Aria sat in the very back of the coffee shop on the main street, nestled comfortably in the cushions of the corner booth. It was very rare that she found her self alone, but here she was, enjoying a coffee in silence. Her fingers wrapped tightly around the mug, letting the heat seep into her fingers. The bell on the front door had all but stopped ringing as the amount of new customers dwindled as time wore on. She didn't dare look at her watch; she already knew she was hours late home and this was also the reason she refused to look at her phone.
She felt guilty for ditching her friends after school; Her excuse had been barely believable at best, but they had accepted it. After promising to call them all individually that night, she had then left school and retreated to the coffee house. That was 6 hours ago, and the Barista was starting to give her weird looks as he began to place chairs on tables in preparation for closing. She shook her mug at him, silently telling him to make her another. She didn't smile at him, hinting that she wasn't impressed with his staring. He huffed and inaudible sigh and turned back to his espresso machine, turning on the steam wand. A loud hiss filled the store and she pulled a novel from her school bag.

Her eyes flicked over the words on the page but her brain struggled to absorb them. Who could focus on a novel when they had no idea where they were going to sleep that night. She closed her book defiantly in a frustrated huff and stuffed it back into her bag.

"Aria?" She jumped slightly and her heart raced, but not because she was startled, but because of who had called her name.

"Ezra." She breathed heavily in greeting. "What are you doing here?" She realised it was a stupid question the moment it left her mouth.

His lips turned into a tight smile and he held up his cup for her to see.

"It's going to be a late night grading so I thought I should refuel."

She nodded and looked away as the Barista walked over to her.

"Here's another coffee. Maybe you should just open a tab here." The coffee was in a takeaway cup; a hint for her to leave, and he had placed it on the table a little more forcefully then he intended, causing the hot liquid to erupt from the slit in the lid.

She resisted the urge to glare at him, and turned back to Ezra, who's eyes had flicked from the coffee cup and back to her with intrigue.

"How long have you been here?" She hesitated for a moment, playing with the lid of her cup.

"A while." She admitted.

His eyebrows rose questioningly.

"I had a lot of assignments." She added quickly.

"Well this place closes in five minutes, so you better not torture the employees to much longer." Humour filled his voice, and she was grateful for his attempt to lighten the mood.

She stood and finished packing her bag and then slung in over her shoulder. She could tell he was lingering to talk to her, but she couldn't bring her self to oblige.
His appearance reflected the drama he was going through and she knew she couldn't add to that.

"I should be getting home..."She hesitated, as if saying those words had sealed her future. She looked back to him sadly.

"See you tomorrow Mr Fitz." She turned and headed for the door before he could say anything else.

"Wait, you forgot your scarf."

Aria froze in her tracks.

She had forgotten that she had taken it off earlier when the heating in the coffee shop had gotten too warm for her.

Her back remained to him and she contemplated making a run for it, but he was beside her before she could make a move. He placed his coffee on the nearest table and made a move to drape the scarf around her neck but her hands caught it before they could get close to her.

"Thanks." She murmured quickly, placing it around her neck quickly and pulling her hair out from underneath it. She kept her head bowed, hoping her long hair would create a curtain. But her efforts were in vain.

"Are those bruises?"

Ezra moved closer to her, his voice dripping with concern.

Nausea gripped her stomach viciously and her heart thumped loudly in her chest. A million excuses flooded through her mind but she couldn't grip onto one to tell him.
Her mouth opened and closed, but her voice was gone. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She needed to get out before she told him everything. The lump in her throat grew bigger, but she choked it down.

"I have to go." The bell rang loudly on the door as she pushed out and she could hear Ezra's protests behind her as she ran into crisp night air.

She chanced a look behind her and a wave of relief washed over her when she saw that he had not followed her. Slowing to a fast walk, she rummaged through her bag and pulled out her car keys. With no other place to go, she reluctantly started her car and headed home.

The clock on her dash board flashed 11:02pm, four hours past the time her parents had always expected her home. Fear gripped her insides as she pulled into the driveway of her house, and jumped out of her car. Images of what her father would do when she got home played out in her mind, making her shiver.
Her only saving grace would be that he was too drunk to function, or even better; passed out. She placed her hand on the door knob and with bated breath, slowly and quietly opened the door.

She could smell the whiskey as soon as she opened the door. The stale smell suggested that he had been drinking for quite a while, and she let herself relax at the thought that he was passed out somewhere. She closed the door and took a step forward, but stopped suddenly when she felt and heard the cracking of broken glass under her foot. The smashed remains of photo frames lay scattered on the floor. Smiling faces looked up at her, and a sense of sorrow swelled in her chest. These were moments she was never going to get back; her family would never be the same.

"Ella?" Her fathers slurred voice called hopefully down the stairs causing her to drop the frame she was holding.

"No dad, it's Aria."

He stumbled down the stairs, one hand using the wall for balance, the other clutching an empty bottle of whiskey.

"Aria?"

She stood rooted to the spot as her fathers face crumpled at the realisation it wasn't his wife. A look of despair flashed on his face for a moment, only to be replaced with anger.

"Do you have any idea what time it is." He hissed fiercely through his teeth. "I've been calling your phone all night!"

Fear ripped through her as he stumbled closer, emphasising every angry word with the whiskey bottle. She knew nothing she said to him would calm him down, her fate was inevitable.

"I was at Hannah's helping her study."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" He spat. "I JUST called Hannah and Spencer and Emily. All claimed to have last seen you at school! I even called that sleaze to see if you were in his bed."

"You called Ezra?" Bile rose in her throat and she choked back tears. What had her father said to Ezra? How much did he know?

Byron ignored her question.

"Where were you?" He growled.

"Like you care!" she cried back in anger.

His face turned bright red and before she could react, he raised his hand and hit her across the face so hard she fell back into the bookcase.

She sat on the floor in a haze, her hand gripping the spot where her father had struck her. A painful tingling sensation had risen in the tender flesh of her cheek and ebbed down to her jaw. For a moment they both were still; Aria because she was too afraid to more, and Byron because the alcohol was finally rendering him unable to function. He slurred to himself for a moment and then fell to the floor.

Aria let go of the breath she was holding and for the first time that day, she let the tears fall down her face. Her pent up emotions spilled over her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks and she found herself unable to control the loud sobs that racked her body.

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Snellee