What Comes After A Fall

[Aria]

Continued from Some Monsters Are Human

Aria called Lucas, it was a short call, she'd sent him her coordinates, she hoped he would hurry, they could freeze out here. The snow had started falling again. Mya clung to Aria for support and warmth, the girls shook from the cold and the entire situation. Her emotions were everywhere, relief was paramount, but there was still fear, Aria couldn't blame the girl one bit. She'd been there for god knows how long. Aria almost inquired, but the wounds were still too fresh. There was going to be scars, physically and emotionally. Aria could only hope that this girl would recover.

Standing still did little for their health, but Mya didn't seem to want to go anywhere, didn't want to walk, or move, she wanted to huddle in silence and Aria let her, she wanted to walk to to move, to do anything to stay warm. The clothes were disgusting, the smell and feel against her skin made her skin crawl. She wanted out of them, into clean clothes, into a hot bath. That sounded luxurious.

Time passed, Aria wished it would fly but it was slow and painful and there was nothing to do but wait.

Headlights approached, Aria could feel two people inside, one careful, the other was a mass of emotions, picking one was hard. She could only hope it was Lucas, but the other person she had no idea what to expect. She hoped they would just drive by.

[Lucas]

The sound of the wheels rolling over the ice roads was drowned out by the cabbie's radio and his inane chatter. Lucas heard none of it. His mind felt fogged and he struggled to pierce it, to think clearly.

Instead random thoughts flitted in and out of focus, memories of his lonely childhood; of tattooing Aria; of trying to mug Valentin; of Martya and their scams; of his shop; of Aria; of the old man; of sitting on a bench by the river drawing; of the john's hands around his neck; of Aria; of the old man. Round and round like dead leaves in a dust-devil they swirled, never stopping.His emotions followed those snippets, from happiness to fear, from sorrow to pride, made stronger by the loosening the drink had given him.

And underneath it all was a general confusion. ""Tell my daughter I'm coming for her." Aria's father. He was coming for her. It didn't make sense. All he knew was that he had to talk to Aria. He needed to sleep too. Just rest, for a moment, to sleep, to find some sweet peace.

He hadn't realized that they had arrived until the cabbie raised his voice. With a start he saw that they were stopped. He opened the door and saw Aria and another girl. Aria looked so tiny in those clothes. He'd never seen her in something like that. They were a larger man's clothes. She moved towards as if in pain though he could see no injuries. He barely noticed the girl.

He just stood there for a moment, unable to speak, unable to move, staring at her. It was like this whole night was a dream. Finally, "Are you ok?"



Edited by Lucas, Nov 24 2014, 12:59 PM.

[Aria]

A cab pulled up next to them. Aria was surprised, she hadn't expected that. Lucas got out, he felt like a mess, he didn't look much better. He asked her if she was okay. She smiled. "Better now."
She could have called a cab, she felt horrible for interrupting whatever he'd been doing despite the fact he had said he was glad she called.

Everyone was having a hell of a day. She smiled up at Lucas. "Thanks for coming."
He smelled slightly of alcohol and that made Aria wonder, she'd not known him long, but she was fairly sure he didn't drink, she was pretty sure it had to do with his demons. Aria wondered what had happened to him, why his emotions were scattered. She put a calming hand on his his check and smiled. "Let's go home. We need to clean up. And you look exhausted too."


Lucas held the door open and Aria scooted inside, Mya followed her, nearly on her heels, she shied away from Lucas as she got in, she scrunched in as close to Aria before Lucas closed the door. He walked around and sat next to Aria. He felt warm next to her. Aria held his hand in both of hers and pushed herself against him. Mya was doing the same to her, not that she was much help with warmth, a regular pile of bodies for warmth. Except Mya was shaking with both fear and cold. She didn't want to be there anymore than she had the place. Aria put one hand on Mya's and tried to calm her down. "Lucas is a friend, he's not going to hurt you. I promise."


Aria gave the cab driver her address and he started driving them back the way he had come with Lucas. She looked up at Lucas. "I can tend to our wounds at my place. I'll need a little help. I don't think she wants to be near anyone right now. And I'm not exactly fond of hospitals myself."
If her injuries were too bad she could see the medic at probably wouldn't do that either.

They rode in near silence, everyone in their own thoughts. Aria squeeze Lucas hand. She started to recognize places, the silence was getting to her, everyone was a buzz with emotions and no one was talking the quiet didn't have to be so thick. She whispered to Lucas. "You okay?"


