thirty. save the date

chapter thirty
save the date
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The two were interrupted when Josie's phone had gone off. "Ignore it," Richie said, kissing Josie still, making her laugh softly and kissed him back when her phone went off again, Josie groaned in annoyance before pulling away from Richei and checked her phone

Spencer Hastings
Me and the girls are outside
We have some big news.

Josie sighed before turning to face Richie who sighed as well. "I'm sorry," she said sadly as he nodded. "I get it, you girls are getting closer to finding who killed Alison." he said. "We'll talk tomorrow, i promise, okay," she said as the two of them walked out of her room, him going out through her back door and her going outside to meet the girls. "Hey," he said, before he walked out, making her turn around. "I-I." he cut himself off, not knowing how to say it but Josie smiled softly. "I love you too Rich," she said before walking out her front door leaving a blushing Richie.

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It didn't take long for the girls to pick up Josie, and they also had to pick up Emily from her house. She had gotten a call from the people in the house that they needed help. "Just the two of you? Sitting in Garrett's car?" Josie asked from the middle seat as she and Hanna leaned forward to hear the conversation. "I didn't know where else to meet him. it wasn't like i could ask him that stuff down at the precinct." Spencer said, defending herself. "How did you get away from him?" Aria asked her from the passenger seat. "When you sent me that text, I told him it was from my mom. she wanted me home asap." Spencer replied shakily, making Josie frown at Spencer's shaking body. "Am I still shaking? I'm still shaking." Spencer said, holding out her shaking hands before Hanna scoffed. "Yeah, we're all shaking, can you turn on the heat? you could make a slushy back here." she said, making Josie shake her head.

"Guys, why would Jenna give him that lantern?" Aria asked, causing Josie to shrug her shoulders. "You don't know that she gave it to him." Hanna said the girls look at her. "What do you think, he bought it at the blind artists' crafts fair?" Spencer said, causing Josie to snicker. "Of course she gave it to him. The question is, when did they become buddies? and why?" she asked as Hanna sighed. "Spencer, they grew up across the street from each other. parents still live in that house. Maybe he's just bringing raw meat to Jenna's cat." she said, making Josie shake her head. "Toby lives there, too, and they don't have a cat." Spencer said with furrowed brows.

"Then maybe he was bringing over raw meat for jenna." Hanna said as Josie looked outside seeing Emily walking out of the house. "Em's back," she said as she moved over, making sure Emily had enough room. "Who's living in her house now?" Spencer asked Hanna. "Some losers who can't figure out the alarm system." Hanna answered. "They've tripped it like three times. the security company keeps calling her mom in texas," she added before Emily got back into the car, 

"Everything okay?" Spencer asked as she looked back at Emily. "Yeah, it's fine. it's just so weird to walk in there and see other people's stuff." Emily explained. "Why don't you tell them to lay off the alarm for a couple of days?" Josie asked softly. "I'm guessing they don't feel safe. Well, they will now. I'm sure Aria's parents are gonna have Mike on lockdown till he turns 18." Hanna said without any sensitivity, making Josie facepalm.

"You did not just say that, Han." Aria said in disbelief. "What? I'm not judging." Hanna said, looking at her friends before continuing. "I'm just guessing that your little brother will find another hobby besides breaking and entering." Hanna said, causing the girls to sigh. "You're still talking Han," Josie reminded her as she gave Hanna a pointed look. "Guys, look, I don't know what's going on with my brother. if i knew, you would know." Aria said, sounding so defeated, making Josie leaned forward and gave her friend's shoulder a gentle squeeze, letting her know that she was there for her, and Aria appreciated it.

They were silent before Spencer noticed something across the street. "Emily?" Spencer said, gaining her and the girls attention as they watched a car pull up to the Cavanaugh house. "isn't that Garrett's car?" she asked. "I think it is." Emily said as Josie frowned in confusion. "Where do you think he's going?" she asked. "To his parents I guess." Emily said as they watched Garrett get out of his car, they ducked in case he saw but they saw him walk up the front door of the Cavanaugh house.

