Niall's P.O.V.

Aria came home with a tear stained face, sobbing loudly. She pushed past me and barely made it to the stairs before collapsing on her knees, nearly banging her head against the tile floor. I was shocked and overwhelmed to her her like this. What could have possibly been so bad about Corryn and Harry’s fight to make her cry?

I watched Aria carefully, wondering whether it was safe to approach her. I knelt down on my knees and wrapped my arms around her weak body hesitantly. She sobbed against me, bending over to cry harder. What was going on? What happened?

I was taken aback when Aria suddenly got up and pushed me away, dragging herself up the stairs, trying to look strong. But her shoulders sagged and she still cried, so she didn’t seem very strong at all. I watched her from the bottom of the stairs as she turned and went to our bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

I took a deep breath and stood there, worried and confused. I called Corryn in attempt to find out what happened, but she didn’t answer. I frowned and put my phone away. Maybe they got into a fight?

Hlaf an hour later when I figured Aria would have cooled down, I went upstairs and opened over bedroom door. The bathroom lightly was on, so I walked over the tried to ope nthe door. It was locked.

“Aria, open the door.” I said softly, knocking on the door.

“Leave me the hell alone.” she shot back, making me frown. I listened closely and right afterward, I heard her hiss in pain. I knew exactly what she was doing on the other side of this door.

“Aria, stop hurting yourself.” I begged, knowing I was right. “Please don’t do this. Open the door and we can talk about it.”

“I have nothing to say to you.” she yelled, partly out of anger, partly in pain, for she hissed louder. I winced at the sound, gripping on the doorknob.

“I swear to God, Aria. Open the door or I will knock it down.”

“If you kick it, then you kick me, too.” she said, her breath a bit shaky. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, but that was very hard considering my wife was cutting herself on the other side of the door and I couldn’t do anything about it.

“Aria,” My voice cracked as I said her name. “Please, please, don’t cut yourself. Put the razor down, princess. Just let me in.”

Something must have worked this time because I heard her shuffle from the door and the door unlock. I turned the doorknob and stepped into the bathroom. Aria was running her wrist under the sink, her body shivering as she cried. I shook my head and ran my hands through my hair, wondering why she was doing this to herself.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” she spat, as if reading my thoughts. “Just leave me alone.”

“You do want to talk about it.” I argued softly. “Or else you wouldn’t have opened that door.”

I stood behind her and placed my hands on her shoulders, turning her around to face me. She looked down at her feet, biting her trembling lip. I tilted her chin up with one hand and caressed her cheek with the other, trying to get to her in a moment of silence. Aria didn’t say anything, but I knew she wanted to. I could see it in her eyes, she was begging to say something.

“Talk to me.” I whispered, signalling her breakdown.

She told me everything, how she went over the Corryn’s and the door was unlocked, to finding Corryn unconscious on the bathroom floor. At one point, she had to sit on the toilet seat because she was so weak. She spilled out the whole story, about how Harry had accused everything of being her fault, and how he was right (even though he really wasn’t.) Aria showed me a picture she had taken o the message on the mirror, insisting that it was her fault for wanting to find Candace. That if we hadn’t gone looking for her, this wouldn’t have happened to Corryn.

I knelt on the ground in front of the toilet seat and slipped my arms around Aria’s waist, letting her fall against me. She was so soaked up in her own guilt and pain that she didn’t even realize that if anything, this was my fault, too. I had gone with her to find Candace. I had, at time, convinced Aria to find Candace. Aria thought she was the only bad guy in all of this, and she most definitely wasn’t.

“They don’t deserve this.” Aria cried into my chest. “I ruined everything for them.”

“What do you mean, princess?”

“Corryn might be fine, but their baby…” she paused, before crying even harder. “I was at the hospital with Harry. They couldn’t save the baby. I killed it. I killed their baby and Harry hates my guts.”

I felt my body tense at the information. God, Harry was so excited to be a dad. He had ranted about it to me countless times, looking forward to having a daughter of his own. He even asked for advice on the first few months of parenting, when he wasn’t even a parent yet. I understood Aria’s guilt now. I understood the heavy hearted feeling it gave her.

