Love and Rivalry

Chapter 9

Aria stayed in bed until late Saturday morning. She hadn't slept well. Her eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying throughout the night. She knew she should be getting up to try and study, but it just seemed so useless. What was the point if her future was ruined anyway? Aria felt so stupid that she thought she could outsmart Riku and escape from him. Of course he wouldn't have let her go so easily.

Looking back at the clock it now read 11:14 a.m. Aria didn't know what to do. If she felt like she was in a cage before, now she felt like she was in a bottomless pit, shrouded in darkness. Aria wished with all her heart that her mother was here to help or at least offer some advice. Aria had never felt so alone.

You are never alone.

Aria bolted upright. Her mind piecing together a long forgotten memory. For those were some of the last words her mother said to her before she died.

Aria could see herself now, just a 12-year old girl sitting beside her mom in the hospital. When she had taken a turn for the worse, Aria refused to leave her side, wanting to get as much time as she could before she was gone.

"What am I going to do mom?" Aria said, weeping. She clutched at her mother's frail hand, willing her to get better. "Don't leave me with my stepfather, if you're gone then I will be completely alone." She collapsed onto the hospital bed, sobbing uncontrollably.

"You are never alone."

Aria stopped crying and looked up at her mother. She was smiling at her, even though it looked like it used all of her strength.

"Even when I'm gone Aria," her mother continued, "I am still always with you. Riku may be a hard man to live with, but you are stronger than you think."

Aria fell back on her pillow. Her mother knew what kind of man she was leaving her daughter with. But she also seemed to think that her daughter was strong enough to stand up to him.

Aria got back up and swung her legs out of bed. Her mother believed in her. She knew that if she was here right now, she would be cheering her on, to not give up. Aria had the whole summer to try and figure out how to get out of Riku's blackmail. For now, she would go back to maintaining a strictly professional relationship with Kaiba. Which meant no more "outings".

Aria felt a bit bereft of the thought. Not just because she would miss spending time with Kaiba, but she actually really enjoyed her time with Mokuba. He was the little brother she never had. But she knew she couldn't risk them getting caught in the crossfire. She wouldn't take that chance.

The rest of the weekend Aria spent deep in study material for her exams. She was going to move forward like nothing had changed. She split her time between hiding in her room and sneaking out to the public library. Being at the house just felt too oppressive. She would study at the library until closing time, and then sneak up to her room through the trellis. She even ate out, so she wouldn't have to enter the kitchen. Anything to avoid Riku. She couldn't stomach the thought of seeing him after their last encounter.

Aria was glad to head back to school on Monday, it was the last day of review and then she had one exam for each day for the rest of the week. She feared facing Kaiba and not knowing how to react to him. After the closeness they shared last Friday, for her to all of a sudden be distant just seemed so...cold. Even without Riku's threats, Aria knew that she should never have stepped over that line. And now she had to try and repair the damage.

Aria gave serious thought to skipping out on history, but she also knew that she couldn't avoid Kaiba forever. He was her boss after all. And if she wanted to make a spot on his team for the summer, they were going to have to find that balance again at some point.