Chapter 16

Aria's pov

I walked back to the host stand from my break and saw Ezra with Nicole on a date, telling her about his book Ostinato. Chloe smiled at me as George and Audrey Cadwell walked in with their nine year old granddaughter Amy. According to the Cadwells, I'm their favorite hostess and always trying to give me tips even though I'm not allowed to take their tips.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Cadwell! Amy, I see you're on the last Hunger games book." I greeted them.

Grabbing their menus, I led them to their usual booth and heard Ezra talking about his book tour that he had last summer. Luckily for me, I was able to get to one of his stops before I had left for London and he got to see Oliver one last time.

"What's Ostinato about?" Nicole asked.

"My relationship with Aria." Ezra told her and I flashed back to our last full summer we had together.

Flashback (Summer, 2012)

Ezra and I were lying in bed, cuddling before the boys wake up. Of course, Oliver almost hadn't fallen back asleep after waking us up at five thirty and neither of us were able to fall back asleep. As Ezra wrapped his arms around me, he pressed his lips to my temple. I looked up to see that he was just looking at me and I caressed his face before pressing my lips to his.

"I think you should write about our love story." I whispered.

"Well, we could always write our own books; in our own points of view then co-write another book. Bringing both of our books together." Ezra suggested, brushing some hair out of my eye and slowly trailing his fingers along my jaw.

He lifted my chin, brushing his lips against mine and gently pulled me on top of him. Giggling, I cupped his face and deepened the kiss. As he started trailing his hands up and down my back, we heard Oliver start whimpering and pulled apart. Getting off the bed, I took his hand in mine and led him out of our room.

"Ostinato." Ezra whispered as we walked into the nursery.

"What?" I asked.

Oliver was standing up in his crib, waiting for us and held his arms out when he saw us. Ezra gently picked Oliver up, and led us downstairs. I could hear Malcolm getting out of bed, he usually does wake up by the time we get to the kitchen to make Oliver's breakfast now. Both Ezra and Malcolm have been planning for days to make blueberry pancakes this morning, so obviously Malcolm's excited for that. Ezra placed Oliver into his highchair as I sliced some strawberries to go with the cheerios for Oliver.

"Ostinato, a constantly recurring melodic fragment. You're my ostinato baby." Ezra told me, brushing his lips against mine.

"Eww." Malcolm said, grossed out as he came into the kitchen.

End of Flashback

"Kelly will be your waitress tonight and she'll be with you shortly. And Amy, you gotta tell me your review of The Hunger Games series the next time I see you." I said, snapping out of my flashback.

"Tell me about Malcolm's mom." I heard Nicole.

The Cadwells and Amy gave me a smile as I walked away to let them enjoy their evening. How could I have forgotten about that, this entire time his book has been about us and our story! I don't remember reading his book when it got published, did I even read it? Wait, does Nicole not know I'm legally Malcolm's mother?

"Aria is Malcolm's mother." Ezra said as I walked by.

"I meant his actual mom." Nicole said.

Walking back to the host stand, I took a deep breath as Graham walked over concerned. I carefully shook my head, careful not to let Ezra or Nicole see. Disregarding me as Malcolm's mother… what's her plan with that? It's not like she'll be able to adopt him, he is MY son… whether she likes it or not. Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself that Nicole may not know what happened senior year with Maggie.

"Aria's been his mother, practically since the day they met. Aria adopted Malcolm, legally making her his mother." Ezra snapped.

"She's just his stepmother, it doesn't matter if she-." Nicole tried, god what's her problem?

"Are you okay Aria?" Graham asked concerned.

"No, I need to break something… right now." I told him, and followed him into the kitchen

….

Ezra's pov

"She's just his stepmother, it doesn't matter if she-." Nicole argued, I held my hand up to stop her from talking.

I stared at Nicole in shock and anger that she would disregard Aria as Malcolm's mother like that. That's like her trying to claim I'm not either Malcolm or Oliver's father. As the words came out of her mouth, I saw Aria follow Graham back into the kitchen… oh my god, she must have heard Nicole.

"Aria IS Malcolm's mother, ever since she adopted him. Even before she adopted Malcolm, she acted more of a mother than my mother ever did to me." I told her.

Before she could say anything, there was a loud crash in the kitchen. Along with quite a few other people, we all looked towards the kitchen. Shit, Aria had heard everything Nicole had said. Just as I opened my mouth, Aria walked out from the kitchen and out of the restaurant with Graham. Chloe came out of the kitchen as well. Looking over in my direction me a look, which I knew meant not to follow Aria because it'd only hurt her more. I hate knowing what these looks mean, but it sucks more knowing that I can't go try to talk to Aria about it.