He didn't get much of a chance to answer before the cab driver stopped in front of the Delicate Scroll. Home, hopefully safely there, and out of the woods. Hopefully with easily tended wounds and hopefully Mya was agreeable to getting herself looked at.

Aria led Mya up the stairs to her apartment and unlocked the door. Once inside she reached for her sword, but remembered it wasn't there. She sighed and wondered when and if she'd ever get that back.

Aria started tending Mya's wounds, she hurt to move, her wrists ached and the more she moved the wounds opened up and started to seep again. But Mya first.

[Lucas]

Aria came over and touched his cheek. Her hand was freezing cold and she definitely looked worse for wear and he felt a little better. Still confused but reassured. He heard her speak but it was like his mind was running too slow and had to keep catching up. It made responding hard.

They all piled into the cab and Aria took his hands in hers, trying to get warm probably, and pushed herself against him. He smiled weakly at her and then looked out the window, trying to figure things out.

Aria leaned over to his ear and asked him if he was ok. He wasn't sure how to answer. He didn't want to in the car, with the girl and the cabbie there. He opened the door and helped Aria out. He tried to reach out to the girl and she flinched back. That was when he noticed the bruises and cuts on her face. He looked again at Aria and saw that she was in pain.

He narrowed his eyes as she helped the girl- Mya was it?- out. He had questions now, concerned, but he'd wait until they were inside. They walked to the door. The shop was closed but Aria unlocked the door and they went upstairs.

Once inside, the door locked, he finally could speak. Aria was helping the girl to her bed though clearly she also needed help. He was still a little foggy but he could focus now, had something to focus on.

Concern in his voice, he asked, "What happened to you? To her?"

[Aria]

No one with in immediate vicinity was doing well this night. Mya's pain and fear and paranoia were paramount. Lucas wasn't quite himself, not that she knew him that well, but he seemed much less happy, was really the only way to describe it. And she wanted to curl up and hid in the pain. To burrow into it and keep it close. Which she knew was not a good idea, she could feel the desires it invoked just at the edge of her emotions. It was there, looking for a way in, like a monster creeping before it tries to scare you.

Lucas asked what happened as she was lying Mya down. There was little Aria could do for Mya, her cuts were healing, the bruises would heal. She needed a doctor, and Aria didn't see anything to stitch up that didn't require reopening a wound that was already healing well on it's own. She sighed as she pulled up the covers over Mya and then opened the top drawer by her bed to get the first aid kit. Aria was grinning at the memory when she turned around. It was a good memory, though she was pretty sure it had given Lucas a different view of her.

Aria placed the first aid kit on the small table he'd drawn her tattoo at, "Long or short version?"


"Long."
Aria nodded.

"I went hunting, and found a little more than I could handle."
Aria went to the coffee table and picked up her journal. She filled to the page she'd recently written on rougarou. She sat it on the table with the page open. She looked up at Lucas. "This is what I was hunting. Or so I thought. Turned out the serial killer was just a man. A sick man who deserves..."
Aria pushed away the thoughts, now that she was safe and away, those thoughts were where the darkness was. She didn't want to go there, not even if the man deserved it. He was just a man, a monster, but he was human, not even a godling, just a man. Aria would not hurt another human. Aria took a deep breath and smiled at Lucas. "I was drawn in by her fear, her pain. I didn't know what I'd find. I was so caught up in her, that I didn't know he was there. He hit me over the head and took me into his little dungeon. If someone hadn't followed me. I still don't know why he did, but I'm glad he did. He saved her. Saved me, and said he'd never do it to anyone else again. At that point, I was pretty far gone. The pain and fear and the suffering that lingers in the room I was in was too much. I could see myself doing things I didn't want to do."


Aria started working on the minor cuts for Mya, and bandaged them up, she rested, slept through most of it. She looked over at Lucas. She wasn't exactly sure how he'd react to things, but she worked on Mya and listened to Lucas' feelings, not so much to know him, but so that she wouldn't fall into the darkness, into the pain and fear of her own self, of this girl and the actions she wished to take.

[Lucas]

Aria handed him the book and then when to the girl and started to work on her injuries. Lucas listened with half a mind while reading next to the picture of the...rougarou? He'd never heard of it. He saw the words "cannibal" and "rape" and looked up just as she mentioned getting captured.

His heart jolted with fear as she described how she had felt, of how she had nearly been..."Wait, wait. Stop. Hold on. Start over. Serial killer?"
He looked at the girl on the bed and saw the red hair. "You mean the butcher?"
he whispered. Revulsion and terror squirmed in his chest. He'd seen the news reports. And this guy had had Aria.

