Hey! Its been forever since I've posted and I'm so sorry! This is the last chapter of The Truth Won't Set You Free. I hope you've enjoyed reading it! Please comment/review this! Thank you so much!
It had been nearly four weeks since they accident and Aria was ready to come home. She was ready to get out of the hospital, and away from those paper thin walls that confined her from sharing everything with her friends. So when the doctor came in this morning and told her she could go home tonight she was ready to jump off the walls with excitement.
Her friends helped her up the stairs and into the living room of her family's three-story home on Rosewood Drive. Hanna laid Aria's bag by the front door and Spencer helped Aria to the pull out couch in the living where she'd be staying at least the next week. She wanted so badly to stay at Toby's but getting up the stairs would be too hard so they thought it was best for her to be downstairs at home. A lot has changed since the last time she'd be here. She had moved out to Toby's so she could continue seeing Ezra but the broke up. Then when she planned to move back home her mom left town to be with Zach and with her dads busy schedule her and mike where in limbo constantly. So she took back Toby's offer and ran with it. But Mike on the other hand stayed home and through an occasional mixer while Byron was away. Her and Mike used to be so close but they barely saw each other anymore, so in a way Aria was glad to be home.
"You want us to stay tonight?" Emily asked hoping the answer would be yes, her and the other girls where dying to know what went down with Fitz.
"I don't know guys" Aria started
"Aria you know you don't want to be alone tonight with your dad not here and Mike probably out with his crew" Hanna added
"Ya Ar and you can maybe tell us about Fitz" Spencer replied but Aria's phone tune cut her off
"Do you know if your still going home today ?" the message read "It was just my dad checking to see if I got home ok" she replied "But really guys I'm fine I just really want to get some rest, I've been on edge every night at the hospital since that Wren thing and I just need some time"
"Ok that's fine, you should get some rest" Spencer said, giving Aria a smile.
"But promise you'll still tell us about Fitz?" Hanna asked
"Of course I'm still going to tell yall just not tonight" she replied "I'll see yall after school tomorrow"
"Get some rest" they called as the headed out the door
"I'll call you in a bit?" she replied to the text before reaching her hand into her bag and pulling out an envelope. Inside was a letter it read "Aria, if you're reading this it means you're finally home from the hospital! But it also means that you need to give me a call! I know we have a lot to talk about but I couldn't do it in a place filled with creeps. Call me 555-0199 as soon as possible. Love you always Alison." Aria quickly typed a message reading "tonight?!" and sent it to Ali. Within seconds she replied "12:30 your place, alone". "Ok, see you then she quickly replied back". A little while later she got another text from Jason reading "I'm coming tonight, she's coming a little after midnight, and she doesn't want anyone to spot her. You sure Mike won't be there?"
"He definitely won't be, I'm going to try and get a few hours of sleep before y'all come" she typed back
"Good idea I'll see you in a few hours" he replied
6 Hours later; 11; 50pm
Jason parked his car in the street and the walked up the driveway to the Montgomery's door. He walked around the left side of the house and reached his hand under the large bush, pulling out a lawn gnome. Inside he found the key to the back door, he replaced the gnome and headed to the door he pushed the key in and turned the lock before entering the kitchen. Like he thought Aria was fast asleep on the couch so he woke her up and turned off the TV.
"What time is it?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes
"12:00" he replied
"Then why are you here?" she asked
"Because I knew you'd sleep until 12:30 if I didn't come early" he replied
"Yeah you're probably right" she laughed
Jason took a seat on the bed next to her "So what are you going to ask her about?"
She took a deep breath "A, Fitz, I don't know I guess everything" she replied
"Just make sure you hear her out without getting angry, I know how you are and I'm not taking sides I'm just"
"I know what you're saying, I'm going to hear her out, I need to know the truth" she replied but was interrupted when a quiet knock came on the back door and Jason went to get it, before leading the blonde into the living room to join them. She hugged Aria and then took a seat across from her, near the fire place in the living room.
"Are you staying" Aria asked
"No, I'm leaving, I'll be back in a little while call me if you need anything" he said before leaving the residence.
