A/N: So thanks to everyone who reviewed and chose to follow Silent Propinquity, I hope you will enjoy the next chapter – I am so keen to get into this. I am so terribly sorry that it has taken me so long to update – I didn't think it would be more than a week or two, but life ran away with me. But here I it is now! Also review replies are at the bottom, and I am going to go back and fix up some errors I found in my last chapter! I shall try and proof read somewhat better from now on, but it won't be fault free aha. Also Ezra's family is different to the one on the show – so be aware of that thanks.
Again, I don't own Pretty Little Liars (:
I could tell that it wasn't so much a proposed question for my sake; rather a forewarning that Ezra's family was ready. I would need to make room in order to enable them to be there for him as well as the sedation was removed. Pursing my lips, I forced myself to smile tightly as I nodded. Turning back around to face Ezra, I realised that I would need some form of reassurance before leaving this to fate. I tightened my grip around his hand, bent over his motionless body and brushed my lips against his cold cheek. He would be okay. He had to be. Otherwise I didn't know what would happen next. I just, I didn't want to think about the repercussions of any possible negative outcome.
I had to let go, I had to be strong, I had to. Gulping hard, I released my grip and turned away. Bowing my head and silently wiping away the tears that were now trailing down my pale cheek, I moved to sit in the corner of the room. I kept a silent mantra going within my head, repeating over and over that if I was strong everything would be okay. My shifted position allowed his family to work themselves around the hospital bed as the doctor started fiddling with the numerous buttons on the medical equipment that was monitoring Ezra.
"This process may take a while, as the sedation will need to work itself fully out of Ezra's system. The next part will be the hardest, it will be up to him when, if, he comes to" the doctor informed us as he stood back after finishing the necessary actions in order to remove the sedation. As he exited, silence engulfed the confining space. All of Ezra's family had their eyes trained on him, surrounded like a pack of seagulls around a single breadcrumb. My vision of him was basically impossible, and as hard as it was I knew Ezra's family had more right to claim time with him at the moment than I did.
It was all too overwhelming, not just standing by and watching helplessly while I had no real idea as to whether Ezra would survive or not but also the way our relationship thrust into the open like this. I guess I wouldn't really have it any other way though; it wasn't an option to just stand back and wait until I heard news concerning Ezra's wellbeing. Which I guess Ella understood when I called her the night of the accident, however I am not so sure about Ezra's family…
The morning after the accident
It was 8am, I had barely left Ezra's side all night - holding his hand tightly and whispering tearful pleads to his un-responding body. Now I was required to step out of the room as the doctors came to do their rounds. My heart wrenched as my mind was filled with millions of tormenting thoughts raced around that I could hardly grab onto and focus on a single one instead of all the numerous possibilities I was filtering through. I so badly wanted to know the comments they were making about Ezra's current condition, whether they thought he would pull through.
As the doctors exited the room to proceed to the next patient, Ezra's main doctor turned to me and informed me that there wasn't a lot more since the previous night that they could offer information wise on Ezra's current state or what was to happen from now, then he told her that his family had been contacted late last night and would be due to arrive at the hospital in approximately half an hour.
"I don't want to tell you what to do, but I would advise that when they arrive it might be for the best that you would allow them some time to adjust to this situation. It is already quite a stressful situation without taking into consideration the remaining factors…", it was mostly a warning that I needn't hear, but appreciated all the same. I hadn't talk personally with the doctor about the situation between Ezra and I, and he was professional enough not to encroach upon the subject but I guess it wasn't too hard for him to know that our relationship was complicated. Particularly with our age difference wouldn't be described as anything akin to subtle.
Thanking the doctor, I moved back into Ezra's hospital room. Sitting at his bedside, I reached down to hold his hand again, savouring the physical contact as it was all the comfort I could get from him in his current state. I didn't want to stay too long as I knew that half an hour was only an estimate time for his family to arrive. I also didn't know how long they would be in with Ezra or when I would be able to check in with him again, so I wanted to make the most of it.
I looked down at Ezra's immobile body, wishing that I could stay with him longer but not knowing his family would, most likely, make it impossibly awkward. I was nervous about facing Ezra's family without him. Ideally, I thought that when I finally met his family it would be by his side, holding his hand as he gave me the calming reassurance he, solely, has only been able to give me in quite a long time. I wasn't even sure his family knew about me at this stage. He didn't exactly talk about them. Well other than sharing some childhood memories and his basic life history, Ezra had only skimmed over details of his family. I knew that they came from a beautiful property interstate – a family that included an older, married brother, a younger sister perhaps a year or two older than me, and his mother and father were still happily married.
I kissed him lightly, before heading off to the hospital cafeteria. I wasn't exactly hungry, but I had been awake for nearly 24 hours whilst surviving off only coffee, so I knew that if I didn't get food into me soon I might collapse. After ordering a coffee and a toasted sandwich, I mindlessly sat at a table by myself facing the entrance of the hospital. I was lost in thoughts of 'what if's'. It had occurred to me a while ago that I have grown jaded in the past few years – starting around when I discovered Byron was cheating, and then Alison's death and everything that followed. It was serverly affecting my confidence in the current situation, making me believe the worste and know that 'realistically' (or so occording to me), I could only hope for positive outcomes. Although, ss grotesque as it might be, I was thankful that for once I wasn't so consumed by thoughts and worries of A and their sabotage of Hannah, Spencer, Emily and I.