He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, the book forgotten in his hands. She had finished up with the girl and was just sitting there, the cuts on her wrists still untreated. He was confused but he got up and took her hand and led her to the couch and then the kit from her and proceeded to start on her hands as gently as he could. The action help him focus. "Why were you hunting this guy? Did you know one of the girls?"
He gestured with his head at the girl. "Did you know her?"



Edited by Lucas, Nov 25 2014, 01:36 PM.

[Aria]

Lucas lead her away from the bed, to the couch, she could feel everything he did, but the concern and the fear and everything amplified at the one innocent touch. It was like it was part of her. It had been a while since that had happened to her, the overwhelming power of other emotions at their touch. It was just too much after what she had gone through, what Mya had gone through and the other girls who had occupied those dungeon rooms. All dead save one. Aria fought the urge to pull free from Lucas' hands, to free herself from his emotions, from herself. She wanted to hide. But Lucas deserved an explanation, she wanted to tell him, she wanted to tell him everything, but that was not likely to happen, he'd never believe her, and she didn't want him to run away in fear either.

He asked a lot of questions, Aria wasn't exactly sure where to start as he cleaned the wounds on her wrists. They weren't that bad, her gloves had saved most of her skin, and she'd done worse to herself over the years. But never enough to actually die from them. The fine lines she'd cut into her skin were pretty much undetectable now, it'd been years since she'd last cut herself.

All the questions he asked boiled down pretty much to the same one. Why was she hunting the butcher? The answer wasn't so simple. She didn't look up at him, didn't want to see his reaction to her words, Aria watched as he dabbed gently at the cuts on her wrist. "I hunt monsters for a living. Not serial killers of the human variety. The ones you'd never think to believe, my journal has details of things I've hunted, of others I learned about. My superior was getting frustrated at my lack of reports, as my ultimate mission is something that requires a bit more research I'd not been hunting. So I found something that looked like it could use my help. The butcher's MO is similar to a rougarous, the girls being murdered though, not exactly fit, but sometimes they don't care. I followed his trail to his home. He was distinct in his emotions, it wasn't difficult. I got there. I felt him, and I knew he was human. I should have left. But I didn't. I felt her. I let my own darkness' take precedence over my own safety. I don't know the girls, don't know Mya. I was hunting a monster, but instead, I found a man who ate girls for dinner after he brutally raped and tortured them. I watched what he did on the screen in a room he put me in. I felt their pain, their horror. I felt the utter lack of hope, the desire to die. It took everything I have."
Aria looked up at Lucas, into his beautiful blue eyes. "Everything you showed me to come out of it. And I know I'll dream about it for months."


Aria stood up and smiled that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I think I need to clean up before you can actually look at the cut on the back of my head."
Aria grabbed a clean shirt and shorts from her drawer and pulled the shirt over her head as she walked to the bathroom. She turned on the water and let it get warm. Aria caught a glimpse of herself in her mirror and sighed. The butt of the gun left a bruise just at her rib cage, it was black and blue around it. She touched it lightly and knew she probably had a busted rib, probably the reason it hurt to move so much. The gun shot wound in her left shoulder and the half healed cauterized cut on her shoulder stared back at her took. More questions that would likely have to be answered. But this was her life. She glanced back to Lucas and wondered about life.

[Lucas]

Lucas listened, dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say. What she said seemed....unbelievable. And yet...and yet tonight, her....father had manipulated her emotions, played them like a person plays an instrument. He recognized it, remembered from the way Aria had demonstrated for him, showed him what she could do.

She had never done it with him, not after that first night. Her father had, though. No wonder he'd spiraled. He felt anger at the man, at his casual manipulation of his feeling, of his drinking again. Part of him wanted to focus on that. But the other part of him circled what Aria said warily, unsure of what to poke at, to focus on. She hunted monsters? A serial killer? Her darkness?

But the very last part- her looking into his eyes and speaking earnestly- gave him some hope. He had helped her. He'd done something at least. He smiled at that.

She got up when he was done and stripped down as she walked to the bathroom for a bath. Absently, he picked up her book and leafed through it, starting from the end and working his way back. He didn't really know what he was looking at. Drawings. Descriptions. Oni. Rakshasa. This was what she did. Hunted things like these.

He could hardly believe it. The universe had become crazy. It didn't make sense. He stopped seeing the words and drawings as he idly flipped the pages, trying to figure out what it all meant.

