Thank you for beta'ing, xxdare2dreamxx1! Yay, Season 6 starts today, and I will try to update every Tuesday, if not, almost every Tuesday. ;)
This is my worst nightmare, right after Hanna dying at the hands of an insane person, possibly her horrible foster dad. I've been alone in prison for three days and four nights without seeing anyone. Hanna and my friends would be able to visit me on Thursday, according to the rules. My cell is cold and my fellow inmates are often banging on the steel bars and making one hell of a racket. Those idiot cops put me in here with a real live murderer and rapist named Chuck, who's kept the corpses of girls and women he's killed in his home. He's quiet and he doesn't try to bug me, unless I say something he doesn't like. Sometimes, out of the blue, he'll ask me questions like, "Was she good? When we get out, does she have a twin sister and can you introduce me to her so we can do her together? Even if we kill her, we can still do her! You haven't seen my skills with a butcher knife!" This guy's sick.
I responded with a curt no and explained that the girl who pressed charges was the one who actually pushed herself on me. He laughed so hard, punched me in the face, and now I've got a swollen cheek and a bloody nose. He threatens me not to tell anyone or he will get me in my sleep, and the look in his eyes say he means it. After they take care of me in the infirmary, they return me to my cell with the monster. I'm sleeping with my hands shielding my face from this point on. I'm shedding tears sometimes, and people tell me that men don't cry. To that, I respond, "Of course they do!"
I've forgotten what the light of day looks like until I see my main girl, who radiates sunshine without even trying. She's by herself, and her blonde hair is straight. She's wearing a black leather skirt, tall grey boots, and a red long sleeved top, and it's now my favorite outfit. Chuck wolf-whistles when he notices her and I ignore him. She grabs onto the bars and so do I. We're trying to kiss through them before someone catches us, but the spaces between each rail are too narrow.
"I snuck in," she says quietly.
"You better go back and tell them you want to visit me," I whisper as she wraps her hands around mine.
"I will. I haven't seen you in so long. I missed you."
"I missed you too, baby. You look beautiful."
"Thank you."
"How are you? I hope you're not hurting yourself..."
"Fine, I have other stuff to keep me busy, and you being in this ugly place is enough of a distraction. Don't worry about me."
"I can't help it."
"He's a pansy ass!" Chuck says loudly from behind us. "He's even worse than Fitz!"
Hanna's eyes widen and she shushes him. She leaves quickly and I'm again stuck in the dreariness of my cell. She makes things so much brighter.
I see her about five minutes later and Holbrook locks my hands together behind my back with the metal cuffs that are attached to chains around my waist and my ankles. He's way too rough with me and he shoves me in the chair across from Hanna. My hair feels too dirty and my body's smelly because it's been unwashed for days, I haven't shaved, so I'm growing a beard, and I'm suddenly ashamed that my girlfriend has to see me like this. I hate the color orange now.
Her lower lip quivers and she wipes at her eyes. "Did that weirdo hurt you?"
"Yeah, but I'm fine. I mean, he's dangerous, but I just can't say a word to him without fear of him going off on me."
"You should tell the guards or ask them if you can switch cell mates."
"He told me not to or he would finish me off. He's capable of it, Han. He's disgusting...you know what he was arrested for? He was making dead girls and women into his corpse brides. He's a mass murderer and rapist, and he targets females."
She's horrified and she claps her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god! They stuck you with a psycho?"
"They think I'm just like him."
"Oh no, hell no! I'm not letting this be. It's not safe for you here. I need to get you out. We can just run away together, and Ella and the girls can help us."
"Honey, it'll be all right. He's not harassing me anymore. It was one punch. I'll leave after my trial in just a week from now. I know I'll be proven innocent!"
"You don't, actually. Mona and Zack could twist this around in so many ways it ain't even funny."
"Mrs. Hastings is a good lawyer. I'll tell her everything before the trial."
"I'm scared, Caleb. I don't know what to do without you. I've got my mom in jail, and now you...and if I lose you because of some maniac...we can't have physical contact, and that hurts me so much..." She trails off and begins sobbing and I get a lump in my throat because I can't even hold her to make her feel better. I can't protect her from the outside world, let alone myself in my cage with someone who could kill me with his bare hands.
"Hanna, I understand what you're saying. You know I wanna kiss you so bad. I wanna take all your pain away with one touch."
