Dear Diary

t h i r t y

Two officers immediately ran over and pulled Ari off of Geoff. Ari thrashed around, but gave up soon.

"Are you alright, sir?" an officer asked Geoff, hauling him to his feet. I recognized the officer as the one who came and checked my house for Ari.

"Just a little sore, but I'll live," Geoff grumbled, accepting an ice pack from Melissa and pressing it to his face.

"Are you okay, Mr. Horan?" the same officer asked me, and it was only then that I was aware that my eye was swelling, and it hurt. Ari had accidentally elbowed me while trying to get me to let go.

"I'm fine," I mumbled, an ice pack being pressed to my eye.

"Alright, what was going on here?" a woman asked once they made sure everyone was fine. "If I recall correctly, you two" -she pointed at Geoff and Melissa- "hadn't seen Aristasia at all since she was admitted to the hospital, and you" -she pointed at me- "hadn't seen Aristasia either, and was extremely worried."

Oh no, I thought. They're going to find out that I lied.

Before I could see if I could get out of this situation, Ari spoke up.

"It's all my fault," she said.

I shot her a look saying what are you doing? but she didn't look at me.

"I was on the run and lonely. I saw Niall today, and I wanted to see my parents, so I forced him to drive me to my father's house, and then my mother's house."

"How did you find out where we lived?" Geoff demanded.

"Everything's on the Internet nowadays," Ari responded.

The officers were quiet, and then they looked at me. "Is this true, Mr. Horan?"

Ari looked at me. Her eyes were urging me to say yes.

"Yes," I answered calmly, not believing the words that just came out of my mouth.

Ari either slumped or relaxed, it was hard to tell, and then the officers nodded.

"Alright," one said, and they all started to leave, two of them dragging Ari out the door.

"Wait!" I found myself saying.

An officer turned around while the rest of them continued walking.

"Could I speak with her one last time?" I requested.

The officer thought about it, then said yes. Ari and I were allowed ten minutes, alone, in the living room.

"Why'd you say all of that?" I asked, pulling her into a hug.

She hugged me back, tightly. "I knew I'd be busted, but I couldn't drag you down with me."

"You know they're not going to let you out of their sight again," I warned her. "I'm not going to be allowed to visit you, and you might be locked up in one of those padded rooms that mental people are put in."

Ari shrugged sadly. "Some risks are worth taking," she said softly. She pressed her face into my chest. "And who knows? Maybe I am mental."

"You're not," I said softly.

"I don't care what they label me as, just as long as you're not being forced in there again."

We hugged, and then, with two minutes out, I blurted, "I'll miss you."

Then we were both crying and hugging each other.

"I'll miss you too, Niall." Ari sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I want to give you something to remember me by." She put her hands on my cheeks and then kissed me.

I was shocked, my hands hanging by my sides, unsure what to do with them. Just as Ari became unsure of her actions and began to pull away, I kissed her back, knowing it was the right thing to do.

We both pulled away just as the officers entered. Ari squeezed my hand and then the officers were at her side, leading her towards the exit.

"But, Ari," I said. She turned and looked at me. I opened my eyes to speak, but then the door was slammed shut, and Ari was gone.

I watched from the living room as Ari climbed into the back of the police car. I knew they would take her back to the hospital; I knew I wouldn't be allowed to see her.

The car pulled out of the lane way and disappeared down the road. I sat down on the couch, putting my head in my hands.

But, Ari, I think I love you.