THIRD PERSON POV
Money has too big of an influence on this world, which was exactly how Leo was able to keep Aria from staying at the hospital for any evaluations. The doctor that checked on Aria was actually part of one of the families under the Moretti's, and once he saw Aria calm after waking up and seeing Leo, he cleared her safe to return home. The small donation Leo offered the man also helped their case, but Aria's parents didn't need to know about that part.
Aria didn't know what was going on, especially under all the sedatives she was under, and slept the whole way home and well into the next day. When she awoke on Sunday, she was confused, hungry, and welcomed with a pounding headache. All she really remembered was arriving at the party, seeing Leo in a room, seeing Elena laying on the ground, and waking up in the hospital. She had no idea how she arrived home though.
Leo entered the bedroom with a tray filled with breakfast for the two of them; he figured that this was the best way to approach the conversation they would be having about what happened. She gave a small smile, but it quickly disappeared once she saw the faint bruise on Leo's right cheek.
Her lip trembled as she thought about what her actions did to others. "Baby, why are you crying?" He asked her, setting the tray on the bedside table as he moved to comfort her on the bed.
She reached her hand up to trace the bruise, "I hurt you, Leo. I hit you."
He shook his head, taking her hands into his. "Sweetheart, you didn't know it was me. I don't blame you for anything and you shouldn't blame yourself either. The mix of alcohol and drugs-"
"Drugs?" She gasped, not believing that she at some point in the party took drugs.
"No, it wasn't like that. You were drugged, probably from one of the drinks you had, but it caused you to react the way you did last night," he assured her.
"Well, I'm still sorry. I wish things didn't have to be this way," she closed her eyes as he kissed the back of her hands.
"You are going through the struggles you are right now because that is what you are meant to go through to become a stronger person. We aren't given struggles that we can't handle and I promise you, you will get through this no matter how long it takes," he reassured her, and she couldn't thank him enough for telling her exactly what she needed to hear.
"I wish we didn't go to the party," she frowned. If he said anymore encouraging words to her, she was afraid she would break down crying yet again.
"Somethings are just meant to happen Aria. We can't go back and change anything now. All we can do is find a way to move on."
"You're right. Is Elena okay?" she asked, worrying for her best friend.
"She's gonna be alright. She has a few bruised ribs, a broken leg, and a sprained wrist, but she'll recover. She was worried about you," Leo told her, brushing a hair out of her face.
Aria gasped, "She's the one that was pushed off the balcony and is currently in the hospital, but she's worried about me?"
He nodded, "They're all worried about you."
"They probably think I'm insane. For God's sake, I beat Justin thinking he was-" she stopped herself from finishing her sentence. She looked away from Leo's gaze. It seemed like suddenly her mind was remembering more than she did before.
He furrowed his brows, wanting to know who she saw that caused her to beat Justin up so violently. "Who did you see?"
She sighed, "I saw Dimitri."
Leo's blood went cold as she muttered the name. The bastard was torturing his beloved even while he's a pile of ashes thrown somewhere.
"Aria, he can't get to you anymore, he's ..." he hesitated for a moment, not wanting to say the word in case it triggered something again.
"You can say it, Leo. He's dead. I killed him. There's no sugar coating anything anymore," she shrugged.
"Why are you saying it so ...?" he tried to think of the word.
"Honestly?"
"Causally," he found the word he was looking for.
"Maybe because I'm hoping that if I start accepting it, I can start moving on. I could stop seeing the flashbacks, I could have less frequent nightmares, and I could stop beating people up," she shrugged again, but her voice still cracked from emotions.
He still looked at her in shock, which only grew when she spoke her next words. "My name is Aria Moon, I killed Dimitri whatever his last name is. Now everyone I love is in danger from a rival gang because of my actions, and you declared war on them."
"How- what-?" he couldn't even think of the right words to use because she knew about the war. Somehow, the one thing he was trying to keep from her was being broadcasted from her lips.
"They sedated me, doesn't mean I didn't hear everything that was happening in my hospital room," she said sarcastically. "It also means that my dad might be on their side, which honestly my mind can't process right now because I don't even know what that means."