"Could you...at least...could you ask Mrs. Hastings if you can be alone in a cell instead of having a buddy? I don't trust anyone here. They were all staring at me when I came here."
"It's because they haven't gotten their slimy hands on an innocent person in years. Of course I can ask her. She'll talk to the guards, I'm sure."
She shudders and sniffles. "Okay, good."
"Hey, babe, what else is going on in your life?" I don't want to talk about my prison adventures anymore. It makes me feel more depressed than I already am.
Hanna breathes in and out deeply and her hands are so close to mine. I want to reach out and stroke her fingers, but we'd get in trouble.
"Ella's baby is due any day now. Zack's not really helping her at home cuz he's at work all the time, so I'm taking care of her at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm her midwife and the baby's godmother. She's mentioned it and I thought she was kidding at first, but she sounds serious about it now. We're getting pretty tight."
"You're sweet to do that for her."
"Thank you. I don't mind it at all. I need something to distract me from all this." She gestures around the room we're in. "Plus, she's the most deserving person in my house. She lets us date, she always gives me advice, and she's even taken a few selfies with me. I did her hair a while back and I let her give me a makeover today."
"She did a good job, but you're already gorgeous without it."
"Thank you. I've also taken her shopping for baby stuff and to her prenatal classes and doctor's appointments. Ella has sorta become my best adult friend. I feel like I can tell her anything without her giving me judgey eyes."
"Aw, that's wonderful." I love how she smiles when she talks about her foster mother.
"Just don't tell Ari. I don't want her to think I'm stealing her mama, because I'm not. Ari's gonna be the baby's godmother too, and Mike, the baby's godfather. Ella talks all about it. It's just a surprise to them."
"I'll keep that a secret." I manage a tiny grin. "So, I'm guessing Zack's not going for it, you being my girlfriend?"
"Nope," she answers and pops her lips at the p. She sighs drastically. "He can't see Ella's or my point of view. I got my hopes up when Ella was like, 'Now, you know your grandmother is staying here for a while. Maybe she can talk some sense into him. He may think I'm crazy, and you're the rebellious teenager, but someone who doesn't know Caleb well, but likes him already, would be a great source of information.' Oh well, at least she tried."
"That she did. Zack didn't even listen to your grandma?"
"Not exactly, but he didn't argue with her, at least. He kinda just glared at her and went off to work. The fact that my mom's already met you, really pissed him off...big time!"
"That sucks for him," I said with a smirk. "Do you think he's gonna go to your mom in jail and tell her lies about me?"
"I certainly hope not, but I wouldn't put it past him! I doubt she'd believe him, I'm sure Ella has already told her what happened."
"He's a fucking jerk," I mutter.
"I know. I want to smack him with a baseball bat," Hanna said through guffaws, and I start laughing along with her. "It's too bad Ella doesn't feel the same way!"
"She's blindsided by her love for that monster."
"Yeah, well...maybe she sees something in him that neither of us do."
"What, his devil horns that are growing out of his head as we speak?"
Hanna giggles some more. "Caleb, stop it, you're gonna make me cry from too much laughing. If I drank something right now, I'd choke on it and it would splatter all over my face and be so disgusting!"
"Well, good thing you're not drinking anything. Too late now, tears are streaming down your cheeks and into those cute little dimples of yours."
"Yeah..." Hanna wipes her eyes.
"So, where would you do it?"
"Where would I do what?"
"Hit Zack...you know...what part of his body?"
"Caleb, I wasn't serious."
"It's fun to joke around, though...I'm interested, that's all."
She puts her chin in her hands. "I'd like to leave a nasty little bruise on his head so he's in a coma and can't tell me what to do for a while...and on his groin so he can't give women babies no more."
I can tell by her face that she really wants to hurt him. "What was that about not playing?"
"I'm still kidding."
"I don't buy it."
"Well, I ain't gonna kill him or any of that shit...I just want him out of my life. Don't you? I mean, he shouldn't have that much power over us."
"Yeah, but I don't have a death wish, unless he really is an awful human being like my cellmate."
"He's just an asshole, but on a few levels, not completely...otherwise Ella woulda dumped him long ago. She can handle him, and so can I. We just have to go out on the sly, and I'm okay with that."
