Chapter 7: This is all so new

Aaron re-entered Aria's room to find the teen sitting cross legged on her bed, idly flipping through the channels.

"You got her to leave. That's impressive." She said as she looked up at him. He took a seat in the chair next to her bed.

He smiled. "Well, it wasn't easy. Is she usually so..." He paused.

"Crazy? Protective? Paranoid?" She filled in with a grin. He laughed.

"Yeah. Pretty much." She said with a soft smile as she glanced back towards the TV.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked quietly. She turned her attention back to him and nodded.

"What did you say to your mom earlier? It was in Italian, right?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah." She paused then shook her head.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to. I was just curious." He said when she didn't continue taking.

"No. It's not that, it's just... It sounds kinda dumb in English." She admitted. He waited for her to continue. "I told her to 'Go save some lives'."

He nodded. "I see."

She shrugged. "It's just something I always told her before she went to work."

"Then why did you stop?" He asked. Seeing the confused look on her face, he continued. "She said you hadn't said it in a while."

She looked down at her hands in her lap. "We, uhm...haven't exactly been on speaking terms these past couple weeks." She said. "Today's actually the first time we've really talked since, you know, that night." She said, emphasizing that night.

He nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry."

She frowned. "What for? It wasn't your fault."

He shrugged. "I shouldn't have just showed up like that unannounced. This whole thing could have been avoided."

She shook her head. "Maybe but I'm glad you did." She said then turned her gaze to him. "If you didn't, I wouldn't have known about you. I wouldn't have met you."

He sat forward. "Then I'm glad too." He said with a small smile.

They both turned back towards the TV, not really paying any attention to what was playing. After a couple minutes, Aria started rubbing her head and messaging her temples. Aaron, of course noticed this.

"Are you okay?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah, it's just a headache. I'll be fine." She said with her eyes closed.

He nodded, half-convinced. "Why don't you lie down and get some rest. You only need to take your meds in a couple hours. I'll be here when you wake up." He told her.

She frowned. "Okay." She said as she settled back onto the bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. It didn't take long for her exhausted body to fall asleep.

Aaron watched Aria as she drifted off into a peaceful sleep. He watched the steady rise and fall of her chest as her breathing evened out. He fixed the blanket tighter around her then brushed a lock of hair off her forehead. She was still warm.

He grabbed the TV remote and put it on mute while he flipped through the channels, looking for something to distract him. He settled on an old action movie, glancing every now and then at his sleeping daughter, until he, himself, fell asleep.

He woke up an hour later to find Aria moving around on her bed. At first he thought that she was awake, until he heard her say 'No'.

He got up from the chair he fell asleep in and sat down next to her on the bed. Her eyes were still closed but she was moving around and mumbling in her sleep. He couldn't make out what she was saying. He figured that she must be having a bad dream, so he gently grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly to wake her up.

"No, stop. Don't." She moaned.

"Aria. Aria, wake up. You're having a bad dream." He told her softly, while shaking her. He felt her forehead. It was warm and she was sweating as her hair clung to it. The fever must be causing it. He thought.

"Aria, sweetheart. Come on. I need you to wake up. You're okay." He said soothingly as she continued to move around.

"No, Lilly. LILLY!" She screamed as she bolted upright in bed, breathing heavily, struggling to catch her breath. It took her a while to realize where she was and that there was someone there, next to her. She nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her back.

"Hey. Easy. It's okay. It's just me, Aaron." He told her gently. She nodded as she got her breathing under control. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded then grabbed her stomach. "I'm sorry." She said as jumped out of bed and ran towards the bathroom then emptied her stomach of whatever food she had left in it.

He winced as he heard her throw up yet again. Poor kid. He thought. He got up from his seat on her bed and made his way towards the bathroom.

He found her on her knees, bracing herself on her elbows over the toilet seat. Her hair was covering her face. He walked up behind her, pulling her hair out of the way and rubbing her back gently as she continued to throw up.

When she eventually stopped, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked away, slightly embarrassed.

"Thanks." She said softly. She let him help her to her feet then she walked towards the basin, avoiding the mirror above it. She probably looked like crap.

Letting the cold water run over her hands, she splashed her face then rinsed out her mouth.

"You okay?" He asked as he watched her lean forward on the counter.

She looked towards him but avoided eye contact. "Yeah." She said with a slight smile as she moved to sit on the edge of the bathtub. He followed, sitting beside her.

"Has that been happening all day?" He asked.

