Aria's POV:
I sit on the couch downstairs, my head resting on my husband Ezra's chest. We lay in the darkness with the television glowing brightly, in various shades of whites, blacks, and grays. My eyes begin to droop as I loosen the grip on my younger son Noah who's only 8. We agreed to watch 'The Day the Earth Stood Still', which is his favorite since it's about robots and aliens.
"Mommy wake up! The movie isn't over!" He shakes me back and forth and I immediately hit Ezra's chin when I raise my head.
"Fu-udge!" I quickly catch myself. Ezra says I need to work on not swearing around our kids, and I know it's not the best habit, but my older daughter Caroline curses, and Noah will start to soon.
I hold my head in pain, and I quickly kiss Ezra's chin to apologize. The movie's almost over anyway, why the hell is he whining?
"Sorry Noah, Mommy is just kind of tired." I yawn and lay back down and pull my son close to me. It's times like this when I'm grateful for my family. I close my eyes but stay awake.
I soon hear the movie finish and I groan as Ezra and Noah get up, leaving me cold and alone on the couch. I sit up and rub my eyes and I hear our daughter come down the stairs.
"Look who finally decided to come down and say hello." Ezra teases as he sets our son down, but she doesn't roll her eyes in embarrassment as usual.
"Mom, Dad, I was hoping I could talk to you guys about something. Alone." She glares at Noah who yelps and scurries up the stairs.
"Noah, baby, we'll be up to tuck you in in a few minutes!" I call out and sigh at Caroline. "Was the glare necessary?"
"Sorry." She mutters as she turns off the TV and turns the lights on. This is when I realize that I should be nervous. Caroline is hardly ever mean or rude to Noah, and she never asks to talk about something, she just does. I bite at my lip as I consider what on Earth is so serious that she's going to tell Ezra and me. Could she be pregnant? Suicidal? Is she doing drugs? Hell, is she dating her teacher?
"Um..maybe you should sit." I sit with Ezra on the couch and hold his hand. I then promise myself that I won't look at her differently than I did yesterday. She's our daughter, and that's what matters most.
Caroline fidgets with her hands, something I'm still guilty of. She then pushes her dark brown hair behind her shoulders.
"I-I'm gonna say this as easily a-as I can to you, Mom and D-dad." She sighs shakily and her eyes turn glassy with tears. "I...I…" That's all she manages to choke about before she falls to her knees and bursts into tears. My heart breaks in two and falls to my feet. I hate seeing my daughter cry.
I immediately kneel beside her and brush her hair behind her ears and kiss her forehead. No matter what she's gotten herself into, she doesn't deserve to feel this way. I gather up all the strength and willpower I can muster and I lift our 16 year on the couch and into my lap, as I stroke her hair, and rock her gently back and forth.
"Care Bear, tell us what's bothering you." Ezra whispers, holding her hand.
"I-I can't!" She sobs, wet mascara gathering on her cheeks.
"Why not?" I ask, using my softest and most motherly tone possible.
"Because you'll hate me. And I can't stand the idea of you walking around hating me." she rasps. I glance over at Ezra, and he looks back at me, with guilt in his eyes.
"We could never hate you." I smile sadly, resting my thumb near her temple. "We're your parents Care Bear, we're supposed to care for you, and support you, and love you with all our hearts." I tell her truthfully.
"Y-you promise?" She sighs, wiping her tears from the corners of her eyes. She looks at Ezra and me, with a small glimmer of hope.
"We promise." Ezra hugs her tightly and kisses her head. I then realize this is when she'll tell us that she's pregnant, and that her former teacher knocked her up. Just like I had to tell my parents. I brace myself, knowing I'll still love her the same. It's just I didn't hope to be a grandma at 37. "You can tell us anything honey." Ezra reassures her and she nods in affirmation.
"I-I'm gay. I like girls, not boys." She chokes out, before bursting into another fit of tears.
I gasp softly to myself and look at Ezra. I feel terrible. I created an environment where my own daughter didn't feel safe to be herself.
"Oh Caroline, your father and I love you so much." I cry out as I wrap my arms around her. "We love you so much for being yourself, right Ezra?" I glance over with tears in my eyes.
"Of course we do. But I'd rather you'd never come out." He says, thinking about it for a few seconds. My daughter's eyes widen and my jaw drops.
"W-what?" Her bottom lip quivers. The last time I'd seen her do that is when she was and afraid of monsters in her closet.
"Ezra Fitz apologize right now!" I yell.
"No, no let me finish! Honey, Care Bear, you shouldn't have felt the need to come out. You should have just brought your girlfriend home and introduced her. We're sorry we made you feel like you weren't welcome."
"I-It's ok, I don't mind.." Our daughter replies still in a state of shock. "Can I bring her over for dinner on Friday? She really wants to meet you." She replies quietly.
"Of course she can love." Ezra tells her. I hug her and kiss her head before getting up to wipe my tears. I smile softly at Ezra before hugging our daughter one more time and I whisper,
"I can't believe this angel is ours."