2007
(part 2)
When Aria was 6-years-old, she fell from one of the higher steps of her tree house and broke her left arm. Ezra had climbed down just before her and witnessed the whole thing, from the misstep to the loud, bone-crunching landing. He'd thought about trying to catch her, but in the split second that he hesitated with a decision, she was already hitting the ground. It was too late to be proactive; all he could do was be reactive.
He had gasped, eyes wide and ears anticipating a scream. Aria stayed silent for a moment, too shocked from the fall to properly react. However, once she eyed her limp, unresponsive arm, terror set in and her face contorted with pain. She'd let out a loud sob and a high pitched moan as tears began to rapidly stream from her eyes, and once again, Ezra was left with a decision that kept him frozen in place. Should he go get Aria's mom or should he move to comfort his friend?
It only took a few seconds for him to realize that he shouldn't leave her alone to wallow in the hot summer heat. He would hold her until she felt okay to stand up and move inside to alert Ella. She leaned into him the second he sat down next to her and buried her head into the crook of his neck. Even at such a young age, neither of them could deny the fact that her head just seemed to fit there, and because of that Ezra couldn't help but smile gently as he squeezed Aria's shoulders the way his father always squeezed his when he was upset.
It only took about a minute after that for Ella to hear Aria's cries from inside and rush out to see what was wrong with her daughter. Aria had been under too much duress to articulate what had happened, so Ezra took care of the narration. When he finished the short story that had turned into a long-winded one because that's just how 6-year-olds operated, Ella scooped Aria into her arms and announced they'd be going to the ER and that Ezra should head home.
The next day, Aria dawned a pink cast and a smile once again. She thanked Ezra for helping her out when she was hurting and let him be the first one to sign her cast. He'd written: Get Well Soon. Love, Ezra. He was addressing her bone rather than her spirit. Emotionally, she was fine. She wasn't in any pain and was back to her normal, bubbly self. She was already well, and 6 weeks later, she was healed too.
When Aria was 15, she found out that her father had cheated on her mother and that her parents were filing for divorce. She was devastated. She shut herself away and refused to talk to anyone about what she was feeling. She had Mike – who was in just as bad of a place as she was – and that was all she felt she needed.
Had Ezra not seen Byron moving his belongings into the trunk of his car while simultaneously being chewed out by Ella with his own eyes, he would've thought that Aria was angry at him and that was the reason for her sudden silence. But he knew that scene all too well. It only took a few seconds to process what was going on. Ella and Byron were getting a divorce, and it was killing their daughter.
Ezra didn't receive details of the divorce for several days. It was only when he heard his mother on the phone with Ella as she attempted to console her broken friend that Ezra learned what Byron had done to his family. He'd stepped out on them. And it was in that moment that Ezra realized just how much pain his girlfriend was in. Her father just left her for another family. She would never have a good relationship with him again. She might not even forgive him for what he'd done. This pain could follow her for the rest of her life.
Absolute disgust and hatred toward Byron settled in the pit of Ezra's stomach. How could he do that to his family? To Aria? He wanted to knock the man out, not that it would help anything – not that any of those emotions would help anything. He couldn't be angry at Byron. He had to be there for Aria…but only when she chose to let him in.
And she didn't…not for awhile, anyways. It took nearly 3 weeks for Aria to even begin to smile regularly again, and another 2 weeks after that for Aria to sit down with Ezra and explain exactly what had been going through her head. None of it was pretty. But like the good boyfriend that Ezra was, he sat with her and listened until she had no more to say. He let her cry, let her rant, let her use him as a punching bag. He shared his own experiences of divorce with her and let her in on some of the coping strategies that he used. He stayed up with her until she put everything out in the open, and once she had, he stayed even longer.
Aria wasn't the textbook definition of "okay" for a long time, and when the divorce was finalized, she reverted back into her pity shell. But Ezra understood. All he could do was support her and hold her when she needed to be held, so he did. Her spirit was shattered, but he knew that it would come back together in time. And he was right. Within the year, the Aria he'd fallen in love with was back and everything was right.
When you're friends with someone for as long as Aria and Ezra had been friends, you are bound to go through some broken bones and hard times. You're going to see the best of them and the worst of them, from both internal and external standpoints. And you stick by them during every up and down because you care about them, because you know that bad times never last and that good times should be celebrated. You're sure of the bond the two of you share and know that nothing can come between you, no matter how hard it tried. And you're right…until you're not anymore.
Liam had been gone for far too long in Ezra's opinion. He said he was going to take Aria to lie down in Alison's guest bedroom. He'd said nothing about a return, but every sane person assumed he'd at least pop his head back outside and tell the group that Aria was alright and asleep. But he hadn't, and that made Ezra uncomfortable.
