Hello! Sorry for how long it's been since I updated! But I am back and here is the next chapter for "On my Mind"! I hope you enjoy it…and be sure to tell me how much you enjoy it in a review!

"So you'll never guess who I ran into at the supermarket the other day?" Aria looked quizzically at her mother with her eyebrows raised. "Who?"

"Ezra Fitz." Ella replied carefully, gauging her daughters reaction. Aria immediately gasped, her suspicions being confirmed. She thought that she'd seen him several times lurking around town. Mostly in the familiar spots she always saw him, the coffee shop, and the block around his apartment where he would go for jogs and ride his bicycle. She even thought the other day when driving down Fifth Street that she saw a flash of brown curly hair walking into that same familiar apartment building. But she just figured she was seeing things.

Nostalgia tended to hit her at times when she least expected it, making her yearn for her younger days when all she was worried about was finding good cover stories to make her many trips to Ezra's apartment possible. Sometimes she laughed at the things she'd gotten away with, the weekend trips they'd taken together, the midnight meetings when she awoke from her sleep and yearned to just feel the brush of his lips upon hers.

Never would she have guessed that her life would have ended up so twisted, complicated, and Ezra-less. She'd always assumed that in the end they would end up together. They were just that meant to be. But you saw to it yourself that you and Ezra didn't' get your happy ending together. She thought bitterly. There had been plenty of opportunities to reunite with him and she stubbornly hadn't taken them.

"So, why would that pertain to me?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders, trying to be indifferent about the situation. The last thing she wanted to do was open up that Pandora's box with her parents again.

"Well I remember correctly you two had quite a history together." Aria raised her coffee cup to her lips before replying. "Yes, sixteen years ago, when I was an adolescent, now there is nothing left between us."

"Not even Audrey?" Aria looked up to her mother in shock that she knew, and then felt ridiculous. Of course she knew, it wasn't that hard to figure out. Ezra was the only person that she slept with all throughout high school. And she didn't even start to date Jason until long after Audrey was born. Her parents knew she wasn't one to sleep around.

Aria remained silent, her coffee suddenly very interesting. "Aria? Are you okay?" she looked up and nodded slowly, keeping her eyes trained on her coffee. "I'm sorry honey, I shouldn't have-"

"Why is he back?" she interrupted suddenly not processing any of the words falling from her mother's lips. Ella sighed. "He's back teaching at the high school. He also said he's father has fallen ill and he wanted to be close."

"So he moved back here? Why not New York, where his parents live?" Ella looked at her daughter softly. "Now that he didn't tell me. Look, all I know is,- is that he is back at the high school, where Audrey is, and we both know the he's her father, whether or not you told me, and they are both smart people, and will figure it out before too long. I just wanted you to be prepared, honey. The last thing you want is for Audrey to get hurt."

Aria sniffled, trying to not let herself cry anymore over Ezra. She'd done enough of that. She placed her head in her hands, elbows on the table, shaking her head slightly. "Why does everything pertaining to him have to be so damn complicated? I never get to just make a black or white decision. There are always a million other problems that come along as baggage with any choice I make."

"What are you talking about Aria?" she looked up at her mother, before replying.

"I want Ezra to know about Audrey, I do. I think he has every right to know and I feel awful about keeping this from him. One of the constellations I always gave myself was that I would never see him again and neither would she, but now he's back. But if I tell him he's going to be angry with me and so is Audrey, you know she will. She gets angry at you and you could die of frost bite."

Ella sighed and placed her hand on her daughters, rubbing her thumb over the top. "Look, whatever decision you make, just make sure it's the right one for Audrey." Aria nodded and let the silent tears she'd been holding back, fall.

….

"Okay, everyone I will need these book reports back by Monday. So if you haven't started then you have all weekend or at least Sunday night." A murmured laugh fell over the class as Audrey raised her hand. "Yes, Aria-uh…" he shook his head correcting himself. "Audrey." She lowered her hand and shook her head, saying never mind, as he mentally kicked himself. Why did he call her Aria? She had the most striking resemblance to her mother, it was almost unreal.

The bell rang and Ezra dismissed the class before him, asking Audrey to stay behind. "I apologize for that. It was just a slip of the tongue." She squinted her eyes quizzically before smiling.

"It's okay. Do you know my Mom?" Ezra shook his head before answering, "No-well, yes, I knew of your mother when I lived here in Rosewood before. You share a resemblance with her and I-I just slipped up."

"Ahh," she said smiling tilting her head back as she did so. "Okay, well I do want to ask you one thing."

"Anything."

"Would you mind helping me with my scholarship essays sometime? I haven't started writing them yet, but I will in about a month or so. If you could just review them and the like for me that would be great." He nodded, slightly wondering why she didn't just have her mother review them for her, knowing the literary fanatic she was, or used to be. He realized that he really didn't know Aria anymore.

"I would be more than happy to." Audrey smiled. "Thank you Mr. Fitz" she said before silently stalking out the door of his class room.

….

Audrey came home to her mother looking out the window with a coffee in her hand. She saw another cup that rested on the island, and wondered who'd been by to visit. "Hey Mom." Aria jumped and looked over to her daughter, wiping her tear stained face with her left hand.

"Hey Audrey." She sniffled, "I was just about to start supper. What do you want?" Audrey looked her mother over for a second, trying to figure out what was wrong. Had who'd ever been to visit that day upset her? "Are you okay?"

Aria walked across the kitchen, not meeting Audrey's gaze as she did so. If she did, Aria knew there was a possibility that she might break down and cry again like she had all afternoon since her mother left. She knew that keeping this a secret for much longer was not going to be an option; she just simply didn't know how to go about the situation.

If she told Audrey, there would be back lash, she knew this much, but how would Ezra react? Would he even want anything to do with Audrey? And if he did, how would they even begin to go about getting to know each other? Would Audrey even want to know her father?

Of course she will. Especially with her knew found interest in asking about her dad. She opened the refrigerator and tried to find something to fix, but as usual there wasn't anything to make. "I'm fine honey. Just a few projects that I'm a little overwhelmed on, nothing to worry about. So I guess it will either have to be spaghetti or pizza that I order." She looked over to Audrey, "What'll it be?"

Audrey answered pizza, and Aria picked up the phone, ordering it and going to the living room to lounge on the couch until their dinner got there. Audrey followed her mother, not sure what to make of her mood, before falling onto the couch next to her mom. She cuddled into her side, and Aria ran her hand over Audrey's hair lovingly as she laid her head on her shoulder.

"I worry about you mom."

"I know."

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, looking up to her mother. Mr. Fitz was right, they do share a striking resemblance.

Aria gave her a kiss on the head, "I'm fine." Audrey let the silence of the house and the mummer of the T.V. fall over them before whispering, "Okay."