Chapter 10:

Ezra looked deeply into Aria's eyes, which now held tears of fright and pain. He was about to do something he thought he would never do in his life, but he always wanted to do it. Aria let a sigh slip from her lips. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her lips. She smiled weakly.

"Are you absolutely sure," Ezra asked again, searching for any signs of hesitance, "I mean, once this happens..," Ezra trailed off and Aria grabbed his hand.

"I feel like this is necessary. Like it is the right thing to do," Aria said as a silent tear fell down her cheek. Ezra quickly wiped it away.

"It's all going to be okay," Ezra whispered to her as he took her into his arms. He embraced her for a moment before kissing her hairline and pulling away, "You stay here until I make your presence known, okay?"

"Okay," Aria said in a squeaky, uncertain whisper.

"If you want to back out-," Aria shushed him.

"No," Aria said softly, "Do it."

Ezra nodded and grabbed her hand, "Stay here."

"Until you say my name," Aria smiled faintly. Ezra smiled, too, and kissed her hand gently. He padded to the kitchen to find his mother and Byron drinking tea. Ezra cleared his throat, and they both turned their attention to him.

"Hello Ezra," Mrs. Fitz said with a smile, "Of course you know Mr. Montgomery."

"Yes," Ezra said with a frown, "Did you come to talk to me?"

"I just thought Aria might be here," Byron said as he took another sip of tea, "I went to Jason's, where she was supposed to be staying, and he told me that she broke up with him. So I thought she might've come here."

"Why wouldn't she just stay at home," Mrs. Fitz asked curiously.

"She said she needed space," Byron shrugged. Mrs. Fitz nodded, but she still didn't feel convinced for some odd reason.

"So do you know where she is," Byron asked again. Mrs. Fitz saw the hesitance in her son's eyes and spoke up for him.

"Yes," Mrs. Fitz said as a matter-of-factly, "Of course! Aria was supposed to come home with you today! Remember? The reading assignment?"

Ezra looked his mother over curiously, "Yeah. I just dropped her off at home. She finished it with me in class," he said, praying that Aria would get the hint and leave.

"So she is at home," Byron asked, looking at Ezra's face, searching for any sign that he is lying.

"Yeah," Ezra repeated himself, "I just dropped her off." Aria knew what he was trying to do. Buy her some time. She slipped out of the back door silently, and she took off for her house.

"Alright," Byron said, getting up, "Well, I better get going. I have to go talk to her about not calling me when she was in the hospital."

"She didn't call you," Mrs. Fitz asked, glancing at Ezra, who was just standing there, eyes wide in terror.

"Nope," Byron replied as he shrugged on his coat, "I had to hear it from her mother. Did she have any other seizures?"

"Not that I know of," Mrs. Fitz shrugged and looked at Ezra.

"No," Ezra said, answering the unspoken question from his mother, "She has been taking all of her medicine for her body temperature and everything."

"For a best friend you sure look after her well," Byron patted Ezra's shoulder, "She hasn't had a seizure since she was a baby. Before Mike was even..," Byron's voice broke, and he cleared his throat, "Uh, so can I have her medications? I'll give them to her when I get back."

"Sure," Mrs. Fitz said softly during the awkward silence. Byron took them from her graciously, and then he darted out of the door. Ezra texted Aria to say her father was on his way, and he would go get her as soon as possible.

"Ezra Fitz," Mrs. Fitz said taking a seat, "Why did I feel the need to lie to Mr. Montgomery? Why did you lie? What is going on? You need to learn that is okay to tell your mother or father anything. So what-," Mrs. Fitz got cut off by Ezra.

"Mr. Montgomery abuses Aria," Ezra blurted out, ceasing his mother's rambling. Mrs. Fitz stared at him in shock. He couldn't believe Aria had finally let him tell someone. Saying it out loud brought tears to his eyes. Knowing that it's real.

"Wh-what," Mrs. Fitz blinked repeatedly-something she always did when she couldn't believe something.

"Mr. Montgomery abuses Aria," Ezra repeated, taking a seat himself because he felt like he would fall over, "He hits her, leaves bruises, and everything. It's been going on for almost two years."

"Two years," Mrs. Fitz asked quickly, her mouth hanging open.

