Hello lovely people. Here is the start of my new story. I have a lot of plans for it. (Actually, it has consumed my mind and I've barely been able to sleep at night...or do much of anything.) I want to warn you that this story will be nothing like Stepmother at 17. It'll piss you off. You may hate me. Or maybe you won't read past chapter one because you simply don't give a shit. But please try to give a shit? I won't disappoint you. Or I'll try not to?
Thank you to Becca and Flo who have already helped me tremendously with this story. And I apologize for my inspiration explosions.
Aria Montgomery and Ezra Fitz had an impossible love. Impossible for them to fall in love, impossible for them to be together, and impossible for them to fall out of love. But when their love was pushed aside for something greater, it faded beneath the dust until it was forgotten all together. Days turned into years, longing turned into indifference. And most unfortunate of all—it was impossible for them to find it again.
There was simply nothing left.
Except for Rosie.
May 6, 2017
Aria stood behind her 3-year-old daughter as she attempted to force a brush through the small girl's mess of long, dark brown curls. She loved her daughter's beautiful hair, but she hated it all the same. It was a fight with the brush every morning, and therefore, a fight with her daughter's tears every day. The girl held her hands on the edge of the kitchen table, swinging her body from side to side on the bar stool. There weren't any tears today—yet.
"Rosalie Ella Fitz, you need to sit still or I'm going to cut your hair off!" Aria scolded in sheer frustration. They didn't exactly have all the time in the world. The brush tore through her daughter's hair, trying to break a stubborn tangle.
Rosie had her father's unruly hair and blue eyes, but her mother's bright smile and petite stature. She was Daddy's princess and Mommy's reason to live.
Rosie quickly stopped moving and attempted to sit still—or as still as a 3-year-old one week away from her fourth birthday was able to. "But I want to be Rapunzel!" she whined, worried that a shorter haircut would revoke her of princess status. Her daddy always told her she had princess hair. But her mommy was the one who was left brushing it when Daddy let his princess get her way.
"Rapunzel doesn't have curly hair like you do, Rosie," Aria told her wryly, swinging the stool around so she was facing her. "And I bet she actually lets her mommy brush her hair." She raised an eyebrow and stared down at her daughter's glossy blue eyes, who simply responded with a pout. Aria shook her head and continued to force the brush through her hair. "Blame your Daddy for the curly hair, not me." She collected Rosie's hair and separated it into three sections before braiding it to the side. It hadn't even taken fifteen seconds for the excited child to whip her head around at the sound of the door opening. Aria sighed loudly in exasperation. "Rosie, I'm begging you to sit still so you can look pretty for mommy's graduation."
It was 10 a.m. and Aria had to be in Philadelphia at noon, but she still wore short shorts, a tank top and a messy bun while Rosie had on a pink nightgown. Rosie ignored her mother's pleas and slid off the chair. "Nannnaaaaa!" Rosie screamed, running across the kitchen of Aria's small apartment. She threw her arms around Ella, who swiftly picked her up and squeezed the young girl in her arms.
Ella tucked a strand of Rosie's hair behind her ear and smiled brightly at her granddaughter, one of the greatest joys of her life—even if it meant being a grandmother at 43. "Are you excited to see Mommy graduate from school?" Ella asked.
Rosie bobbed her head. "I got a pretty new dress," she beamed, squirming in Ella's arms in attempt to be let down. "Can I show you?"
Ella placed Rosie on the ground and turned her attention to her daughter, who had taken Rosie's seat. "You still haven't showered? Don't you have to be there in two hours?"
Aria nodded. After a week of final exams and last-minute graduation preparations with a hyperactive three-year-old, she was exhausted. "Can you get Rosie ready, please? Her clothes are on her bed."
Rosie tugged Ella's hand and dragged her down the hallway, leaving her grandmother no choice in the matter. "Wait here," Rosie instructed outside her bedroom. "I wanna surprise you!" Ella obliged and leaned against the wall outside the door as Rosie attempted to put her dress on. After two minutes, Rosie quietly opened the door. "Nana, can you help?" she whispered tentatively through the cracked door.
Ella grinned at her half-naked granddaughter. "Of course, Miss Rosalie. Anything for you."
Anything for you.
It had become the family motto.