"Yeah. Pretty much." She said, slightly annoyed.

She took deep breaths, trying to get her racing heart to calm down. Why did I have to have that stupid dream tonight. She thought. What if I said something and he asks questions? I really don't wanna talk about it.

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked as if he had just read her mind.

She looked at him then frowned. "About what?" She asked, knowing what he was referring to.

"You were talking in your sleep and tossing around. I'm assuming you had a bad dream."

She looked away then nodded.

"What was it about?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I, uhm... I don't remember." She lied as she got up to walked back to her room. His eyes followed her before he got up and walked out after her.

He found her sitting on the side of her bed, one foot tucked underneath her as she stared at the floor. He cautiously sat down next to her, waiting for her to speak first.

"What did I say?" She asked him softly, still staring at the floor.

"I couldn't make out much, except one thing." He answered. She looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. "Who's Lily?" He asked.

She stared at him with widened eyes, then turned away from him. She looked out in front of her, not saying anything.

He watched her tense up as he mentioned the name she had said in her sleep. Just when he thought she wasn't going to answer him, she reached over to her bedside table and pulled out a photo frame that was partially hidden. She looked at it then handed it to him.

It was two photos, side by side of two girls, one blonde and one brunette, at ages six and twelve. They sat with their arms around each other, smiling at the camera.

"She was my best friend." She finally said, so soft he had almost missed it.

"Was?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. She, uhm, she died four years ago. Car accident." She said while rubbing her wrist. He frowned at the action but didn't say anything about it.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely while handing back the photo frame.

She took it then shrugged. "It was a long time ago." She glanced at it briefly, before she placed it back on the table. She sniffled, then wiped away a tear before it could fall.

He noticed and it instantly made him feel bad for even asking. "I didn't mean to upset you." He said while placing his hand on her back. He felt relieved when she didn't flinch at his touch.

She shook her head, glancing at him briefly. "You didn't. I just... don't like talking about it. And the fact that I just threw up five minutes ago, kinda makes me feel worse." She told him. He nodded in understanding.

"Well, it's nearly eight, so why don't I get you something to eat, then you can take you medication." He said as he stood up, changing the topic. He saw her grimace when he mentioned food.

"Let me guess, you're not hungry." He said, already knowing the answer.

She shook her head. "No. Not really."

He sighed. "You have to eat something."

"So do you." She countered. "I'm pretty sure you didn't stop for dinner before you came over here."

He eyed her for a minute, crossing his arms over his chest. She wasn't wrong. He couldn't remember the last time he actually ate something.

He had been surviving on coffee half the day. He needed a plan. So, he decided to make her a deal.

"Okay. Point taken." He paused before continuing. "Tell you what, I'll eat something. But only if you do." He said.

She raised her eyebrows in response, remembering a similar conversation with her mother earlier that evening. Then she did something he wasn't expecting.

She burst out laughing...

He frowned, confusion crossing his face. "What's so funny?" He asked.

She stopped, pressing her lips together to subdue her laughter.

"I'm sorry." She said. "It's just my mom tried the same thing earlier to get me to eat something." She cleared up his confusion.

"I see." He nodded with a smile. "So, do we have a deal?" He asked.

She bit the inside of her cheek while pretending to think about it. "Yes." She finally agreed. "We have a deal."

Fifteen minutes later, they had both eaten and Aria had taken her meds. They both sat on her bed watching a movie on TV while occasionally talking to each other.

Halfway through the movie, Aaron noticed that Aria was trying her best to stay awake, refusing to go to sleep. After she yawned for the third time, he spoke up.

"You know, you don't have to stay awake just for me." He said.

"I'm not. This is where the movie starts to get good." She said, trying to hide yet another yawn.

"Right." He said, unconvinced. "Look, you're obviously exhausted. I won't blame you if you wanted to get some rest."

She turned to look up at him. "Okay. Five more minutes?" She said pleadingly, with eyes that resembled his own.

He looked at her, eyes softening. "Five more minutes." He stated.

In less than two, she was peacefully asleep, with her head resting slightly on his shoulder. He looked at her and couldn't help but smile, as he placed a kiss to the top of her head. In that moment he felt content. I could get used to having a sixteen year old daughter in my life. He thought.

Turning his attention back to the movie, it wasn't long before he too, fell asleep.

"Make a promise please, You'll always be in reach, Just in case I need you there when I call, (Here when I call), This is all so new, Seems too good to be true, Could this really be a safe place to fall?"  Demi Lovato - Lightweight