Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars

Author's note: I want to apologize for the long wait. Social life + lots of work, makes it hard to find time to write. (and when you do have time, you don't always have the inspiration to do so, unfortunately). So for those of you who are still reading this story, here's your long overdue update!

Enjoy!

Aria's eyes sleepily fluttered open as she woke up from her nap. She lifted her head from Ezra's chest and looked up at his face. He was still asleep and she couldn't help think how adorable he looked in that moment. She caressed his face, kissed his cheek and then snuggled back against his chest.

Ezra woke up with a smile that traced his lips. He started stroking Aria's naked back with his fingers, which sent shivers down her entire body. Aria pressed her thighs tightly together as she felt an ache between her legs. She wanted him again, she wanted him real badly. Ezra felt Aria tense and he asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"

Aria nodded, but Ezra didn't quite believe her, so he lifted her head so he could look into her eyes. When he noticed the sheer lust in them, he smirked and said, "Oh… horny, are we?"

Aria couldn't control herself any longer, and getting up, she lunged at Ezra's mouth, kissing him with a burning passion. She looked into his eyes as she tugged at Ezra's bottom lip with her teeth. Ezra pushed Aria back a bit as he got up on his knees. He fisted her hair and pulled back her head, exposing her neck so he could suck and nibble at it.

Ezra splayed his other hand on the small of her back as he kissed down to her bare breasts and started sucking at one of her nipples. Aria whimpered and squeezed her other breast in frustration. Then she took his hand that was on her back in hers and she guided it between her legs, to try and stop the throbbing feeling. He pushed two fingers inside of her as she started massaging her clit with two of her own.

Aria's breathing started getting ragged and she moaned at the delicious feeling. Ezra loved watching Aria come undone like this and he felt himself getting rock hard. Suddenly he felt a hand around his cock and Aria started pumping up and down. Ezra groaned and put his other hand around hers to guide her. When she felt herself getting close to climaxing, Aria stopped everything and made sure Ezra did too.

Ezra was sitting back on his heels now, so Aria lifted herself by leaning onto Ezra's shoulders. Ezra positioned his cock at her entrance as Aria lowered herself onto him. Aria started sliding up and down, picking up the pace every few seconds. Holding onto her hips, Ezra thrust up into her each time she came down and Aria let out a small cry each time he did. Aria started kissing Ezra's neck to try and stop herself from being so vocal.

Ezra held Aria's hips in place as he thrust up into her forcefully multiple times. Aria felt herself unravel and with one final thrust, he pushed her over the edge, resulting in her biting into his flesh from pure animalistic desire. The sudden shock and slight twinge of pain from Aria's action caused Ezra to climax instantly as he let out a groan. Ezra collapsed back onto the bed in exhaustion, taking Aria with him.

Aria laid there on top of Ezra, completely spent, trying to catch her breath. When Ezra moved to pull out of her, Aria pleaded, "No, don't", as she started placing small kisses all over his chest.

Ezra's eyebrows raised in surprise as he asked, "Again!? Are you trying to kill me?"

Aria giggled and replied, "I can't help it… this is all very new to me… and it's very fun."

Ezra smirked and said, "Very fun, indeed. BUT… you need to pace yourself. Aren't you sore?"

Aria shrugged and admitted, "Maybe a little, but it's a good kind of sore."

Ezra raised an eyebrow and replied, "Well, good or bad kind of sore… no more sex for today."

Aria's mouth dropped open in shock as she said, "What!? Are you being serious?" Then she winced as Ezra pulled out of her to make his point.

Ezra looked worried as he asked, "Are you okay?"

Aria sat up and replied whilst pouting, "No, I'm not."

Ezra rolled his eyes in fake exasperation and pulled Aria into his arms. He shifted onto his side to face her, caressed her cheek with his fingers as he looked her in the eyes and said, "You're my princess and I love you. As much as I want to make love to you all day long, you need to rest up."

Aria let her hand slowly trace Ezra's muscular chest as she replied, "I feel perfectly fine… I'm in no way tired… I could go on for a while…"

Ezra grabbed Aria's wrist to stop her from going down south too much and said, "Stop. Rest."

