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</div></div><br/>It was as if he had casually tore her heart from her chest and was now explaining why it wouldn’t work right. He plainly explained how she haphazardly dealt with her pain. How she let others hurt her so she could focus on something else for even just a moment. Aria covered the marks around her throat with a trembling hand, turning her head so that she didn’t have to look him in the eye as he recounted the ways she numbed her anger. Yet, his questions brought her green gaze back to his and the lack of judgement he offered her.<br/><br/>The emotions he’d stirred coiled within her chest, tightening her throat and threatened to surface as tears pricking the corners of her eyes. Aria did what she always did -- she pushed them down, swallowed hard and forced herself to stand strong. Naked, standing in a pool of warm, yet chilling water, Aria Holden gripped her pride with slippery fingers. She grit her teeth and listened. His voice vibrated over the tense surface of water, sympathetic and understanding. For the first time, she felt as if someone got it. Instead of just apologizing for a loss he didn’t understand, or telling her how much worse it could all be; Alexander gave meaning to her suffering, reason to her coping mechanisms and understanding over all.<br/><br/>Her hand slipped to her collarbone, while the other rested across her rib, still intent on hiding tender places from possibly prying eyes. Yet, her physical nakedness was nothing compared to the emotional one. After all, how could she pretend she had it all figured out when he<i>knew everything</i>.<br/><br/>And then he confirmed what she had learned on her own.<br/><br/>Aria bit her lip to keep from choking on the shock. Her parents deaths meant nothing, served no purpose and left blood on the hands of people who didn’t care to bother washing them. That stung more than she cared to admit.<br/><br/><i>Make it mean something</i>, he said.<br/><br/>She had never considered herself strong. In the end, she saw a broken girl with a hole in her chest who desperately filled it with every pointless thing she could find. Sex, alcohol, drugs… whatever numbed the gaping hole in her life. And yet, this man called her strong and claimed she had the ability and potential to be something great -- to do something great. Aria almost laughed. Her lips turned up in an almost mocking grin as she stifled back laughter. She shook her head, dumbfounded by his personal assessment. But, he kept talking and soon, the disbelieving smirk fell into something resembling curious fear.<br/><br/>Green eyes lingered on the hands he extended, seeing the scars and hearing his words. It was those words that got her thinking. He was no longer telling her how it was, but instead telling her how it could be. Her future felt dismal and depressing, and while he offered her more pain and more suffering, Aria already knew that she’d find those on her own no matter. So, take it as a way of growing and grow beyond it, or wallow in her own misery, alone.<br/><br/>That was the defining difference, wasn’t it? He was offering her everything she was missing, most of all the fact that she wouldn’t walk alone anymore.<br/><br/>Aria closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath before letting it out gently. She wiped at her eyes, feeling those tears still threatening to fall. But, this time, she didn’t stop them. Wet hands left water across her face, masking the tears that mingled with the chemical infused moisture. When she looked back at him, everything about her expression had changed. What lingered behind her bright gaze was an overwhelming sadness, and a need she couldn’t sate. Aria said nothing for some time, allowing herself ample time to take in everything he’d said and reflect on the decision at hand.<br/><br/>“I have nothing.” Her voice was laced with defeat, but also of complete understand of her circumstance. “I am nothing.” Aria blinked back more tears, but didn’t hide them now. In this moment, she owned her pain, her suffering, and her anger.<br/><br/>“If I leave, and go back to my life, I won’t survive it.” She shook her head again, knowing full well what would wait for her. Would she drink herself to death? Let some inexperienced man choke the life out of her? Or would she finally succumb to the active participation in her own death? Regardless of the method, Aria would let her coping mechanisms kill her if she walked away from Alexander and everything she knew to be true.<br/><br/>“I don’t want to be alone anymore.” She murmured, swallowing hard as the gravity of her next words overwhelmed her. Once more, she fell silent, but this time she didn’t look away. Aria let her hands fall to her sides, no longer hiding behind them, but standing firm even as the gentle sway of the water caressed her.<br/><br/>“Take me with you.”