My Life in Rosewood

Chapter Fifty

Once again I'm in and out of consciousness. This time I'm not sure for how long. Every time I kind of come to again I hear random conversations but I'm so tired that opening my eyes was almost never an option. I heard when Bobby finally came around and he was a complete mess when Aria told him that I was kidnapped. He blamed himself for not realizing something was wrong. I don't blame him. I don't blame anyone. Mona was too good at what she did that taking me was easy with all the chaos in the day.

While I sleep I get glimpses of conversations. I hear when Bobby has to leave because he has classes. Then when Uncle Byron convinces Aunt Ella and Mike to go home because they are all emotionally exhausted to process anymore. Aria however refuses to leave and that's when the girls get here. Their convo is iffy for me to really hear as I'm trying to keep myself awake but I remember Spencer asking if I've woken up yet and if I've mentioned anything about what happened to me.

Aria is still sitting in the same spot from when I fell asleep, but now I'm laying down normally instead of resting on her head. "She was so exhausted when we got here that I let her sleep. She's been out since."

It's quiet for a second, "We have no idea what she went through while with her." Spencer says gently, "I mean, I saw her when she was drugged up in the corner of that bathroom, but the full effect of what Mona did is going to be hard to tell us."

"She'll find the words when she's ready." Hanna says now, "Everything is going to take time for any of us to put into words."

That's the last conversation I remember until I wake up again hearing the sound of beeping and light breathing surrounding me. Other than that it's quiet, and for a split second I think I'm still stuck in Mona's creepy lair. I'm afraid to attempt to open my eyes, so I keep them closed for a bit longer.

"Please be a dream." I think. "I'm home and going to be in my own bed waking up from a nightmare."

I take a breath and start to slowly open my eyes, or one eye now. I realize I'm curled up in a ball on my side, the sun blaring through the window. The first thing I see is Hanna and Emily on the sofa. Hanna is sleeping with her head on her fist and her elbow on the armrest. Emily is curled up laying on Hanna's lap with a blanket over her and Hanna's other arm stretched out, as if she was holding her. Then I spot two people on chairs that are pulled up to my bed. Andrew's sleeping on it with his head on my bed and holding my hand. Spencer is sitting in the chair next to him reading the newspaper.

In big letters on the front page I'm able to make out MISSING TEEN MAYA ST. GERMAIN FOUND DEAD! A picture of her that's taking up almost the entire page makes my heart sink and then race.

Spencer looks up from the paper, noticing the fast pace of the heart machine picking up. Her face is pale until she sees me. "Jessie." She takes a breath, as if relieved and gets up.

I close my good eye, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. Poor Em must be devastated.

"You're alright." She's next to me now. Then her hand falls on top of my head, scaring me for a second that a flash of Mona's face comes and I make a scared noise. "It's okay." I take one more deep breath and I open my eye again. She's smiling at me in comfort. "Hey."

I smile a bit. I still feel very weak and very tired. You'd think after all the drugs I got put into me to sleep I'd be over the whole sleeping thing, but my body is practically begging for it. Then I look down at her hand and see she is still holding the paper. With my free hand that isn't being held by Andrew I point to it.

She looks down and hides it behind her back. "That's nothing you need to worry about."

"What happened to Maya?" I whisper weakly.