Chapter 7

Aria woke up in a cold sweat, screaming as Ezra shook her.

"Aria! What's wrong?" Ezra exclaimed when he noticed she was awake.

"I was having a nightmare," Aria panted, unable to catch her breath.

"What was it?" Ezra inquired, concern spread about his face.

"I was in the alley, that night," Aria choked out, her voice barely comprehendible through all the sobbing, "I had gotten a text from you, you said you needed to meet me somewhere where we could talk in private, and you wanted me to meet you there. I checked my phone to see where you were and I looked up and there was someone in a hooded figure. And I saw the face in my dream, Ezra, it was—it was you." Aria cried out.

A darkened look overcame Ezra's eyes, one which Aria could not quite understand. His eyes was on Aria, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

"Aria, it was just a dream." He spoke, as if he were in a trance.

"It just seemed so real," Aria's voice was steadier, but she was trembling in Ezra's arms.

"You're okay." Ezra tried to sooth Aria, to no avail.

"I want to go home, Ezra." She demanded.

Aria broke away from Ezra's arms. He jerked awkwardly, seeming confused at her sudden anger towards him.

"Aria, it's three in the morning." Ezra tried to reason with her.

"I know, I can't be here anymore." Aria began to panic.

Ezra got up and tried to reach out and hold Aria, but she backed away from him.

"I need to be home right now!" Aria screamed, "I don't feel safe here, A was in here Ezra!"

"You're going to wake the neighbors, Aria. Don't get upset. It was just a dream, I love you, you know that."

Aria began to sob, and collapsed into Ezra's chest. Intertwining his fingers in her silky hair, Ezra rocked Aria back and forth. Though each convulsion of her shaking body became less violent, Ezra did not break his hold on Aria until he was sure no tears were streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry Ezra," Aria whispered.

"Don't be, I know you're scared and confused. This is difficult for all of you, I know that, but I'm here every step of the way." Ezra held up his hand to Aria, reminding her of the promise rings they had exchanged only hours earlier.

Ezra reached for Aria's hand, and gently pulled her back towards the bed.

"Why don't we get some sleep?" He suggested. The offer was not necessary; Aria was already curling up on his mattress, exhaustion taking over her. Ezra climbed into bed with her, and wrapped his body around hers. His lips met the nape of Aria's neck, "I love you, goodnight." He whispered. Aria's eyelashes fluttered, and she murmured something that wasn't understandable. Sleep greeted them as a welcome friend, and the two rested without any more interruption.

Ezra awoke to find that Aria was no longer in his arms. In a tired daze, he stumbled around his apartment to find her sitting at his desk, leaning over something that he couldn't see. He peered over her shoulder to get a closer look,
"I thought I threw those away." Ezra stated, looking at the ruined essays that Aria was looking at.

"I brought them back out," Aria said coolly, "Ezra, why do you have the exact same pen that A wrote on these papers with?" She asked, holding out a red fountain pen.

"They probably just took a pen from on top of my desk." Ezra shrugged.

"A wouldn't do that," Aria's voice was an eerie sort of calm, "They are way too organized to use someone else's pen."

Ezra exhaled sharply,

"I don't get what you're accusing me of," He stepped closer to Aria as he spoke, "If you don't trust me, maybe you should go."

"Ezra I'm not saying I don't trust you I'm just confused!" Aria yelled, "Nothing is making sense anymore."

"It makes sense," Ezra reasoned, "You don't know who A is so you're pointing fingers to the ones closest to you. Once you know enough about someone, anything in their life can look suspicious."

"I never would have questioned this if it wasn't for the dream Ezra."

"It was just a dream. Why don't you go home and sort things out and come back when you're ready to discuss this in a civilized manner?" Ezra spoke cooly.

All that could be heard was the sound of their harsh breathing. Aria stormed out and slammed the door behind her. But she didn't leave, Aria stood with her ear pressed up against the door. It took everything she had not to scream as she heard Ezra dial the phone and the words he spoke next,

"Aria's on to us."

A/N: I know I'm a terrible person for not posting yesterday. Honestly, my only excuse is that I'm having terrible writers block for this story. I finally came up with an end (Only about 1 or 2 chapters left on this one, sorry) But if you want a longer, juicer plot and you love Ezra I'm writing another one that's much more thought out and I can already tell we be at least three times the length of this one. So sorry, I hope you're not mad at me for taking such a big plot twist. The next chapter will be much longer, I promise!