Fallin' for You: The Echo of Love series

by Anna T. Pope

  “Fuck, you make me crazy.” Will whispered in her ear, and started kissing down Aria’s neck, finding her soft spot right away, while he stuck two of his fingers in her, moving them relentlessly in and out while thumbing her clit.

  “Please! More please!”

  “Shh baby, I got you. I’ll take care of you, baby.” Will soothed the now almost incoherent girl as he turned her around, yet again. Will’s hands gripped behind her thighs and pulling her up until Aria’s legs were wrapped around his hips. He then kissed her softly while turning off the water and stepping out of the shower.

  He carried her to the bed and laid her down on her back, before lowering his head between her legs.

  “Yes. Oh God, please!”

  Aria was writhing beneath him, her hands holding the sheets in a tight grip. Will pulled up and started kissing across her abdomen, up to her chest and pausing at her nipples, taking one in his mouth while he teased the other with his fingers.

  “Look at me.” Will growled and Aria’s eyes immediately snapped open, her blue eyes slightly unfocused from arousal.

  Will situated himself between her legs and in one quick motion slammed into her, making her scream at the top of her lungs.

  His pace was relentless, as he pounded into Aria with everything he had as the girl’s moans of pleasure just spurred him on.

  “Faster!” Aria panted as Will continued, his lips finding Aria’s and his tongue invading her mouth roughly. Aria was shaking, her hands wrapped around Will’s shoulder in a death grip.

  “Come, baby.” Will whispered in her ear, his hips slamming hard one last time before they both fell apart.

  La Familia

  “Did you find anything?” Will asked the man standing in front of his desk. The man's name was Fabian; a very handsome man, the Italian roots visible in his dark, slightly tousled hair and olive skin. His eyes were blue but so very different than Aria's. Where Aria's were the color of a sunny sky, so warm and gentle, Fabian's were dark, like the ocean, his gaze cold and calculative much like the man itself.

  Will suspected that Fabian had to be that way if whispers were to be believed, the man was a part of an old mafia family. Will didn't care either way since he just needed information and the man was the type who could find anything about anyone with one phone call.

  “Yes.” Fabian said while giving him two folders. Once Will opened the first one, he smiled at the picture of Norman and nodded.

  “Good. And what about the other one?” he asked, and the man grimaced a little.

  “He is a little bit harder to find. The house that you described is no longer his, but my men had managed to track down the real estate agent that sold it. She told them that the man had moved to the next town. I checked, but nothing came out so far. I'll keep looking.”

  Will nodded but was not particularly happy about the news, as he thanked the man quietly and dismissed him.

  Once he was alone again, he quickly called the police and tipped them off, giving them the location where they could find Norman. He felt happy and relieved to finally be able to breathe without fretting and looking over his shoulder, wondering if another ‘messenger’ was waiting around the corner.

  The wound on his chest was long healed, but it was a constant reminder of the man still at large, who wanted Will dead so to know that he would soon be rid of him, allowed Will to breathe again.

  After finishing the call, he took the other folder and opened it. An old photograph fell out, landing on the carpet, next to his leg and he bent down to pick it up, smiling as soon as his eyes landed on the content.

  The picture was of a beautiful woman, with long dark hair, tied in a braid, and beautiful big, blue eyes. She was smiling at the camera, a dimple on her left cheek making her look younger than she was. Her hand was wrapped around the neck of a twelve-year-old girl, who was a spitting image of her; her daughter. The petite girl was looking up at her with so much love in her eyes, her smile wide that it brought a smile to Will’s face as well.

  He trailed his finger across the photo for a few seconds, before putting it down on the table and reading through the information Fabian had provided for him. After finding that he had everything that he needed, Will picked up the phone again and started making the necessary arrangements.

  After that night in Vermont, when Aria had confided in him about her past, she had never brought it up again. Will knew that it was painful for her to talk about it, so he didn't push it, but there was one thing that he knew that Aria regretted the most.

  David had made her cut all ties with her family, and after escaping she was too afraid to go back. She said to Will once, when she was slightly tipsy, that she missed her mother very much but that she was afraid to call her, afraid that her mother hated her for leaving.

  Will was sure that that could not be true, so he told Fabian to find Aria's family and set his plan in motion. His baby was in for a big surprise.

  ~

  They fell to the bed, side by side and breathing hard, their bodies glistening from sweat. Aria turned on her side, and Will pulled her closer, her head nestling on his chest, one arm thrown over his stomach and her leg between Will’s.

  “That’s one way of saying good morning.” Aria whispered making Will chuckle lightly. “I can get used to waking up like this.” she continued making him smile softly while kissing her temple.

  “You should.”

  Aria sighed, squeezing him a little before getting up and starting to get ready for work. Will stood up too and hugged her from behind as he started peppering kisses along her neck.

  “Where do you think you are going?” he asked her.

  “What do you mean? I have work today.”

  “No, you don't.”

  “What? Yes, I do. I always work Saturday mornings.”

  “I called your boss yesterday and asked her to give you a day off. She agreed.” Will whispered before biting on Aria’s ear softly.

  “Ah, yeah... wait, what? Why?” she stuttered while simultaneously bending her neck further and giving Will more space to kiss.

  “I have a surprise for you, and I needed you to be home.” Will said as Aria turned around and smiled shyly.

  “A surprise?” she asked, just as there was a knock on the door.

  “Yes. Now go and see who it is.” Will said while pointing to the hall and after giving Aria a small peck, he stepped aside and winked. Aria looked at him in confusion but obliged and left the room, with Will hot on her heels.