"Oh, my god. He's going into Jenna's house." Aria said as Josie turned to Spencer. "Is Toby home?" she asked and Spencer shook her head. "No, he went to go get his parents from the airport, and I thought he said Jenna went with him." she answered as they watched Garrett walk inside the house. "He's going inside. He just walked in." Emily said, narrating as they watched the door shut and the girls wasted now time in getting out of the car, walking towards the Cavanaugh house, it was hard being silent when all they could hear was Hanna's heels clicking on the floor.

"Can you please walk softer Han?" Josie asked as she looked at her as Hanna scoffed lightly. "Please, Jenna can't hear us. She's blind." she said, making Josie gape and look at her. "You...." she trailed off but Hanna spoke before Josie could complete her sentence. "you know what i mean." she said before the girls walked around the side of the Cavanaugh house, stopping at a window when suddenly the light in the room turned off, showing Jenna. She took her glasses and robe off, showing off the lingerie she was in, the one they had seen her try on a few weeks back, making them gasp softly but they were even more shocked when Garrett walked up behind her and they started to make out, making the girls gasp again. "I think I'm going to be sick." Josie whispered as she shook her head.

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Josie was putting books in her locker before she was going to get home, hoping to talk to her mother about her half-brother, to see if she had any information when Richie had come up to her in the hallway. "Hey," he said timidly, causing Josie to turn to him with a smile. "Hi." she replied softly as she shut her locker and leaned against it. "So..." he trailed off. "We kissed." he said bluntly, making Josie nod. "We did." she said before sighing. "Do you regret it?" she asked as she looked up at him, since he was taller than she was. Richie shook his head and stepped towards her. "Not for a second." he said, making her smile as she stood on her tippy toes before kissing lightly before pulling away, making him smile just before Richie got a text, making him pull his phone out of his pocket, the message making him frown. "What's wrong?" Josie asked, noticing Richie's sudden mood change. Richie sighed as he gave her his phone.

Momma
Hun, please let Josie know that her friend, Emily, had been brought into the hospital.

Josie shakily handed his phone back to him before pulling her phone out, sending a mass text to Hanna, Aria and Spencer, letting them know what happened, if they didn't already. "I can drive you there," Richie offered before Josie shook her head. "No, no it's fine. I've got my car in the carpark." she said before sighing. "I'll call you, okay." she said and Richie nodded before she kissed him once before she ran out of the school.

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"Aren't ulcers something old people get?" Hanna asked as she, Spencer and Josie walked towards an elevator to go see Emily, who had been cleaned to have visitors. "Get that look off your face. you're gonna freak her out." Spencer scolded Hanna, seeing the grimace on her face. "Her? What about me? I'm having deja vu. I spent a week in this place. if i see another bowl of green jello, i'm gonna puke on your shoes." Hanna shot back as they waited for an elevator, causing Spencer and Josie to move away from her. "oh, god. We're gonna walk behind you." Josie said with a grimace as Spencer nodded in agreement as Hanna's phone rings. "Is that aria?" Josie asked as she looked at Hanna.

"Caleb. I'll just call him back later." she answered dismissively, causing the other two girls to share a look. "What's going on?" Spencer asked as the elevator dings, causing the girls to get distracted for a moment before stepping inside the elevator. "Han, are you and caleb..." Josie trailed off. "We're fine. there's just stuff going on." Hanna said, making the girls frown. "like what?" Spencer asked. "like an undercover cop in a car following him." Hanna admitted making the girls shocked. "Why?" Josie asked as Hanna sighed. "I don't wanna talk about it." Hanna said, making Josie frown lightly. "You have to. you're in an elevator, where else are you gonna go?" Spencer asked rhetorically as she faced Hanna.