Aria held a towel around her waist as she perused her small closet in search of a dress to wear. While she tried to maintain her appearance, she spent most of her time and money on her daughter. She hadn't realized how sparse her closet had become until this moment, and silently cursed herself for not buying a dress earlier. She only thought of Rosie. She always thought of Rosie. She picked up a disappointing navy dress—more suitable for winter—and held it in front of her body. With a loud groan, she dropped it to the ground and sat on the edge of her bed. If only she were in high school again.
Rosie burst through the door with her nana following closely behind her. A proud smile stretched across her face as she stood in front of Aria in her new dress—a brightly colored floral pattern with a pink ribbon wrapped around it. Ella had successfully braided her hair into two pigtails, and to Aria's shock, she had even managed to get Rosie's sparkly flats on.
"You look beautiful, Rosie," Aria told her. She leaned over her nightstand and grabbed her phone. "Smile so I can send a picture to Daddy." Rosie put her hands on her hips and smiled for her mother. Once Aria snapped a photo and sent it to Ezra, she returned to her closet in hopes of of discovering that a new dress had magically appeared. She did this often when her fridge was empty, and that never worked either.
Rosie followed her mother to the closet like a puppy dog, sitting down by her feet. "Will Daddy be there?" She looked up at her mother.
"No, he won't," Aria answered.
"Why's Daddy not gonna be at gaduation?"
"Because Daddy's yours, not mine. You'll see him tonight."
A dress didn't appeared in front of her eyes, much to her dismay. Aria crossed her arms and sighed, then turned to Ella who was sitting on her bed. "Mom, I don't have anything to wear."
"You must have something. Don't you have like 100 dresses?"
"Yeah, I did about four years ago," Aria pointed out with a frown. "And then the baby weight decided to take permanent residence on my butt and I donated everything."
Ella gave Aria a sympathetic smile, not knowing exactly what to say. She folded her hands over her knee. "You're beautiful, Aria."
"Even so, compliments don't solve my dilemma."
Aria's phone vibrated from her nightstand. "Mom, can you see what it says?" Aria picked up the navy dress she had dropped and shrugged. "I guess this'll have to do..." she muttered disapprovingly, taking it off its hanger.
"Rosie, your Dad says you are the prettiest girl in the entire world," Ella read from Aria's phone. "And I agree."
Rosie had managed to maneuver herself to the back of the closet, looking through Aria's remaining old dresses. She poked her head between two dresses and with wide-eyed expression of pure joy, "Prettier than Rapunzel?"
Ella chuckled. "Rapunzel doesn't stand a chance next to Miss Rosalie Fitz."
Rosie smiled, but was quickly distracted by something to her right. "Mommy, I found a pretty dress!" Rosie squealed, tugging on a dress from below. It was a royal blue dress with an empire waist and lace straps. She wasn't tall enough to take it off the hanger, but after a few tugs, it fell to her feet.
Aria looked at Rosie stifled a laugh. "I wore that to Nana and Grandpa Zack's wedding when you were in my belly, so I think it'll be too big."
Rosie picked it up and held it in front of her face, accentuating the dress's maternity size. It wasn't that large, but in comparison to her tiny size, it must've seemed gigantic. She dropped the dress and twisted her mouth into a sour face. "Mommy I never want to have a baby because I don't want to get fat."
Aria shook her head and laughed. "Rosie Posie, you're certainly a character."
After a few moments of deep thought, the curious 3-year-old added, "Can I marry a girl?"
Aria was used to her random questions that only made sense in her daughter's mind, so she wasn't phased by such an inquiry. She dropped her towel and stepped into the navy dress. "You can marry whoever you want," she assured her, "but steer clear of your English teacher." She pulled the straps over her shoulders and looked in the mirror. Not bad.
"Can I marry you?"
Aria peered at her daughter through the mirror. "Of course you can."
Ella stood up from the bed. "Ro, let's wait in the other room while Mommy finishes getting ready."
Rosie clumsily walked out of the room as told wearing a pair of Aria's heels. Of course, now they'd have to convince her to put her flats back on. Aria knew it was too good to be true.
"Mike, Zack, and your father are meeting us there. Did you say Spencer was coming?" Ella wondered.
"She better be or Rosie will throw a fit."
