The deterioration of Bobby Townsend was the talk of the school when Aria arrived that morning. Apparently he'd caused a scene at a party which had sent alarm bells to some of the people, those alarm bells were echoing louder now. Bobby was walking around with his hoodie covering his face and his hands shoved in his pockets, seeming as if he doesn't belonged. Since Julie and Maya were keeping away Aria found Rebecca by her locker and signaled for them to meet in the library minutes before their separate classes. Rebecca looked concerned when she stepped around the corner of the female literature aisle but managed to shoot Aria a smile anyway.
"Have you seen how Bobby looked this morning? He's a ticking time bomb." Aria informed her silently.
"I know, I was at the party where he'd started yelling and screaming, his friends had to escort him out. I really think that one text had him spooked they had been caught, this will be the perfect time to steal his phone and look through it." Rebecca concluded.
"I say we take it for an hour tops so that he doesn't get suspicious, plus whatever we find on there we want the police to be able to use it. If they know we stole his phone that's all they'll focus on." Aria explained.
The two stared at each other with intense eyes and suddenly began giggling. All of the pain that had been caused because of these teenage boys was about to end soon. Aria was glad that she'd stuck to the plan instead of running to the police right away, who knows where the case would've landed had she done that. She was also glad to have gotten to know Rebecca, the person she'd previously been so jealous of without knowing her story.
"I don't know much about Bobby's schedule but I believe he has gym class after lunch, that'll be the perfect opportunity to steal it." Aria suggested.
Rebecca nodded but kept silent for a while. Her wheels were turning as she looked to device a plan how it would work.
"You should leave this to me. All I need you to do is keep a lookout while I take pictures of whatever he's got on his phone, text me if someone is coming. Can you do that?" Rebecca asked.
"Of course I can," Aria looked down at her watch that informed her it was time to go to class, "we have to go to class now."
As the two scattered in different directions Aria hoped that their plan would be working because whatever Bobby was freaking out about had to be more than the text message sent by them. It made Aria wonder how many more girls were suffering in silence and if those were the girls that Bobby was worried about.
When she joined the crowd each heading to their classes Aria spotted friend clique's walking together and laughing but she was missing her own clique. After this year there would be no more walking to class together or locking eyes with either of them during it, so if she didn't win them over now there was a chance they would miss out on the few occasions they had left.
In the far distance Aria spotted the people she longed for so desperately. They were talking intently but didn't look to be laughing much. With the little courage she had Aria stalked over to her friends in hopes that they had begun missing her enough to let her back in, but the second she became visible to them their faces turned sour.
"Hi you guys, are you ready for class?" Aria smiled.
Julie and Maya shared a nod that worried Aria, that meant they had been talking negatively about Aria without her knowledge. With Maya and Julie this type of drama had never been an issue and it saddened her that in their last year of high school they weren't as close as before - and it was all due to Aria and Rebecca's secret plan.
"Maybe we should just tell her--" Julie sighed to Maya.
"Not now, not right before class--" Maya protested but Julie shrugged.
"If not now, when?"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Aria burst out in a gasp.
Julie took a large step forward with her arms crossed over her chest in an authoritarian manor. Never before had Aria felt so excluded from her friends and so desperate to beg for a way back in. She had promised Rebecca not to talk about the plan but if it meant saving her friendship, wouldn't she understand? She held on to the secret like a last resort that she hoped she wouldn't have to use.
"We've decided to take a break from you for a while,"Julie announced while sticking her chin out, "you have been so distant lately and we're both feeling as if you're lying about the reason why. Until you can be honest with us, it's best you stay away."
The gut punch delivered by her now former friend knocked the air out of her lungs. Taking a break from her friends wasn't anything she wanted to do but standing in front of them, with their sour faces, it was obvious that she hadn't been given a choice. The last resort she had been holding on to was ready to be used but if so she'd face a betrayed Rebecca and the consequences of having broken her promise and jeopardized the plan.