Before he knew it, he was at the front page. He was jolted to reality. There, scrawled across the top in what could only have been a child's hand were the words 'rougarou'. The letters were malformed and large. He read the entry. Cannibal was spelled 'canabal'. 'Rape' was spelled correctly though.

A profound sadness came over him. A child. She was a child when they'd started her in on this. She was a tool, nothing more. They had used her, deformed her, for their own reasons. He put the book down, awash with sadness.

The room was still, the only sounds being the occasional drips of water in the bathroom. He got up and walked to her partly ajar door. He knocked softly. Through the opening he said, "I am so sorry Aria."
He didn't know what else to say. The monstrosity of this crime against this innocent girl- and despite the fact that she was older than him be a few years, she really was a child in many ways- it just....he felt terrible.

[Aria]

Aria drew a bath, soaking her aches and pains would be good. The water was warm by the time if filled enough to actually get and do much of anything. She was small, the tub however was not, it was long enough for a six foot tall man to lie down in. The tub was her favorite thing in the whole apartment, it was why she rented it in the first place. Aria laid down in the water and wanted to drown in it's depths, but there were two draw backs. The first being the hardest part, the water wasn't full enough yet, the second was she didn't want to stop feeling what Lucas did while he processed the information she'd just told him.

By the time he came to the door Aria was trying to wash her hair to get the blood and gunk out from the blow to the head. She could feel the damage with her fingers. She would definitely need stitches. Aria wondered if Lucas could do it. She didn't want to go down to HQ, not right now. He apologized, for what? Aria frowned, he felt sorry for her. For what she was? what did did? Aria sighed. "You can come in. I'll need help to mend the wound at the back of my head anyway. You might as well help while I finish up."


Aria waited for Lucas to come in. She didn't bother covering up but she did pull her knees up to her body, it was almost reflex. She didn't look up at him as she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to find the start and stopping points of the wound. It still bled as she pulled at her hair, her fingers were spotted with red, she sighed again. "What are you sorry for? You didn't do anything."
She turned to look up at him as he watched her. "You are the reason I'm not as bad off as I could be. You shouldn't apologize for what is out of your control."
She tilted her head down and moved her hair so he could see the wound. "Do you think you could manage a stitch or two so I don't have to go to the medic?"
Aria turned so that her back was to the door where Lucas stood. "I know this is a lot to take in. I can't answer everything but I can try."

---

"Yeah,"
he said quietly. It didn't really register with him that she wore nothing. He knew, but wasn't in that place. He went and got the kit and after fumbling with it, got the stitches and came back. He'd never really done this before but it didn't seem like rocket science.

He cleaned the wound and then, grimacing- poking someone in the head with a needle was not something you do everyday- he said, "Here goes"
and started in.

She didn't even move. Again he was struck with how tough she was, the things she took in stride. After a few minutes, he was done. "You ok?"
His eyes ran over her back. She saw the scar on her shoulder. It was mostly healed. A cut on that arm, looking like it was burned, also partly healed. A massive black and blue patch on her ribs. He touched them tenderly. Her body wore the scars of her 'job'.

An animalistic rage filled him, rage at those who would do this to her, those who would throw her into this from childhood, at the unfairness of it all. She wouldn't understand. Her words had made it clear. But he grieved for her, for what might have been, for that lost little girl having to learn about the horror and knowing that she was going to have to face it. For her lonely, sad life.

He felt protective over her, something this girl should have known. Maybe it was because nobody had protected him either that this cut him so deeply. He just wanted to care for her. How, he didn't know. He sighed. "You ok?"

---

Lucas was nervous with doing the stitches, she held still, it wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last time she'd have done this, she's stitched herself up if she could have, but this just wasn't something she could do. Aria focused on the small pricks of pain and the feeling of the thread through the skin, it was an unusual sensation, but nothing that was new. She focused on that until Lucas was filled with anger.

She closed her eyes, anger was not one that pulled as strongly as fear and pain, but it was red hot behind her. His fingers deftly continuing their task. Touching her bruised side, made Aria writhe under his touch, and not for the normal reaction. His anger, the fear and the sadness stabbed her. It was almost like a jolt of electricity through her body. But through it all was his need to protect her.

Aria frowned "Sorry. Yes. I'm okay."
Aria turned her head to look back at Lucas, she knew he wasn't exactly done yet but she had to see his face, let him know she wasn't angry. "Please don't get angry. I can't keep your touch from overwhelming me like this."
She blushed softly and turned to look forward again. "And I don't want you to be afraid to touch me, you still have to finish."
It was a logical excuse, but Aria knew that it held more than that in it. The attraction to Lucas was always there.

