Aria traced the engraved letters with her index finger, wiping away the dew that blanketed the grass and trees. Sean Ackard: Never forgotten, forever missed. The first rays of sunlight fell on the tombstone as Aria placed one of the bouquets of white peonies on the grass.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered gently, a tear sliding down her cheek.
She removed the crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and studied it to know in which direction to head. As soon as Aria entered the mausoleum, the eerie silence filled her ears. She paid her respects to Shana quickly, hoping to leave as soon as she could. As she was carefully placing the flowers, she heard sharp whispering and instantly recognized one of the voices. Ducking into another hallway, Aria hid behind a wide column and listened.
"No, Sydney, nothing's been okay since Wilden went crazy. He killed someone! ...There's only four of us left, for now," Jenna snarled.
"But, if Wilden's dead, who is sending us those messages?"
Sydney appeared frightened, in complete contrast to Jenna's cool demeanor.
"I don't know... I wouldn't be surprised if it was Alison. She can play pretend all she wants but I don't believe people change. Especially not her."
They stood in silence for a few moments.
"We should pay our respects to Shana..."
"I'd be more worried about our own lives right now," she retorted, walking off.
Aria breathed out as soon as they had left. Turning the contents of the conversation over in her mind, she headed back to her car. Absentmindedly, she dropped her keys and almost forgot to look before crossing the street. Too many thoughts were crowding her mind, from her friends to Jake to Jenna and Sydney. It was all too much.
"Aria!"
She turned, finding Ezra smiling at her.
"Hey. Are you okay?"
She realized how she must look with her eyes red from crying and her wandering gaze.
"Yeah, fine..."
He seemed concerned, just like everyone else. Aria wished they would all stop feeling pity for her.
"Do you want to hang out for a bit? Maybe have coffee or something?"
"Um... I should go."
The idea of sitting down and talking with him was not attractive in the least. He would probably ask how she was doing and he would probably want her to share details from the dollhouse. Or worse, he would ignore it like nothing had happened and want to focus on their relationship.
"We haven't really talked since… you know."
"You know what? Sure, let's get coffee."
Aria realized she was giving telegraphic answers in response to his genuine concern, but she couldn't act like nothing had happened when she had killed two people and her friends were kidnapped. She only agreed to it so she wouldn't have to do it later. Like peeling off a band-aid, the quicker the better.
"Here you are," Ezra said, placing her usual order at the table and sitting down on the armchair beside her.
Aria placed her elbows on the armrests and looked down at the carpet. She couldn't stand to meet his eyes. Memories of the that awful place flooded back to her as soon as she directed her eyes at his.
"You don't seem alright, Aria. Maybe you should reach out, talk to someone..."
And there it was.
"I actually wanted to talk to you," she briskly replied.
She peeled her eyes off the floor and rested her hands on her knees.
"I'm listening," he gently smiled, reaching for one of her hands and completely misinterpreting the moment.
Aria pulled away, folding them in her lap.
"I had a lot of time to think while I was in there."
"You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to..."
"I need to, you said so yourself."
Ezra's alarmed face didn't help, but she mustered the courage to continue. She had thought about it for a long time, even before she had been kidnapped. Being cut off from her family and friends had only intensified the feelings. She had had time to think about the relationships she had and how some of them were built on trust and support, and others were not.
"You were there for me when all of the crazy A stuff was happening and you even got me out of that place. I will always be thankful for that. But you... you knew who I was and who my friends were when you met me. You deliberately used me... for what? Fame? Money?"
"Aria... it was all real. I really fell in love with you."
"Does it really matter? It started out as a lie... I'm so sick of lies…"
"Look, I already said I'm sorry. And you're not exactly a beacon of honesty," Ezra hurled back.
"Yeah, I'm trying to change that. But I've always had good intentions."
Ezra let out an exasperated breath.
"Do you think it was easy to date my own student? I did it because I cared about you."
"Do you think it was easy finding your hidden office full of information on my life? Or knowing you had something with my ex-dead friend? Or do you think I didn't see the walls covered in huge portraits of her?"
Ezra frowned and looked around, making sure no one in the café had heard.
"I've done nothing but protect you. I even took a bullet for you and your friends."
"This is over."
Aria got up, leaving her tea untouched. Ezra quickly stood up too, reaching for her once again.
"Don't-" Aria snapped.
"I just- Honestly, Aria, where is this coming from? I don't know what to say," he whispered heatedly.
"Maybe you should just save it for your book."