But that still didn’t mean it was all her fault.

“I’m a terrible person.” Aria sobbed. “I’m such a terrible person.”

“You are not.” I argued, pulling away to look at her correctly. I wiped the tears from her tear stained face and cupped my hands around her cheeks until she obliged and looked back at me.

“It makes me feel so bad.” she admitted in a soft whisper. “I have two kids. I have a healthy growing baby in my stomach. I have a great marriage, I have a husband and a family. They haven’t even gotten to have their wedding. They lost their first baby of eight months. She was so far in her pregnancy and she lost the baby that quick. The wedding will be postponed for sure, after months of planning. They’ve lost everything, everything that I have. They didn’t even do anything wrong. So why do I still have everything? I’m the one who should feel their pain.”

I shook my head quickly. “No.” I told Aria sternly. “You think you haven’t lost anything, but you have. You’ve lost trust. You’ve lost that carefree sense. You’re always stressed, constantly double checking your surroundings. You cry almost every night because you’re so worried. You’re not the same as you were. You’ve lost part of yourself, and that’s the worst thing to lose.”

Aria didn’t say anything back. She just grabbed my shirt and cried again, the spots of blood from her wrists staining my shirt. I let her cry into my shoulder, holding her tighter than I ever had before. I felt her pain. I felt her guilt, and her sorrow.

It scared me that she resorted to hurting herself because of this. I frightened myself thinking about worse circumstances, wincing at the thought of her trying to kill herself if something worse had happened. Aria had a big heart, and a very soft one too. She would never forgive herself for this. She would drown herself in her guilt until she suffered from it, and believed suicide was the only option. She would fall in too deep. She would believe every hurtful word sent towards her. She already was.

Aria would imagine herself being in Corryn’s position and wished it was true. She’d wish that her best friend still had everything, and that she didn’t. Aria would torture herself, convince herself she was a terrible, worthless person until no one’s encouraging words could bring her back to the reality. That she wasn’t a bad person. That she was just as much of a victim as Harry and Corryn were. She would push me away, push everyone away. It would happen if this didn’t stop soon.

And I was terrified.

I could feel her slipping out of my hold. I had a feeling that even now, my words meant nothing to her. She was already drowned in the false thought that she was the real criminal. No matter how hard I tried to hang on to her, something happened that pulled her straight away from me. She would became a disastrous person. Her mind would cloud over all her good thoughts. She would become depressed. She would refuse to open up to anyone, even me. I felt it now.

I felt her slipping away.

---

I yawned and stretched out to pull Aria closer to me, craving the smell of her vanilla scented shampoo that always seemed to linger in her hair. I reach out, eyes still shut only to realize that her side of the bed was cold and empty.

Aria was gone.

I remembered holding her tightly in bed the night before, so how could she have managed to slip out without waking me? I chewed on my fingernails nervously, getting out of bed. I checked all the rooms upstairs and downstairs. She was no where in sight.

After what had happened to Corryn yesterday, and the way Aria had reacted so negatively, my panic was alot more brutal. I grabbed the land line phone and dialed Aria's number and heard her ringtone go off somewhere in the house. Wherever she was, she hadnt taken her phone.

I tripped over the rug as I hurried back upstairs, looking around our bedroom for any sign of a note or message from Aria telling me of her whereabouts. I didn't find anything, only her phone that was thrown carelessly on the floor by her bed.

As the minutes passed, I debated calling the police. What if Candace had found some way to get her? What if Aria was hurt? Then again, I assumed I would have woken up to the sounds of my wife being kidnapped from the same bed as me.

I tried to stay calm, heading into the kitchen to make breakfast. I was too stressed and too unfocused to care much, so I cracked some eggs and made a bowl of scrambled eggs for the kids to share.

I sat down at the breakfast table, tapping my feet impatiently and stared at the front door, waiting for Aria to walk through. God, if she was alive, I was so going to kill her for leaving like this.

Nicolette and Nate came downstairs in their pajamas, yawning as they climbed into their seats at the table.

"Scrambled eggs?" Nicolette grinned, rubbing her tired eyes. "Yummy."

Se grabbed the large spoon and scooped herself some eggs. Nate reached across the table and tugged my shirt to get my attention.

