Pretty Little Liars: 16 & Pregnant

Back to Black

*Hanna's Pov*

I open the bathroom door and hurry downstairs, feeling bad for making whoever is knocking wait so long. But hey, a girls gotta pee when a girls gotta pee. Besides, all my friends know that they can just come in without knocking.

I go to open the door, but then realize that it's locked. Maybe that's why they didn't just walk in. When I do open the door, I expect to see Aria or Emily standing on the doorstep. But to my surprise, no one is there. I look around for someone, expecting one of my friends to be standing close by.

"Emily? Aria?" I say cautiously, thinking that maybe they're going to jump out and scare me. When I'm positive no ones there, I go back inside and shut the door. Strange. Although it was probably just some stupid twelve year old kids ding-dong-ditching. I remember playing that game when I was younger. Back when I was still friends with Alison. None of us actually wanted to play the game, but of course Ali made us.

I flop down on the couch and wait for my friends to get here. Spencer is busy tonight, but Aria and Emily are both coming. We need to talk about Lucas, badly. The confusion is practically driving me crazy. I pull out my phone and go on Instagram while I wait for my friends to arrive.

***

*Aria's Pov*

My head really hurts. It feels like somebody is using a jackhammer on my brain. I don't know why I'm waking up with such a terrible headache, I just know that I don't want to open my eyes because it will hurt even more. When I'm up to opening my eyes, I'll ask Ezra to make my favourite tea that always gets rid of headaches. But for now, I just want to go back to sleep. Which is weird, because I don't remember going to bed. Also, my pillow feels different. It feels really flat, not like my usual fluffy pillow. But I'm just too tired to care right now, all I want is to sleep. I can deal with everything when I wake up.

Hold on. When did I even fall asleep? Last time I checked, Ezra and I were trying to find a job for me, then we drove to Hanna's because I was invited to sleepover. Ezra left, I knocked on Hanna's door, and then...oh.

Everything comes rushing back to me. The thought of it makes me want to vomit. The rustling in the bushes, the footsteps, the metal bar making contact with my head. The only question is where the hell am I now? I force my eyes open, ignoring the immediate pain that follows. But all I see is more black. Once my eyes adjust, I can tell I'm in a tiny room. Low ceiling, concrete walls, a small high-up window, and a strong smell of mildew. The only objects are the bed I'm laying in and a camera pointing at me from the top left hand corner of the room. The rusty-hinged door is to my right, and the tiny square window is above my head. This small building seems like some kind of old abandoned watershed, or maybe a forgotten storage unit. Whatever it is, I just want to know where it is. Where I am.

I try and get out of the bed, but quickly find that my wrists are tied down. I gasp, now starting to panic. I pull as hard as I can, but the coarse rope just digs into my skin. My heart pounds so loudly that I'm scared it'll beat right out of my chest. I open my mouth to scream, but stop before I make that mistake. Whoever kidnapped me is probably hanging close around, and screaming would just alert them that I'm awake. And chances are that we're not in a public place where other people are around, so no one will hear me anyway. I keep the scream inside of me, and cry instead. My whole body trembles as I struggle to keep my sobs quiet. The tears pour down my cheeks, and since my hands are tied down, I can't wipe them away. I just sit there, a crying mess on a springy old bed in the middle of nowhere. I don't know what else to do other than drown my fear and confusion in tears.

Once I calm down enough to think at least half-clearly, I take a few deep breaths. I have to stay calm in order to do anything logically. I think back to the moment I was hit over the head with a metal bar, cringing as I do. I remember going to Hanna's and hearing the noises in the bushes, then seeing the metal bar just before it connected with my skull. After that, everything is blank. All I know is that I'm here, wherever here is.

I look around me, trying to find something to indicate where I am, but all that's here are the lonely cement walls and the uncomfortable bed I'm forced to sit on. And the camera in the corner. I shudder as I think of something so creepy, yet so possible. That A is watching me right now. I try not to think about it, knowing that I should be figuring out how to get out of here.

The first step is to free my wrists from the tightly tied rope. I look at the rope, trying to find a way to untie it. When I can't find a way, I start to panic even more. Even though I try hard not to, I begin to cry again. I'm so scared. Not only am I alone in the middle of nowhere and tied to a bed, I'm also pregnant. I'm scared for my baby's safety. I can't let anything happen to my little miracle. I won't. I'll get my unborn child back to safety, and in order to do that, I need to get myself back to safety. Which means I need to focus.

I let the last few tears roll down my cheeks and drip onto the thin sheet that's covering me. 'It's going to be okay. Just stay calm.' I think to myself. But it's just so hard staying calm when I don't have a single thing reassuring me that I'm safe. If A does come into the room, I can't even move from this spot or use my hands to help with self defence because my wrists are tied down. Just thinking about A walking into the room makes me so scared that the only option seems like giving up. But that's not what I'm going to do, I'm going to get out of here.

For what feels like forever but I know is only about half an hour, I try and untie my wrists from the rope. Absolutely zero luck. These ropes aren't coming undone until someone else unties them, which means I'll be stuck here until someone finds me. Or until A comes back and decides he needs me for something else. 'Stop it Aria. That's not helping.' I scold myself in my head. That's when I see a loose end of the rope on my left wrist. My heart leaps with excitement. I lean forward and bite down on the rope with my teeth, then pull back. It doesn't budge. I pull harder, determined to free myself from the rope restraints. I can feel it loosening, which only makes me pull harder. Finally, my wrist is free from the tightly wrapped rope. Before I get too excited, I quickly untie my other wrist. When they're both untied, I stand up from the bed, now moving onto the next step of escaping. As I stand, my head pounds loudly, making me squint. I ignore it and let the adrenaline take over.

I first try the door, but of course, it's locked shut. There's only one other way out of this room: the small window above the bed. I hurry over to it, and my heart plummets. Covering the small square window are metal bars, not unlike a jail cell. I push on them, but of course, they stay right in place. Which means I'm not escaping this room anytime soon. I sit back down on the bed, willing myself not to cry.

I still have one option left. Screaming and hoping someone will hear me. I know I said I didn't want to do that because it will alert A that I'm awake, but if A wants to hurt me, he'll do it no matter what. In fact, A is probably watching me from that camera right now, laughing at my foolishness of thinking I can escape. The sad truth is, I'm not getting out of here until someone figures out I'm gone and comes to find me. Who knows how long that'll be?

Suddenly, I hear the unmistakable sound of a lock turning. Someone is opening the door. I let out a whimper and push myself backwards so my back is pressed against the cold cement wall. My heart pounds loudly in my chest as the door begins to open.

"Help!" I scream as the hooded figure walks toward me "Somebody help me!" I burst into tears as the person gets closer. That's when I notice the two-foot metal pole in the persons hand, the same pole that was used to knock me out before.

"No!" I beg "Please!" They lift the pole into the air, preparing to bring it down onto my skull. As it comes quickly toward me, I mange to reach up and grasp it with my hand. The person pulls hard to free the metal pole from my grasp, but I don't let it go. For a second, I think that I'm going to win this intense game of tug-of-war, that is until A wrenches the pole from my my hands.

I scream and block my face with my arms, knowing I can't win against A. The pole rushes toward my head and connects with my skull, making a deafening cracking sound. It's the last thing I hear before everything goes black.