"It means you won't be going to your house anytime soon, nor will you be seeing your dad either, no matter how much you want to. I need to keep you safe and I can't guarantee that with him anymore," he slightly growled, which just caused her to sigh.
"Do you really think he could have something to do with this? That he could want to ... hurt us?" She asked timidly, not really wanting to answer the question.
"I don't really know," he answered honestly, and for her sake, he hoped her father wasn't involved, but somewhere deep in his gut he had a bad feeling.
Leo looked down at his lap, "I'm sorry I kept the whole war thing from you. I just didn't want to throw this on you with everything else going on."
"Leo, do you think I'm weak?"
His head whipped up, "Of course not, you're one of the strongest people I know."
She wrapped her arms around his neck, "Then stop hiding things from me as if I'm not."
"I swear to you, I won't keep anything from you moving forward," he promised and she nodded.
"Okay, so then on Thursday night I'll be joining you," she smiled.
"How did you know what I do on Thursdays?" He asked, his eyes wide again.
She smiled and patted his cheek, "Because I'm fucking crazy, now let's eat." She also wasn't stupid and she knew that him not coming home on Thursdays until past midnight was for something important. As soon as she heard about the war thing, she put two and two together.
While they ate something kept eating away at Aria. "Leo, I really want to thank you for respecting my decisions and for not letting them take me away ... again."
"Sweetheart, I told you that from now on the steps you want to take are the ones we will follow. You told me you didn't want to go, so I didn't let you. No one will ever take you away from me," he spoke and she knew that every single word he said was nothing but the truth.
"I bet this isn't what you thought you'd get when you first started dating me," she smiled, but it still scared her to think that she was becoming a burden to him. Maybe he didn't want to deal with her shit any longer.
"No, but it's a wonderful bonus. As long as you're with me Aria, there's nothing we can't handle," he smiled, and she leaned in to press a kiss on his lips.
"I really love you, Leo," she murmured against his lips.
He grinned, "And I really love you, sweetheart."
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While Leo and Aria laid in bed, she decided to call Claire knowing that Justin would most likely be with her. She apologized to Justin repeatedly, but he simply shrugged it off, laughing about the fact that she had a wicked punch. Claire did request to use the yacht to compensate for the bruises left on Justin's 'beautiful face', and after much convincing from Aria, Leo reluctantly agreed.
Afterward, they called Elena, who was thrilled to hear from Aria. She didn't remember much from that night other than being on the balcony and then feeling something push her over. Her voice held traces of fear and it pained Aria to think that this was her fault. The harm that was done to Elena was her fault, she brought this shit into their lives just by being friends with her.
The two put on a movie, but Aria's mind was far from paying attention to the movie. She was confused about what war meant. Were people going to die? Was it her fault they were going to war in the first place? Why did Leo even decide to do it? She didn't know anything and it made her even more nervous to think she was severely unprepared for what could happen.
"Leo, what does going to war even mean?" She asked him, and he knew she was curious. It was just a matter of time until she asked him the questions that he wasn't sure he knew the answers to either.
"It means getting rid of them so we can live our lives in peace," he tried to keep it short and simple, but he should've known she wouldn't accept that answer.
"At what cost?" she asked him, frowning at his answer. "We get to live our lives in peace, but at what cost? Destroying the lives of innocent people?"
"They're not innocent, they're the enemy," he stated, not liking that she was starting to sound like she was on the enemy's side.
"Wouldn't that mean that in their eyes we're the enemy as well. That would mean they don't view us as innocent, especially me."
"We're not innocent. No one is," he narrowed his eyes.
She shook her head, "There are innocent people out there."
"Sweetheart, people live in favor of the things that will benefit them the most. If sacrificing a few lives is what it takes for me to enjoy my life with you, then so be it," he growled, and she rolled her eyes knowing she upset him.
"Calm down, I'm not trying to fight. I'm just making sure that you've thought out every possible scenario," she tried to soothe him, but he didn't seem in the mood. "I'm just not okay with the idea of people dying to benefit me."
"Aria, you do realize that they want you dead for their own benefit, right?" he asked her as if she was forgetting a crucial missing piece in all of this.
Her mood dampened when he brought that point up, "Oh, right."
