Destined To Shatter

Spencer stood silently in front of the closed door, looking through the small window at her friend who continued staring blankly at the wall in front of her. She turned back towards the nurse who had led her there, "How long has she been like this?" she asked in a hushed whisper.

"Since she got here this morning. She won't talk to anybody, all she did was write down these names," the nurse responded, handing Spencer a small slip of paper. "We tried to reach both of them but you're the only one who answered. We were hoping you could give us her name," she added.

Spencer slowly opened the paper, hanging her head as she read the names sloppily written over the page.

Ezra Fitz

Spencer Hastings

Spencer crumpled up the slip into her fist and brought it to her forehead, "Aria. Her name is Aria Montgomery."

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked, pacing back and forth as she ran a hand through her hair.

Hanna, who was sitting on her bed, exhaled sharply, "Spencer I know what I saw. It was him," Hanna dropped her eyes and picked at her nails, "It was Ezra."

"Did he say anything?"

"He ran."

"Shit. Hanna, are you sure?" she asked again, hoping for a different answer.

"Yes I'm not fucking blind, Spencer! He was right in front of me. I-I'm sorry but, Ezra Fitz is A."

"No… No it's not possible," Spencer's voice was shaky as she tried desperately to reason with herself, "He loves her too much, I know he does I've seen it. He-He risked his life for her, he protected her, he was there for her I-" she mumbled on as Hanna followed Spencer's movement with her eyes.

"We have to tell her," Hanna said quietly.

Spencer looked up at her, her eyes wide with fear, "No, we can't. Aria… This will destroy her."

"She can make it through this. She's strong, Spencer."

"She's too strong."

Spencer closed the door behind her as she stepped into the plain room. Aria sat up the tiniest bit straighter, recognizing the presence of her friend, but still her eyes stared on, never leaving their spot on the wall. Spencer approached Aria, her steps getting slower as they neared the bed, and she sat cautiously by her friend's side. Aria sat with her legs crossed and her arms folded in her lap. Her hair, though flatter and less composed than when Spencer saw her last, loosely held the familiar thick, dark curls that fell just below her shoulders. Her skin was paler than usual and her eyes not quite as bright due to the darkened circles beneath them but for the most part, Aria looked normal. Something that seemed to make the sight before Spencer all the more worrisome. She did not belong here. This was not crazy Aria, someone frail who appeared as a stranger to Spencer and only happened to share a name with her close friend, no… This was Aria, just Aria. The girl who she spoke to every day and the girl she called her best friend. This was a girl who looked as if she was supposed to be walking through school that day instead of sitting on a metal bed, dressed in a plain white gown that swallowed her petite frame, staring at the blank wall ahead of her.

Spencer soon grew tired of waiting for Aria to return from inside her own head, realizing that she wasn't going to be starting the conversation any time soon, "Hey Aria, it's me," Spencer said, slowly reaching for her hand, "It's Spencer."

Aria's hand tensed as it came in contact with Spencer's, her eyes falling from the wall to look at where Spencer's hand lay on top of hers, bringing her back into reality. She slowly relaxed, her gaze now fixed on their hands as she brought her other hand over, gently squeezing Spencer's, "E-E-Ez-" she stumbled over the word, her lips trembling as she tried to speak.