Nice cliffhanger right? Here's the Ezria everyone wanted so badly. Enjoy and review.
"Aria? What are you doing here? It's almost 9." Ezra has his door half open like he's hiding something.
"I had no where else to go. Do you have company? Should I go home?" My eyes start to tear.
"No there's no one here." Ezra looks me over and sees the bruise on my wrist and the bag in my hand.
He beats you doesn't he?" I nod and the tears begin to fall. Ezra pulls me into a hug. it felt so nice to be held in his arms again. i was safe. Jason couldn't get through Ezra to me.
"Can I stay here for tonight?"
"You can stay for as long as you'd like." He opens the door all the way letting me pass through. I look around while he shuts and locks the door for good measure. Everything looked the same since I was last here. It felt so long ago.
We broke up when I left for New York for college. He had gotten a job at a middle school outside of Rosewood since my father had gotten him fired from Hollis. But the distance took its strain on us and we drifted from girlfriend and boyfriend to friends to nothing in a period of two weeks. I sit down on the couch as Ezra pours some coffee for me.
"Tell me everything Aria. Every little detail." He joins me on the couch and turns the TV off from the program he was watching.
"It started before you even came back to Rosewood. We moved here after we graduated from college one year ago. He got this job at a law firm and he had so much stress and he had to meet with a lot of people. I reconnected with some friends from high school and I went out with them while he worked, but he was so stressed and when I came home late he began to think I was cheating on him even though I wasn't. He grabbed me by the wrist and broke it from squeezing it so hard. I stopped hanging out with my friends and got a harder job to fill the time I had by myself." I stop and look at Ezra.
"Are you sure you want me to continue?" Ezra nods.
"I'm here for you Aria. I want to hear everything this bastard has done to you before I decide what I want to do next."
"A few months passed until it happened again. Instead of my wrist he slapped me after I said the wrong thing. It happened for about a week the same thing. He would get drunk after work come home and then we'd talk about his day and he'd slap me or punch me or throw me against the wall. And then he'd wake up the next morning buy me something nice and say it wouldn't happen again. And every time I'd believe him. Until you came along."
"I'm so sorry Aria. I had no idea that my arrival caused more pain for you. That's the last thing I would ever want to happen to you."
"You didn't know. Anyways, he found out from a friend that we had talked and he came home and he was pissed. He punched my arm and threw me on the couch. He hit my leg today and kicked me on the ground." I lift my shirt and show him the bruise forming on my ribs.
"I'm so sorry Aria." Tears start to form in his eyes.
"Can I go change?" He nods. I get up for the bathroom I had used a million times before.
"Can I ask one question first?" I turn around and nod.
"Sure."
"What made this time different? Why'd you leave today?"
"You." I turn before he could respond. Once in the bathroom I take off my jeans and top. I slide my sweats on and my long sleeve shirt I wore all the time to cover the bruises. I take off my make-up and the full bruise around my eye is fully clear for the first time in a long time. I walk out of the bathroom and drop my bag in the bathroom.
"Jason, she isn't here." I stop moving when I hear Jason.
"Then you won't mind if I look around."
"Jason leave before I call the police. Aria clearly left because she needed time away from you. Give her that time. And leave me alone." Jason pushes Ezra away and storms in. I grab my bag and quickly run into Ezra's closet.
"Jason get out!" Ezra grabs Jason and pulls him back.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Jason punches Ezra. He walks back and leaves the apartment slamming the door behind him. I run out of my hiding spot over to Ezra.
"Are you alright?" I lift Ezra up.
"He can punch hard."
"I know." I get some cold meat for Ezra to put on his face. "Here." He puts it on his chin.
"Why do you stay with him?"
"I loved him." Ezra raises his eyebrows.
"Loved?" I hadn't realized I said that. I guess I was really confused about my feelings. I thought Jason was the one for me, but every time he hit me I fell a little bit out of love with him.
"I don't know..." And I wasn't lying.
There you have it. Ezria goodness. Ezra's going to be there for Aria a lot more in the upcoming chapters and they will be doing more than talking if you know what I mean ;)