"Daddy, where's mum?" He wondered, looking confused. "Is she asleep?"

"No," Colette butt in. "I saw her leave with a bag. She told me not to say anything." Colette slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized she'd done exactly that. "Oopsy."

"She did?" I raised an eyebrow at her. Nicolette nodded and stuffed her mouth with eggs. I prayed she would learn her table manners soon. Then again, she was my daughter, with my DNA. So screw table manners.

More importantly, I began to think of all the terrible, horrible things that could have happened as soon as Aria left the house. What if Candace found her and killed her? What if Aria hurt herself? I scolded myself for thinking so negatively, but it wasn't my fault considering the last time Aria had left me without notification.

Nearly three hours passed by, and the kids were upstairs for their afternoon nap. And I was going crazy. I had no idea what to do. Should I call the police? Should I wait a little longer? I wasn't going to wait, I decided. I had waited long enough. I picked up the phone to dial the emergency service, when the front door unlocked.

Aria strolled into the house with not a care in the world. She wasn't hurt, thank god, but she was okay. Which meant I was going to yell at her.

Aria entered the kitchen and dropped a bag on the ground, not bothering to look at me. She didn't look guilty, rather, annoyed.

"Where were you?" My tone was dangerously low, causing Aria to look up. She shrugged.

"Out."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" I growled, slamming a fist on the marble countertop. Aria flinched."Tell me where you were."

"Out." She replied again. "Fixing my problems." As her words sunk in, so did her smell. Only it wasn't her usual smell of vanilla and strawberries. No, it was alcohol.

My pregnant wife reeked of baby-killing alcohol.

"Aria," I struggled to keep from yelling. "Were you drinking?"

Suddenly she smirked, resting her hands in her lap. "Maybe."

"Are you fucking out of your mind!?" I shouted, gripping the counter top. "What if you killed the baby?"

"Relax," Aria rolled her eyes. "Since when did maybe mean yes?"

"Since you reeked of alcohol." I spat coldly.

"I was with Harry," she shrugged, as if that explained anything. I just stared at her, partly in confusion, partly in disgust. "He said something really shitty to me last night and so we talked and sorted things out."

"And that explains the smell of alcohol how?"

"He was drinking, not me." Aria sighed in annoyance. "If you think I smell bad, you should smell his house. It's okay, though. I made him stop."

I let a breath out in relief, coming around the kitchen island to stand in front of her. "And why the hell did you leave your phone at home?"

"Because I didn't want anyone interrupting." Aria answered, giving me a knowing look. It annoyed me how calm and smug she was acting. I was more furious than ever.

"Did you not think I would freak out?" I hissed, clenching my fists at my sides. "I was about to call the police."

"You overreact so much." Aria rolled her eyes yet again. I swear, if she did that one more time...

"I was not overreacting." I raised my voice, making Aria clamp her lips shut. "You left without a word, not a note, not a text message, nothing. You didn't bother to take your damn cellphone with you and you make me shit my pants being all worried about you. Then you walk into the house six hours later like you did nothing wrong. If anything, I'm reacting rather calmly!" I yelled.

"I ruined their wedding," Aria blurted, tears developing in her eyes. "Corryn's still in the hospital and Harry is barely managing to stay sober. They've lost their baby, they've lost all their stability. Their life isn't their life anymore. It's all hell for them, and it's all my fault."

"Aria, it's not-"

"DON'T!" She screamed. "Don't you fucking go there. I will walk out of this house right now and I won't come back if you tell me this isn't my fault."

"Is that a threat?" I hissed, thoroughly enraged. "Or a promise?"

"Both." She spat bitterly. "I have ruined my best friend's life and there is no denying it."

We were silent, both of us fueled with plenty of anger. Aria started to cry furiously wiping her tears from her face.

"What happened to you?" I spoke softly. "Where is the Aria I fell in love with? Where is the Aria that always saw the good in life?"

Aria's head shot up. "That Aria is gone, because there is no good left in my life."

"I just want you back," my body shook as I cried. "I want that Aria back."

"Well she left a long time ago." Aria sneered. "This is what is left of her. Take it or leave it."

