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Chapter 17:

"OH MY GOD!" Hanna and Emily shrieked, as Caleb and Spencer just stared at Ezra, shocked. He had just told them about A putting something in Aria's IV drip.

"Aria was supposed to be able to leave by tomorrow afternoon, but now the doctor's are keeping her for at least another week." Ezra said, sadly.

"Have they given her any medication?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, they just gave her some painkillers. They couldn't give her anything before, in case there were side-effects with the substance from the IV drip." Ezra replied.

"Have they checked the surveillance footage?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah, someone tampered with it, so the videos aren't working properly." Ezra replied.

"Do you think they'll mind if I have a look?" he asked, wanting to help in any way.

"I don't know, you can ask them." Ezra replied and Caleb went off to talk to the security guards.

"So what are we going to do?" Hanna asked. "We can't just let A get away with hurting Aria. We need to do something about this."

"Like what?" Emily asked. Everyone looked expectantly at Hanna, who bit her lip in thought. A few silent minutes later, her lips started to curl upwards in a smile.

"She's got something!" Spencer said. "What are you thinking, Han?"

"Well, we know that A is trying to inflict as much pain on Aria right now...", Hanna started, her smile getting bigger as a plan formulated in her head.

"So...?" Emily said, not following.

"So, we use that to our advantage!" Hanna exclaimed.

ARIA'S ROOM:

Aria lay in her hospital bed, staring at the ceiling. The pain had started to fade as the painkillers worked their magic, but it wasn't gone. She could still feel the sharp pain in her body unless she moved very, very slowly. She lay there, waiting for Ezra, who had gone down to the cafeteria to grab something to eat.

Aria heard the door open and looked up, expecting to see Ezra. But when she looked up she saw the last person on Earth she expected to visit her at the hospital. Standing before her was Dianne Fitzgerald. Ezra's mom.

"Hello Aria." Dianne said, walking over to her bed. Aria just stared at her.

"How are you feeling?" she tried again.

"Better...what are you doing here?" Aria asked, slowly sitting up.

"I heard you were hurt, so I came to see you." Dianne said, simply. But Aria wasn't stupid, she knew there was another motive for the woman's presence.

"Look, not to be rude, but we both know that not why you're here. Could you please just get to the point?" Aria said, impatiently.

"Fine. I was wondering if you were reconsidering my offer from before." Dianne said.

Aria looked at her incredulously. "Are you serious? I thought I made it clear last time that I can't be bought. I love Ezra, and no amount of money can change that."

"Look, you little twerp! I'm not going to stand by and let you ruin Ezra's life! I'm his mother!" Dianne said, angrily.

"How can you even call yourself that? Your son HATES you! He was miserable before he left. He doesn't want ANYTHING to do with you!" Aria let out all her anger and frustration, not even realizing she was capable of such blunt rudeness. She didn't even care right now, she just really wanted Dianne to leave.

Mrs. Fitzgerald stared at Aria for a moment, shocked. Then her hand flew up and slapped Aria across the face so hard that she fell back into her bed.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Dianne, surprised, spun around to see Ezra glaring at her, his face twisted in rage. "Ezra..." she started, looking between him and Aria, who lay in her bed, moaning in pain, not even noticing Ezra's presence.

"Get out. Now." Ezra said, quietly.

"Ezra, you have no right to talk to me like-"

"NO! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO HURT ARIA! I LOVE HER! And if you can't deal with that, then I don't want to have anything to do with you." Ezra turned and held the door open, daring his mother to speak.

Dianne, shaking her head, walked to the door, but stopped on her way out. "Mark my words Ezra. She will ruin your life." And with that, she stormed out of the hospital.

Ezra quickly went to Aria's side and held her close to him. "Shhh. She's gone and I won't let her come back. Everything's going to be okay." he whispered to her, rocking her back and forth, as she sobbed into his shirt.

"She's r-right." Aria stuttered, sobbing. "I'm the reason you couldn't work at Rosewood High. I'm the reason you were fired from Hollis. I'm the reason-"

"Aria, stop." Ezra said, firmly. " You forgot something. You're the reason I'm happy." he said, kissing her softly.

Aria kissed him back and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too."

LATER:

Aria had fallen asleep in Ezra arms. Ezra listened to her even breathes, and could feel her chest rising and falling. Even though she was really weak, she was still the most beautiful woman Ezra had ever seen.

Ezra started to think of the plan for that night. He, Emily and Spencer were going to stay in the waiting room, pretending to be asleep so that A would think the coast was clear, and the three of them would be close to Aria, to make sure she stayed safe. Meanwhile, Caleb and Hanna would be at Caleb's house, which was about five minutes away, watching all the camera's and waiting for A to show up, so they could alert Ezra through an earpiece. It sounded like a foolproof plan, but Ezra couldn't help but worry about Aria's safety. They were using a girl who could barely sit up as bait for a killer. He knew he couldn't back out if he wanted to catch A and keep Aria safe in the future, so he was willing to go along, for Aria's sake. Now all he had to do was wait till night.

Special thanks to Ayoungnovelist for helping me out with this chapter! :)