Isabel Rivers never really had a safe place to land. That was before she met queen bee Alison DiLaurentis. She was Ali's favorite. They also had four other friends. It was the perfect group.
Right until Ali went missing one summer.
And turned up...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Maybe it's time to start protecting you." -Spencer Hastings
The five of them were at Spencer's. Aria handed Hanna a pill. "Here's some aspirin."
"You want me to make you some soup?" Isabel offered, sitting up.
"Thanks, but I'm not hungry," Hanna muttered.
"You want a blanket?" Spencer asked, holding one up.
"Sure," Hanna nodded, and wrapped it around herself.
"Here's your bag," Emily sighed as she gave it to Hanna. "I think Caleb called. Your phone was making noise."
"Han? Now, I know that you might not be ready to talk about this, but sheriff said that they're gonna drag the lake first thing in the morning," Isabel said gently as Hanna stared at the flames in Spencer's fireplace.
"Lucas isn't in the lake," Hanna said firmly.
"He didn't come up to shore," Emily replied. "We waited."
"He knows how to swim, all right?" Hanna snapped. "He's out there somewhere. I can feel it."
Isabel put a comforting hand on Hanna's shoulder as Aria spoke up again."I-I still can't believe that Lucas would help 'A'."
"Why not? Jenna did the same thing with Caleb," Spencer scoffed, and Isabel shook her head at her. Too soon.
"'A' knows Lucas is close to Hanna," Emily added.
"No, I-I get it, I just... don't really see Lucas as being that violent," Aria responded.
"He can be," Hanna muttered, making the girls turn to her in confusion. "Lucas was the one who destroyed Alison's memorial. I found out the night I got out of the hospital." Isabel's mouth dropped open. Lucas?
"Why didn't you tell us?" Spencer scoffed.
"Told me to keep a secret," Hanna muttered.
"Why?" Emily frowned.
"To protect him," Isabel guessed, and Hanna nodded.
"He's been through a lot," she insisted. "Alison really tortured him."
"Maybe it's time to start protecting you," Spencer replied.
"I have a headache," Hanna said, shaking her head. She took the aspirin, and pulled out her water bottle, but then Isabel noticed there was lake water in it.
"Hanna, don't drink that!" She yelled.
"That's lake water," Aria added.
"Too late," Hanna gagged, pulling the bottle away from her lips.
"How did that get in there?" Isabel demanded.
"The bag was outside in the car," Emily frowned, and Isabel stared at her. Not an answer.