"No, you're not, I can read you like a book."
"I have to live with it until we graduate. I have to be okay with it."
"You could just move out and live with me...my mom was talking about getting me a brand new apartment. We're almost eighteen, we could do it. We don't need parental supervision anymore...I've gone without it for years. I'm my own man now. I don't follow other people's rules...I agree on stuff with my friends and with you...and I respect authority when it's reasonable...but Zack is nowhere on the list of people I listen to."
"As wonderful as that sounds, Caleb...I can't leave Ella...she always counts on me. My mom's in jail, but she's still a wonderful parent who went above and beyond to protect me...she saved me, in fact. We might have had similar childhoods, but there's two women in my life that I look up to and really respect. I love being with you, really, I do...but Aria and Mike aren't with their mom almost all the time like I am. They live with her half of their lives, and the other half is spent with their dad. What if she's giving birth, and I'm not there to help her? Zack's always at work, but I'm home, unless I'm here or at school...I don't even go to sleepovers because of this. My friends come to my house instead. Our vacation was so special, and I'll treasure it forever...but I don't want to move out until we both get a full-time job and can pay the rent and bills and all that...you know, support each other financially."
"I get it." I don't want to argue with her about this, so I move on to another topic of conversation. "What else is bothering you?"
"Holbrook tried to sexually harass me a while ago."
"I'll beat him up after I get free!" I growl.
"You don't have to, I already did!"
I look at her with pride. "God, I love you!"
"Me too, forever and ever."
"I'll be with you when we're old, I promise, sweetie. I'll be out in the...what's the weather like today?"
"Sunny."
"I'll be in the sun with you soon enough."
She giggles. "I don't know if it'll be sunny outside when you win the trial. Whatever it is, I'm taking you out to celebrate your freedom."
"You're the best girl I could ever have, you know that?"
"Yeah, but I never get tired of hearing that. I'm so proud of you. You're strong through all this."
"I don't feel that macho with my buddy," I say sarcastically.
"Nobody would. You survived, and you still are living, that's the most important thing that matters."
Our half hour together of talking is up. My next visitors are Hanna's friends and Ella. They sit down and Ella immediately says she wishes she could bail me out, but Zack won't let her because he's convinced I'm a criminal. He wants me in here forever and I think that's extreme.
"That's ridiculous! He's only putting the blame on me because I'm an easy target. Abusers do that all the time!"
Ella sighs. "Caleb, it wasn't Zack who hurt Hanna. I asked him, and he said he wouldn't dare do that to her."
"Yeah, he's too nice to touch a hair on her head," Aria put in.
"You girls have seen the same injuries on her that I have. You must have questions or suspicions...think about it, to me...there's a connection between when she started living with Ella and her husband and when she got beat up for the first time."
"Okay, but I know it's not Zack," Aria says sharply. "He plays Wii with me and Mike and he loves my mom...he treats Hanna pretty good, too. Just because he's strict about who she dates doesn't make him want to throw punches at her! He's a cool dude, just be on his good side."
I snort out a bitter chuckle. "What's his good side?"
"Look, Aria's right. He's the nicest boss I've ever had," Emily chimes in. "He's funny, too...he likes to joke around with me and the others."
"He's never been mean or anything...Aria or Hanna would've said something. I've met him a few times, when getting coffee in the summer, at the wedding, and whenever I'm there with Aria and the girls, and he just says hi to me, like anyone would to their stepkid's friends," Spencer adds.
"He can be a little argumentative," Ella admits. "It doesn't mean he's a bad person. Couples fight sometimes."
"Really? Have you seen that, Aria?"
Aria shrugs. "Yeah, squabbles about you and Hanna, but otherwise, they're okay and happily in love. There isn't any fighting when Mike and I are around, though. Mona could've done that to Hanna if she did all...that to you!"
"Good point," I say stiffly. I'm still thinking Zack's the culprit. Mona may have done some damage to Hanna's body and face, but Zack for sure had something to do with it.
Later, I get to talk to my lawyer. Veronica Hastings meets with me in some room and we sit down at a table. "So, you wanted to speak with me about something?"
I clear my throat. "Yeah, it's important...why am I with the biggest bully in this facility? Who runs this place, some guy who just gets off on criminals who don't get along with others? I didn't do anything wrong, Mrs. Hastings. Mr. Reeves and Mona Vanderwaal are framing me. I don't belong here!"
