Chapter 17
Aria's pov
I opened my eyes to see that I wasn't at work anymore, but at the hospital. Groaning, I looked around to see Ezra sitting next to my bed as he realized I was awake. Everything that happened is really blurry to me, all I remember is seeing Alison and then nothing. But I still have her voice in my head, like there was something important she said.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Alison had been released for the weekend; you had some words with her before losing consciousness." He said, helping me sit up.
"Is the baby okay?" I asked worriedly and he nodded.
"But you should know, they did a transvaginal ultrasound as well as a regular one. Something about double checking something, I only said yes because I knew you'd want to know." He told me.
Just then, Dr. Hall walked in with my case folder and an unreadable facial expression. Oh my god what if something IS wrong with the baby? It'd be all my fault if something happened, I'm supposed to be protecting my baby! Ezra slipped his hand in mine and gave me a soft smile, sensing exactly what I was thinking.
"I have some good news. When I had done the regular ultrasound, there was a second heartbeat and I did the transvaginal to make sure the baby didn't have PVC. Here's the good news; neither of the babies have PVC." Dr. Hall told us.
"Babies? As in… more than one?" I asked, sharing a look with Ezra.
"Yes, you two are going to have twins! I'm sure this is a lot to take in, but would you two like to know the sex of the twins?" She asked.
Oh my god, we're having twins! That means doubling food, clothes, toys, diaper changes… EVERYTHING! But twins don't run in my family or Ezra's, how the hell did we get twins? How am I supposed to take care of two babies AND Oliver and Malcolm? I can tell right now that I'll be losing my sanity. Ezra and I shared another look, we have to know the sex of the twins because Oliver is still set on sending the baby to Ella if they're a boy.
"Yes, we wanna know." I told her.
"Both twins are… girls." She said, giving us a smile before leaving us alone.
"Twins…. Least Ollie can't send them to live with Ella now." Ezra joked.
…..
Ezra and I were sitting in his living room, it's been two hours since the hospital released me and I'm still stressed from everything. "We're sisters…. Ask Ella if you don't believe me." Her voice rang in my head. That's what caused me to faint! Byron cheated on Ella with Mrs. Dilaurentis? If she cheated with Mr. Hastings, she could've also cheated with Byron. Wait a minute; Alison and Mrs. D were both twins that turned out to be completely evil! If Alison is telling the truth, then I really am related to her… does that mean one of my twins will end up with the same fate as them? Either murdered or in a mental institutional prison?
"Hey, what's the matter?" Ezra asked, concerned
"What if one of our twins turns out just like Alison?" I asked softly.
"Hey, where is this coming from Ar?" He asked and I sighed.
"Alison said that we're… half-sisters." I said.
"You sure she just wasn't trying to get a rise out of you?" He suggested and I shook my head
"She said to ask Ella." I told him.
He didn't say anything as he comprehended everything. Now he knows that I share blood with the demon queen that made the last two years of my high school education a living hell. But why wouldn't anyone tell me that I share the same blood as her? Who knows what any of our kids will do since they also share the same blood, except for Malcolm. He got lucky by not having me as his biological mother.
"Should we start looking for girl names?" He asked, changing the subject and I was grateful for it.
"Yeah, but they should have more individual names." I told him.
"I like that." He agreed
He picked up one of the expecting books off the coffee table as we both tried to come up with some names, I know I do want to suggest his grandmother's name but I want to do it at the right time. He never mentioned the possibility of Scott being a middle name when I had been pregnant with Oliver until after I gave birth. From the stories he told me, he was super close to his grandmother before she died and he lost all contact with Paul and that side of his family.
"Daisy, obviously the baby wouldn't trigger your allergies." He joked, and I nodded.
"Juliet." I said.
"Not really liking that. Arizona." He suggested.
"I'm fifty/fifty on it, so Arizona is a maybe. How about Josephine?" I asked.
"That's a good one, where'd you get that?" He inquired and I stared at him.
"Ez, it's your grandmother's name." I reminded him.
"Oh, right, I like that. How about Rowan? It's more of a gender neutral name." He said.
"I really like Rowan. What about Katherine?" I asked.
Neither of us said anything as he wrote it down. Even though we still have time to pick out names, we have to pick out names for two babies AND two middle names. There are so many names to choose from, and some of them are those matching twin names. But this wasn't how we were supposed to be choosing names for our babies, we were supposed to be snuggled up with my head on his chest with us being together…. But this is how it's happening – opposite sides of the couch and us NOT together.