Aria swallowed hard, she wanted to change the topic. "Are you okay? When you got to us you didn't feel like yourself."
She smiled. "Not happy like usual."

---

He frowned and tried to calm. He didn't want to hurt her or add to her burden. "Sorry.


Earlier...what to tell her. The truth, he supposed. "I met your father tonight. Or at least that's what he said. He could....do the same thing you could."
He could still feel the pain and despair from earlier. He should be ashamed for having drank, but he knew it had not been him. At least, not fully. He clung to that thought. It was something. Two years clean and sober. He had slipped but it hadn't been his fault. He needed to believe that.

"He made me feel things. Bad things. I slipped up. I don't know why he did that to me, played me like that. He told me to tell you he was coming for you."
He didn't understand what all of that meant. He didn't like it though.

Guilt still gnawed at him, now that he was thinking about it. Two years down the drain. Two years. He fought the thought but it was hard.

---

He what? Aria turned in flurry, thankfully Lucas wasn't trying to jab her as she turned to look him in the eye. Fury was a light word compared to what she felt. At the edges of the anger was guilt, but it was lost to the igniting fire inside that her father had touched Lucas, much less made him sink.

And then the guilt took over as he uttered five little words, "he was coming for you." Aria sank into the tub, to get away from everything. Giordano had used Lucas to get to her. The world was peaceful under the water, no one bombarded her with their emotions. But her's churned inside.

Her breath was giving out and she popped up, knowing it had to worry Lucas, she pulled the bubble around her. Her voice was quiet and distant, "I'm sorry my father came at you to get at me."
Aria pulled the plug to the tub, she had to get out, get dressed, do something other than sit and stew in her anger. Aria grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body, tucking it in so it wouldn't fall when she moved. "My father has tried to kill me in the past."
She frowned, "Incidentally, you helped me through that too. You took me to Mass afterwards. He shot me that day. I could have killed him."
Aria shook her head. "I should have killed him."
The fury was starting to rise again.

She knelt down next to Lucas. "I'm sorry my father did this to you because of me."
A tear slide down her cheek, she put her forehead against his. "I'm sorry he got you involved in my life more than you already are."
Aria vowed in her head, "I will kill him for this."

---

He was tired. Just so very tired. He stood up lifting her up as well. He pulled her to him, as much for himself as for her. Her own father trying to kill her. A job with people who treated her as if she were nothing. His heart broke for her. This woman deserved to be loved. He felt tenderly toward her, so small in his arms. He whispered, "Let's get some rest."
With his arm around her, he walked into the other room and then looked down at her. "It'll be ok Aria. Somehow."
He wasn't sure how.

---

Her first thought was "Yeah, once I kill the bastard," but she didn't voice it. He was worried about her though, her life was dangerous. And here he was getting dragged in because someone wanted to get at her. She looked up into his beautiful blue eyes, she smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She dropped the bubble that held the world at bay and put her head against his chest. "My life isn't going to get any less dangerous, and people, will likely want to hurt me again."
She looked up at him and smiled again. She knew that with godlings becoming more and more prevalent that there were going to be more and more action taken against those of her brethren, by more and more godlings that survive their actions. Aria hated it, hated killing them. Couldn't they see not everyone was bad. Nox wasn't bad, he was one of them, Michael had saved her, Jensen and Giovanni had helped kill a monster. The Atharim were choosing the wrong war to fight. "It's not going to get any easier to be my friend."

---

"Well I'm still your friend.
He felt more than that, really. What it was, he wasn't sure. This whole evening was confusing. He was an emotional wreck, really. He needed sleep. He gave her a hug- the towel was damp and she was cold- and he kissed her on the forehead, then let go. "Let's get some rest, ok? Get something warm on and get somes sleep."
He'd take the couch. Aria would probably take the bed with the sleeping girl. They still had to deal with her too.

But for no, for now, he was just tired. He couldn't think anymore.

---

Aria smiled and it helped, but sleep, yeah she didn't think that was going to happen. But he looked so tired. Aria didn't say anything. Aria got dressed quickly. Aria pulled an over-sized t-shirt and panties on and she could feel Lucas' eyes on her, she smiled as he admired but his emotions still were all over the place . She wasn't exactly sure how sleep was going to work. Mya was radiating her dreams, they weren't overpowering but still too much for Aria. And there just wasn't room with Lucas, which was sad.

