Pretty Little Liars: 16 & Pregnant (Sequel)

The Great Gatsby

One Week Later
Aria's Pov

I sit reading my book outside as Stella runs around in the yard with the puppy. There was snow covering the ground just last week, however with this very back-and-forth weather, most of it has melted with these sudden warmer temperatures.

Spring break ended a few days ago, meaning both Piper and Ezra went back to school and work. So it's back to just being me and Stella at home, along with Gatsby.

It only took one bedtime story to convince Piper and Stella of wanting to name the puppy that. Of course, Ezra and I came up with the name from one of our all-time favourite novels, The Great Gatsby, although we knew the girls wouldn't be so quick to agree on the name. So, after tucking them into bed with the puppy, we told them a bedtime story that largely resembled the novel, changing a few things to make it more appealing for kids. Once the story was over, both Stella and Piper were keen on agreeing to Ezra and I's name suggestion, ecstatic to name our puppy after the main character from their cool new bedtime story. So that's how little Gatsby got his name, from an old book that a family of literary freaks love a little too much.

"Momma!" Stella calls excitedly. Once she has my full attention, Stella lays down on the grass. Not a second later, Gatsby runs over to her and starts licking her face. Stella shrieks with laughter, only causing the little puppy to get even more excited.

"Did you see?" She asks, standing back up "Gatsby licks my face!" I chuckle, loving the excitement in her voice and the way she pronounces L's as W's.

"He's a pretty funny puppy isn't he?" I smile. Stella just nods in agreement, giggling as Gatsby runs around in circles.

Just as I finish another chapter of my book, my phone vibrates from the little table beside me. I set my book down on my lap, grabbing my phone and seeing that I have one new text.

A friendly reminder that I see more than you think. Isn't that smile on Stella's darling little face right now just the sweetest?

-V for Vendetta

"Stella." I look up sharply "Let's go inside, okay?"

"But I wanna play more Mommy." She pouts.

"No, we have to go in now." I say sternly "Come on, we'll have some lunch and maybe continue to keep training Gatsby some tricks." With that, Stella runs over to me, the puppy following at her heels.

"Look he followed me!" She gasps, laughing loudly as we go inside.

"Yeah, he saw you running and wanted to join in." I smile. After locking the back door and helping Stella out of her boots and jacket, I open the fridge to find something for lunch.

"How about a grilled cheese?" I suggest.

"Yeah!" She exclaims.

Once we've eaten lunch, Stella and I continue to teach Gatsby some basic tricks. In just the week that he's been here, he's settled in so nicely and is really getting the hang of sit, come, and stay. Gatsby's pretty much house trained now, and knows to wait at the back door when he has to go to the bathroom.

After letting Stella play with her toys for a little while, I tell her it's time for her nap, which she thankfully agrees to. She goes upstairs to lay down as I get her some milk, something that always helps her fall asleep.

"Mommy!" Stella cries from her bedroom, just as I reach the top of the stairs.

"What?" I ask concernedly as I step into her room.

"Guggy!" She whines, tears on her face. I look at the floor where Stella points, seeing her favourite stuffed animal ripped up, its stuffing scattered on the floor.

"What happened?" I gasp, pulling Stella against me as I kneel down on the floor.

"I don't know." She sobs, climbing into my arms.

"It's okay baby, we'll fix Guggy." I reassure her "I can sew him back up." Stella just continues to cry, her little arms holding onto me tightly. I grab the stuffed frog and turn it over in my hands, assuming that Gatsby ripped it up or something. Its head is nearly detached from its body, although it'll be an easy fix. But then I realize the damage couldn't have been done by a dog, the rips are way too neat. In fact, the nearly decapitated head looks as if it was made that way by scissors.

I look nervously around the room, knowing that Stella's stuffed animal was intact just this morning and we've been the only people here since. And to back up my suspicion, I find a little rolled up note tucked in what's left of the stuffing.

The grilled cheese you had for lunch looked delicious. Unlike Stella's poor toy, you must be stuffed.

-V for Vendetta

I quickly stand up, carrying Stella out of her room and into my own, shutting the door behind us. I don't even feel safe in my own home anymore. It was one thing being threatened and tormented by V through messages, but he's never come into our house before. At least not that I know of.

I message the groupchat with the girls, telling them about the two very creepy messages I've gotten from V today. Nobody else has gotten any, which makes me a little uneasy knowing that V's closely monitoring me and no one else. Neither of the messages have contained any threats, they've just been reminders that I'm being watched closer than I think.

Hanna offers for me and Stella to come over, thinking it might settle my nerves to get out of the house for a bit. I decline, not wanting to give V the satisfaction of driving me from my own home. Although I am still a little on-edge, so once I've double checked that all the doors are locked, Stella and I curl up in my bed with Gatsby and put on a movie. I hold her extra close to me, because even though I'm her Mom and protector, she helps me feel safe and at peace. Something about those big blue orb-like eyes of hers looking up at me every so often is just reassuring.

As the movie continues to play, Stella soon falling asleep, I too find my eyelids growing heavy. I don't fight my body's want for sleep, and instead allow myself to doze off. The last thing on my mind is V, lurking ominously in my subconscious thoughts and following me into sleep.

~~~

A/N: Hello lovelies💕 how's everyone's 2017 going so far? I know we're already 3 months in but I'll ask anyway🙈 I've started reading The Great Gatsby recently, and even though I haven't gotten too far in yet, I am really enjoying it.
I don't think I've done it on this book yet, but on my others I've done little trivia questions about previous chapters, so I thought I'd start doing it here sometimes too.
Q: In the beginning of this book, which strange place did Ezra, Piper, and Stella wash dishes?