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Previously:
I had promised Ezra I would call him in fifteen minutes and it was almost to fifteen minutes so I pulled my phone out of my pocket and went to my contacts before clicking on his name. And at the same time, I pointed the item to my head and shot, just as he answered the phone.
Ezra's POV
I was currently sitting on my couch, mindlessly flipping through the very few channels I did have, before decided to just give up searching for something to watch. I muted the television and grabbed my laptop, hoping to get some more written on my new story; the story of meeting someone and knowing they are the one. Unlike my previous story, this one wouldn't be about two people falling in love and not being able to be together and having to fight through everything to be together, this story would be about finding the person and being with them, fighting through the odds together, not separately. Aria had left my place about fifteen minutes ago and she promised she would call me in fifteen minutes, and I was anticipating her phone call.
Suddenly, my phone started to ring as if on cue, and I pulled it out of my pocket to answer it. I noticed it was Aria and sighed a breath of relief that she had called like she promised she would. I slid my finger across the screen to answer it and put the phone up to my ear.
"Hello?" I said into the phone. I didn't get a response from the other end though, all I got was silence and then I heard it. A sound I hated, a click followed by a loud boom; the sound of a gun being fired. I didn't hear anything after that except for the phone falling to the ground before I disconnected, grabbed my car keys, and took off out my apartment door to the parking lot. I hurriedly got into my car and sped out of my parking spot, racing down the street on the way to the hospital. That was when I noticed a car; her car to be exact. I slowed down and called 911, as I couldn't call them before because I had no idea where she was located. I got out of my car and ran over to the driver's side, and that was when I found her lying there on the ground, blood spewing out of her mouth. I squatted down to where I was beside her before sitting completely down on the ground, pulling her head into my lap.
I waited impatiently for the ambulance to arrive, praying that Aria would make it. She was such a beautiful and caring person, and I know why she had done this; she blamed herself for what happened to Bridget and Auburn. I realized then that she never even found out the news on what happened with them and done this to herself without knowing the truth. This is what caused me to break even more inside. I heard the sirens approaching us and sighed a breath of relief that they got there in less than two minutes, a record time for them. They rushed over with a stretcher and pulled her out of my lap and set her on it before rushing back to the ambulance with her. I climbed into my car and rushed to the hospital, riding behind the ambulance the entire ride there. I rushed into the hospital and saw a distraught family before my eyes. It was then that I figured they must have been Aria's family and slowly made my way over to them, contemplating on how to start this conversation.
"Are you Aria Montgomery's family?" I ask politely.
The woman looks up and slowly nods her head. "We are. Who are you?" She asked, a little taken aback that I knew her daughter.
"Um, I'm Aria's, uh, friend?" I say, not quite knowing exactly what we are. We had just met earlier today, and now all of this was happening.
Her mother looked up at me and slowly smiled. "Why are you here without her?" She asked me.
"Um, I'm actually here with her, but um, she is kind of rushed back into ICU at the moment," I stated, not wanting to witness their reactions.
Byron soon stood up upon hearing what I had just said and made his way over to me. "What did you just say?" he asked me with a stern tone.
"Um, Aria is currently in ICU. She has uh, been shot. Well, technically she hasn't been shot. She, uh, uh, shot herself…" I said, stumbling over my words and stopping short from finishing my sentence.
"WHAT?!" Ella screamed at the top of her lungs. Heads soon snapped around to us, and all attention was now currently focused on the ruckus we were causing.
Drawing attention to us was not something I had wanted to do; it just happened and was now something I couldn't help. Ella still had her eyes focused on me, waiting not-so-patiently for me to say something more. Byron was looking at me, full on rage in his eyes. Mike soon got up and walked over to me, giving me a hard blow to the face, busting my lip. I stumbled back and Mike went in for another throw, but Byron thankfully pulled him back before he could hit me again.
"Mike, stop!" yelled Byron to his son. Mike finally relaxed in his father's arms and dropped his own, surrendering.
"Look, none of this is my fault. I'm sorry. She feels as if what happened with Auburn and Bridget is her fault and she left my place and told me that she was going to come straight here and then she called me and I heard a gunshot and went looking for her and then found her. I'm so sorry that she did this. She told me she wasn't a perfect person and that I wouldn't want to be around her if I knew some of the things she has done. Do you have any idea what any of that means?" I asked her parents, hoping they could give me something.