Aria opened her mouth, ready to reveal it all, then she hesitated. She wondered if revealing the truth would make a difference right now. It wouldn't change how much time she'd spent with Rebecca and how they felt replaced by her - the explanation would pose as an excuse in their eyes. It may not be understood by other's but at least she had two people that knew what she felt like; Rebecca and Jane. She recalled when they had sat on the bleacher's and she'd told them they had the whole summer to make memories, now that was most likely gone.
With not much left to say Aria nodded to show she respected their decision and opened her mouth to speak, "I'm sorry that I've hurt both of you, I didn't mean to do it. Whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here." As she trembled on the last word she turned on her heel and walked to class alone.
She waited until she was seated, at the back, to let the warm tears fall on her long sleeved shirt. At least the tears clouded her vision when she saw Julie and Maya take their seats a few rows in front of her - not that it hurt any less.
---
Today had been far too eventful for her liking so when Aria arrived to take over the afternoon shift at the cafe she was happy to see the few customer's that were still in there. A mixture of emotions washed over her sporadically but eventually she landed on confusion. She was confused by her friends being so quick to discard her, or think that she'd ever discard them - then there was the confusion about Tom Landry. Yesterday's conversation had been very insightful for Aria but it had ended with more questions than she'd started with.
A lot of things would be different between us if you weren't in high school.
It was a text she could read over and over but still get no satisfaction. If high school was indeed their obstacle it'd soon be removed for them to explore their feelings - couldn't he wait for that? The underlying admission that Tom found it just as difficult to stay friends as she was did please her, though. They hadn't spoken since last night's conversation and she wasn't sure if he was going to visit her or not, but he'd never let her down before. Maybe today he would offer more clarity on exactly what would be different between them after her high school days were over.
Aria noticed how the hope she'd had lit for him previously was now sparking again. People said that hope was the last to leave a man but to Aria that didn't mean it was forever lost. As the last customer's exited the cafe Aria quickly tidied up, set up the closing sign and placed two coffee cups on the counter to prepare for Tom's arrival. To pass the time as she waited she took out her phone to scroll and tried to not peer up at the door too many times.
Eventually the cowbell rang loudly and Aria couldn't hide her smile any longer. Without locking her phone she put her phone underneath the counter and snapped her eyes up to meet Tom's handsome face - only that's not the face she was met with.
Instead a smirking Brody stood in front of her with red eyes and a darker tone around his cheeks. He didn't look as bad as Bobby did but he looked shaken, which must mean the paranoia had spread like wildfire among Bobby and his friends. Feeling rather threaten by his presence she reached for her phone as discreetly as she could and quickly pressed 'Record' on the Voice Memo - if he was going to threaten her, she was going to save it.
"We're closed--" she tried but Brody just chuckled.
"I won't be long then," he began, "I just wanted to make sure that you aren't the one putting a chip on Bobby's shoulder." Brody was calm in his tone.
"I'm not Bobby's friend and you know that, so why suspect me?" Aria knew exactly where she was leading him and she hoped he would follow.
Brody leaned in so Aria could smell his hot breath, she recoiled. The memory of having him so close to her caused her to tremble but she refused to cower completely. The last time his breath was on her skin like this he had tried to rape her. The feeling of fright made her wonder if Brody would try to do it again just to prove that he could, or if he was only going to torment her with his narrowed eyes that roamed all over her body.
"You're damn lucky, you know that," Brody began in a low yet threatening tone, "just because you escaped us doesn't mean we aren't in control of you. If you ever mention the word 'Brody' and 'rape' in the same sentence you'll get it worse than you did at that party. Is that understood?"
His words were as scary as his figure and paired with the memories she had of him it all became rather terrifying. Aria couldn't control her body's trembles and shakes as the only thing keeping her standing was the relief of having the recording to rely on for evidence. It was like she was back in that black dress with cuts and bruises all over her and Brody was the bad wolf that was trying to get her.
"Leave, now." Was the only thing that escaped Aria's lips and for once Brody obliged.
After his departure Aria quickly rushed her phone to the surface and pressed 'Stop' on the recording. She had managed to catch Brody on tape, mentioning himself and the word 'rape'. If this wasn't gold found underneath a rainbow she wasn't sure what was.