"I'm so glad you called" Alison replied
"I'm happy you came" Aria replied "We have so much to talk about"
"Where do you want me to begin?" Ali asked
"I want to know about board shorts" Aria replied
"I figured" she replied
"It was May of 2006 and Cece wanted me to come along with her to this Pub/Arcade place. As usual she ran off flirting with some guy and I was left alone. I saw this young college age guy sitting alone, and I went to talk to him. He was reading Tender is the Night and I made up this whole story about it to flirt with him, to my surprise he was interested. We spent the night talking and he agreed to go on a date with me. We went to this theater his family owned, and after dinner he told me he wanted to write a book about me. He said I was interesting and he wanted to know more about me, so that summer I brought him along to Cape May." She paused for a slight moment before continuing her story. "So one night we were at a club and things got heated really fast. I'll spare you the details but basically I was there with Cece and Ezra and of course Cece ran off with some guy. Jason and Wren came into the club wasted. I went off dancing with Cece, when I came back Ezra was gone. I later found out they had told him I was underage and he was pissed and left to go back to Rosewood. Well this one guy heard the whole thing and asked to buy me a drink. He said I looked stressed and he wanted to take my mind off things. So I took it him up on his offer, and one thing lead to another and I woke up the next morning in bed with him" She paused for a moment as multiple tears ran down her cheeks. "I didn't mean for that to happen but two weeks later when y'all were supposed to come here, I discovered I was late on my period. So the next morning we went back to Rosewood before Jason could find out."
"Oh my gosh Ali" Aria interrupted "I"
But Ali cut her off "I was never really pregnant, I just needed to get out of Cape May and I needed to do it fast."
"But why" Aria asked
"I needed to get in touch with Ezra and convince him to stay in Rosewood and take the job at Hollis he had talked so much about. I didn't want him to run from Rosewood because of me, he needed to stay there" she replied
"Why did you want Ezra to stay in Rosewood if you didn't want to be with him" She asked
"Because maybe I knew a 5'2 brunette, who loved writing almost more than he did, and maybe in my mind I knew that he would be her other half, that maybe they'd find each other one day
she replied back to Aria with a smile. "Now where were we?" Ali asked
"Oh right, didn't Cece find out you weren't pregnant?" Aria asked
"Not for a long time" she replied and then began to continue her story.
When I went back to Rosewood I went to the practice Wren owns to see him. I told him I needed him to back me on my story and he prescribed me birth control. Every week I was supposed to be visiting him for doctors' appointments, but instead we'd just talk. I actually began to fall for the guy and eventually he asked to take me on a date. The place where I was meeting him was the place I first met Ezra so I got there early hoping to run into him. When I walked into the restaurant I saw Ezra sitting in the back corner on the right. As usual he was engrossed in his book and drinking a board shorts ale."
"Ezra" I asked as I took the seat across from him
"Ali, hi, what are you doing here? "He asked
"I was waiting for someone and then I saw you" she replied
He grabbed his book and placed it into his bag "Wow look at the time I have to get going" he said "it was great seeing you though" and then rushed out the door.
A few minutes later Wren came in and we took a seat at the table. After dinner he ordered us each a slice of boysenberry pie and he ordered himself a vodka soda. Dinner was great, I really liked Wren but all I could think about was Ezra. It was Labor Day weekend and Cece was going to Cape May for one last summer fling so I went along and brought Wren. Again the weekend was great and we had an amazing time but I couldn't stop thinking about what happened with Ezra. So when I wrote the Board Shorts story it was about him even though what happened was with Wren, I wanted it to be with Ezra. That's what I love about story telling the stories can be how ever you imagine them to be."
"So Board Shorts was your nickname for Ezra based off the drink, but the story isn't about Ezra right" she asked to clarify before Ali continued
"Right, the actual story is based off Wren and I, but I wished it was Ezra so I called him Board Shorts" she replied and then continued
So a few days before I disappeared I ran into Ezra, and he wanted nothing to do with me. But I convinced him to let me apologize so we got into his car and talked.
