Unexpected turn //Jaria+Ezria

Eighteen

ARIA
I was now 6 months pregnant, which meant that I was closer to giving birth. My stomach had grown larger over the months, freaking me out. I had slowly forgotten everything that -A had done to me in the dollhouse over 3 months ago. We had decided to tell Tanner about Charles and that's exactly what we did.

The girls and I hadn't yet figured out who -A was, except for a name. Charles.

"So...have you heard back from the gallery?" Jason asked, interested.

"Yeah. They're holding a special opening this Saturday night." I said, grabbing an outfit.

Over the 3 months, I had taken a photography class and handed my artwork into a competition. Jason had trusted in himself that I was going to win, and I wasn't so sure. At the time of my taking the photos, I was interested in dolls and the different ways they could be creepy, yet Jason thought it was a way for me to express my anxiety and fears.
———
(Saturday night)
GENERAL
Aria had gotten ready, her belly showing a lot, yet she now felt more comfortable. Jason took her to the event. They arrived 10 minutes before the event. Spencer, Emily, Hanna and Alison stood behind her.

"We are here to celebrate a fresh crop of promising new photographers, one of whom will leave here tonight with a $5000 cash prize and a summer internship to a premier travel and leisure magazine based in Los Angeles." The lady spoke, smiling at a few of the participants, including me.

"Now, I'd like to invite you all in to meet our finalists." The lady finally said before she and anther staff member un-roped the area, the space lighting up.

As the artworks began to light up, the girls saw one that made their skin crawl. They each stared at Aria's supposed artwork in shock and panic. Aria looked over at the girls, looking confused.

ARIA
My mind flashed back to the dollhouse.

I woke up to the feeling of a single cloth covering my body. I jolted up, seeing a white cloth over my body, revealing my baby bump. My baby was ok. Eventually, I nudged Hanna up and Emily and Spencer woke up too.

Waking up from my bed, I felt that my hair had been cut and what laid below me was my cut off hair on my pillow, showing that...well -A could do whatever they wanted.

I covered my mouth in shock. -A took us from our families.

SPENCER
My mind flashed back to the dollhouse.

I woke up to the sound of two girls talking. It was Aria and Hanna. As I sat up, I noticed that I was covered in a white sheet only covering my naked body.

I woke up, not knowing where I was, but what I did see was blood on my hands. I quickly sat up, noticing the blood around my arms and on my white singlet. I panicked, trying to get the blood off. Looking up at the cameras, I screamed.

I let a tear slip. -A kidnapped us.

EMILY
My mind flashed back to the dollhouse.

I looked at the room around me. I saw Hanna and Aria talking, with Spencer just opening her eyes. I looked underneath the cloth before looking at the rest of the girls.

I held my head in pain as a deafening alarm went off while I sat in front of a table. On the table laid 3 switches and 3 pictures. Each switch laid beneath a photo of Spencer, Aria and Hanna.

My breath changed. -A made us seem like we were dead.

HANNA
My mind flashed back to the dollhouse.

Aria nudged me up, before I jolted up. Aria looked scared and so did I. I tried not to vomit as Emily and Spencer finally woke up.

I looked at my room. Everything was normal, until I looked down and saw that I was still wearing my orange jumpsuit. The alarm went off, causing me to cover my ears in pain.

My arms unfolded. -A tortured us and still hasn't been caught.
———
ARIA
After looking at the anxiety inducing pictures, Jason took me over to my mom and Tanner. He stood besides me, holding me and our baby. Emily, Spencer, Alison and Hanna talked over at the other side of the room.

"He called the pictures Stolen Dolls? Where is this going to end?" My mom asked angrily.

"He's talking about when he kidnapped us, right?" I asked, Jason rubbing my back as I tried not to cry.

"Not exactly." Tanner said as she ripped the tag off the wall, placing it into a bag.

"Are we supposed to solve his riddles now? What does the rest of it mean?" My mom asked, confused.

"No...son...Linda's. The Spanish translates to 'They aren't pretty.' But it's a play on words. It can also mean they aren't Linda's." Tanner spoke, turning the tag so it faced us.

"As in Linda Tanner?" My mom asked, shocked. Tanner nodded, making a confirming sound.

"So Charles thinks when you rescued the girls that you took something from him?" My mom asked, angrily. Jason continued to hold me.

"As much as he wanted to ruin Aria's evening and exploit the girls, he also wanted to send me a message." Tanner spoke, taking a deep breath in and out.

"That he thinks we belong to him? We already knew that. We lived that." I said, getting upset, but Jason calmed me down.

"I grew up in a bilingual household. I think Charles wants me to know that as much as I uncover about his identity, he can uncover details about mine." Tanner spoke.

"Why did this happen? How? You told us not to worry. You told us there was no threat." My mom said, beginning to shout at Tanner.

"He did this to these girls and then he put it up on a wall for everyone to see. He was in this building!" My mom spoke, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"We are dusting for fingerprints. We have hours of security camera footage to review. We will comb through everything until we find another piece of the puzzle." Tanner spoke, handing the bag with the tag in it to the police.

"When are you gonna find him?" My mom finally asked.

"I have to get back to the precinct. I ask that each of you give your statement to my detectives before you leave." Tanner spoke.

Jason finally took me home, helping me get changed before we got into bed.