by Anna T. Pope
“Friends?” she said, silently telling him that that was all she had to offer at that moment and hoping that he would understand.
Will stared at her hand for a long moment before he slowly nodded and took it, his much larger one almost swallowing hers in its grip.
“Friends.” he said, the unspoken ‘for now’ hovering in the air between them like a silent promise.
Just friends
“How much longer do you have till the end of your shift?” Will asked her, as they finally left the bathroom, the sounds of speakers blasting and people having a good time drowning out his voice so much that he had to practically yell the question into her ear.
She looked at him with one eyebrow raised, before asking why he wanted to know.
“Friends give each other rides home, don’t they?” he said as Aria looked down to her feet, while biting her bottom lip, a frown forming between her brows.
Will started regretting asking her that, thinking that he was already coming on too strong, even though he had promised her to take things easy, but after everything he had learned that night, the idea of her walking home alone through the deserted streets made his stomach roll in dread.
But then she stepped a bit closer, propped herself on her toes and whispered into his ear, “I finish at two.”
He managed to stop the smile that was threatening to spill across his face and just nodded, watching her walk off to take her place behind the bar.
He started his way back to the VIP booth but the thought of Jenna waiting to paw over him stopped him in his tracks. He wasn’t in the least bit interested in her even at the beginning of the night when he thought that there was no chance for Aria and he, but now, just the thought of anyone but her touching him made him slightly ill.
It didn’t matter to him that they weren’t in a relationship and that, if he chose to, he could be with someone else, because at the end of the day, he didn’t want to be with anyone but her.
And, maybe they will get there some day, and maybe they won’t, but whatever does happen he will not jeopardize it for something as stupid as meaningless sex.
So, he changed his direction and started toward the exit, deciding to go and get something to eat before he had to come back to pick up Aria.
~
Will woke up to the sound of someone banging on the front door.
“Get your ass out of the bed old man, and open the door!”, he heard Meg yelling and sighed, not in the least prepared for what was surely going to be a good ribbing for abandoning her to deal with Jenna the previous night.
“Okay, okay, I am up. Just stop shouting like a lunatic.” he moaned while opening the door to let her in.
“It is 1 pm big brother and I only started shouting after knocking for five minutes.” she said cheekily, as Will threw a half-hearted glare in her direction on his way to the kitchen in search of coffee. He hated sleeping in and rarely did it, but once he had gotten home the previous night, he was unable to fall asleep until the early hours of the morning.
The thought of Aria agreeing to go have coffee with him the next day, had him in such a tizzy that he ended up tossing and turning until he eventually lost consciousness from sheer exhaustion.
After nearly inhaling his morning dose of caffeine, Will looked up at his smirking younger sister.
“Someone kept you awake last night?” she teased making him feel the urge to roll his eyes, yet again.
“No. I went home, alone.” he said and saw Megan’s demeanor change in an instant, as she suddenly got a serious expression on her face.
“Look, Will, you are my brother and I love you to pieces, but she is very important to me.”
Will went rigid as soon as the words left her mouth and looked up to find Meg glaring at him.
“I am not sure what you are talking about.”
“So, you are telling me that after you ran off on me last night, leaving me with a very confused and very upset Jenna by the way, you went straight home?”
“Umm, yes?”
“Oh really? Then I must be going crazy, because I could swear that I have seen someone who looks exactly like you going into the car that looks exactly like yours with a girl that is a spitting image of one of my employees; Aria, to be exact.”
Will cursed silently, knowing that there was no way out of the situation at the knowing look on Meg’s face.
He let out a big sigh and fell into the kitchen chair, trying and failing to avoid his sister’s menacing glare.
“Look, I know that she is beautiful and I get why you would like her, but I also know everything about what she’s been through and I don’t want to see her hurt again. I am not blind Will; I see the way she looks at you. I’ve known Aria for more than a year and this is the first time that she has looked at someone more than twice.
So, all I ask is for you to be honest with her, because I realize that I cannot stop you from being together. But if this is just a passing fancy for you, please tell her, otherwise, she will just end up getting hurt and that will be the end for her. She will retreat into herself even more than she was when I met her and be miserable for the rest of her life.”
Will watched his sister talking about Aria, and he realized that he had never felt prouder of her. He knew that Meg held a special spot for her, but to see to what extent let him know that Aria was not as alone as she thought she was and that there would be someone looking out for her even if they didn’t make it.
“I can assure you that it is not just a passing fancy. Ari is...”, Will stopped, trying to put into words everything that was going through his mind in order to make his sister understand.
“Well, you know her better than anyone; you know what an amazing person she is, even though it seems to me that she doesn’t. I would be a fool to pass up a chance in being with someone like her. You also know what happened back in LA, and how it had affected me.
