Chapter 3

Aria's pov – few days later

I shut the trunk of my car after getting everything to fit, waiting for Malcolm to come outside. As the trunk fully shut, a flashback hit me faster than I could blink.

Flashback – January 2016 (end of Winter Break)

I watched Ezra shut my trunk as Malcolm walked out of the house carrying Oliver on his back. Even though I probably shouldn't, I stay with him a few days during breaks and it hurts every time I have to leave.

"This never gets any easier." I said quietly.

"Graduation is only four months away. Just think, this is the last time we'll have to say goodbye." He whispered and our eyes met.

Without saying another word, his lips were gently on mine and I cupped his face. As much as I want us to stop doing legal separation, he still wants me to date other guys. But I don't want to be with anyone but him, he's my soulmate and no one can argue that. Honestly, I stopped dating my sophomore year after Riley and I broke up. I also didn't want to risk ending up with another guy like Jake, who dumped me because I cancelled a date due to Oliver being sick.

"April will be here before you know it." He whispered as he pulled apart.

End of Flashback

I stared across the street, holding back the tears as I heard Malcolm walking up. Even though he told me that he knows about Ezra and Nicole, I don't want him to see me upset about this. Besides, if I start crying, I don't think I'd be able to stop and it would be terrible if he saw me cry over this. If only Ezra and I had known that day, we'd be saying one more goodbye… the final one to our relationship. Unlocking the car, we quickly got in and buckled up before I started up the car.

"So, how's Dani?" I asked as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"Who told you about Dani?" He asked shocked.

I looked at him confused. How does he not remember telling me about Dani when she moved to Rosewood a few months ago? From what he had told me, it was just her and her dad since her mom had died years ago. Her dad was stepping in for Pastor Ted, while he and Ms. Marin had gone on their honeymoon. Everyone loved Dani's dad as much as they love Ted, so now they work together.

"You did… Wait a minute, do you like her?" I asked and he made a face.

"Okay then, you don't like her. But if you did, you know you can talk to me about it. I promise not to tease you… too much." I said and he chuckled.

"I know I can, but can we talk about something else?" He asked and I nodded.

"How's Fish?" I asked.

"He's good, I take him for a walk every day. Or I at least try to anyway, it'll be easier now that schools out and I don't have soccer practice until July." He said

"I still remember the day you got him." I said.

"Me too. Unless you mention the park or a walk, Fish acts just like a fish instead of a dog." Malcolm said as we laughed at Fish.

Without saying another word, I handed Malcolm the aux cord and he plugged his phone in to play some music. He pressed play and as Justin Timberlake's 'Damn Girl' came on, I gave him a high five. I may have only been his mother since he was seven, but he clearly got his good music taste from me. Ezra mostly listens to the eighties or something, I'm starting to think I married an old man.

…..

"Are you hungry babes? It'll be at least an hour and a half before we get to Rosewood." I asked and he nodded.

As much as I want to wait until I'm back in Rosewood to eat, but I know if I don't get something to eat now, I'll be on the side of the road throwing up. Ezra and I wanted to tell the boys together about the baby, but if Malcolm asks about my throwing up… I may not be able to come up with a good lie. Malcolm and I got out of the car just as my phone rang and I saw it was Spencer.

"Where are you? I wanted to remind you that the welcome home get-together is at our place." Spencer said as I answered,

I motioned for Malcolm to go get us a table and I'll meet him in a minute. Hopefully this won't take long, because I'm growing hungrier by the second and it won't take long before I become hangry. No one wants to be near me when I'm hangry.

"Can't believe we're all back together again. When was the last time that happened?" I asked, and she sighed.

"Not all of us will be here. Toby just told me that Caleb's planning on staying in California a bit longer than he originally planned, I think he's just trying to avoid Chloe." She said and I sighed, knowing he wasn't in California like everyone thinks.

Everyone had taken Chloe and Caleb break up after Spring break Freshman year hard. We all thought they would make it through, but it wasn't the case with them. Long distance didn't work out for them, and it broke all our hearts, not just theirs. Before Junior year when he told me that he was moving to New York to work for some company, I thought he was going to try to get Chloe back… but he didn't. It kills me that I've been keeping this secret from Chloe, especially after she came to New York in tears after they broke up.

