Aria stares blankly at the many crumpled pieces of paper consuming her desk space. She could not simply find the words within her to express her many raging emotions. She wanted so badly to tell him, just to let him know exactly what it was that he had done to her. How is one supposed to react when their safe place to land turns into such a rocky storm?

Her eyes filled with tears as she threw away the crumpled pieces of paper filled with her attempts to grasp onto what was going on in her life. She was drowning, desperately trying to find something, anything to grab a hold of just to hang on for a little bit longer. She walks over to her bed clutching onto a picture frame, inside the frame was a picture of two people with such bright smiles. You could see the love in their eyes, the trust that had been built. Or so she had thought.

Arias phone began to buzz, she had been avoiding talking with anyone ever since she found out that the love of her life was her tormentor. How could he do this to her? After all they had been through? She had many questions but she could not bring herself to ask any of them. She had been silent for three days. The silence somehow helped, but yet let her mind wonder off into the unknown which was something that she was unsure if she was comfortable with.

She picked up her phone where she had dozens of text messages and missed calls from her friends, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily. She knew that her friends were reaching out to her because they were concerned. But how was she to make them feel better when she wasn't even sure of what was going on herself?

"Aria when you get this call me back, we're worried!"

"Aria, are you okay?"

"Please answer us Aria!"

She wanted to respond but her words were failing her. Her thumbs danced around above the keyboard as she deliberated on a reply. She began to type though she was unsure of what exactly she was going to say.

"I'm sorry for being distant." She texted back. It wasn't much but that was all she could think to say not even knowing which friend the text went to. Which that didn't matter, she assumed that the three of them were together anyways.

"Can we come over?" Hanna replied.

Before Aria could text back she heard someone walking up the stairs in her house. Her heart froze as she could not figure out who would be in her house. Mike was away at a friend's house and her father was teaching in Syracuse yet again.

It took her a minute to find some strength within her to stand up in the middle of her room. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, her blood turned ice cold and that is when the panic set in. She couldn't breathe.

"Is this is? Is this finally it?" She thought to herself, her head beginning to pound right along with her heart.

Aria fell to her knees trying to catch her breath, but she couldn't. She closed her eyes when she heard her bedroom door open. She couldn't even muster a thought as she let herself collapse on the ground. She felt instant relief as soon as she heard familiar voices.

"Oh my God, Aria!" Spencer yelled, throwing her bag onto the floor dropping down to help Aria, the other girls did the same.

The girls knew that Aria had a history with panic attacks, but this was the first time that they had witnessed one in a very long time. Each breath seemed to be easier to catch now that Aria knew that she wasn't alone with an intruder.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked, moving Arias hair away from her face.

Aria just continued to stare at the ground, breathing hard. She was comforted that her friends were there, but she still could not find her words.

"It's okay, we're here for you." Hanna said sweetly.

Aria just looked at her friends and nodded.

"Thank you." She tried to speak, but before she could get anything out the tears began to flow from her eyes flooding her cheeks.

The girls stood around Aria hugging her, as if the hug were holding her together. This wasn't entirely not true because she felt like she would fall apart at any second. She was holding on by what seemed like threads. The group hug broke whenever Arias phone began to buzz again.

"It must be my mom or my dad." She told the girls reaching for her phone. But as soon as she clicked on the message her heart froze yet again.

"We need to talk." Aria read the text message as her eyes grew wide, only for them to fill with tears again. She threw her phone to the floor.

"Who was it?" Emily was concerned.

"Ez." Aria tried to spit out. "Ezra."

The girls just looked around at each other not knowing what they should or shouldn't say. Aria regretfully picked up her phone and began texting back.

"Meet me at the brew." She typed. It took some strength to hit send, but she felt as if she was ready. She was tired of hiding away in her room crying her eyes out. She wanted to be heard, and she wanted answers. Aria walked to her closet and picked out some clothes.

"Where are you going?" Spencer questioned.

Aria walked out of the bathroom, wearing black leggings and an oversized sweater. She had not been out of her sweatpants in three days.

"I'm going to meet Ezra." She said wiping away tears staring at herself in her mirror. She looked like crap and she knew it, she didn't care.

"Let us go with you!" Spencer yelled.

"No, this is something that has to be dealt with between me and him. If he really is A, then I need to know why, when, how, everything."

"But you seriously shouldn't…"

"I am going alone!" Aria cut Spencer off.

The girls began to look around at each other again not knowing what they should or should not say.

"If I'm not back in an hour call the cops."

"Like that will do any good." Hanna mumbled.

"Hanna!" Spencer and Emily yelled in unison.

"What?!" Hanna yelled back.

Aria didn't have any time for this. She put on her black boots and she headed out the door. It was almost sunset, and the sky was so beautiful. She began to tear up again thinking about the times that she and Ezra had watched the sunset and cuddled together on a blanket. How he would read poetry to her, and she would lay there in his arms. Safe from every possible bad thing in the world. It saddened her to know that it would never be like that again.

When she reached the Brew, she saw him standing there. He looked beautiful, his brown hair combed over to the side not a one out of place, and he was wearing a blue dress shirt with a black tie and a navy blue vest with black pants. He looked as perfect as he always did, so natural with his hands stuffed in his pockets. She felt her heart flutter, but she fought back the tears as she walked up to him.

