Pain was the first thing she felt when she regained consciousness. A dull, aching pain that started in her toes and made its way up to the top of her head. It felt like she had been beaten severely. She would check for bruises if she could see.
When Aria first opened her eyes, she thought she'd gone blind. There was nothing but darkness surrounding her. But the darkness felt close and selective, not spacious and totally encompassing like a dark room. This dark was artificial. A blindfold maybe? Her face was in so much pain that she couldn't tell.
She tried to move. Chains rattled. Were they on her ankles or on her wrists? Either way, she knew she couldn't move.
The air smelled stale and almost metallic like she was in a warehouse or something similar. How had she gotten there? The last thing she remembered was talking to Spencer's friend, Wren, outside of The Brew. He'd pulled up next to them on the street and started talking to them as if he known all of them since birth. Aria found it strange, but no one else did. She recalled Wren asking them if they needed a ride home. She was pretty sure she'd said no, but he insisted. Did she eventually say yes? Is that how she got here? Blindfolded and chained to God knows what? Was this Wren's version of a senior prank? If so, it wasn't funny.
All of the sudden she heard talking. There were three voices. Two girls and one guy. Wren. They were muffled, probably in the next room. A door opened. She heard breathing. They were in her room now.
Aria's body went stiff. She was suddenly aware of how cold her legs were. She'd been wearing jeans earlier. Had they taken them off of her?
"Hello?" Aria croaked out. Her throat was as dry as a bone. "Is anyone there?"
Footsteps drew near. They stopped.
A hand on Aria's bare knee caused her to flinch.
"This isn't funny. Please let me go."
The hand moved up her thigh. Aria tried to back away, but the chains kept her in place.
"Stop," Aria pleaded. "Please. Stop."
The hand kept moving. Soon, slender fingers were tracing the outline of her panties. Aria felt hot breath on her neck just before a pair of lips attached themselves to her skin.
"Oh God," Aria cried. She felt tears running down her cheeks. "Please don't do this."
The fingers slipped inside the fabric. Aria screamed. "No. Please. No. I'll do whatever you want. I…"
Aria stopped mid-sentence. As much as her body hurt, what was happening to her at that moment hurt even worse. A loud cry escaped her lips as she wiggled to get away. But it was no use.
After a few moments, the fingers stopped their movements. Aria's body went limp and began shaking with sobs. The next thing she heard was the zipper of a pair of jeans go down. Despite the pain that ripped through her limbs, Aria began thrashing from side to side, screaming, begging whoever this was to rethink their decision.
They didn't listen. They were just getting started.
Aria tried to count. She tried to keep track of how many minutes, hours, days she laid in the darkness without food or water. She tried to keep a tally of how many times Wren entered her room to have his way with her. She tried to figure out how long it had been since she'd shed her last tear. She tired, but she couldn't.
Her brain stopped functioning fully. She was only aware of the sounds around her. A voice here, a voice there. She couldn't focus on the discomfort or the hunger or the thirst. She'd go insane if she did…not to say that she hadn't already. At one point, before Aria decided to stop thinking, she considering gnawing off a chunk of her arm to satisfy her hunger. Humans tasted like chicken or something, right?
She kept her movements as minimal as possible. She didn't turn from side to side when she got uncomfortable. She no longer fought Wren when he came for her. Aria just didn't move…until they made her.
They gave her food. Force fed her with their bare hands. One person held her mouth open. Another shoveled the food in. The last chased it with water. If Aria tried to vomit, they hit her in the thighs with some type of blunt, metal object.
When she finished her "meal", the two females took her into another room to begin playing their game.
They removed her blindfold and for the first time, Aria saw that CeCe and Mona were the owners of the two female voices she'd heard on the first day. She also saw herself…or what was supposed to be herself. But she didn't look like Aria anymore. She looked like a ghost of Aria. Thin, pale, zombie-like. He hair was gone…or shorter rather. They'd cut it without her knowledge.
"It looks better short," Mona shrugged. "We like it better this way. Our dolls have to look perfect. Now you do."
Aria said nothing. She felt nothing.
Mona did her makeup. CeCe picked out her outfit. Together they made Aria into a living marionette.
Aria was right. She was in a warehouse. She mentally, and sarcastically, applauded herself for her correct assumption as the two female captors walked her down a long corridor. If only her intuition had been this good before she'd gotten into Wren's van, maybe she wouldn't be here.
They stopped at a set of double doors. CeCe opened one and pushed Aria inside. The room was dark except for lights lining a pathway on the floor.