Aria leaned in until she was mere millimeters away from Ezra's lips and then, while looking seductively into Ezra's eyes, she whispered against them, "Fuck me."

Ezra's eyes widened in shock at Aria's boldness and was at a loss for words. Aria tugged at Ezra's bottom lip, while she let her free hand find its way to Ezra's cock. Ezra snapped out of it, grabbing Aria's other wrist with his other hand, and moved so that she was now pinned beneath him. Ezra saw the excitement in Aria's eyes as he jokingly asked, "Am I going to have to restrain you?"

Aria retorted, "That might be fun."

Ezra shook his head in fake exasperation and asked, "What am I ever going to do with you?"

Aria smirked as she pushed up her hips and replied, "I can think of a few things."

Ezra let go of Aria, got off the bed and said, "Okay, that's it."

Aria frowned in confusion at Ezra, had she taken this too far? All of a sudden, Ezra picked up Aria and threw her over his shoulder. Ezra happily announced, "Time for you to cool off!", and he strode across his apartment with Aria.

Aria started squirming to get out of Ezra's grip once she realized where he was taking her. When they got to the edge of the pool, Aria warned him, "Don't you dare, Ezra Fitz!" Aria closed her eyes and yelped as Ezra pretended to throw her into the pool.

When she realized he hadn't, she opened her eyes and he asked, "Are you going to behave?"

Aria smart mouthed Ezra by replying with, "That depends, are you going to fuck me?"

Ezra motioned to throw Aria in the pool, but he stopped as she pleaded, "Stop! Okay, okay, just stop! I'll behave!"

Ezra looked as if he was considering her plea and asked, "Are you sure? Do you promise?"

Aria nodded fiercely as she replied, "Yes, very! I promise!"

Ezra shrugged, said, "Okay then", and put Aria back down onto her feet.

Aria fake pouted and said, "That was very mean, Mr. Fitz. I think you owe me a kiss!"

Ezra smirked and replied, "hmmm….okay. That I can do."

Aria leaned forward to kiss Ezra, but instead of kissing him, she pushed him backwards into the pool. Ezra quickly realized what Aria was up to and he pulled her into the pool with him. They both splashed into the water and when they came back up, Aria accused Ezra, "You said you weren't going to!"

Ezra chuckled and replied, "You promised you were going to behave!"

Aria splashed Ezra, giggled and then swam away from him. Ezra wiped the extra water off his face and went after Aria, catching up with her soon. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him. He looked down into her eyes and remarked, "You're awfully playful…"

Aria grinned as she put her arms around Ezra's neck and replied, "I'm just happy."

Ezra grinned back and he asked, "Is that so? And why is that?"

Aria explained, "Well… I met this really cute guy, who is really sweet and an amazing kisser."

Ezra asked, "Really now?"

Aria nodded and replied, "Really", then jokingly added, "If you want, I can introduce you to him? He might be able to teach you a thing or two?"

Ezra lifted up Aria and threw her a bit farther into the pool. When Aria came back up, she yelled, "Mean!"

Ezra laughed hard at the expression on Aria's face and said, "Well, that's what you get for implying there's another guy you're kissing."

Aria swam back to Ezra and teasingly asked, "What are you saying? That you want me all to yourself?"

Ezra frowned and asked, "I thought that was already the case here?"

Aria saw Ezra's worry, realized that this wasn't something to kid about apparently and replied, "Of course, there's only you." When she noticed relief in Ezra's eyes, she mockingly said, "Jeez, insecure teenage girl."

Ezra raised an eyebrow and replied, "Nice…. That's really nice."

Aria grinned as she nodded and said, "I know." Then she splashed him again and giggled before she swam towards the pool ladder.

After they both got out of the pool, Ezra got two robes from a closet next to the pool and helped Aria into hers. As Aria was tying the belt of her robe, she said teasingly, "That's a lot of robes in that closet… how many girls do you invite over here?"

Ezra didn't find Aria's comment amusing and replied very seriously, "Like I've said before, you're the only woman that's ever been to my apartment. Well, besides my mom and housekeeping."