"Hey, I have to go. But I'll see you guys tonight." I said and quickly hung up before heading inside.

Seeing Malcolm at one of the little booths, I quickly made my way over there and sat down. Seeing him, it brought me back to when Ezra and I went to the little diner in New York when I was bringing him home. Not seeing Malcolm grow up these past four years, it hurt. But I'm not leaving Rosewood again, and I get to watch him finish growing up into the young man he's starting to become.

"Do you think Ollie would like to play soccer this summer? The team Dani and I help assist are going to have try outs, but everyone gets onto the team anyway." Malcolm asked, as a waiter walked over.

"Can I get you two anything, or do you need some more time?" He asked.

"May I get a sweet tea and a hamburger?" Malcolm asked and the waiter nodded.

"Just a waldorf salad and a water for me please." I said.

As the waiter walked off, my phone rang and I pulled it out to see that it was Hardy. Hopefully Oliver was behaving, and I really hope Ezra hadn't introduced him to Nicole yet. Even though Ezra had promised to ease Oliver into everything with me, I'm just worried about Ollie meeting this Nicole without me there or without me meeting her first. He's already too excited about us moving back home to Ezra, which we haven't told him yet that it won't be happening.

"Hey, is everything good over there?" I asked.

"Everything is fine Aria, but before you see Ezra can you stop over by us? There's something Caitlyn and I wanna talk to you about in person." He said.

"Yeah, we can stop by." I said as Malcolm looked over at me from his phone as I hung up.

"Hardy and Caitlyn want us to stop by before I drop you off with dad." I said and he made a face.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"You'll just drop me off and pick Ollie up? We're already at the point of us being his kids or her kids? This is all Nicole's fault! This is why I don't like her, she ruined everything! We were supposed to be a family again but she just had to come to Rosewood. And now, Ollie and I are just his and her kids!" Malcolm said.

"Dad and I may not be together right now, BUT we are still a family an always will be. Malcolm honey, you and your brother will NEVER be his and her kids. That is the last thing we want to happen; I didn't mean for that to sound like that was what was happening." I told him.

Sighing, he picked up a fry and leaned back into his seat. Taking a bite of my salad, I watched as he went back to eating his fries. Him finding out about Nicole was inevitable, but now I wish Ezra and I could have told him together that we're staying separated.

"You're pregnant, he should stay with you." He asked and I reached across the table and caressed his face.

"Because, I want him to choose what his heart wants. I'm not going to make him stay with me because of the baby, even though I don't know why or how you found out about the baby. Do you remember why he was so set on me going off to college without him?" I asked and Malcolm shook his head.

"He didn't want to take the chance of me growing to resent him or our relationship. Let's say I make him stay with me, there's a chance he could resent me for that. I want dad to be happy, even if it means not being with him." I said gently.

"I don't want you to worry about my relationship with your father. You should just focus on spending time with your friends and enjoying this summer." I told him and he nodded.

….

I sat with Hardy and Caitlyn at the kitchen table, watching Malcolm play with Rosie in the backyard. Turning back around, I caught them looking at each other. They haven't said much since we got here, except to have Malcolm play with Rosie out in the backyard.

"I know this might be a little hard to talk about, but do you know where you'll stay?" Caitlyn asked carefully.

"Until I get my own place, I'll be staying with my parents." I said and both Caitlyn and Hardy shook their heads.

"No. You'll stay with us until you find your own place, there's plenty of room. We've been talking about this since graduation, there's already a room set up for you and one for the boys." Caitlyn said, sipping on her water.

"I've been working on it since the day after your graduation, you're like a sister to me. You shouldn't have to move back in with your folks for the time being." He said as I looked at him confused.

"Are you two sure? You're moving in together for the first time, and you want me to move in too?" I asked and they both nodded.

Caitlyn tilted her head, looking past me into the backyard. I turned around to see Oliver trying to open the backdoor and I quickly got up to let him in. As Oliver looked up at me, Hardy came over to us.

"Are you and daddy playing hide and seek again? And didn't he tell you earlier not to come here to hide?" He asked, kneeling down in front of Oliver

"Maybe…" Oliver said, looking down at the ground.

