Four days later in the place Aria is starting to call an asylum, everyone has started to become accustomed to how their day goes (though they have no clue how long they've been kidnapped). Sit around and eat when its served is everyone's schedule and yeah that sounds pretty easy to do but its driving some of them insane. Aria hasn't eaten a grain of food and Niall's starting to see it take a toll on her but she knows she deserves to feel the pain of hunger since its the closet to a punishment she can inflict on herself, she hasn't been doing good mentally either. She sits in the chair all day recalling any memories that has her family in it, when everyone was happy. She's gotten weak and even more fragile, if someone was to touch her while standing right in front of her and she would jump so high from the ground. She has a stained look of fear and destruction in her eye. Bradley even realized it on his daily pick-up to take Aria, he tried not to show his concern since she IS his prisoner and game piece but since she reminds him so much of his deceased daughter it's kinda hard not to.
And it was only gonna get worse by the end of the day.
As of now, Aria was balled up in the infamous chair trying her hardest not to let a weep, a whine, a sniffle, or sob leave her lips to loudly to the point where Niall heard cause she'll never hear the end of it. Like the lecture she got from her 9 trays sitting on the ground still untouched. Her body only barely shook in its back-less purple dress as the whispers occupied the hollow feeling she got in her heart, just then the door opened.
Bradley walked on with a smirk as he and Niall's eyes instantly connected in a glare since Niall knew what him being here meant--but at least he could shower while she's gone.
"Come on, Aria." Bradley then flashed a wicked grin at Niall before turning to the famous Serrano.
She knew what Bradley being here meant too so she stretched out of her fetus position and pushed up from chair, she wiped her cheeks and walked to the door. He offered her a unreadable smile that she couldn't return but then Bradley's eyes caught behind her at the bunch of breakfast, lunch and dinner meals. The smile wiped off his face at the clear evidence at just how much she refused to eat then after glancing down at her figure he looked out the door.
"Come get these trays." He ordered any available guard then turned to Niall.
"I'll bring in a fresh plate."
And with that he led Aria to the room filled with racks of clothes and hair products. Aria frowned.
"Why am I awake?" Because she never saw the inside of this room and everyday he took her from the cell he would press that napkin to her nose so why was she in this room before being drugged as usual?
"You're not sleeping this time because we have a very important event happening," He glanced at his wrist "So we have to hurry."
"This is what you've did every time you knocked me out? Dressed me up?" She asked with disbelief and turned to face the sink lined with professional shampoos and conditioners.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but come on. You can help me." He responded though he knew she was right to the T.
Bradley led her closer to the racks and started fishing through the many dresses.
"I was thinking you're more of a yellow today." He mumbled aloud.
Why was he doing this? Why dress me up just to put me in a box? Who am I dressing up for then and now?. . . Bradley saw me naked?! Aria thought.
"You dressed me. . . with your eyes open?" She narrowed her eyes and took a step forward.
Bradley shooed her away with his hand and went to a new rack of party dresses. "Course not. We had my female coworkers do that, I just picked the outfit."
"And what? You're a fashion designer with the talent to dress a woman nicely?" The old, buried, Aria showed slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Bradley grinned at her words and snickered quietly then pulled a purple dress off the pole and held it up while closing one eye, imagining it on her.
"I want red."
"Can't have that color," Bradley locked eyes with her "I'm saving that color for another day." Just then he saw a glimmering gold on the rack behind her. He dropped the current dress and nearly jogged to it while grabbing Aria's hand and taking her with him.
"This one. Is perfect." He held up the dress to her body making her move her arms slightly away from herself as they both looked down at the flowy gold dress that would hug her body from the waist up then flow around her from her hips to her knees. The sides were missing exposing the sides of her stomach. She looked up to see Bradley smirking before he looked in her eyes.
"Sold."
~~
In the dress, new small curls and ballerina flats Aria stood looking confusedly down at herself, she didn't like the way the dress hugged her because recently she started to feel that maybe her chest was too big for her age while Bradley grinned like a madman.
"This'll catch both their eyes instead of just the one." He said with his hand on his chin, pointing while talking.