"Nicole, you need to respect Aria as Malcolm's mother…. Or this relationship isn't going to work. I will not have you disrespecting her, as a person or as the mother of my children." I said.

….

Aria's pov

My hands shook as I turned the page of Ezra's book and blinked back tears. It hurts knowing he wrote these words and making sure I always knew how he truly feels our entire relationship…. Just for him to walk away for another relationship so easily. This feels like when Ezra had been giving me mixed signals my junior year of high school, but he's the one seeing someone else. Shutting my book. I threw it across the room just as Toby walked in through the door. Chloe must have told him what went down when he came over to see me after he got off work.

Seeing my tear streaked face, he hurried over and pulled me into a hug. It feels like every time I start feeling better about it everything… something happens, knocking me back down to tears. This shouldn't be making me so emotional anymore, I'm dating Josh damnit!

"I shouldn't be crying over him anymore Tobes!" I sobbed.

"There's so much history and a lot has happened recently between you two." He gently pointed out, rubbing my back.

Taking a deep breath, I stood back up with his help and walked over towards where Ezra's book was sprawled open on the floor. Picking it back up, I saw it was on the dedication page; 'For you Aripop, you'll always be my Ostinato. B-26 forever… just like my love for you.' He wrote all these words about me, about us and our relationship… but walked away to be with someone else without a second thought! I walked back over to Toby and placed the book down. Feeling my blood boil, I pulled both my rings off and he stared at me in shock as I slammed them on the counter.

"It's over! I can't have any hope that he'll just walk through that door to be with me. Maggie left Malcolm with no goodbye or anything! I was there for him; I am his mother not Maggie or anyone else!" I yelled, he pulled me into his arms as I bursted into tears again.

"Malcolm is MY son." I choked out

"I know." He whispered.

"Remember junior year, you told me that Ezra and I will have a happily ever after?" I asked, receiving a nod.

"You were wrong, there was never going to be a happily ever after for us." I whispered.

Aria's pov – next morning

Ezra and I were sitting with Peter and Richard in the Rosewood office of Hastings & Associates Law. Signing the divorce papers have been pretty easy so far, considering the fact we already had the papers drawn up in case either of us had gotten into a serious relationship while I was at school. Luckily for Ezra, he hasn't pissed me off like I had warned him not to due to my mood swings today. Neither of us had brought up what happened last night… and I'm not sure I even want to have that conversation at all.

"We've gone over everything except for who will take ownership of the house." Richard said, looking at us over his glasses.

"Aria should have the house." Ezra said before I could say anything.

"I don't want the house." I told him.

"It's only right that you get the house Aria, it pretty much came from your grandparents." He said and I felt my anger starting to rise.

"Get this through your thick skull. I do NOT want it, because I don't to live in a house full of the memories and plans that we had made!" I snapped, grabbing my purse and storming out.

Opening my car door, I heard someone running after me. If it's Ezra, he can go screw himself. Why should I have to live in the house that we bought together, made all the plans for our future and the sweet memories? He's the one that walked away, the one that decided to get divorced…. HE should live in the pain NOT me!

"Aria!" Ezra called out.

"Go to hell!" I yelled at him, getting into my car.

I pulled away from the curb and sped off as he hurried after me. Glancing in my rearview mirror, I saw that he was standing in the middle of the street and walking away as he realized I wasn't coming back. He always talked about proposing again, after I came home from college and that I deserved to have the wedding of my dreams. I didn't care about having a wedding with our friends or family, or even a honeymoon. But all I ever wanted… was just to spend the rest of my life with him, and now it's gone.

Ezra's pov (a little while later)

Nicole and I were at the Grille having lunch while the boys were at the park with Dani. Aria refused to answer any of my texts or calls, so I decided to give her some space. But I need to tell Nicole about the baby, I should have told her when I met her…. I might still be with Aria if I had. As she came back from the restroom, I noticed that she had the same shade of hazel in her eyes that Aria has. I picked up my roast beef sandwich as she settled back into her chair.

"So, there's something I wanted to talk to you about." I said, setting my sandwich back down.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Aria's pregnant, I found out before we met." I told her.

She didn't say anything as she set her fork down and glanced out the window. I couldn't bring myself to tell her about kissing Aria awhile back, even though I should tell her everything. But Aria being pregnant is a little more important than the few times we've kissed. But it was pretty obvious that she was hurt about Aria being pregnant and I took so long to tell her.

"Ezra, this…. the whole baby thing, that changes everything for us." She pointed out.