"Follow the lighted path," CeCe instructed curtly.
Aria didn't move.
"Walk, dammit," CeCe hissed, grabbing Aria by the forearm and marching her forward a few steps.
Aria did what she was told, feeling a new bruise form on her paper-thin skin.
She heard the lights begin the click on, lighting up the room slowly and by row. That's when Aria noticed the sections of metal chairs set up on either side of the lighted path, as if they were expecting an audience. When she looked up, Aria saw a makeshift stage begin to fade in to view. Three dark figures hung from beams above and appeared to be strung up by rope.
The last light clicked on.
The hanging figures were her friends. Spencer, Hanna, and Emily had been strung up like puppets, passed out, but ready to put on a show.
Aria's eyes widened.
"Bring her here," Wren's haunting body appeared in the wings of the make shift stage.
CeCe clamped her arm back down on Aria and pulled her in the direction of her boss.
Wren opened his arms to Aria as if he was about to embrace her in a hug. But instead, he only rested his hands on her cheeks, cupping her face. "Hello, my beautiful doll." He leaned in. "You were always my favorite. I can't wait to play with you." His words instructed goose bumps to rise on Aria's skin. "Come now."
Wren led Aria "backstage" where an odd looking contraption waited for her. A wooden board with two small holes cut in the middle, held up by strings, much like her friends were. Without warning, Wren grabbed Aria wrists and pulled them behind her. Aria let out a small squeak, wincing in pain. Wren persuaded Aria towards the wooden board and shoved her tiny hands through the holes. Suddenly, Aria couldn't move a muscle.
"This may hurt a little," Wren laughed, walking over to a pulley system of ropes that seemed to be attached the the board Aria was stuck to.
Before Aria could process what was happening, Wren yanked on the ropes, sending the wooden board up along with Aria's arms. She yelped in pain. No human was meant to bend that way. Any higher and her shoulders would dislocate themselves.
That's when it clicked.
She was his doll. His puppet.
He made her his. He dressed her up. He treated her like a possession.
This was the final step for his fantasy. If he dislocates her joints, she no longer has any control. It's all up to him. Total manipulation. This was it for her.
Wren yanked harder. She felt her right should pop out of socket and be pulled the the left. An involuntary scream escaped her lips. Another yank. There went her left shoulder. Another yank. Both shoulder moved upward. Aria felt tears streaming down her face. Her heart was beating faster than it ever had. Another yank. "Why are you doing this to me?" Her wrists popped. Her body shook. Another yank. Violent pain. Then total darkness.
Pain was the first thing she felt when she regained consciousness. An overwhelming sense of déjà vu washed over her. Where was she? Why did she hurt so bad?
She tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn't budge more than a centimeter or so. She tried to move her hand. Something was keeping it in place. Not a chain, but something.
Her breathing increased, becoming rapid and shallow. She had to get out.
"Help," Aria muttered. Her throat and lips were parched. "Help me." She croaked a little louder.
She felt a hand on her arm, causing her to flinch
"Please don't hurt me!" Aria screamed in a raspy voice.
"Aria," Someone who was definitely not Wren spoke gently to her. "Aria, you're okay. No one is going to hurt you. You're safe."
The voice registered in her head. "Ezra?" She whispered.
"I'm right here," He grabbed her hand and stroked it with the pad of his thumb.
"What happened? Where am I? Why can't I see anything?" Aria's voice shook with fear.
"You were in a car accident. You're in the hospital. Your eyes are swollen shut, but that's just temporary," Ezra answered her questions calmly, resulting in a sense of momentary peace to wash over Aria. "Do you remember the accident?"
Aria nodded. It was coming back to her as the seconds ticked by. The shattered glass, the way her car flipped, the way her life flashed before her eyes. "I was trapped under my car," Aria muttered.
"You were," Ezra confirmed her perception of reality. "Is that what you were just dreaming about? Is that why you were asking for help?"
For a brief second, Aria considered lying. She considered saying yes. But lying…or rather not telling the whole truth, is what caused her to get into this accident in the first place. Had she just been honest with Ezra, she would've never left the office, therefore she would've never been blindsided by a reckless truck driver. Lying continuously fucked her over. She thought she'd learned her lesson after her roundabout with Wren, CeCe, and Mona, but obviously she hadn't. She lied to everyone she loved once and almost died. Now she lied to Ezra and was almost killed. She was sensing a pattern she didn't like. "No. I was dreaming about…about what happened to me my senior year. The kidnapping."
