Dark days.
Quiet nights.
Aria sighed.
Just the thought of seeing him again would lit the fire of hope inside her, the hope that she thought was long gone by now.
Hope breeds eternal misery.
That was something Spencer once said.
However, right now hope was the only thing keeping her sane.
Not a day passed by that she did not think of him.
She wasn't sure what the two of them were anymore, nor what they would become if she was not to die in this dark, underground house in the middle of nowhere.
Since this Charles person barely gave any of the girls a break, Aria hadn't had much time to think about what she was supposed to do about the matter.
She did not want a life without him in it. That she was sure of.
But she did not know if she could handle not being his.
And she didn't know if she could handle someone else being his.
To say that Aria had conflicting thoughts, was quite the understatement. On one hand, she wanted to experience a young adult life, she wanted to go college, and move on with her life until it was time to come back.
But on the other hand she had Ezra. If she travelled away, would they lose what they had forever? Four years is a long time, and being a part from him that long, she did not know if she could handle that either.
They say growing apart is a part of life, that people change, and they grow. But Aria wasn't too fond over that thought, not if it meant losing Ezra.
A part of her knew it was wrong, what she was doing. He had asked her to live her life, to experience things, and to grow. He gave her that opportunity. But the question that remained was, did she want it?
A loud noise was heard from over the ground.
It was something neither of the girls, not even Mona had heard before.
Charles was rather keen on thing going smoothly, and as he had planned.
But something inside was screaming at her, that this was not part of his plan.
Loud bangs were heard, as if someone was trying to find a way in.
"What's going on?" Aria blurted out bluntly, knowing that neither of the girls knew what was happening on the other side of the walls.
"I don't know, we should probably just stay calm," Spencer mentioned.
"Do you think that they found us?" Hannah said with a lowered voice, trying not to sound so hopeful.
"Let's not get our hopes up," Emily fired back.
After a while, the loud bangs stopped.
The girls sighed in disappointment. A part of them had already given up. There was a fence that they couldn't climb, nor tear down, and there was no other way out of this house.
Suddenly, there was another loud bang. Louder than the ones before.
Another one.
Followed by a few other ones.
"Guys, don't move, this could be a trick," Spencer said quietly as the other girls agreed.
After what could have been only minutes, or hours, it sounded like a door opening.
All the girls remained in place, as they didn't make a move.
Steps were moving in their direction, and the light of a flashlight grew stronger from a distance.
But no one made a sound.
It wasn't until the person, or people of the matter, came around the corner.
The girls had been locked out of their rooms for a few days after breaking the rules, so they didn't have anywhere to hide.
It was Officer Tanner.
A quiet "oh my god" slipped out of her, as she gestured for the girls to get up.
But they were almost too weak to do so.
They had barely been given any food for the last couple of days, and the sound of the sirens were still hanging over them in their minds.
But they managed to get up, slowly but surely, all holding each other close, they made their way to the exit.
Now they understood where the loud bangs had come from. They had broken down the electric fence to make it in.
It was dark all around them, and the wooden trees seemed to be an infinite amount.
The fresh air almost seemed new to Aria, and so did anything that did not look like the underground house they had been trapped in.
Understandably, they didn't want to overwhelm any of the girls, so only the ones who knew about the situation were present. It seemed as if no parents other than Spencer's had been clued in. Aria's eyes skimmed through the police officers.
She couldn't find him anywhere.
Where was he?
The girls were still standing together, outside of the little exit.
Tears fell from her hazel eyes, as she tugged Spencer who happened to stand next to her, just a little closer. Her best friend did the same with her, and if she listened close enough, she could hear her quiet sobs.
They were out.
The little hope she had inside of her seemed to be worth it.
This time, hope did not breed misery.
It brought freedom, and happiness.
As time went by, or simply just seconds, the crowd seemed to become larger.
Time seemed to stop as she glanced over the blend of cops and civilians again.
It was because she caught a glance of him.
Her body pushed itself forward as she ran over to him, throwing her arms around him as she continued to cry.
Ezra held Aria tightly, as tears fell from his eyes as well.
Not a word had been said. She hadn't even looked around for anyone else.
All she needed, all she ever needed was right there in her arms.
She made the mistake of letting go once,
She wouldn't make the same mistake again.