"I know." I said

Before she could respond, some child started crying. Wait a minute, that sounds like Oliver. I turned around to see Oliver crying at the host stand with Chloe, she pointed me out and he came running towards me. Why is he crying, and where the hell is Malcolm? Looking at me worriedly, she saw that I was just as confused and went to look for Malcolm. Oliver came up, not crying as much as when he had first walked in.

"Tell mama to cancel the baby!" He told me through his tears.

I quickly pulled him onto my lap and grabbed napkin to wipe his now runny nose. Something happened at the park, something that made Oliver run off… oh god, what if something had happened to him on his way here? Anything could have happened, and I know Aria won't like hearing that Oliver ran off.

"Hey, what's the matter Oliver? And where's your brother?" I asked as Malcolm ran up

"Where's Ashleigh?" Nicole asked, and I realized Ashleigh wasn't with them.

"She's still at the park with Dani." Malcolm told her.

Oliver sniffled into my chest and I kissed the top of his head. He wasn't crying loudly anymore, but some people still shot dirty looks our way. I rubbed his back and gave him a napkin to wipe his nose again. He had been excited about the baby, but now he doesn't want the baby to come?

"What happened?" I asked.

"I DON'T WANT THE DUMB BABY!" Oliver yelled, tears rolling down his face.

"Oliver, I know you're upset but we don't yell in restaurants." I told him.

He began crying again and I shared a look with Nicole, this was not how I pictured telling Nicole any of this. Our waiter came over just as I signaled for the check and handed it over to me. I quickly signed the check and looked at Nicole once more. This was definitely NOT the way this should have gone.

"I'll call you later." I told her and rushed the boys out.

"Why don't we go talk to mama, okay Ollie?" I suggested and he nodded.

"Malcolm, why don't you go back to the park? Just be home before dinner." I told Malcolm.

I took Oliver's hand in mine, as Malcolm ran back towards the park. Leading him to the car, I quickly got him into his car seat and gave him my old Hollis zip up hoodie to hold onto. He didn't look at me as I buckled him in, whatever happened at the park… hopefully he'll tell us what it is. Shutting Oliver's door, I rushed to my side and got in before quickly starting the car. As I drove down the street, it brought me back to Aria driving away this morning…. I need to have a conversation with her about last night and this morning.

Aria looked up from her laptop as I walked through Hardy's door with Oliver. As I let go of his hand, he ran towards Aria and she quickly picked him up. This is the worse way for us to meet after everything Nicole said last night and what had happened this morning when we went over the divorce papers, wait a minute… how are we supposed to tell the boys about the divorce? Wait, that's not important right now. I walked over and sat on the floor next to them. As Aria rubbed Oliver's back, we shared a look and I noticed how adorable she looks with her reading glasses on… I need to stop, now is not the time! Oliver cried into her and she looked at me worriedly.

"What happened?" She asked me.

"Mama, cancel the dumb baby." Oliver cried before I could say anything.

"We can't cancel the baby, your sibling still coming." Aria told him, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"You love the dumb baby more than me." Oliver sobbed.

"Oliver, stop calling the baby dumb." I told him.

"They are a dumb baby!" He cried.

"Oliver Scott go to your room. We'll be up in a little bit to talk when you've had time to think." Aria told him.

Oliver bursted into tears again, mumbling about how we love the baby more than him as he stomped up the stairs and into his bedroom. We both sighed and I helped her up from the floor, both us of stayed silent as we didn't know what to say. After this morning, I've been trying to figure out what to say to her about everything.

"How come we never prepared ourselves for this?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"Maybe because we didn't think this could happen. But Aria, we both know you're Mal-." I started to say.

"I'm not talking about that." She said, cutting me off and grabbing a water.

"Aria I need you to know this; there's no way in hell I'm ever going to let her or anyone disregard you like that. But can we talk about this morning?" I asked.

"I had warned you." She reminded me.

"I know. If you really don't want the house, I think you should have the loft then. I know the owner and get some strings pulled." I said

"Oh, I found that I still have a couple of your things." She said, changing the subject.

She led me upstairs to her room and went into her closet. I looked over at one of the picture frames, seeing a picture of Oliver with that one guy that Aria loves from Glee. Damn, I should've been there more for him… for her. God, times like these I wish I had a time machine to do everything differently.

"It still seems unreal that not long after that picture, Cory died." Aria said softly and led me back downstairs.

"Want me to carry that?" I asked, motioning to the box.

"It's your stuff." She joked and handing it over to me.

"Hey! I've been wondering where this hoodie went, now I understand why I never found it. Wow, I forgot I even lent this book to you. But I want you to keep these, they're yours." I told her, handing the rings and Aripop necklace back to her.

"Ezra, this was your grandmother's ring. I'm not keeping it; it belongs to you not me." She said, handing the engagement ring back.

