I just can't do this anymore. I know what I want and that it is something that I can never achieve. My life has been good up until now, but it's all down hill from here.
Aria taped her pen against the side of her notebook. She couldn't stop thinking about Ezra. He had been home from the hospital for 2 months and since their slip, okay slips, she had tried her best to maintain her distance. Her heart could not handle another devastating break; one more and she knew that it could never be repaired. She reached beside her to pick up her phone as it rang her favourite ringtone. A quiet groan uncontrollably escaped from her lips as she saw his name on her screen again. She wanted so desperately to answer and be able to hear his voice, but it would be wrong to lead him on. Aria knew that she needed to keep her distance until she could determine exactly what she wanted.
Aria silenced her phone and threw it down onto her bed as she made her way to her attached bathroom. She looked into the mirror, shaking her head at herself. She couldn't make a decision like this, she wasn't sure she would ever be able to decide what she wanted. Her friends, even though they loved her, had made their feelings very clear about how they felt about she and Ezra re-kindling their relationship. Though they appreciated what he had done for them on the rooftop in New York they did not trust him and they did not trust him to be with Aria. Aria was the one who they were all worried about, she had been through horrific heartbreak and Ezra was unwilling to give her the space she so severely needed. Turning off the lights in her room Aria grabbed her phone and threw it into her purse before making her way from her house.
Aria had always been a good girl. Not necessarily the girl next door, preppy poster child that could commonly be found in a small town like Rosewood, Pennsylvania, but none the less a good girl. She got good grades, was kind, didn't get into trouble and respected the freedom that her parents had always allowed her and her brother. When Ezra came into the picture, her parents had relinquished much of that freedom, but still they did not worry too much about their daughter. Unfortunately, as of late, their trust had been utterly misplaced. Aria headed towards the college bar, the only one in town that she knew would serve her what she wanted without question. She has tried to find somewhere that she could safely stay hidden from Ezra while also away from anyone else who would want to talk to her. The bar had become her escape. And sadly the amount of alcohol she was now able to drink in a single sitting had increased as well.
Aria was one her third vodka cranberry when she got a text from her Mom asking her to come home. She groaned as she chugged what was remaining in her glass and stood up making her way from the back booth at the bar. She stumbled slightly, but she had walked to the bar and knew that she'd sober up enough by the time she walked home that her parents would not notice anything. Had Aria been a little more alert she may have heard the footsteps of someone behind her or noticed that it had been much darker than she thought. But alas Aria was simply working at keeping her mind empty as she had gotten very good at.
As Aria was rounding the corner a hand reached from behind her and covered her mouth. She was pulled back into the alley behind the Apple Rose Grill. She tried to scream but the leather gloved hand was pulled so tight around her mouth that she could barely breathe, let alone scream. She knew what was happening, but was hoping that she was wrong. The guy behind her was breathing heavily, grunting and grinding as he pushed her up against the brick wall. Aria finally got to see who it was, and it horrified her. The guy had her pushed against the wall so hard that she felt like her skull was going to crack. Her heart was racing, her breathing quick, her eyes filling with tears and all she could think was 'please god, don't let this happen to me'. The guy had on all black, he had horrific breath that she could smell as he licked her neck. She shuddered each time his lips met her skin.
With one hand still covering her mouth, and his body pushing her into the wall her ripped at her shirt until all the buttons had broken open. He pulled her bra down and began squeezing her breasts. Aria struggled, trying as hard as she could to move herself away from him, but he was too strong for her. She was trying to stay strong, but she couldn't keep the tears from her eyes. She was thinking about Ezra, wishing he was there to protect her, as the guy used one hand to put his hand in her pants and start to rub against her panties. Aria was pushed down onto the ground, her head hitting the ground so hard that she knew it had split open. She could feel the warm blood pooling under her head as the man pulled her jeans down and ripped her panties off. She twisted and turned trying with all her might to get away, but he had he pinned so tight that she doubted that she had moved even an inch. She could feel bruises already forming on her stomach, breasts and thighs from his force. When she felt him ram inside of her she gave up the fight. The pain she felt radiating through her body each time he forced himself into her harder and harder until it was almost unbearable. She had clawed at his face, kicked everything that she could reach but nothing had worked. She lay there, bleeding and in pain while he forced himself inside her over and over. She just wanted it to end, she wanted to curl up and just stop being anything for a while. Eventually he pulled out of her, got up and zipped, and he left Aria laying there barely clothed and bleeding.
She lay there for a while, not knowing what to do. After a while, she realized that she was cold and shaking, she tried to sit up but screamed in pain when she tried to move. She felt like her insides had been beaten to a pulp. Nearby she heard footsteps and was terrified that the guy was coming back for seconds. She rolled over and attempted to get up so she could run, but the pain was too much. She left her body collapse back onto the cold, hard, damp ground and cried. "Aria?!" she heard a vaguely familiar voice cry out and then another shout "Oh my god! Han quick call 911" as she heard the footsteps pick up speed and get closer to her. Emily gently grabbed her should and rolled her onto her back. "Aria what happened? Are you okay?" Emily shouted frantically. Aria was incapable of answering or speaking at all. She let Emily lift her head into her lap and stroke her bloodied hair. "It's okay, we're getting help" she said quietly. Aria was semi-aware that Hannah was on the phone talking about her, but she couldn't concentrate long enough to be able to comprehend. The last thing Aria was aware of was hearing sirens in the distance and then everything around her went dark.
When Aria awoke later she groggy and her eyes opened very slowly. As she took in her surroundings she became aware that she had been changed into a hospital gown and that other people were holding both of her hands. She lifted her head slightly and saw the tear stained faces of Emily and Hannah meekly smiling back at her. "Thank god you're awake" Emily cried as she got up from her chair and leaned across the bed, hugging Aria gently. "Christ Aria you scared us" Hannah said griping her hand tightly. Aria knew this was Hannah's way of telling her that she had seriously scared her friends. "I love you guys" Aria choked out.
Unbeknownst to anyone those were the last words that they would hear from Aria. Everything happened in a blur after that moment. Once the doctors were told that she had woken up, she was examined, police were contacted and they wrote up a report even though Aria did not disclose anything to them. Her friends and parents had all tried to no avail to get her to provide the police with a statement but Aria had closed herself off. The doctors told her parents that this wasn't something to worry about yet and that everyone dealt with trauma in a different way. Nonetheless her parents were worried about her. She remained in the hospital for 4 days after the attack as she had to have internal stitches from the damage that had been caused and the doctors wanted to monitor her mental health.
"Byron what are we going to do?" Ella asked nervously. They tried to keep from overwhelming Aria but were watching through the window in her doorway as she stared off into space, laying in her bed looking lifeless and miserable. "We are taking our baby home, she's never liked being in the hospital, and once she's out of here she'll come around. You'll see" Byron told her, not sounding too sure of himself. Ella inhaled a deep breath and leaned into her ex-husbands open arms before looking in on her daughter. Byron rubbed Ella's back, doing the only thing he could think of to comfort her, this whole situation was horrific for the entire family, no one more so than Aria but everyone was struggling to coming to terms with what was happening. Ella had to help calm Byron down when Emily had first called the house and told the family what was happening. He was ready to run out and kill the son of a bitch who had hurt his daughter. She had helped him to be reasonable and told him he needed to be there for Aria. Except it didn't feel like there was anything that he could do for his daughter, she wouldn't speak to anyone, would only eat small amounts and only when coerced, he was terrified that she would not come back from this.