I was so angry for such a long time, Meg. And I tried not to be, I tried to move on, but I couldn’t, at least not back there. So, I came here, looking for something, I am not exactly sure what myself. And maybe she is that something, and maybe she is not. Maybe that something only I can give to myself, but all I know is that from the first moment I saw Aria, all that I thought I knew and wanted just vanished.” he said while snapping his fingers.
“And the more I get to know her the more I am certain that she is as close to perfect as I could get, maybe even the one. And I’ll do anything in my power not to ruin that.”
Looking up, Will saw his sister smiling back at him with a proud look on her face that made something warm blossom in his chest, so he stood up and pulled her into a hug before asking her to stay for lunch.
~
Will was just getting out of the shower, feeling excited about his (not)date with Aria when he heard the phone ring but by the time he managed to dry himself and put on some boxers the ringing had stopped. Figuring that it was Meg calling to tease him about his coffee plans, William went to the closet to pick out an outfit for that night, not bothering to check.
He knew that Aria would feel uncomfortable in some crowded place, so he had decided to take her to a hole-in-the-wall cafe that he had heard Nate singing praises about a couple of days ago.
He picked out his favorite jeans and a white, cashmere sweater and quickly dressed, feeling satisfied with his choice and hoping that Aria would be too, and then rolled his eyes at himself for, yet again, acting like a teenager with a crush.
Once he was done, the phone rang again, so he picked it up, already preparing himself to tell Meg off for bothering him, when he saw an unknown number calling, making him frown.
“Hello?”
“Will?” he heard deep male voice asking from the other side of the line and frowned.
“Yes, who is this?”
“Oh, thank God I managed to find you! It’s Nate, Meg’s friend. Nura, my girlfriend asked me to call you and let you know that Aria will not be able to make it today.”
&nbs
p; “Is she alright?” Will asked as he felt his stomach drop. Nate went silent for a moment, as other voices started yelling on the other side of the line and then he heard his sister’s voice.
“Will, I don’t want you to freak out but Aria is in the Memorial Hospital. You better come quickly.”
Will dropped his phone and ran.
Brian
It was already late afternoon by the time Aria was finished with all of her course work and left the library. She had always preferred to get everything done right away and not leave it for the last moment like so many of her classmates seemed to do, which had led to some teasing when she was younger, not that she cared much.
There was a small number of people still milling around campus since classes have ended two hours ago, as Aria passed them by on her way to the bus station while pulling her weathered leather jacket more tightly around herself and making a mental note to wear a hoody underneath it the next time she went out.
She had a small smile on her face, feeling incredibly excited to see Will that evening. She was unable to stop thinking about him since their conversation the night before. The man was damn near perfect and Aria still couldn’t understand why he wanted her, of all people, especially after she went home and ‘googled’ him to find out just how successful and well-off Will truly was.
But after everything that happened the previous night, Aria had decided to try and let her fears go and just relax and enjoy the ride while it lasted.
If Will said that he didn’t mind her scars and the baggage that came with them, then Aria was going to have to trust him and see what happens in spite of her brain’s furious protests.
Honestly, she was getting tired of being afraid all the time, tired of holding back and watching everyone else enjoy their lives while she sat in the corner feeling miserable and alone. That was the main reason for letting Will in, and if it proved to be a mistake then at least she could claim that she had tried.
Being too wrapped up in her thoughts, Aria failed to hear someone calling her name until she felt a hand on her shoulder which stopped her in her tracks.
“Hey, Aria, can we talk?” the person said, and she turned around to see Brian standing there.
The feeling of shame about the way she had treated him the last time they saw each other immediately washed over her at the sight of him.
She had been so angry with the world that day and took it out on Brian even though the boy had done nothing wrong.
“Hey, Brian. I am glad to see you because I have been meaning to talk to you.” she said and pulled him a bit out of the way, so they could have some privacy.
“I wanted to apologize for the way I behaved the last time we talked. I acted like a jerk and it was completely uncalled for. I promise you that it had nothing to do with you and I am really sorry.” she stumbled through her apology and waited for Brian to say something.
The boy spent some time watching her before a small smile appeared on his lips.
“It’s fine, Aria. We all have bad days, right?” he snorted and she nodded, letting out a relieved sigh at the realization that Brian would not hold a grudge against her.
“Yeah, we do. But it was still cruel of me to say those things and I am sorry. I hope that we can still be friends?” she proposed and found herself truly meaning it. It was the truth that Brian could be a little annoying sometimes but that didn’t mean that he deserved to be treated the way Aria has been treating him.
The blond nodded and smiled again, a smile that Aria readily returned. She prepared to say goodbye to him since she was already running late when Brian stopped her once again.
“So now that all of that is behind us, would you like to go and grab a cup of coffee or something?” he asked and Aria immediately grimaced.
“Oh, I am so sorry Brian, but I have to get home. I have to meet someone tonight and I am already running late. But next time, for sure!” she said and smiled at the tall boy, before turning around to go but a hand on her forearm stopped her.