Aria frowned and said, "Relax, I was just teasing."

Ezra looked troubled as he replied, "I know…I'm sorry. It's just… I'm sorry."

Aria was concerned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Ezra shook his head and replied, "It's nothing."

Aria pressed on, "It's not nothing if you're acting like this…"

Ezra sighed in exasperation, "I just don't want to think about my history with women."

Aria asked curiously, "Why not?"

Ezra admitted, "Because I'm ashamed of it, okay? I feel bad… I feel like a grade A asshole for treating women like they were disposable… like they were just ready to be used."

Aria nodded and said, "Well…. That is kind of an asshole thing to do… but you had your reasons. Plus, it's not like they didn't know what to expect… I mean, sleeping with a complete stranger that picked you up in a bar…"

Ezra's eyes were looking down at the ground as he replied, "I guess…"

Aria lifted Ezra's chin with her hand, so he was now looking at her, and said, "Hey… it's okay."

Ezra shook his head, then turned his back to Aria and replied, "No it's not… I was planning on doing the same thing to you…."

Aria hugged Ezra tightly from the back, and said, "But you didn't… and here we are. So please stop worrying about it…" Ezra didn't reply, so Aria continued, "It doesn't make me love you any less."

Ezra turned around with a shy smile on his face, and leaned down to softly kiss Aria on the lips. Then he took her hand and said, "Come on, let's go order dinner." Aria smiled back, nodded and followed Ezra.

The next morning, Aria slowly opened her eyes and noticed Ezra staring at her. She closed her eyes again as she smiled and asked, "How long have you been watching me sleep?"

Ezra caressed Aria's cheek and replied, "A while."

Aria opened her eyes again and said, "Good morning."

Ezra smiled and replied, "Good morning, princess. I sure do love waking up next to you."

Aria smiled shyly and said, "Me too."

Ezra was playing with Aria's hair as he admitted, "I want to wake up next to you every morning… Would you consider… moving in with me?"

Aria's eyes widened as she said, "Move in!? With you!?"

Ezra frowned and replied, "Wow, let me know how you really feel…"

Aria sighed in exasperation and said, "I didn't mean it like that… It's just… really soon."

Ezra nodded and said, "I know… I know it's soon. But, when you know, you know… right?"

Aria replied him warily, "I guess?"

Ezra looked worried as he asked, "You're not sure about this? About us?"

Aria explained, "No… I mean, yes, I am… I am sure about us. It's just… I thought we'd talked about this? We said we'd take things slow, so we wouldn't lose ourselves, to stay our own person. Moving in together kind of makes that point moot, no?"

Ezra repeated the word, like he was testing it out, "Moot?"

Aria nodded and confirmed, "Moot."

Ezra looked disappointed as he said, "I guess you're right." Then he got up from the bed as he continued, "I'm going to go take a shower."

When Ezra closed the bathroom door, Aria went to lay on her back, closed her eyes and covered them with her arm. She could tell she had really hurt Ezra's feelings. Was she wrong? After all, they did sleep together, which isn't exactly taking things slow either. She loved him, that wasn't a question, but… moving in together? Was that even a good idea, being together almost all the time? She loved spending time with him and when she wasn't with him, she wished she was. It was a wonderful feeling, but it also scared her.

Aria had been so deep into thought, that she hadn't heard Ezra come back out of the bathroom, until she heard him ask, "Did you fall asleep again?"

Aria removed her arm and blinked at the harsh light as she replied, "No, I was just thinking."

Ezra frowned as he said, "Oh, okay."

Then he motioned to walk out of the bedroom, but Aria got up and tugged at his hand as she said, "Wait…" Ezra turned around, looking at Aria with a serious and cold face. Aria continued, "Please don't shut me out."

Ezra replied instantly, "I'm not shutting you out."

Aria raised an eyebrow in annoyance and said, "The hell you're not… I promised you that I wouldn't shut you out, I promised that I would talk to you instead. The least you could do is give me the same courtesy."

