She shifted her uncomfortable legs from the sofa to the ottoman, unsure of how long she had been stuck in that position, staring at the blank television screen in front of her. Her mind was running in a thousand different directions, yet, she couldn't put a single cohesive thought together.
He'd been gone for three days.
She still hadn't heard from him since she dropped him at the airport. Not that she was really expecting to, but she'd still been hoping.
She shot up as her phone buzzed on the coffee table in front of her, her heart almost pounding out of her chest.
Hey little one, how're you holding up?- Spencer.
Dropping her phone onto the ground, Aria's heart sank. Not the message she was hoping to receive.
What am I even doing here? she thought to herself.
Ezra had left. To go to another country and find his ex-girlfriend. A great love of his life that he would probably still be with if she hadn't.. gone missing. Would they even be together, if Nicole hadn't disappeared? Would Ezra had even moved back to Rosewood? Would Aria still be with Liam, sneaking around their office as she tried to pry stories out of her old english teacher? Would Ezra even be writing books?
She stared at the diamond on her finger, twisting it around and around. She didn't want to take it off, but she knew she may have to when, if, Ezra returned.
Would he want it back?
Would he want to give it to Nicole..?
Suddenly, sitting on what had become their couch, felt uncomfortable and wrong. She had to get out of the apartment.
Walking slowly over to Ezra's dresser, Aria opened the second drawer and emptied it, scooping the clothes she had been keeping at Ezra's house into her overnight bag. She took everything that was hers laying around the apartment, she didn't want Nicole to find traces of her if she came back with Ezra.
Though the smell was comforting, Aria slipped off the baggy yellow t-shirt of Ezra's that she'd been wearing since the minute she left him at the airport. If Ezra didn't want her anymore, she certainly shouldn't be sleeping in his clothes anymore.
Picking her phone up off the floor, she scanned the apartment one last time. She wasn't sure when, or if, she'd be back.
She locked the door and slipped her key off it's ring, tucking it under the doormat before turning on her heels towards the stairs.
Like crap. You busy? - Aria
She texted Spencer back and started driving towards her house before she'd even had the chance to respond. Going home would mean too many questions, but staying at Ezra's was no longer an option.
The door of the barn flung open as Aria pulled up outside of Spencer's place. The tall, thin frame of her friend sprinted toward her car and suddenly Aria couldn't keep herself together.
She turned the car off and opened the door as her face began to fall apart. Her lips tightened and chin quivered, before all the tears that had been threatening to fall for three days came rushing down her cheeks. Her legs couldn't hold her anymore and she collapsed into Spencer's arms, sobbing harder than she thought possible.
"Hey, hey," Spencer soothed. "Shh. Come on Aria, let's go inside."
Leaving her bag in the car, Aria followed Spencer into the barn and fell onto the sofa.
"I'll make you a drink lovely. Coffee or vodka?"
Spencer took the lack of response as symbol of her friend needing something a little stronger than caffeine.
Aria had pulled herself together by the time Spencer came back with two vodka oranges and sat up to look at her best friend, mascara running rivers all down her cheeks.
"Thanks," she said quietly, taking the glass from Spencer's hand.
"What's going on, sweet?" Spencer asked calmly, taking a small sip from her drink.
Aria took a deep breath. Then brought her glass to her lips and gulped the whole thing down, as if she'd been dehydrated for days. Which she had; she couldn't remember getting up of the couch to pee, let alone nourish herself.
"Woah slow down there," Spencer half laughed.
Aria didn't say anything but look at her friend as if to say 'don't even start.'
She leant over and took Spencer's almost full glass from her hands and gulped that one down herself too. Placing it, with a bit of force, onto the coffee table, she looked at Spencer and took a deep breath.
"I don't know if he's coming back, Spence."
Spencer didn't know what to say, or do. So she took Aria's hand and gave it a squeeze, giving her the most sympathetic look she could muster. It was killing her to see her friend this way. Three days ago she was getting ready to marry the love of her life, and now she doesn't even know if that love, loves her back the way she wants him to.
"Oh Aria.."
"But I don't Spencer. And it's my fault. I should have told him about the call. I was the one that sent him back over there, to find her. I basically gave Ezra to her! I just gave away my life, Spence."
"You don't know that Aria. You don't know that he won't come back to you."
"But if she hadn't gone missing, he would still be with her!"
She burst into tears for the second time that evening, putting her head in her hands.
"I don't know what to do, Spencer!" She sobbed.
Pulling Aria into a hug, Spencer squeezed her friend as tight as she could. She hated seeing her best friends hurting and not being able to do anything about it.
Aria's phone began to vibrate in her pocket, causing both girls to sit up quickly.
It was a blocked number.
"Aria! Are you -! Aria! Hel -!"
"Ezra?!" She cried into the microphone. "Ezra! Is that you?!"
"Hi! Aria it's -!"
The line went dead.
"I - I think that was Ezra," she said, confused.
