Hola mis amigos! I have RETURNED! Can't keep me away from my laptop! :) Here's chapter nine. Sorry that it is, again, short.

I sat by his bed, holding his hand. "Hey Ezra," I whispered, as he opened his eyes. He winced at the light, squeezing them shut again. The nurse, standing by the door, noticed, and dimmed them down. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," he managed, sitting up slightly, opening his eyes again. "What time is it?"

I glanced at my watch. "Nearly seven. You were asleep for a long time. Dr. Johnson said that would happen, though."

"It's seven?" I nodded. "Is… is my mother here?"

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "She was here, but she had something she had to take care of first. She'll be back sometime tonight."

"Good." There was silence for a moment, with Ezra rubbing my hand with his thumb. "Have you been here all day? Who else showed up?"

"Of course I've been here all day. It's an excused absence, too. A family member is critically ill." I smiled at him. "Your mom, of course. The girls stopped by after school, but you weren't awake then. Oh, and Mr. Fisher was here too."

"Andrew?" Ezra sounded surprised. "He was here?"

"Um… yeah?"

"I didn't expect him to come," Ezra explained. "Teaching is very important to him."

"Perhaps, but you're also very important, Ezra, to all of us. He probably wanted to make sure you were going to be okay."

Ezra sighed. "Perhaps." He closed his eyes. "I'm so tired…" he murmured.

I stood up, giving him a kiss. "I'm going to go. Sleep well." As I reached the door, I turned back to watch him for a moment. He looked so pale, even compared to the white hospital sheets surrounding him. I felt tears rise, and I brushed them away. Crying won't help, I scolded myself. I had to stay strong for him. And for myself. I couldn't let myself break down.

I reached my car, and went to unlock it. Sirens made me look up. I watched as a red car, followed by three police cars, sped past the hospital. "What in the world…?" I muttered to myself. A thought hit me as I opened the door. What if they had Ian? I closed my eyes for a moment. Ever since I had found out about him escaping, I was terrified that he would come after us. I hadn't let the other girls know this, even though I was sure they were too. We still knew things about him the police didn't know.

When I got to Ezra's, Hanna was already there. with the TV turned to the news channel. When I walked in, she immediately shushed me, and turned up the volume, gesturing for me to sit down next to her.

"Although they did not catch Thomas, the police believe he is headed out of the state to Missouri, where his ex wife still lives. Keep on the him. Kelly Linton, Rosewood news."

For a moment, his picture stayed on the screen. "So they didn't catch him," I said softly, after a long silence. "Damn it."

"They said he's heading for Missouri," Hanna told me, hope in her voice. "He's not still in town."

"She said that they believe that's where he's going, Hanna," I told her. "It's not for sure. For all we know, he's going to circle around and come right back to Rosewood."

"Why would he do that? The police know everything we do."

"Not everything," I said. "Remember?" She became silent. "But you're right," I said. "Maybe he won't come back. Maybe he is going to Missouri."

"Aria," I heard from the other side of the door. It was Mr. Fisher. "May I come in?"

I stood up quickly and opened the door. "Hi. What brings you here?"

"I wanted to speak to you about something. But if you're busy, I can always come back later."

I shook my head, feeling my ponytail whip my face. "No, it's fine. Hanna knows nearly everything that's been going on anyway."

"It's about Ian Thomas." He unfolded a sheet of paper and handed it to me. "I found this in Ezra's mailbox."

I stared at the words. You'd better beware, cause I'm back out into the world. –A.

I have a new story up, called The Traitor's Daughter. It's a Harry Potter ff. Mia is Snape's daughter, who, thanks to a marriage law, has to marry Harry Potter. She goes on the search for horcruxes with the trio. Please take a look and tell me what you think. Thanks :)