Ezra sighed in frustration and anger as he asked, "You want to talk? Fine, let's talk. This sucks! I can't win with you! When I want to spend time with you, you freak out that it's getting too serious. When I give you some space, you're all over me. It's confusing and it's driving me crazy!"

Aria yelled back at him, "You think this is easy for me? Ever since I met you, you've turned my life completely upside down. I have never felt like this before in my life, and I have no idea how to deal with these feelings!"

Ezra angrily replied, "Well, same here! You think you're the only one who's having trouble dealing with their feelings? I've spent my entire life trying to avoid exactly all of this! And you know what!? Maybe I was right, maybe it just isn't worth it!"

Aria's mouth dropped open as she gasped as Ezra's words hit her. She looked down at the ground, her eyes blinking really fast, fighting hard to keep the tears from coming. Ezra's sudden outburst shocked even him. As he stood there, completely perplexed and ashamed, Ezra said apologetically, "I-I didn't, I didn't mean that… Aria, please look at me."

Aria shook her head as tears started rolling down her cheeks. Ezra cupped Aria's face and lifted it so he could look her in the eyes. He wiped away her tears with his thumbs as they rolled down and said, "I need you to look at me, so I know you'll know I'm telling the truth. I did not mean that, not in the least. Every day with you is a day my world is a better place and I don't regret a single second. My life wasn't worth anything, until I met you. Okay?" Aria nodded through her tears and Ezra kissed her lips.

Ezra pulled Aria to his chest and hugged her close as he said, "You're right, we should take this slow. This is new to both of us and we have a lot to learn. I don't want to mess this up."

Aria replied, "This is all my fault, I'm so sorry… When you say yes, I say no. When you say no, I say yes. Maybe… we should always just go for the middle road."

Ezra shook his head and said, "It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. It's all because of circumstance. You don't want any big commitments because of what happened with Matt… and I tend to want to rush into things because I've closed myself off from it for so long."

Aria sighed and admitted, "But I do want it… I'm just…"

Ezra finished her sentence by asking, "Scared?"

Aria nodded and replied, "I want everything with you, but then I get scared and I… I mess up and I hurt you. But I do want this… So, how about we do a trial period for a week? I move in, we see how it goes?"

Ezra smiled as he nodded and said, "I like that idea."

After breakfast, Aria and Ezra made their way over to Aria's apartment to pick up some of her stuff. When they walked in, Aria headed towards her bedroom as she told Ezra to make himself comfortable in the living room. Ezra went to sit on the couch and noticed that Aria had 2 new messages on her answering machine. Ezra said, "You have a couple of messages on your answering machine."

Aria replied, "Really? Play them for me, will you?" Ezra pressed a button to play the messages.

"Hey Aria, it's Ryan… your classmate.*silence* Are you okay, because I haven't seen or heard from you in a while now… and I'm starting to get worried. Especially since I'm getting your answering machine instead of you… Call me and ease my worried mind? Ok…bye."

Ezra raised an eyebrow and said, "I don't like that guy. He's obviously in love with you."

Aria rolled her eyes and replied, "He is not in love with me. He's a friend, he's worried, it's normal for friends to worry."

Ezra said, "Riiight…that's why he announced himself as your 'classmate'."

Aria shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Well, he is my classmate."

Ezra sighed and said, "True, but he's also your friend. He's intentionally not using the word friend, so you won't see him as just that."

Aria raised an eyebrow and said, "You're reading too much into it. Play the second message, please."

Ezra gave in and said, "Fine, but if it's from him too, I'm punching him the next time I see him." Then Ezra pressed to play the second message.

"Hello, Miss Montgomery. This is Detective Wilden speaking. Could you call or come down to the police station and ask for me, as soon as possible? I have some questions I need to ask you. I'll be seeing you."

Aria came out of the bedroom, looking very pale. Ezra frowned as he got up from the couch and walked over to Aria to ask, "Are you okay?"

Aria started freaking out as she replied, "Am I okay? Didn't you just hear that? The police is calling me! I bet they know about Matt… oh my God… what am I going to do?"

Ezra grabbed Aria's arms with his hand and firmly stated, "You're not going to do anything. In a few seconds I'm going to delete that message and you're going to pretend you never got it, okay?"

