The Lost Weekend
This is an idea that's been in the back of my mind for a while. Let me know if you think it's something that I should continue.
Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Pretty Little Liars
Aria felt that she was at the end of her rope. For the last few months "A" had been relentless in the number of creepy, sinister texts that he, she, or shem had been sending Aria and her friends. It had gotten to the point that she jumped every time her phone chirped with an incoming message. Even her brother Mike had noticed.
"Gee Aria, over caffeinated?" he complained as her hand jerked late the night before, spilling her coffee over the mug's rim and onto his homework paper. Her lips lifted slightly at the corners into a guilty smile as she reluctantly glanced down at the phone's screen, relieved to see it was just a message from Hannah.
Feeling like she couldn't take it any longer, Aria decided that she needed to take some drastic measures to distance herself from A. She was planning on leaving Rosewood. Not for good, mind you, but to take a break from the constant harassment by A. Hannah had told her last night that, with the upcoming long holiday weekend, she was going to go out of town to visit her dad. At that time, a germ of an idea began to take hold in Aria's mind. She had thought about it last night and again today and was now on her way to making her plans a reality.
It started with doing some research online. She didn't really care where she went, but because of limited finances, it couldn't be too far away. The only criteria she had is that it needed to be remote enough that there would be no cell service. She had remembered a cabin that her family had rented several years ago and how Mike had complained that he couldn't play his computer games because satellite service was practically nonexistent.
She was able to find a rental agency online that handled the cabin and booked it for the long weekend. The next obstacle was getting permission from her dad. Aria had been able to handle that one pretty easily with a quick lie that she had been invited to go with Hannah to her dad's. And to her friends, she told them that she was going to spend the weekend with her dad at the college he was guest teaching at for that semester. She wasn't exactly sure why she was lying to Spencer, Hannah and Emily, but she just felt that she needed this time alone. She didn't want one of them suggesting that they make a girls' retreat out of it.
The final hurdle was transportation. She couldn't take her car if her dad thought she was going with Hannah, so that left the bus as the only option. Checking the routes, she saw that a bus was leaving Rosewood the following day and would take her to Smithton, a small town located fairly close to the cabin. She assumed that once she was there she could rent a car to drive the additional 75 miles that would be necessary.
Sitting back in her chair, Aria took a long deep breath, smiling in satisfaction over the thought that in just a few more hours she would be A-free for three entire days. Her mind drifted over what she needed to pack. She'd definitely need some books, her camera and maybe a sketch pad to keep her busy since she'd be in such a remote spot. That wouldn't exactly leave a lot of room in her duffle bag for clothes, but since I'll be in the middle of nowhere by myself, what does it matter?
Her soft hazel eyes jerked toward her phone as it chirped an incoming message. Lifting it up, she saw immediately that it was from an unknown source. That could only mean one thing... another unwanted message from A. Before glancing at the text, her eyes flickered once more toward the clock, willing the hands to move faster so that tomorrow would finally get here.
Ezra placed the last folded shirt in his duffle bag. Everything was ready except for his laptop. He wanted to jot down a few more ideas for his manuscript and then he'd add it to the rest of his stuff.
Thinking back, he was amazed how everything had worked out. He'd been feeling frustrated lately over how slowly the ideas for his new book were going. Between his responsibilities at Rosewood High during the day and the amount of homework he brought home each night, he never seemed to have any time to devote to writing. And when he did find a few minutes to sit down and write, his mind seemed too filled with other things and no concrete ideas would form. He loved his work but his job was exhausting him. That's why he looked at it as a blessing when his friend Wren had called and asked him if he'd look after his cabin while he was out of the country.
What a perfect opportunity, Ezra reasoned, to spend the entire weekend alone, no distractions, where I can devote all my time and energy to my writing. Wren had said he was free to use it if he wanted, but warned that it was somewhat rustic. Ezra didn't mind that at all. Probably, the more rustic the better, Ezra thought. As long as it has four walls, a roof, and running water, that's all I really need.
Aria looked out the bus window, noticing the darkening clouds overhead. Looks like rain, she thought to herself. Shivering slightly from the blast of the chilled air from the air conditioner, she thought once again how she wished she had brought a jacket on the bus. Reaching up, she tried for the umpteenth time to smash the air vents closed, but like every time before, they remained stubbornly open, raining the cold air down on her chilled arms.