After excusing himself from the group on the porch, Ezra slipped inside the house and began to make his way upstairs. As he ascended the staircase, he scanned the room with hazy, heavy eyes, searching for any sign of Liam. It was possible that he went back to hang out with his friends after taking Aria to bed, but there was something inside of Ezra that told him that wasn't the case. He just prayed to God with everything in him that he was wrong. But when he spotted Matt Callahan and a few other lacrosse guys and no Liam, he felt his insides begin to shake. Something wasn't right.
In the final few steps to the landing of the second floor, a million thoughts raced through Ezra head, all trying to serve as an explanation as to why Liam could still be in the room with Aria. Maybe she had gotten sick and he was holding her hair while she threw up over the toilet. Maybe she had hurt herself and he was helping her remedy the problem. Maybe she had an emotional breakdown and he was trying to sooth her. Maybe whatever was happening was totally innocent.
But it wasn't.
Ezra had never sobered up so quickly in his entire life. As he reached for the door handle, he was still drunk and pretty high, but the second he pushed it open and his eyes landed on the scene unfolding in the bedroom, he was just as sober as he'd been when he arrived to the party.
His limbs felt numb. His blood boiled. His head started to spin. Nothing about that moment felt real. His eyes had to be deceiving him.
He felt anger, rage, jealousy, fear, guilt, and disbelief all at once. It was enough to paralyze him, but he knew better than to let his emotions take over. Not right now. He could save the what-ifs, the self-loathing, and the hatred for later.
Suddenly, Ezra was 6-years-old again – responding too late to a situation. If only he'd made the decision to come up here sooner, then maybe Aria's wouldn't be spread eagle on the bed with two unwanted fingers shoved inside of her and a penis forced into her hand. Maybe she would be safe and Ezra could be holding her instead. But that wasn't what had happened, so just like he had when he was 6, Ezra had to reactive rather than proactive. Only this time, Ezra's first reaction wouldn't be to squeeze Aria's shoulders and let her head rest in the crook of his neck. It would be to beat the shit out of Liam.
Though Aria's head was lolled in the direction of the door, she was too far gone to comprehend that someone else had walked into the room. And since Liam had his back to the door, he hadn't noticed anyone enter either. This worked to Ezra's advantage.
All it took was two swift steps to put Ezra at the foot of the bed that Liam and Aria occupied. Not bothering to conceive a game plan before taking action, Ezra clamped a hand down on Liam's calf and yanked him backwards with all of the strength he could manage- which was a lot more than he was expecting. It would come to his attention later that this move left a bruise on Liam's body.
Liam yelped and spun around, half attempting to cover himself, half attempting to gather his wits about him. But before he could even get a clear look at the man who interrupted his torture, Ezra's fist was connecting with his jaw.
There was a loud crack, similar to the one Ezra had heard when Aria fell from the steps of the treehouse years ago. Ezra doubted he was strong enough to break someone's jaw, but he liked to think he had at least inflicted serious pain to the guy.
Liam's naked body flopped backwards onto the bed, his hands immediately finding his face and cupping it, a sob of agony escaping his throat.
"What the hell man?" Liam spat, a small amount of blood trickling from his lips.
As if Ezra wasn't already furious enough, that pathetic excuse for a human being was actually pretending that he didn't know why Ezra had just punched the daylight out of him. Even if Aria wasn't his girlfriend, Ezra would've reacted the same way if he walked in on that scene. Liam was sexually assaulting an almost unconscious girl. And if Ezra had to guess (he'd be correct), he'd say that Liam probably laced Aria's drink with some sort of sedative prior to bringing her up here. Now that he was thinking about it, Aria went from okay drunk to nearly passed out without hitting any of the middle ground between the two. Liam had definitely drugged her.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Ezra roared, lunging towards the aching man, fist swinging and connecting hard with different parts of his body. "What the fuck did you do to her? Why would you hurt her? What the actual fuck is the matter with you?"
With each question, Ezra was slamming his fist down onto Liam's face and chest. Liam was trying to fight back, but failing miserably due to the leverage Ezra had by being above him and filled with rage. Aria was watching the whole thing unfold directly beside them, but couldn't bring herself to react in any way. She tried to let out a small moan to remind them of her presence and inability to move, but even that was impossible in her state. All she could do was watch helplessly and listen to the sound of Liam's bones crunching with each hit.
A blow to the nose cause blood to pour out of his nostrils and trickle down onto the tan bed sheets. Internally, Aria cringed. Externally, she stayed completely still.
Ezra's knuckles turned maroon as they coated themselves in Liam's blood, but that didn't cause him to stop. Instead, it seemed like it only fueled his fire. Unfortunately, it also fueled Liam's.
It only took a few more punches before Liam began to reciprocate. The first hit went to Ezra's cheek. The second to his eye. The third threw him backwards and onto the floor.
