Emily’s stomach flipped. Jenna Cavanaugh. The girl Emily and her friends had accidentally blinded in sixth grade. The girl who’d told Aria, just over two months ago, that Ali had troubling “sibling” problems with her brother, Jason, problems Emily didn’t even want to think about.
She jumped up from the table. “Let’s go,” she blurted out, averting her eyes from the TV.
Isaac stood too, looking concerned. “I’ll have them turn the TV off.”
Emily shook her head. “I want to leave.”
“Okay, okay,” Isaac said gently, pulling out a few limp bills and setting them on his coffee cup. Emily staggered for the front door. When she reached the little area by the hostess stand, she felt Isaac’s hand close over hers.
“I’m sorry,” she said guiltily, her eyes filling with tears. “You didn’t even get to eat your sandwich.”
Isaac touched her arm. “Don’t worry about it. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”
Emily leaned her head into his shoulder. Whenever she shut her eyes, she pictured Ian’s prone and swollen body. She’d never seen a dead person before, not at a funeral, not in a hospital bed, and certainly not in the woods, murdered. She wished she could delete the memory with the press of a button, as easily as trashing unwanted spam from her e-mail inbox. Being with Isaac was the only thing that took some of her pain and fear away.
“I bet you didn’t bargain for this when you asked me to be your girlfriend, huh?” she mumbled.
“Please,” Isaac said softly, kissing her forehead. “I’d help you through anything.”
The coffeemaker at the counter burbled. Outside the window, a grumbling snowplow barreled down the street. For the millionth time, Emily thought about how lucky she was to have found someone as wonderful as Isaac. He had accepted her even after she told him that she’d fallen in love with Ali in seventh grade, and then with Maya St. Germain this fall. He’d patiently listened when she explained how her family struggled with her sexuality, sending her to Tree Tops, a g*y-away program. He’d held her hand when she told him that she still thought about Ali constantly, even though Ali had kept a lot of secrets from them. And now he was helping her through this.
It was growing dark outside, and the air smelled like the diner’s scrambled eggs and coffee. They walked hand in hand to Emily’s mom’s Volvo station wagon, which was parallel-parked at the curb. Big drifts of snow were piled on the sidewalk, and a couple of kids were sledding down a tiny hill behind the vacant lot across the street.
As they reached the car, a person wearing a heavy gray jacket with the furry hood tight over his head barreled toward them. His eyes blazed. “Is this your car?” He pointed at the Volvo.
Emily stopped, startled. “Y-yeah…”
“Look what you did!” The guy stomped through the snow and pointed at a BMW parked in front of the Volvo. There was a ding right under the license plate. “You parked here after me,” the guy growled. “Did you even look before you pulled in?”
“I-I’m sorry,” Emily stammered. She couldn’t recall bumping anything when she parked, but she had been in a daze all day.
Isaac faced the guy. “It might have been there before. Maybe you just didn’t notice it.”
“It wasn’t,” the guy sneered. As he staggered closer to them, his hood fell off. He had tousled blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and a familiar, heart-shaped face. Emily sucked in her stomach. It was Ali’s brother, Jason DiLaurentis.
She waited, sure Jason would recognize her too—Emily had been at Ali’s house practically every day in sixth and seventh grade, and Jason had also just seen her at Ian’s trial on Friday. But Jason’s face was red, and his eyes weren’t looking directly at anything; it seemed like he had worked himself into an enraged trance. Emily sniffed the air in front of him, wondering if he was drunk. But she couldn’t smell alcohol on his breath.
“Are you guys even old enough to drive?” Jason roared. He took another threatening step toward Emily.
Isaac stepped between them, shielding Emily from him. “Whoa. You don’t need to yell.”
Jason’s nostrils flared. He clenched his fists, and for a moment, Emily thought he was going to throw a punch. Then, a couple stepped out of the diner onto the street, and Jason turned his head. He let out a frustrated groan, smacked the trunk of his car hard, wheeled around, and climbed into the driver’s seat. The BMW growled to life, and Jason peeled away into traffic, cutting off an oncoming car. Horns honked. Tires squealed. Emily watched the taillights disappear around a corner, her hands pressed to the sides of her face.
Isaac faced Emily. “Are you okay?”
Emily nodded mutely, too stunned to speak.
“What was his deal? It was hardly a dent. I don’t even remember you bumping him.”
Emily swallowed hard. “That was Alison DiLaurentis’s brother.” Just saying the words out loud made her burst into scared, troubled tears. Isaac hesitated for a moment, and then he wrapped his arms around Emily, holding her close.
“Shhh,” he whispered. “Let’s get you in the car. I’ll drive.”
Emily handed him the keys and got into the passenger seat. Isaac pulled out of the spot and started down the road. Tears rolled down Emily’s cheeks faster and faster. She wasn’t even sure what she was crying about—Jason’s odd outburst, yes, but also just seeing Jason in front of her. He looked so startlingly like Ali.