Ezra sat in his small apartment staring at the clock. 8:10. Aria should have been there ten minutes ago. She probably just got caught up with her parents and forgot to call me and tell me she was running late, he tried to tell himself, she's fine. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. After another four minutes, which felt like four hours to Ezra, he decided to risk that Aria might be in the company of her parents and call her. As he was reaching for his cell phone, it buzzed. Finally, he thought as he opened up the message, news from Aria.
Poor little Aria never made it past the Apple Rose Grill. Where's Prince Charming now?
-A
"No," Cried Ezra to an empty apartment, "Aria!" He ran outside, slamming the door behind him as he went. He shoved his phone in his back pocket as he continued running into the parking lot of his apartment complex, andt threw his car door open.
Ezra sped through the streets of Rosewood, Pennsylvania in a panic. He pulled his silver Camry into one of the many empty parking spaces outside the Apple Rose Grill, not bothering to pay the meter.
"Aria?" He called out, frantically. "Aria!" He yelled again louder, after no response. He did a 360 on the street corner, and turned back to face the alley. "Please be in there," mumbled Ezra to himself, while walking towards the dark alley, "And please be alive." He added.
Ezra cautiously stepped across the cracked pavement of the alley.
"Aria are you there?" He called out timidly. A muffled scream came from behind a dumpster. "Aria!" Ezra yelled, he ran towards the noise. He turned the corner, and there was his girlfriend, curled up behind the dumpster. Aria's hands were duct taped to the brick wall behind her, her legs tied together, and a silver piece of tape was over her mouth. "I'm sorry," Ezra whispered, before ripping the tape off.
"Ezra," Aria gasped, "Oh thank god!" She started crying mascara running down her already tear stained face. Ezra gently tore her hands from the wall, and let her remove the tape as he fumbled with the rope around her ankles.
"Damnit," Ezra mumbled, "Hold on Aria, I'll get you out of here." Ezra got out his car key and sawed through the rope, and pulled her off the ground.
Tears still ran down Aria's face; Ezra cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. Her tiny body shook, and he wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.
"Shh, honey. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." Ezra cooed, holding her tight as she cried. Once Aria's shaking had ceased a bit, Ezra broke the silence, "Come on, let's go home."
Ezra drove with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand holding Aria's.
"Who did this to you?" He asked,
"I don't know Ezra. They were wearing a black hoodie and I couldn't see their face. I got knocked out, and I only woke up a few minutes before you found me." Aria spoke the half-truth.
"We'll find whoever it is, I promise." Ezra gave her icy hand a reassuring squeeze, and Aria tried to fake a smile that came out as more of a grimace, because she knew that they never would catch the man that would haunt her dreams tonight.
Neither of them talked as they finished the drive home, or as Ezra made Aria's favorite tea while she sat on his couch in his apartment.
"We have to go to the police." Ezra declared, as he handed Aria a mug and sat down next to her.
"Ezra. We can't go to the police without telling them the truth about us. I'm not willing to lose you for anything, and I know that no one would let me see you again if they knew I was dating my English Teacher." Aria sighed, "How did you find me?" Ezra dug through his pocket and handed her his phone.
"An anonymous person sent me a text. You're lucky; I think they may have saved your life." Ezra spoke without a clue of what he was saying. Aria's face went pale as she read the signature on the text message that lit up Ezra's screen.
"Ezra, there's something I need to tell you."
