"Fucking hell put on some clothes," Raf exclaims, rushing back out the bathroom and closing the door behind him.
"What are we going to do with her," He sighs, running a hand through his hair.
"Now that she's awake we can do a DNA test and see if she has any family members willing to take her in," I explain. Raf nods in response, turning his head when he sees the bathroom door open.
It takes me a few moments to take in what I'm seeing. She's stood awkwardly in the doorway wearing the pyjamas we left out for her. Her whole body is painted black and blue with painful looking bruises.
But what really catches my attention is her long hair cascading down her shoulders, the bright orange colour immediately drawing my eye.
My breathing quickens as I feel the tension in the room drastically spike. I stand up, my legs moving in autopilot as I stride towards her.
I gently cup her face in my hands, analysing it. Now that the layer of dirt is removed her freckles are no longer concealed and those cute features that I've been praying to see for the past fourteen years come into view.
"Aria?" I ask, my voice cracking.
She shuffles backwards, slamming into the wall behind her. She looks terrified as her eyes dart back and forth between me and Raf.
Realising that we're cornering her, I back up and lift my hands in surrender. "Hey it's okay, we're not going to hurt you," I comfort. "Yeah can you tell us your name?" Raf interjects.
She just shrugs, looking at her feet. "You don't know your name?" Raf softly questions. "I don't have one," She whispers, still avoiding eye contact.
"Everyone has a name," I tell her. She remains silent, not daring to move. I sigh, sensing that we're going to get no information out of her while she's so scared.
"Why don't we sit on the bed," Raf suggests, probably wanting to talk this out in a much calmer environment.
Her face morphs into one of utter panic as her eyes dart to the bed. "The bed...with you two?" She questions hesitantly. My heart constricts when it dawns on me why she's panicking. "Just to talk I promise," I assure her.
She hesitantly agrees, sitting as far pushed up against the headboard as humanly possible while we sit at the end of the bed.
I watch in concern as she winces and rubs her eyes. Realising what the problem is, I get up and close the blinds plunging the room into darkness. "Better?" I ask her. She nods, now being able to open her eyes without squinting.
I sit back down and look at her. The overwhelming feeling of shame washes over me as I stare at her face, I can't believe I didn't realise she was my Ari. I had never gotten a good look at her face and now that I can see her cute little button nose and her big doe eyes it's clear as day that this is my little girl.
"Do you know how old you are darling?" I ask softly, trying not to scare her more than she already is. She shakes her head, indicating no.
"Okay," I trail off as I try to think of the best way to approach this. "Do you remember your life before you lived down there?" I ask.
Her eyebrows draw together in deep thought for a moment before she finally answers, "I've always lived there." She states. I shake my head, trying my absolute hardest to keep my thoughts in.
I want to tell her that she's wrong, that she used to live with a father who loved her more than anything on this planet but I hold my breath, not wanting to bombard her with all this information until I was one hundred percent sure.
"Can we just take a quick look at your back?" Raf interjects, causing me to look at him in confusion. It only takes me a couple seconds to understand what he's doing.
Aria had a prominent birthmark on the back of her neck that was almost heart shaped. She agrees, although I think it was more out of fear of saying no to us than actually being comfortable with it.
She doesn't move from her spot pressed up against the bed frame so I get up, making my way over to her and brushing her wet hair out of the way. I let out a deep breath that I felt like I'd been holding in for fourteen years as sure enough a heart shaped birthmark rests exactly where I remember it.
I feel an intense wave of relief wash over me when I realise that I've finally got my daughter back safe in my protection. That relief is soon replaced with disgust when I spot a deep bite mark on the side of her neck.
I suck in a harsh breath as I pull myself back in front of her. I lean in to hug her, just wanting to hold her and tell her everything will be alright just like I did when she was little but she immediately jolts away from me.
"Right I'm sorry," I apologise, remembering the no touching rule. I turn to Raf, sending him a look that let's him know that he's excused. He takes the hint, leaving the two of us alone.
