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The drive back to Rosewood took half the amount of time it took to leave. As soon as I pulled into the driveway of our house, I jumped out of the car and burst inside. All the lights were off and there were no signs of life. I quickly searched throughout the house for Aria or Lucy, but had no luck.

Why did Aria think it would be okay to leave me like this? What had been going through her mind when she had left me?

I knew that there was only one other place that Aria could possibly be.

I got back into the car and drove off to Aria's parents house. The sinking sun created a reddish glow across the street, a sign that night was nearing.

As soon as I reached the Montgomery house, I quickly knocked on the door, only to be greeted by a sad Ella Montgomery.

"What's wrong?" I immediately demanded in a worried tone, not giving Ella a chance to speak. Had she found out that Aria had left me with Lucy?

As I heard a sob come from inside, I looked past Ella to see Aria sitting on the couch in the living room holding Lucy in her arms. Mike and Byron were on either side of her, comforting her and talking quietly to her.

She looked up from Lucy and her eyes met mine.

It was if the whole world had stopped and it was just Aria and I. No one else mattered.

In that moment, I forgot about A. I forgot that I could go to jail for being with Aria. I forgot that her parents were in the room. All the problems Aria and I have been through did not matter anymore. It was just Aria and I.

She quickly stood up and gave Lucy to Mike, before she began walking towards me. An unspoken apology passed between us. Apologizing for leaving me. Apologizing for thinking that leaving me would make everything better.

I met her halfway, and wrapped my arms around her, as I embraced her tightly. She wrapped her arms around my neck as she continued to cry.

She sobbed into my chest as I held her impossibly close to me, not wanting to let go of the beautiful girl in my arms.

She finally looked up from my chest with red and glassy eyes. She looked so hurt. All I wanted was for that broken look in her eyes to go away forever.

"I'm sorry." She said to me in barely a whisper.

I held her closer to me, a silent sign that I had forgiven her.

"Don't ever leave me again." I whispered back as I buried my face in her sweet smelling hair.

She tightened her arms around my neck, as her tears soaked my shirt. I rested my chin on her head as I held her securely against me.

"We'll leave you two alone." Ella said, as she led Byron and Mike, who was holding Lucy, out of the room.

Aria looked up at me and stared into my eyes for a moment, before crushing her lips against mine. The kiss was passionate and heated, as I pulled her as close to me as possible, without hurting her. I had not realized how much I had missed her in those past few hours until now. I missed the feeling of her lips against mine so much, that I took full advantage of the moment. As I opened my mouth, our tongues met in a fiery battle for dominance.

I pulled away a moment later, and caressed her cheek, wiping away some of her tears as I did so.

"What are we going to do?" She whispered to me.

I knew that she was talking about the pictures. It had been two days since we had left Rosewood because A had sent us a text saying that they would turn in the pictures of us, yet nothing had happened.

If the police knew that Aria and I were together, wouldn't Byron and Ella have told us by now? Wouldn't it have been on the news that a teacher had a relationship with his student? Especially in this small town?

"I don't know Aria…" I said uneasily.

Was A messing with us? It was more frustrating not knowing when they were going to get me in trouble than it was worrying that I would get in trouble.

"I can't lose you again Ezra." She whispered to me as more tears escaped her eyes.

I wanted nothing more than to comfort her and tell her that it was going to be okay. I wanted to hold her in my arms and never let go; protecting her from anything and anyone who tried to hurt her. If I had it my way, I would never let this beautiful girl out of my sight.

"Please…" She whimpered. "Don't leave me." She buried her head into my chest again. The sound of her voice was heartbreaking. How could she ever think that I would leave her? I loved her far too much to ever abandon her. "I can't lose you." She repeated, as she fiercely shook her head.

After everything we had been through, did she really think that I would leave her? Especially now? Our relationship had survived through Jackie's lies about Maria, a pregnancy, and everything that Lucy went through when she was born. Had Aria not learned anything from that? Why couldn't she realize that I was never going to leave her?

She had been the one to leave me, twice. Shouldn't I be telling her to never leave me?

"Honey, I promise to always be here." I mumbled into her sweet smelling hair, as I held her petite body closer against me.

She lifted her head from my chest and I wiped away some of the tears that had escaped her eyes.

"I just… felt so alone." She whimpered. "I didn't want to get you involved in this mess any more than you have. You're already sacrificing everything to be with me, and now with A…" She trailed off and looked down for a moment before speaking again.

"Aria, don't ever forget that you're never alone. I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what happens. Don't you know by now how much I love you?"

She remained silent at this as more tears fell down her face.

"Aria…" I whispered in a broken voice. Did she really not know? After all this, did she really still doubt my love for her?

She looked back up at me but instead of speaking, she placed both hands on either side of my face and kissed me.

I knew exactly what her answer was.

I wrapped my arms around her as she tangled her fingers in my hair. She opened her mouth slightly, allowing my tongue to enter.

I pulled away a moment later, but instead of releasing her from my grip, I held Aria against me. She rested her head on my chest. We remained like that for a few moments, needing the feel of each other's company.

Aria looked up at me a moment later and spoke.

"I need to tell them." Her voice shook, showing her uneasiness about revealing so much to her parents in such a small amount of time.

"Not about A, but about the pictures." She clarified, her voice a bit stronger than before.

I had never once told Aria this before, but I strongly admired her strength and confidence. Even when her whole world was crashing down upon her, she was able to somehow stay strong. She put on a brave face and acted like everything was all right.

I released my grip on her as I felt her pulling away from my embrace.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked her, as I stroked her cheek with my thumb.

She closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. "Y-yeah."

"Okay." I whispered.

I gave her one last kiss, letting my lips linger on hers for a moment just for the feeling it brought, before taking her hand and leading her into the kitchen where Mike, Lucy, Byron and Ella were all sitting.

I turned to Aria, who had a determined look on her face.

"Mom? Dad?" She asked.

Ella and Byron turned to us questioningly.

"There's something we need to tell you." Aria whispered.

I held her in my arms once again as tears begun to fall down her rosy cheeks.

"Shhh." I soothed her, wishing that all her pain would just go away.

She composed herself a moment later and looked back up at her parents.

"If the police come to you about Ezra and I," She began as she wiped away some of her tears with the back of her hand. "I need you to lie to them."

Both Ella and Byron had shocked looks on their faces as they listened to their daughters' request.

"Why?" Ella asked, surprised.

Aria took a deep breath and glanced at me before responding.

"Someone knows how long Ezra and I have been together. And they're going to tell the police."

Sorry this took so long! Hope you guys liked it and PLEASE REVIEW!