Malcolm walked in through the front door with Dani, talking about some little kid that looked like Oliver. As they walked into the kitchen, we heard Hardy pull up in the driveway. Since Malcolm is home now, maybe we can get some answers about what had happened at the park.

"Okay, so what had happened today at the park?" I asked Malcolm.

"Ashleigh told Oliver that you two aren't going to love him anymore after the baby comes." Malcolm said.

Without saying a word, Aria rushed upstairs and into the boys room. God, why the hell would Ashleigh say that to Oliver? I looked over at Malcolm and Dani as we heard commotion all around upstairs. I started heading upstairs.

"EZRA CALL THE POLICE, OLIVER'S NOT HERE." Aria yelled.

"That might've been Oliver we saw! Let's go try and find him." Dani told Malcolm.

As they ran outside to look for Oliver, I rushed upstairs to see Aria sitting in the middle of the boys room with Oliver's blankets ripped from his bed. I quickly sat down next to her and gently cupped her face with my hands, wiping the tears from her eyes with my thumb. God, it kills me to see her cry. I started dialing Toby's number just as the front door opened. Kissing Aria's forehead, I got up and rushed downstairs to see Hardy walking in… holding Oliver's hand. I sighed of relief and rushed over to him, pulling him into a hug.

"I saw him over by the high school." Hardy said.

"Oliver Scott Fitz, why did you run away?" I asked, releasing him from the hug.

"You and mama don't love me no more." He cried.

"Hey, we love you more than anything. I was about to call the police and Mama is worried sick about you." I told him.

"Why don't we go see mama, come on lil man." I said.

…..

Aria's pov

I couldn't make out the voices downstairs, but we need to go find Oliver now! If Ezra hasn't called the cops yet, I'm going to kill him! Our son is out there somewhere; and I need go to find my baby! There were footsteps coming up the stairs as I started fixing Oliver's bed. He could be hurt… oh god, my baby could be hurt! The footsteps came into the room and I turned to see Ezra holding Oliver's hand. As Ezra let go, I pulled Oliver into my arms and planted kisses on his cheek. My baby's okay… thank god.

"You and daddy don't love me no more." Oliver sniffled as I kissed his forehead.

"Baby, I was about to set the whole world on fire to find you. Do you know how much I love you Ollie?" I asked.

"A lot until the baby comes." He whispered.

"No, I love you for infinity." I said.

"What's intinity?" He asked.

I gently scooped him up and sat him onto my lap. How did Ashleigh manage to convince him I could just not love him anymore after the baby comes? Brushing some of his hair out his eyes, I gently kissed his nose and rested my forehead against his.

"Infinity is forever, it never ends. Just because the baby is coming, does not mean I'm going to love you any less or love the baby any more than you." I whispered.

"Promise?" He asked, and I wiped away his tears.

"Ollie baby, nothing could make me love you any less. You're always going to be my baby boy; guess what?" I asked. With tears still in his eyes, he looked up at me

"Your brother or sister loves you infinity too." I told him softly

"Daddy is always going to love you too Ollie, no matter what. But you're still in trouble for running away." Ezra told him

"Why?" Oliver asked

"Because you ran away, me and mama didn't know where you were. Something could have happened to you and running away from home is never the answer." Ezra told him.

"Are you gonna take bubba away?" Oliver asked

"No baby, we are never going to take bubba away as a punishment." I promised him.

…..

Few days later

I walked into The Grille for work and stopped dead in my tracks. Alison was sitting alone at a booth, what the hell is she doing here? Oh god, there's a chance she could run into the boys. There has to be a reason Peter hadn't told us about her being released for the weekend, just like when Mona had been released. My heart started racing as Graham came over to me. What if she goes near Malcolm or Oliver, oh my god… she could hurt them!

"I didn't know she was released already." I whispered as Alison hurried over to us with a fake ass smile on her face.

"Aria! It's been too long since I've seen you!" Alison exclaimed, wrapping me in a hug and I forced her arms off of me.

"You stay the hell away from me and my kids you psychotic bitch!" I snapped, feeling my heart race.

"That's not a nice way to speak to your dear sister Aria." She slyly and the room seemed to start spinning.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I tried to regain my composure.

"You'd think college would've made you smarter, we're sisters…. Ask Ella if you don't believe me." She said and everything went black.

AN – Oh its getting crazy in Rosewood! First Oliver runs away and now Alison has been released; but do you think it's for good? I'm going to try to get chapter 17 out next week, but I can't fully promise that I'll be able to post it. Don't forget to send in name suggestions for Ezria and Spoby, along with whether you're team boy or girl.