The Time We Spent

I rolled over in bed softly, taking time to take note of the soft sheets that had become so familiar. They slid over my naked body as I let my eyes fade open, knowing full well what they would be met with; his sleeping face. It was my favorite thing to wake up to in the morning, and since it was summer, it was becoming a nightly habit. Most nights I slept at his place, alternating between the lies I told my parents.

They knew about Ezra's and my relationship, and they tolerated it, but they certainly did not condone it. They allowed me to see him because they knew it they forbid me, I would just go behind their back and see him, and since he wasn't my teacher anymore, they couldn't do anything about it, especially since I was 18 now, and had graduated a few weeks ago. Since my parents no longer lived together, it wasn't too hard to trick them into believing I was staying at one of the girls house's, or at the other parent's house.

I slowly moved out from under the sheets and pulled on his soft, cotton, gray t-shirt, my jean shorts that had been discarded before bed the previous night, and slipped on a pair of flip flops. I grabbed my wallet and softly shut the door behind me. I brushed me teeth, threw my hair up into a ponytail, and then silently left the apartment. I let out a loud breath I didn't know I had been holding in once I was in the safety of the hallway, where I would not wake him.

I walked down the three flights of stairs until I was met with the sidewalk and took a left out of his apartment complex. I walked the short distance to The Brew, and pulled the door open.

Waiting in line, I looked around the small café to see if I knew any of the current occupants; Rosewood was a small town and all. I saw my former history teacher in the corner, and made a mental note to stop by and say hello after ordering.

"Hi, I'll have two black coffees and two bagels, one plain, and one blueberry." I ordered, pulling the money out of my wallet. The cashier rang me up at the register, handing me my bagels, while I waited for my coffees. Shortly after, she handed me them in a cup holder.

"Hi Mr. Reynolds." I said politely, as I walked by.

"Oh Aria! I didn't even see you there. How are you?"

"Good, starting to get my things together for college."

"That's wonderful! NYU, right?" He asked, and I nodded.

"I'm sure you'll do great there." He assured and I went to thank him when my phone started ringing. I pulled it out of my back pocket and read Ezra at the top. I fumbled to put my phone away, hoping Mr. Reynolds didn't see it, but I knew he had. Rumors about our relationship had become tumultuous in the past few months, and even though Ezra hadn't been my teacher for over a year because he now taught at Hollis, many people still disapproved of us together.

"I have to go, but I was nice to see you." I said kindly.

"You too Ms. Montgomery. And good luck in New York." He feigned a smile, trying not to let me notice his disapproving look. I walked past him and rolled my eyes on the way out. Why couldn't everyone mind their own business?

I made my way back up to Ezra's apartment and let myself in using the key he had given me a while back. He was awake now and was doing something on his phone.

"There you are, I wasn't sure where you went." He said smiling. I placed the bagels down on the counter and handed him his coffee. We ate in mostly silence, but it was comfortable.

"So, I have office hours today from 10-2, but I'm free after that if you want to do something?"

"I actually told the girls I would go to the mall with them, and my mom wants me to go to her place for dinner." I said with a slight frown. I liked hanging out with the girls, don't get me wrong, but I didn't like spending the day apart from Ezra.

"That's okay. You're probably getting tired of me anyway." He teased.

"I'm going to shower." I said, kissing his lips, which had a small bit of cream cheese leftover.

Ezra was teaching a summer course at Hollis, and then he would be teaching at Columbia in the fall. We were sharing an apartment between both campuses, and school would just be an easy subway ride for both of us. My parents weren't happy about it, and my only saving grace was that they only had to pay partial rent on a New York apartment now.

Getting out of the shower, I felt a headache coming on. I took a Tylenol out of Ezra's medicine cabinet and got dressed. I put my hair up and put on only a small amount of makeup.

"Hey, I'm heading out, okay?" I said to Ezra, grabbing my keys.

"Okay. Have fun. I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled, kissing me.

"I love you." I said as I opened the door.

"I love you too."

"Aria, come on, you're falling behind." Spencer said when we were three hours into our shopping trip.

"Sorry, I have a huge headache that hasn't gone away all day." I said, rubbing my forehead.

"Oh, well do you want to go home?" Emily offered.

"I'll just call my mom, you guys don't need to leave just because of me." I insisted.

"Don't be stupid Aria. We've been here for forever anyway." Spencer added. I nodded and followed them out to Hanna's car, who had driven us.

The drive was mostly silent as I willed the pain in my head to subside.

"Thanks for the ride guys." I said as they pulled up to my mom's house. I winced as I shut the door behind me. I walked up the path to my mom's townhouse.

"Hi honey, how was the mall?" She asked as soon as I stepped through the door.

"Okay." I lied, putting my bags down.

"Good. Well dinner will be in about a half hour." I smiled and went to the bathroom. I was glad I was already in the bathroom because I had the overwhelming urge to throw up. I quickly turned the faucet on so my mother wouldn't hear me as I threw up.

After a solid two minutes of heaving, I slowly stood up, wiping my mouth. The first thing I had noticed was that the pain in my head had dulled, but I took some more medicine, just incase.

I felt a lot better after vomiting, so I brushed my teeth and went out to the kitchen for dinner.

I set the table and got Mike before dinner was ready.

The conversation was light and my mom avoided all topics that involved Ezra, which made me happy. I helped her clean up, and then headed to my room to call Ezra.

"Hey there. How was your day?"

"It was okay, nothing special. I had a headache for a while, but I feel better now. How about you? How were office hours?"

"They were okay, nothing special. Some kid is back for the third time to ask me for a better grade, so that was kind of annoying, but other than that, nothing interesting happened today." He explained.

"Well hopefully tomorrow will be better. What time is your class?"

"2 until 4."

"Okay, do you want to do something afterwards?"

"Of course. I'll make dinner, how's that sound?"

"That sounds great! I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too." I hung up the phone after hearing that and laid down on my bed. It was only then that I realized how tired I really was. I changed into my pajamas and then turned my light off. I crawled into bed before feeling an intense ache in my head again, but this time it was much worse. It was a pain that I hadn't felt in nearly 10 years. I quickly pulled my phone out.

"Hi, this is Aria Montgomery, and I'd like to make an appointment for tomorrow. It's urgent."