She pushed herself off the barstool and stormed upstairs, leaving a trace of her anger with each step. I suck to the floor, holding my head in my hands. And I cried. I cried so hard, and I didn't stop. I hated this. I hated what we had become. We were like a cycle. Fighting, making up, and pretending things were okay. I knew if things kept on going this way, the cycle would would come to an end.

A terrible, painful end.

After I regained my posture, I headed upstairs to find Aria. My face was tear stained and my eyes were bloodshot, but when I saw Aria, I looked like a model compared to her.

She was an absolute mess. Sprawled on the bedroom floor, she cried into a pillow that seemed to be suffocating her. I knelt down and pulled the pillow away from her. It was soaked with her tears, and soaked with her pain. She looked so tired and weak. So broken. I pulled her into a sitting position and took her into my arms, holding her tight. It seemed like we had been in this situation too often lately, her crying and me having to comfort her. I just wanted us to be happy. I wanted her to be happy. That was clearly not happening any time soon.

"You could do it." Aria spoke with a raspy, weak voice. "I know you could."

"What?"

"If I leave, you could take care of the kids and-"

"Stop this!" I demanded sternly. "I didn't want to hear anything about you leaving. I won't tolerate it, and I most definitely won't be able to handle it. You’re not going anywhere.”

“You could take them to school. Ask Chrissy to make them meals once in a while. Take them to the park when they wanted to go. You could help them with their homework. You could do it.”

“Aria,” I gritted my teeth. “Stop.”

“They wouldn’t remember me.” she gulped. “They’re only four. They’d forget about me eventually. You could marry someone else, find someone better for them. They would adjust, I’m sure they would.”

I stare at her like she was some foreign creature, trying to figure out just exactly what she was trying to say.

“Are you saying you’re going to find Candace?”

Aria’s silence was my answer. I became angry, furious even. “How dare you even think about leaving our family behind?” I yelled. “You left six years ago. But all you left was me. You didn’t have two kids. You weren’t pregnant. But now you are. And you do have children, children who fucking need you. And I won’t marry anyone else. I only love you.”

“People don’t always marry for love.” she looked away. “They marry for needs, too.”

My nostrils flared in rage. “So you're just going to walk away, then?”

Aria snapped her head towards me, her blue eyes no longer bright like they had been so long ago. They were dark and clouded over, like she was a different person. She was a different person, I decided. This was not the Aria I knew and loved. “My best friend is in a coma.” Fear and trauma rippled through her feature. “Did you hear that? A C-O-M-A, coma!”

“That doesn’t mean you can just leave us to go find some psychopath who will kill you as soon as she gets her hands on you!” I shouted, throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation. “You’re stupid, Aria. You’re so stupid if you think you’re doing the right thing.”

“No, I’m stupid for staying here.” she clenched her fists. “I’m stupid for letting Candace continue with her stupid games. It’s me she wants, so it’s me she’ll get. I am so, so sick of wondering when she’ll get you. I’m sick of waking up, thinking that our kids won’t be in their beds when I go to wake them up. This needs to stop, and I’ll make it stop.”

She stood up and began to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist to hold her back. “For fucks sake, Aria. Quit trying to be the hero, here!”

She whirled around, her glare burning into my soul. “Let. Go. Of. Me.”

“No,” I shot back. “I’m not letting you go.”

She shook my hand off of her wrist harshly, staring at me as if I had just hit her. And when she walked out of our bedroom, I knew I was right. She was already slipping.

Slip, slip, slip, gone.

Notes

So as you can tell, this was just more of a filler chapter, but it's still pretty sad. :( I've updated twice in one week which is like super good, because we've finished moving into our new house and so I obviously have more time to sit down and write so YAYY!!!! I hope you guys liked this chapter. if you did, comment below, and be sure to vote and subscribe if you lovee!! ALSO:

I REACHED 10,000+ VIEWS!!!!


So let's all celebrate with chocolate and pizza. Haha, okay bye!!!!!!

Oh and by the way, do you think Aria will leave? Or do you think she'll chicken out and stay? And what about Niall? Do you think he will actually let her go? Or will he fight for her?