"Remember what your daddy told you last time?" Hardy asked gently

"I'm too little to cross the street by myself. But I saw mama's car here!" Oliver said.

"Oliver Scott, am I hearing this right? Daddy told you not to do something and you did it anyway? It doesn't matter if you saw my car here or not, you disobeyed daddy." I told him.

"I'm sorry mama!" He cried.

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to. I'm gonna bring you back, and you're going to sit in your room to think about what you did wrong." I told him.

I took his hand and led him out of the house, after giving Hardy an apologetic look. Now I understand why my mom used to tell me that I'll get karma by experiencing these disobediences myself, when I had gotten in trouble as a child. But why would he cross the street, especially when I have told him multiple times back in New York that he always has to hold someone's hand. Walking up the porch steps, I kneeled down and looked at Oliver's tear streaked face.

"Do you remember what Mama told you about crossing streets?" I asked.

"Always hold someone's hand. But Rosewood smaller mama." He said and I shook my head.

"It doesn't matter, crossing the street is always dangerous. That's why you need to hold someone's hand." I said.

I stood up and straightened out my romper before pressing the doorbell. Without missing a beat, Ezra swung the door open and sighed of relief when he saw Oliver.

"I sorry daddy." Oliver said as Ezra kneeled down and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm just glad you're okay, but why did you go after I told you not to?" Ezra asked then noticed me.

"He saw my car." I told him as he stood up.

"Ok, you know what to do." I told Oliver.

He made his way up the stairs, with Fish trailing after him. Ezra led me towards the kitchen, and I sat down at the kitchen table as he walked over to the fridge. Neither of us said anything as he opened it up and pulled out two bottles of water, he walked back over and placed one in front of me.

"So… we're telling Oliver today then?" He asked and I nodded.

"Better now than later, that why he's not completely confused on why we're staying with Caitlyn and Hardy." I said.

We quickly stopped talking as we heard Oliver's footsteps coming down the stairs. He peeked around the corner and Ezra walked over to him. Picking him up, Ezra pretended Oliver was a rocket ship and sat him on the island. I made my way over to them, Ezra and I both grabbed ourselves barstool to sit down on. Oliver looked over at the fruit bowl before picking out a small banana, Ezra and I shared a looked as we watch him try to peel it himself.

"Ollie baby, you know how mama and daddy have been living apart?" I asked and Oliver nodded.

"Well, we did a lot of thinking and we're going to be separated a bit longer than we thought." Ezra said carefully.

"Because I crossed the street by myself?" Oliver asked.

"No, baby. This has nothing to do with you crossing the street by yourself." I reassured him.

The front door opened and Fish barked happily, indicating it was Malcolm. He walked into the kitchen and realized we were telling Oliver about the separation. I watched as he hopped onto the island, next to Oliver. I shared a look with Ezra, we knew that the arrangement would work out somehow.

"Do either of you have any questions about this?" Ezra asked.

"Where is everyone staying?" Malcolm asked.

"Dad's staying in the house, while I'll stay with Caitlyn and Hardy for awhile. But we're going to find a way for you two be with us equally." I said, looking at Malcolm.

Ezra and I shared a look with one another, as we waited for the boys to absorb this. It was obvious that Malcolm would understand all of this a lot better than Oliver will. I noticed Oliver had started paying more to his banana than absorbing the news.

"Just because mama and daddy are staying separated, that doesn't mean anything else is going to change. We still love both of you unconditionally, our love for you two will never change." Ezra told them as my phone beeped, I checked my phone to see it was my mom.

'Are you back yet? I want to see my little geese.' She sent.

'Yeah, just catching up with Ezra. I can come by in a little bit.' I responded

"Grandma wants to see you two. Ollie, go get bubba." I told him.

Malcolm seemed to sense something, and lifted Oliver off the counter. Both the boys headed upstairs and Ezra looked at me. I followed him into the living room, where I saw our wedding picture still on the mantel. As I turned my attention to Fish, Ezra looked at me again.

"Aria. I want you to know, that with everything changing – it will not change the fact I'm going to be there for you one hundred percent. That's a given, even if I end up driving you insane." He said softly.

"I know." I told him.