"So what did you find out? What happened to her?" Stef asked quietly as soon as the girls had left the room for just a minute, she had been wondering when she hadn't heard from Lena all day what had happened.
"Stef." Lena whispered, as if she had been trying not to let any emotion show until now when she told her wife what had happened, "I saw her arms, she didn't say much, but she let me look at her wrists and arms, and that was enough for one time."
"Was it that bad?" Stef asked, she had been expecting the fact that Bell had something to hide after the way she acted when she was helping Aria talk about everything.
"Covered in cuts." Lena nodded, "And it wasn't just that, she had bruises."
"Well that's not uncommon. I mean, some teenagers self harm by bruising themselves, it could have been that." Stef had dealt with enough teenagers like this in her career that she knew what to look for.
"I don't think so. Something about it all, I think the cuts are from her but I'm not so sure about everything else." Lena struggled with what she was trying to say, "I mean, she wouldn't say a thing about her home, or her father, and it wouldn't be that unreasonable to think he may have hit her, especially after everything he did to Aria."
"We'll figure something out, don't worry love. We're gonna help her." Stef whispered kissing Lena's forehead before leading her wife outside to talk to their daughter.
"Hey love." Stef smiled kissing her daughter's forehead before sitting on one side of her
"Huh?" Aria said as she pulled out one of her earbuds and turned down the music after she got a look from Lena like 'why is it up that loud?'.
"Is everything alright love?" Stef asked, she knew that normally, Aria's music that loud meant something was going on, or Aria was trying to think.
"Peachy" Aria responded as she curled up hugging her knees to her chest as Lena sat down on the other side of her.
"Then tell us what's wrong." Lena suggested quietly.
"What do you mean?" Aria asked
"You're a lot like your mom, extremely sarcastic. Which I'm pretty sure means that peachy means, something's gotten you upset?" Lena smiled seeing Stef smirk at the observation.
"I guess..." Aria trailed off.
"So what is it?" Stef asked.
"Nothing" Aria said. "Can I go to bed please?" Aria asked as she started to get up.
"Love, you promised you were going to try, so please talk to us?" Stef tried to keep her voice calm, but she really wanted to pull Aria back in her seat and force her to talk about whatever was bothering her.
"Im just sick of trying to deal with shit" Aria responded as she sat back down scooting closer to Stef.
"Like what love?" Lena asked, the two just wanted to keep their daughter talking for as long as possible.
"You didn't already get an email from a few of my teachers?" Aria asked, shocked because she remembered her teachers telling her that they were going to email Lena.
. "I haven't looked." Lena said confused, "Why?"
"Well that explains why you aren't pissed at me..." Aria said,
"What happened today?" Stef asked quickly, wanting to find out what her daughter was hiding.
"Long story short, not doing homework and sleeping in class don't make a good combination" Aria said vaguely as she moved closer to Lena, waiting for Stef to freak out
"You haven't been doing your schoolwork or homework?" Lena asked surprised, normally she would have known within a day or two.
"Not yesterday or today, no" Aria said. "A I will not do an assignment like every other week"
"Why?" Stef asked, "You realize that this school can kick you out, and that you aren't living here forever so you need to get into college right?"
"I just didn't feel like it, and I would do the assignment later, I would just get the half credit" Aria explained.
"You just didn't feel like it?" Stef asked getting angry, "You're throwing away a chance at a good high school because you just didn't feel like doing the work?
"Im sorry, I did do it, just not on time" Aria almost whispered.
"Okay, Stef?" Lena interrupted seeing her wife's anger, "Why don't we finish this after dinner? Okay, let's all just go take a break it's been a long couple of days." As soon as Lena finished talking Stef walked off without saying something she may regret later.
"Im sorry" Aria whispered as she hugged Lena.
"It's alright love, we just need to find a way to help you." Lena didn't know what to say, even though she had four older kids she had no idea how to help Aria.
Aria just nodded her head as she headed towards the kitchen. "Come On lets get some dinner"
"About time," Jesus mumbled seeing his sister and mom walk into the kitchen, "Mom wouldn't let us eat until you two came in. And I'm starving!"
"Dude, when are you not starving?" Aria asked as she sat down next to Callie.
Stef chuckled at her daughter's sarcastic but true reply, "She's got a point there Jesus." She watched carefully as Aria sat next to Callie but both girls seemed to be okay with each other.
"Jesus, here catch" Aria said as she threw a grape at Jesus for him to try and catch in his mouth. "Score!" she said when he caught it.
"Guys, come on." Lena rolled her eyes at her two kids, as Jesus threw a grape back at Aria and caught it.
"Damn, we are good" Aria said laughing as she grabbed some salad and pasta.
"Come on you two, you heard your mama, knock it off." Stef couldn't help but smirk while scolding the two since she herself was enjoying the interaction between the two.