"I know that. Spencer's been telling me about how much they both...dislike you. She and the other girls want me to get you out of jail as fast as possible...but I need concrete evidence that you didn't do it."
"Well, there's another crime...Mona raped me. Zack hates me because I'm dating Hanna...I can't even...I'm done with the police system here. It's just...it's gotten out of control. They put me in the wrong cell...so the least you could do is ask them to move me. Please, I'm desperate...and I don't want my partner to hurt me anymore. He was threatening to strangle me in my sleep...I can't have my eyes open all night. The first night was the hardest...but every night is tough to get through. I'm walking on eggshells around him...he's an abuser...he..." I'm shaking, just thinking about that bastard.
"I know what he did, Caleb. Hanna told Spencer, and Spencer told me. They were practically begging me to switch you to a different cell."
"Can you do that?" I ask with hope in my trembling voice.
"Of course. Aria suggested that you be with her old English teacher, which isn't that awful. I've actually worked with him before...it was a paternity case. He's not mean or anything...he just betrayed his ex. It's horrible, but he doesn't harm people physically. I'll talk to the guards."
"Okay...thank you," I say to her gratefully.
Mrs. Hastings offers me a smile. "You're welcome."
Tonight's the first night I'll be able to sleep without fear of being killed. It's weird being with a former teacher at Rosewood High, but at least he's not violent. He spends a lot of time thinking about what he's done.
"You're...Mr. Fitz, right? Aria talked about you sometimes."
"Yeah, man, just call me Ezra. I'm unemployed and incarcerated. What did you do to get yourself in here?"
I scoff. "I should not be in an adult prison. I'm not even eighteen yet. I'm almost there, but not quite. Uh...this bitch raped me, but she and Hanna's foster dad accused me of raping her. I didn't do shit."
"That's sick. I was accused of statutory rape, too."
"Yeah, but you actually did it."
"Come on, Aria consented, now you're really not gonna be on her parents' side about this, are you?"
"I thought Aria was the one to put you in here."
"That was just because we had a minor disagreement...she overreacted...told the principal about us...and it's no fun being in jail, son...especially when everything you had was right in front of you. Now, it's just...it's a distant memory."
"Hey...Ezra...sorry, it's still awkward to call you by your first name. You used to teach my girlfriend and her friends...I don't want to get into this...whatever happened with you and Aria. You just gotta know that she was sixteen, and you jumped in the sack with her, knowing full well that she was far too young for you, buddy. You could've waited until she was out of college."
"I loved her...I still do."
"I don't think she wants anything to do with you, unfortunately. You really hurt her, apparently."
"She's seemed to have forgiven me. She visits me all the time."
"Is that in your dreams, or...?" I trail off, not believing the other possibility.
"It's a reality."
"Are you serious?" I ask him incredulously.
"Dead serious."
"I'm guessing Ella and her dad don't know."
"You're right."
"So, how long is your sentence?"
"Twenty years in this hateful place. Twenty fucking years, just because she blew up."
"Hey, it wasn't her fault," I quickly defend Aria. "You're the adult here, just saying."
"I have enough of Byron in my ear, it's like a drill...I don't need you, too."
"Byron...must be her father. Man, did he hit you or something? She must have told her parents when she found out whatever you did."
"We told them together at her house...her brother actually threw the punch...kid split my lip, he did a good job."
I press my lips together to keep in a laugh, so it comes out like a puff of air. I cough to cover it up. "Does Ella like you?"
"She was coming around, but she probably hates me, too."
"Uh...so tell me, what got Aria so mad?"
"I screwed up, big time. She was very angry when she found out that I was writing a true crime novel about Alison DiLaurentis...she even trashed my apartment...broke stuff everywhere. She made a huge deal that I knew who A was and I kept it to myself all that time...how was I supposed to know that they were getting texts from this anonymous figure? It turned out that who I thought was A...it really wasn't."
"Alison, the girl who called Hanna hefty?"
"Yeah, and she used to date me."
"You and all those underage girls," I mutter.
"Shut up, she lied about her age, and I fell for it."
I snicker. "Who did you think was this A person...and who are you referring to when you say they?"
