Here is the Epilogue. I'm so beyond thankful for everyone's favorites, reviews, story alerts, author alerts... It all shows that you liked this and you cared enough to show me in some way. It means more than you know. Enjoy! 3

The Prologue to this will be posted on Tumblr only. As I had mentioned before, it takes a sadder tone than the rest of this, so it gives the story a whole different feel. The link is in my profile, so fair warning. :)


"...both Bucks County and adjacent Delaware County can expect to see another two inches of rain tonight..."

This rain wasn't going to stop any time soon, I thought as the weather report from the car radio drifted in and out of my conscious mind through the static-filled radio station. I'd spent the entire ride home making sure that my clothes were perfect. I wanted nothing to be out of place - no mismatched buttons, crooked seams, missing jewelry or bracelets. Nothing could give away what we had just done. I had even made sure the sleeves on my coat were rolled the same way they had been when I had left my house. I pulled the passenger side visor down and studied my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were still a bit flushed, but otherwise, I concluded that I looked the same as I had before, aside from my wet hair.

"Is this it?" Ezra asked, motioning towards the dark purple house with light yellow trim.

"What?" I asked, pulled from my thoughts.

"Your house."

"Oh! Yes." I said, sounding somewhat sheepish as Ezra drove into the driveway. I quickly glanced up at my house at the top of the driveway. I knew that even if anyone was looking out the window, they wouldn't be able to see inside the car. "I, um, I had a really good time this afternoon." I said, unsure of what else to say. It seemed kind of formal, given the circumstances.

Ezra smiled back at me, taking my hand in his. "So did I."

I took the opportunity to kiss him goodbye, which turned into about four kisses. "Okay, I really have to go, before Mike or my parents decide to come out and be social or something." I said, opening the car door. There may have been only one other car in the driveway, but I had no idea who would be at home when I got in.

"See you tomorrow?" He asked, bringing my hand to his lips and kissing it.

"Of course." I smiled, as I finally got out the car. "I'll see you tomorrow." I said.

I opened the front door, a strange smile on my face. My mind was overflowing with so many different thoughts. This was... kind of amazing. And insane. How did this happen again? I mindlessly ran my fingers through my wet hair, smiling the whole time.

A voice came from behind me, pulling me from my thoughts. "We need to talk. You can't keep doing this."

I turned around to see my father sitting on our newly unpacked leather couch, reading a book. Had he been waiting for me to get home this entire time?

"You're not very good at hiding your feelings," My Dad said as he closed the book and took off his reading glasses, "and your mother knows that something's up."

I sighed inwardly. Things had been slipping out of my mouth lately. I knew it and he knew it... but the last person that I wanted to find out was my mother. Mom could never know what happened between my father and Meredith.

"Look, Aria, I don't like to lie, but sometimes telling the truth does more harm than good. Now when we were in Iceland, you found a way to let go of what happened." He continued.

"Are you seeing her again?" I asked, my voice a mixture of suspicion and curiosity.

"She teaches at Hollis, so I do see her, but not like that." His voice was calm and clear, as if trying to explain the concept of right and wrong to a child.

I sighed as I took off my coat and purposefully sat down in the chair opposite from him. "Were you in love with her?" I asked. Here I was, in light of my most recent turn of events, trying to make an effort to understand my father's adulterous ways. Why was I even entertaining the idea of having this conversation with him? Was I in love with Ezra?

"I had very strong feelings for Meredith, and my attraction to her took me completely by surprise. I had no intention of being unfaithful to your mother. And... you're too young to understand this, but the truth is, I gave into my emotions..."

No, Daddy, that's where you're wrong... two hours ago, I may not have fully understood, but I do now... I pursed my lips, trying to keep whatever thoughts in my head from tumbling out. I honestly don't know what would have come out of my mouth had Mike and Mom not come through the front door with two big bags of takeout just then.

"Mr. Chen was very happy to see us." The sound of my mother's voice unknowingly and abruptly ended our conversation, granting me a much needed mental reprieve from the thought that my father could have been with Meredith in the same fashion that I'd just been with Ezra.

My father didn't miss a beat. "By the looks of all of this food, I'm sure he was." He said as Mike barrelled past me, before sitting down in the other chair and filling our coffee table with little takeout boxes.

My mother turned to me. "I got you Kung Pao."

I held my hand out, suddenly aware of how hungry I was.

"You're- you're not going out tonight?" My Dad asked.

"No. No, I think I'll stay home." I said with a small smile. It seemed to be a rarity that I was home in the evenings now that we had returned to Rosewood. Every night since we'd gotten home, I'd been out somewhere with the girls.

"I like the sound of that." My Mom said.

Maybe I was wrong about my Dad. Maybe. I took a drink of water, shivering slightly as the cool liquid made it's way down my throat. Out of habit, I looked over at the thermostat on the wall. It was 65 degrees in the house, the air conditioning was on, and my clothes were still soaked - no wonder I was cold. "I'm gonna go get out of these wet clothes, 'kay?" I said. It was more of a statement than a question, as I grabbed my bag and started up the stairs.

The sound of my phone caused me to stopped partway up the stairs. Maybe it was Ezra. Would he be texting me already? My heart started to beat faster as I fished around in my bag, looking for confirmation of my best hopes. The smile on my face disappeared as fast as it had arrived as soon as I saw the message. It was worse than the last one...

"When students fuck teachers, someone gets HURT. That's a promise I'll keep... - A"