Ezra frowned, "Oh. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not particularly," Aria leaned her head back on her pillow. "Not right now at least." Just because she didn't want to lie, didn't mean she wanted to talk about it. There were a few other things she wanted to address before she got to her dark past. Things like the present. Their present.
"Okay," Ezra sounded disappointed.
"Why are you here?" Aria asked flatly.
"Because I love you," Ezra stated in a tone that mimicked hers. "And I care about you."
"Is that why you asked me to leave the office? Because you cared?" She didn't mean to sound bitchy, but she did.
"No," Ezra sighed. "I asked you to leave because I'm immature and an asshole."
Aria smirked despite herself, "Thank you for admitting it." Her expression fell. "But I can't let you take all the blame. I pushed you to that point."
Ezra bowed his head. He sucked in his bottom lip, a sign that he was contemplating what to say next. His brain didn't work fast enough.
"Do you want to know what it's like?" Aria asked suddenly, her demeanor softening.
"What what is like?" Ezra didn't lift his head.
"Being in a crash like that," Aria picked at a loose strand of fabric on her blanket with her only working hand. "Weren't you curious about it after Katelyn died?"
Ezra furrowed his brow, still staring at his shoes, "I was."
"Cliché as it is, my life really did flash before my eyes," Aria admitted. "I saw my childhood. There was this…this tire swing in my grandma's backyard. It was my favorite thing in the world until I outgrew it. I saw myself swinging on it. I could feel my hair flowing in the summer breeze. God, my hair used to be so long." She smiled slightly at the memory. "I saw my first fight with my best friend. It was over a boy. Stupid, I know. Then I saw my last fight with Alison. She accused me of stealing her favorite top. I didn't. Hanna did. But I never told her that. Then she died." Aria paused. Talking about death in her condition made her feel incredibly lucky, but also incredibly uneasy. "I saw her funeral. The dress I wore was way too short for it, but I thought I looked good, as if the funeral was about me and not Ali," She rolled her eyes. "I saw…I saw the dollhouse. Maybe that's why I dreamed about it just now. That or I haven't had a night terror in awhile and my brain decided to throw one at me now. Yeah, by the way, I have night terrors and am prone to anxiety attacks because of what happened to me. Just something to know for the future," Aria said dryly. "I saw my relationship with Liam. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I saw you. I…I liked seeing you. That part went by too quickly. I didn't want it to end. I don't think Katelyn did either." She whispered the last part, hoping she wasn't overstepping her bounds.
"I hope not," Ezra sniffed as he finally lifted his head. Although Aria couldn't see very well, she could hear it in his voice that he was crying. "I thought I lost you. I don't want to lose you. Ever."
Just as Aria was going to respond, there was a knock on the door. "Uh, come in?" Aria called out weakly.
The door opened, revealing a small nurse with a syringe clasped firmly in her hand. "Hi, Ms. Montgomery. Glad to see you're awake. Unfortunately, that may not last long. I'm here to give you your pain medication and it will make you sleepy."
"Oh," Aria sighed. She was tired of sleeping. She wanted to talk to Ezra. "Can it wait?"
"I'm afraid not," The nurse shook her head and began rubbing Aria's IV with an alcohol pad. "Not unless you want your pain level to increase tremendously."
"She doesn't," Ezra spoke for her, knowing that Aria would probably try to sound tough and opt out of the medication.
"Alright, just lay back and close your eyes. This will kick in pretty quickly. No sense in trying to fight it," The nurse attached the syringe to the IV and began pushing the burning liquid into Aria's veins. "Just count backwards from ten. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…"
"Five, four, three, two, one. Showtime, my precious dolls. Make me proud."
A/N: Thank you guys for reading! I am so sorry this is so short and that the quality isn't up to its usual standard. My prom date dumped me earlier today, so I've been dealing with that and I wasn't really in the mood to write for awhile. But it's still Wednesday, so I kept my promise. It just took a little longer than I anticipated. The next chapter will be longer, I promise! Hope y'all enjoyed it! What did you think of the dollhouse dream Aria had? I will say that the marionette idea was inspired by an episode of Criminal Minds and was not totally my idea. Also, I know you guys were looking forward to some sweet moments between them, like a kiss or an apology, but given what happened to me earlier today, I wasn't in the mood to write that. Plus, I think it's a bit unrealistic for Aria to wake up and immediately want to talk about their fight. She's still trying to process what happened to her. You can expect more fluff in the next chapter, which I hope to upload Saturday. Please don't let the short length discourage your reviews. Please, please, please, let me know your thoughts by reviewing!
-Erin xoxo