Ezra's POV:
I opened the door to Aria's cell. "Good morning." I say, as she turns around. I can't help but catch my breath, she looks awful. Her hair is matted, she's unnaturally thin and her eyes don't have that spark I love so much anymore. It's clear to see they aren't looking after her properly. "How are we today?" I ask with an emphasised smile.
"Alright," She replies, cuddling up to me as I sat down on the hard bed. "I miss my friends. I miss my family. And I miss you."
I wrap my arms around her. "Well, I'm here today." I say, running my hands through her hair. I decide to try and make her look like the Aria I used to know. The happy, bubbly girl with a musical tune for a laugh. "Turn around," I say and she does so. "I take out her hairbrush given to me by her mother and start to brush her hair through.
"Tell me about it." She says quietly. "How is everyone? Have I missed much?"
And so I start to tell her everything and she listens intently, not saying a word. I finish the latest news at the same time that I finish brushing her hair.
She turns back around and she looks better. "That's better." I smile at her and she smiles back.
And that's when it starts again. Her eyes flicker to the wall behind me and the smile drops from her face and her eyes fill with terror. "Aria?" I say, taking her hand. She doesn't reply. I turn to look at where she's looking and there's nothing there.
She suddenly leaps off the bed and backs against the wall. "Please." She says. "Please, Alison. I haven't done anything. Please!" She screams again and again and it gets louder and more painful to listen to. I rush over to her and put my arms around her. "Stay away from me!"
"Aria." I say as she tries to fight her way out of my arms.
"Ezra, she's here." She cries and I hold her firmly so she can't get out of my grip. "Alison's here!"
I keep her pinned against my chest until she finally stops screaming and sinks down against the wall. "Please, Ezra." She pleads with me. "Make the voices stop. Make Alison go away."
"They will," I say softly. "Take some deep breaths, okay?" I say and feel her inhale and exhale loudly. "Better?" I say after a few minutes. She nods.
This is what A has done to her – she's tortured her mind so she's completely lost it. Ella and Brian put her into this hospital to try and make her better, but the care is so bad here that it's just making her worse. I've pleaded with them to let me take her home with me for a few days, but they won't allow it.
I've made Hanna, Spencer and Emily let me know whenever they get texts from A and it's clear to see they're losing it too. Spencer's falling behind in her schoolwork, Emily quit the swimming team and Hanna has lost interest in everything, she just sits, staring into space. But A has affected Aria the most, because she's the sweetest, most delicate of them all and this is how she's ended up.
I rock Aria in my arms and she starts to sing softly. She's not crazy, I know she's not. She's just become convinced that A is really Alison and that she's back from the dead. I hate to see her like this.
So I decide there and then, to find out who A is and make them pay.