026, it happened "that night"
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

Five Months Later...

OVER THE last five months, Aspen graduated high school and has spent most of the months with Emily.

Until the brunette decided to go away on a summer camp to help herself mourn the loss of Maya.

Which left Aspen to spend most of the early summer days with her boyfriend up in Cape May at the DiLaurentis beach house.

Catching up with Jessica to spending time tanning on the beach and candlelight dinners that end up tangled in the sheets with Jason.

Now back in Rosewood dreading the feeling of the town and the nightmare locked away in Radley Sanitarium.

Aspen and the other four girls spend time together in the Hastings household going over the memories they made over the summer with their boyfriends and pouring alcoholic beverages while the thunderstorm crackles through the night-sky.

Hanna giggles while sitting beside Aspen on the sofa, "Em, you and I are the only ones who did anything worth talking about this summer. Aria took some boring picture class and Spencer went to college." Hanna voices.

"My summer was super relaxing actually Han. Spent most of the time by the pool or doing something not worth repeating." Aspen chuckles.

"Yeah. Thanks for the lack of the details. I don't need to explanation of you having sex with my brother." Spencer complains with a shudder seeing Hanna smirking at Aspen.

"I so do! Tell me about it later?" Hanna wonders hearing Aspen laugh but nod agreeing with the blonde beside her.

"I took a full load at Hollis... and Aria beat out a thousands applicants for a space in that photography class." Spencer voices.

Aria sits beside them with a drink in her hand and a new look since she decided to change her hair up a little bit by cutting the length into a cute little shoulder bob.

"So, how many houses did you build?" Aspen quizzes looking at her cousin curiously.

"Uh. I think we finished about six." Emily slurs since she's been doing her drinks since arriving at Spencer's house.

"And in poor countries... one house is like a home for fifty." Hanna explains looking in-between the others.

"Okay, Miss Productive. How much of your list did you actually do?" Spencer questions genuinely wanting to know.

"Let's see," Hanna responds picking up the list from her bag, "Cooking class with Caleb, done. Volunteer at the Animal Shelter for pocket dogs." Hanna voices shocking the others.

"Wait. That exists?" Spencer asks surprised, "Did not do. Expand my vocabulary... effectuating. Intern for Vera Wang." Hanna states ticking off the things on the 'to do list' of hers.

"You got an internship at Vera Wang?" Emily wonders, "Yeah. I changed my mind. Turns out they want you to work for free." Hanna grimaces not happy with that.

Aspen and Spencer chuckle listening to their blonde friend's rambles while a distant noise is heard coming from the front of Spencer's house.

"Was that a car?" Aria asks alarmed, "No. It's just the wind." Aspen voices comforting her friend noticing Emily pouring some more alcohol in her glass.

"Oh. Careful, Em. They're already pretty strong." Aria mumbles also noticing the Fields girl pouring more alcohol.

"Maybe for you. You're a pixie. I've gotten really good at this." Emily responds with a slur to her voice holding up the flask.

The five girls share a look when all of their phones chime with incoming text messages.

""Show me your boobs — A"" Spencer reads aloud while the others roll their eyes in annoyance.

"Does Mona have a ten-year-old brother?" Aria mutters, "A for annoying." Emily scoffs.

"Are these ever gonna stop?" Hanna wonders lowly since the five of them have been receiving annoying messages all summer.

"Eventually we'll be old news." Spencer responds, "Yeah. And then Garrett will go on trial and we'll be news again or Mona will start talking and we'll be news again." Aria says facing Aspen and Spencer.

"Or I'll show someone my boobs and we'll be news again." Emily exclaims shocking the rest of them who laugh.

"Okay!" Spencer responds leaning forwards to grab the flask from the drunk girl.

"Hey, I thought this was a party!" Emily shouts motioning for the flask again.

"You know what? You're right, Em. Welcome back." Aspen says handing her cousin the flask back while holding her glass in the air in a cheers motion in which the others copy holding theirs in the air also.

"And you're never allowed to leave for an entire summer again. That goes for you as well Spenny." Aria states looking between the cousins.

"To making it to senior year and Aspen's new job opportunity!" Spencer shouts in celebration, "Hear!" Aria, Aspen and Hanna respond hitting their glasses together with smiles.