"Does he know about the cop?" she asked as Hanna shook her head. "No. I haven't told him." Hanna said. "Why not Han?" Josie asked as crossed her arms over her chest. "Because I'm still thinking things through." Hanna answered, defending her choice to not tell Caleb. "What is there to think through?" Spencer asked softly. "If I tell him, he might run, okay? I'm not ready to lose him again." Hanna admitted sadly. "Yeah, and if the cops are really after him, you're gonna lose him anyway." Spencer said, making Hanna sigh.

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"So all those muscle spasms and the pain....that's all coming from your stomach?" Hanna asked as she and Josie sat at the end of Emily's bed. "Ulcers can heal Em, you'll be fine." Josie said, trying to comfort her friends as she gave her a soft smile. "Yeah, but she's got like a hole–" Hanna started but Spencer cut her off. "Yes, there's a hole in her stomach. moving on." she said to Hanna then turned to Emily. "Where'd your dad go?" she asked. "He went to the house to talk to the new tenants." Emily answered before she sighed. "guys, i have to deal with this, i can't keep lying to him." she admitted with a frown.

"I guess not, not if it's eating holes in your stomach." Hanna said, making Josie sigh in frustration. "Moving on!" she said loudly as she gave Hanna a pointed look as Aria walked into the room with two to-go cups in her hands. "Hey, I'm sorry. I got here as soon as I could. I had to escape family court in my living room." she said as she let out a breath. "Mike's on trial?" Josie asked softly as she looked up to Aria. "Yeah, but the defendant didn't even show up." she said as she managed to sit next to Hanna on the bed before turning to Emily, with a smile, holding out a to-go cup. "I got your fav." she said, causing Emily to sigh and turn to Spencer. "oh, she can't drink coffee." Spencer said, making Aria frown. "Yeah, she's got a hole in her stomach." Hanna said, trying to whisper, making Josie look at her. "Han." she scolded.

"I'll trade it in for an herbal tea," Spencer offered as she stood up. "Unless you want us all here when your dad gets back." she added. "She's not telling her dad." Hanna said, making the girls look at her. "If he finds out that the letter is fake, he's gonna move her to texas." she continued.  "if she doesn't tell him, she's not gonna get any better." Spencer snapped back, making Aria cut in between them.  "But she doesn't have to make up her mind right this second, okay?" she said, hoping to ease the tension. "she already has." Emily said, getting their attention. "I'm telling him the truth." Emily decided, causing the girls to share a look as Josie sighed.

She knew the girls needed something to cheer them up, so she cleared her throat. "Richie and I made out last night," she blurted out, causing the girls to look over at her in shock, even Emily, despite the situation, let a small smile slip onto her lips, happy for Josie. "Wait what? Last night? When last night?" Hanna asked with a wide smile, which caused Josie to smile. "When Spencer texted me." she informed them. "Oh–I'm so sorry I interrupted you guys." Spencer said sheepishly. "It's fine," Josie said with a laugh. "So....what are you guys?" Emily asked. "I–I don't know, we haven't had that conversation yet, but we kissed again today so...." Josie trailed off making Hanna nudge her shoulder as the girls laughed happily, and for the first time in a while, it felt like nothing was wrong.

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"An Ulcer?" Richie as he and Josie sat in her kitchen having dinner, Jennifer was still at work, but Josie had saved her some food for when she did come home. "Yeah, probably caused by Stress." Josie said, before getting up, grabbing both her and Richie's empty plates and putting them in the sink. "She's a tough one, trust me, she'll be fine," Richie said as he stood up, moving behind Josie before the girl turned around and faced him, and it was silent for a while before Richie leaned in and kissed her, grabbing her waist as well, as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and the two eventually had to break apart for air. "Do you wanna be my girlfriend?" Richie blurted out, making Josie's eyes widen and suddenly, Richie thought she was going to say no, that was until she smiled so wide. "Yeah, I will." she said before kissing him again, making him kiss her back.

