Chapter 1
Her head lays on its side on the side of the bed. Her bottom muscles are sore from sitting, but she won't dare move. She hasn't slept in weeks, she can't. How can she when the love of her life is lying in bed, with a bullet wound attached to a whole heap of machines?
*Knock* *knock*
"Hi Darling", Ella Montgomery said as she walked into the room holding a cup of coffee.
Aria popped her head up and gave her a slight smile before turning her head back face Ezra.
"I brought you a coffee" Ella responded, passing aria the coffee.
"Thanks mum", aria said grabbing the coffee before looking back at Ezra once more and then yawned.
"Maybe you should come home for a couple of hours. Have a shower, have something to eat and then a sleep and then come back tomorrow." Ella suggested.
"I can't" Aria shook her head. "I can't leave him mum. What if he wakes up and I'm not here, he will think I don't love him and I don't care "
"He knows you love him darling. And I know that he would want you to be looking after yourself as well. He would understand aria. You need to look after yourself though".
"Fine" Aria complied. She stood up and looked back down at Ezra. "I'll be right behind you mum"
Aria told Ella, who took the hint to go and get in her car.
"I'll be back soon Ezra. I Promise' She said, grabbing his hand. "I love you" She leaned over and kissed him before turning around and leaving.
She hoped in her car and headed home. When she stopped at the set of traffic lights, she turned on the radio and their song came on. "Happiness, is right outside my window..." This made her heart fall to her feat, it was so heavy. All she wanted to do was cry. But she couldn't. This was their song, their happy song. Not a song that you cry to.
*beep* *beep*
A car behind her honked their horn when she looked up and saw that the light had turned green. The rest of the way home, she couldn't help but think about all that had happened in this past month. Ali coming back, Ella and Zach getting engaged, Ezra getting shot, Emily ending it with Paige. Senior year was crazy. She hadn't even been back to school yet. She couldn't face anyone at the moment. She was talking to the girls the other day in the hospital room, but other than them and her mum she hasn't been in contact with anyone else from school.
She pulled up in the drive way, grabbed her hand bag and hoped out of the car. She walked up to the house and went inside. As soon as she stepped through the door, she could smell the aromas coming from the kitchen. She looked over and saw mike asleep on the couch as per usual and she walked down the hall to her dad's office where he sat at his desk marking papers
"Can I come in?" She asked quietly, her dads head peering up from the papers on his desk.
"Darling, I didn't think you'd be back yet. Of course, come in?" He said, gesturing towards the chair in front of his desk. "How is Ezra going? Any change?" He asked with sympathy, he could see the bags under arias eyes and could tell she hadn't slept in a while.
"No change, I'm going back tomorrow morning first thing. I just came to have a shower and eat and a sleep. Then I'll be going back" She said very quickly, as if memorised.
"Okay, that's fine. But what about school? You don't want to fall behind darling, not in senior year" He stated, he knew school was a touchy subject but it had to be talked about.
"Look get the school to send me my work okay I don't care all ic are about is the love of my life and how his life is on the line right now." She said, standing up and running up stairs.
"Good one Byron" Byron said to himself under his breathe, he knew he pushed it too far.
Aria ran up to her room and shut the door behind her. Leaning back against the wall, she breathed heavily and threw her bag on her dressing table next to the door. She walked into her bathroom and looked put her hands down on the basin. She leaned on them as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was the first time shed seen her own reflection in what felt like years, but only days. Her hair was a mess, her colour was drained from her face and she had big bags under her eyes. She turned on the warm water and splashed her face and washed her hands. She couldn't decide what she needed more, a shower or sleep. She decided a shower and then a spa bath that would be nice and soothing. She took off her clothes and turned the hot and cold water taps, adjusting the water temperature until it was just right.
She stepped into her big shower, her feet patting against the cold tiles. She stood under the water head and let the water cascade down her body. The water ran all over her body, and she could feel all the tension being released from her muscles. She washed her hair, before turning of the shower head hoping out of the shower. She wrapped her hair up in a towel and then put on her dressing gown. She ran the water in the spa, and while it filled she went down stairs and into the kitchen to get some dinner. She warmed up some of her dad's quiche that was obviously left over from a couple of nights ago. Placing it in the microwave for three minutes, she walked to her dad's office to apologize.
"Dad?" She asked, looking blankly at her father with tears pooling in her eyes.
"What's up darling?" He asked, walking towards her.
She couldn't help herself and let the tears cascade out of her eyes and down her cheeks. He enveloped her into his chest, and she pulled her arms around him.
"I'm so sorry for reacting the way I did dad" She said between sobs. "I'm sorry".
"It's okay sweetie, don't cry don't cry it's okay. You don't have to apologize, I know it's hard. But hey, look at me" He said, tilting her head up at him. "He will pull through. Ezra is a fighter, one of the strongest me I know in fact. Remember that time I for bided you to see him but he kept coming to the door every day until I finally let him in?" He asked.
"Yes "Aria chuckled at the memory.
"That's when I knew he was a good man. He kept coming back and fighting for you. And I know that he is fighting right now. He will beat it, like always." He spoke fondly, reminiscing about the same memory as well.
"Thanks dad" aria said, as she could hear the microwave beeping in the distance. "I'm going to have dinner and then go to bed, I'll see you in the morning before I head back to the hospital" She said, kissing her father on the cheek before walking back to the kitchen.
She grabbed her dinner and went back upstairs, checking the spa which as only half full and then plugging her phone in which had been flat for days. All of the sudden, she could hear her phone beeping non-stop from all the texts people had been sending her. Most of them were from the girls hoping I was okay, asking how Ezra was and wanting to talk about Ali. One message however, was from someone she didn't expect to hear from. A. She opened and read: Sorry for losing my temper. Hope your Man is okay, and just so you know, next time he won't get away so easy –A.
Aria didn't even care about the message and just deleted it. She finished her dinner before hoping in the spa. She laid down in the big tub, the water becoming level with her neck. It felt so good. She laid in the tub for what felt like hours, before hoping out and drying off. She went to her cupboard and put on a fresh set of underwear and didn't even bother about a bra. She chose one of Ezra's shirts that he had given her and she put it on. Checking her phone one more time, she hoped into bed and turned off the light.
She slept like a baby that night. Not stirring at all until she woke at 12:30pm. She could hear the commotion down stairs so she thought she better get up. She looked at her phone and realised she had several missed calls from the hospital. Her phone must have been on silence, just as she was about to call them back, the house phone started ringing. Completely oblivious to the fact that she had a home phone ion her bed room she flew down the stairs to the lounge room where the phone was. Mike picked it up before she snatched it out of his hands.
"Hello, Montgomery Household" She said. " Yes this is she" She replied to the person on the other end asking if this was Miss Aria Montgomery, girlfriend of Mr Ezra Fitz.
