I had posted this on Kindle Worlds back in October. I've worked very hard on this story and only received about 20 downloads. While I'm so appreciative of those twenty people, I'd rather have more people read my story for free than 20 people read it on another website. It was nice for it to be published, but alas, I just want people to read my work and that's all that matters to me. Anyway, if you read the original one-shot, this is VERY different. I added 2,000 words and changed around a lot. So, even the first chapter is completely different. Please review!

The Day She Knew

July 15, 2012

"Tired of this game? Meet me at the park behind Bernard's Auto Repair at 8:00. -A"

The girls were drinking coffee at The Brew when they received the text from A. Recently, it had seemed as if they were running in circles trying to catch up to their tormentor. They knew Ezra was involved, but there were still an infinite number of missing pieces in the complex mystery. Ali was alive—or so they thought—but they didn't know where she was or what she was running from. At this point, the girls didn't even know what they were chasing after. Aria had wanted to give up—especially now that she was about to become a mother. But 'A' wasn't ready for Game Over just yet. And truthfully, neither was Nancy Drew (otherwise known as Spencer Hastings).

The four girls threw out their drinks and hastily jumped into Spencer's car. The leader of the group pressed several buttons on the GPS and pulled away from the curb. Aria nervously sat beside her as they drove to an auto shop a few miles away in Ravenswood. Each time they drove off for a meeting with A, they clung to the hope that it would be the final time. Instead, every encounter only bred more questions. The routine was exhausting.

The car came to a stop in a parking spot in front of Bernard's Auto Repair. The old, run-down garage didn't cater to many customers anymore. The sign that hung above the garage was barely recognizable. Not that it needed to be. Elderly men seemed to be the only customers; it was likely where they'd gone to repair their cars for decades.

Aria reached for the door's handle when Spencer abruptly threw a hand in front of her, preventing her from exiting the car. "Where do you think you're going? You're staying here."

Emily agreed, adding, "Spencer's right. You can't risk hurting the baby, Aria."

"Besides, you can't run very fast."

"Hanna."

Aria nodded, realizing the sense in their words—even Hanna's. Running wasn't her specialty on a normal day, never mind when she was due in just three months. And when was an 'A' encounter ever a leisurely stroll in the park? She lay back in her seat and sighed at the thought of waiting for their return, but it was her only choice.

"Be careful, okay?" She reached for Spencer's hand and squeezed it.

The other half of Team Sparia gave Aria a reassuring smile and nod and opened her door. "Keep the doors locked unless you see us running for our lives. Got it?"

Aria stifled a laugh, shaking her head. "Got it." The sad part was, she knew it wasn't a far-fetched scenario.

-A—

The girls had only been gone for ten minutes when Aria's son decided to get comfortable on top of her bladder. With the limited space she had, she attempted to hold the overwhelming need to pee, but to no avail. She sighed and opened the car door, figuring Spencer would not be thrilled with a car that reeked of urine.

She rushed to the small office area of the auto shop and swiftly opened the door. An older man with a grey beard and oil-stained work clothes stared at her in disgust, stopping Aria in her journey to the restroom. "Miss, if you need to use the toilet, go to the gas station ten miles down the road."

Aria crossed her legs, doing a bit of a dance to hold it in. "I really have to go. It'll only be a second," she pleaded with the bitter man.

"Are you a paying customer? I'm closing in fifteen seconds, anyway. Go." He rudely shooed her away with his hands, pointing at the door. His bitterness was likely due to far too many non-paying customers in the past years.

Aria huffed irritably and pulled out a ten-dollar bill from the pocket of her jeans. "My headlights aren't working properly. Can you check them out?"

The man snickered and pushed back his chair, causing the room to echo from the scraping against the cement. He approached her and grabbed the bill from her grasp. "Keys?"

"Oh, right." Aria reached into the same pocket and pulled out Spencer's keys. She handed them to the man, all while continuing her potty dance.

"The door behind the desk. I hope there's toilet paper."

