Obsession
"Perfect. Absolutely perfect…" Someone was whispering and their breath crept down her neck. Aria felt a finger trace her jawline. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing the perfect face of Ezra. She smiled and reached up to kiss him. Only she couldn't. Her ropes and chains kept her a hostage of the chair, preventing any movement. Her forehead crinkled.
"You know I don't play these games Ezra," she said, smirking. His face didn't change. It was then she noticed her surrounding. They were in the A layer. The same one that Red Coat had led them to. The same layer where they had found all of the men's suits. "We aren't playing games, are we?"
The events of the previous night came in short bursts to her fragile memory.
Ezra…. A?
Ali…alive?
"No games. You always did catch on quick. Well almost." His smug smile tugged even tighter and Aria could feel her heart twisting and pounding in her chest.
"What is this?" Her lips trembled, but she tried to hide it
"My layer," he said, expanding his arms and doing a 360, as if presenting a project or a new painting. She guessed in some sick way, it was. It was his project.
"Your?"
"I would have saved you the pain of being here, seeing me like this, but you were just so perfect, I figured you deserved some truth." She put her head down, refusing to look him in the eye. "Where do you want me to begin?"
"Why? Why are you A? How? How could you do this to me, when I gave you everything: my love, my soul, my comfort. Everything I had was yours." Tears were rushing down her stricken face. Her reached forward to wipe them away but she jerked her head back.
"I understand you're angry." He said and she scoffed. She was more than angry. "Okay so why?"
"Yeah." He sat down in a chair directly in front of hers.
"I am in love with Alison Dilaurentis," he stated bluntly.
"Excuse me?" He looked her directly in the eye.
"I couldn't help myself. I just…loved her. No questions asked." He would have expected her to scream or shout. Jump up and slap him if she could. But her face was expressionless. The only sign of emotion was the tender little drops escaping her eyes.
"You were the older guy," she told him. He smiled, a rather sick smile, and nodded.
"So she told you about me?"
"She never told us who it was, but she always talked about some older guy. He was elusive to us but we could all tell that she had him on a string. He was her puppet." Those last words were supposed to slice his heart like he had sliced hers and it did just that.
"If you keep talking like that I might just cut our little conversation short," he threatened.
"That would be nice considering I don't think I want to know the truth anymore," she affirmed.
"She did have me on her strings. I was caught in her web. I wanted to be with her and that blinded me to everything else. One day, she just left me. Dropped me cold. Didn't even say goodbye." His face went stone cold and realization hit Aria like a ton of bricks.
"You killed her," she whispered, her lip quivering.
"You're a little late. Alison is not dead. Now did I bury her? That is a different story. Someone, who knew my current situation, offered me a large sum of money to do their dirty work. They knew I wanted revenge, they knew I needed money, so they made it work.
"They made it look like they were doing me a favor. So I did it. They swore that no one would find out it was me. That was one thing about that person. They never lied. No one ever found out it was me."
"Mona?" Aria asked. She already knew the answer to that though. He nodded. "Okay, I get that. But now why torture us and play with our minds like you did? I really thought you loved me." A tear ran down her full cheeks.
"You were the next best thing," he said plainly.
"What…What are you talking about?"
"When Alison was gone, or at least when everyone thought she was gone, I realized I depended on her. I needed her. So I had to find as close of a substitute I could find. That was you."
"So I meant nothing to you? All of the times you told me you loved me, they were all just a front. You didn't mean them?"
"I have to admit that I did grow to like you a little more than I planned to. I actually could have begun to love you if she hadn't come back." He explained this as though it were second nature to him. He didn't rack his brains for the answer. They were the reason behind his motives all along.
"Alison?"
"She came back and said that she had forgiven me. I couldn't believe it at first. It was too good to be true. I had tried to kill her yet she still wanted to be with me."
"What made you believe her?"
"I gave her a test. She passed with flying colors."
"That was?"
"I told her to let me kill off one of her friends. I gave her the choice of which one of course. She had to set it all up. And I must say, she did an exquisite job." Aria thought she saw a shadow move towards the back of the room.
"She set all of this up? Alison?"
"Yes, I did. And I have to agree I did do well didn't I?" Alison Dilaurentis stepped out from the shadows, walking up and snaking her arm around Ezra's back.
"All of this...was you?" Aria asked. Ali smiled her devious smile and kissed Ezra on the lips. Aria turned her head, suddenly filled with disgust.
"It was. Now all that's left, is killing you off and we can live happily ever after. We'll be right back." They turned around and Ezra started walking away, but stopped and waited for her.
"You go get it. I want to have a little chat with my friend here." Ezra gave an understanding nod and continued walking toward the back.
"That is not what I am to you. Not any more."
"Save the attitude sweetie. I'm saving your ass just as much as I'm saving mine. Now play along and be a good girl, and we'll both leave here alive. He's crazy, Aria. Crazier than you could comprehend or understand. I know what has to be done." She bent down and grabbed her hand. "Your job is to trust me."
"Even if I did believe you, how am I supposed believe that you've changed from the heartless person you used to be?"
"Being dead changes a person."
"You were never dead."
"Sure felt that way. I had to be invisible for a while. It's surprising how much you learn when no one thinks you are watching." She smiled and stood up.
"Wait, I have another question."
"What's that?"
"Why did you choose me for him to kill? Why not one of the others?"
"He was right about one thing. You deserved to know."
"Know what?"
"Why I have to do what I'm about to do," she said grimly. "Now excuse me, I have to get the murder weapon," Ali said a little louder, throwing a wink towards Aria, who watched intently as she walked away.
She didn't know whether to believe her or not. It would make things a lot easier if she was telling the truth.
•••
"That's it?" Spencer asked, annoyed.
"Yeah, I woke up just as she was walking away. Creepy huh?"
"I'll say."
"Do you think it meant anything?" Aria asked. Spencer shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know. I mean, now that you mention it, he is kind of creepy."
"Stop it! Seriously. It gives me a funny feeling. Maybe it's just another stupid dream."
"Well there's nothing you could do about it now," Spencer said, taking a sip of her coffee.
"What do you mean?" Aria asked, confused. A car pulled up next to them and Toby waved from the driver's seat.
"You love him. There's nothing you wouldn't do for him. Am I right?"
"Yeah…I guess so."
"He's your obsession. Everyone has one. Some with cars, some with celebrities, some with people. You're going to stick with him no matter what. Even if it puts your life in his hands. "
"How do you know?" Aria asked. Well, that was a stupid question, she thought. Spencer knows everything.
"I am well aware of the symptoms." She smiled at Toby who was waiting for her in the car. "I'll text you later. Good luck," she said as she walked off to meet Toby.
Aria turned towards the register, where her date was paying for their coffee. Ezra opened his wallet to pull out a few bills. Aria could have sworn on Alison's empty grave that she saw a picture of a pretty blond in the front slit, but he quickly closed it, leaving her wondering whether her dream meant more than she thought.