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Chapter 15:

Aria. The name froze on Ezra's lips at the sight before him. Tied to a chair, bloody and bruised was the love of his life. He started to step forward. Aria, catching a movement from in front of her, squinted and held back a gasp as she noticed her boyfriend. They stared into each others eyes for a moment, and Ezra could see all the fear and longing in Aria's eyes. He started to move closer to her, but she shook her head, ever so slightly and looked to the right, indicating there was someone there.

Ezra looked over and noticed a silhouette to Aria's right, who he figured was obviously A. The figure seemed to be moving towards Ezra. He quickly crouched under a desk.

"I'll be back in the morning." A said, in what sounded like a robotic voice. Ezra realized it was a voice changer.

A stepped outside and shut the door. Ezra counted to ten before coming out, just to be sure, and ran to Aria.

"Aria!" Ezra quickly worked on untying her hands and feet, with difficulty.

"Ezra." Aria said weakly. "Cold."

Ezra hurriedly took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. He took his sweater and wrapped it on her legs. "Everything's going to be okay. I promise." He said, focusing on the ropes again.

Just then, they heard someone approaching. Ezra, thinking it was A, grabbed a stick from nearby and hid behind the desk again. Someone walked in, and Ezra raised the stick to smack them over the head.

"Wait!" the familliar voice called. "It's us!"

"Spencer! God, I was about to hit you." Ezra exhaled in relief.

"Where is-Oh my God! Aria!" Spencer and the girls ran towards Aria, who appeared to be unconscious, and started pulling at the ropes.

"I think I have a pocket knife." Caleb said, rummaging through his pockets and locating it. He tossed it to Hanna and the girls started cutting the ropes. Ezra ran pver and wrapped his arms around Aria, trying to keep her warm. He had heard that when someone was suffering from intense cold, to use body heat to try and warm them up.

Caleb, realizing what he was doing, wrapped his arms around Aria as well and put his hat on her head, which was hanging limply. The girls finished the last of the ropes and Ezra picked Aria up, as they all raced towards their cars. Hanna and Emily went in Ezra's car, Hanna driving, while Ezra and Emily wrapped blankets around Aria, trying to keep her warm. Everyone had taken off their jackets and scarves to use as well.

Please let her be okay. Ezra thought all the way to the hospital.

AT THE HOSPITAL:

Ezra was pacing around the waiting room, waiting for the doctor to come out. It was 5:00 in the morning, they had been waiting for two hours.

"I'm going to grab some coffee." Spencer said, needing something to do to stop her thoughts from driving her insane.

"I'll go with you." Emily said and the girls hurried away.

Hanna was sitting beside Caleb, head on his shoulder, sniffling quietly.

Suddenly, the doctor came out. "Ezra Fitz?" he called.

Ezra rushed over, Caleb and Hanna close behind him. "That's me. Is Aria okay?"

"She'll live but I don't know if okay can be used to describe her. She has a cracked rib, her arm appears to be broken, and she has a mild head injury. We've given her some medication that should help with the head injury, the nurse is currently wrapping her arm in a sling, and her ribs will heal over time. She doesn't seem to have hypothermia but we're currently running some tests just to be sure. If everything goes well, she'll be able to leave the hospital after three days."

"Can I go see her?" Ezra asked.

"She's awake right now. I'll take you to her room." Ezra followed the doctor to Aria's room. She lay in bed, eyes closed. Ezra gasped slightly. The dim lighting in the hotel room had made it hard to notice before, but Ezra could see bruises all over Aria. She had a swollen lip, bruises on her cheeks, her arms.

Aria's eyes fluttered open when she heard Ezra's gasp, and she smiled weakly up at him. "Hey."

Ezra slowly walked over to her, and sat down on the edge of her bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly, holding her hand in his.

"Everything hurts, but at least it's not cold anymore." Aria said, shifting slightly, and then wincing in pain.

"Everything's going to be okay." Ezra promised. "Now get some rest." he said, starting to get up.

"Ezra, wait. Don't leave." Aria pleaded.

"I'll be right here. I promise." Ezra bent down to kiss her but stopped, seeing her swollen lip, and pulled back slightly. Aria leaned forward, not caring about the pain and kissed him anyway, but immediately moaned in pain.

"Aria? Are you okay?" Ezra was overcome with guilt. He started to back up to call the doctor but Aria held out a hand and stopped him.

"I'm fine. Really." She insisted. "Please, just stay here." She held his arm tightly.

"I'm not going anywhere." Ezra promised, pulling up a chair. They sat there, hands intertwined, as Aria drifted off to sleep.

LATER:

The girls and Caleb quietly walked in, seeing Aria was asleep and handing Ezra some coffee.

"Oh my God!" Spencer and Hanna whispered together, seeing the bruises on Aria's face.

"Is she okay?" Emily asked.

Ezra nodded. "The doctor said she has a broken arm, cracked rib and a head injury. They don't think she has hypothermia or frostbite but they're doing some tests to make sure. The doctor says she can probably leave in a few days."

Just then, a nurse walked in. "Visiting hours are over. You're more than welcome to return in..." She checked her watch. "4 hours."

Ezra looked hesitantly at Aria. He really didn't want to leave her alone for even a minute. "Is there any way I could stay with her? Please?"

The nurse looked at him, and at his hands, which held Aria's unbroken hand. She sighed, clearly not wanting to be the one to separate them. "I'm sorry. But it's not my choice. You're more than welcome to sit in the waiting room, and we can let you know when you can come back."

Ezra gently let go of Aria's hand, trying not to wake her. He bent over and kissed the little bit of her forehead that wasn't bruised and went to the waiting room, the others trailing behind him.

"Beep! Ping! Bleep! Buzz!" All five looked down at their phones, knowing who it was already.

"Don't mess with me or you'll end up like Aria." -A

Leave it to A to add insult to injury. Did you like the chapter? PM or review me with suggestions/feedback. :)