“You mean like a date?” Brian asked, no trace of the previous smile on his face and a strange gleam in his eyes that made Aria’s stomach flip-flop in a bad way.
“I… well, not exactly but…” she stuttered as the grip on her arm intensified to the edge of painful.
“But what? It’s either a date or it isn’t, Aria. It’s quite simple.” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, but the sudden coldness in his voice made the hairs on her back stand up in attention.
“Look, I really have to go now.” she said tearing her arm out of his grip and barely managed to make a few steps away when she suddenly felt a fierce pain in the back of her head, making her stumble over her feet.
She fell to the ground as a painful moan escaped her throat and quickly looked back to see Brian standing over her with an expression on his face that chilled her to the bones.
“I’ve been trying to get with you for months and you kept leading me on, and now you have the gall to tell me that you are going on a date with someone else!? You little bitch, who do you think you are!? What, you think that you are too good for me or something!?” Brian growled out loud as he gripped her hair in one of his hands as the other held her chin tightly so she could not look away, before he pushed her away and started to kick her in the stomach, making her let out a small whimper.
Aria knew that she should fight back, try and escape or call for help but she felt paralyzed as it all came too close to home for her.
How many times had she been in this same position in the past?
How many times had she found herself lying on the ground under a man’s feet waiting for a punishment she knew she did not deserve?
Brian kept calling her every foul name he could think of while he repeatedly punched her in the face as she lay there feeling numb.
She was starting to get lightheaded and she knew that she would soon lose conciseness if the beating continued for much longer. Just when she was starting to think that Brian was actually going to kill her, the boy finally stood up and let her go.
“Have fun on your date, bitch.” he sneered at her before running away.
Aria blinked a few times; feeling disoriented and like her whole body was on fire. Every single bone in her body hurt and she could feel her head bleeding excessively.
She somehow managed to take her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans, grateful that she had left it there in her haste to get home, and not in the bag where she usually kept it.
It slipped through her fingers a few times before she managed to get it in a tight grip, her hands slippery from blood. She dialed the last number on her recent contacts list and waited while trying to remain awake.
“Ari?” she heard Nura from the other side of the line and sighed in relief.
“Nura, I am hurt, call an ambulance... t... tell them to come to the bus station at my s…s... school.” she managed to slur out before the phone slipped out of her hand and the world turned black.
~
Aria heard what sounded awfully lot like the beeping of her alarm clock, making her groan since she wasn’t ready to get up, feeling too tired to even open her eyes.
A horrible, slicing pain shot through her body as soon as she tried to move even a muscle, and her mouth tasted like cotton, making her feel like she would give everything for a single drop of water.
Confused, she tried to remember what happened, the thought that she had perhaps gotten drunk with Nura, appearing in her still fuzzy mind. But that couldn’t be true, since she was supposed to meet Will not her friend, as far as she could remember.
After she finally managed to open her eyes, Aria was left feeling more confused than ever at the sight of white walls, and machines beeping all around her.
What was she doing in the hospital?
Looking to her right, she saw an old nurse standing by the bed and writing something in what was probably Aria’s chart.
“W… what happened?” she whispered, her throat dry and hurt
ing, making her wince as soon as the broken words left her mouth.
“Hello Aria, I am Nurse Katy, and I am glad to see that you are awake, you have been unconscious for twelve hours. The doctor will be here soon and he will answer any questions you may have.” she said while putting the chart back into its place.
“Now, I’m guessing that you would like to see your friends? They were very worried about you and they refused to go home last night until they were allowed to see you.”
Aria quickly nodded, immediately regretting that decision when a sharp pain shot through her skull and made her eyes water.
The friendly nurse soon left the room and after a few minutes, Nura, Nate, Meg, and Will all barged in almost tripping over each other in their haste, which would have made her laugh if she had enough strength to do such a thing.
Nura immediately ran up to the bed and hugged her, her face a picture of distress.
“Don’t you ever scare me like that again!” Nura managed to say through the sobs while she squeezed the air out of Aria until Nate came to her rescue and pulled the brunette into a hug to try to calm her down.
Aria looked up and her eyes immediately met green ones. Will stood next to Meg, a worried frown on his face, before he walked up to Aria and hugged her gently.
His move surprised her, but as her skin came into contact with the soft material of his white jumper and she felt his lips leaving a small peck on her forehead, she found herself relaxing for the first time since she woke up.
“What happened? Who did this to you, Ari?” Will asked her, pulling her out of her head, and she looked around to see everyone looking back at her as they patiently wait for an answer.
“I am not sure.” she said, her memory still hazy. The last thing she could remember was walking out of the library and feeling excited about seeing Will again. After that, everything became fuzzy, until an image of a blond boy crossed her mind and her eyes grew wide.