He sighed, pulling her into his arms. "Don't think about any of that Aria. No one in my line of work is innocent, that is why it makes this situation so much easier to live with. We're not fighting good guys at all, these people are murders, thieves, traffickers; every person in this type of life knows that they signed up for a life where they might not make it to live very long-"
"Including you?" she asked, pushing him away from her. She didn't like the idea of losing him ever, let alone anytime soon, but he seemed like he accepted it.
"I did, but now I have something to fight for Aria. I have you in my life and I promise you, I will do everything in my power to come back to you every day," he whispered, but she heard every word. She threw herself into his arms, holding him and he knew she feared losing him, just as much as he feared losing her.
"I don't want to lose you," she whispered while she held him.
"I know," he held her tightly, but he knew he couldn't promise that he would come out of this alive. His goal no matter what was to keep her alive and give her a life where she didn't have a target on her back. He had taken so much from her already: her sanity, her freedom, but he was not going to take away her life.
She was going to stay alive regardless of whether he did or not, but they both really hoped that they both would come out of this alive.
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It was quiet the next week like everything was beginning to simmer down. Aria continued seeing her therapist and was given pills for her anxiety that she hoped she wouldn't have to take very often. She really hoped that life was finally beginning to calm down, but she knew that wasn't possible as long as the looming threat of the war hung over her shoulders.
And she knew it to be even more true when she arrived home from school on Wednesday to see Leo, Damon, Steven, Damon's father and a couple of other men sitting in their living room. She immediately knew something was wrong.
"Leo? What's going on?" she hesitated to ask. Instead of answering, he just patted the seat next to him, a deep frown etched onto his face. She sat down, noticing everyone else seemed to look uncomfortable and she had no idea why.
"Aria, we received something in the mail today that we all thought you should be aware of," Damon spoke up, which confused her even more. Usually, Leo would take the lead on these types of things, but instead, he sat quietly next to her, his head buried in his hands.
She took a deep breath to calm herself and took the folder that Damon handed her, into her hands. She opened it and her eyes flew open at the contents.
The pictures were from Vegas. A couple showed her on her knees sucking Leo off, and as she flipped through more of them, she saw some with her head thrown back on his shoulder while he finished her off on the couch. There were also some from when they were in the bedroom, with Leo's head buried in between her thighs.
She closed the folder quickly, her throat dry and her face redder than a cherry. She felt humiliated, to say the least. Intimate moments of her and Leo were now captured on film and she had no doubt that everyone in the room had seen them too, including Leo's father.
"Oh my God, I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered, throwing her head into her hands. She wanted to cry, she wanted to be anywhere but there. Who was sick enough to watch them be intimate and take pictures of it?
That meant they were being watched, even all the way in Vegas someone was following them. Her eyes widened as she thought about one of the other pictures she saw in the folder, the background wasn't the hotel in Vegas, it was different.
She opened the folder back up, looking through the pictures, she found the one she was thinking about.
"Clearly you guys were being watched in Vegas-" Damon began, but Aria cut him off.
"We're being watched here too," she spoke up.
"How do you know?" Steven asked, and Leo lifted his head to see what she was talking about.
She lifted up the picture she was thinking about. Her hand covered their naked bodies, but it was still easy to see that Aria's body was on top of Leo's and they both knew exactly what they tried that day after the mall. Most of the men looked away from the picture, including Damon, and his father.
"This is our bedroom upstairs," she spoke, her voice wavering considering the possibility that they had been watched the whole time they were living here.
Leo took the picture out of her hands, as she rushed up the stairs and he followed her. She saw that the bedroom windows had a direct view of another building, and when they stared at it, they saw a figure move away from the window.
"Oh my God, that's where they've been," she screamed. She hit the glass with her hands and screamed, "Fuck you, you perverted asshole!"
Leo closed the blinds, calling Charles to get a hit on who stayed in that room across from them. Aria went back downstairs, feeling petrified. Leo soon followed.
"I have men checking that room now, the room was reserved under the name Dima Petrov. Charles is running a background check, but it could be possible he used a fake name," Leo spoke authoritatively.