"Yes," Ezra said in a whisper, "Since Mike committed suicide and Mrs. Montgomery divorced him, he takes his anger out on her. He is always drunk, too. I guess it's because of the same reason, also."

Mrs. Fitz shook her head, "She's never told anyone?"

"Just me," Ezra confessed, "Mom, she doesn't want her father to lose her. She thinks that he has lost everything except her, so she stays. But, lately it has been getting out of hand, and she couldn't stand it."

"Oh my God," Mrs. Fitz breathed.

"It's hard to see her. Every day, I see her hurting," Ezra's voice cracked, "I love her. I just want her to be safe and happy."

"It's alright," Mrs. Fitz embraced Ezra, "You did the right thing. Now, let's go get that baby away from Byron." Ezra watched as his mother retrieved her keys from the counter and rushed out of the door.

"Aria Montgomery," Byron screamed as he walked through the front door, "Get down here now!"

Aria jumped as she heard the door slam shut. She closed her door and locked it, and she went to the edge of her bed. Footsteps were heard from her bedroom, and they soon stopped at her door. Her breath hitched when the knob began to rattle.

"Open this damn door, Aria," Byron yelled at her, continuing to shake the knob. Aria sat against the back wall of her room, tears flowing from her face. She jumped as he flung himself against the door, trying to knock it down. "Fine. If you won't open it, then I will just have to tear it down myself."

Aria shook her head, afraid of what might happen next. She could already tell that he had a few drinks on the short drive to their house from Ezra's. Sure, it seemed impossible, but for him, it was completely normal. After three slams to the door, its hinges came off the frame and fell to the floor.

"There you are," Byron smiled sinisterly, before walking toward Aria. She screamed out as he yanked her by the hair, "I told you to open the damn door!"

"I'm sorry," Aria yelled as she was thrown onto her bed, roughly.

"You think sorry cuts it," Byron yelled at her, "You lied to me! You didn't call to tell me you went to the hospital, so whenever they called to see how you were doing, I had no clue what the hell they were talking about! Do you know how stupid you made me look?" He yelled as Aria flinched. She didn't say anything, so he grabbed her shoulders, "Do you?"

"Dad, I'm sorry," Aria said as more tears of pain, fright, and sadness cascaded down her face. He threw her down on the floor, and her head hit the side of her bed frame. She couldn't see for a second or two. Everything was black. Then, she blinked her eyes and could vaguely make out her father's shape.

"I'm going for a drive," he said as he slammed Aria's door behind him. Aria tried to clear her vision, but everything stayed blurry. She felt the back of her head, which was throbbing intensely. She felt liquid that she knew was blood. She was in too much pain to take even a step without falling, much less a whole staircase.

"Aria," she heard someone scream from downstairs. She heard the shuffling of feet, but she couldn't manage to talk. She couldn't form words at the moment. It was as if her thoughts were all jumbled and wouldn't register anything correctly. The sound of feet climbing the stairs sounded like someone was kicking the side of her head. She was sensitive to every little sound.

"Oh my God," she made out someone in the doorway, "Aria!" All she could see was his shape, which was tall and lanky, and hear his voice. No matter how much she was hurt, she always remembered his voice. It was Ezra.

He ran over to her and bent down next to her body. He gently pried her hand off of the back of her head, and he examined the aftermath of Byron's abuse.

"Ezra, I told you to wait for me," another voice emerged from the staircase. Soon, a more femininely shape was next to her, "Oh my God," she repeated Ezra's words.

"Aria, everything will be fine," Ezra said as he lifted her up, in the same style that was eerily familiar to him, and began to walk down the stairs, "We have to get you to the hospital."

"Did you," Aria got a couple of words together, "Did you do it?"

Ezra smiled weakly and pushed a damp piece of hair behind her ear, "Yes, sweetheart. I did it." Aria smiled weakly and whispered something along the lines of "thank you." Then, the three were off to the hospital, and afterwards, the police.

Note: So, someone finally knows about Aria's abuse from Byron. Apparently, it has gotten way worse. Sorry if you were a little disappoointed that Ezra didn't, like, fight Byron. Lol! But, I thought it was a big step, and I was happy with how it turned out. I absolutely love Mrs. Fitz:) So, what are the consequences for this? Is Aria going to be okay? What will Ella say? Where did Byron go? Please review:)

~Laura