"Not all of us made it." Emily responds sadly thinking about Maya's death in which Aspen gets off the sofa and sits beside her mourning cousin grabbing onto her hand gently comforting her.

"I'm sorry, Em. I didn't mean it like that." Spencer mumbles guiltily, Emily sighs sending Aspen a genuine soft smile thankful for her comforting her.

"To Maya." Emily responds holding her glass in the air in a cheers motion for someone who died way too soon.

"Em, you know that we're here for you." Hanna states rubbing circles on Emily's leg while Aspen lays her head on Emily's shoulder.

"To Maya." all four of them says smacking their glasses together for the loss of Emily's first love.

After a while of a little more drinking and laughs shared with close friends.

Aspen flinches awake hearing thunder crash outside noticing Aria groaning from waking up as well.

Aspen sits up straight noticing Spencer and Emily's absence from the living room, "Hanna!" Aria and Aspen exclaim shaking the short haired blonde awake.

Hanna groans in response before looking around also seeing the lack of Spencer and Emily beside them, "Where's Emily and Spencer?" Hanna questions tiredly.

"We don't know." Aria responds while Hanna holds onto her head due to the intake of alcohol earlier.

"I need an aspirin and a trough of water." Hanna grimaces with a pounding headache while Aspen smirks knowing she drank less the others.

"Emily?" Aria calls out standing infront of the open side door, "She's gone." Spencer voices from the staircase worriedly.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Aspen questions alarmed feeling deja-vu from Alison's disappearance.

"I've looked everywhere." Spencer responds while Hanna picks up her phone and dials Emily's number immediately.

After a few dial tones Emily answers distressed mumbling something about Ali's grave and to get there as soon as possible.

In which the four girls rush out towards Aspen's vehicle driving to the graveyard seeing Emily stood over Alison's empty grave, "What the hell." Aspen gasps horrified at the sight.

Aspen helps Emily lean against a near headstone since her cousin is still under the influence of alcohol.

"How could she not remember anything?" Aria asks facing Spencer while Hanna stands beside Aspen.

"She's totally out of it. She's still drunk." Spencer whispers not wanting to update Emily more than she is, "You don't think that she had anything to do with this... do you?" Aria wonders.

"No! She— she can hardly stand." Spencer mutters, "How did she get here?" Aria wonders, "Spenny, hand me Em's phone." Spencer suggests.

Aspen gives Spencer Emily's phone which the brunette goes through the call log.

"Em, you got a blocked call at eleven. Who was it? Do you remember who you talked to?" Spencer questions softly.

"Um. I think I remember leaving your house. And the next thing I know you guys are calling me and I'm here." Emily drunkly slurs still out of it.

"What? That can't be right." Spencer mumbles with a frown seeing something on Emily's phone.

"What is it?" Aria responds, "It says that at midnight she got a call from my phone." Spencer responds.

"You were asleep, right?" Aria quizzes seeing Spencer looking through her own phone with a surprised look.

"Oh. My god! Somebody called Emily from my phone. Somebody was in my house. You guys... this is a set-up." Spencer utters looking at Aspen and the others shocked hearing a twig snapping near them.

"What was that?" Hanna asks panicked, "We need to get out of here. Now." Spencer demands picking up the shovel.

Handing it to Hanna and Aria suggesting for them to go and bury it somewhere while herself and Aspen get Emily back to hers to form a plan.

✹

ASPEN HELPS Emily back inside the Hastings household quickly coming up with the plan.

For Emily to get out of her clothes and to burn the evidence, while Spencer makes the three of them cups of coffee.

"Everything?" Emily questions, "Everything." Aspen responds before Spencer.

"The only person who benefits from a missing body is Ali's killer." Spencer voices, "He killed Maya, too." Emily mumbles slightly sober then earlier.

"I know, Em. And Garrett's gonna rot in hell for it." Aspen softly says standing beside Emily so she can lean against her for balance.

"Jenna wouldn't help Garrett. She put him in jail." Spencer mumbles walking towards the cousins and handing Aspen a cup of coffee and placing Emily's on the coffee table.

"What about your sister?" Emily questions, "She's in Philadelphia... and as far as we know. The only thing she's guilty of is being in Ali's room the night that she died. There has to be someone else. Someone we don't know who's connected to Garrett." Spencer states throwing Emily's clothes into the fireplace.