Without waiting a spare second, she ran behind the desk and relieved herself in the disgusting bathroom that had clearly been cleaned only a handful of times. When she opened the door, the man was returning with Spencer's keys. "Headlights are fine. Now get out."

Although he didn't deserve it, Aria gave the man a quick smile and exited the shop. She went to unlock Spencer's car, but it seemed as if the man had forgotten to lock it after he checked the headlights. Not thinking anything of it, she returned to her seat and continued to wait for her friends to come back.

"Did you relieve yourself?" A chilling male voice rang from the backseat, one that caused her heart to stop. It was a good thing she had found the bathroom, because she would've peed herself at this moment.

Aria slowly turned her head to find a man sitting in the back of Spencer's car with a sinister smirk resting upon his lips. It was Wren Kingston—Spencer's former lover. A British accent had never seemed so menacing before, besides, perhaps the voice of Cruella de Vil. Wren comfortably leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed in front of him, knowing he was in full control of the young girl. Aria didn't answer his question; she was frozen in fear. "Hmm? Well, I'll be relieved once I get rid of you."

The driver's door suddenly opened and another man sat down beside her. The doors locked. She tried to unlock her door to escape, but it wouldn't budge. Someone had child-locked her door. Only Wren had the ability to let her out, and she had a feeling he wasn't going to do that.

"Ready to go?"

His voice was unmistakable. "Ezra!?" she questioned in disbelief. He didn't reply, but it was definitely him who was sitting beside her. She frantically tried opening the door once more, just in case, but there was no use. She was locked in a car with Ezra Fitz, the man who had taken advantage of her and gotten her pregnant. When Aria was small, Mike had locked her in a closet once. That day didn't come close to the claustrophobia she felt now.

"Turn around with your back facing me," Ezra demanded, far different from the sweet and comforting voice she always knew and loved. This was the proof she needed to know that the man she fell in love with was nothing but a sociopathic villain.

"Ezra—"

"Do it," Wren shouted from the backseat, leaning forward. He pulled a pistol from the inside of his jacket and pointed it towards Aria's round baby bump. "Your baby daddy told me how much you love writing stories. Do what I say or your story is over." He raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if he had to pull the trigger.

Aria nodded and obeyed their demands, shifting as best as she could in her seat. Ezra pulled a pair of handcuffs from the pocket of his jeans and tightly secured them around her wrists. She already had significant back pain from the extra weight she carried in front of her. She knew it wouldn't be long before it became excruciating with her hands behind her back.

"Sit back," Ezra instructed.

Aria returned to her original position and bit her lips until they bled, trying to hold back a wave of tears. She feared they would punish her if she started crying. Not that she had a choice; her emotions did what they wanted.

"Give me her phone," Wren demanded.

Ezra kneeled over the center console and reached into her pants pocket, violating Aria's personal space. When he didn't find it there, he leaned further and found it in her other pocket. He handed the phone to Wren, then returned to his seat and sped off. The gun remained pressed against her stomach while Ezra drove down an unfamiliar street.

With every bit of courage she had, Aria opened her mouth to speak to her captors. "My friends will know I'm missing." Her voice was shaky, unconfident and scared.

Wren pressed the gun further into her abdomen, letting out a sinister laugh while Aria grimaced in pain. If he hurt the baby, she would be broken beyond repair. Her son was the only thing getting her through the heartbreak.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Wren asked. "I thought you'd be the perfect bait to lure your friends to me. Spencer's smart enough to find this car, but not smart enough to know she should never leave a pretty girl alone. Haven't you girls learned anything from this?"

Aria remained deathly silent, staring at the road in front of her.

Wren took out Aria's phone and started typing, reading the words out loud as he went along. "Have you found what you're looking for? I already got what I needed. Don't worry! Aria is with her baby daddy. -A"

"It was you all along?" Aria wondered incredulously. "You're the A?"

"Most of it," Wren admitted. "But I got a little help from some friends." He tilted his head towards Ezra in the front seat, knowing it would further break Aria's already fragile heart. Every tearstain on her face was another form of sickening entertainment.