Aria sighed and looked from the bed to Lucas and frowned. "I can't sleep near her. She's still afraid, her dreams while dim still are afraid."


He looked at the couch. "There's enough room I think."


Aria wasn't sure, he was emotional too. But of the two options, that was the best and sleeping on the floor was probably not a good idea with the bruised ribs. Aria nodded her assent. "I don't know how much sleep we'll get but we can try."


Aria wasn't shy, but this seemed like she should be, but she was tired and it wasn't the first time Lucas had spent the night. Aria grabbed an extra blanket from the closet then she sat down next to him and they laid down, his arms wrapped around her. Her heart raced, and just let herself be absorbed by him, there was nothing but him, and she drifted off to sleep, the only emotions registering were his, it was almost quiet.


Edited by Aria, Dec 1 2014, 02:34 PM.

[Aria]

Everything that she'd seen on the video had been less cruel than what Aria's mind came up with. Some of the items she'd remembered seeing used in possible ways. The darkness grew inside. The feelings of fear and loss of hope sank into her mind deeply. Everything was as if she'd gone through the horrible acts. She felt what Mya had felt, the fear and the pain, the worry and the guilt. The need for this man to just kill her. Everything played back in Aria's mind and she woke with a start. Her heart was racing, cuts in the palm of her hand from squeezing her hands so hard. The little half moons stung. Aria was covered in sweat.

The night was still well into it's darkness, it couldn't have been more than an hour since she went to sleep, despite focusing on Lucas Mya's dreams invaded Aria's. She sat up and rubbed Lucas' arm, "Sleep."
She didn't move, didn't get up, just sat up his arm still around her. Though lying down now would prove to be difficult as he curled up around her. Aria smiled, he needed his sleep. He had a rough day too. Aria sat thinking trying to push Mya away.

Aria unfurled from Lucas arms and went into the bathroom shutting the door behind her and took another shower, the filth from that place felt like it was all over her again. The heat seared her skin. She felt almost exactly as she had the day after she had lost her virginity to Dane. The same feeling of self-worth, of hatred. Of loss.

There wasn't much Aria could do for Mya, but Aria would try, however hard it might be but Aria knew one thing was for certain, she couldn't do any of it alone. She smiled at the thought of Lucas. He'd helped her, he didn't have to, but he did. He pulled her through the encounter with her father, even though he hadn't know it at the time. He pulled her through this, without even having to really do anything. She believed him when he told her that she was doing this. It was a hard concept to grasp.

Lucas had his AA meetings, he found his faith in God and he stuck to it. Mass had been one thing. But she knew there was more to it than that. Being Catholic meant many things to her, it was part of her heart and soul. Despite the contradictions in Atharim teachings, Father Dimitri had instilled in her both faiths. She doubted he had the foresight to know she'd need one to beat the other, but maybe he had. Maybe he knew more than she understood. Forgiveness was something God the Father gave us without hesitation as long as we asked for it. Aria had done some horrible things since coming to Moscow. She'd learned things about herself that she could never have lived with. Killing Scott, her first real friend, would have set her soul on fire. It was probably the reason Father Dimitri had lied to her all those years ago. He knew her better than she knew herself.

The fact that she was referring to him as Scott and not the boy who'd left or died meant a great deal to Aria. She'd forgiven herself for the mistake she'd made. It was time to forgive Father Dimitri for his lies and his betrayal. It was time to have God forgive her. It would not make things right, her soul still needed to be cleansed of the things she had done, the things she wanted to do. Aria knew she'd be making these confessions again. Knew that her soul was dark but with the light of her God, and Lucas to guide her maybe she'd find a way out of the hole she'd dug herself into.

Aria wasn't sure how long she was in the shower, it didn't really matter, it hadn't cleaned what was really wrong with her. The clothes she'd been wearing before were clean, she hadn't slept long in them, she pulled them back on and opened the door. Aria heard the front door close. No one was inside except Lucas, Aria looked to her bed and found Mya gone. Aria sighed, so much for helping her. Aria didn't see anything missing other than the clothes she'd given Mya to wear. The disgusting flannel jacket was missing, Aria wondered why she'd taken it instead of Aria's coat, or Lucas' for that matter. But it didn't matter, not really. Mya hadn't wanted her help, or anyone's now it seemed. Such was life. Aria prayed the girl would find someplace safe and away from monsters like the man who had taken her.

Aria turned to see that the door opening had woken Lucas too. She smiled at his sleepy yawn.

"Mya left. The bed is free if you still want some sleep."



Edited by Aria, Dec 2 2014, 05:41 AM.