Was it possible that the blonde boy she saw in Brooklyn when she ran away was also the same man who was at the party the other night and also the one watching them?
"Leo, I know you don't believe me, but I think that might be the same person that I saw in Brooklyn and at the party. He had to have been the one that pushed Elena," she gasped. It could've been a stretch, but she knew he had to have been working with the Russians.
Leo thought about it for a second, "What do you remember about him?"
She thought back to seeing him for the first time, "That day when I ran away and even at the party, he had unnatural blue eyes. They were so dull like they didn't look right. Back then his hair was blonde, but at the party, it was dark like yours. Almost as if he was trying to look like you."
"Why would they take pictures of you both in those ... compromising positions?" Steven asked, confused about what the angle for that was.
Aria thought about it, "Usually when someone releases someone else's nudes, it's to expose the person who sent them because they cheated or helped someone else cheat, or they just release them to be an asshole. Given that, why would they try to expose Leo and me?"
"Did anyone else try to steal your affections Aria?" Dominic, Damon's father asked.
Leo shook his head, "No one tried to get at her, I made sure of it."
She narrowed her eyes at him, thinking that could be a conversation for another time. "No, but I did steal someone's life."
Leo's eyes widened, "Someone's exposing us because we stole the person they loved from them."
"This isn't just business, this is personal. Dimitri's lover is trying to get back at us," Aria gasped as she realized everything. It all started making sense.
"That's why they're so keen on trying to split us up because they lost the person they loved. They're trying to kill one of us so the other will feel the pain of losing the person they love," Leo concluded, and even though this was a scary realization, he was proud that Aria and he cracked the code.
"Holy shit, that means that whoever this person is, is out for real vengeance," Aria shuttered at the thought.
"Were there any girls that hung around Dimitri often?" Damon asked, also shocked at the idea.
"Not that I can think of, only the occasional whor-" Steven began saying but stopped when Aria's eyes narrowed at his choice of words. "I mean the occasional girl on his arm, but there was never the same one twice."
"Maybe it wasn't a girl," Leo suggested, and the other men in the room looked at Leo as if he said the most idiotic thing possible.
"Are you suggesting that the Mafia don of the Russian Mafia was ... gay?" a man that Aria did not know spoke quietly.
"Yes," Leo nodded, not affected by the shocked looks on their face.
"People can be gay and still be in the Mafia," Aria spoke up, confused as to why they thought this was such a crazy idea.
Before anyone else could say anything else, Leo's phone rang. He answered it, and soon was off the phone, a look of frustration on his face. "Well, they couldn't find anything in the room except for a couple more pictures of us."
"Are they planning on releasing them?" Aria questioned, unsure of what the plan with the pictures was.
"The note said we had until Friday to call off the war or they would release the pictures," Leo spoke up. "So then I'll just call off the war."
Aria shook her head, "No."
He narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean no?'
"I mean, we're not going to let some upset ex-lover threaten us," she tried to sound strong, but the more she thought about the point she was trying to make, the less sense it made.
"Aria they've already threatened us. They want to release pictures of us; we are naked in those pictures, my dick is in your mouth in some of them!" He shouted, throwing his hands up in the air.
She blushed at his words, embarrassed that he brought up what was on the pictures again in front of all these men. "I know what's on the pictures, and I also know that I'm sick of letting these people control my life. If they're planning on releasing the pictures, then fine, but we're not calling off anything. And you know what, I'll even release them myself. Take the power away from them by embracing my sexuality and taking back the control."
"But-"
"No buts, the only person this really affects is me. You're a man, they'll congratulate you, call you the man, but for me? They'll call me a whore, a slut. So if these pictures make me a slut or a whore, so be it. I had a good time in all of those moments, and I'd rather be called a whore for enjoying myself than a coward for backing down because of some threats. They want to release them? Fine. But not before I do it myself," she smirked, knowing she could take control of the situation again.
"Sweetheart, this could ruin our credibility. This would remain out there forever, and not to mention, my kill list would grow as I ended every single person who dared utter that you were a whore," he tried to reason, but he knew she made up her mind.