It had been warm outside this morning, and the thought hadn't even entered her mind to have a coat, even though it should have. In early spring the weather was always unpredictable. It could be warm and sunny during the day, and then turn quite chilly in the evenings. She had been so anxious to get out of town that the weather had been the last thing she was thinking about.
A scattering of buildings slowly came into her view. We must be getting close to Smithton. As the bus traveled down the road, it didn't take long for Aria to realize that to call it a town, seemed a disservice to towns. Several of the stores passed appeared abandoned; closed, dusty store fronts to a time long past. The bus rumbled down the street and eventually pulled over and stopped at the local station. Aria's apprehension was growing by the minute at the thought of getting off the bus and leaving behind this last piece of trusted habitation.
Oh well, I said I wanted remote, she thought in resignation as she grabbed her duffle bag from the overhead compartment and made her way down the aisle. A young slender guy with a scruffy goatee stood up in front of her, abruptly blocking her path. Scowling back at her in annoyance as if her very presence was an affront to him, he grabbed his gear down from the bin, hitting her in the arm as the gravity caught hold of it.
Aria staggered a bit to the side, knocking into the seatback beside her. Her eyes opened wide in surprise, as she waited for him to apologize.
"Watch it," the guy snarled at her before turning and heading toward the front of the bus.
"What an ass," Aria muttered under her breath as she massaged her shoulder and continued up the aisle toward the exit.
As the door slowly closed and the bus rumbled down the street, coughing huge puffs of gray exhaust in its wake, Aria glanced around her. She was growing more and more uneasy at the idea that she was going to find a car rental agency in this town. Maybe I should have thought to look that up before leaving home too, she thought wistfully.
Looking across the street, she saw the flashing neon sign for Rosie's Diner. Hitching her back pack higher on her shoulder, she crossed the street and entered the restaurant. Several of the booths were occupied and so she made her way over to the counter in hopes of grabbing a cup of coffee and a little information.
"What can I get you, Sugar?" purred the waitress. Aria looked up at the tired, red head, who was absently smacking her gum behind her bright pink lips, waiting for Aria to order.
"Um, I'll have a caramel late please," she said as she quickly glanced over the plastic menu.
"We've got decaf or leaded, that's it," the waitress replied blandly.
"Oh. Leaded then. And lots of cream please," Aria added as the waitress set a cup in front of her before reaching for the pot percolating behind the counter.
"Can you tell me where I can rent a car?" Aria asked her hopefully.
"I'd say the closest place is Clearmont," the waitress responded, sighing deeply as if bored by the conversation.
"Clearmonts? Is that on this street? Or can you give me directions?" Aria asked hopefully.
"Clearmont, not Clearmonts," the waitress repeated slowly. "It's a town about 30 miles from here. We don't get many people through here looking for car rentals. I'd suggest taking the bus."
"Yeeeaaah," Aria said slowly. "Been there, done that. Is there another bus through here today?"
"Sorry, Sugar, I don't run the bus station. You'd need to ask them across the street there," she said, nodding her head in indication to the bus terminal Aria had just left.
"Thanks." Aria smiled politely as she decided her next move. Looking out the window toward the station she noticed the trees lining the street swaying in the heavy breeze as bits of trash danced down the nearly empty street. Rain was definitely in the near future.
Tearing her gaze away from the street, her eyes locked onto the steely gaze of the young hostile man from the bus. He was sitting several stools away from her, but his eyes were riveted onto Aria. She was use to guys at school checking her out on occasion but this didn't feel the same. This guy seemed angry and his eyes were shooting daggers at her.
Sheesh, what's the matter with this guy? Shivering slightly, she looked away. He gave her the creeps.
Taking a sip of her coffee, Aria winced at the acrid bitter taste of the stale brew. It tasted as if it had been sitting in the pot for hours. Setting the cup back down, she placed a couple of dollars on the counter and picked up her back pack and headed toward the restroom located on the far side of the diner.