"Listen," I sigh. "You weren't always kept down in that awful cell, you used to live with me up here before you were taken from me," I explain, holding unflinching eye contact with her.
She nods slowly but I can tell she doesn't understand what I'm saying. "Aria I'm your dad," I clarify, still trying to gauge her reaction.
"Dad?" She repeats, the fact that she doesn't even know what a dad is absolutely crushing my soul. "Yeah I made you, you're half me and half of your mother." I awkwardly explain, trying to describe how babies are made in as little detail as possible.
"Dads are people who raise you and take care of you," I add. Her eyebrows knot in confusion until eventually a look of realisation spreads across her face. "Like a master?" She asks hesitantly.
"No." I shake my head, not wanting her to ever think I'm anything like those sick fucks. "I would never hurt you or ever make you do something you don't want to do," I promise her sincerely.
"Wait here," I tell her, still sensing that she wasn't fully understanding. I practically sprint to my room, kneeling down and pulling out my little wooden box from under my bed before rushing back to her room.
"See look at these," I say, sitting in front of her and handing her a pile of photos. "That's you when you were little," I point to her as a toddler. "Look you're so cute here," I chuckle, pointing to another picture of her in a onesie.
A tiny smile graces her lips as she stares down at the photos. "That's little me?" She asks, looking up at me curiously. "Yes," I smile back at her. "Can you see how much I love you?" I ask, showing her a picture of me holding her when she was a baby, the brightest smile adorning my face as I look at my baby girl with nothing but admiration in my eyes.
She nods her head ever so slightly. "Well I still love you just as much, I've been waiting so long for you to return home," I tell her, my voice cracking at the last part.
We sit in silence for a few moments, both of us just staring at each other in bewilderment. "Well," I sigh. "I think I should let you get some sleep and we can talk about this in the morning," I say, noticing the bags under her eyes.
"Okay," She yawns, standing up on her wobbly legs. I stand up, looking at her in confusion as I hold my hands up so I'm ready to catch her as soon as she tips over. "Can you show me to my bed please," She mutters nervously.
"Oh you're sleeping in here, just until we get some supplies to do up your new room," I explain, already excited to buy her anything she can dream of.
Her eyes scan the room before landing back on mine. "For me?" She questions, pointing at herself. "Yes," I nod.
"No no," She shakes her head. "I've done nothing to deserve this, I shouldn't be allowed to sleep on that thing," She says, her lip wobbling as she points towards the bed.
My heart breaks hearing her talk so low of herself. "You deserve everything in this world, let alone something as simple as a bed," I tell her definitively.
I usher her to the bed, pulling the blankets over her tiny frame all while fighting the urge to give her a kiss goodnight.
"Night," I whisper, my voice cracking again. I swiftly pick up the little wooden box before storming out of the room, the tears welling in my eyes.
I push open my door and close it behind me, the tears now falling. My back slides down the door as I try to muffle my crying, images of her lying in that cell now effecting me a million times more.
I'd always known that whoever took her wouldn't have treated her as good as I would have but I'd never expected it to be that bad. Knowing that she spent her entire life down there and was unable to have the childhood she deserves because of me crushes my heart.
My despair and grief for her lost childhood is soon replaced with rage and guilt. I sigh, knowing i should have taken Pedro and tortured him for years on end but I was too thoughtless and couldn't even recognise my own daughter.
It takes me twenty whole minutes to calm my self down. I stand up and straighten out my suit before heading back to her room to check on her, feeling the urge to be close to her.
I quietly knock on the door, only entering after a few moments when I hear no reply. I poke my head in, panicking when I see that she's not in her bed.
My eyes frantically dart around the room but I immediately calm down when I see her curled up on the floor next to the bed.
I sigh, walking over to her. "Come on baby," I whisper, gently picking up her unconscious body and placing her back on the bed.
I spend god knows how long just staring down at her sleeping face, finding comfort in the fact that she looks so peaceful which is a stark contrast to her usual terrified demeanour.
"I love you Aria," I say, kissing her forehead.