Aria

18- Gunner (EDITED)

The talk I had with Walter days ago was the talk. I know I did it wrong by feeding him all the bourbon he wished to have, but it was the only way for the stubborn old man to open up to me. And the looser I got Walter, the more he opened up about the little investigation he had done. He may have been drunk that night, but he was still coherent enough to threaten me—threatening that if I were to tell Aria everything he said to me before she found out for herself, I'd never be able to give Aria another child. He also warned me that he'd do something significant to my family jewels; if not that, he'd do something a bit more drastic—and that's killing me.

Walter warned that since he's already nearing ninety years old, it wouldn't matter if he was sent to prison for killing me. That it was because he knew his clock was ticking, that his time on earth was close to expiring, and that they would treat him just as wonderfully in prison as he gets treated here. So, to not upset him, I told him that I wouldn't say a word to anyone—giving him my word, I wouldn't.

I don't know how Walter does it, but that man can dig up anything on anyone. And I'm overly amazed by what this man can do and what he can find. For someone as old as him, who didn't grow up in the technology era as Aria and I have, he's pretty internet and tech-savvy, something I can sadly say that I am not. I know how to get online, but searching for answers I wish to know is not my specialty. Fighting is my specialty.

On the night of the talk, Walter drunkenly admitted why he was so adamant about Aria visiting her mother. That it was because he found interesting information—possibly it being the missing piece of the puzzle that has haunted Aria for years. And by using his smarts and the details Aria had provided him with over the years, he used that information to discover the truth about what happened to Aria's mother and the real reason behind her mental breakdown.

Walter didn't tell me everything that night, but what he admitted to finding, my heart broke for Aria after admitting he discovered something about a woman named Stella, Aria's sister. A sister Aria had assumed was dead, but in fact, was alive and well, and living in the Seattle area with her so-called adoptive parents, saying she's twenty years old, graduated from high school, and that she's now going to college.

Walter also mentioned that Aria's mother knew what had happened to Stella since June; Aria's mother was the one who had to sign the papers to release Stella to her adoptive parents. Walter believes June didn't just go into a state of depression over Vince, Aria's father, leaving her for another woman. Instead, she went into depression because she lost the next best thing in her life—her newborn child—the last child she shared with the love of her life.

Everything Walter mentioned that night makes perfect sense to me.

Walter also believes June pushed Aria and Justin away all these years because she felt she failed her kids. Which I couldn't agree more on the more I think about it. Because when you're so in love with someone, and you get blindsided by the love of your life leaving you for someone else, you sit and wonder what you did wrong to make them stray and leave, especially after working hard for what you achieved together.

In June's case, they had a home, good jobs, and two children with one on the way. They were living the life. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, it was all taken away from her, with no explanations. Of course, not everyone reacts the way she did when you feel you lost everything, and we're all not built alike, but the way it happened and how it blindsided her, I can see where that would cause June to lose it.

One thing I do know is that I'd lose it myself if I ever lost Aria. She's the love of my life who gave me one of the biggest prizes one could ever receive: my son Wyatt. And I'd be heartbroken if I were to lose them both. Aria has given and taught me so much ever since we met, and to this day, I still feel I owe her more than what I've already given her.