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The next day, Josie and Aria had received a message from Spencer, telling them to meet her in the basement level of the hospital. "So how are things with Richie?" Aria asked as the two of them waited for the elevator to reach the basement level. "It's good," Josie said with a smile, making Aria smile as well. "Just good?" she teased, making Josie laugh. "He may have asked me to be his girlfriend," she said, making Aria gasp. "Jo, i'm so happy for you," Aria said, giving her friend a hug just as they reached the basement of the hospital. The two of them walked out, cautiously, not seeing Spencer till she popped out from behind a door of the laundry room.

"Psst. Hey, in here." she said, gaining their attention, and Josie almost laughed as she spotted Spencer in a candy striped outfit, one hospital volunteers wear. "Spencer, what the hell?" Aria asked in shock. "shh. talk later. you two need to change." she said, pulling out two more candy striped outfits for Josie and Aria. "Why are you wearing–" Josie started but Spencer noticed people about to come down the hallway so she grabbed them and pulled them into the laundry room. "Come on!" Spencer said, before closing the door, glad they didn't get caught.

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"Your pain cream? 'A' is in our medicine cabinet, too? This has to be a new record." Aria said in shock from what Emily had told them, that 'A' had put steroids in her pain cream. "How long has this been in your system?" Josie asked as she looked over Emily, who was still shaken. "Did it damage any organs?" Aria asked before Emily scoffed, "Forget my organs! it's on my medical chart! it's ruined my life! I can never swim again!" Emily said angrily."Emily, medical records are private." Spencer said, hoping to comfort but Josie sighed, she knew that wouldn't help, her parents could still see the files.

"Not from your parents!" Emily snapped.  "what're you gonna tell your dad?" Josie asked. "I'm gonna tell him to get me out of here. take me to texas. I'm done. it can't get worse than this." Emily answered with a sigh. "Emily, remember, 'A' tried to plow down Hanna with a car." Spencer said, causing Josie to shake her head. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Emily asked with furrowed brows. "I'm just saying that 'A' tried to take one of us down and it didn't work." Spencer explained.

"Spencer, 'A' is taking us down. one at a time. Aria or Josie's probably next." Emily said, scaring said girls. "Can we all go to texas?" Josie and Aria asked in unison, making Spencer snap. "No! stop it! we're not giving in to this freak!" She said, "Look, we are this close to finding out what happened to alison. and if 'A' is the one that killed her." Spencer continued.  "And ian." Josie added. "Yeah, and then 'A' is gonna be the one to leave rosewood, not us." Spencer said as knock at the door interrupting them, causing them to cover the pain cream before they turned to see Emily's dad at the door.

"Hi. Sorry to interrupt." he said, walking into the room. "No worries. uh, we actually just have to get back to work." Josie explained with a tight lipped smile.  "When did you three start volunteering for the hospital?" he asked the girls. "Today's actually our first day. we're still on hour one." Aria said before looking at the food plate, "we'll take this for you." she said as she and Spencer moved the cart out of the room. "See you later." the girls said in unison as they walked out of the room before they headed to the basement level.

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The three girls walked around the basement, trying to find the morgue, they were also trying to blend in, it wasn't hard but soon enough Spencer spotted the morgue. "That's it." she said walking towards the door to the morgue. They made sure no one was around before entering the room. "It's freezing." Josie said, rubbing her arms as goosebumps raised on her arms. "Yeah, be thankful for that." Spencer said as she and Josie went straight to the cabinets, then Spencer noticed Aria was distracted, "Aria, hey, focus." she said, making Josie turn to Aria who looked like she wanted out of this. "I can't do this." Aria said, scared, making Josie frown. "No, you're not doing anything, okay? We are. just watch the door." she said, trying to reassure the girl. "What is that? cookies? How can anybody eat cookies in here?" Aria asked as she noticed the cookies on the table.

"They stay fresh." Spencer said absentmindedly as she and Josie looked through the files in the cabinet. "Okay, there's gotta be some kind of system." Josie muttered. "Here, this is it, They've got autopsies in here dating back to 2007." Spencer said as she flicked through names to find the one they needed, with Aria and Josie watching over her shoulder. "Okay, d...dehaven, delmore, dilaurentis. Alison." Spencer said, as she looked at the girls before they pulled it out and they began reading it.

