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ARIA BOUNCES JUDITH in her arms, staring down at the papers as she does. She had found out that Noah had died because of Nicholas. She wanted to get his hands on him but Noah wouldn't want that, Noah wasn't that type of person. Closing the file, Aria presses her lips in a thin line as she walks towards the sink, gazing out of the window.
When she begins to turn around, the sound of glass shattering causes her to swing back around, clutching onto Judith tightly. "Shit." She whispers to herself as she rushes towards the door, swinging it open and stepping out on to the porch. She clenches her jaw as she tries to figure out if she should put Judith in the crib and go help Rick or stay with Judith. She lets out a loud groan as she runs back into the house and sets the baby in the crib, throwing the blanket on her gently. She grabs the baby monitor in her hand as she runs back outside, her body taking her towards the commotion.
Her eyes go wide as Pete flips Rick and him over, his hands wrapping around Rick's throat. She has absolutely no idea what to do. They had taken her gun and she left her knife inside; she can't do anything to help. Jessie runs up to pull her husband off of Rick, but Pete backhands her and Aria rushes forward to catch Jessie before she fall to the hard ground. Aria gently sets Jessie on the ground.
A cry comes from the baby monitor and Aria lets out a few curse words before darting back towards the house, heading towards the baby.
♚ ♛
Aria walks over to Deanna's house, some papers in her hand. She has been planning all night, like Deanna had asked. Knocking on the glass door, Aria rubs her free hand against her jeans, sending Reg a small smile as he opens the door. "Is Deanna free?"
Deanna looks up from the book in her hand, staring up at Aria. "If you're here to try and convince me about Rick—" Deanna begins to say and Aria cuts her off. Aria lays down the paper in front of Deanna. "Deanna—you said you wanted me to make plans, I'm making them. We need to set boundaries. We can't have people abusing their spouses and others, that isn't what I want for this place, that isn't what you want for this place."
"Rick; he knows what he's doing. He stands up for what's right and he hates abusers. Why would you exile the man who's trying to save this community, but keep the one who's giving this community a bad name?" Deanna opens and closes her mouth like a fish as she tries to think of something to say to Aria. "Something is going to happen if you don't do something with Pete." Aria motions down towards the stack of papers, shifting all her weight onto one leg.
"When you exile people, they can easily come back and harm us all. We can build a cell or use that use that room Rick is in now—except we have to secure it better." Deanna shakes her head, unsure about Aria's plans. The older woman had thought Aria being in charge of plans would be beneficial, but she's not sure about it now. "What if that doesn't work?" Deanna asks, quirking an eyebrow up as she stands to her feet, setting the book down on the couch. Aria nibbles on her bottom lip, meeting Deanna's eyes.
"We would have to kill them."
♚ ♛
Aria lays Judith down in the crib, pulling the small blanket up to her chest. She had decided she would stay back and watch Judith while the others went to the meeting. She can't deal with stuff like that, she's not a decision maker. If Deanna decides to exile Rick, Aria's leaving with him. Rick has done more for her than any of these people have and she's sure the rest of the group would follow him too; they're a tight knit family. Nothing can break them apart.
Aria begins cutting some cucumbers up that she had gotten from the refrigerator. "Hey Carl—do you want some cucumbers?" Aria waits for an answer, but worry builds up inside of her when she doesn't receive one. As she holds the knife in her hand, she walks towards the stairs, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. Blowing out a breath, Aria shakes the feeling off and walks towards the door, pulling it open to reveal James. "Hey. Is this a bad time?" He asks and Aria glances behind her before shaking her head. "I guess not." She utters and walks back towards the counter, grabbing a piece of cucumber and shoving it in her mouth.
"Shouldn't you be at the—" Aria is cut off by Judith crying and Aria swings around, her eyes wide in alarm. As she reaches back and grabs the blade of the knife, it pierces her palm and she winces, James noticing it. He pushes the gun closer to the baby, his eyes narrowed at Aria. "Put down the knife or the baby gets it." Aria shakes her head, tears forming in her blue orbs, the knife clanking against the counter. Her throat tightens as she runs her tongue over her lips. "Put the baby down. S—she doesn't deserve this." Aria stutters, her vision becoming blurred as fear bubbles in the pit of her stomach. "You do. You remember what you did." He snarls, his body trembling in anger.
Flashbacks flash through Aria's mind and her body freezes in terror. She remembers him now; James Wilson. The tears finally falls down her cheeks as a small sob escapes her lips. "Take your clothes off." He demands and Aria shakes her head and he steps closer, pressing the gun harder to the baby's temple, causing Judith to cry out loudly. "Do it." He growls and Aria reaches for the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head before fumbling with the buttons of her jeans. "Move away from the counter." He nods his head towards the middle of the living room, Aria walking over in front of the couch.
She slides her pants off her legs, kicking them to the side as she keeps her eyes glued to the crying baby in his arms. She can't let that baby die, she would go crazy if she did. "You aren't finished." He snaps and her lip begins quivering as her fear becomes true. This man is about to do something and she can't stop it because of the baby in his arms. "We—we can talk about this." She stutters, holding her arms out in a calming manner. James scoffs, his eyes rolling as he clenches his jaw.
"Talk about what? How you ruined my life? How you made my parents hate me? I'm done talking. Take the rest off or the baby is going to die!" His voice booms and Aria flinches back, her eyes closing as gulps. Reaching behind her, she unclips her bra and lets it fall to the ground. She pulls off her underwear, leaving her exposed to him. Just as he sets the baby down and walks towards Aria, footsteps sound from upstairs and James looks towards Aria, his eyes full of anger and lust. "If you tell anyone about what happened. I won't hesitate to kill the baby and your boyfriend." James darts out of the house and Aria grabs her clothes, quickly pulling them on, tears falling down her face.
Her past is coming back to haunt her and she's terrified.
A U T H O R i had written this chapter awhile back and honestly, i regret writing it but in order for me to give y'all more of a backstory of aria, this had to happen so i apologize. :(