"And I'll throw a fit," Ella mentioned, a serious expression taking over her face. "She's the only one who can help me keep Rosie entertained during a 3-hour ceremony since Ezra isn't showing up." Her tone was filled with bitterness as it always was when she mentioned him.
"He had some appointment he couldn't cancel, Mom. There's really no reason he should be expected to go."
"I suppose you're right, but the girl has a father who should help out."
"He does help out, and honesty, he's probably a better parent than I am." Aria had accepted her reality years ago, and sometimes wondered if her mother wanted Ezra to take care of her as well. Aria didn't want that. She was happy living her single life—for now.
"You're wrong," Ella sighed and shook her head before exiting the room. She stopped at the door. "Hurry up. If I don't get to see my daughter walk across that stage after these past years, I will hold your diploma hostage."
Ultimately, It didn't really matter that Aria was wearing an out-of-season dress as it was covered with a large black graduation gown. Her perfectly curled long chestnut hair was topped with a hideous graduation cap. She hated whoever invented the graduation attire, forcing her to wear such an atrocity in front of thousands of people.
To Aria, the ceremony seemed to take years. To Ella and Spencer, the ceremony might as well have been a century. Rosie did not want to sit still, but when Aria's name was called and she walked across the stage, Ella and Spencer managed to control her for a moment so she could watch her mommy. Aria looked over the audience of strangers and witnessed a tiny hand waving to her in the center of the crowd. She did it all for the little girl who had her smile.
There was a time when Aria thought she'd never receive her diploma. Like the nights she cried more intensely than her baby as she tried to rock her to sleep. Or the nights when she thought she'd fail her exams because she spent hours fighting with a grumpy two-year-old. It took her five years, several part-time jobs, and a damaged pride to get to this moment. But even so, she managed to end her college education with a 3.7 GPA. It wasn't Spencer's idea of perfect, but it was a miracle nonetheless. Especially knowing all the times she was close to giving up on everything.
Aria stood in front of the venue as she posed for photos with her family members, holding an armful of flowers and her diploma. In each photo, Rosie stood by her side wide a large grin, her tiny fingers tugging on her mother's gown. She didn't completely understand why, but she knew she was proud of her mommy. And she insisted on being present in every photo.
When everyone had their turn with the graduate and Ella had taken a sufficient amount of photos—probably about 100—Spencer attacked Aria with the tightest hug she could manage. "Do you have any idea how proud I am?" Ella snapped another photo of this moment.
Aria rolled her eyes. "Spence, stop making this bigger than it is. You graduated a year and a half ago."
Spencer stepped back and looked down at Aria, narrowing her eyes. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Three years ago, I thought you were going to lose everything. You overcame that and graduated with honors. Let me be proud of my best friend."
Aria smiled and chewed her bottom lip. "Fine." She looked behind her and noticed Rosie giving Ella a hard time, running around in circles and bumping into strangers. "Rosie, we're leaving. Do you want to get some lunch with Spencer and everyone else?" Her daughter perked up at the mention of her favorite aunt and darted across the pavement, immediately grabbing Spencer's hand.
When she graduated from high school, this was not what Aria imagined for herself in five years. She didn't expect to have a 4-year-old daughter with Ezra's last name, but she did expect they'd be calling "Aria Fitz" instead of "Aria Montgomery" across the stage. She used to be so foolish when she believed in love stories. None of it seemed worth it anymore.
It was a normal Saturday night for Aria and Rosie, except this Saturday marked the end of the first chapter with her daughter. A fork in the road with countless roads to choose from. Each one meant something different for her daughter. Each one meant something different for Ezra. After her family had eventually deserted her apartment at 7 p.m., she attempted to buckle her overtired sugar-filled daughter into her car seat of her silver Prius. Rosie's dress had since been covered in a child's masterpiece of spaghetti sauce, dirt, and apple juice. Strands of frizzy curls fell out of her braids. She screamed and kicked as her mother closed the door. She didn't want to leave Nana. But on Monday, she'd likely not want to leave her father.
Aria had custody of Rosie Tuesday through Saturday; Ezra had his princess Sunday and Monday. Because they were on good terms, the days often changed to meet their schedules. But this week it was the norm.