Emily sighs exhausted looking at her clothes burning in the fire before looking between Aspen and Spencer guiltily.

Eventually Hanna and Aria walk into Spencer's house through the backdoor seeing Spencer writing a note for her parents and Aspen and Emily standing in front of the fire.

"What's going on?" Aria questions, "We're leaving. We're going to the lake house... and when my mom reads this note. She'll think that we've been up there since this afternoon." Spencer explains looking at Aria and Hanna.

"Come on. Let's go." Aspen suggests facing the others, "Em?" Spencer voices facing the brunette who nods.

The five of them walk out of the house towards Spencer's car agreeing that Spencer should drive since it's her lake-house.

None of the girls slept through the night waiting patiently for texts to come through from A or another person sitting in the living room gasping as the phone starts ringing.

"Hello?" Spencer greets sighing inaudibly hearing her mother's voice on the other line.

"Were there... any witnesses?" Spencer mumbles sadly after a while of silence Spencer responds.

"No. Mom, I— I understand. Okay, bye." said girl says hanging up the phone and facing the girls who sitting straight awaiting for what Spencer has to say.

"The caretaker called it in this morning. The place is crawling with reporters. But the police don't have any leads." Spencer explains.

"So we're okay. Nobody saw us?" Aria exhales, "Yeah." Spencer confirms.

"I'm so sorry, guys. This is all my fault." Emily mumbles, "No one's blaming you." Aspen states looking at her cousin.

"Yeah, Em. Somebody took you there to make it look like you dug up Ali's body." Spencer voices taking a seat on the same couch she was sitting on before.

"And I made it so easy. If I wasn't so wasted." Emily says sadly, "Em, last night never happened." Hanna states strongly.

"Are we sure about that? We can still go to the cops. We can tell them the truth?" Aria suggests looking at everyone cuddled together.

"We don't even know what the truth is." Aspen responds with a sigh, "Okay. We got up here yesterday afternoon. We roasted some marshmallows. We talked about how much fun senior year and Aspen new job is gonna be... and— we went to bed early." Spencer voices.

"Em?" Aspen mumbles looking at her cousin, "I understand. Last night never happened." Emily repeats with a firm nod.

✹

ASPEN GASPS awake startled looking around her apartment before feeling hands gently running through her hair looking up seeing Jason looking down at her worried.

"You okay?" Jason wonders, "Just a nightmare." Aspen explains getting up and walking towards her kitchen.

Patting Bowie on his head and grabbing a glass from her cupboard pouring a cold glass of mineral water and sipping on it, "I thought the nightmares stopped?" Jason quizzes with a concerned glance.

"I guess they started again." Aspen replies lowly knowing how much her nightmares worried him during the summer since she woke him up half of the time with her screams of terror.

"Hey. You're safe here with me and Bowie, Asp." Jason says walking towards the blonde leaning against her kitchen counter feeling Jason's arm wrapping around her tightly.

"I'll always protect you and there's no more A. You were far away from this mess last night." Jason voices hearing Aspen suck in a breath at the mention of his sisters missing remains and A.

While they were spending time together in Cape May, Aspen decided since he knew about some stuff thanks to Toby— she would tell him everything about A and the miscarriage and poisoning Mona did to her.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here Jase. I can't imagine how hard this is for you either." Aspen says wrapping her around Jason's torso and placing her head on his chest seeming as she's shorter than the male.

"Thank goodness... you stayed at Spencer's lake house. And please don't apologise baby." Jason responds kissing her head and looking at the paper that had an article about Ali's missing remains.

"Apparently Maya found some things that belonged to Alison after she gave me everything." Jason explains picking up the paper and looking down seeing Aspen watching him carefully.

"They think she may have kept something. Something that connected Garrett to Ali's murder." Jason mumbles with a frown.

"But I thought she would've told Emily," Aspen responds bringing Jason in for another tight hug knowing the loss of his sister hit him hard even though they didn't get along at most times.

"I love you." Aspen mumbles looking up at Jason again who smiles down at her nodding at her.

"I love you." Jason responds leaning down to kiss her romantically hearing Aspen's breath hitch at the contact before the kiss turns passionate.