"I have nothing more to lose Leo. I'm a crazy, mentally unstable eighteen-year-old girl who might as well have a sex tape released because that's how graphic these pictures are. No one trusts me anyways," she frowned, but quickly changed it into a smirk.
"Leonardo, she does have a point about taking the release of the pictures back into her hands," Steven spoke up, not enjoying the situation they were in, but proud that Aria was thinking logically.
"Well we should probably inform our families and friends first," Leo sighed, knowing he was defeated. Aria's mood dropped at this.
"Wait what?" she spoke, fear entering her.
"You should tell your parents about what's going to come out Aria," Leo tried to make it sound logical, but he knew she didn't want to tell her parents about what was going to come out. Hell, he himself didn't want to tell them either. They hated him.
"Can we block them from the internet forever?" she asked in a panic.
Damon shook his head, "Unfortunately not."
She threw her head into her hands, "They're going to kill me."
"No they won't," Leo reassured.
"You're right, they're going to kill you," she rebutted, and Steven laughed at this. Aria and Leo threw him a glare at that, and he covered the laugh with a cough.
"The pictures aren't that bad, and they look slightly blurry so you can't see anything in high def. Plus your body looks amazing in them," Leo pointed out, now slightly distracted as he looked at the pictures. "No seriously."
She looked at him deadpanned, "Thank you, Leo. Now everyone will have the chance to admire my body just like you are now."
His eyes shot up, jealousy laced in them. "We're not releasing them."
"Why not now?" Damon asked, confused by his change of mind.
"I'm not going to have some creepy fucks admiring her body, we're not releasing them. They're not going to either. We'll think of something else," he spoke with anger, closing the folder and throwing it onto the table.
"What did you think was going to happen if we released them?" she asked him.
"I don't know, but I'd rather not think about it or I swear to God I'll find this little bullshit lover and end their fucking life," he seethed, and she moved closer to him, placing a hand on his arm to calm him down.
"This might be a crazy idea, but what if we released the pictures, but just edit someone else's faces onto them. That way if the real ones did come out, you could claim that some psycho just edited the pictures with your faces on them?" Steven suggested.
"That actually might work," Leo spoke up and Aria agreed. The plan was insane, but it could work.
"Charles could do it for us, make it look like the new faces are authentic," Steven finished up, and Leo nodded.
"We could use Damon's face," Leo joked, trying to make light of the situation. Aria laughed, but Damon looked far from amused.
"Ha ha," he laughed dryly.
Everyone started talking amongst themselves while Steven called the man named Charles. At this point, too many men under Leo had seen her naked body, but there were worse things happening in the world. Leo pulled her into his arms.
"I'm sorry this happened," he spoke quietly, so no one would hear.
"It's not your fault, we didn't know," she shrugged, because it really wasn't either of their faults. At least they knew now to start closing the blinds.
"I'm keeping the pictures though, they are a work of art," he smirked, and she rolled her eyes, but a red hue spread across her cheeks.
She scoffed, "Spare me the details of what you plan on doing with the pictures in your spare time, please."
He shrugged and leaned in closer to whisper in her ear, "It's not my fault I get turned on seeing the pure looks of euphoria on our faces whether you're sucking me off or I'm eating you out. My favorite though is the picture where you felt my cock directly on your wet cunt. Even the picture doesn't do enough justice to how beautiful that moment was."
She looked at him in shock, "Our reputations are resting on this plan falling into place, and you're getting horny about the photos. Leo, what the hell?"
"We're all stressed, but I know a way to help you destress; it involves your pussy and my mouth," he grinned, and she hated to admit it, but his offer did sound welcoming.
"Tell everyone to leave," she spoke quietly, taking her leave up the stairs and into the bedroom.
He soon joined her, keeping up his promise by helping her destress multiple times that night, and noticing he was stressed as well, she returned the favor. Of course with the blinds closed.
They would deal with the problems in their lives tomorrow, but for tonight, they just needed each other.
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It was a long day and I'm tired, but I persisted and posted a chapter today (even though I'm sure there are multiple grammar mistakes). To make up for yesterday, I decided I'm going to try and post three tomorrow so hopefully, I stick to that! I hope you all enjoyed, let me know what you think, and don't forget to vote. Love you all and see you in the next one!