Chapter 5 – few days later
I opened my eyes to see that it was seven in the morning. Sitting up, I noticed Hardy was coming down the hall. I knew Caitlyn had already left to go to her interview at the Rosewood Daycare center, I really hope she gets the job. All she talked about the past four years was becoming a preschool teacher, and she is so amazing with kids. Hardy walked in, handed me a cup of coffee and sat down next to me.
"Thank you, did she leave for her interview already?" I asked, as he handed me the coffee and sat down next to me.
"Right before I came up here." He told me.
"I don't even know what I'm going to do job wise, I thought working in London this past summer would have helped me get an idea for the next bestselling novel. But all I have are blanks, I can't come up with a good plot or anything." I told him.
"Maybe you can write about something that's personal to you, like your and Ezra's relationship." He said softly and I shook my head.
"He's with Nicole, how would it look if I ask him if I can write about our past romance when he has a new girlfriend?" I asked.
"Maybe don't tell him for now, just write it out. I'm not saying publish it, but just write it for yourself. Perhaps, it'll spark the most amazing idea." He said and I chuckled.
"I wouldn't be able to keep it from him; especially after I learned about his book about Alison and their relationship. We can't have a repeat of that; besides I've kept enough secrets from him the past few years." I reminded him and he nodded.
We both knew that one way or another, Ezra will find out about what happened between us back in Sophomore year. Caitlyn and Hanna swore they wouldn't tell him, while I just want to forget that night ever happened.
"Anyways, we should probably go wake the kids up. How about pancakes for breakfast? I can make my famous mint chocolate pancakes for everyone." He suggested.
"Perfect, I can whip up some scrambled eggs as well." I said.
Getting up, we quickly made our way downstairs and I walked into the kitchen. Hardy pulled out the ingredients he needs for his pancakes, and I pulled out the eggs. I looked out the living room window, to see who I'm guessing is Nicole walking up to mine and Ezra's house… well now it's just Ezra's house. Taking a deep breath and silently sighed, I looked over to see Hardy watching me.
"Thank you again, for taking me in. You guys have no idea how much it means to me." I said and he pulled me into a hug.
"You don't need to keep thanking us Aria. Remember what I told you? You're like a little sister to me, ever since I met you." He said, and I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Ok, the second time. Because I knew when you came to check on him, that it was real between you guys." He corrected himself, as he poured the batter into the pan.
"Did you think I was using him for a grade when we first met?" I asked and he shook his head.
"I knew you were his student, but that never crossed my mind. Just thought Ezra was being stupid, but I was wrong. No one is more meant to be together than you two." Hardy said.
Neither of us said anymore, as he continued to making the pancakes. I pulled out another mixing bowl and started cracking the eggs, enough for everyone to have some. It's pretty clear that Ezra hadn't told Hardy about me being pregnant again. Even though we were planning on waiting to tell people, I'm pretty shocked he hadn't told Hardy. The girls made it pretty obvious to Ezra last night that they knew about the baby.
"I want him to choose us, because that's what he wants. Not just because everyone thinks we're meant to be, or because of the kids and the baby." I said and he stared at me.
"Wait… You're pregnant and he's with Nicole? He knew you were pregnant when he came home before your graduation, didn't he?" He asked and I nodded.
He went back to the pancakes, obviously now pissed at Ezra and I quickly made the scrambled eggs as we heard the kids walking around upstairs. We both knew that our conversation wasn't over yet, but we couldn't keep talking about it in front of the kids. As Hardy finished the rest of the pancakes, Rosie walked into the kitchen and I went to get her chocolate milk ready.
"Where's mommy?" Rosie asked, rubbing her eye sleepily.
"Remember pumpkin? She had her job interview." Hardy said, picking her up and I handed her the milk.
"Thank you, Ari." She said happily as I gave her a smile.
I placed the pancakes and eggs on the table, as Oliver walked in with bubba in his hand. I went to get his milk and he followed me. Since Ezra and I told him about us staying separated, he's been extra clingy to me. I don't mind him being clingy, especially since he's getting so big and he doesn't need me as much when he was a baby.
"Hi baby, how'd you sleep?" I asked, making his strawberry milk.
"I sleep good." He told me.
Hardy handed the kids some paper plates and napkins. Ezra said that he would stop by before he has to go to The Brew for the day. I brought the forks to the table for them, and they quickly set the table.
"Who's ready for pancakes?" Hardy asked and the kids looked at us.
"Dance party?" They begged, Hardy looked over at me and we shared a look.
"One song, then you two need to eat." I told them, getting them to cheer in response.
