Chapter 6

Aria's Theory

When Aria entered her house, she quickly ran up the stares, grabbed her phone and sent a text to Vanessa, "call me ASAP!" She knew it would be almost an hour before Vanessa finished her run and showered. Aria sat at her room desk with her phone right in front of her, pondering over her possible birthmother.

The phone rang.

"Vanessa!"

"Hey, what's the emergency?"

"I just need to talk to you about something. Something important. Are your parents home? Can I come over?"

"Um, sure. Mom and Dad are out shopping and Aaron's over at a friend's so we have the house to ourselves for a while."

"Great! I'll be over in two minutes." Aria hung up and went down stairs.

"Mom, I'm going over to Vanessa's. Is that alright?"

Elizabeth smiled and said, "Of course! Just be back in time for dinner."

Aria quickly rushed across the street and rang the doorbell. It's times like this when Aria was especially glad that her best friend lived right across the road. Once Vanessa opened the door and let her in, the girls walked upstairs to Vanessa's room.

"So what's up?" Vanessa asked looking concerned.

"Okay," Aria breathed trying to think of the best way to word her new theory. "I know this is going to sound insane, but I'm just going to say it. I think Ms. Fleming might be my real mother."

Vanessa's eyes widened. "What? Are you serious?"

"Think about it. She's lived here my whole life. My parents said she moved in that house shortly after they adopted me. She has always been involved in my life and she's giving me advise about having a boyfriend."

"That doesn't necessarily mean she's your mother. Since she's known you all your life, she probably just thinks of you as a close friend. Besides, she looks too young to have a teenage daughter."

Aria wasn't going to let this go that easily. "That's it! Maybe she was just a teenager when she got pregnant with me and that's why she gave me up for adoption. She was unable to provide a good home for me at the time, but she wanted to stay close by and see me grow up so she decided to live on the same street."

Vanessa frowned. "You said she was trying to encourage you to date. Aria, I don't think someone who got pregnant in their teens would encourage their daughter to date so young."

Aria plopped herself on Vanessa's bed and said, "She's always been a romantic. I remember when I was a little girl she'd always tell me that one day I will find my true love."

"She doesn't actually think you will find true love at Sheerwood High, does she?"

"Funny. That's exactly what I though when she said that to me." Aria starred up at the ceiling then added, "Look at us! Usually you're the one with the crazy ideas and I'm trying to talk sense into you."

Vanessa laughed then considered, "Well, I guess its not impossible that Ms. Fleming is your mother. There are some things you have in common. Like you both have flawless, light skin and extremely long hair, though her's is red and your's is golden blonde."

Aria did not even think of that. She got even more excited about this idea. "Maybe she's knows why my hair grows super fast or my skin doesn't change no matter what I do. Oh, I wish I could talk to her about this, but I don't even know if its true."

"Is there a way you can find out?"

"The only way I can think of is to ask my parents, but I seriously doubt they will tell me anything."

"You could ask Ms. Fleming," Vanessa suggested.

"Yeah, I suppose I could, but I don't think she'll admit it either."

Aria tried to imagine what she would do if she were pregnant right now. Unfortunately, that was a bit difficult since she did not even have a boyfriend.

The two friends spent the rest of the afternoon discussing the possibility of Ms. Fleming being Aria's birthmother. Then, Aria realized the time.

"Oh my god! It's almost 6:00. My mom's expecting me for dinner. I have to go."

The girls exchanged goodbyes, saying they will see each other again tomorrow. By herself, Aria walked across the street back to her own home and saw her father standing out in the yard.

"What are you doing, Dad?"

"Mom said you went over to Vanessa's. I was just making sure you got back safely," Ted answered.

"Okay… she only lives right across the road. I think I can walk back without you having to worry."

"You never know these days."

When Ted turned around to walk back in the house, Aria rolled her eyes. What has gotten into her parents lately? First, they want to start walking her to school, now she can't even walk across the street to Vanessa's without them feeling the need to watch her. For some odd reason, it seemed like the closer Aria got to age sixteen, the stranger people acted, or at least her parents and Ms. Fleming (who might be a parent, too).

At first, Aria ate in silence with her parents before asking, "Mom, how long have you known Ms. Fleming."

Elizabeth, without looking up from her dinner plate, responded, "Since she moved in not long after we got you, sweetie. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Do you know anything about her family or whether she use to have a boyfriend before she moved here?" If Aria could at least get her parents talking about Ms. Fleming's past maybe she could find out if she even had children in the past.

This time Ted answered, "I know she has three sisters, but I'm not sure about a boyfriend."

Elizabeth gave her husband a sharp waring look which Aria did not miss. One thing she knew for sure was that both of her parents were keeping something from her about where she came from and Ms. Fleming. She had to get it out of them.

"Mom, or Dad, where did I come from?" Aria decided to reword the question more specifically. "Did you get me from an adoption agency or did my real mother give me to you?"

Ted laughed. "We've told you this before, Honey. We found you in a basket on our front porch when we first moved into this house."

Aria rolled her eyes. Clearly her parents were not going to tell her anything. There is still someone she could try… Ms. Fleming.

xXx

The next day, Aria got up earlier than usual and decided to go have a little chat with Ms. Fleming. As she approached Ms. Fleming's house, Aria noticed it seemed quiet. Hoping she was not still sleeping, Aria rang the doorbell. No answer. Aria tried three more times before giving up and heading back to her own home.

Aria wondered where Ms. Fleming could be. She saw her small yellow car still parked in the driveway. Perhaps, she went out for a walk or something.

"Hey Aria!"

Aria turned to see Vanessa out in her yard. "Hi Vanessa!"

"I saw you walking over to Ms. Fleming's. I should tell you I saw her walking down the street with a suitcase."

Aria walked up to Vanessa's house and commented, "She did not say anything about taking a vacation. I wonder where she went."

"Maybe to visit one of her sisters," Vanessa suggested. "How many does she have?"

"Three," Aria remembered what her father said last night. "Don't you think its strange that we have never seen any of her sisters?"

"I suppose, but they probably live in more fun places to visit than Nebraska."

Aria sighed. She had become use to Ms. Fleming making random unexpected trips. Aria just wished that for once, Ms. Fleming would tell her where she went. There's just so much Aria does not know about her neighbor down the street for whom she has known her whole life.