"Oh, the girls...Aria and her friends...they were being tormented by A...I thought it was Mrs. DiLaurentis and Shana Fring, until they were killed."
"Was Hanna in any grave danger during all this?"
"They weren't close to her when I was at school, so I have no idea."
It's soon lights out, so we go to bed.
I spend the whole week telling Fitz that he can't change the past or rewind time, as much as we'd all like to. He's just gotta do better next time, and by the time he gets out, Aria will be old enough to date him. It's too long since I've seen Hanna last.
"My trial's tomorrow," I say as we both sit down at the table across from each other.
"I'm gonna be a witness. I'm going with Ella and the girls."
"What will you say?"
"I'll tell everyone what Mona did to me...and I'll say she is crazy enough to have hurt herself to make it look like you did it."
"That sounds good, but those are just words. You need solid proof...like DNA in her blood...a knife she was holding or something."
"Oh my god!" she shouts suddenly.
"What?"
"I cannot believe I never thought of this earlier!"
"What?" I repeat. "What is it, honey?"
"I can screenshot her text she sent to me. She admitted it...you see, she was torturing me through anonymous messages using a burner phone...and she accidentally sent it from her real number."
"Wherein the genius becomes the idiot," I say. "Wait, she was A?"
"Yeah...how do you know about that?"
"Fitz told me. He's my new cell buddy."
"Ahh, I see. This is gonna be easy, then. I can't see how they won't believe typed-out words."
"Me neither. Hey...I'm concerned about Aria."
"Really? Why is that?"
"She's seeing him again."
Hanna gasps and she has a shocked expression on her face. "Who, Fitz?"
"Yeah."
"How do you know that?"
"He bragged about it."
"Oh, he wishes he could see her again! She hates him, she told us...she said he ain't a part of her life no more!" I notice that Hanna slips into her bad English when she's upset. "She's done with him, alright?"
I shake my head. "Maybe she was ashamed to say that she still loves him. He may not be a serial killer or a rapist, but he stalked her for who knows how long, and their relationship was toxic while it lasted. It was built on a lie. I don't like this at all."
"I hate it," Hanna mumbles. "Aria lied to us, but I can understand why...Emily and Spencer didn't take it well when they found out about her relationship with him, and I just knew him as our teacher, and I was disgusted about what he did. If Ella didn't like him, then he must be a bad person. She doesn't just not like someone for no reason."
"I'm interested to know what her reaction would be if she found out that Aria was coming here secretly."
"Why, are you thinking of tattling? That's not very nice, or mature. Besides, Ella's got enough on her plate."
"No, I know...but I'm tempted to tell her dad, at least. He should know, he deserves to. He can protect Aria better than either of us can...we're just her friends, so we don't have power over her. He's her father. He's got the right to straighten this jerk out."
"Mr. Montgomery doesn't even come here. Did you ever meet him?"
"No. What about you?"
"No, although I'd like to, for some reason." She purses her plump, pinkish red lips in thought. "I want him to catch her without us saying anything about this."
"So you basically want him to be a mind reader."
"Yes!"
I throw my hands up. "That's impossible!"
She groans. "Dude, I know! Hey...how do we know that Fitz ain't lying? This could be some fantasy of his. I don't wanna accuse my bestie of something she ain't doing."
"I know that he likes to push Byron's buttons. He'd definitely go on about his accomplishments, which include dating Aria behind her father's back."
"Byron, that's his first name?" She sounds amused.
"Yeah, why, you recognize it from somewhere?"
"Ella's said it before, it just sounds funny. I always thought that name was stupid. It sounds like a strong man who stands up straight and never goes around with a hunchback...the complete opposite of a cheater."
"Oh, never thought of it that way, but that makes sense."
She giggles. "Should I try to get the truth out of Ari first?"
"If you want, sure."
"Okay, because I don't totally trust Fitz. He was a good teacher, but he's got this pedophile inside of him. Plus, he lied to my friends for years."
"I agree. You can tell her she doesn't have to be humiliated about seeing him, because it's natural to never be truly over your childhood crush."
"He was her first love. I can understand...but there's times when you need to just let go. I don't want him controlling her life forever."
"She may not think she's good enough for anyone better than him, if you know what I mean."
"I do. She's got some...issues. It's just girl stuff. Hey...I'll just go back out there so I can text her to come over here. We can talk her out of this together...convince her that he's bad and he ain't gonna change. I don't wanna resort to blabbing to her dad."