Aria snapped her head up. "Who!?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Well can I please not wear flats? Or anything that can't show my height?"
Bradley smirked and looked up at her face. "Don't like your shortness, huh?"
Aria scrunched up her forehead and unknowingly pouted causing Bradley to sigh and push his hand out to her. "Fine. Give me the shoes."
~~~
"Where are we going?" Aria said for the first time since he led her to a different part of the building.
"You seem back in your cherry, stubborn self." Was Bradley's response.
Aria looked at him then fell silent knowing she shouldn't come off ' happy ' or ' cherry ' because it's her fault all this happened, this is just the slow way of killing Zachary and Niall because they were ' dumb ' enough to love her when they shouldn't of. She doesn't deserve to be loved.
So she tells herself.
Bradley noticed the sudden quietness and when he turn he saw her face pulled into a thoughtful and pained face--the face she adopted since she's been here. They reached the big maroon door but before he opened it Bradley turned to her and moved her shoulders to face him.
He sighed. "Please try to eat." He practically begged making her look up at him.
"Please eat." He said one last time before moving and opening the door.
The first thing to catch her eyes was that everyone was present, everyone was there, sitting at a big rectangle table. What caught her eyes next was plates. Plates piled with what looked and smelled to be turkey, mash potatoes and a green vegetable. And last but not least what caught her eye was Zachary who was strained in his seat by his shoulders as he fought fiercely to be set free. But all the commotion seemed to cease when the door opened for everyone's head snapped to her and Bradley, Pierce and Horan frowned their brows at seeing Aria's new apparel. Their eyes shamelessly rolled up and down her body making Bradley smirk at his job well done then he led her down the few stairs and to the empty chair next to Ian for Ian sat at the head of the shaped table and everyone else took up the sides.
"I'm so glad the guest of honor could arrive, the food was starting to get warm." Ian grinned at Aria causing her to look down, the hatred towards Ian starting to rise up her throat.
"Why don't everyone dig in."
But no one did. No one moved an inch towards their food even though they didn't have breakfast or lunch that day, they weren't worried about the food being poisoned or anything rash like that. They just didn't want to satisfy their kidnappers obvious attempt to please their selves by the audience that was One Direction, the Serrano's and Zachary Pierce. Bradley and Ian, however, started to eat their well cooked meal ignoring the feeling of stares burning in their head.
"So Aria, you missed a very important conversation that we had before you came. It was so severe that Zachary nearly got himself killed," a shiver shook Aria's body by the deep chuckle Ian gave "I'm just curious-- we all actually are curious to who you're gonna pick."
Her eyebrows knitted together as she spoke with caution, not looking up from her plate. "Pick who?"
"Out of Zachary and Niall. I mean, they both love you isn't that right Niall?" From the corner of her eye on table she saw the rare sight nowadays of Niall's hand clenching.
"And you have feelings for both of them. So we're just curious. Who you gonna pick? Why don't you chose now, that way they both could hear your answer."
"I'm not doing that." She instantly replied as the caution now left and was swallowed up by new anger and her hatred. She shook her head.
"Why not?"
Her head snapped up. "Because I'll hurt one of them with my answer and I won't be the puppet in your game where I continue to hurt them! You want to hurt them, do it yourself."
Ian grinned. "It's not like its your fault. It isn't your fault that they fell so hard for you."
"I'm still not doing it."
Then Ian chuckled as he looked up from his plate, "So you'll continue to string them both along?" He connected eyes with Aria "You'll continue to date both of them? At the same time. The least you can do for them is tell them who you want to be with. . . that way the right heart could heal before its too late."
A wave of confusion washed over Aria. "What do you mean?"
Ian tore a piece of his turkey and dipped it in the warm brown gravy before looking up at Aria. "I always found Zachary a threat--which is odd since he's younger--so he won't be leaving and Bradley," Ian chuckled "Wanted revenge on Niall for so long now so there won't be a possibility that he'll let him go. . . So what I'm saying is you should hurry up and make up your mind on who you want to be with, so that way you know who your giving a proper goodbye to before we kill them."
