Aria (a psych fanfiction)

Chapter 12

HIIII GUYS! A million thanks to the amazing Broadwaygirl21 for reviewing. :) So, Aria's being pretty stubborn, yeah? If only she wasn't so afraid of Him, maybe then Lassie would be able to get something out of her...paternal!Shawn was probably my favorite part to write. :) Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter

Aria woke up with a cry, pain shooting through her ribs as she heaved breaths in and out, in and out. She gasped again when she saw Shawn sitting in the chair, and grabbed frantically at the blanket, trying to cover the worst of the bruises, even though she knew it was too late. He had already seen. Worst of all was the look in his eyes, the pity that was a thousand times more terrible than any physical pain she had been through in the last seventy two hours. She could stand anything, anything but that.

Because he knew.

"Please leave," she said.

"No."

"Shawn, I'm fine, now please leave bef-"

He stood up suddenly, overturning the chair in the process. "No, you're not fine." He inhaled and exhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm your legal guardian, and this is me ordering you to tell us what happened."

"Since when have you ever cared about being my dad?"

"Just answer the question! Aria, please."

"No," she spit out. "There's nothing to tell. Nothing happened. Ask the spirits and I'm sure they'll tell you as much." With horror, she felt her throat close up, and her eyes began to burn with the beginnings of tears. "I can't...I'm fine, I just need to be alone. I'm just tired, I - just go."

She closed her eyes firmly and sank back down into the pillow. But instead of him complying, she heard him pick up the chair and sit right back where he was before. After counting one hundred and five of his breaths, between the steady rhythm, and the comfort she felt at his presence, she drifted back to sleep. He followed soon after, his head dropping to rest on his shoulder as he sat in the hard, plastic chair.

Hours later, Shawn blinked a few times, trying to shake the sleep from his eyes, and then turned to face Aria. And then blinked again. And then ran out of the room to find a doctor, pulling out his phone to call Gus and his dad and Jules and Lassie.

Because the hospital bed was empty.

When she woke up again chained to the bed in the nearly lightless room, Aria was sure she was dreaming. Until she realized that she was still in her hospital gown and covered in bruises.

It took a few minutes for the reality of what had happened to sink in.

She screamed - not because she thought anyone would hear her, but because this couldn't be real. She couldn't go through this all over again.

"For a little bird, you sure have one hell of a voice."

She shut up immediately, turning to see Him watching her nonchalantly from the doorway.

"Why am I here, how…"

"Please, Aria, give me some credit. Those idiots in the hospital didn't even notice me. Anyways, not important."

"Where's Shawn?" she said, the fear in her voice causing it to shake. "You said...in your text, but I swear I didn't tell them anything, I didn't say anything."

"I know. But it was only a matter of time before they figured out something was up. You tried so hard, didn't you, little bird? To stay strong and act like nothing was the matter, but in the end you collapsed. Your body gave up, and I knew that before long, your mind would, too, and I couldn't take that risk. Don't worry, though, you're family is safe. Worried out of their minds, perhaps, but I have you, so there's no need to hurt them. Unless, of course, they come after you. So here's the way it's going to be." He remained where he was - Thank God for small blessings - but held up a small, vaguely square-shaped object. A fuzzy glow emanated from one side of it, adding some light to the room.

Her phone. And it was unlocked. How the hell...

"You'll behave. You will not scream or try to attack me or escape. That means no biting, no kicking, and no back talk. If you're good, maybe I'll consider letting you off your leash once in a while. But," He continued, the familiar sadistic gleam appearing in His eyes, "you break any of these rules, and I'll call your little friends. I'll tell them where to find you. And then I'll kill them." He smiled.

"You wouldn't."

The corners of His mouth curled downwards. "Believe that if you want to, little bird. But don't say I never told you so." He swept out of the room, the lock clicking behind him. A few moments later, she heard another door open and shut, meaning He'd left the house.

Out of every threat he has made so far, how many has he kept so far? None. True, that was because I did what he said. But I have no reason to trust this sicko. She looked down at her wrists. Handcuffs? Really? What, was Home Depot out of rope?

Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. Bending her head down to her hands, she brushed her slim fingers against her scalp. I know I was wearing some before I was admitted to the hospital... She pulled out the item she was looking for, and now it was Aria's turn to smile.

If Hannibal Lecter can escape a high-security federal prison using a pen, then I can sure as hell escape from some psycho's basement using a bobby pin.

She was getting out.

"Shawn, it'll be all right." Gus watched his best friend pace back and forth, agitated, before Shawn finally collapsed into the chair next to him.

"No, Gus, we don't know that! Ok, my daughter was kidnapped from a hospital, and she is out there right now with no way to protect herself, and we gave no idea how to get her back. Which means I've failed."

Gus looked surprised at the word "daughter," but he quickly got past it. "Hey. We'll find her, Shawn. I promise."

They both looked up as Lassiter and Juliet entered the hospital room, Henry following after. "Shawn, what happened?"

"She's gone, Jules. I was sitting next to her, we both dozed off, and when I woke up, she was gone. Somebody took her from right under my nose." Shawn pressed a hand against his mouth, then mumbled again, "she's gone."

"Shawn? Shawn, listen to me, we are going to get her back, ok?" She gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Have you gotten any visions, any psychic vibrations about where she might be?"

"Do you think I'd still be here if that was the case?" he snapped, immediately regretting it. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

"Look, as far as I know, nothing else was taken from the room. Her bag's right over there." He pointed.

"Did you go through it?" Lassiter asked. "Anything missing?"

"I didn't think to check." Before Shawn had a chance to move, Lassiter had grabbed the bag and flipped it over, dumping its contents onto the bed.

"Okay, we've got pencils, pens, notepad, makeup thingy, hairbrush, calculator, gum, wallet with some loose change and a twenty inside, headphones...That's it."

"Wait," Shawn stood up. "Her phone's not there. That's it."

"Can you track it?"

"No, I never got around to setting up the GPS device." He sat back down, defeated.

"I'm confused," Gus said. "Just her phone? Why nothing else? If there was money in there - "

At that moment, a loud buzz sounded. All eyes turned to Shawn as he pulled out his own phone, his throat constricting when he saw the caller ID.

Aria.

Dun dun DUNNNNNN.