"Do you understand any of this? "occipital fontanelle"?" Aria asked as the three of them looked over Alison's report. "It's this part of your skull." Spencer said, tapping a part of Josie's head, since she was between Aria and Spencer, causing the two to look over at Spencer in shock. "Look who we're talking to. Were you pre-med in pre-school?" Aria asked jokingly. "No, there's a lot in here that I don't understand." Spencer answered as they flipped through the report. "oh, wait, wait, wait, here is the summary page." Aria said, before starting to read it out to the others. "the impact on the posterior of the victim's cranium..." Aria said slowly, not understanding. "back of her head." Spencer fills in and Aria continues. "indicates she was facing away from the assailant." she said, making Josie frown.

"That means they got her from behind right? That she was ambushed?" Josie asked and Spencer nodded. "or running away." she guessed. "trying to escape." Spencer added, making the girls sigh. "the cranium was displaced inward upon impact..." Josie read out. "What does that mean?" Aria asked as Spencer held a x-ray scan on Alison's skull.  "it means she was hit so hard, they dented her skull." Spencer said, making Josie feel sick. "and the weapon was most likely a curved, blunt edge." Spencer read out.  "Like a field hockey stick." Aria said, leaning over to see Spencer. "Yeah, like the one that Ali borrowed from me? the one that Jason most likely buried in my backyard." Spencer said, making Aria sigh. "Just keep reading." she said as they went back to reading

It wasn't long before Spencer gasped, gaining Aria and Josie's  attention. "what? What does it say?" Aria asked, looking over the report, trying to see what Spencer was seeing. "There was dirt in her lungs." Spencer told them, making Josie's heart drop. "What do you mean?" Aria asked her, noticing how Josie had gotten paler. "It means that she was breathing in dirt when she died. that the blow to her head isn't what killed her." Spencer told her as Josie took a sharp intake of breath. "I don't-I don't understand." Aria stammered, making Josie sigh. "Aria..." Josie said, making her look over at Josie. "Alison was buried alive." she told her, making Aria's eyes widen in shock.

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The girls quickly took off the candy uniforms before heading up to show Emily the report. "You took this?" Emily asked as she took the report from where Spencer had laid it out on her bed. "We're gonna give it back," Spencer assured her before leaning forward and going to the right page. "Just look at the summary page." she said as Aria's phone went off. "That must be Hanna." Spencer said as she looked towards Aria but she shook her head. "No, it's ezra. I was supposed to call him." Aria said as she looked at her phone. "Oh, go ahead." Spencer said, giving her the go ahead to call Ezra. "He's downstairs." Aria said, getting off the bed. "I'll be back." she said before leaving. "Yeah." Spencer said before turning to Emily as she read the page. "displaced cranium"? "curved blunt weapon"? That's a hockey stick, Em. Aria doesn't want to hear this, but Jason is looking worse and worse." Spencer said with a sigh as Josie frowned.

A little while later the girls spread the pages out to look at all of it when Josie noticed something missing. "Spence?" Josie asked, making Spencer look over at her. "Where's page five?" she asked, making Spencer's eyes widen as she looked at all the pages. "Did you drop one of the pages?" Emily asked as she looked between her friends. "No. we took the whole file." Spencer said, going through the file, checking to see if it was stuck in between pages."Maybe it dropped in the elevator." Emily questioned as Josie shook her head. "No, nothing dropped in the elevator." she said as Spencer took the pages out of the file and laid them out, in order. "Look, here's page 1, 2, 3, 4...page 6. where the hell is page 5?" Spencer asked, making Josie sigh in frustration. "Oh god, this isn't good," she muttered.











AUTHORS NOTE
new chapter !! RICHIE AND JOSIE ARE TOGETHER! so sorry if they happened quick, but i needed them together for what i have planned :)

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