Perspective
Ella sat curled up on the couch in the front room of the Montgomery house, lost deep in her thoughts. How had her daughter gotten mixed up in a relationship with her teacher? Ella knew now that their relationship hadn't begun that way, but still. When did her little girl turn into a young woman who picked up older men in bars? She distinctly remembered the young girl, and she was getting used to the beautiful young woman Aria had become, but Ella felt like somewhere in the middle of her crumbling marriage and Mike's depression she had missed the transition from one to the other.
Her sweet little girl who had rebelled against the sameness of Rosewood and went through too many phases of weirdness to count had not only gone out and found herself, but had also matured into a brilliant headstrong woman. And this woman was well on her way too not needing her mother. That terrified Ella.
While Ella was dealing with her own problems, Aria had taken hers elsewhere. Ezra now seemed to have taken Ella's place as Aria's shoulder to cry on, secret keeper, biggest fan, and Saturday morning cartoon buddy. Ella was almost jealous; angry at him for taking those things away from her. But she also realized that Ezra was there for Aria when Ella was not, and for that Ella was grateful. Aria was at least being taken care of by somebody. And considering the options in this town, Ella was glad it was Ezra. Especially since Byron wasn't around she needed at least one steady man in her life.
Ella was startled from her deep thought when she heard a car pull into their driveway. A glance at the clock told her that it was 1:30 am; two hours past Aria's curfew. Ella heard the car doors slam closed and rolled her eyes. They could've at least tried being sneaky about it. She stood and made her way toward the front door, about to open it. But when she heard muffled voices she pressed her ear to it instead and looked through the glass at the couple. She watched as Aria smiled and laced her fingers through Ezra's.
"I guess this is goodnight. Thanks for everything tonight Ezra." She giggled and took a step closer to him. Ella grimaced for a moment, worried what Aria might mean by "everything." A brief, terrifying image of the two of them rolling around on the bed in his apartment popped into her mind, but she pushed it away quickly as Ezra responded. "It's no big deal, and while we're being honest I'm so glad you called me." Aria's smile widened. "Me too." She pecked his lips and reached for the door, but his arm stopped her. Ezra pressed her back against the brick wall of her porch, leaning forward and whispering playfully in her ear, "Not that I'm complaining, but I drove forty minutes to pick up you and your friends, two of which were very drunk, bought you all dinner, took you all home, and that is all the thanks I get?" Aria chuckled, "Sorry let me fix it." Their lips met in a heated kiss. Ezra pressed his girlfriend tightly against the wall of her house, one of his knees slipping between her legs. Their hands were frantically exploring each other's bodies when Ella finally decided she'd seen enough.
The couple jumped apart as Ella unlocked and opened the front door. "Mom!" Ezra appeared terrified, while Aria seemed slightly scared, but mostly annoyed that their make out session had been cut short. Ella frowned, "Curfew was two hours ago." She swung the door open widely gesturing for them both to enter. "Aria, you can head on upstairs while Ez-" "No Mom! I will not go sit in my room upstairs like some sort of child while the grownups talk." Ella looked at Aria quizzically for a moment. Ella thought she was being very calm in such a situation. Especially compared to Byron. She took a deep breath, "Aria, this is not up for discussion. You asked that I treat this like a normal relationship, so I am. I would do the exact some thing if it were Noel or Holden bringing you home two hours late." Ella's expression left no room for argument and Aria didn't try because she was surprised at the validity of her mother's explanation. She pecked a silent Ezra on the lips, "Love you." Her five inch heels carried her up the stairs and his, "You too," followed her.
He looked at Ella, waiting for her to say something. "Aria Marie, I know you're still standing there!" She shouted up the stairs and then in a quieter tone to Ezra, "Let's go to the kitchen where we won't be overheard, shall we?" Ezra followed her into the kitchen, where Ella surprised him by making tea and small talk.
After a few minutes she stopped and looked pointedly at him, "Alright, so you probably know that I didn't drag you in here to discuss Rosewood Day's new English program, so let's cut to the chase." Ezra gulped and Ella smirked, enjoying the fact that she intimidated him.
"I heard you talking outside, and I just wanted to say thank you. And not just for tonight, but every night you've been there for her when I haven't. I know this probably wasn't the first time that you've gotten her and the other girls out of trouble. You've helped her through a lot and it means everything to me knowing someone is taking care of her."
Ezra sat stunned through Ella's monologue. It definitely wasn't what he was expecting. He thought she was going to injure him for bringing her daughter home so late, or the way he was kissing her on the porch. Or even for the simple fact that he was dating her daughter. No, he was definitely not expecting Ella to thank him for anything, especially not thank him for everything. Ezra nodded at his girlfriend's mother smiling, "Of course. Aria is the only real thing that matters in my life. I couldn't dream of letting her go through any of this on her own."
Ella pondered for a moment what Ezra meant by "Any of this." It concerned her that maybe he knew more about what was going on in her daughter's life than she did. But she brushed it off. He probably did. Aria and Ella didn't do much sharing these days.
She smiled at Ezra, "Now that that's done with… Time for the obligatory interrogation as the parent of a teenager who missed her curfew." Ella winked at Ezra and he chuckled.
"Just in case Aria asks you what we talked about. So you will not be having her home past curfew anymore?"
"Never again."
"And just some ground rules while we are at it. No Alcohol."
Ezra acted shocked that Ella would even suggest such a thing. "No!"
"No drugs?"
"Nope."
"Safe Sex?"
Ezra choked a little bit on the tea and turned a dark shade of beet red. He nodded.
Ella laughed, "Alright I think I've scared you enough for one night. You take care of my daughter." Ezra nodded again, still recovering from her previous question. "Yes ma'am."
"And remember if you ever hurt her Mike and I will permanently harm you, and if we don't kill you, I can guarantee that Spencer, Hanna and Emily definitely will." Ezra smiled awkwardly, because he knew it was true. "Yes Mrs. Montgomery. Thank you for the tea." Ella laughed walking back through the house towards the door. "We are still an informal family Ezra. You can still call me Ella."
As she opened the door she shouted in a fake angry voice (That Aria was meant to hear), "Get out of here! And don't you ever come near my daughter again!" Aria, as expected, came flying out of her room, and tumbling down the stairs, unsteady in her heels. Aria threw herself into Ezra's arms at the bottom of the stairs and pressed herself into his chest breathing deeply. Ezra's arms wrapped around her and his hand pressed into her hair at the back of her head, holding her against him, for the final time that night. His eyes made contact with Ella's as she mouthed a silent 'Thank you' to him, for keeping her daughter safe even when she couldn't anymore.