Aria shut her door and put her keys in the ignition. "Stop screaming or I'll tell Daddy that you need to go right to bed," Aria scolded in her stern mother voice. "Just rest your eyes." She reached forward and turned the knob to turn on the radio, hoping to soothe her loud daughter. Hoping to soothe herself. Minutes passed and Rosie's screams dissipated until they turned into quiet breathing. Aria looked in the rearview mirror. She was asleep.
She pulled into Ezra's driveway. Unlike herself, he lived in a a beautiful three-bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood filled with kids. A swing set and a kiddie pool occupied his decent-sized backyard. Aria didn't have a backyard. Of course he had recently turned thirty and was eight years ahead in his life, but it always served to remind Aria that he could provide for their daughter far better than she could. It wasn't fair.
Aria stepped onto the driveway. Remnants of Rosie's chalk drawings remained on the pavement from last weekend. It appeared as if Ezra had traced Rosie, and then Rosie had traced Ezra. The two figures stood side-by-side holding hands. Aria smiled before slowly opening the back door of her car. She carefully unbuckled her sleeping daughter and propped her over her shoulder. She kneeled down and retrieved Rosie's tattered pink blankie from the floor. Forgetting the blankie would mean another trip to the neighborhood in the matter of hours. It happened several times before.
Ezra waited at the front door and gave Aria a friendly smile, opening the door to let the two girls in. He wore a pair of khaki shorts and a dark green v-neck t-shirt, but Aria was long passed falling for the small chest hairs that poked from under his shirt. "Hey," he whispered before taking his daughter and the blankie from Aria. The small girl stirred a little but didn't wake up. She nuzzled her head into the crook of her father's neck, knowing exactly where she was even in her sleep.
Aria stood on the tip of her toes to kiss her daughter's forehead. Her lips were inches from Ezra's neck, where they used to love to suck in prior years. Now it was just skin to her. "Love you Rosie Posie," she whispered. "I'll see you in a couple days." She lovingly ran her hand over her daughter's hair.
A woman appeared at the top of the stairwell. She was closer to Ezra's age, maybe a little younger. Her auburn hair fell to her shoulders and accentuated her beautiful brown eyes. She was thin, as if she never had to worry about staying fit. Like she could eat a package of Oreos in one sitting and not gain an ounce. It was enough to label her as a bitch, but she was far too nice for that. "Hey Aria," she greeted quietly, descending the staircase. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Aria simply replied.
The woman carefully put her hands around Rosie and took her from Ezra, as if she had been used to doing it for years. "I'll put Ro on the couch." She gently rubbed the girl's back and carried her in the other room, leaving Ezra alone with his ex-girlfriend.
Ezra loosely put his arms around Aria in a friendly hug and quickly let go. "Congratulations, Aria. I'm proud of you." He took a few steps to the left and grabbed a small blue gift bag from a table in the breezeway. He handed it to Aria with his trademark shy grin.
"You didn't have to get me anything, but thank you." She took the gift and exhaled a heavy breath. "She had a lot of sweets today. Don't let her have too much."
Ezra nodded and scratched behind his neck, as he always did. "Lindsey and I were actually going to take her out for ice cream tomorrow. But maybe we'll wait until Monday to give her a sugar break."
Aria nodded and bit her lower lip. "Yes, I don't want her getting used to it now that it's almost summer."
And just like every Saturday, the two exchanged a short casual conversation—mostly about their daughter—and said goodbye. It was the only intimacy they shared since 2013.
Before she pulled out of the driveway, Aria opened the small gift Ezra had given her—a charm bracelet with a cliche graduation cap charm. She placed it back in the bag and threw it onto the empty passenger seat. She looked in the rearview mirror at Rosie's empty car seat. It had been three years, but she'd never get used to the miserable emptiness that filled the car when she couldn't see her baby girl's tangled dark curls in the mirror.
Rosie spent nearly her entire life knowing nothing else but having two homes, two bedrooms, two separate parents. She wasn't old enough to remember the pain of her parents' split, but unfortunately, she also wasn't old enough to remember the impossible love they once shared.
But only once, and never twice.
Just to motivate you to continue reading, the next chapter takes place in 2013—before Rosie was born. And it will alternate each chapter. (Easier to understand than flashbacks.)
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