Chapter 7:

"Aria? Wake up honey, you have a doctor's appointment." Ezra said, gently shaking her.

Aria groaned. She hadn't slept properly in weeks, ever since she'd found out about Spencer, and it was really starting to affect her. She had bags under her eyes and was very irritable. "I don't want to go back to the hospital." she said.

"Aria, we need to make sure you're okay." Ezra reasoned.

"No, I don't care if I'm okay or not." Aria replied stubbornly. She couldn't care less about her health, she just wanted Spencer back.

"Sweetie, you have to go." Ezra said firmly. He gently pulled her to a sitting position, Aria slapping his arm and yelling, but Ezra refusing to let go.

"Just leave me alone!" Aria yelled.

"I can't. Aria, you have to get out of this bed sooner or later." Ezra said.

"I prefer later. Or never." Aria replied.

"Aria, Spencer wouldn't want you to act like this." Ezra said quietly.

"How the hell do you know what Spencer would or wouldn't want?! You didn't know her as well as I did, so don't pretend you know her really well because you don't!" Aria screamed.

Ezra was surprised by her outburst but he spoke. "Aria, I get that you're upset. Spencer was your best friend, and I know that you're going through a lot right now, but I know Spencer well enough to know that she wouldn't want you to spend weeks in bed, crying."

Aria glared at him, and Ezra braced himself when she opened her mouth. But then, to Ezra's surprise, Aria didn't yell or scream. Instead she broke down crying, falling against Ezra's chest as she sobbed uncontrollably. Ezra automatically tightened his hold on her, rubbing her back and whispering soothing words into her hair.

"It's okay baby, we'll get through this." Ezra murmured into her hair.

"I-I'm sorry. I've been really hard to be around lately." Aria said into his chest.

"It's okay. You've been through a lot." Ezra said gently, rubbing her back in circular motions.

"I just, I miss Spencer so much! She was my best friend and I need her." Aria sobbed.

"It's okay. We'll get through this, one day at a time. I'll be right beside you every step of the way." Ezra promised, rocking her back and forth in his arms.

Aria held Ezra closer to her. "Thank you." she whispered.

"Always." Ezra replied, kissing her forehead. "Do you think you can handle going to the doctor's today?"

Aria nodded. "Yeah, I guess I should." she said, reluctantly pulling away from Ezra's comforting embrace and getting up.

*PLL*

"Okay, Miss Montgomery, it appears that your injuries have mostly healed and that we can take you off the painkillers now." Dr. Kingston said, writing something on a clipboard.

Aria smiled and felt Ezra squeeze her hand. She looked up at him to see him smiling back at her. "So are we free to go?" she asked the doctor.

"Not quite. There was one other thing that we wanted to talk to you about. We understand that, in the accident you lost someone very dear to you." The doctor said gently.

Aria stiffened.

"I can see some signs of depression. I think it would be best if you saw a psychiatrist. Just once a week for about a month and after that, the psychiatrist will evaluate your mental health and from there we can decide whether or not you should continue seeing them."

"I'm not crazy." Aria said quietly.

"Ms. Montgomery, I'm not trying to say you're mentally unstable or anything of that sort. But you've been through a lot, and we think it would be best if you talked to a professional." Dr. Kingston said carefully.

Ara looked down and didn't respond.

"We'll consider it and get back to you." Ezra said, rubbing circles into Aria's palm, knowing it would soothe her.

Dr. Kingston looked at Ezra, then back at Aria, nodding. "Okay, just give me a call and let me know you decision. You're free to go. It was nice to see you both."

Ezra shook his hand. "Thank you. Have a good day." he said, leading Aria out of the room, who didn't even say goodbye.

When they were seated in the car, Ezra turned to Aria. "You okay?"

"I'm not crazy." Aria replied, looking Ezra in the eyes, daring him to disagree.

"I know you're not. Dr. Kingston doesn't think you're crazy either, we just want what's best for you." Ezra said.

