Pretty Little Liars: the next generation

Putting the Pieces Together

21

Putting the Pieces Together

Ashley almost chocked on her own saliva. A? "Uh, guys?" Ashley asked. "Are you guys all getting texts?"

"Yeah," Lucy said slowly, taking a few tentative steps toward Ashley.

"Me too," Troian said.

"And I have too," Shay admitted.

"What did yours say?" Sasha asked.

"It's... personal," Ashley told her. After all, her days in the mental ward were long gone.

"Yeah, mine is too," Lucy said.

"Same here," Troian chimed in.

"Me too," Shay agreed.

Sasha playfully poked Shay in the arm. "I didn't think you'd have any secrets."

Shay's cheeks turned bright red, and she looked at the ground. "I'm allowed to have secrets, too."

"Wait, so, who is this A person anyway?" Lucy asks, becoming serious again.

"Yeah, and they must have been stalking me for a pretty long time," Ashley adds. "I got a picture from eighth grade."

"You got a picture?" Troian asks. "They didn't send one to me."

"They sent me a picture too," Lucy admitted. "It was from last year."

"Wait," Sasha says. "Maybe it's Dan. He refused to admit he was in the woods that night."

Ashley shook her head. "I don't think it's Dan. This person would have to hate us for a long time."

"Wait," Shay squeaked out. "It might be Kristen."

"Kristen?" Troian asked. "Why her?"

"Well, in seventh grade, she really had it in for me. I don't know why."

"But what's her motive?" Lucy asks.

"Yeah, me and Kristen always hang out at field hockey games," Troian said. "I don't think she's A."

"Hmm, who else?" Lucy asked, thinking.

"Maybe we should ask our moms about this," Ashley said quietly. "They were stalked too. It was all over the news."

"Bad idea," Sasha said. "They'll probably just send us to rehab."

"Why?" Troian asked.

"Duh! To keep us safe and make sure we don't actually become crazy."

"Well, I think I'm going to tell my mom," Shay said.

"You'll be sorry," Sasha warns.

Bam!

"What was that?" Troian asked, startled.

"It sounds like it's coming from my bedroom," Lucy said.

"Should we see what it is?" Shay asks.

"Stay here," Sasha told the girls. "I'll go check it out. If I scream, come save me."

The other girls nodded, and Sasha walked toward Lucy's bedroom. The clock ticked. Minutes passed, and the girls had that uneasy feeling roiling in their guts. Ashley's stomach growled.

A few minutes later, Sasha returned. "Guys," she said. "I think there's someone in the house."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide.

"One of the windows in your bedroom, Lucy, was broken. And things kept falling over. I swore I saw a shadow, slipping from room to room."

Ashley stood up. "We should get out of here."

"And call the police," Shay added.

Sasha nodded in agreement, and the girls all filed out. Shay used her phone to call the police. In less than five minutes, they heard sirens scream up. The police searched through the house, and the five girls were left outside to wait.