…
Few days later
"Wake up mama."
I opened my eyes to see Oliver standing next to my bed, staring at me. If it's not my morning sickness that's waking me up, it him. Truth be told, sometimes I'd prefer if morning sickness woke me up instead because of how early he'd wake me up. But he has been waking me up earlier than usual since we moved into the loft and I wish he wouldn't do it so early.
"Mhm, what time is it?" I asked, not wanting to get up.
"Six four three." He said, reading my phone and I groaned at the time.
"Ollie baby, we don't need to be up yet." I told him, as he crawled onto my bed and crawled over me to the free space on my bed.
"But I'm awake now mama." He huffed.
"Oliver, either watch tv quietly or lay with me until it's time get up." I told him.
I gave him one of my throw blankets to snuggle with, hopefully he'll go back to sleep for a little bit longer so I can have just a tiny bit more sleep. Rolling over, I closed my eyes once more and felt myself start to fall back to sleep.
"Mama." Oliver said, snapping me back awake.
"Yes baby?" I mumbled.
"When will my sissy be here?" He asked.
"Around Christmas." I told him, as he crawled over and snuggled up to me.
"Will we still be here when sissy comes?" He asked, poking my eyeball.
"Oliver, I love you… please let mama sleep." I said, moving his hand away.
"But mama I have questions." He huffed as he poked my eye again.
Sighing, I sat up and rubbed my now hurting eye. Obviously, he's not going to let me fall back asleep anytime soon. Maybe I can catch a nap after I drop him off at camp. I picked him up and headed downstairs to make him some breakfast, if only I can have a large expresso because… it's quite obvious I am going to need it today. As I looked for something to make him, we could hear Ezra and Sabrina opening up the Brew downstairs.
"Let's say hi to daddy!" He said excitedly.
"We're not going in our pajamas, go get dressed. And I don't want to hear you waking brother up." I told him.
He led me upstairs and we went into our own rooms. Running a hand through my hair, I looked through my closet and found my grey dress with red polka dots and quickly changed. Oliver came in as I pulled my denim jacket on over my dress. He had his short sleeve orange and blue plaid button down with grey shorts. But he hadn't buttoned up his shirt at all.
"Look mama, I dressed myself!" He told me.
"Good job! But do you need mama to do your buttons?" I asked, receiving a nod and quickly buttoned his shirt up.
"There you go baby, come on." I told him.
He lifted his arms up for me to pick him up, which I gladly did. I carried him downstairs until he started squirming to get down at the door. He tried opening the door with no luck and looked up to me. Unlocking the door, I opened the door for him and he led me down to the brew. Where Ezra and Sabrina were finishing the preparations to open up.
"Hi daddy! I woke me and mama up" Oliver said and ran towards Ezra, who picked him up.
"Regular coffee or something else?" He asked, looking at me.
Ezra stood Oliver back on the ground and motioned for us to sit on the couch, I still remember all the times when I would do my homework next to Malcolm and he'd try to help me with my complicated calculus problems. Pretty soon, both the boys will be doing sitting here as they do their homework. Wait, do kindergarteners even get homework? Holy crap, my baby is about to start kindergarten.
"I'm still too tired to understand, so surprise me." I said.
He chuckled before standing up and going to go make my drink as Oliver came back with two blueberry muffin. I pulled him up onto my lap as he bit one of the muffins. I brushed his hair a bit with my fingers, getting him to giggle and hand me the other muffin.
"Yours." He told me with his mouth full.
Ezra came back and placed an iced vanilla almond mocha on the table in front of me, sitting down next to me. Oliver crawled off my lap, to get onto Ezra's. As he continued eating his muffin, he pulled out a bunch of game and real money out of his pocket. I think now would be good time to start teaching him about real money and saving up money for something he'd absolutely want. Catching Ezra's eye, we shared a look and we both knew we were thinking the same.
"I need a money folder for my moneys." Oliver told us.
"We can get you a money folder tomorrow lil man." Ezra promised him
…
I took a sip of my mocha as Oliver told Ezra about his day at camp yesterday. Do I need to take Malcolm anywhere today? Yesterday was Wednesday, so he had his soccer training already… Thursdays he has nothing going on where I'd have to drive him. If neither Ezra or I are driving him somewhere, it's usually either Pastor Kane or Brian's parents that offer to drive them. Glancing at my phone; I realized it was seven forty and Oliver needs to be at camp pretty soon. Ezra excused himself from Oliver since Kevin was having difficulty with the cash register and a customer was starting to get angry.