"I'm not going."

"Can you at least consider it?"

Aria shook her head. "Last time I went to a psychiatrist wasn't exactly a great experience." Aria said, referring to Dr. Sullivan.

"But there's no more A." Ezra said. He wasn't sure if he imagine it, but he thought he saw a change in Aria's expression. "Is there?"

"No." Aria said quickly. "There isn't." Ezra stared closely at Aria, and he could feel she was lying.

"Aria, look at me." Ezra said.

Aria looked up at him, "What?"

"Is there still an A?"

"No." Aria said, and Ezra was certain she was lying. He could see the fear deep in her eyes.

"You're lying to me." he stated.

"Why would you-"

"I know you well enough to know when you're lying." Ezra said. "Aria why didn't you tell me?" Aria opened her mouth to respond but Ezra cut her off. "And don't even think of lying again."

Aria hesitated, then sighed in defeat. "It was for your own safety. You don't know the things that A's capable of."

"And what about your safety?" Ezra said, angrily. "How could you just lie to my face like that so many times?"

"You think it's easy?!" Aria practically yelled. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep this from you?! The only reason I was able to was because I knew that it was better than putting you in danger!"

"But I'm supposed to be the one protecting you, not the other way around!" Ezra argued.

"See! This is exactly what I didn't want! I knew that you would just start worrying about me and you would put your own safety at risk to make sure I was safe. And I can't have you doing that! I can't be the reason you get hurt, especially not after Spencer! If it wasn't for me she could have been alive, and I hate myself for it, but I will NOT let that happen to you too." Aria said, tears streaming down her face.

Ezra stared at her. "Honey, Spencer's death was not your fault." he said, staring into her eyes. He gently ran his hand along her cheek, wiping her tears away. "That was because of the ice, nothing else."

"But I'm the reason she was driving. If it weren't for me she..." Aria's voice cracked and she felt her throat close as more tears fell from her eyes.

"Hey, look at me." Ezra said, tilting her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "What happened was an unfortunate accident. Neither of you knew what was going to happen, you can't blame yourself for not knowing the future." he said, kissing her forehead.

Aria rested her head against his shoulder. "I know, but it doesn't make it any easier. A part of me will always feel responsible."

"That's the one thing about you. You have this need to fix things and if you can't, you find a way to make it your fault. But this, you can't hate yourself for this. And, in time you'll realize that." Ezra said.

Aria nodded slightly. "I guess you're right...Ezra?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about A." Aria said quietly.

"It's okay, you were just trying to help." Ezra started, but Aria cut him off.

"Wait, I wasn't done. I'm sorry for not telling you, but I need you to promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me that you won't put yourself in danger to try and keep me safe."

Ezra hesitated, then shook his head. "I can't make that promise. I can't just stand by and let you get hurt."

"Ezra..."

"No."

Aria sighed. "Ezra, I need to know that you're not going to throw yourself headfirst into a deadly situation because you want to help me."

"I won't do anything stupid. But I'm not going to stand by and let you get hurt." Ezra said firmly. "I want to protect you."

"I get that. But you need to be careful. Will you at least promise me that?"

Ezra nodded. "I promise to be careful."

"Thanks."

Ezra hesitated a moment before asking. "How long has this A been harassing you?"

"A few months after Mona went to jail." Aria sighed. "We were having a sleepover..." Aria told Ezra the story of Emily getting drunk and Allison's grave being dug up.

"Oh my God!" Ezra said, once she'd finished.

"I know. We were all so terrified." Aria said, shuddering at the memory of all the things A had done to her and her friends.

Ezra pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay, I'm here and I'll make sure A doesn't hurt you anymore. You're safe now." he murmured.

Hope you like this chapter. Sorry, I havent updated in a few days, been really busy with school. Let me know what you think about A being in this story.

1 More thing. For those of you that haven't heard, there's been bombing and fires in Boston so pray for the safety of the citizens. This is really sad that people do things like this.