Hanna comes back linking arms with Aria. They take their seats across from me, and Aria's eyes shift back and forth, from me to Hanna, and then back to me. "What's going on? What's so serious?"
"It's about you and Fitz. We're worried," Hanna starts out.
Aria looks at us like a deer caught in headlights. "There's nothing going on..."
"He's my new cell partner," I inform her. "Either he's crazy in saying that you still see him, or he's actually telling the truth for once."
Aria sighs and looks down at the table. "He is."
"Why?" Hanna asks abruptly. "He's not a good guy."
"I know...but he's trying...he really is." She plays with her fingers and bites her lip like she's nervous. "I'm willing to give...us...a second chance. They exist, my mom said so."
"I don't think she meant with the same person who treated you and your friends like dung by following you around for years and writing an article about someone you thought he didn't know," I say gently.
"I've never felt passion with anyone but Ezra. I can't help it...he's just so...I'm trying to think of the right word...charismatic. He was my Prince Charming, and I can't stay away. I didn't wanna tell you guys because I thought you'd judge me badly...and please don't spill this to anyone, not even Spence and Em. They wouldn't understand, my dad would have a stroke, and my mom would probably give birth right in the middle of you telling her."
Hanna and I smile while exchanging a glance. "Okay," we say in unison.
"I'm not saying you're stupid, Aria...people fall for the wrong guy or girl all the time...but consider this, there's other fish in the sea. You haven't found Mr. Right yet, and you know what, you're in high school...there's plenty of time for you to find true love. Look at your mom, she's like, forty, and she's just gotten married for the second time," Hanna points out.
"Why are you talking to me like you're her age?"
"I really sound like that?"
Aria raises her eyebrow. "You both do. You're giving me advice like an aunt and uncle would. You're thirty year olds trapped in teenagers' bodies."
I smirk. "Is that a compliment?"
"If you want it to be. I mean...how are you guys...like so...perfect and mature?"
"We're far from it. Zack forbids us to date," Hanna says dryly.
"That doesn't make you childish, it just makes him seem silly. I could talk to him for you, if you want."
"Thanks, but no thanks. Basically, our advice for you is to forget about Fitz...make him sorry for the rest of his life...he needs to regret it as long as he walks on the earth. Aria, you're a smart girl...Hanna, could you continue this for me? I don't want to sound flirty."
Hanna giggles. "Sure." She puts her arm around Aria. "You're too pretty for him, and your heart is too pure and clean for someone as dirty as he is. You're one of my best friends. I don't want to see you hurt. This creep was beyond unbelievable, and you have to remember that. I mean, that's like your mom forgiving your dad for cheating on her."
"She did, once, she went back to him."
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. "Did she realize he was actually an idiot who didn't deserve her love and trust ever again?"
"Yeah. I just...I feel empty without him. Isn't that how you guys are when Zack keeps you apart?"
We nod.
"We're a healthy couple, though," Hanna says softly. "Caleb's never tried to hurt me, not once...and the worst I've done is yell at him about something he's completely innocent of. I don't want to force you into anything, but just please consider what we're saying."
"I'm a mess and I'm jealous of your easy relationship," she murmurs. "You know, but that's cool."
"There are plenty of guys who want to date you, Aria, you just gotta find your soulmate, no matter how long it takes. You don't need to rush," I tell her.
She grins slowly. "My parents were trying to set me up with my childhood friend, Holden Strauss, like last year. I had fun with him, actually...especially at the arcade. I did some weird dance in front of him because I was happy that I beat him at a game, and I've never done that with anyone else. He saved me once, from Noel." Her cheeks are turning red. "I don't think it's too late to call him, and my parents will approve, I know that for sure."
"You're blushing," Hanna teases her. "Go get him, girl!"
When Aria leaves, I smile at my girlfriend. "If I could hi-five you, I would."
"Yeah, me too. Now, I'm gonna show off that evidence to the cops. They'll believe me for sure now!"
My week of terror is finally almost over, I think.
I appreciate your reviews: feyhazelle, BadassHaleb, Guest, SereneCalamity, and Natashapolobea1! It really motivates me as a writer and I enjoy penning this story as much as y'all love reading it! So thank you :) xoxo