Placing her bag on the sink, she took out her brush, running it several times through her long chestnut locks before securing the mass back into a thick pony tail. She sprayed her breath with the minty mouthwash to rid herself of the aftertaste of the diner's coffee. Aria entered the stall and closed and secured the door behind her. A minute later, she heard the outer door open as the sound of soft footsteps tread across the tiled floor. She wouldn't have thought anything about it except that no sound followed. Immediately, without conscious effort, her thoughts turned to A. Was she followed here?
Her heart raced as she could feel the beginnings of a panic attack coming on. She had been prone to these ever since A had become part of her life. Willing herself to calm down, she rationalized with herself that there was no way A could be here. No one knows where I'm headed. After closing her eyes and taking several deep and calming meditation breaths, she slowly opened the stall door and looked out. The room was empty. The relief that Aria felt was quickly replaced with panic as she realized that not only was the room empty of people, but it was also empty of her back pack.
No way! There is no way someone stole my bag!
Bursting out of the stall, Aria glanced around, frantically checking the floor to see if it had dropped down. She even looked in the other stalls, which of course made no sense. Finally, she left the room and rushed back over to the counter where the waitress was leaning casually against it talking to another customer.
"Did you see someone just come out of the bathroom?" Aria blurted out.
The waitress turned to her, lips pursed in displeasure at what she perceived to be a rude interruption. Seeing Aria's wide-eyed, panicked look, her expression softened.
"What Sugar?"
"Did you see someone just leave the bathroom? My back pack is missing. Someone stole it!" she cried.
Horrified, the waitress glanced over at the customer, both of them shaking their heads. "Sorry, dear, I didn't see a thing. Did you Hank?" she asked the man seated at the counter.
"No Jean, I saw nothing. I only have eyes for you," he replied, smiling sweetly at the waitress.
Laughing and patting his arm playfully, Jean turned back to Aria. "I'm sorry. I hope you didn't have anything valuable in there."
"My wallet was in there. Along with my clothes and books, and everything I brought for this weekend. Now I don't even have money to buy another bus ticket. What am I going to do?" Aria cried, her voice rising in panic, as several other patrons glanced curiously in her direction. Her hand fluttered to her neck, clutching the watch chain dangling down her chest.
"Aria?" a surprised voice called out.
Pivoting swiftly around, Aria's eyes widened as her mouth dropped open in surprise. "Mr. Fitz? What are doing here?" She couldn't believe that she was standing face to face with her English teacher. Her very young, hot English teacher, she added in her mind.
"I'm heading out of town for the weekend. I stopped off for a few things before hitting the road again."
Aria glanced down at the brown bag gripped in his hand. She could tell by the screw cap that was protruding from the top that his "supplies" seemed to consist of some type of liquor.
"What are you doing here? Are you okay," he asked, clearly concerned.
"I was heading out of town too. My back pack was just stolen. Everything's gone," she stated, her voice cracking at the end. She could feel her eyes welling up with tears. The last thing she wanted to do was act like a child in front of Mr. Fitz, crying like a baby.
"Are you alone?" he asked surprised, looking around for her family.
"Um, yeah," Aria answered slowly. She wasn't sure what else to say. She certainly couldn't explain her desperate need to escape from A's continual torment.
"You're not running away, are you?" he teased, smiling down at her.
Gazing up at his brilliant blue eyes, Aria temporarily seemed to lose the ability to speak. She seemed to be losing herself within his stare, feeling herself drowning deeper within the twin blue pools.
Realizing that he had asked her a question, she lowered her eyes, breaking the spell, and she quickly licked her lips to counter her nerves. "No, I'm not. I just needed to get away from everything for the weekend. I rented a cabin about an hour from here, but now I have no way to get there."
Ezra was relieved when Aria had looked away. He had suddenly become too aware of how closely they were standing, and how her hazel eyes were glistening with her unshed tears. He had felt a strong sudden impulse to reach up and touch her cheek, offering some sort of comfort. That desire had shocked him to his core. There was no denying the fact that she was attractive, but she was his student! He must be more tired than he thought to have entertained such an idea even for a second.
He couldn't help but be curious as to what troubles were causing her to feel the need to get away from Rosewood. Could she be having boyfriend issues? Family problems? A flash of something twisted in his gut at the thought of her dating. Jealousy? He nervously pushed the sudden thought aside.
"Well, I can't just leave you here stranded. How far away did you say this cabin was?"
"About an hour north of town, I think."
