I completely forgot to put an Author's note on the first chapter and I apologize. I published that chapter really early and I spaced on it, haha. So this is my new story. If anyone out there is a HIMYM fan, I think you can maybe guess what storyline this story will be based off of. But here's to the second chapter and I hope you all enjoy!
"Come on, baby. We have to get going," Aria said as she pulled on her black trench coat and slid her bag over her shoulder. Liam nodded and shoved the last spoonful of Cheerios into his mouth before rushing to put his bowl in the sink. Aria put on her black flats and waited for Liam at the door as he grabbed his lunch bag and his own coat before hurrying out of the apartment door.
Her insane intake of wine last night and the outflow of strong emotions left her exhausted and irritable the next morning. But her strict policy to herself to never snap or yell at Liam, even when he was a bit slow that morning, stuck strong. As the walked, hand in hand to Liam's elementary school, Liam tugged on her hand.
"When are you coming home?" He asked simply as they came to the front door of the school. Aria bent down and kissed his forehead, knowing that like Scott all those years ago, Aria was coming home from the diner late and leaving Liam at his friend's house for a while before she came home. But she had to make a living somehow and until she found something better, waitressing was all she had.
"Late, baby. But I'll see you soon, okay? Be good for Miss Donna this afternoon," Aria said as she opened the door for her son and watched as he walked down the short hallway and into his kindergarten classroom. She didn't exactly know what time she'd be back home, whatever time she deemed do-able to leave and whenever she got enough cash in tips to keep her satisfied until she got her monthly payment. Her boss was pretty flexible and let Aria leave when she needed to, knowing her position in life and slightly sympathizing with her, but most nights Aria would stay as long as she needed to to scrape up the money she needed to survive. And that was pretty late.
Miss Donna was a gift sent from the angels. She was the mother of one of Liam's friends in his class. Once she saw Aria racing to pick up Liam and was frantic to find a baby sitter before she had to go to work, she offered to watch Liam after he and her son finished school everyday. Liam always had a good time at their house and Aria was finally relieved once that problem was all solved and she knew her little boy was in good hands.
Aria knew she had a few hours until she needed to start her shift and walked back home. The usual smell of the city, gasoline, cigar smoke and the sewer, was something Aria was well acquainted with by her seventh year living in the city. The foul smell didn't faze her as much as it did her first month or two of walking the streets constantly, when she was usually hand in hand with her new beau.
As Aria unlocked the door to her place, she let out a sigh of relief and walked into the kitchen. She suddenly remembered though, that she had drank the last of the wine the previous night and mentally reminded herself to pick some up later. A soft groan escaped Aria's lips as the thought hit her and she opened the fridge to try and find something close to the alcohol she was craving, but nothing. The closest thing she had was apple cider, and not the spiked kind.
Her eyes drifted to the clock above the stove and she counted down the moments before she had to head out the door. As much as she hated her job, she hated being alone in the apartment more. Even watching Liam run around the place and play with his action figures was more entertaining to her than staring off at the brick walls she was confined in. Being in the apartment alone only left her with her thoughts, and those led her to becoming greatly depressed and made her think deeper about how deep of a rut she was in.
Besides Liam, there was nothing positive about the life she was living. She tried dating, but every guy turned out to be a scum bag and she really didn't have time for finding someone, it just wasn't her top priority. She wasn't happy with her job, she wasn't happy with her location. And she definitely wasn't happy that she was a divorced mother dangling between the lines of lower middle class and poor at just twenty five, she was too young to be going through all the stress.
After a few hours of self loathing and wishing she had just a bit of alcohol to clean her up, Aria slid on her coat again and headed out in to the cold, lonely streets.
The back way she entered the diner smelled of petrol and burning grease, which was a typical scent for the run down place. They still got tons of business, but the place was as old as the city, and clearly and proudly showed that age. Aria changed into the standard white dress shirt again and tied the red apron around her waist and neck. She grabbed a notepad from the counter and waited for food to arrive and bring to people or a couple that she could practice politics on.
A few hours of welcoming customers to the diner and carrying piping hot plates on her arms passed by, and Aria knew that it was getting late, and she had racked up enough money to keep her and Liam going for the week.
"Just serve this last customer coming in and you can leave after that," The manager said as he saw Aria counting her tips and shoving them back into her apron pocket. Aria saw a man being led by the hostess into a booth and nodded, grabbing a menu from the stack of them on the counter. She knew Liam could wait another half hour or so.
Aria cleared her throat and walked out into the aisle of booths and found the man's seat. "Welcome to the Empire Diner, I'm Aria and I'll be your waitress." She recites for the hundredth as she fixes her untied apron strings and sets the menu down in front of him. Aria didn't bother glancing up at him until she was done, but she regretted even doing that. The man's face was frozen, struck in a trance of some sort once she arrived. And as soon as she looked up from behind her, so was she.
"Aria?" The man said as he gulped and shook his head as she tried to wrap his mind around what was going on. Aria thought about bolting; apologizing to the manager and asking the hostess to take care of her customer. What happened, should not have been.
"Ezra?" Aria croaked as she tried to compose herself and not make a scene in front of other customers and her co-workers. The last time they talked, she was ending it. Telling him that he was right, that maybe she should take the time she had in college for herself and maybe they'd cross paths again. But if she had one moment to make different, Aria knew that she wouldn't even think twice before changing what happened the night she called Ezra with her final decision. But now he was right in front of her, looking almost exactly the same as he did seven years ago. And Aria had no idea what she was doing, standing there like a fish out of water with her mouth open in shock.
Ezra gave a dry chuckle and crossed his arms, but it wasn't hostile. He didn't look angry one bit. And that surprised Aria seeing that she left him all those years ago and that turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life. He flashed a smile and looked up nostalgically up at her, as if she was a photo or something. He didn't say a word.
"H-how are you? Can I get you anything to drink?" Aria asked as casually as possible. She just wanted to get out of the situation and go home, this wasn't an appropriate time for him to crash into her life and smile at her like the past seven years didn't happen. Ezra just smiled and looked down at his menu for the first time since Aria had come to his table. Once she had arrived he had an aching feeling that it was her, but once she spoke and stated her name to him, he knew for sure.
"Just a water, thank you. But I'm good, how are you?" Ezra responds as he looks her up and down, studying her exhausted appearance. Aria did the same and noticed him all dressed up in a suit and tie, his hair neatly combed and cut, and his face freshly shaven. Aria swallowed hard and felt her hands clam up as she grappled on what to say to him. She surely couldn't just admit to him that she was doing terribly and fall into his arms. But she didn't want to lie to him, who knew if they'd ever see each other again.
"I'm... good as well. B-but I'll be right back with your drink." She says quickly as she rushes off before he can even open his mouth again to stop her. Aria ran to the kitchen to take a deep breath and try to hold on to something to tell her that what was happening was real. She didn't know if this was a sign of her changing her fate and finally chasing after that fairy tale ending she yearned for, or if this was the world forcing something on her so she can finally let it go. Because she never truly got over Ezra since that moment she called him up to tell him that it was over, for the time being.
As Aria filled up a glass with water and looked back at where Ezra was, he was just calmly looking down at his menu and analyzing the various options of things he could get at ten at night.
She was never one to take a leap of faith, but at that moment, Aria knew it was now or never. She might never see Ezra again, and whether this was life's way of repaying her for running her through the wringer, she knew that he might slip through her fingers again and she would regret her ever letting him go again.
Thank y'all so much for reading, don't forget to leave a review!