" When you walk away,
I count the steps that you
take. Do you see how much
I need you right now?
When you're gone,
the pieces of my heart are
missing you, when you're
gone the face I've come to know is missing too."
Alternate Universe
Chapter Three
Some people find their soulmate when they're forty. Some people never find them. For Aria, She found her soulmate at seventeen, but most people don't spend a year and a half holed up in an apartment with that soulmate because he was her teacher. Aria had never had anything permanent or perfect if you would call it that. The only thing she ever had to rely on was her very own Ezra Fitz but that boat had sailed and hit an iceberg harder then the titanic, She ruined the only thing that kept her sane. Why?
She had no fucking clue,
Well, perhaps she did know but didn't want to remind herself. Ezra had recently found out he was a father. Ezra, having a rich family but no to much money himself needed a job. meaning: he had to work. second meaning: teaching.
Ezra landed a teaching job at Rosewood Highschool. Again. Aria was backed into a corner and forced herself to break his heart. something she promised herself she'd never do again. Yet another promise she wouldn't keep.
Now what was she stuck with?
A meat head who deemed her worthy enough to date. He had a name, a mainstream name. Jake. In all honesty she wasn't interested in him. at all. but she forced herself. Everything was forced nowadays.
Aria flopped down on her hard leather couch her family had U-Hauled her from storage when they moved back from Iceland. It had tons of rips in the black material shed gotten used to picking when she was in deep thought. Breaking her from her thoughts, her phone buzzed on the coffee table.
Spencer.
it read. She figured Spencer would be calling for one out of the two reasons. (1) being their journey to Ravenswood later that night or (2) being some small fight she had with Toby, involving lots of tears and lots of annoying whining on Spencer's behalf. Aria snatched her phone off of the table and answered.
"Hey, Spence."
"Hey Aria," She sniffled.
Yep. Definitely Toby drama.
"Are you okay Spence? You sound like you've been crying."
"Well..Yeah, Yeah I have."
"Why?" Aria said softly.
"I have Emily and Hanna over here. I think you better come too. I haven't told them yet, it wouldn't be fair."
"Oh, okay. Ill be there in 10."
"Okay. Bye, Ar."
"Bye." Aria replied.
- - - - still ezria - - - - -
Aria arrived at the Hastings manor nine minutes later letting herself in.
"Hey."
"Aria, um hey.." All three girls said in unison. They all looked so guilty.
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" She asked harshly.
"Um.." Hanna replied. "Ar, you might wanna sit down for this." Aria was confused. What the hell? She thought. Spencer said the other girls didn't know whatever she wanted to tell me. Spencer, Emily, and Hanna sat down around me holding my hands.
"What's going on? Guys, whatever it is I'm SURE i can handle it!"
Everyone looked at eachother then at me. Finally, Emily spoke up.
"Aria...before we tell you this we want you to know that we'll be here for you. No matter how bad you take it. Okay?" Emily spoke in a soft voice. The kind she used after something tragic happened.
"Uhhh, okay?" All of the girls sighed.
"Aria, Ezra...is dead.." Hanna said slowly. At first Aria thought she didn't hear correctly and Hanna repeated what she said before.
"No." Aria spoke in a low shaky voice. "You're lying." She scurried away from the girls and to the front door, slamming it on her way out. How could these girls she's known half her life do this? How could they lie to her? She thought.
The only way Aria could know if it was true was to find out herself and she knew just how to do it.
-. [] .-
Aria knocked on Ezra's plain wooden door like she had many times before. No answer. She lifted the 'welcome' doormat to reveal a spare key. She slid the key into the lock and twisted until it opened. When she pushed the door open she gasped. Everything was wrapped in plastic. Everything except his bed. For the first time in weeks Aria let herself cry, she cried hard.
"Ezra?" She screamed.
"Ezra Michael Fitzgerald!" she screamed again.
No answer.
The hot tears streamed down her face and they weren't going to stop.
-. [] .-
Aria showed up to the Rosewood Church in a plain black dress that went mid thigh. Out of all if the black dresses she owned, this was his favorite. So she wore it-for him.
Lately, Aria had found herself stuck in sweat pants and a trey of Oreo cookies that were wet with her tears. She was wearing Ezra's T-Shirts everywhere she went and thought nothing of it.
Ezra was worth it.
Ezra was worth the fight.
Ezra was worth the wait.
Ezra was worth everything
She hasn't done much since her friends broke the news. She found out that Ezra killed himself and he did leave a note, but nobody would let her see it. She shivered at the thought that he swallowed all of the pills in his cannot because his supposed baby mama finally spilled the beans about Ezra's son Malcolm, not being his. Needless to say, Aria could've prevented it if she answered his calls or in her case desperate calls for help. Since the news she figured she owed it to Ezra to break up with Jake. He was kind of a dick anyway.
Aria slowly made her way into the church to see Ezra's mother in the front and half of his students and family already seated. It was an open casket so she walked up to the coffin to see his pale white face and dark brown curly hair. She smiled and held back tears at the same time. If there was one thing Aria had learned within the last two weeks, it's not to care. She didn't care if everyone called her a slut. Or a whore or anything else. She was just in love and forced to put it to an end.
Aria touched his cheek and bent down to give him a chaste kiss. She smiled and let her tears slither down her face.
"I love you present tense." She whispered.
Spencer, Emily, and Hanna came up behind her and led her to the front seat. Regardless of what happened Aria would always love him.
-
After Aria came home from Ezra's funeral, she peeled off her dress and slid into one of Ezra's shirts. His smell was already fading.
Aria walked into the bathroom and grabbed the sleeping pills she used when she had sleeping problems at twelve. She unscrewed the cap and swallowed fourteen. Aria padded back to her room and crawled into her bed. She thought of all the amazing times she had throughout her life.
Her tears soaked her pillow when her eyes felt heavy, she got up and left a pre-written note on her night stand.
"Forever." She whispered as she fell into a deep sleep that she would never wake up from.
Some people find their soulmate when they're forty. Some people never find them, For Aria, she lost hers at eighteen.
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A/N: PLEASE REVIEW AND LEAVE IDEAS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER OK ILYSM BYE XXXXX SKYLER