I asked him why he'd been avoiding me, and he said he was mad because he found out I was underage and lied to him about it. So I apologized and I told him I just really liked him and I was sorry for everything. But before I got out of the car, I told him he needed to take the job at Rosewood and that he wasn't going to be running into me anymore. I gave him my number and told him I would be studying abroad in Paris for a while. I kissed him on the cheek and left, and that was the last I heard from him.
"So did he know me when he met me?" Aria asked
"No" she paused "I never really talked to him about you guys. But when I found out yall where together I was so happy because I knew at the end of the day you were so much better for Ezra then I could ever be.
Aria smiled a weak smile back at her before asking "So he's not A?"
"Of course he's not A, Ezra never would've done anything to you girls, he would've given you the world." Ali replied
"Then why was Cece calling him to ask about that box of stuff to go through?" Aria asked
"Ezra's on the A team" she paused "But he's not A, he was forced to join, he did it for you. Do you remember the Halloween Train?" Ali asked
"How could I forget?" Aria replied "I was trapped in a box with Garrett and nearly died, but what does that have to do with Ezra?"
"That's the night he joined" she replied before telling Aria the story.
"So it was the night of the Halloween train, and everyone was there including me. I actually had a conversation with all of you on the train even though you didn't know it was me. It was great we talk about boys and clothes, and I loved it. But while I was on the train I overheard people talking about what they were going to do to you and Garrett. So when you got up to use the bathroom I stole your phone and called Ezra. He was surprised it was me on the other end of the line and wanted nothing to with me. But I told him what was going on so he grabbed a costume and hopped on the train at the New York stop. Ezra met up with Cece and she told him the only way he could convince them to not kill you is if he joined the team. At first he was suspicious like he should be but when they told him the box was going off the train any minute now, he quickly decided to join, and you were safe." Ali replied
Aria buried her face in her hands and tears began forming and then running down her cheeks "I feel so bad" she said "I'm in love with Ezra, I always have been, and I always will be. I hate that for the time being he believed I fell out of love when I very much did not. I wish I had let him explain this all to me, maybe I wouldn't be here in this position now" she cried
Ali walked over and took a seat next to Aria on the brown pulled out bed. She rubbed her back smoothly "its ok Aria, its ok I promise you he's still in love with you" she replied
"I just feel like if I wasn't snooping around" But Ali cut her off "Aria you can't put the blame of you finding that on yourself, but honestly I'm surprised you didn't find out sooner" she replied
"You are?" Aria asked
"Ya" Ali replied "Your good at finding stuff out like I am that's one of the things I've always liked about you"
Aria brushed the tears out of her eyes and smiled out Ali "Thank you"
"For what?" Ali asked
"Everything" she replied "Coming over, being here for me, and for helping Ezra"
"I need you to do me one more favor" she replied
"Of course, what is it?" Aria asked
"I need permission from you for me to speak with Ezra, because right now he's my only in. Please Aria" she replied
After a pause that felt like an eternity Aria looked up at Ali and nodded her head slowly. "I give you permission to talk to Ezra because I do trust both of you, and thank you so much for being honest with me about all of this" she replied
"Thank you so much" Ali said as she went in for a hug with Aria
"Ouch" Aria winced
"Sorry I forgot" Ali replied
Aria took a deep breath "It's ok" she replied "The first thing you and Ezra need to figure out is who the hell hit my car"
"I kind of already know" Ali replied
"Who" Aria asked
But before she could answer Ali's phone rang it was Jason
"Hello" she picked up
"Hey" he replied back
"Are you and Aria done?" he asked
"Mhm we just finished why?" she replied
"I was wondering if you still wanted me to bring him over?" he asked
"Um yes!" she replied "See you soon"
A few minutes after they saw the lights of Jason's car pull up in the drive. But instead of one Aria heard two car doors close.
"Who's here" she asked
"You'll see" she replied as Jason made his way from the kitchen into the living room to see Ali and Aria.
"Ali can you come here for a sec?" he asked
"What's going on" Aria asked but before Jason could answer she spotted Ezra as he made his way into the living room to see her. He kissed her on the forehead before placing a vase filled with Daisy's (Aria's favorite flower) on the table next to her.