"Come on Mom, you are just jealous that you can't do as well as Jesus and I" Aria shot back.
"You want to bet?" Stef said grabbing a grape, she threw it so that it hit Aria on the forehead, "Ha."
"I thought you said to knock it off?" Aria questioned.
"Children," Lena rolled her eyes looking at her wife when she said it, "Behave while you have dinner. Including you Stef."
"Yeah Stef, behave" Callie said as Mariana just nodded her head in agreement. She was just glad to she her sister goofing off and having a good time.
Stef waited until Lena stood up to take care of her plate and turned her back on the table until she threw another grape, one at Callie and one at Aria for being sarcastic when Lena had scolded them.
"Mama!" Aria half shouted, half laughed. "Please control mom she won't stop attacking me and Callie with grapes" Aria said as Stef starting throwing grapes at all the kids.
Lena couldn't stop herself from laughing as she watched her wife and kids, "Well I guess we know who's the two cleaning up tonight, have fun Stef. And Aria you started this you can help her." She laughed as she picked one up of the floor and threw it towards Stef. After a few more minutes of laughing the family slowly started to head back to their own rooms.
"Come on!" Aria laughed as she started to help clear the table. "Well that was fun until mama stuck us with kitchen duty" Aria pouted.
"I know, I have five kids and yet somehow I still have to clean." Stef teased.
"Well if you two had behaved," Lena laughed, "Here I'll help." She laughed handing Aria a sponge to clean off the table.
Stef looked first to her wife and then her daughter, "Besides, is it so bad getting stuck cleaning with me? We needed to talk to you anyways."
"True" Aria said still smiling.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier about school, that's not the most important thing right now." Stef was having trouble, she would never let her kids get away with falling behind in school but with the situation Aria had been in recently, Stef found it difficult to be upset over something as simple as a few late assignments.
"Its fine" Aria responded truthfully. "I know I should have tried harder, its just with everything going on it's just hard to find the motivation"
"We know. We just need to find a way that makes its a little less hard." Lena explained, "Your mom was right, if your grades are too low for too long there is a possibility of getting kicked out of school, and we don't want that just because you're going through a tough time right?"
"I know, and I have been trying to get the grades up, I think I am now only failing like two classes" Aria said.
"And that's better than before, but it's still going to need work." Stef sighed out of relief that Aria wasn't being extremely defiant tonight, "And Mama and I can always help if you need it, okay?"
"Okay mom" Aria said.
"Now go to bed, it's been a long day." Lena said giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead.
"Okay, Goodnight mom, goodnight mama" Aria said as she headed upstairs to her room. "I love you"
Both mom's nodded and replied with a "Love you too" while watching their daughter turn the corner to go upstairs to her room.
Aria walked into her room to notice her phone, which was sitting on her nightstand, light up, letting her know that she had a text message.
"Hey. What's up?" From Bell.
"What's up?" Aria texted back.
"I was wondering if you were busy. Or if you could talk?" Bell replied quickly, partly hoping her friend was busy, partially hoping to be able to talk.
"Yeah, sure. What's up?" Aria responded.
"I'm in your front yard, come outside?"
"Alright" Aria said as she snuck outside to meet her friend. "What's up?"
"I hope your moms won't get mad." Bell said sincerely, her face a bleak white shade, and her eyes red and puffy.
"Seriously dude, whats wrong?" Aria said pulling her friend into a hug.
"Just some stuff happened, with my dad." Bell whispered, "I just really needed to talk to you."
"Then talk" Aria said rubbing her friends back.
"He hit me again." Bell whispered again, not wanting anyone in the house to hear, "I don't know, I... just your mom knows and it happened to you before so I just came here."
"Why did he hit you?" Aria asked.
Bell almost laughed, "I don't know why, it's not like it's anything new, I probably did something wrong again. Maybe for just disappearing last night? Not that I imagine he even noticed. Aria, what do I do."
"I really don't know, unless you tell Stef and Lena that you feel unsafe in your house. Maybe I can just have you over a lot? Or I could go over there as well?" Aria said. She thought that maybe if her friend didn't want her moms to know that they should just be together more often so she wouldn't have to face her parents alone.
"No. You can't come over, I don't want you getting hurt again." Bell said suddenly with a lot more force in her voice. "I'll be okay, I'm sorry for coming over, I just wanted to see you I guess. I can go home now though, if you want."
"No, you are not going home until we talk a bit more" Aria commanded. "And I can handle your dad."
"Okay." Bell sighed sitting down, "Can we just sit for a little bit, I can't think about this anymore, it's overwhelming."
"Yeah, Of course, Anything you want." Aria said.
"Are your moms on like super crazy mode after everything they found out in the last few days?" Bell asked trying to calm down from talking about her dad.
