the truth, knowing it was best for them to be open about their secrets. 

Emily seemed to be taking it the hardest as she immediately stood up from her spot next to Hanna. “You met him there?!”

“The call you got at the party, that was from him?” Emily assumed, shaking her head in disbelief. “I couldn’t tell.” Aria said, “I couldn’t tell anyone. I promised Ezra.” she hesitantly stepped closer, throwing her hands up in annoyance. 

“Woah, this is something that has been going on?” Cassandra hissed, clenching her jaw as anger seeped throughout her body. This was illegal.

“You and a teacher?” Spencer gasped for what seemed to be the tenth time today. “I didn’t just get into his car last night. Who do you think I am?”

“A fool.” Cassandra snapped, “I could call the police and get him arrested.”

Aria cowered in herself, the shame coursing through her as her sister, the one person she thought would never turn on her, seemed to be doing exactly what she didn’t believe would happen. 

“How long have you been seeing him?” Spencer asked, attempting to diffuse the rising tension between the sisters. “Since right before school started.”

“Oh, my God. Since Labor Day?” Spencer uttered out, shock lacing her voice. 

Cassandra scoffed, “You have to stop seeing him.” she demanded, her tone filled with disgust. “I can’t! I- It’s complicated.”

 “No, it’s not! It’s actually pretty simple. He’s a fucking predator!” Cassandra counter-attacked, her gaze stone cold and harsh. 

Aria furrowed her brows, “I thought at least you’d understand! The one person’s opinion that matters most to me.” 

“What is there to understand?! He’s a pervert who harasses minors. Doesn’t seem like anything too complex.” Cassandra bit back, the girls sharing glances with each other, afraid of a potential screaming match from the sisters. 

“Forbidden love. A relationship strongly opposed to by the public eye.” Aria stated. 

Cassandra narrowed her eyes at her sister, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Hanna bit her lip and felt offended. Emily and Spencer shared the same confused expression, like they were left out in some big secret. “Tell them.” Aria snarked, and suddenly the tables were flipped. 

“Don’t you dare.” Cassandra snapped, lifting the collar of her crop top anxiously. Aria paid attention to Hanna’s pleading eyes and decided to not bother with it, too far beyond annoyed with her sister. 

“Come on, tell them all what you wrote in your diary.” Aria said. 

“What is wrong with you? I know you’re mad but think about who else you’re hurting by doing this.” Cassandra stated, trying to calm her sister down before she basically outed her. 

Something in Aria snapped in her brain because she settled down immensely and sighed. “I’m sorry..” she apologized. 

“Me too. I don’t completely approve of this situation, but I’ll live. If he makes you happy then I can deal with it.” Cassandra attempted to seem nonchalant, but the invisible fumes flying out of her ears said otherwise. 

She’d play nice with Aria and Mr. Fitz if it would make Aria’s life easier. 

“Are we missing something?” Spencer asked, pointing between her and Emily. “No, she just talked a whole lot about Noel in her diary, it made me want to puke.” Aria mocked. 

Hanna stared into the abyss when the words left Aria’s lips. It wasn’t herself that Cassandra was thinking about in her diary, it was Noel fucking Kahn. 

 At least now she could appreciate the fact that Cassandra would have a large dislike for him now that she found out his secret identity. 

“Moving on, so, why did you get in his car last night?” Spencer interrogated, the restless night catching up to her as she felt the need to close her eyes. 

“Because he called me.” Aria shortly summed up. “What exactly did you see?” Spencer turned her attention back to the miserable and pouty blonde. 

Hanna lifted her broken hand up while she talked, “I saw Aria go into a parked car and then I thought I saw someone in a black hoodie write something on the back of the car window, and when he turned around it was Noel.”

“It couldn’t have been Noel.” Cassandra denied. 

“Cassie, I saw what I saw.” Hanna rebutted with sullen eyes. “And “A” tried to kill her for it.” Spencer reminded them. 

“Okay, but none of us saw who was driving the car.” Cassandra replied, a knocking on the door interrupting their heated conversation. 

Hanna dramatically groaned, “If it’s someone with painkillers just let them in.”

Cassandra rolled her eyes and opened the door open just a tad bit, “Noel! What are you doing here?” she looked the boy up and down and noticed the sunflowers in his right hand while his left held a yellow balloon that said get better. 

Classic Noel. 

“I heard what happened with Hanna and I thought I’d come visit.” he smiled, rolling his head around in an attempt to crack his neck. 

“She just fell asleep. We’re getting ready to leave.” she answered, glancing back into the room before stepping out and closing the door. 

“What happened?” he curiously asked. 

“Don’t you know?” she rhetorically asked. “I heard it was a hit and run.” he shrugged, resting the flowers on the front desk. 

