Pretty Little Liars: 16 & Pregnant

Living the Nightmare

Aria's Pov

I awaken with a sudden jolt. My breath heavy, I sit up in the hotel bed. Everything's just the same as when I fell asleep; dim moonlight coming from the window, Ezra on the left side of the bed, and Piper in between us. After tiredly rubbing my eyes, I look down at my sleeping daughter. I squint, the pale light not helping me to see the empty space between Ezra and I.

"Ezra!" I cry "She's gone!" He quickly sits up, looking frantically around the room.

"W-what?!" He stammers "Who?"

"Piper!" I sob, feeling the sheets between us. This isn't happening, it can't be. My little girl can't be gone. I gasp for air as I begin to cry even harder, my throat feeling as if it's closing in on itself. I curl into a ball as my whole body starts shaking uncontrollably. It hurts to breathe.

"How did this happen?!" Ezra yells loudly, tears on his face "She was right in between us, how did A get her?!" I try to think of an answer, a way to find Piper, but my brain seems to want to just shut down. My body follows suit.

"Oh my god," Ezra says, turning to look at the wall behind us. Through teary eyes, I force myself to do the same. As soon as I read the words written in red, I immediately wish I never looked. It's too late. -A.

"No!" I scream "This can't be happening!" I cover my face with my hands and squeeze my eyes shut, wanting to leave my body and all its pain. My daughter can't be gone, she can't be. It hurts, physically hurts to know that A has her, that he could have done something horrible to her. But it hurts even more not to be looking for her. Without a second thought, I jump out of the bed and run to the door, flinging it open to reveal the dim hallway. I hurry to the stairwell, knowing that it'll be faster than the elevator. After nearly tripping down the stairs three times, I stumble outside into the crisp night. It's silent except for my heavy breaths, which make little puffs of condensation every time I exhale.

I frantically look around the parking lot for any sign of A, but the only thing here are parked cars. Everything down to the little shrubs lining the sidewalk is normal. At least it looks that way, but it's not. It's not because during all this 'normalness', my infant daughter was kidnapped, taken from her parents. I feel as if the entire world should be up in flames, but here it is, no different than before Piper was taken from us.

Suddenly, I hear the unmistakable cry of a baby. I immediately run toward it, squeezing my way between parked cars. Hot tears roll down my cheeks and blur my vision, but I don't let it distract me from finding my daughter. The sound of her sad cries echo in the otherwise quiet night, making each second that ticks by more and more painful. I just want her safe again.

The cries seem to come from all around me, and suddenly, I don't know which direction to go anymore. I quickly turn my head to the right, sure it's coming from that area. But as soon as I do so, I'm nearly positive the loud wailing is coming from the opposite way.

"Please!" I cry desperately "I just want my daughter back!" The only response I get is my own voice echoing off the building. I sink to my knees on the cold cement, covering my face with my hands. I can't take this anymore, I can't take this hell. I feel so powerless.

I'm momentarily distracted from the pain inside me by something hard hitting me in the back of the head. I fall forward onto the bumpy cement, my cheek smashing into the little pebbles. I groan in pain as I touch my hand to my bloody face. Though my vision is spotty, I force myself to turn over and look at my attacker, knowing it'll give me a better chance at fighting back. I'm not going down without a fight. But even through the little black dots that dance about my eyes, the dark-clothed person hovering over me is someone I'd recognize anywhere.

"Ezra?" I whimper groggily, not believing what I'm seeing. He grasps a metal bar in his black-gloved hands, looking at me with pure menace.

"I'm sorry, Aria." He says, bringing the bar above his head. I just close my eyes, accepting what's about to come but not wanting to see it clearly. If this is how it ends, I'm okay with that; everything good in my life seems to have been soaked with gasoline and set up in flames. If my head is smashed in with a bar, then so be it. Maybe it's my ticket out of this hell we call earth.

That's my last thought before a splitting pain shoots through my skull, making everything go black.

~~~

"Aria!" Firm hands shake my shoulders gently "Wake up!"

My eyes shoot open, revealing the dim hotel room I fell asleep in. Ezra crouches over me, causing me to scream.

"It's okay!" He says reassuringly "It's just me! You were having a nightmare." My heart pounds loudly in my chest, and my eyes dart around the room. It was a nightmare, just a horrifyingly vivid nightmare. I'm snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of a baby crying, and look down beside me. There, nestled safely in a nest of blankets, lays my perfect daughter. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, then pick up Piper. Her cries subside to quiet whimpers as I hold her close to me, and I'm almost overwhelmed with happiness at the fact that A didn't take her. She's here, safely resting in my arms.

After Piper falls back asleep, Ezra and I lay back down again. I wish I could cuddle up next to him, but it doesn't feel safe not to have Piper between us. Even if it was just a nightmare, I'm still paranoid about A. My fingers intertwine with Ezra's as I try and fall back asleep, but every time I close my eyes, another nightmare starts to brew. I'm not even safe in my sleep.

"Ezra?" I whisper in hopes that he's still awake. In the dim moonlight, I see his eyes flutter open.

"Yeah?" He whispers back, giving my hand a comforting squeeze.

"I-I can't sleep." I admit shamefully. He's silent for a few moments, reaching over and gently caressing my cheek with his hand. His thumb slowly moves back and forth over my skin, helping me relax a little.

"It was just a nightmare." He reassures me "None of it was real." I shake my head, looking at him sadly.

"A is after all of us," I whimper "We're living the nightmare."

Ezra looks as if he's trying to come up with something else to say, something that will make me feel better, but no words leave his mouth. It's because he knows I'm right, he knows our reality right now is one big bad dream. The worst part is that we can't just wake up from it.

"This'll all be over soon," He says, although I can tell he's trying hard to even believe himself "Nightmares don't last forever."