"She… she has had some past problems with alcohol. She was in rehab to clean up. It was so bad that at one point she tried to commit suicide, but we found her before she could do anything to harm herself. Sometimes she goes on a destructive path, but with Auburn around, it's like all her cares are gone and she focuses on just Auburn and ways to get herself better." Ella paused and thought for a second before continuing. "Auburn is fine. They came out and said she was gone and then by a miracle, they tried to bring her back one more time and she pulled through. Bridget is also fine right now. Everyone is fine… except my baby girl. All because she left before we found out the news and never came back," Ella broke down crying and collapsed in the closest chair she could find. Byron made his way over to his wife and picked her up before setting her back down in his lap, letting her cry into his shirt.
I decided to walk outside and get some fresh air after receiving all of this information. I walked out the doors and leaned up against the brick wall. I had only known Aria a day, and yet I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. She was a lost woman, someone with emotional issues. I wanted to help her, but I could only do that if she recovered, and by the looks of things when I arrived to her, I didn't think she would make it, but one can only hope. I slid down to the ground, letting the tears continue to fall. I heard the doors opening and quickly wiped my eyes, and looked up to find Byron walking towards me.
"Hi," he said timidly.
"Hey, sir," I replied.
Byron gave me a curt nod before sitting down beside me. "That's my baby girl in there, Ezra. Aria is my only daughter, my first born. I know we just met, and I know you haven't known her long, but I can tell you care about her. You seem like a genuine man, and I'm glad you somehow walked into my daughter's life, I just hope it wasn't too late. Who knows? We could be attending her funeral in a few days," Bryon choked out, tears sliding down his face.
I looked at the broken man in front of me and knew now that Aria had to pull through. If she didn't, this family would never be the same. I realized now she held them all together. Not Mike, not Auburn, but Aria. Their oldest child, the one they spent more time with, the one who had the most problems. She was the one that held this family together will all of those things. She was loved and she didn't realize it. She only saw the harm she was causing her family, but she never did focus on the good things she has done for her family. She had brought them all closer, and only now could one see that.
"I'm gonna go check on her, sir. Would you like to go back in with me?" I asked him politely.
He slowly shook his head and I gave him a nod before walking back through the automatic doors. I walked into the hospital and headed straight for the nurses' station.
"What is the progress of an Aria Montgomery?" I asked.
The woman behind the counter looked up and pulled out a file. "She is stabilized. That isn't saying that could backfire, but as of now, she is stabilized and in a coma. How long will the coma last? Who knows. It could be a few days, weeks, months, a year. Only time will tell."
I smiled politely and nodded my head before walking to the waiting area where her family is. Ella was still shook up from all the events happening from the afternoon and I couldn't blame her. She looked up at me along with Mike, and I sat down adjacent to them.
"She's in a stabilized coma. They say it can backfire and they aren't sure how long she will be in it. I'm sorry," I say. Ella nods her head and sits there, no tears running down her face. She forms her lip into a half smile and then gets up and walks to the nurses' station, to which I presume she asked what room Aria was located.
"How is your fiancée and daughter?" I ask Mike.
He looks up at me and smiles. "They are better. Auburn should be good to go in a few days, Bridget in about a week. I think I'll go see them right now, actually," Mike replied. And with that he was gone off in the direction of the hospital rooms. I sat there not knowing exactly what I should do before I decided to go home and get some rest, seeing as it was three in the morning.
Once I opened my apartment door, I made my way to the bathroom and took a quick shower and then changed into a pair of boxers, brushed my teeth, and climbed into bed. As I lay there, thoughts of Aria ran through my head. Should I continue seeing her? Should I try to figure out what all is wrong with her? Should I leave her alone? Would she even remember who I was when she woke up? Would she remember who her parents were? All these things ran through my head and I couldn't fall asleep. That was when I decided I would do everything in my power to make sure Aria would never hurt herself again and I would get her to open up to me. I like Aria, but I don't want to fall for her. I just want to be her friend, help her through her problems. I realized tonight that I could never be with her because of all these problems. I'm sure she will find someone who will love her though. I'm sure of it. She's beautiful and smart. These things I know for a fact, but I don't think I could ever love her.
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