Ezra and Aria are driving back from New York, both tired and not on speaking terms. Ever since Mona got murdered, and Spencer got arrested for the murder of Bethany Young; A returned with fury. Two days ago Ezra caught wind of a new lead; and Ezra and Aria being the way they were; jumped at the chance to research it further. This is what got them to this place; both eager to solve the mystery and help their friends, they couldn't help but get caught up in the investigation. Everything was going well, they were so close to getting the information they needed to help Spencer, and maybe get closer to the truth about Mona, that was until Aria got /the/ text.
'Dead girls can't talk, but I can. Go any further and I will have no choice but to send this picture on. Make a choice. You, or Spencer? –A'
Aria's face dropped the moment the picture was revealed, her breath catching as she took a look at the photo. She knew it was out there, knew there was proof somewhere.
"Aria, what's wrong?" Ezra questioned, a worried expression capturing his features.
"I knew it, I knew it" Aria repeated over and over, pacing aimlessly as Ezra took the phone from her clutches.
It was a picture from that night, Aria standing over Shauna's body as she lay cold and unresponsive on the ground. Ezra knew what this meant, they couldn't go any further without risking the chance Aria may go down for man slaughter. A was always one step ahead, waiting for the perfect opportunity to use this against them, and they finally had got their chance.
"Let's keep going" Aria spoke sternly, not missing a beat as she began to walk once more.
"Don't be crazy" Ezra spoke, panic flashing across his face.
He knew Aria; knew how stubborn she could be, and what she was willing to do for her friends. He knew that if it came down to it; she'd chose the ones she loved over herself, and in this situation, this wasn't the right time for heroics.
"Thinks about this rational, what you're going up against here Aria" He just wanted her to
think about this logically, knowing she may regret her choices later.
"How can you expect me to just give in , Ezra?! We must be getting somewhere; and if it helps Spencer, I'm willing to do anything."
"You'll get locked up for this Aria, go down for killing a person. I can't lose you, not again" You could see the pain in his eyes, he loved her, he couldn't see her go to prison.
"It's Spencer, Ezra. The other half of Sparia. She'll go down for something she didn't do, there's tons of evidence just pilled up against her. She'll break again; and I can't let that happen, especially if I can put a stop to it" Aria was determined, she wasn't backing down from her choice.
Ezra had no other option left, her wouldn't allow Aria to throw her life away. He didn't even hesitate, he simply grasped her by the thighs and hoisted her over his shoulder. She screamed, kicked and slandered him all the way back to the car; eventually going silent as he strapped her into her seat. She hated being so tiny and defenseless.
It was silent, you could almost taste the tension in the air between the two. If looks could kill Ezra would be dead and gone from the dagger eyes Aria was throwing his way, but he knew this was for the best; after all Spencer /was/ innocent and had a chance against the court, where if Aria had gone any further and the picture was sent, she'd go down without a second thought in anyone's mind.
"You can't just ignore me for the whole trip home, Aria. You've got to understand that I did what's best for you, for your safety and protection" Ezra plead for a response, hues glancing towards her momentarily before returning to the road.
He knew how stubborn she was, how much she'd make her work for forgiveness, but the silence was slowly driving him insane. He was about to speak again, but a voice broke the thought before it even came to his mind.
"You treated me like a child, Ezra. You didn't even allow me have a choice, you took that away from me. Its /Spencer/." Aria's voice grew louder and harsher, turning in her seat to face him.
"A is always a step ahead, the photo will get out eventually and there is nothing we can do about it" Aria was panicked, the fact was she could go down any second for killing Shauna; and no matter what she did, there was no way of hiding it.
"Aria, I know it seems hopeless at this stage but there's always a chance to fix things. We just have to stay smart, beat this person at their own game, threaten them as they are us" Ezra tried to reduce the panic Aria was feeling at the moment, but nothing seemed to work; she was tense and her mood was unchangeable.
"I'm going to prison, and because of the choice you just made for me; so is Spencer" Aria's voice was ice cold, eyes blazing as she continued.
"That's on you, Ezra"
Ezra tried to stay calm during the situation, everything she was saying wasn't what she believed, she just had to shoulder the blame to someone else; give someone else the pain she was carrying on a daily basis. It wasn't until she spoke again that he lost it, raising his voice to match the tone of her.
"I don't want anything to do with you anymore, I loathe you Ezra Fitz"
"See, this is why I treat you like a child. God, I'm trying to help you here. If it wasn't for me the picture would be sent now, you'd be spending the night in a prison cell the moment you returned to Rosewood. We'll fix this, you just have to trust me"
"Trust you!" Aria shouted, disgusted at his outburst.
"How can I trust you? The trust that you and I shared was broke the moment I found out about the book, it can't just be built back up within the couple of weeks I've started to speak with you again."
Ezra winced at the thought, he knew that the book was a mistaken; and that it would always linger as long as they were together, but she shouldn't use it against him. If they were going to get anywhere she needed to begin to trust him again, and at the minute she wasn't even trying to let him in.
"Well, we've got to start somewhere, Aria" Ezra's voice returned to normal, taking in a deep breath as he turned to apologize for his outburst, for treating her as a child. That's not how he saw her, he just knew that was a way to get her blood boiling.
"Aria, I'm..."
It only took a second, a brief moment of his concentration to be gone for it all to happen. There was screaming, glass smashing and then silence. Ezra couldn't hear anything, the darkness that filled their surroundings made it almost impossible to see, but that didn't stop him from searching. Ezra eyes began to focus, his heart plummeting as he took in the sight next to him.
Aria was lifeless, motionless and covered in blood as they both dangled upside down, the only thing supporting them being the seat belts. He wanted to reach for her but his own body wasn't function, he couldn't get anything to respond.
/This/ was his worst nightmare, not A or prison, or the fact Aria may never truly forgive him.
It was losing her, helpless as he watched her slip away.
Please don't kill me 3 So this has been floating around in my head for awhile, and most importantly it's been sitting on my laptop for weeks. I haven't had the urge to post it as I thought it was pointless. It wasn't until today that I got a review on and old story that I chose to fix it and now publish it. I'm not saying a simple put of stories for reviews, because I don't; I write them because I love the characters, and because I love to write. Getting reviews just makes me wanted to write more, knowing that people actually want to read what my thoughts are. So I want to thank the Guest reviewer, and kindly ask that if you want me to continue any of the stories, or continue this one; Don't be afraid to post a review to ask. Thank you all 3 ~StandByEzria.