"Have you heard from him since he left?"
"No.. That's the first time. What if he's in trouble?!"
The idea of Ezra being kidnapped in the middle of central America was enough to throw Aria over the edge again, sobbing harder than she had before. Images of him being carried away into the darkness at gun point began filtering through her mind. She called the number back, but the line wouldn't connect no matter how many times she tried. She tried to send a text message, but it kept bouncing back.
"Something is wrong, Spence. What's happened to him?!"
Spencer shook her head, trying to figure out a way to comfort Aria, without trying to foolishly convince her that everything was okay. Instead, she just hugged her friend tightly and pat her head until her breathing steadied.
"Shhhhh. Just breathe little one, okay?" she said over and over.
Eventually, Aria fell asleep on the couch, tucked in Spencer's arms with her make up smeared all over her face. Slowly and carefully, Spencer readjusted Aria so she could lie down. Removing her shoes, she placed a soft blanket over Aria's sleeping body, finally getting the rest she had been unable to over the last three days.
She switched off the lights and padded quietly to her own bed, leaving the door open to keep an eye on Aria throughout the night.
Her eyes flickered open as the sun creeped in through the cracks in the window curtains. Sitting up slowly, Aria rubbed her eyes, covering the backs of her hands in messy mascara and eyeliner from the day before.
"Spence?" she called, looking around the barn.
Behind her, Spencer was fast asleep in her bed; so Aria took the opportunity to make a pot of coffee then head for the shower.
With the steaming water running over her skin, Aria had the chance to think about the previous day and the worries that clouded her thoughts.
Was that Ezra calling? Is he in trouble? Was he calling to say he'd chosen Nicole and was going to stay with her?
Stop it Aria, she thought to herself. You're being selfish. He was with her first, she deserves him.
She sat on the floor of the shower for what felt like hours, the almost boiling water running over her body as her skin began to turn wrinkly. it was only when Spencer banged on the door to let her know the hot water would run out soon, that Aria stood up and began covering herself with soap, shampoo and conditioner.
Stepping out into the cool of the bathroom, Aria could hear whispered voices outside the door. Quickly, she pulled on some jeans and top, forgetting to dry her hair before she walked out into the barn.
"EZRA!" She cried, dropping her towel and yesterday's clothes on the floor as she ran toward him.
Flinging her arms around his neck, Ezra picked Aria up around her waist and pulled her into the tightest hug he'd ever given. She buried her nose in his neck and breathed in the familiar scent of her fiancee. They stayed wrapped in each other's arms for some time, while Spencer slipped out of the barn to give the couple some privacy. Aria didn't want to let go. She didn't know if she wanted to hear what he had to say.
As he put her feet back on the floor, Ezra cupped Aria's cheeks in his hands, staring into her eyes.
"God I missed you," he said quietly.
Without hesitation, Aria crashed her lips on his, noticing how dry and cracked they were from his travels. Her arms still around his neck she pulled him closer to her and kissed him deeper.
When they finally came apart, all she wanted to do was kiss him again and not let him speak. She didn't want him to tell her that he was going back to Nicole. She didn't want him to ask for the ring back.
"Aria, I -"
"Are you going back to Nicole?" she blurted out, before she had even realised the words were coming out of her mouth. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say that."
"Aria, what are you talking about? I'm engaged to you. The love of my life."
Her heart was beating a million miles an hour, but she didn't know whether it was because she'd been so nervous to hear what Ezra had to say, or whether she was relieved by the words that had just come out of his mouth. She sighed, smiling slightly, looking at the ground. Then she burst into tears.
"I was so worried about you!" She sobbed. "Worried about us! I didn't know what was happening."
Ezra pulled her close to him, her head on his chest, and he kissed the top of her head.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you had to wait for me. I'm sorry I couldn't speak to you over there. I'm just, sorry."
Cupping her face, he turned her head so she was looking directly in his eyes.
"I was confused too," he said. "I didn't know what I would find when I got there. I didn't know if I would have all these feelings for Nicole coming rushing back. I couldn't help but toy with the idea that had she not gone missing, we could have still been together. But every second I thought of you, all I could think about was the fact that I couldn't wait to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. It's you Aria, it's always been you."
The tears were rolling down both of their cheeks as they kissed, lips intertwining with each other's as they had done so many times before.
"I thought you might want the ring back," Aria whispered finally, staring at the diamond on her left hand and twisting it around her finger as she had been doing for the last 4 days. Still wrapped in his arms, head resting on his chest, Aria folded her arms and stared at her hands.
"I thought you would come back and tell me that you made a mistake proposing to me.." She whispered, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "I thought you'd want to give it to her."
"Aria..." Ezra said quietly. "I'm so sorry. You must have been so scared. I'm here now, and I don't ever want you to take that ring off."
He tilted her chin so that she was looking up at him, eyes red and puffy.
"I love you, Aria. Forever," he promised, leaning down and kissing her red lips.