✹

ASPEN SPENDS most of her morning with Jason snuggled together on her— their sofa since the male mainly stays with her at her apartment.

"Hey Spence. You okay?" Aspen questions answering her new iPhone looking at Jason looking at her overhearing Spencer's name.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Did you wanna catch a movie or something?" Spencer wonders, "Sure. Pick me up in ten?" Aspen quizzes.

"Okay deal." Spencer confirms ending the phone call, "Movies with Spencer?" Jason inquires looking over at Aspen.

"Yeah. Girls afternoon." Aspen responds with a hum feeling a hand rubbing circles on her thigh.

"Jason, I have to be gone in fifteen minutes. No teasing." Aspen demands feeling his hand moving inches closer to where she knows she'll eventually end up craving him.

"Sorry. Sorry." Jason chuckles holding his hands up in surrender hearing Aspen's phone chime with a text message, "Spence is downstairs. See you later?" Aspen pouts.

"Of course, darling." Jason hums pecking the blondes lips before she leaves the apartment meeting Spencer downstairs in the parking lot for a girls afternoon.

"Sorry if I was pulling you away from Jason." Spencer mumbles focusing on the road ahead of her.

"No problem Spence. You and the girls always come first." Aspen states firmly while Spencer parks her car and the two walk into the mall towards the cinema to watch a movie together.

✹

SPENCER DROPS Aspen back at her apartment once the movie finishes quickly driving off after stating that Toby was at hers showering due to the plumbing being off at his loft.

"Oh. You're still here? I thought you would've been at work." Aspen voices climbing onto the sofa sitting beside Jason.

"Nope. No work today. Mom and dad... mainly mom's been messaging me making sure I'm okay heartbroken over Ali's remains going missing." Jason explains.

Looking up from his laptop at his gorgeous girlfriend leaning her head back on the couch tiredly running her fingertips along her skull before feeling a shift beside her and large hands taking hers away from her skull being replaced.

Aspen sighs in automatic pleasure feeling the soft and gentle touches from her boyfriend's hands, "How was the movie?" Jason quizzes still massaging Aspen's head who sighs.

"It was good. Nearly fell asleep. I'm so tired." Aspen mumbles with a yawn being pulled into Jason's hard chest.

"Then sleep. I'm here and not going anywhere." Jason suggests noticing the sunset outside.

Before looking down at Aspen who has her eyes closed with soft breathing coming from her nose signalling she's fallen asleep.

✹

THE NEXT day Aspen sits in the classroom looking over some of the designs her classmates have given her before noticing the girls standing outside the classroom waiting for her.

"Hi! I'm here sorry... sorry." Aspen rambles placing the fashion designs back in Mrs Lockman's drawer.

"How was your first day at your future?" Spencer smiles, "It was good. Just feels like I never graduated being here." Aspen shrugs standing in the line of the cafeteria.

"Even if I say his name we get sucked into this vortex of awkwardness and my dad pretends like he can't hear. But his neck gets all red and then his face pinches up like he's constipated." Aria mutters reading the menu in her hands.

"So basically Ezra is like Lord Voldemort." Spencer states while Hanna joins them standing beside Aspen, "Hey." Hanna smiles.

"Hey." Aspen, Aria and Spencer simultaneously say, "Hi, Lucas." Spencer voices seeing the male walking close to them sending them a look before walking away.

"He knows something." Aspen voices suspicious of the male's behaviour, "I thought you said he didn't see you guys." Spencer states.

"He didn't." Hanna responds, "It's no coincidence that he turned dark after the masquerade ball." Aria mutters.

"Jenna and her sister have that effect on people." Aspen shrugs, "Yeah. But she's been gone all summer... and he's still Boo Radley." Aria voices.

"Have you ever noticed how many skinny brunettes go to this school?" Hanna suggests looking at the brunette Lucas is talking too.

"She fits the costume." Aria responds, "Has anybody heard from Emily?" Spencer wonders, "No. I left her a bunch of messages." Hanna says.

"Yeah, me too. Hope she's okay." Aria responds not noticing Emily looking at them through the window in the courtyard sadly and with guilt laced in her gut.