Silently biting into my sandwich I noticed a family enter the hospital. Although I was unable to see their faces, I just knew that they were Ezra's family. Repetitively, and quite rapidly my foot started to bounce up and down as I continued to become more and more anxious about the impending meeting of his family, and also how Byron would react to mine and Ezra's relationship. My family wasn't due back until mid-afternoon, so the next few hours were just going to be a waiting game – and the hours that ticked by where exactly that.
Clicking down the unlock button on my phone - the time, 11:57am, glared right back at me. Had I really been awake this long? It was a partial shock as there were no present thoughts of sleep within my mind – however influenced that might be due to the numerous coffees' coursing through my body. I hadn't seen Ezra's family since they entered the hospital, but I assumed they were in with Ezra, who was just down the hall from I was in the waiting room just outside of the intensive care unit. I was getting more and more impatient and tortured. I needed something to happen soon – I couldn't continue to sit here whilst my insecurities keep eating away at me.
With that, my prayers were partially answered. The door of Ezra's hospital room opened, and out came his family with the doctor. I could see that they were discussing something, in a hushed manner in which I wasn't able to make any real detail out of what they were saying. Not that I was really an eavesdropper – but perhaps there was something that the doctors were telling them about that I didn't know. I started to fidget as they made their way down the hall, edging closer and closer to where I was sitting.
Looking intently at them, I wondered if they even knew what I looked like. Surely they had to know about me by now, even if it was by the doctor discretely telling them that I was here as Ezra's girlfriend. What was going to happen when they walked past me…would they stop? Talk to me? Even look at me? Before I had a chance to look away, the youngest girl looked over at me with eyes glistening with unshed tears. Breaking away from the rest of the family, she worked her way towards me at a frighteningly quick pace. I hardly had enough time to stand up and brace myself for whatever was about to happen next.
Before I know it, I was embraced in a diaphragm crushing hug. Taken aback by this action, I stood there shell shocked. Gathering my thoughts as quickly as I could, I looked over the young girls shoulders to where the rest of the family was located. They had progressed quite a bit without my detection – probably due to all of my attention having been on the approaching of the girl that was still embracing me so tightly. As she let go of me, and stood back a few steps, I could examine all five of their faces – his mum, dad, brother and sister – and another, pregnant, women who I guessed would be the wife of Ezra's brother. All of their faces were exactly the same – full of emotional strain, Ezra's mum however had obviously been crying quite heavily. However, anything regarding how they felt towards me or my presence at the hospital was undetectable.
I watched Ezra's brother stepped forward and smiled slightly at me, he seemed to be very similar to Ezra – except for being slightly older, and of stockier build. "Hi, you must be Aria. We've heard a fair bit about you, from the times we actually got to talk to Ezra…" with that, his voice broke, with the emotional weight of the situation we all have found ourselves in. Well at least now I knew they had heard about me – maybe this would make it easier meeting them without Ezra…
Skips back to where they are in the hospital waiting for Ezra to wake up.
The last couple of days hadn't been exactly smooth – but they didn't seem to mind me. It wasn't like I was welcomed into the family mourning for their son, their brother – but I had sat with them in the waiting room, and at the cafeteria a few times. I felt the vibration of my phone as it went off in my pocket. I hardly had been using it while everything was going on, but knowing it might be my parents wandering how things were going I pulled it out. Ella had been extremely supportive, coming to the hospital to check up on not only Ezra, by me as well. Making sure I was keeping myself hydrated and fed. It also seemed like had been a talk between her parents about her relationship – Byron seemed to be trying his best to show his support through this tough time, although not as much so as Ella. Flicking into the message I had just received, my blood ran cold.
My, my, my Aria, seems like you aren't even apart of Ezra's cosy little family now… Wander just how welcome you would be if they found out you are the reason he is in hospital. Did you really think you could stay happily with him forever? - A.
Keep the reviews coming! (: also as promised,
Review Replies:
Lucianfan: Ah, I forgot to say its rated M for future reference – I have ideas of adding a few raunchier scenes and such into it so yeah, I didn't realise til just now you can change the rating later on but yeah. Also thank you for your idea I shall think about it, but don't worry I didn't plan on him losing his memory – in all honesty I did briefly consider it but it is very played out as you said. Thank you for your review! (:
Rosalindlikespll: Thank you so much! It meant a lot to me reading your review! I'm getting pretty excited to see this develop as well, I have plenty of ideas now and I am so keen to write this up!
GilmoreGirls945: Thank you heaps! Hope you enjoyed this last chapter, there was a bit on Ezra's family and the initial interaction between them – more to come as well, especially when Ezra is awake to deal with it all!
Bite-me-irish, foreverdream7 & sandra1992: Ah thank you for your reviews!
