“Oh my God. Oh my God.” she kept repeating, shaking her head as if trying to will the images away.
“And then, I ran away. I came here and lived on the streets for a few months before I met Will's brother, Meg, and he helped me. He gave me a job and a place to stay; he even paid for my school. I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't met him.” Aria finished the story while looking at her feet.
“I am so sorry, mom. It was my entire fault. I didn't want to leave you, but he made me do it. And once I escaped, I was too afraid to come back. I didn't want him to find out that I was still alive, and as time went by, I was afraid that if I did call you, you wouldn't want to have anything to do with me. I had said such horrible things to you, and I was sure that you h... hated m... me.” Aria said, her voice breaking at the end as a heartbreaking sob escaped her mouth. In the next moment, she was enveloped in her arms while her body shook from her cries.
How she had missed her, her beautiful mother, the one person from her past that was always there for her.
That day when Aria had said those horrible things to her, when she had to look at her and break her heart was the worst thing that had ever happened to her; worse than anything that David had ever done to her and worse than months she had spent in the cold. She hugged her tightly, the words "I am sorry" leaving her mouth again and again like a mantra.
“It's okay honey. It's okay. I am the one that should be sorry. You are my daughter and I failed you. I was supposed to protect you, it was my only job, and I didn't. I am so sorry, honey. I am so sorry.”
They stayed like that for a long time, hugging and crying and whispering apologies and words of love into each other's ears.
After they calmed down, Will came back into the room, asking if they would like to have lunch. The two of them agreed, Aria only then noticing how hungry she was, since the last meal she had had was in the afternoon of the previous day.
The lunch went well, as Will and her mother conversed lightly, with Aria joining in from time to time. She was still shocked to have her mother back in her life, and the person she had to thank for that was the man sitting across the table.
She watched them talking and laughing as Will told her mom the story of how they’ve met and about Aria spilling his coffee.
Her mother then told Will stories about Aria growing up and the ridiculous things that she had done, making Will cry from laughter.
Aria was sure that she should feel embarrassed, but all she felt was happiness because here she was, having lunch with the two most important people in her life and all she could manage to feel was joy.
Hello, again
“So, you are in love?” Aria’s mom asked her with a small smile on her lips. She had come in to see where she worked and they were now sitting at the booth, drinking coffee and talking.
It had been a few days since Will had reunited them and things were slowly starting to get back to how they used to be. It was still a process, since they haven’t seen each other in four years, their parting words still heavily present between them.
Aria was also still feeling guilty for hurting her, and she knew that her mom felt responsible for what had happened to her, but she was sure that it will pass with time, and that they will be a real family again.
“Yes. I still can't believe it myself.” she whispered, feeling shy all of a sudden as she giggled and took her hand in hers.
“Are you happy?”
Aria looked up at the question, blushing, and nodded.
“Yes, very. Before Will came into my life, I had convinced myself that I didn't deserve to be happy. I thought that no one could ever love me. But then I met him and... I tried to stay away, I tried to get him to realize that he could get someone way better than me, but he disagreed.” Aria said and laughed a little, but her mother just looked sad.
“You are worthy of love, honey. Don't ever think that you are not.”
That made Aria laugh even harder, which made her mother confused, so she elaborated.
“I am sorry, it's just... that's exactly what Will kept saying to me, over and over again, until I believed him. He just, wouldn't give up. So, I did, in the end. And I was so scared because I knew that once I gave in, there will be no going back. He is the closest you can get to a perfect man, and I fell in love fast. The first time I said those words I was terrified because I sort of blurted them out without thinking of what I was saying, but then he said it back, and he hadn't stopped saying it.”
Aria finished her little monologue while looking out through the window, her mind far away in those first memories of them, as her fingers played with the necklace around her neck. She shook her head after a while and looked across the table to see her looking at
