Sugar & Spice

02|could you do it again?

The first time that Aria had met Laura Patterson had been a defining moment in her life. Laura represented strength, perseverance and female power - it were the three words that had become the leading words of Aria's life. But admiring someone could make you naive and easily manipulated to the other persons character, something Aria thought would never be an issue to her. But now it was. She sat there, with the papers in front of her, wondering if they could be lies or if Laura truly was the monster displayed on this paper. Words had been spoken around her for quite some time now but Aria couldn't make out what was being said, she needed time to process. 

She looked over the page again and winced at the words: Miss Laura Patterson closed the door to her office and forcibly grabbed my genitals... 

She quickly closed the file and pushed it further away from her. Michael looked down in shame and caused her guilt to make an entrance. This couldn't have been easy for him to do, especially as a male they were so rarely heard in situation's like this. Aria wanted to comfort him but something was stopping her and it was most likely because of her naivete toward Laura; the woman who had helped her come to terms with her own bad experience, it just seemed unfathomable that she would be responsible for someone else's. 

"Are you ready to talk or are you still in shock?" Leo said and poked her arm with his pen.

"Michael, I'm so sorry--" Aria said and blinked her tears away before they revealed her true sorrow. 

"It's okay, it's not like you knew it was happening. I doubt anyone would believe it anyway." He murmured and fiddled with his phone. 

She was desperate for this not to be true, she was almost praying to higher powers for it all to be a bad dream or prank but this felt very real. Now she had regretted pushing Leo to tell her what he was referring to and for the first time she truly understood the meaning of 'ignorance is bliss'.  

"I don't understand why you wanted to pick me--I mean I'm not majoring in journalism and I have no experience with, well whatever it is you're doing here." Aria shook her head violently fast and distanced herself further from what she had just read.

"We've heard about you, everyone has," Leo said, "Peyton was kind of obsessed with you for a while--" 

"Shut up, I wasn't obsessed! I...I admired your courage and Jane's too. I know she goes to this school, we're the same age, but she didn't seem to be out for the same quest as you." 

"Anyway, your past makes you a great addition to our team. You see, Michael here wants to do what you did; he wants to expose a predator and who better to get advice from than the one who exposed several only a few months ago." Leo sent a smile in Aria's direction, one that affected her a little too much a little too quickly.

In the end those two emotions that had been wrestling inside of her suddenly stopped and fear came out on top. The excitement she had felt previously now felt perverted and wrong which is why Aria couldn't stop shaking her head at what they were saying. Her battle with Brody Jensen and his wolves were far from over and to take on another persons problems could be too much right now. Aria damned herself for being so enamored with Laura, even after reading what she had, it was the only heroine she had and to have the image of her destroyed felt heartbreaking - and it was her second one in just a few months.

"I'm not the right person you want, you'd want to talk to someone else--" Aria deflected but was soon stopped mid-rambling by Peyton. 

Her fierce eyes narrowed right into hers and burrowed deep. Aria's eyes widened afraid she would either yell or punch her but expecting both. It reminded her of how Rebecca had taken charge when Aria was in her most vulnerable state, Rebecca had given her a purpose and it looked like that was exactly what Peyton was trying to do now.