"I guess. I also dropped the bombshell on how I am doing in school so that hasnt helped. But we did have a really fun time at dinner" Aria said as she retold the events of dinner that evening.
Bell couldn't help but smile at the dinner story, "I can't wait to have that one day." She whispered laying on the porch to look at the stars.
"Don't worry, I will have you over for plenty of family dinners with Jesus and I annoying the hell out of Lena" Aria laughed.
"Good." Bell smiled, "I just hope one day I can be as great a mom as your moms are, you know? I just really want to have a family with a really sweet girl and forget about everything in the last couple years?" Bell laughed, "Sorry, I'm going off on one of my tangents again."
"Same, other then forgetting about the last year" Aria responded. "There is nothing to be sorry for"
"Really?" Bell asked, trying to not directly ask the thing burning in the back of her mind, "Like the same thing one day?"
"Yeah?" Aria asked skeptically, her being curious why her friend was suddenly being so strange, "What?"
"Just." Bell stuttered, "Never mind, it's nothing."
"Tell me" Aria responded.
"Well like, same as in every detail? Like, as in the girl part?" Bell could tell her face was turning bright red and hated herself for asking the question as soon as the words left her lips, "Sorry." She muttered, hoping Aria wouldn't freak out.
"Sorry about what? And yeah. Even the girl part." Aria responded.
Bell tried to contain the giant grin that spread across her face, "Cool." She whispered, moving ever so slightly towards Aria. "I didn't mean to sound so curious before."
"No, Its fine" Aria replied.
"Huh. Sit out on a porch and talk over the span of a few days and you find out a lot about Aria." Bell smirked making fun of her friend, "Good to know that's all I have to do."
"Shut up" Ariua said laughing and blushing.
"Oh, so you can dish it but you can't take it huh?" Bell continued to tease, she loved to see Aria embarrassed since she was always the one teasing others.
"Shut up" Aria said blushing even more.
"Okay, okay." Bell said trying to stop giggling. She moved over so she was only a couple inches away from Aria, Bell was debating if she should rest her head on Aria's shoulder or not. "I'll be nice now."
"Thank you" Aria said leaning her head on bells shoulder.
"You're gonna be so much like Stef." Bell mumbled closing her eyes for just a minute.
"what's that suppose to mean" Aria asked lifting her head up slowly.
"Just, the whole being extremely tough but beautifully sensitive at some times, and the sarcasm thing. Just like, when you're a mom, I can see you acting similar to her." Bell shrugged, "I guess I'm just tired."
"Go home, Call me in the morning then" Aria said noticing that it was close to 1am.
"I will. Don't get into trouble because of me." Bell said as she started down the driveway to head home.
"You're worth it" Aria said to her friends retreating back.
Bell grinned but refrained from turning around and winking. "I hope so." She whispered to herself.
Aria just sat outside in the cool air cursing herself for not bring a jacket or long pants out when she heard two sets of footsteps behind her.
"Well hey there." Stef laughed sarcastically.
"Hi?" Aria said.
"Weren't you sent to bed say, around four or five hours ago?" Stef sighed sitting next to her daughter, "And without a jacket, you're gonna freeze to death."
"I just wasn't tired" Aria responded. "And I am not going to freeze to death" Aria responded as Lena sat on the other side of her.
"Here." Lena whispered handing her daughter a coat, "What's on your mind?"
"Nothing" Aria whispered.
"You're just out here at one in the morning because?" Stef asked, unable to come up with a witty sarcastic remark this early in the morning.
"I guess" Aria said.
"We know you better than that love," Lena gave her daughter a hug, "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"What if I am bi?" Aria whispered.
"What about it love? If you are, you are." Stef said, slightly surprised but not completely. "Is that what you wanna talk about?"
"I don't know" Aria said shivering slightly.
"Come on, let's go inside." Lena said standing up and putting her hand out to her daughter.
"Okay" Aria said. "Im sorry for everything. I know you guys didn't sign up for this when you adopted us"
"Sign up for what?" Lena asked.
"All the shit that I deal with and am dragging you guys into"
"Love, we choose to be your parents. We knew you weren't perfect, but that's alright, that's one of the reasons we love you. And you're not dragging us into anything love, there's nothing wrong with anything you've just said." Lena tried to reason with her daughter.
"I mean with the depression and the bad grades and everything" Aria whispered.
"That too. That's nothing to be sorry for, we aren't happy you're feeling that way, but that doesn't mean anything. It just means it gives us something to work on with you." Stef tried.
"Im really glad that you chose to be my moms. I love you guys a lot" Aria said.
"And we love you. All of you guys." Stef promised, "Now get to bed, you've only got a few hours before you have school."
"And Aria?" Lena added, "Actually go to bed this time."
"Can I sleep with you guys?" Aria asked quietly.
Lena smiled, "Of course love, come on, let's go to bed."
"Thank you" Aria smiled.