"I can take you there," he offered. "It sounds like we're staying generally in the same area."
"Wow, thanks, Mr. Fitz," Aria replied in relief. She might not have any of her supplies, but at least she now had a way of getting to her destination, and hopefully she could talk him into bringing her back too at the end of the weekend. "I'd say don't go out of your way for me, but I'm kind of in a bind. It's a blessing that I ran into you. I don't know what I would have done."
"Don't worry about it, Aria. What's an additional fifteen minutes on the road? You ready?"
Glancing around one last time to see if miraculously her bag had reappeared, Aria nodded. "I guess so."
Opening the door, he allowed her to exit first, placing his hand on the small of her back as he guided her through the doorway. It was a small, polite gesture that she was sure he did for all his female friends but she couldn't help but be aware of the warmth of his hand through her thin white T-shirt. She felt as if her skin was being seared by his touch.
Stepping out the door, Aria was immediately assaulted by a brisk gush of wind. The small tendrils that had escaped her pony tail danced around the sides of her face as the silver bangles in her ears swayed back and forth, knocking against her neck. Shivering slightly at the cooling temperature, she hugged her arms tightly around her, wishing once again for that forgotten jacket sitting at home.
"It's turning colder, isn't it," Ezra said as he walked briskly to his car. "There's definitely a storm coming." As if in response to his words, a flash of lightening filled the air followed several seconds later by a loud clap of thunder. The air was thick with the steely scent of impending rain.
Jumping slightly in reaction to the loud noise, Aria quickly grabbed the handle, tearing the door open and diving inside as the first fat drops of rain pattered onto the windshield. Before Ezra could even turn on the engine, the rain was coming down in a steady sheet. Running the wipers for a few minutes to clear his view, Ezra slowly pulled out onto the empty street, heading out of town.
After about an hour, Aria started to grow restless. It was taking longer to get there than she thought due to the heavy rain. For the last half hour it had been pounding the car as the wipers attempted desperately to keep up with the heavy onslaught. It seemed to be a losing battle. As a result, they were traveling much slower than they would have ordinarily been driving.
Aria glanced sideways, watching Ezra's long tapered fingers resting on the gear shift between them. She couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to slip her own fingers between his. Every girl in the school had a crush on Mr. Fitz, and she was no exception. There had been many afternoons when she and Hannah had fantasized about what the perfect date with him would be like.
They knew he wasn't married, but no one knew if he had a girlfriend. He was very private about his personal life, never sharing a lot of information with his students. She wondered what his type would be. Hannah would go crazy when Aria told her about this time alone in the car with him. If I can tell her. That would mean explaining the whole stolen weekend, and she wasn't sure she was ever going to do that.
Ezra had been acutely aware of Aria the entire drive. He could smell the scent of her soft perfume which seemed to fill the car. It tickled his nose as a sudden random image flashed through his head of him leaning over, nuzzling her neck, inhaling deeply her sweet scent. He clenched the gear shift tightly in frustration over his wayward thoughts. I have to get a hold of myself!
He felt the need to say something, to cover the awkward silence that hung thick between them, but he seemed at a loss of what to say. He gazed over at her, searching for a safe topic for them to discuss for the rest of the drive.
"Look out!" Aria shouted, suddenly sitting straight up in her seat, pointing out the front window.
Startled by her outburst, Ezra's head swiveled back. Just a few feet in front of them, a large opossum sat frozen in the middle of the street. Reacting instinctively, Ezra jerked the wheel hard to the right, slamming on the brakes. The rear tires fishtailed on the wet pavement as the car started to hydroplane down the road, spinning violently. Frantically attempting to regain control, he twisted the wheel in the opposite direction, aware of Aria bracing her arms against the console in front of her as they careened closer of the tree-lined side of the road. Unable to stop the momentum, Ezra watched in horror as the car veered off the street, down the steep embankment, continuing for a few more feet before coming to rest mere inches from a tree.
The headlights flickered several times and finally extinguished, engulfing the two of them in a darkness punctuated only by the occasional flash of lightening. There was an eerie, dead silence within the car, the rumbles of distant thunder a mocking applause to the spectacular crash. No longer impeded by the windshield wipers, the heavy rain continued to fall; a gray curtain shrouding the interior of the silent car.