"Get the fuck off me," Liam screeched as if Ezra wasn't already on the floor. "Don't fucking touch me. You hear me? You come at me again and I swear to God I'll call the cops."
"You're fucking joking, right?" Ezra yelled as he steadied himself in the upright position. "I'm not the one who would get in trouble if the fucking cops showed up. Do you even know what the fuck you did? Do you know how disgusting you are?"
Aria held her breath as she watched her boyfriend approach her attacker again. They were both bloodied and black and blue, though neither looked like they were prepared to surrender.
"Shut the fuck up, man. She asked for it," Liam scoffed as he bent over to pick up his clothes, which were conveniently left by the door.
Aria's stomach churned. That was a lie and she was going to be even sicker than the alcohol was already making her feel.
"Get out," Ezra growled. "NOW."
The force behind Ezra's last bellow made Aria's heart stop and Liam almost visibly shit himself before fumbling for the door and shuffling out, pants and underwear in hand.
The door slammed shut behind him, leaving Aria and Ezra alone in silence.
A barely-there sob broke through the thick blanket of quiet, thought neither of them knew which one made the sound. Maybe it was Ezra. Maybe it was Aria. Maybe it was the both of them. They couldn't tell. Not that it mattered. Nothing felt like it mattered much in that moment.
A few seconds ticked by before Ezra turned to face his girlfriend. It was the first time he really got a good look at the fragile girl lying on the bed. His heart broke into a million pieces at the sight of her.
It was obvious that she'd been crying. Mascara was streaked down her cheeks in uneven lines and her eyeliner had bunched beneath her lash line. Her skin was blotchy and her breathing was ragged. Ezra could only imagine her silent pleas for help and the way her face had contorted with terror when she realized what Liam was about to do.
Her sports bra was still on, however, the straps were pulled down. Her shorts had been thrown onto the floor and her underwear was bunched up next to her thigh. There were a few of what appeared to be bruises on her forearms and a hickey or two on her neck. She would bare the physical scars of this night for at least the next week. But she would bare the emotional scars for perhaps the rest of her life.
Ezra opened his mouth to say something…anything. He wanted to ask if she was okay. He wanted to ask if she was in any pain. He wanted to ask if she wanted him to get the police involved or if she wanted to go home. But when he looked into her eyes, he got the answers to all of his questions without a word being spoken. She wasn't okay. She was in pain. She didn't want to inform anyone of what had just happened, not now at least. And she didn't want to go home.
What she wanted was for him to hold her, just as he had when she'd broken her arm when they were 6, just as he had when she was dealing with her parents' divorce. And so he did. Only, this time, he knew she wouldn't come back tomorrow with a pink cast and smile on her face as she had when she was 6. No amount of bandages or bright colors would restore what had just been broken inside of her. He couldn't write "Get Well Soon" on her arm and everything be okay. This time, Ezra couldn't share his own experiences to help her get through this pain. She wouldn't be over this in a matter of 5 weeks, and there was a possibility that she may not open up to him at all about it. He wouldn't understand even if she did. This time, Ezra was helpless and Aria was broken.
This would take time to even begin to scab over…more time than the two of them had left together, thought neither of them knew that at the time…and maybe that was best.
A/N: Wowowowowow I'm the absolute worst. "I'll update soon" my ass. I am so sorry you guys! These past (almost) 3 weeks have been hectic. As far as college goes, I've had mid-terms, regular tests, speeches, and multiple readings to do. And while I'd love to say that because of those things, I've had absolutely no time to do anything else, I don't want to lie to you. I have had spare time; I have just used that spare time to fuel my social life. If any of you follow me on Snapchat (erin_leigh98 *shameless plug*), Instagram (same a Snapchat), or Twitter (erinleigh98), you might have seen that I went home this past weekend to see my family and friends, and when I returned to college, I attended a Halloween party. Beyond this past weekend, I've just been using my free time to watch Netflix with my boyfriend or to go out with friends. And to be completely honest, I just haven't been in the writing mood, so even if I wasn't doing anything, I couldn't bring myself to write. But, I'm back in the writing mood now and I only have one class tomorrow so I'm going to try to start on the next chapter and have it up for you guys by the end of the week!
Anyways, enough of me rambling. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and that it was worth the wait. Like I said, I struggled with wanting to write it, but I think it turned out alright. Please let me know what you thought by leaving a review!
Thank you all so much for reading! Love you guys!
-Erin xoxo
P.S. also, please know that I will never, ever abandon this story. It may take me 3 weeks to upload (hopefully that'll never happen again), but I will never give up on the story. It will be finished and I'm actually already brainstorming ideas for my next story, so I am far from finished writing fanfiction. :)