Aria fiercely nodded her head and Ezra walked over to the answering machine and deleted her messages. After that, she hurriedly finished packing her stuff and then they went back to Ezra's apartment.

The rest of the weekend they spent in the apartment, mostly in bed. So when it was Monday, and time to go back to school and work, they weren't so eager to get up. Aria stretched as she woke up and she noticed Ezra staring at her again. She grinned and said, "Stop doing that!"

Ezra leaned over to Aria and kissed her as he asked, "Stop doing what? Admiring beauty? I'd have to go blind before I stop doing that."

Aria replied in fake annoyance, "Ugh, stop trying to smooth talk your way into my panties."

Ezra smirked as he said, "I do believe you're not wearing any, Miss Montgomery."

Aria giggled and replied, "And whose fault is that?"

Ezra kissed Aria, then proudly said, "Mine", and then he kissed her again.

Aria sighed in contentment as Ezra kissed down her neck to her breasts. When he reached her belly button, he circled it a few times with his tongue, then he looked up at Aria and asked, "Want to try something?"

Aria eagerly nodded and Ezra got up from the bed to get something. When he came back with two silk scarves, he got back on the bed and asked Aria to turn around. Aria turned around, so she was now with her back to him, and then Ezra made a blindfold out of one of the scarves.

Aria could hear herself breathe louder now that she couldn't see anything anymore. She felt Ezra move around on the bed, until she suspected he was next to her and then he asked her to put her hands in front of her. Aria did as she was told and Ezra tied her wrists together. Then he tied her wrists to the headboard of the bed.

Ezra told Aria to move as far back as she could, so her arms were stretched out. Aria was now sitting up on her knees, her arms up in the air in front of her. Ezra brushed Aria's hair to one side and then started sucking at her neck. Then he kissed his way down her shoulder, to her naked back. Then Ezra went to sit up on his knees behind her and he spread her legs wide apart with his knees.

Then Ezra placed his cock at her entrance and sank deep into her, which made her let out a cry of pleasure. Aria started tugging at her restraints in frustration as Ezra slowly started moving in and out of her. When Ezra picked up his pace, Aria let out a sigh of contentment. Her moans and cries started getting more frequent and louder as she was nearing her orgasm. After a few quick and powerful thrusts, they both climaxed simultaneously.

Ezra started placing kisses on her back while still being inside of her, as he said, "I could never tire of this…of you."

Aria giggled and asked, "Even when I'm being 'annoyingly insatiable', as you so kindly pointed out this weekend?"

Aria could feel Ezra grin against her skin as he replied, "Even then."

Ezra pulled out of her and then moved to remove her restraints. Aria pouted and asked, "Already?"

Ezra pulled her head back by her hair and asked sternly, "You want more?"

Aria was completely turned on by Ezra's dominance and replied, her voice filled with desire, "Yes, please."

Ezra kissed her deeply and then asked, "So, what do you want me to do then?"

Aria bit her lip and replied, "I want you to spank me."

Ezra smirked and moved back behind Aria. He caressed Aria's behind and then gave her a light slap on one of her ass cheeks and asked, "Like this?"

Aria shook her head and replied, "Harder."

Ezra slapped harder this time, but before he could ask anything, Aria said again, "Harder." Ezra slapped even harder this time and was now aware that this was the right strength because Aria let out a moan and said, "Oh, fuck yes!"

Then Ezra started teasing her by slapping her ass in different places while asking her if that was the right spot, knowing it wasn't. Aria was getting frustrated and she pleaded, "Ezra, please…"

Ezra started caressing her behind slowly as he asked, "Please what?"

Desperation was heard in Aria's voice as she replied, "Please make me come."

Ezra smirked as he slapped her hard several times, right between her legs and Aria cried out in orgasm. Ezra then sank into her again, trying to find his own release. After a few more thrusts he found it, while tipping Aria over the edge again. They were both panting hard as Ezra rested his head on Aria's back, one of his arms around her stomach, holding her close to him.