Aspen walks around the school smiling at people who smile at her seeing Noel walking towards her with a massive smile on his face.

"Aspen, how are you?" Noel questions knowing about Aspen's concussion and injuries months ago.

"I'm fine." Aspen responds with a confused frown, "That's good." Noel nods walking away from the blonde who looks at him even more confused.

Before walking towards the classroom she knows her boyfriend is working with some students smiling at him quietly placing a water bottle down since he forgot one this morning.

Aspen doesn't stick around inside the classroom with Jason since Aria set her and the others an SOS message stating she's in the bathroom and needs them as soon as possible.

"Aria, are you okay?" Aspen exclaims rushing into the bathroom seeing Aria breathing heavily sitting beside the sinks, "I had a panic attack. Guys... I think I saw A." Aria shakily responds.

"No. You didn't, okay? Mona is in a straight jacket at Radley." Spencer voices, "Yeah. I-I heard that's she's practicaly in a coma over there." Hanna states while Aspen and Spencer help Aria off the floor.

"Or that girl interrupted thing could just be an act to keep her out of jail. I mean... you know what she's capable of. We all do." Aria rambles with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah. But she can't hurt us anymore, okay? Bitch crazy." Spencer replies.

"Take a deep breath with me. Come on... in and out." Aspen demands doing the usual breathing exercises Jason does with her when she has anxiety and panic attacks.

"Don't worry, Aria. Someday we will all have jubilation." Hanna says softly, Aspen, Spencer and Aria all laugh.

"That was a really good use of that word, Han." Spencer voices with a smile while Aspen still comforts Aria by rubbing her back and hugging her which the others join in with immediately.

✹

THAT AFTERNOON Aspen spends most of her time with Jason and designing sketches for Mrs Lockman to hand in for a future assessment wanting to keep the good work up with said woman.

Hearing a knock on her apartment door she sees the deputies waiting for her on the outside.

"Miss Harley-Fields... please come with us to the station for questioning." the female deputy demands.

"Of course. Just let grab my bag?" Aspen motions to her bag sitting on the counter which the deputy nods for the blonde to get.

Luckily for her Bowie is with Jason for the night since Aspen needed some time for her sketches.

"We went to Spencer's lake house. We made a fire and Emily showed us pictures from the trip. We spent the evening catching up since half of the group was away over the summer, me included. It was a pretty low-key night." Aspen explains seeing the police nodding and writing things in the little notepad.

After being questioned for what felt like forever, Aspen and the others minus Emily walk out of the police station.

Aspen exhales seeing Jason waiting for her by his car with Bowie sitting beside him on his leach.

"You didn't have to come down here." Aspen voices hugging him, "Of course I did. What did they say?" Jason asks annoyed feeling like the girls are being dragged into all of this again.

"Yeah just routine follow up. Let's go?" Aspen answers, "Yeah." Jason nods motioning to the passenger seat which Aspen smiles and gets into Jason's vehicle.

The couple drive off to the apartment to rest for the night and sleep off some the stress since Aspen has the girls day tomorrow where they lounge around in their bikini's all day and take in the summer heat.

The next day the girls except Emily walk into Spencer's house through the side door all wearing bikini's.

"I'll try one more time." Hanna states dialling Emily's number, "Why wasn't she at the police station? Do you think she told 'em the truth?" Aria questions.

"If she told 'em the truth... we wouldn't be standing here." Aspen responds hearing a knock on the back door and a phone ringing.

"Em, that was me calling you. Where have you been?" Hanna quizzes letting Emily inside the Hastings household.

"It's okay. If you told them the truth... we'll figure something out." Aria voices.

"No. I would never do that to you guys." Emily responds with a shake of her head.

"They called all four of us into the station. Where were you? We were so worried." Spencer inquires.

"I didn't have my phone with me yesterday and when I got home last night. The cops were waiting for me. But I told them everything that we agreed on. Everything." Emily responds stressed.

"Then why are you so upset?" Aspen sympathetically asks, "Because if it wasn't for me. We wouldn't be at the wrong place at the wrong time... and it could haunt us forever." Emily responds looking from her cousin to the others.

"Em. It's fine, okay? We've dealt with it." Hanna voices, "I saw you guys at school yesterday... and all I could think about was because of me." Emily mumbles.