"You wanted to speak with me?" She roughly spoke.

"Aria." He looked at her just as he always did, his eyes fixated on hers as if he were reading her like a story. Too bad that was the truth.

"Can we go inside?" He asked her, holding his hand out for her. But she walked past him through the doors of the coffee shop. He followed her.

She looked around, normally there were more than enough people there to fill the empty spaces but not today. She felt herself panic again.

"Where is everyone?" She asked.

Ezra shut the door and locked it. A smirk appeared on his face as he walked around closing all of the blinds on the windows.

"Everyone is gone. It's just you and me tonight." He said.

Aria could feel her blood turning to ice again, and her breath became hard to catch again. She sat down in a chair holding her chest. Ezra saw what was happening and he ran to her side.

"Please don't panic. Please don't be scared. I'm the same person that you always thought that I was. I love you and I would never hurt you. Please Aria you have to believe me." Ezra pleaded holding onto her free hand.

Aria tried to speak through her gasps for air.

"I loved you. I trusted you. How could you do that to me Ezra? After all that we have been through?" The tears began to flow from her eyes again. Ezra started to rub her cheeks wiping her tears away.

"Please let me explain." He begged. He started to hug her and her breathing finally went back to normal. Until she heard a loud bang.

"What was that?!" She yelled.

Ezra looked around and he then noticed that they were not in the room alone. He made eye contact with the intruder wearing a black hoodie. He stepped in front of Aria, not wanting her to see what was happening because she would panic again.

Aria had no idea of what was happening. She was unsure if she even wanted to know. All she knew, was that she wanted to have that conversation with Ezra whatever was going on right now could wait. She turned around and tugged on Ezra's arm, but then she noticed what he was staring at.

"What do you want?" Ezra demanded an answer form this mysterious person in a black hood. But he did not receive an answer. A just stood there.

Aria could feel the panic in her body reappearing yet again as she hid behind Ezra.

A walked closer to Aria and Ezra. Ezra shielded Aria to the best of his abilities, but A saw her. Who was he kidding of course A saw her there.

"Leave her alone!" Ezra raised his voice

A was walking closer toward him. Trying to get behind him to get to Aria. Ezra was walking backwards towards the door hoping that Aria would follow his lead which would allow her to run straight from his protection, to the door, leading out of the Brew to safety.

She did her best to walk, but her legs were so shaky and her breathing was so hard she could barely move. She was paralyzed there.

Ezra and A were nose to nose at this point. Of course the black hooded figure was wearing a complete black mask so the identity would not be revealed.

"I said, LEAVE HER ALONE!" Ezra yelled at the top of his voice. But before he could do anything, before he could even move A pulled out a gun and pointed it towards Ezra.

Aria was peeking from behind Ezra's arm where he was shielding her, she saw the gun and she screamed. A slowly started pulling the gun away from Ezra and pointed it at her.

Ezra knocked the gun out of A's hands, it hit the floor hard causing it to go off. Ezra yelled in pain as he dropped to the floor. Aria began screaming as she saw Ezra's leg bleeding. She was so unsure of what she should do. Her breath became even harder to catch than before, she felt light headed and she felt to her knees. All she could think about was Ezra, all she could see was him bleeding, and all she could hear was his screams of antagonizing pain.

A slowly pointed the gun at Aria. She closed her eyes and bent her head down. That was it, she had been defeated by A. There was nothing that she could do but to wait for her turn as the man that she loved was laying on the floor bleeding trying to protect her.

Ezra saw the gun pointed at Aria, he did the best that he could do to knock the gun out of A's hands.

Aria heard a loud BANG! She waited for the pain, but she didn't feel anything. She kept her eyes closed, until she heard familiar voices.

"Aria?!" Spencer yelled.

"Aria?!" Hanna and Emily yelled in unison.

Aria opened up her eyes as she saw A running out the door. She was confused, she had not been shot, A had not been shot, but she heard the gun go off. Then she looked beside her.

Ezra was still bleeding, but not only from his leg this time. When Ezra was trying to knock the gun out of A's hands, it went off shooting him in the stomach.

Aria started to scream as she touched Ezra stomach. She looked at her hand that was now red.

Ezra stared blankly up at the ceiling, trying to catch his own breath. He looked over at Aria, and he could see the emotional pain in her eyes, as she could see the physical pain in his.

Aria grabbed his hand as she began to cry. She laid her head on his chest and wept.

"Aria?" Ezra whispered.

Aria lifted her head to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

"I didn't get to explain." He tried to spit out as his eyes fluttered a bit.

The girls finally found Aria in the floor with Ezra, bloody. They didn't know what had happened, they began to scream as they thought that Ezra was A. They tried to pick Aria up off of Ezra, but she wouldn't let go of his hand.

"No!" She screamed. "Let me go!" "Let me go!"

The girls sat her back down and she rested her head on Ezra's chest again.

"I love you." Ezra muttered

"I love you, too." Aria cried as she felt Ezra's chest stop moving up and down. His arm went limp, no longer holding her hand as she was holding his. She began to scream as she heard sirens.

"Ezra. Ezra. Ezra." Aria kept screaming, but he didn't wake up.