Disclaimer: I own nothing.
If you ever leave me baby,
Leave some morphine at my door
'Cause it would take a whole lot of medication
To realize what we used to have,
We don't have it anymore.
Listening to her hysterical sobs on the other end of the line was the single hardest thing that I have ever had to do. My mind automatically shut down, and the only thing I could think of was her. Aria Grace Montgomery, with the feathers in her hair and the tie she stole from my closet wrapped around her waist, Fitz's Makeshift Belt she had called it. I scoffed at her then, I'm missing her quirks now. My subconscious was taking me down a dark winding road, forcing me to realize all the ways I could loose her forever. I tried to shake them off, to listen to her frail voice on the other line. But I knew that our time was up. We were done. I used to be prepared for this day, but as time went on we let our guard down. I became so accustomed to having her by my side, that I forgot, for a split second, that this could and would happen to us. And even though I used to be prepared for this, a bag packed behind the couch, it still blindsided me. Ran me off the road so to speak. My panic doubled when she told me she was calling from the Rosewood Police Station, I could feel my heart in my chest. Would I be able to go? As a man, should I go? The bag was still packed, just waiting patiently for me to skip town…to start over somewhere else…wait for her to come find me in a years time. I picked up my keys, the metal digging into the meaty flesh of my palm and exhaled slowly. I looked around my apartment for the last time; grabbed my bag. "I'll be right there, Aria. I love you." Two steps would take me to the door, and even though I knew I was about to be hauled off to prison, I took them anyway.
The drive to the station was filled with silence. I kept debating wether to take the first exit onto the nearest highway and drive until my car ran out of gas. But no matter how many right hand turns would take me and my little packed bag to our new life; I drove straight ahead. The brick building loomed in my windshield in what seemed like no time at all. The parking lot was large for such a small building, and I parked in the back. I sighed as I saw her parents rushing from their car and into the building. I took the keys out of the ignition and slipped the extra key off of the key ring. I'd place it on the metal lip of the car, above the tire so that Aria could get it. The car was bought and paid for, and where I was going, I wouldn't need the damn thing. I was going to prison because I loved her; I would leave her everything. Trusting her so explicitly to still have a life for me, for us, when I got out in three to five.
The building was cold; extremely so; I could see her holding herself throughout the two-way mirror. I wanted to run to her, to hold her and rub her arms, and make her feel safe and warm. I was headed that way when Ella spoke to me instead. And no matter, what I tried to say, all I heard was "You need to leave."
There's no religion that could save me
No matter how long my knees are on the floor
So keep in mind all the sacrifices I'm making
Will keep you by my side
Will keep you from walking out the door.
I looked up from the driver's side of my car, and watched her walk out of the precinct with her parents, Ella had a tight grip on her arm. I knew that if I didn't go see her now, it would be never. I opened the door and sprinted to her side. Out of breath I whispered her name and smiled intensely when she ripped herself from her mother's grasp and flung herself at me. I could smell the dirt on her and feel it flake off onto my jacket. I didn't care either way. Clutching her body close to mine was the best thing I had ever felt in my life. I could hear Ella and Byron in the background, their breathing telling me just how angry they were. Aria pulled her head back and slammed her lips onto mine, our teeth clashing so violently that I could taste the blood in my mouth. I'm sure she could taste it too.
"Aria Grace!" Ella's screeching pulled us out of our little daydream, the other girls had gone home by now, not that they wouldn't want to witness this. I saw her face tense up at the use of her middle name, and she turned her tiny body to face her parents.
"It's me. Obviously, the girl in the rumor is me. Honestly, I don't owe you any explanation, but if you would be calm enough to listen to one. I-we-will give it to you." And with that she clutched my hand and bid me goodnight.
The drive back to my apartment was long and tedious, and again filled with silence. My thoughts clouding my head and pride raging through my veins at the way she stood up to her parents. As I parallel parked behind my neighbor's beat up Honda, I let out a sigh of relief before glancing in the back seat, the black duffel bag was still in it's same position. I moved it to the trunk, in case I needed to make a faster get away at some point in the near future. Climbing the three flights of stairs back to my apartment was the easiest thing I had to do in the longest time. I was asleep before my head hit my pillow.
I'll never be your mother's favorite
Your daddy can't even look me in the eye
Oooh if I was in their shoes, I'd be doing the same thing
Sayin there goes my little girl
Walkin' with that troublesome guy
But they're just afraid of something they can't understand
The text message I awoke to the next day did not set me into a panic, immediately. It was from Ella and I knew exactly what it said before I opened it. I just didn't know the time. But as a man, I knew that I had to stand up for my relationship. I needed to show Aria that she was worth fighting for, that she was the one I wanted to be with. It was chilly in my apartment as my bare feet hit the hardwood floor. I was up and ready for the day well before I had to be at Aria's house for the "meeting" and in that time I walked aimlessly around my neighborhood. I smiled sadly and the yellow tape still draped over Alison's memorial, remembering how distraught Aria was when she discovered it had been vandalized. I remember her tears soaking through my jersey as she sobbed endlessly into my chest. Sobbed for all it was worth, for all the pain and grief she had ever felt. It hurt me physically to know that some of those tears she cried were caused by me.
I was still early when I pulled up to Aria's house, but was too late to stop the taxi that was driving her down the road. She turned herself around in the seat bodily, her tiny fists pounding on the back window, her tears pouring down her face. I could see her mascara running, and though I was prepared for this day a long time ago, I never knew that it could hurt this much. I took off after the taxi running until I was out of breath, running until the yellow was merely a spec in the dust. I knew not where they were shipping her off to, and I prayed to god that she had my number mesmerized. And that when she could, if she could, she would find a phone and let me know. Because I would follow her to the ends of the world and back . The walk back to her parent's house was a short one, filled with expletives spilling from my mouth. When I finally reached them they were standing by my car, murder clearly written in their eyes.
"You will never find her." Byron said to me, averting my gaze. Ella seconded him with a "Don't even bother trying." for the first time I spoke.
"A love like ours cannot be buried, it cannot be stopped nor will I let it be. I love her with all my heart and soul and I will search the world a million times to find her and when I do, you can bet your damn ass that I am going to make her Mrs. Aria Grace Fitz, and if I know my Aria, the way I know I know her. She will never want to speak to you again. But being the man that I am, I will convince her to see you. Because you shouldn't ever keep the one you love away from the things they need." I turned and got into my silver car. The gas tank was full and I had my bag in the trunk. The car roared to life and I drove off in the direction that she had just an hour previous. I turned the radio on.
"And for most of the United State this week, for the first time in decades, there will be nothing but rain."
Cause there'll be no sunlight
If I lose you, baby
There'll be no clear skies
If I lose you, baby
Just like the clouds
My eyes will do the same if you walk away
Everyday it will rain, rain, rain...
I love this song. I just had to write this little one shot about it. I doubt it's any good and for something I wrote on 2 hours of sleep in the last 48, I think it could be a lot worse. Review if you want to, it's not necessary.