Chapter 5

• Aria's POV.
• *
• It took Aria exactly three days after the encounter with her mother before she finally summed up courage and spoke with her father over the phone again.
• Surprisingly enough, her father was rather understanding and patient while she tried to explained her reason for doing what she did without him feeling her reason are completely delusional.
• He only advised her against the consequence of her actions just in case she hasn't thought of it yet. He even asked that she travel home for a visit because it was obvious she was going through a rough patch in her life and needed her family to be there for her but Aria couldn't have it his way no matter how tempting that sounded like.
• She wanted to do things for herself this time without anyone advising or telling her what and what not to do. Going home to her family is totally out of the equation even. Going home would be part of the old routine and hell? That has to change as well. She was going to deal with this phase in her life in her own term and there won't be a butting in from anyone else.
• Even her boss have respected her decision and didnt call to pressurized her into returning to the company.
• She was replaceable after all._she thought with a careless shrug.
• **
• She woke up the next morning to her phone ringing on repeat. And in as much as she would have loved to just ignore the caller and continue sleeping, she still couldn't do it. Not with the rate at which the caller seemed to be hitting the redial button.
• With her face still buried into her pillow, she began to tap around the surface of her bed in search of the little buzzing noise that she can't seem to get her hands on.
• She heaved a deep sigh when she was finally in possession of her phone and clicked on the receive button before attaching it to her ear.
• "What time is it at your end because it's still early over here and am trying to catch some sleep before the sun wakes up" Aria had grumbled into the receiver feeling annoyed.
• The caller said something that got her springing up from bed like she has just been told her roof was on fire.
• She looked over at her table clock, sighed before slumping back on the bed.
• "No kidding! It's really past 11am and am still in bed?"
• For the first time in Lizzy's life, her timing wasn't so bad. The last time they spoke over the phone, they had agreed to meet over the week and hang out but turns out Aria has forgotten all about it.
• Lizzy wanted to make sure she hasnt forgotten or better yet, changed her mind about meeting up.
• "Are we still set for later tonight?" Lizzy had asked just to be certain.
• "Yes we are. We meeting at Zicky's bar right?"
• "Yes that's the spot Ari. I will meet you there so don't forget to show up alright?"
• Aria gave a knowing chuckle."You bet I won't Liz"
• Lizzy who seemed satisfied with her answer said. "Alright then. See you later_bye"
• "Bye"
• She hung up and just lay still for a moment wondering if she was really up for tonight or not. She already agreed to be there so there was no point in getting cold feet.
• After a while, she struggled back on her feet and head for the bathroom to carry out her morning business .
• Fifteen more minutes, she was dressed in her house clothes and making her way out of her bed and towards the living room to fix things around the house before proceeding to the kitchen for breakfast.
• By the time she was done with breakfast and laundry, time had already gone by. She didn't even have time to rest as it was already 4pm, leaving her just an hour to get ready and meet up with her best friend.
• She took a quick shower and stood in front of her wardrobe still wrapped in towel with another around her hair.
• Aria was having trouble figuring out what to wear as she kept staring at the pile of clothes before her. Not wanting to waste anymore time than she already has, she settled for a black knee length lace gown. She paired it with an equally black heel sandal that was sure to reveal her perfectly long slender legs.
• She had her hair up in a ponytail as usual.
• Another fifteen more minutes and Aria was fully dressed in that piece of fabric, hugging her in just the right places.
• She looked perfectly flawless even without her trying. Aria was a neutral beauty and only a few highlight to the cheek and a little bit of eye shadows had her looking like a runway model with her figure eight assets complimenting her all round.
• Aria doesn't just look different. She felt absolutely different and merely looking at her, one could see the difference reflecting in her choice of clothes. She wasn't exactly sure at first if she would look half as good in her pick for the night. The thought of falling back to her old routine had kept her from replacing it with her old comfortable clothes and now she is glad she didn't.
• Staring back at her reflection in the mirror, a little smile crawled up on her cheeks and stunk her eyes. Aria couldn't believe just how stunning she looked with sparkles underlining her big brown eyes._an evident show of the fire burning within her.
• Aria was staring right back at that part of her that has stayed buried for so long. Every bone and fiber in her body seemed to be daring her to let go of her childhood principle tonight and make the most out of it.
• She closed her eyes for a brief moment, calming her nerves that were doing an overdrive and when she finally opened them again? She knew she was ready to grow so balls like a thirty year old for once in her life. She doesn't want to be overdressed neither does she want the attention of the whole bar to be on her. She was comfortable dressed just like she was.
• Another minutes or two, she hurried out of her apartment after glancing at her reflection for what seemed like the hundredth time that evening.
• This night is going to be a long one.