“Who told you?”

“Sean. Is she gonna be okay?” he wondered aloud. “We hope so.” Cassandra muttered, pulling her teeth in between her bottom lip. 

“This is insane.” he shuddered, gripping the balloon’s string tightly. “Yeah, you’re right about that.”

He brought his hand up to her own, rubbing the palm of her hand with the pad of his thumb, hoping to bring her some comfort. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her face fully and they both knew that. 

“Well, I’ll- uh, take this in for you.” she ruined the “moment” and took the flowers off the table and grabbed the balloon from him. Before she could walk away, he hovered over her, “Can we hang soon? We never got to do our movie date.”

“Yeah, my best friend got hit with a car and I couldn’t fit you in my schedule.” she snarked, “Hey, where were you last night?”

“Hanging with Sean, why?” he lifted his shoulders up and pulled his hands into his pockets. “No reason, I was just wondering.” 

He pecked her on the lips and left the building. 

She came back into Hanna’s room shortly after, holding the goodies he brought and a frown on her lips. “He lied to me about being there. He said he was with Sean.”

Her frown turned into a furious expression, “That bitch.”

xxx

Cassandra messed with a few of the keys on the piano in the music room, taking the time to have some alone time away from the messy situation that seemed to get worse each minute. She wanted so badly for what Hanna said about Noel to be false, she didn’t want to see him as the creepy internet stalker who hit people with cars versus the kind loving boyfriend he was. 

But people change. 

And she had to understand that one day or another. Holding on to that sliver of hope that maybe Noel would switch to his old self wasn’t good on her mental health. She had finally thought that she’d got him back.

When he asked watch old movies together and cuddle, it seemed so sweet and thoughtful. Now, she wondered if it was just a facade to hide the fact that he did in fact go after her and her friends. 

“You didn’t hang out with me.” the voice who had been haunting her every waking thought spoke up, he strolled into the room casually, as if he wasn’t a crazy bastard. She sighed and reluctantly stood up from the stool, “I’m sorry. It got late.”

Though, the apology fell flat. She didn’t mean it, and she was getting real sick of pretending to mean things that she didn’t. 

“What’s the word on Hanna.” he asked. 

You hit her. 

She placed her hands on her waist, tugging the shirt lower down to hide her toned stomach that he was blatantly staring at. “She’s better.”

“That’s great.” he said, focusing on the skin that her shirt didn’t hide. Of course, he would rather stare at her body for weeks on end then discuss the topic of someone that she cared deeply for getting hurt. 

“They catch the guy who did it?”

“Not yet. The police are talking to everyone who was there to see if, you know, if anyone saw anything.” she cleared up, the silence becoming overwhelming. 

She just wanted him to leave. Was it too much to ask for?

“Did you see anything?” she questioned, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Who told you I was at the campground?” he chuckled and unzipped his sweatshirt, revealing the plain gray t-shirt underneath. 

“I saw you in the crowd when they were putting Hanna in the ambulance. I wasn’t sure then, but I’m sure now. It was you.” Cassandra observed, tilting her head at the boy. 

He formed his lips into a thin line, “It was supposed to be a joke.”

“A joke?”

“Yeah, like a movie. Bunch of girls in the woods, I went out there to give you guys a scare. I saw your sister going off, so I followed her.” he mentioned, refocusing his attention back to her face. 

“Followed her to Mr. Fitz’s car.” he stated.

“You wrote on the window?” she scoffed. “I should’ve thrown a rock.” he snarled, getting in her face. 

“What did you see?”

“Enough to figure out why she’s so squirrely around him. I’m doing you a favor and saving your sister.” he insisted, claiming he was helping her out. 

“We can go to the principals together.” he continued on, “They can put a stop to this dude and put him in jail!”

Cassandra licked her lips, if Aria was still mad at her from earlier, she’d be pissed off if she realized she went to authorities with this situation, especially with Noel. 

“Noel, stop. We aren’t going to the principal. It isn’t like that.” she said, grabbing his wrist again when he angrily shook it off. 

“You’re crazy! You’re fucking fraternal sister, the girl you shared a womb with, is in danger and you won’t take initiative to help her out? What kind of person are you.” he growled.

Cassandra took a step back. Was she being a bad sister? She didn’t want to upset Aria and have the girl hate her for the rest of their lives. She wouldn’t do that to her, Aria was mature.

She just hoped she knew what she was doing. 

Tears welled up in her eyes and she frantically shook her head, “No, if you care about me, please don’t say anything to anyone. She can handle it and I’ll be by her side. Promise me.”

The bell rang and he turned around. “I have to go.”

“Noel, please. Promise me.” she begged, staring up at him with the same puppy-eyes that always worked. 

