Always Yours

Chapter 1

Aria held the book lightly in her hands, almost as if holding on any tighter would make it disappear into thin air. She stared at it for a long time not quite sure what to do with it, still trying to figure out if she was just dreaming or if the book she held in her hands was really one written by the person she once (and, despite not being able to admit it, still) held closest to her heart. It was short; it couldn't have been more than one hundred pages or so. It looked more like a journal than a novel and the outside was blank except for the small block printing along the spine: MISTAKES by Ezra Fitz

She had to admit seeing the word struck a kind of sadness in her. Sure, she was well aware of the trouble she had caused him along with the clear problems with the legality of the majority of their time together, but the last thing she ever expected to see was him calling her a mistake. Even if it had been four years since she saw him there was always some part of her that wished they could meet again. Maybe they could start over now that she was done with high school and more importantly, Alison, the girl who made everyone think she was the victim when in reality it had been her calling the shots all along. Aria wanted to blame Alison for what happened to Ezra but she knew that wouldn't be fair, in the end there was only one person to blame and that was herself.

Alison... the thought made Aria's stomach churn especially as she looked down at the book she was holding in her hands. A sudden shot of panic ran through Aria as she wondered if maybe the story she held wasn't hers. He had already been working on Alison's, what was to say he didn't finish it? It was understandable. Aria and Ezra's story wasn't much of a thriller; it was tragic, or as he maybe put it, a mistake. Alison, as manipulative as she was, had a story worth telling. So, as Aria slowly lifted the cover page she held her breath, unsure whose story she was about to read.

Dedication

Four years ago I made a promise.

To nearly everyone reading this, the number B26 will mean absolutely nothing. But it means something to her. At least it used to.

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It was a typical Saturday afternoon. Ezra was dressed in only his sweatpants and Aria wore pajama shorts and his oversized Hollis sweatshirt. Aria sat quietly on the couch with her elbows on her thighs, not actually reading the textbook she had spread across the coffee table. She stared at the floor stuck deep within her thoughts as the steady sound of Ezra's keyboard ticked away in the background. They were slowly but surely returning to where they once had been. Ezra's wound was now mostly healed and so were many of the cracks in their relationship. She knew it would be awhile before she could fully trust him again but she was getting there. However, Ezra was once again unemployed. His injury forced him to leave Rosewood High and they had replaced him quickly, not sure when he would be able to return. His chances with Hollis were still slim and he knew the opportunity to return to Rosewood High wasn't going to be coming back anytime soon. His only reason for staying anywhere near Rosewood was the petite woman sitting on his couch. The girl he would literally do anything for. Aria thought about how much he had gone through all for her. All because of her. Sure she couldn't quite trust him like she used to, but that didn't change the fact that he risked his life to help her friend even after they were over. It broke her heart seeing him without work or purpose before, she didn't know if she would be able to do it again.

"Ezra?" Aria called out softly as she snapped herself out of her own head.

"Hmm?" he responded, turning his head slightly to the side.

She stayed silent still struggling with her thoughts. She tried to talk herself out of the path she was going down in her mind but she couldn't. He was too important to her. It hurt her knowing that she was the reason for all of his problems and although he always disagreed, he deserved better. She knew exactly what he would try to say to argue with her. He would tell her that he brought it on himself getting involved, that he didn't deserve her or her forgiveness because of what he'd done and a part of that was true. He made mistakes and kept secrets that alone would surely destroy any relationship, but in the end, many of those secrets had only been to keep her safe, even if he had to lie and sneak around to do it. No matter what he'd done, Ezra risked everything he had in his life to rid her of her demons.