"Those are beautiful" she replied
"Not as beautiful as you" he said, causing Aria to blush.
"How are you?" he asked embracing her in a gentle hug before sitting down next to her on the bed.
"As good as you can feel for being run off the road by SUV" she replied before wiping a tear from her cheek. Ali and Jason took seats on the couch to the left of Aria's bed before Jason asked they question they'd all wanted the answer to.
"So, what exactly happened anyways" Jason asked
Aria took a deep breath before continuing "I left Rosewood one night, I was pissed, at A, at everything I guess. I decided I needed to let the girl know, I was going to tell them everything."
"Wait" Jason interrupted "So you never actually told them?"
"Nope" Aria replied "I typed the message and literally seconds after I pressed send, it happened." She paused "I remember looking in my rear view mirror and seeing this black SUV get closer and closer I figured they'd pass me, but they didn't. The car hit me from the driver's side, and pushed my car again from the back side before it spun into the wall. I remember screaming as the windshield shattered and then everything went black. The next thing I remember is semi regaining consciousness as the EMT's pulled me out of the car. They were using all these terms I couldn't understand other than to make sure I was stable. I remember being in the ambulance and them telling me to stay awake, to stay with them, just to stay. But the pain was too much and I slipped away back into the dark for a long while. Until I woke up sometime later in the hospital. The doctors told me I had a broken rib, a fractured wrist, a tear somewhere in my near and a laundry list of areas with bad bruising, swelling, and cuts. He told me I was a one of the lucky ones, and that my seatbelt saved my life. The time I was not awake felt like only hours but I was later told it had been a week or so and they were beginning to be concerned about me." Ezra leaned over to hold her fragile body in his arms and she buried her face in his chest and soaked his shirt with her tears. "It's ok Aria, its ok" he whispered in her ear as he rubbed her back slowly, until her tears stopped.
She sniffled before saying "All I thought about in those long hours in the hospital was, how could I be so stupid?" She asked "How could I not trust the most amazing person I had in my life? How could I do that to you? And that just made it worse, because of the pain I spent many sleepless night starring at the door wishing you'd come in, but you didn't. I was afraid you'd never want to talk to me again that I'd never see you. I wanted to call you so bad and let you explain this all to me but I couldn't get in touch with you. For all any knew we were fighting and I didn't want to add more variables to this equation. So I waited and waited and thankfully I have the most amazing friends in the world who brought you to me. For that I will always be grateful" She said with a smile
"Also" she paused "I'm sorry I just stormed off on you like that. That wasn't fair of me I should've given you the benefit of the doubt. But it was too hard" she replied "I was so angry and confused I just had to leave. It was too hard to believe the guy I was in love with was the same guy I had been living in fear of for years, and the same guy who my best friend was so afraid of she couldn't come home. That was too much for me and again I'm so sorry for leaving."
"It ok" he replied as brushed her bangs behind her ear. "Its ok, I wish it didn't happen like this. When I found out you were in the hospital I broke down I couldn't bear to think of the fact that A. who I was working for, to keep you safe, would go behind my back and hurt you. I couldn't sleep because I was so afraid you weren't going to be ok" he said
"Well you don't have to be afraid anymore" she said lacing their fingers together "I'm at home now and I have you so I know I'll be ok." She paused before looking up into his eyes "I do have you right?"
"Of course you have me, you'll always have me and I'll always have you" he replied before they shared a kiss
"Now that the happy couple is back together I would like to begin our first official meeting of this club" Jason replied
"So where do we begin" Ali asked
"First Ali, I'd like to know who did this to me" Aria replied
"Ok everything we four say or do in here is confidential" Jason interrupted before Ali replied
"Mona" she replied
"Wow that bitch really like throwing cars at people doesn't she" Ezra replied
Aria gave Ezra a look before asking "Then why did you tell me to look out for Wren?"
"There tag teaming right now" Ezra interjected "They started working together during her time at Radley. He's bad news and together there even worse."
"So just because I thought you were A even though you weren't they did this?" she asked
"There running the team right now and they don't want anybody knowing anything especially the four well actually the five of you I guess" he replied before there meeting continued well into the night.