Eyes widened while Aria felt the hollow pit spread further in her body. She tried to open her mouth and form words but her throat wouldn't let her. She knew that in the end they would take them from her but having them confirm it and actually say it out loud, stung too much to describe. Niall feared for Aria's reaction when her chest start to heave as Ian held her gaze then she did the last thing he nor Ian thought she would do.
Her face distorted with pain before her hand was to quick to catch as it rose and slapped the nearest side of Ian's face, the hit was so hard that Ian's jaw slacked the food falling out and his head to swing to the side from impact. A gasp emitted at the far side of table from Naomi and as fast as the red spread across his face was just as fast as he shot up from his seat, towering over Aria. She didn't cower nor was she intimidated by his nose flare or clenched fists. Numerous "Don't touch her." Sounded in the room and Niall being the man closer to her, turned in his seat ready to jump out and fight against the cuff on his ankle if Ian even had a thought flash through his blue eyes to hurt Aria.
"Sit down Ian," Bradley causally said, still enjoying his dinner "Got to admit, you saw that coming."
Aria challenged Ian's gaze and narrowed her eyes when he suddenly smiled. "I'll get you back for that."
Ian faced everyone. "Everyone. This dinner is very important and had another intention other than antagonizing the precious love triangle, this dinner is supposed to be the dinner of, Bradley please fill in the blank." Ian pointed to him who excitedly replied:
"Truth!"
Ian smirked. "The Dinner Of Truth. Where everyone here reveals all their secrets that they've been hiding, and we'll start with Zachary. I'll still use you to get to them." Ian quickly told the last sentence to Aria before asking her:
"How did you and Zach meet? How did he first meet you?"
Confused as where he was going, Aria narrowed her eyes and frowned her eyebrows. "From a newspaper article."
Ian mocked confusion. "A newspaper? Well. . . that can't be true," Ian looked at Zachary "Cause then how did you meet her parents?"
"He didn't." Zayn answered but Ian kept his eyes on Zachary.
"He lied. Zachary didn't meet Aria by no newspaper article about their parents death."
Aria turned to look at Zachary registering the information Ian just gave. She didn't say WHAT the article was about. Zachary locked eyes with Aria and proceeded to shake his head.
"He's lying Aria."
"Am I now?"
"Yes. You are," Zachary looked back at Aria "Don't listen to him."
"I'm not the only one at this table who had it out for your parents Aria."
"I mean, their death was discrete, that's why IF their murder made it to the papers the government would of went to hell and back to find the twin girls in the ' family portrait '." Ian used air quotes and Aria couldn't help but find the truth in his words. The government didn't know her parents had children--giving their tampered DNA to two new humans--so when their family hit the papers, they would of looked for them and not once did she have or think the government was a threat or enemy.
"Lovely Zachary here, met you in a different way."
Aria's head snapped to him when he hissed, "Shut your mouth Ian."
"Why? Afraid to tell her? I thought I was lying. What changed?"
Then Ian's gaze fixed on Aria. "Zachary was heartbroken when he was forced to kill his parents and even in during his treatment he did everything he could of to find his parents killers. He hired legal investigators, illegal investigators, had the police do their job but they all appeared fruitless. Until a certain Drake Family was as determined as he was."
Ian by now caught everyone's attention but Zachary felt fear creeping into his veins as he gripped the armrest of his chair.
Ian watched Zach as he finished. "When they found their killers to finally make what's right it was unfortunate that someone already got to them, so Zachary was going to attack their youngest daughter. Have a relationship with her, make her completely dependent on him as a way of revenge."
At first Aria didn't understand. How can you have revenge for dating their child? Why did Zachary say she was his first girl if she wasn't? Who was the Pierces' killers? Then it clicked.
"Serena and William made Zachary kill his parents."
"That's a lie." Aria shook her head of the storm that popped up in the cloudy gray sky.
"Aria you--"
"No!" Aria pushed roughly out her chair and tried to kill Ian through her glare. "You can't try to tell me my parents are killers, they wouldn't make a little boy kill his own parents! I don't care what evidence you try to show, that's complete crap what your saying. My parents were caring, trying to get by, that's it. They d-didn't murder anyone. And Zachary wouldn't hurt me like that, I may have done some bad things in our relationship but strip me down as a human? As a individual? Never."
