Chapter 14

The next morning came to soon for Aria. She had barely registered crawling into bed and passing out from exhaustion the night before. Like every other morning, Aria waited until she heard her father leave before she would even considered getting out of bed. It had become routine to her now; Wake up, wait for Byron to leave and then cover her bruises.

How many times she could be hit in the same place before her body could no longer heal and the bruises became permanent? Each time she tended her injuries she had often wondered that, but she had always chided herself for thinking of her superficial marks and to just be grateful that she was alive. With out even seeing her cheek, she could already feel that it was bruised; the rhythmic throb and deep heat gave that away.

Aria was almost too afraid to look in the mirror, she knew this injury would be one of her worst. Her ribs stung and protested as she climbed out of bed and she found herself hissing in pain; she wasn't even sure how she hurt her ribs. With shallow breaths, she limped to the mirror in the bathroom, her body aching with every movement she made. A sob escaped her lips as her eyes looked in the mirror. She was right, an especially nasty bruise had welled up on her cheek, already a deep purple and blue.

From experience she new that one would take at least a week to heal, but what caught her by surprise was the gash on her forehead. She had forgotten that when Byron had struck her, her head must have hit something on the way down to the floor. The bleeding had stopped already, and thankfully it didn't look like she would need any stitches, although she would get a scar from this one. She laughed bitterly to herself. Why couldn't he learn to hide his abuse; it would make both their lives so much easier.

Aria opened the draw and pulled out her concealer and began the familiar task of covering her bruises. About half way through, she gave up. This injury was just far to extensive to cover up and she wouldn't be able to avoid the inevitable questions. She threw her makeup back in the draw in frustration and made the conscious decision to skip school today. Sinking down the wall to the hard cold tiles below, Aria let her head fall to her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs.

She was in her last weeks of school and she hadn't even applied to a College. The applications were long forgotten, along with any hope Aria held for her future. She had spent the last four months counting down the days when she could leave it all behind, but with nothing to look forward too, Aria feared she had no motivation to leave the hell she was In.

Loud sobs racked her body as she let her tears fall freely. She was thankful for the empty house, but even if Byron had of been home, her cries of anguish would have gone unanswered.

She wasn't sure how long she had been crying on the bathroom floor before she realised she no longer had the strength to continue. Her tears had dried, leaving tracks down her cheeks, and every now and then her chest would spasm with a hiccup. Her head and heart were still heavy with burden, but she mentally and physically did not have the strength to shed and more tears.

It felt like an eternity passed, before a loud buzz from her phone shook her from her detached state.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Aria?" Her mothers voice filtered out through the receiver.

"Mum?" Aria could feel the tears welling up in her eyes again and she forced herself to remain calm. She hadn't hear from her mum in days.

"Is this a bad time? I always forget the time difference."

Aria swallowed the lump that sat painfully in her throat and controlled the emotion in her voice. "No, no it's fine, I'm just getting ready for school." She lied. "How's everything going? What's it like over there?"

"Oh Aria, you would love it here! We found an apartment by the river, and it's just down the road from this cute cafe that has your name written all over it."

Aria could hear the joy in her mothers voice, something she hadn't heard since their trip to Iceland. She was happy for her mother, but at the same time anger and jealousy ripped through her; Jealous that she wasn't lapping it up in Europe with her mother, and angry that Ella didn't seem to be missing home at all.

"I have some news." Ella's happy voice pulled Aria from her thoughts.

"Hmm, what's that?"

"He asked me to marry him! We decided on a June wedding once we get back."

Ella was practically squealing like a little girl, telling Aria how he proposed and rattling off endless wedding plans into the phone. For a fleeting moment Aria felt overjoyed that her mother was going to get the happy ending she deserved, but then Byron's angry face flashed in Arias mind. This would send him over the edge.

"Have you told dad?"

There was silence before her mother answered: "I called him first thing this morning." There was edge to her voice and Aria could tell that the call to her father had not gone well. "I thought he should be the first to know."

There was silence again, and before Aria could say something, she heard the front door bang open.

"Aria!"

She froze.

Byron was not supposed to be home, his first lecture at the university was to start in ten minutes.

"Aria!" His voice was louder and more frustrated.

Aria could feel her hands begin to shake. There was no way he could have fit a drink in the hour he had been gone, which meant he was sober. Aria didn't know what frightened her more; her father in control and fully aware of his actions, or being so blind drunk that he couldn't control how hard he hit her, but had no memory of it the day after.

