Feel free to point out any spelling, grammar, or spacing errors. I would really appreciate it and will fix them right away :)
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Ch31: Leave The Love Of My Life Behind
"Talk about your siblings."
"Nathan was my younger brother and he was my person. What I mean is I always felt like he was the only person that truly understood me. Then my dad died and he blamed me for his death. Alisson was the youngest and we got along when we were little, but as she got older she started hating me. I never understood why, but she had this rage inside her towards me. Then my dad died and she also blamed me which only made things worse."
"Do you blame yourself for your father's death?"
"It was my letter that caused his heart attack. My mother always blamed me."
"Is this why you hate your mother?"
"I hate my mother because she always found a way to ruin everything good I had."
"Explain what you mean by everything?"
"She ruined my childhood. She ruined what I had with Luis. She ruined the company. She ruined me..."
***
"I'm here to make a deal with you, " she answers. "A deal that could get you out of this place tonight."
What does Aria get by doing this?
I slowly walk towards the metal gray table and sit down.
I can see my reflection on the table and I mentally flinch at my appearance. My frizzy tangled hair has gotten longer causing my red roots to show and my unclean skin is a pale freckled mess. My left eye is so swollen that I'm unable to see anything with it and my jaw is a dark purple color with a green undertones. I have a vibrant red handprint around my neck and everything below that is full of bruises from the multiple kicks I received.
"Admiring your appearance I see," Aria sits in front of me. "I can make all of this stop Abrelle. All you have to do is make a deal with me."
I can make all of this stop.
Her words ring in my ears and I want to make the deal.
I want it all to stop.
To stop now.
"What kind of deal?" I ask looking up at her.
"You leave Elliot alone forever," she smirks pleased with the desperation in my voice "and I'll arrange everything so that you get out today guilt free."
"That's it," I say. "You simply want me to walk away from Elliot forever?"
"Yes," she nods. "I want you as far away from him as possible."
There has to be some kind of twist to this, right?
I love Elliot and walking away from him will be the hardest thing I'll ever do, but I'll do it if it means making this stop.
Making the excruciating pain of being treated like the jail's punching bag stop.
But there has to be something more to this.
"Why?" I ask. "I understand why your father wants me away from him, but why do you?"
"Because I detest you," she replies, her voice and face fill with bitterness. "I hated you since the moment I saw you and my brother together. Elliot's always been full of hate and rage towards everyone. I use to think he could change and become a kinder more loving person, but he never did. So I simply concluded that he was incapable of loving anyone, but when I saw him with you I realized he wasn't incapable of loving. He was just incapable of loving me."
I can't think of anything to say so I remain silent watching the loathing towards me in her eyes.
Elliot being incapable of love seems impossible to me. He's kind, loving, caring, and so many other amazing things that I can't imagine Elliot any other way.
Except maybe that one time I pushed him too far and he put his bad boy facade on, but even then I could see the kindness in his brown eyes.
"So," she regains her composure "are we making a deal? "
Am I really going to do this?
Throw away everything Elliot and Noah have done just to make myself feel better.
Throw away what Nathan did for me before he died just to make myself feel better.
Leave the love of my life behind just to make myself feel better?
Myself.
I'm not thinking of anyone, but myself.
I'm incredibly selfish.
I can't do that.
"No," I shake my head. "I'm not making this deal with you."
"Abrelle," she says through gritted teeth "you're not going to get a better offer than this. Make the deal."
"If I make the deal," I stand up "I don't have to get hit and tortured every single day."
"Exactly," she smiles. "You won't have to live through that anymore. "
"But," I begin walking towards the door I walked in from "I'd have to give up the love of my life and I think that'd be torture all on its own. I would be getting out of one painful torture just to walk into another excruciatingly more painful torture. I'm not doing that."
***
Day 177
"Show me the pictures," I demand looking straight into Elliot's eyes.
"No," he shakes his head "not until you tell me why Aria was here."
I haven't told him about the deal Aria wanted to make with me. I wasn't going to say anything about her coming, but somehow he found out on his own.
"She wanted me to make a deal with her," I say quickly hoping he doesn't understand me.
"What kind of deal?" He asks and I shake my head.
"It was a private conversation," I reply "I would like to keep it that way."
"Tell me," he pleads and I roll my eyes.
"Their is no point," I take a deep breath. "I didn't make the deal that's all that matters."
"I just want to know what she could possibly offer you," he insists.
I should just tell him, right?
He'll agree that I made the right choice.
"She offered to get me out of here that exact same day guilt free," I tell him looking down at my hands. "In exchange of leaving you alone so I said no."
I look up hoping to see him smiling or pleased with my decision, but he looks upset. As if the choice I made was wrong.
"You should have made the deal," he frowns and I look at him shocked.
"And stop seeing you," I gasp. "How could you ask me to give us up?"
"Look at yourself Abrelle," he exclaims through gritted teeth and I flinch. "You think me and you are worth what's happening to you everyday in here."
"I look hot," I try joking. "Maybe a little swollen, but that just helps me look edgy."
In reality I look worse than I did when I talked to Aria which is saying something. I have two stitches on the left upper part of my head above my enormous swollen left eye which I still can't open. My lip is busted open and below it my jaw is a swollen black and purple canvas. I continue to have a very visible red hand print around my neck and just like before I have thousands of bruises throughout the rest of my body from the multiple kicks I've received.
"Edgy?" He tries not to laughs.
"I'm not giving up on us," I state. "My trial is tomorrow and hopefully after that all of this will be over."
"It will all be over," he smiles. "I will make sure it's all over, I promise."
"Can I see the pictures?" I ask and Elliot hesitates before nodding and passing the envelope with the pictures through the opening.
I quickly take a hold of the envelope and look down at it.
This is it.
This is what's been haunting me for years.
This is what might answer the question I've been asking myself for so long.
Who killed Luis?
"You don't have to," Elliot says. "You can find out tomorrow at the trial."
"No," I open the envelope. "I want to find out now."
"Okay," he nods and I take out the first picture.
It's a photograph of the back of Luis' head as he walks towards his house. You can tell the picture was taken from either a window inside another building or on the roof of Luis' front door neighbor.
I pull out the next photograph and as soon as I see it I feel my entire body go cold.
I feel as though all the hits and kicks I've received from Bull are painless compared to what I'm feeling right now.
I'm okay.
I don't feel like yelling.
I don't feel like crying.
I don't feel anything.
I'm okay.
A/N : HEYYYY EVERYONE!! I hope you liked this chapter I know I loved writting it because Aria is kind of a big deal to the storyline. She's a really interesting character and I absolutely love her. I mean yeah she's kind of a jerk, but the reasons behind her actions (don't excuse anything of course) are actually really sweet.
Anyways, the big finale is coming up soon so be readyy for thatt lol
I'll update soon...
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Love, Pam