  She opened the door and a loud gasp left her mouth as she saw who was on the other side of it.

  “Mom?”

  ~

  Five years ago

  “Honey? Is everything alright” Eleanor asked her as she took a seat next to her.

  “I am quitting school.” Aria said after a few moments while looking down at her feet.

  “What!? Why!?” her mother all but screamed, as she knew that she would, and she flinched.

  “I just don't want to study anymore, and David promised he was going to take care of me, so I quit.” Aria said quietly while avoiding her eyes, knowing that she had to keep up with the charade.

  “Of course, it has something to do with that man. I should have guessed!”

  “Don't talk about him like that.” Aria meekly countered her, even though inside she completely agreed with her.

  “I'll talk about him how I want to! He changed you, Aria. He is pulling you away from me, from your friends, and now your school. I thought that you knew better than that!”

  Aria started to shake, her mother's words ringing true in her ears, and she steeled herself for what she had to do.

  “I love David; he is the love of my life, and the only family I want and need! Since you obviously can't deal with that I don't want to see you again!” she screamed and turned to leave.

  Once she was at the door Aria looked back and the look on her mother's face broke her heart so she quickly turned and left; the tears she had been suppressing
the entire time finally allowed to fall.

  ~

  Present

  “Mom?” Aria whispered as the sight of her mother made her freeze on the spot.

  The woman looked the same as the last time she saw her, five years ago, and at the same time so very different. The changes were subtle, but Aria noticed them right away. There were a few wrinkles around her eyes, that weren't there before, her hair had started to go grey, and she had lost a considerable amount of weight. Aria felt a pang of guilt in her chest, knowing for sure, that she must have been the reason for it.

  “Honey.” Eleanor said and a second later Aria was enveloped into a bone-crushing hug. She stood unmoving for a beat, still feeling shocked, before she returned the hug with all she had, as the familiar smell of honey and almonds reached her nose and she inhaled deeply. Home, mom; the words crossed her mind, and her eyes filled with tears.

  “Where have you been!? Five years Aria! Five years!” her mother started to yell at her as soon as they separated.

  “Why don't you move to the living room, so you can talk?” Will said, probably noticing that Aria had started to shake, and trying to give her some time to compose. Her mother stared at her for a few more minutes, before nodding.

  Once they were seated, she looked at Will, since Aria was still in an obvious state of shock.

  “I am sorry. You are Will, right?” she asked with a tired smile.

  “Yes. We talked on the phone. It's very nice to finally meet you, Eleanor.” Will said with a small smile and they shook hands before the man left the room so they could talk privately.

  “Aria?” she heard her mom say, and slowly looked up to see her looking at her, her gaze assessing her, her face a myriad of emotions. There was the obvious happiness for seeing Aria again, but she also recognized sorrow and anger.

  “What happened? What are you doing in New York? Last I heard you were with that man.” she said, her thoughts on the man in question quite clear.

  Aria flinched when she mentioned David, not wanting to remember him, but she knew that she had to. She owed her mother that much; she deserved to know the whole story and she also deserved to know that Aria didn't want to leave her all those years ago.

  “I... I left him two years ago.” Aria whispered as she stared at her hands squeezed tightly in her lap.

  “Why? If I remember correctly, he was the love of your life and the only important person in it; the only family you wanted.” she said, her words cutting through Aria like a knife, just as they did when she was the one saying them to her.

  Her eyes filled, once again, and she shook her head, trying to calm down.

  “Aria? Just talk to me. Please.” she whispered, and Aria took a long breath and started.

  She told her what happened; she told her every single gruesome detail. She told her how David changed, how he threatened to kill Aria and her family if she didn't cut the ties with them. How he treated her, how he beat her and sold her, insulted her and broke her. The words spilled from her mouth, and with every one of them, Aria could see the effects they had on her mother's face; the disbelief, the sadness, anger, and horror. Her eyes were so wide, her hands shaking as tears ran down her face.

  “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 her mother with a proud look on her face.

  �
��I am glad you found each other. Even though I hadn't had much time to get to know him well, I can see how much he loves you. It is written across his face when he looks at you, and when he talks about you his eyes just start to glow. And I will forever be grateful to him for bringing my baby back to me. So, I agree with the ‘as close to perfect’ sentiment.”

  She laughed and Aria joined in. After a couple of minutes, she sobered up and her face got serious, once again. “I have something to tell you, honey.”

  “Yes?”

  Her mother seemed nervous all of a sudden, so Aria straightened in her chair and gave her, what she hoped was an encouraging look.

  “I remarried a year ago.”

  To say that she was shocked would be an understatement as she looked at her mother. After her dad passed away when Aria was ten, her mother pretty much broke down. The two of them were so much in love that when he died it broke her mother’s heart.

  Aria never saw her with another man again and she believed that she never would, so to hear her say that not only had she found someone, but that she married him, shocked her to the core.

  “Aria? Are you upset?” Eleanor whispered, and it was enough to shake her out of her stupor.

  “No, no. I am sorry. It was just unexpected to hear.” she quickly said and her mom nodded and looked down.

  “Mom? Don't worry, I am not upset or anything. I am glad. You have been alone since dad died, and after I left it must have been hard for you. I am happy if you are happy. Are you happy?”

  “Yes, very. Benjamin is a very good man. He is a dentist, and that is actually how we met. I came in for a toothache and left with a date.” she said, making them both laugh.

  “Well, I can't wait to meet him. And of course, have a long-overdue talk with him.” Aria said, a little smirk playing at the corner of her mouth, as her mother slapped her hand playfully.