"Mum I have to go." She felt her voice quiver.

"Is everything okay?" Her mother asked.

"Yeah, I'm just late for school."

Her mother sighed. "Alright, I'll call you tomorrow and we can chat more about the wedding."

"Aria!" His voice had reached breaking point, and Aria quickly hung up the phone. She felt a strange wave of regret roll over her. Maybe she should have told her mother she loved her, just in case she would not have the chance to say it again. Aria shook her head. She couldn't think like that now.

She found him at the top of the stairs as she left her bedroom but stopped short when she saw the anger that shaped his face.

"How long have you known?" His voice cracked as he forced his words to stay calm.

She didn't answer.

"Did you help her keep this from me?" He took a step closer.

"Dad-"

He cut her off. "Is this your way way of getting back at me?"

"No I-"

He took another step. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

She opened her mouth the retort but his hands had grabbed her roughly by the arms. His fingers dug into her soft flesh and she could feel his sharp nails piercing the skin.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" He hissed while he shook her.

"You're hurting me." Aria said. But his grip only tightened.

"I let you stay in my house after you whore around behind my back and this is how you repay me?"

He was beyond the point of reason. His rage had engulfed him and Aria knew this time was going to be different. She could see it in the way the veins bulged from his temples and his teeth grit together. He needed to hurt Aria, that was the only was he could deal with his anger.

She let the tears slip from her eyes then. She mourned for the man she used to know, the man she used to love. It seemed so long ago that she actually felt safe with him. He was always the one who would check under her bed for monsters at night, he was always the first to let her into her parents bed when thunderstorms frightened her. So as Aria felt her father pull her towards the stairs, she mourned for man she had lost.

He didn't need a lot of strength to push her. She was as light as a feather and fell down the stairs like a slinky. She landed on the hard wood floor with a sickening thud.

Seconds passed before Aria realised what had happened. Pain was all that she could feel. It consumed her whole body and blinded her from the world around her. The metallic taste in her mouth confused her for a moment, before she realised that it was blood and she forced herself to swallow. She remained still, not daring to move in fear she had broken something. But all of that was forgotten as she heard Byrons loud footsteps descend down the stairs towards her. He hovered over her menacingly, his breath ragged and uneven. Aria closed her eyes and waited for the final blow that would end her torment. But then she heard a sound she thought she never would. Meredith -who had been hiding in her bedroom when Byron had returned in his enraged state- came rushing down the stairs and pulled him back.

"Byron stop!" She pleaded, as she continued to yank him back from Aria.

Go, Meredith was mouthing and her eyes flicked pleadingly toward the front door. But Aria hesitated, despite what Meredith had done to her, she didn't want to leave her alone with Byron in this state. Aria shook her head slightly but Meredith only nodded, her eyes full of sorrow. And then Aria understood. This was how Meredith was making it up to her.

A fresh wave a tears cascaded down Arias cheeks. Byron was becoming more frustrated as Meredith continued to pull him away with all her might.

Go, she mouthed again and with much protest from her aching body, Aria push off the floor and ran for the door.

She wasn't sure how long she ran before her legs gave out and she stumbled to the concrete below. Sobs racked her body and she curled into herself, letting her emotions take over. Her sobs grew louder as she thought about Meredith, how she had saved Aria. An involuntary shudder ripped through Aria when she thought about what would have happened if Meredith hadn't been there.

But she had.

She had helped Aria out, and now she realised that she couldn't go back there, and a fresh wave of tears fell. She ran though her options before it became clear what she had to do. She just hoped he would still love her after she told him the truth.

"Ezra." She whimpered, and immediately cursed herself for letting her emotions get out of control.

His voice came through the phone, urgent and concerned. "Aria? What's the matter?"

She was silent for a moment, as she considered whether she was making the right choice.

"I need you-" she hadn't even finished her sentence and she could hear Ezra grab his keys and the bang of his apartment door. "-I need you to come and get me."

"Where are you?"

She heard his engine start and she looked around for a familiar landmark.

"At the bus stop down from my house." She couldn't help the hiccup as she forced herself to swallow back her tears.

"Hold on Aria, I'm coming for you."

Thank you all for your kind reviews! They really make my day! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think!

snellee