“Alright,” he sighed, “I promise.”

xxx

“Bar? You met him in a bar after we dropped Mike off for lacrosse practice?” Cassandra teased, holding hands with her sister as they wandered through the forest in search for the tree that had Alison and Ian’s name together.

“It’s not a bar, it’s a pub.” Aria corrected.

“And he hit on you?” Cassandra asked. “Yeah, we were talking about writing.” Aria replied, shivering as the wind blew past them.

“Yeah, read any good books lately?” she taunted her sister who in return gave her a warning look. “Hey, seriously.”

They continued on their walk and Cassandra spoke up, “I tell you, part of me thinks this is really self-destructive behavior but most of me just thinks it’s really hot.”

Aria scowled and slapped her sister lightly on her forearm. “Cass, don’t tease, okay? It’s not funny. It’s the opposite of funny.”

“I’m sorry.. it’s just, I don’t know how I’m supposed to react to all of this. I mean, I’m your sister and part of me feels guilty for letting this happen without me knowing.” she sighed, staring at the trees whisking from the wind.

“Yeah, neither do I.”

“Noel wanted me to talk to the principal about it, he admitted to being the culprit. I told him I would never ever do that. I’m still processing this, but I love you, Aria. You’re my sister and I could never hate you for doing something, even if it’s not the smartest.” Cassandra stated, giving her sister a small smile.

“I’ll also apologize for reading your diary… I mean, you and Hanna? I really didn’t expect that. I’m a jerk for trying to out you and her in front of Emily and Spencer.” Aria noted, realizing how cruel that was of her. 

“It’s in the past now, that happened before we went to Iceland. But thanks for not telling them. It wouldn’t make a difference anyway, she’s moved on and so have I.” Cassandra replied, ignoring the bitter taste in her mouth

“I get it, I love you, Cass.”

“I love you too, now let’s go show you this stupid tree.” Cassandra said, almost forgetting why they were in the woods in the first place. 

They stomped on the crunchy leaves and pushed passed prickly bushes and they stopped in front of a cut down tree. “You are not gonna tell me that…” Aria trailed off. 

“No, this was it. It was right here.” Cassandra denied, she purposely made sure to remember the spot in case they ever had to go back. 

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive! It’s gone…”

xxx

Emily sat in a chair, absentmindedly toying with the stuffed bear Noel brought for Hanna. “You told them?”

“Yeah.” she nodded.

“How was that?” Cassandra asked. “Rough.”

“It’s gonna be okay, Em.” Cassandra reassured, resting her hand on the back of Emily’s head. “I don’t know what it’s going to be… but it’s gonna be different.” she looked up and gave the brunette a small smile. 

“So, the whole tree?” Hanna stated, resting her hands on top of each other. “Yeah, lock, stock and bird’s nest.” she confirmed. 

“Why? Why show something like that and take it away.” Hanna shouted in frustration. “It’s like “A” has a split personality.” Spencer pointed out. 

“That’s great. Homicidal and nuts.” the only blonde hissed under her breath. “We’ve been thinking maybe we’re dealing with more than one person.” Aria announced. 

Hanna flared her nostrils, “A” and Ali’s killer are two separate people? You are freaking out the invalid.”

“No, think about it.” Cassandra said. 

The bedridden girl scoffed, “No, you think about it. I mean, aren’t we in enough trouble? I know I am, just look at me.” she rebutted. 

Aria brushed the blanket and accidentally exposed her cast, her eyes widening when she saw the little message that was left. “Han, who wrote this?”

“I don’t know. People have been in and out all day and so have I.” she closed her eyes, resting against the pillow. 

“Oh no.” Emily muttered, Cassandra and Spencer staring with their mouth wide open. “What?” What’s on there?” she asked, quickly sitting up. 

“Sorry about losing my temper. My bad. Love, A.” Cassandra read off the cast. “Who put that on my leg?” Hanna whimpered as her breathing started fluctuating. 

Spencer hopped off the bed, “Did someone come in here while you were asleep?”

“I don’t know. Just get it off. Wipe it off!” she shouted, her whole body shaking in fear as the girls went right to her side. Cassandra stood closest to her and played with her blonde hair as Aria worked on removing it. 

“Han, easy. Easy.” 

xxx

a/n: chapter update!!! i used to have a planned schedule of posting a new chapter every weekend, but my weekends have become filled with work and im trying to get past that and write as much as i can for you all! how are we feeling about this chapter? 

i thought a sisterly moment was needed between the two, i plan on having all the girls connect with cassandra in their own little way. i’m still thinking of what to do with emily and cass, but hopefully i’ll get something soon! if anyone has ideas/suggestions please let me know and shoot me a little note!

i love it when you all comment, some of them really do crack me up! please keep it up. -A