The car turned down a dirt road in a part of town that Aria had never seen. Houses became farther and farther apart until they were replaced with trees and open fields. She wondered where her final resting place would be: in a ditch in the woods, or a shallow grave in the field? Forcing positive thoughts, Aria's mind raced to think of a way out of the mess. There was no safe way.

Unexpectedly, Aria felt something gently touch her knee. She looked down and saw Ezra's hand for a quick moment before it retreated back to the steering wheel. Her former lover discreetly glanced over at her, mouthing a few words. He was trying to tell her something. She peeked in the rearview mirror and noticed Wren was distracted while typing another 'A' message. Ezra repeated his words again. "For you," he mouthed. Aria cautiously nodded to acknowledge that she heard him.

She felt a sense of relief that was hundreds of times stronger than when she finally sat down on the toilet at Bernard's Auto Repair. Ezra Fitz was on her side.

Gravel crunched against the tires as Ezra came to a stop on the side of the road. After the headlights turned off, it was pitch dark besides the moonlight and the light from their phones. Not a house nor a farm nor a streetlight could be seen in the distance, only miles of wilderness. Wren violently pulled Aria out of the car and made her sit on the side of the road, which was rather difficult being over six months pregnant and handcuffed. When she didn't do it as swiftly as he wanted her to, he kicked her to the ground, which caused her to let out a painful scream. Ezra watched them. Aria could finally see the worry behind his eyes when he saw the way she was being treated. The physical pain she felt mirrored the pain written on his face. He couldn't do anything, or he'd risk his own life.

Wren leaned against the hood of the car and continued to point the gun in Aria's direction while they waited. Her heart pounded out of her chest, terrified he'd accidentally or not-so-accidentally pull the trigger without a warning or kick her in the stomach. His devilish eyes never left her; she wasn't even sure if he blinked. Every sound she heard, no matter how faint, was a small glimmer of hope that she'd be okay.

"It's not you I want to punish," Wren finally said, walking towards her. "But it's more fun this way. It's always been more fun this way. It drives Spencer up a wall." Her heart rate increased with each step he took. This was the end, she thought. She closed her eyes and bit down on the insides of her cheeks, trying to remain as calm as possible. The gravel crunched under his feet as he approached her in the darkness. "And I know she'd do anything for you. Or would she?" He laughed deviously, standing dangerously close to her body with the gun pointed at her head and his bent knee centimeters away from her protruding stomach. "Then again, you thought Ezra would do anything for you. Now he's just a spectator in your torture."

The bright lights of oncoming headlights illuminated the darkness. Wren quickly turned in the other direction, and Aria let out a weak sigh of relief. The girls drove up in what appeared to be a car from the auto shop. For a fraction of a second, Aria wondered what they had to do to get it, but then remembered it was the least of her worries.

Ezra remained behind Aria, watching her to "make sure she wouldn't escape." When Wren walked away to the approaching girls, Ezra carefully bent down behind Aria and unlocked her handcuffs. He whispered in her ear, "Pretend they're still on." She nodded and did as instructed.

"Sometimes my plans work out even better than I think," Wren announced as the girls got out of the car. They slammed the doors behind them and eagerly ran towards Aria. They abruptly stopped in the middle of the dirt road when Wren pointed the gun at Spencer. "Maybe you should've chosen me, after all. Stay where you are or I'm killing your friends while you watch."

'A' had finally cornered them. There was no way out this time, no matter which way they spun it. The cat had played with his mice for two years and was finally ready to take the first bite that would kill them. Game Over. Dinner time.

A piercingly loud bang struck through the air, what could've only been the sound of a deathly gunshot. Aria cringed and instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see which of her friends was gone forever. When she finally opened them a few seconds later, she was relieved—and confused—to see all of her friends standing.