"Baby, I know you wanna keep hanging with daddy, but it's almost time for you to be at camp. Plus, you'll be with daddy tonight and it's his week with you and Malcolm. Go say bye to everyone" I told him.
He saw Sabrina and went over to say goodbye to her, as I quickly cleaned up Oliver's money. Ezra realized that we were leaving and walked over to them and picked Oliver up, carefully flipping him upside down. As I tossed my now empty cup into the garbage, Ezra came over with Oliver still upside down in his arms.
"Let me know if you need anything throughout the day, and I'll see you guys tonight." He said, I nodded.
Setting Oliver down, Ezra quickly brushed his lips against my cheek. Realizing what he was doing, he quickly pulled away and I couldn't look at him. How does this keep happening? Actually, its more like why. I grabbed my purse and looked at Ezra, but not into his eyes… I can't look into his eyes, not after that.
"Yeah, I'll let you know if I need anything and we'll you tonight." I said quickly.
I took Oliver hand and walked him outside and towards my car. My mind is racing, how can Ezra keep kissing me when we're not together? He's dating Nicole and I just started seeing Josh! But it was just on my cheek, that's innocent right? Although now that I think about it, it was pretty close to my mouth… okay! I need to stop thinking about it and worry about getting Oliver to camp on time. Giving Oliver the remote, I helped him unlock my car before getting him into his car seat. I watched as he buckled himself in.
"You all buckled up?" I asked and he nodded.
"How is a baby born? Do they come out of your belly button mama?" Oliver asked the second I was in my seat.
Oh my god! I knew these questions were going to be coming, I just didn't think it would be this soon. Hopefully, he won't have many questions or ask his camp teachers any of them. Though I think he'd ask Caitlyn out of any of the teachers there… oh god, what if he asks his friends?
"What I tell you; is not to be repeated to your friends. Got it? This is a conversations your friends can only have with their mommies and daddies." I explained and he nodded.
"There are times where the baby does come out of the belly. But babies also come out a special hole that mommies have." I told him.
I silently sighed as he seemed fine with that response. Hopefully, he really won't tell anyone even though I told him not too. Maybe it'd be best to keep him home today, it's not like I have work today anyway. Plus, if he has any other questions, he can just ask me. No… he needs to go to camp and play with his friends. Starting the car, I glanced back to see that he was clearly thinking about something. As I started pulling away from the curb, he spoke up
"Tell me about when I born." He said.
"Uncle Toby delivered you." I told him, hoping that would be enough.
"What about daddy?" He asked
"You know what, why don't you stay home today and I can answer all your questions." I suggested.
"Okay!" He said happily whether it was because he gets to spend the day with me or that he just doesn't have to go to camp is beyond me.
…..
That night
The girls and I were sitting around the living room, everyone except for Spencer and Toby are already here. Although I'm trying not to let it show, everyone can tell there's some tension between me and Nicole. If Ezra thought by bringing Nicole tonight was going to resolve everything that she said about me…. He's completely wrong. Luckily, Oliver hasn't said anything to anyone about what I told him when it came to babies or when Toby and I were kidnapped. While the guys and Nicole were in the kitchen, Malcolm showing Dani his video games.
"Does Malcolm… like her?" Emily whispered.
"Pretty sure they both like each other, but I'm not going to embarrass him by asking." I said softly.
Toby and Spencer walked in and I quickly got up to go say hi. Walking up to them, Toby passed me a fake succulent plant and a thumbs up. Unbeknownst to him, Spencer warned that he was going to try to be funny tonight. Toby knows I'm terrible with keeping plants alive and he thinks it's completely hilarious. Alex had met Chloe and Caleb earlier at lunch, but she's still nervous about everyone else and backed out from coming tonight. Malcolm and Dani walked upstairs as I set the plant on the island
"Spence, I didn't fully believe you when you said he got me a fake plant." I said.
"Babe really, you told her? Then can I tell her the names I came up with?" Toby asked and she nodded.
We walked over towards the stairs, hearing all the kids now playing together in the boy's room. As much as I want to tell them everything from me being related to Alison to Ezra and I having twin girls, I feel like it would end up being a competition between me and Spencer. She had enough competition with Melissa while growing up, besides this is their time to shine with their baby names. Sitting down, Spencer and I both looked at Toby.