After they caught their breaths, Ezra pulled out of her and removed Aria's restraints. When her hands were free, she slid the blindfold off her head and blinked at the intrusive light. Ezra kissed her softly on the lips and suggested, "Come on, let's go take a shower."

Aria raised an eyebrow and teased, "Who's insatiable now?"

Ezra retorted, "Get your mind out of the gutter, I meant an actual shower."

Aria giggled, said, "We'll see about that", and then headed over to the bathroom. Ezra smirked and then followed her.

After their shower, Aria was in the kitchen making them some breakfast whilst Ezra was getting dressed for work. Suddenly there was knocking on the door, so Aria walked over to the front door as she yelled to Ezra, "I'll get it!"

As Aria opened the door, a tall blonde-haired man in a suit, looking way too serious, was standing there. Aria offered a polite smile and asked, "Can I help you?"

The man nodded and replied, "I sure hope so. Are you Aria Montgomery?"

Aria frowned and said cautiously, "Yes, that would be me. And you are?"

The man introduced himself, "I'm Detective Wilden. I've been trying to track you down for a few days now. I'd like to ask you some questions if you don't mind?"

Aria started feeling really nervous, but she tried her best to hide it and asked calmly, "Questions about what?"

Wilden replied, "Questions about your boyfriend."

At that point, Ezra had reached the front door and went to stand behind Aria. He placed his hands on Aria's shoulders as he stared down the man and said, "That would be me. So any questions you have, you can ask me directly yourself. There's no need to harass my girlfriend."

Wilden looked confused as he looked at Ezra, then back at Aria as he asked, "Aren't you Aria Montgomery, the woman who's dating Matt Ryder?"

Ezra stepped in front of Aria protectively and replied, "Obviously she's not."

Wilden looked amused by Ezra's attempt to intimidate him and said, "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to talk to Miss Montgomery. If you don't step aside and let me, I'll just take her down to the station and talk to her there."

Ezra glared at Wilden and reluctantly stepped aside. Wilden smirked and rubbed his victory in by saying, "Thought so".

Then Wilden continued by saying, "Now, where were we…oh yes, you were just about to tell me how you know Matt Ryder."

Aria swallowed hard and replied, "He's my ex-boyfriend."

Wilden nodded and asked, "And when was the last time you saw him or heard from him?"

Aria explained, "Uhm, I haven't seen him or heard from him since we broke up."

Wilden frowned at Aria's hesitation and asked, "And when exactly was that?"

Aria appeared to be thinking for a bit and then replied, "A week ago, on Sunday."

Aria felt uncomfortable as she saw Wilden frown and realized that he was silently judging her for moving on so fast. But then Aria shook it off and got up all of her courage and asked, "Why exactly are you here asking me these questions?"

Wilden explained, "We were contacted by some concerned friends of Matt, saying that they hadn't heard from him or seen him in days. They mentioned he had a girlfriend, so we thought we'd contact you first before we turned to other resources."

Aria bit her tongue, trying not to tell him that they should be investigating those shady guys that approached her in the bar. But she realized that it would probably be best if she stayed out of it as much as possible.

Even though she knew Matt didn't have any living family anymore, she offered up a possible explanation for his disappearance, while at the same time trying to give him the impression she didn't know Matt for that long, "Well, maybe he just went out of town to visit someone? You know, friends or family?"

Wilden shook his head, while at the same time looking at Aria like he knew what she was trying to do, and said, "No, we've looked into that already."

Aria nodded and replied, "Oh okay. Well, I really hope you find him soon. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

Wilden gave Aria a creepy smile as he said, "You've helped me plenty. Do me a favor, here's my card, call me if you hear from Matt?"

Aria nodded as she took the card from Wilden, "Will do."

After Aria closed the door, she turned around and headed to the kitchen. Ezra frowned and followed her there. Aria continued making breakfast, so Ezra asked, "What are you doing?"

Aria smiled and replied, "What does it look like? I'm making breakfast, silly!"

Ezra looked at Aria warily and asked, "Are you okay?"

After a moment Aria dropped everything she was doing, sighed and replied, "No, I am not okay. I am freaking out, but I'm trying to keep it together."