But Wren was not. He lay in a puddle of blood on the dirt road, a gunshot wound through the back of his head. Aria whipped her head towards Ezra, who was pointing a gun where Wren was standing. He had never killed a man before, and it was evident from the look of shock and guilt on his face. He had no choice if he wanted his soul mate to finally wake up from the never-ending nightmare. He always woke her up from nightmares. This time was no different.

It was over. Everything was over. The girls ran to Aria as she shook the handcuffs off her wrist. They helped her off the ground and embraced each other in a group hug, all of them crying out of pure happiness and relief. 'A' was dead. Game Over. They could finally live again.

Or so they thought. Ezra was naive to think that Wren was the mastermind behind the tormenting, because seconds later, another loud bang forced everyone apart. Ezra joined Wren on the ground, blood pouring out of his body. His hand clutched to his chest in excruciating pain.

"You betrayed me," a female voice eerily called from the woods. Footsteps ran away from the scene, leaves crunching under her feet. She was gone before she was there, before they could see her. The game started once again.

Aria stared at Ezra with her mouth wide open, her hands on her hips, not able to think or speak or breathe or function. It took Emily's screams and subsequent calling of 911 for Aria to run to Ezra and sit on the ground next to him, dragging his body on top of her lap. He was still conscious and holding onto his life. He couldn't leave her now, could he? She finally got him back. He was going to be a father and she was going to be a mother and they were going to be a perfect little family. If she willed it enough, he had to make it through this. It's what her mother always taught her as a child. If you want something enough, you can have it.

"Ezra, you're going to be fine," she promised him through a waterfall of tears. "You're okay." Her face said otherwise, though. She wasn't entirely sure her mother was right. Ezra lifted his hand and rested it on Aria's stomach, giving her the best smile he could.

Her eyes followed his hand. "It's a boy," Aria told him.

He moved his head in a weak nod, but Aria knew he heard her. "I can't wait to meet him," he whispered, his voice beginning to fade. It took a few moments for him to regain some strength, then he opened his mouth to ask a question. "Did I prove it?"

"Prove what?" Aria asked, lowering her eyebrows in confusion.

"That I love you."

Aria wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hands. "Yes," she answered with a bright smile. She continued to brush her fingers through his hair while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

Just like she always did when she was about to kiss him.

October 16, 2012

Ella turned to drive between the iron gates, to a place that Aria had visited often in the past few months. She sat in the back of the car with her newborn son beside her. It was the same seat she rode in the way home from the hospital, not daring to leave him alone. Being alone terrified her.

Ezra wasn't in the room to witness the birth of their first child. Ella held her daughter's hand through the 18 hours of labor, the final pushes, and didn't let go until the second she became a grandmother. The moment he was placed onto her chest, Aria let go of everything she'd been holding back throughout the majority of her pregnancy. Tears fell from her cheeks in a strange mix of unrivaled happiness and extreme longing. The pain from giving birth began to dissipate while another form of pain took hold of Aria's soul. She was happy, but something was missing.

Three weeks of learning to become a mother was a much-needed distraction for Aria—until today, when she figured her son was old enough to venture out into the real world. Aria leaned over the baby's seat and was relieved to see he was awake for the visit. "Your daddy can't wait to meet you. He told me."

The Night He Was Taken Away

July 15, 2012

He remained lying on her lap while she desperately waited to hear the sound of sirens approaching from the distance. She begged him to keep his eyes open and he looked at her as if he'd never see her again. Their goals were different; he wanted to guarantee she was the last thing he saw; she wanted him to stay. He accepted his fate. But she waited.

In his final moments of consciousness, he tilted his head and gently pressed his lips against her stomach, leaving a bloodied print on her maternity top. "Love you, baby," he hoarsely mumbled before returning his eyes to Aria's. "Love you, babe."

It was the night Aria learned that the power of positive thinking was no match against the destruction of a bullet pierced through a human's fragile chest. No matter how many times she pleaded with him to stay alive for her, for their son, it couldn't compete with the death slowly pulling him away from her.

And then she finally heard the sirens.

The Morning He Met His Father

October 16, 2012

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?"

