Pretty Little Liars: The Beginning {Episodes 1-10} (REVISED)

57. Aria 📚

Aria had left the gallery in a hurry after Meredith showed up. She couldn't stand to be in the same room with her, dangling the secret in front of her. She had made up an excuse about needing to do homework, and before she knew it, she was driving aimlessly around Rosewood. She didn't want to go home. She needed to be as far away from her father as she could get, and being at home surrounded by pictures of her parents certainly wasn't going to help the situation.

Unsure of where to go, Aria found herself outside of Ezra's apartment building. She knew that she should've gone literally anywhere else, maybe back to Noel's party, but drinking also would've made the situation worse. With her inhibitions low, who knew what she might say about Meredith? She paused on the street and went inside.

Ezra had mentioned his apartment number in passing when they were first exchanging texts before they knew Aria would be his student, and Aria made her way to the third floor and found it. 3B. The shiny gold letters almost welcomed her inside. She knocked tentatively on the door, wondering if he was even home.

The door opened, and there he was. He was wearing a blue shirt, unbuttoned. Ezra looked completely shocked at Aria's appearance on his doorstep. He looked amazing though, as usual. "Hey," Ezra said. "I thought you were helping out at the gallery."

"I was," Aria said. "Can I come in?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Ezra said.

Aria looked down at the welcome mat, slightly off-centre. He was right, of course. Aria never should've come here. He had already told her that she shouldn't come here, but she just had nowhere else to go. She couldn't think of anywhere else where she would feel more safe than with Ezra. "I'm sorry," she said, tears rushing back to her throat. "This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here. I just didn't know where else to go." She stepped away from the door. "I'll see you on Monday."

Aria turned and started to walk down the hallway, kicking herself. "No, wait," Ezra said. She turned back to him but kept her distance. "Are you okay? Do you need me to drive you home?"

Aria shook her head. She'd already thought about that. She couldn't go back there. "That's the last place I want to be," she said.

"Why? What happened?"

Aria felt the tears moving from her throat to her eyes. "Can we just be here for a minute?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Ezra gave her a small smile and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest, hiding herself from the rest of the world. He smelled like coffee and paper, with a hint of the cologne that he wore at school. She hadn't felt so comforted by a scent before in her whole life. With his arms around her, she felt so safe. He gave her a gentle kiss on the top of her head, and Aria never wanted to let go.