Hardy quickly pulled up a song on his phone and the kids scrambled out of their chairs. Oliver took my hands as 'You got a friend in me' from Toy Story began. Rosie giggled as Hardy twirled her in a circle, Oliver jumped around laughing as I picked him up. Spinning him in a circle, I caught a glimpse of Ezra crossing the street and Nicole's car pulling away.
"It's you and me boy." I sang, dipping and planting kisses on his cheek.
"Am I interrupting?" Ezra asked, walking in as I stood Oliver on the ground and shook my head
"No, we're just about to go eat." I said as the song ended.
The kids skipped into the kitchen sat at the table, as I went to get the food and Ezra followed us. I quickly filled the kids' plates. I motioned for Ezra to sit down, Hardy looked at me concerned and I gave him a look to tell him to be nice.
"Eat up, there's plenty." Hardy said as we sat down.
"No yolk mama?" Oliver asked, and I shook my head.
"Just scrambly, the way you like 'em." I said.
"If it's okay with mama, why don't you come to work with me lil man? I could use a helper, and Miss. Sabrina said she could use a cookie taster." Ezra said.
"Can I go mama?" Oliver asked me hopefully, and I nodded.
"Ok, but finish your breakfast first. And I want you to chew your food, not swallow it whole." I told him.
"Mama don't like it when I just swallow my food." Oliver said.
"Daddy doesn't like it either." Ezra told him as my phone beeped.
'Can you please pick Caleb up from the airport for me? I'm swamped here at work; I'll owe you big time!' – Toby
'Yeah, I can pick him up. I love it when you owe me.' – Aria
"Guess I'm picking Caleb up now. It's not even eight thirty and Toby's swamped at work already, probably parking tickets." I joked.
I put my phone down and took a couple pancakes from the huge stack, that looks like no one has even made a dent in. I passed the plate to Ezra, our hands met under the plate and I pulled my hand away quickly.
"Drive safe out there. According to the news, there was a huge accident and traffic is all backed up." Ezra said, looking at me.
"I might as well leave now then. Ollie, I'm going to lay your clothes on your bed. Which shirt you wanna wear today?" I asked.
"FBI." Oliver said, with a mouthful of pancake.
"Remember to chew Oliver." I reminded him, and headed upstairs.
Walking into the boy's room, I pulled out Oliver's black 'I'm the FBI' shirt from the closet. I kneeled down at their dresser, rummaging through his pants drawer for some shorts and heard a crinkling noise. Moving his pants aside, I saw a package of cookies on the bottom of the drawer. Holding back my laughter, I quickly grabbed his favorite dinosaur shorts and covered his cookies back up. I'll have to talk to him later about hiding cookies in his room, especially since this isn't our house.
"Ollie, why don't you go get dressed now. I'll see you later alligator." I said and he giggled.
"In a while crocodile." He finished.
Watching Oliver hurry up the stairs, I turned to look over at Ezra. All of a sudden, I feel awkward still being in my pajamas in front of him. Especially since I'm wearing my black dolphin shorts that he used to love.
"He should be a few minutes." I said, he nodded and I hurried upstairs.
Looking into the boys' room, I saw Oliver picking up his green gym shoes. I quickly walked into my room as my phone beeped, reminding me to make an appointment to see my obgyn soon. Searching through my closet, I grabbed my pastel geometric dress and Oliver walked into my room.
"No mama, this one!" Oliver said, pointing at my black jewel studded top.
"Ok baby, I'll wear that one. Daddy's downstairs waiting for you, you don't want to keep him waiting Ollie." I told him.
"Bye mama!" He said and hurried downstairs, closing my door behind him.
I quickly pulled my mint green skirt, pulling it on and looked into my mirror. There was a knock on my door and I opened it to see Ezra standing there.
"Hey, I was thinking and why don't we take the boys out and have a small family dinner tonight?" Ezra asked.
"Yeah, that sounds good. What were you thinking?" I asked, walking back into my room and grabbing my mint high tops.
"Maybe pizza, you guys haven't been to the new pizzeria yet." Ezra said.
"Pizza sounds good." I said, and followed him back downstairs.
….
I stood in front of the train station, waiting for Caleb to get here. Luckily for both of us, I was the one Toby texted to 'pick him up' from the airport. As I glanced at my phone for the time again, someone walked up and I looked up to see it was Caleb.
"Hey lil mama." He said, using his old nickname for me.
He quickly pulled me into a hug, I gave him a look as we pulled apart and he chuckled. Picking his suitcase up, he motioned for us to get out of here and I nodded. We walked down the street to where I parked my car, I stopped and turned to look at him.
"Caleb, you can't keep lying to everyone. They're going to find out one way or another." I told him and he nodded.
"I know and I will, I just need a little bit more time to figure out what to say. Even though I don't think I'm ready to know whether or not Chloe will forgive me." He said and sighed.