"Yes," Aria told her mother. "We need to be alone."

Ella turned to give her daughter a smile, one that held as much sadness as it did comfort. As a 40-year-old woman, she had never experienced the amount of pain in her lifetime as that 18-year-old daughter had. It simply wasn't right and it definitely wasn't fair.

The young mother's hands shook as she unbuckled her three-week old son from the carrier centered in the back of the car. With a shaky breath, she lifted him out of the seat and cradled him in her arms. He wore a brand new outfit that was covered in tiny bicycles because Mommy knew that Daddy would love it. Even on days like this, his soft baby skin and baby smell could force the creases of her mouth to turn ever so slightly. Her free hand opened the car door, bringing herself out into the breezy October air.

Ezra wasn't there to witness the birth of their first—and last—child.

If he had, he would've made infinite promises to his son, much like he had to the boy's mother. He'd teach him to read before anyone in his class. He'd make sure he knew he could be anything he wanted to be. Most important of all, he'd promise to love him forever. His death brought on a slew of broken promises, none of which were his doing. But Aria knew there was one lesson that Ezra could teach his son, and that was to love with everything he had, even if it meant risking it all.

The newborn studied his mother's face while she made her way to Ezra's gravestone. Aria's was one of the few faces the baby knew, one of the few voices he loved. He'd never have the privilege of knowing his father besides a handful of pictures and videos, and that killed her. She grasped the marathon necklace that hung from her neck as she continued her short trek. It stayed with her every day following his death, until the grief gradually faded into acceptance. These days, she only wore it when she really needed him, like the day she gave birth and the nights the baby wouldn't sleep.

Her steps moved in the direction of his grave, her hazel eyes returning her son's stare all the way. The baby smiled and she smiled too. Even if the smirk was only a newborn reflex, he still held the same magical power as his father.

She stopped when she knew they were there, then carefully brought herself into a sitting position on the dry grass and orange leaves. She placed a bouquet of flowers on the ground beside her, replacing the dead daisies from a visit before the baby came.

"Hey babe," she began, her eyes focused on the large stone with Ezra's name, "I miss you. I'm sorry I haven't visited in so long, but our son is quite the handful and I really wish you were here to help me out." She paused, as if she were waiting for Ezra to respond in some way. "Would you like to meet him?" She lifted the baby up slightly so Ezra had a better view, but made sure his head was still fully supported. "His name is Rainn Hollis Fitz. I hope you approve. Ella wasn't so sure; she thought it sounded like a girl's name," Aria giggled, remembering her mother's comment when they were throwing out names. There was no use arguing with a very pregnant and very irritable Aria. "I told her he just takes after his father in that department."

"I know you're going to miss a lot, but you're here for Rainn's very first outing. Okay, so we went to the florist before we came here. Mrs. Harding was all over him, but I can't blame her." Her eyes moved to her son's face, who was a replica of his father besides his full lips. "This little guy is pretty handsome. He takes after you, Daddy."

The word 'Daddy' was the trigger that brought the first tear from her eye, falling onto her son's bicycle covered onesie. She inhaled a deep breath to try to collect herself, but she knew she didn't have much stamina left before she'd be in a fit of hysterics. The baby's hand latched onto his mother's pinky, refusing to let go. Some would dismiss it as a baby's reflex, but it was his father's reflex too.

"I'll visit again as soon as Rainn lets me leave the house. Thank you for saving our lives. I'll never let him forget it. I'll never let him forget you," she promised. She'd already started to read Ezra's poems and stories to the baby nearly every night, even if he didn't understand, but someday he would. Aria pressed her hand into the dirt and found her way to her feet, tears continuing to fall down her cheeks. She managed to add a few more words before she returned to the car. "And I'll never forget you."

Some months ago, Spencer had asked why Aria was so happy to be pregnant at such a young age. Aria simply smiled and shook her head, knowing her best friend couldn't possibly understand.

"I thought I lost Ezra forever. Now I have a little part of him back."