"Tell her Zachary." They both turned to the only blonde in the room with green eyes.
"Go ahead and tell her how much I'm lying. Tell her every word that I said was fake. Tell her and break that one promise you made her, tell her and break the trust bond you built upon a lie."
Aria stared and she stared and she watched as Zachary tried not to meet her eye as his glossed, she waited for that reassurance that her parents left this earth without a crime on their shoulders, that they were good people. She waited for someone to tell her that that perfect image of her perfect family didn't really have smudge of darkness on it. . . But she didn't. And Zachary's silence spoke so loud and clear. His silence spoke so loud, yet, she heard the loud rip in her chest.
Granted, she had feelings for someone else when she was with Zachary but that wasn't her fault. She didn't ask for them and she didn't try to make them happen, she tried to erase them. And granted, she had a teeny kissing affair behind his back and got closer to the man she had feelings for but it wasn't like she planned and concocted a plan to hurt Zachary, and she made sure the affair didn't proceed kisses. I mean, she's refusing to even acknowledge Niall now in attempt to make what's right on Zachary's behalf.
But this realization. This lie that's now put in a sun, was a whole different story on a whole different level.
"Were you ever going to tell her?" Harry's shocked voice was the only sound in the room.
Zachary hesitantly looked up at his girlfriend -- or ex, whichever category-- and nearly flinched at her expression.
"No, he wasn't. He never planned on telling her." And Zachary knew that was the truth, that was the right, spot on answer he was never going to give. To bad his silence did.
Aria's face twisted for probably the thousandth time this week. "You lied."
"Aria I--"
"You lied and was never going to tell me anything."
"I wanted you to keep that image of your parents being good people."
"Forget that! Don't you think that I would've wanted to know who killed your parents so that maybe I could have closure for my first real boyfriend that went to an asylum for 18 years?"
"I knew who did it and that's all that mattered."
"And that's not even the half of it! You were using me this entire time." Her eyes stung.
"No Aria, that's not true. I was in the beginning--"
"And that's supposed to make everything better!?"
"--Before we even met! As I was watching you I saw how nice and PURE you were compared to my life, I watched your lifestyle and your habits and I fell in love with you instantly."
"That doesn't change the fact that you were intending, this entire time to make me pay and suffer for something they did!"
Zachary's chest pinged and pinched, closed in and contracted his heart behind his ribcage.
"What about keeping no secrets? You said you never lied to me when how you met me was a freaking lie this whole time! You were literally going to strip me of my humanity." Her fist clenched.
"I couldn't find that in myself to do that around the second week I knew you were alive." Zach tried to get through her rage and the betrayal radiating off of her but it almost made him throw up to see such hate and fury coming from his true love, directing at him. She didn't look pure, since this conversation started, she didn't look pure. She looks corrupted.
"What would of happened to me once you succeeded your goal?" Her body starting to shake.
"Don't ask--" Zachary shut his eyes and furiously shook his head.
"What would of happened when you practically turned me into an animal who couldn't fend for herself and who bonded her life completely to yours? You probably--"
"I don't know! Okay? I never got that far because I didn't want to go through with it. Aria please listen to me, I couldn't even work up the courage to hurt you. I didn't want to tamper with your family cause you started hating your parents for what they did,--"
"You probably would of killed me!" Her throat burned.
" I only had that plan for about a month. . . I love you and I would never think of hurting you that way." Zachary's eyes welled.
Zachary pleaded from his eyes into hers and though that token of affection did soften her heart slightly, there was way to much fog clouding it.
Her head shook with her eyes that welled and with that she sat down as Zachary closed his eyes and turned his head from everyone when a lone tear streamed out his eye. She pulled at the hair Bradley worked so hard on as her feet tapped anxiously on the floor, she inhaled a deep breath when her throat clogged, chest heaving as the tears were set free.
"Consider this pay back for slapping me."