"Because of you, nothing. Okay? Nobody saw us. And if we just stick to our story. We are in the clear." Spencer interjects.

"I remembered something. About that night." Emily voices telling the four of them about being in a car and the sunroof opening and someone wearing a red-coat.

"That's it? That's all you remember?" Hanna voices, "I found out online that some people forget things because they don't want to remember and if this is selective. Then anything can trigger it. Sights, smells, sounds." Emily replies tearfully.

"So the car that you saw... it just looked like the car from that night, or it was the car?" Aspen questions.

"I don't know. I started to talk towards it because I wanted to look inside. But— I got a text. And the person that sent it to me knows I don't remember what happened." Emily explains handing Spencer her phone.

"'I bet you remember me.'" Spencer reads off Emily's phone in confusion, "Guys. Is it starting again?" Aria questions anxiously.

"No. You guys... that's not A. Mona is A... and she's drooling in her bed at a nut hospital." Hanna snaps.

"We don't know that for sure." Aspen responds with a shrug, "Yeah. We do. I've been visiting her." Hanna reveals shocking the others.

"What?" Aspen, Aria, Spencer and Emily simultaneously shriek, "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd think I'm crazy." Hanna says.

"Yeah." Spencer exclaims, "She tried to kill you, Hanna along with  me. Remember the poisoning and me losing my unborn child?" Aspen responds stunned.

"She's locked up in a room with bars over her windows. Trust me. She doesn't know anything that happened that night." Hanna states firmly.

"Yeah. Well, someone does." Emily mutters while Spencer inhales, "There's something I need to show you guys. Come on." Spencer demands grabbing her keys.

Driving the five of them to the Lost Woods where Aspen inhale and exhales at the sight being lead into the room where her nightmares start from.

"Ali's shrine is right over there. And then over here she had a row of black hoodies all just perfectly hanging. Ready for A to grab one and run." Spencer voices explaining the layout of the room.

"Mona. Ready for Mona." Hanna interrupts loudly, "Yeah and there was a zombie costume hanging on the back of that door. Just like the one that attacked Ali on Halloween." Spencer explains knowing Aspen wasn't there for that prank being too busy with her boyfriend in the parties bathroom.

"Okay. So you've been coming here all summer trying to remember what was in this room... why?" Emily asks confused.

"We have to tell Emily the truth." Spencer says looking between the other three, "The morning after they found Maya's body. We came back here." Hanna explains.

"Yeah. To get rid of everything. I know. Aspen and you told me." Emily shrugs, "We lied to you." Aria mumbles.

"We didn't want it to be another thing you had to worry about. When we came back here... it was empty. The file cabinets, the maps, pictures, Ali's diaries. Everything was gone." Aspen explains softly knowing this could upset her cousin.

"Maybe the police took it?" Emily voices with a suggestion, "If the police found out what Mona knows about us. My mom would be in jail." Hanna responds.

"Yeah. Ezra too." Aria mutters, "So who took it?" Emily wonders confused.

"There are things that don't really add up. Like Mona was with you when A gave Emily that massage and there's no way that she could have gotten Ian's body out of the bell tower by herself." Spencer explains strongly.

"Wait. You're saying that you think someone was helping her?" Aria quizzes while Aspen clicks on the laptop screen Spencer motioned towards facing the screen towards the others.

"If the black swan wasn't guilty of something... why would she run from you guys?" Spencer questions with a shrug.

Aspen flinches hearing the distant car alarm of Spencer's vehicle outside looking at the others.

Following behind a confused and scared Spencer who clicks the button on her keys stopping the car alarm blaring seeing the trunk of the car open.

Photographs lather over the seats of the whole car of them at Alison's gravesite looking over her empty grave setting them up to look like they took their friends body.

MONA PLAYED WITH DOLLS,
I PLAY WITH BODY PARTS.
GAME ON BITCHES.
— A

All five of them read from their phones before looking around anxiously sensing the texts and threats have restarted making them paranoid every second.

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

𝖊𝖑𝖘 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖘 ⛧
season three baby!

PLEASE DON'T
BE A SILENT READER!

VOTE AND
COMMENT

socials:
tt: hellfiresoulss
pin: hellfiresoulss
insta: hellfire.soulss