Ezra pulled Aria into his arms and hugged her tightly as he said, "You've got nothing to freak out about, you've done nothing wrong. I promise you that everything will be fine. I will protect you no matter what. Okay?"

Aria instantly felt calmer and she replied, "Okay."

After trying to eat some breakfast, Aria was dropped off at college as Ezra went to work. When she got to class, Ryan was extremely happy to see her and she apologized for not calling him back. Ryan looked a bit worried as he asked, "Are you okay though? Because I dropped by your place yesterday and there was a guy there looking for you."

Aria eyes widened and asked, "What guy? What did he look like?"

Ryan shrugged as he replied, "Tall, blonde, wearing a suit."

Aria frowned as she realized it was Detective Wilden that had been snooping around her apartment. Ryan noticed Aria's frown and asked, "What is it? Do you know who it is?"

Aria sighed and replied, "Yeah, he found me this morning."

Ryan asked worriedly, "Who was it? What did he want?"

Aria shook her head and said, "I don't really want to talk about it, I'm sorry."

Ryan nodded understandingly and replied, "That's okay. Just know that if you ever do want to talk… I'm here for you."

Aria smiled and thanked him. Ryan took Aria's hand in both of his, looked deep into her eyes and said, "I mean it. I'm here for you, for whatever you need me."

Aria felt uncomfortable as she realized what Ryan was implying. She cursed Ezra for being right about Ryan. She could tell Ryan was waiting for a reaction, so she couldn't have been more grateful that their professor chose to start his boring lecture right at that moment. She took back her hand and started to take notes, though she wasn't really listening to what was being said.

After a few more hours of class, Ryan asked Aria to join him for lunch, which she declined. She made up a lame excuse about forgetting a book at home and that she had to go to her apartment to go and get it. Feeling uncomfortable about her lie and realizing she couldn't stick around campus because she could bump into Ryan, she decided to actually go to her apartment for lunch.

When Aria got to her apartment, she noticed her door was open and that there was police tape. She panicked and turned around trying to leave, but her eyes widened as she bumped into Wilden. He looked at her with that creepy smile and asked, "Going somewhere?"

Aria felt herself getting angry and asked, "What is this!?"

Wilden explained, "Well, during out little chat this morning, I noticed you'd told me some lies. You told me you hadn't seen Matt since Sunday, when your neighbors tell a different story. They claim they heard you two fighting Tuesday night, apparently you woke them up. Care to explain?"

Aria admitted, "Fine! I'll admit, I saw Matt on Tuesday. I came home and he was waiting here for me. He had let himself into my apartment while I was out, so I yelled at him to get the hell out. He left and I never saw him again."

Wilden was about to say something, when one of the forensics called him over. Aria stood there, trying to keep her cool as they were whispering about something. Wilden walked back over to Aria and said, "I was just informed they found blood in your apartment. Care to explain that then?"

Aria showed him her hand and said, "That's my blood, I cut my hand when I broke a glass, see?"

Wilden nodded and looked like he believed Aria, until he said, "Yes, that would explain the blood and the glass shards in the kitchen. However… that doesn't explain the blood traces we found in the living room, or the traces of bleach that was clearly used to try and get rid of the blood."

Aria turned pale as she shockingly asked, "What!?"

Wilden rolled his eyes and said, "You know, instead of lying, you might want to cooperate. Maybe the judge will be less hard on you then."

Aria started feeling lightheaded as she asked, "Judge? Are you kidding me? I had nothing to do with Matt being missing!"

Wilden scoffed and replied, "Do you really think we'd be here, with a warrant to search your apartment if this was still just a missing person's case?"

Aria swallowed hard as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Wilden replied, "Don't act dumb, what do you think it means? After our little talk, we decided to track Matt's cell phone. We found him…or more like, we found his body. Matt is dead… and you are our main suspect. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like you to come with me to the police station for questioning. I suggest you call a lawyer."

That was it for this chapter! I really hope you liked it and that it was worth the very long wait! For those of you still reading this story, let me know what you think?

I will try to update more regularly!