"Are you immature and naive or just blind and stupid? You know she hasn't eaten in days and she's obviously going through something mentally and you still inflict more internal pain on her." Niall spat at Ian's direction.
Ian frowned his brows. "What do you mean she hasn't ate in days?"
"She's starving herself and skipped about 9 meals."
Ian looked down at Aria's lowered head as. . .
"I want to hear about Niall's secret." Louis spoke up from the far end making Bradley sprang out his seat.
"Mm!" Swallowing the mouthful he started "Finally, someone interested in how Aria likes her abuser other than just me. Well, Niall here has been abusing wittle Aria for what? 3 years."
"No you prick." Niall's eyes tightened and glared at the man across from Aria. "It wasn't even--"
"Right. It was a week before you found yourself falling over the broken mess you turned her into," Bradley spoke in the same menacing tone before turning back to Louis "Niall has a reputation of taking rebellious soon to be women --no higher than 17 years--and turning them into stale women, obedient to his every command by beating and breaking them both physically and mentally."
"What?"
"No," Louis shook his head "Niall hasn't done any of that since I've known him. There's no way he did that to Ari."
"Really? Okay, Aria what's that bandage on your hip?" Bradley turned and looked into the warm eyes of the girl in question. She was surprised he knew it was there.
He cocked a brow. "Gashes am I correct? Along with the yellowish brown blotches on your skin. Niall was the fist behind that and I bet the face behind her depression. He sure was the face behind my daughters nightmares that led to her killing herself."
"You abuse women? You abused Aria?"
"He's sick of a disorder--"
"So that's a yes." Harry summed, not waiting to hear Zayn finish.
"What the hell?! Why would you do that!?"
Niall looked to Louis. "I didn't kill her."
"What does that matter!? You probably encouraged it. And what about Aria," Louis nudged his chin towards her "She probably caused those gashes on herself because of you? What if she killed herself--"
"She didn't, she's fine--"
"But what if she wasn't? What if no one got to her in time and she took her own life?" Zayn interrupted "You claim you love her but it's you she's most scared of--"
"So when I suggested Niall was hurting her, I was right?" Harry asked in anger.
"You claim you love her but most of her scars came from you!"
"Stop!" Aria's scream silenced everyone then her head snapped up and she shot from her chair.
"Why are you yelling at Niall and blaming him like it was his fault?!"
"It is his--" Bradley turned to Aria as if she was crazy.
"No it's not. Helena made that choice herself and you ignored Zayn when he told you Niall has a disorder, its not his fault! He didn't make himself have that disorder and he couldn't fight against it with no one's help. He did what he did but its in the past and I'm fine! I'm sick of you yelling at Niall as if he's some monster! You did the same with Zachary! Niall's trying now to leave that part of him behind and none of you are making it better."
"Aria do you understand what he did? To you?--" Louis started.
"I do, what does that mean? He regrets it. He said he was sorry and he's trying to make things right. You can't learn half the story now then want to punish him for something he had no control over! He's practically your brother, all of you and you have nothing to give him but hostility?"
"Don't play that brother card. Niall abused you, he did the one thing our band is known not to do and you want us to give him pity?" Liam asked as all their faces rejected Aria's words.
None of them looked to ever being able to look pass this and that honestly hurt both Aria and Niall. It hurt Aria because he may have just lost his family due to someone else's sour revenge. Her eyebrows formed a line when suddenly her heart rate increased and a thin sheet of sweat covered her body, she thought that maybe she was going to throw up so she walked around her seat away from the table when her body turned immobile. Eyes followed her and Ian and Bradley's eyes narrowed. Slowly her body started to vibrate when a warm, bright red stream of blood streamed out one of her nostrils just when her legs gave out.
Screams of her name were heard before everything went black.
************
Till the next episode!?
Opinions on the Bradley playing Doll with Aria?
Thoughts on The Dinner Of Truth?
Oh God, what about Zachary's secret!
Who deserved a wrath more than the other? Niall more than Zachary? Or Zachary more than Niall?
Zaria? Yes?!
Aiall? Yes?!
Ya'll ain't ready for the next chapter!!
ENJOY!?