"Lying to Chloe hasn't just been hard on you." I pointed out, unlocking my car.
"I know Aria, and I'm so sorry I put you in that position. Especially with what happened with Byron and keeping his affair from Ella." Caleb asked and I nodded.
Starting up the car, I caught a glance over at Caleb. I was hoping that all the secrets and lies would have stopped after Alison's torture had ended, but now I'm lying again with Caleb and keeping secrets from Ezra with Hardy. Caleb isn't the only one who's worried about getting forgiveness, but mine and Hardy's secret is a lot worse than just lying about where Caleb lives.
….
Caleb and I walked into the Grille; there were a few people having lunch in business suits. Chloe walked out and smiled when she saw us, I hate the fact I wasn't able to warn her beforehand about us coming in for lunch.
"Hey Chloe, long time." Caleb said, holding out his hand and she gave him a look.
"Yeah… How have you been?" She asked, pulling him in for a hug.
"Good- good, I've been good. You look great, are you running this place already?" He asked.
"Mostly, almost there. My dad is just having a hard time letting go of it. He's always around, helping in one way or another." She said.
Grabbing menus, she quickly led us to one of the little booths by the window. I sat down and realized that I could see The Brew from our booth. Maybe working here again could help me get the inspiration I need for my first novel. Hopefully, Ezra won't think I'm just trying to spy on him and Nicole.
"Speaking of help…. Do you need any hosting or waitressing help?" I asked and she smiled.
"I would love some help. Georgie, my day host just quit. We can figure out a schedule for you, so you can also spend plenty of time with Ollie." Chloe told me, and I nodded.
"Well, I'm hoping that Ezra and I just switch off weeks with the boys. If we agree on that, then I can work a lot more hours the weeks he has the boys if you need me to." I said.
Caleb looked at me concerned as Chloe walked away to let us decide what we wanted. I knew I would have to tell him about everything going on between Ezra, Nicole, and myself. Everyone has been part of our relationship for so long; from each of them finding out about us, to Ezra's past relationship with Alison and the book about her, and to the day we sign the legal separation papers and I left for New York.
"You don't have to tell me anything yet Ar, but are you really okay?" He asked softly.
"No… I'm not. I pretend I'm okay, like I'm just holding back my feelings to be strong for Oliver. But I know that if I admit it to myself… I may lose it a lot more than I did with Caitlyn." I said.
"You're only human Aria, and you are allowed to lose it." Caleb pointed out and I sighed.
"He has a girlfriend." I said quietly
"Please tell me that he told you himself, instead of you just walking into the house and seeing her there or someone else being the one who told you." Caleb said.
"Calm down Rivers, everything is fine between us about it. Ezra made sure he told me himself about it, he told me before graduation. He wasn't about to let there be a repeat of senior year, but there is more. I slipped about it to the girls, but no one else really knows except for them and I'm hoping Nicole." I said.
"I'm pregnant again, we found out a couple weeks ago… Before he met Nicole, please do not have the same reaction Hardy had when I told him." I said, watching his facial expression.
"You know I'm here if you need anything. Even if it's just getting the pickle jar open or taking you to an appointment." He said.
"Thank you." I said, giving him a small smile.
…
I sat next to Ezra since the boys wanted to sit together picked the other side of the booth at Pizzeria Delights, the newest pizza parlor in Rosewood. The boys already were already coloring on their menus, and I shared a look with Ezra. Even though I told him he should invite Nicole and Ashleigh, he just wanted this dinner to be the four of us. To show the boys… well mostly Oliver, that nothing would change the four of us. But it worries me on how Oliver will see it through his eyes. I picked up one of the parmesan zucchini fries, that we ordered for an appetizer.
"How was working with daddy, Ollie?" Malcolm asked.
"Good, I bossed him around." Ollie said smiling.
"How was your day Malcolm?" I asked, looking at Malcolm.
"Tiring, Dani and I babysat the Anderson twins." He said.
I noticed Oliver was staring at the fry in my hand and I placed it on his plate, receiving a look from him. Picking it back up, I broke it in half and ate the bigger half. Before he could try to protest eating the vegetable, our waitress Samantha came up.
"Are we ready to order?" She asked.
"I like the Ollie special please." Oliver asked, she glanced at me slightly confused.
"He'd like black olives, pepperoni, and sausage on his pizza." I told her.
"That sounds delicious, and for you?" She asked.
"The veggie delight for me please." I said, and she nodded.
"Let me guess, you two want your usual?" She asked.
Both Ezra and Malcolm both nodded. As Samantha walked away, I looked at Ezra and smirked. Almost four years, you would think he would've learned how to cook something… Especially since he had Malcolm with him.
"That says a lot about your cooking skills." I teased Ezra.
"At least I don't set the smoke alarm off." He teased back
"No, you just tend to almost set the kitchen on fire." Malcolm pointed out.
"I'm now worried about leaving our kids with you." I said laughing.
Ezra rolled his eyes at me, and gave me a small smile as the boys laughed at us making fun of each other. I really hope the boys understand when they're older why Ezra and I are staying separated, especially Malcolm. Even though Oliver seemed okay with Nicole, I still worry about how he's going to when he has to see her even more than he already has.
"If mama says yes… why don't we go mini golfing after dinner?" Ezra said and the boys looked at me.
"Let's do it!" I said, sharing a look with Ezra.
…..
Ezra pulled into the driveway, and Malcolm helped Oliver with his seatbelt. As soon as Oliver was out of his car seat, he scrambled up front and onto Ezra's lap. I glanced back to see that Malcolm's completely ready for bed after spending the last few hours with Oliver, I don't blame him since Oliver still wears me out.
"Night night daddy." Oliver said.
"Don't let the bed bugs bite lil man. I'll see you guys in the morning okay?" Ezra said, looking at all three of us. Oliver nodded before climbing back into the backseat.
"Oliver, listen to brother when you two get inside. I'll be up in a few minutes to tuck you in and read you a story.
We watched the boys as Malcolm led Oliver inside, neither of us said a word. I grabbed mine and Oliver's leftovers, before sitting back up and looking at Ezra.
"Thanks for dinner and mini golfing, although you didn't have to pay for both. I could have paid for something." I said and he raised an eyebrow at me.
"I took you guys out, it's my treat. Why don't I walk you to the door?" He suggested softly.
"If you want, not sure what you think will happen if you don't. Do you think someone will run by and kidnap me or something?" I joked and he looked at me.
"I hope you know jokes like that will never be funny to me Ar. That was the scariest thing to ever happen to me and I got shot. You being kidnapped was scarier than almost dying." He said as we both got out of the car.
I watched him put his hands in his pockets, unsure what to say to that. We made our way up the sidewalk, as the light in Hardy and Caitlyn's went on and I prayed that Oliver didn't wake anyone up. Oliver tends to be loud without meaning to, hopefully he's too tired from dinner and mini golfing.
"Hey, maybe we could make this a weekly thing or something." Ezra said softly, quickly changing the subject.
"Yeah. Sounds like a good idea, especially to show the boys that we're still really great friends." I said.
"Friends, yeah… just friends." I heard him whisper.
We headed up the porch steps and I turned to see Ezra watching me. Neither of us said anything, as we looked at one another. As much as I want to be with him… I want him to be happy more than anything else. He had put my happiness before us when he sent me to New York and now, it's my turn to put his happiness before our relationship.
"Goodnight beautiful." Ezra said and I nodded as he realized what he said.
"Night." I said and quickly headed inside as Ezra made his way back to his car.
I quietly shut the door and leaned against it. Hearing the car, I looked out the window watched Ezra pull out of the driveway and pull up to the curb across the street. Sighing, I slowly walked into the kitchen and placed our leftovers in the refrigerator. Caitlyn walked in and gave me a small smile, which got me to smile in response.
"Please tell me they didn't wake any of you up." I said, as we headed towards the stairs.
"No, I didn't even know they came inside until I heard Malcolm whispering to Oliver to brush his teeth. We're still all awake anyway, Rosie's in our room making us watch Frozen with her. I know that facial expression, we can talk in the morning if you want." She said.
The boys hurried from the bathroom to their room as we made our way upstairs. I could hear Oliver trying to find his storybook. Walking into their room, I saw that Oliver had taken all his books out of his toy chest to find the storybook
"Can we have two stories mama?" Oliver asked and I shook my head.
"Not tonight baby, it's already way past your bedtime." I said as he crawled into his bed.
Malcolm and I got onto Oliver's bed, and they both snuggled up to me. Opening the storybook, I quickly flipped to the story that I planned on reading tonight. I glanced down at Oliver, who had his thumb in his mouth and looking up at me. Pretty soon, he won't want me to read him bedtime stories anymore… he won't want to be my baby boy anymore. I may have lost Ezra… but I'm not ready to lose my baby yet.
"You know what? This one time you can have an extra story tonight." I said, getting both the boys to get excited.
AN- Caleb is back in Rosewood! What do you think the secret is that Aria and Hardy are hiding? Let me know what you think it is! You'll find out soon what it is. Do you think Caleb and Chloe will get back together; or is has it been too long? I'm going to do my best to keep uploading.
Also, I hope you are all being safe during this time.