"Tell me, tell me, tell me!" I begged him.
"We compromised that I could pick the baby's name if they're a boy and she'd pick if they're a girl. As of right now; we're thinking of Ryan, Ethan, Logan…or Mason. We're a little iffy on Mason, not real sure about it." Toby said and I knew what he meant.
"Guys don't throw a name away because you think it might freak me out, the two names are completely different. Mason is a cute name, and you should use it if that's the name you want to use for your possible son. Besides, I'm fine now." I said
"Are you sure?" Spencer asked and I nodded
"Yes! Now, what girl names do you have picked out?" I asked.
"Audrey, Cassandra, Kennedy, and Paisley. But I do have the middle name picked out already." She said as Caleb called Toby over towards him and Chloe.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Marion, just don't tell Toby. Have you guys picked out any names yet?" She inquired.
"No, we're still up in the air but there's a chance we might be using Josephine as a middle name for a girl. It was Ezra's grandmothers name, the one he was close to." I explained and Oliver came down, running towards Ezra.
"Daddy, did you punch the person that stoled mama and Tobby?" Oliver asked.
Everyone looked shocked, trying to figure out what just happened. Internally groaning, I placed my face in my hands as Toby came back and sat down next to us. Ezra pulled Oliver up onto his lap and nodded. Sharing a look with Toby, I saw from the corner of my eye that Nicole looked a little confused about what was being said. I should have known that there was a chance Oliver was going to say something about that tonight, especially with Ezra here.
"Although violence is never the answer… Yes, but only because they put mama and Toby and you in danger." Ezra told him.
"I wasn't there daddy." Oliver giggled
"You were in my belly sweetie." I told him.
"Why don't you go show Caleb your movies?" Ezra suggested to Oliver.
Sharing a look with Ezra, we both knew we needed to talk about the fact that I had told Oliver about me and Toby being kidnapped. God, Ezra should have been there for that conversation! Or at least, I should have told him ahead of time that I had talked to Oliver about it. What if he has nightmares now? It'd be all my fault! Why is this parenting thing so damn hard? Ezra walked over and I stood up, leading him upstairs. Great, this is never ending for us. He should just yell at me in front of everyone again, wait, but the kids are here.
"You told him?" Ezra asked, as we got into my bedroom.
"He kept asking questions and one thing lead to another, I didn't know what to tell him…. I know you should've been -." I said until he cut me off.
"Are you okay?" He asked, more concerned for me
"Yeah, I'm fine. Obviously, I didn't go into exact details about it just that the person was sick and that they had me and Toby." I told him.
"I lied earlier. I didn't exactly punch Jason for the reason I gave Oliver… it was because he had said 'I could tell you this, Aria enjoys it a little rough.' Punching him seemed like a great response." He admitted.
"You know he only said that to get under your skin." I pointed out, trying not to let my emotions of him defending me against Jason show.
"Just the thought of him… hurting you in any way makes my blood boil and I wanted to kill him." He said, gently caressing my face.
"We better get back down to everyone." I told him, turning away from him
Just as we were about to turn around, we heard one of the kids walk downstairs. I quickly headed out of my room and headed down towards Maya. I could still feel Ezra's touch on my cheek, this shouldn't be so confusing! Why do I still feel the sparks whenever he looks at me or touches me? I should be feeling that with Josh, not with my soon to be ex-husband!
"Me and Rosie are soupmates." Oliver told Caleb and Chloe
"Really?" Caleb asked.
"Yeah! Just like mama and daddy are soupmates." Oliver explained
I couldn't look at Ezra when Oliver said that, especially since Nicole is here. 'We're sisters… ask Ella if you don't believe me.' God, will I ever be able to get Alison's damn voice out of my head? Talking to Ella can't be put off, I have Spencer and Toby's wedding to worry about. I don't want to accidentally burst out at Ella when it's a happy day for everyone. Toby looked at me and took my hand before leading me towards the bathroom, damn he can sense something is up.
"What is it?" He asked.
"It's complicated." I told him.
"Does it have anything to do with Ezra?" He whispered and I shook my head.
"No, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet. At least not until I talk to mom about everything." I said.
…..
Ezra's pov
As Toby pulled Aria down the hall, I made my way over to Hardy and Nicole. Walking over towards them, I realized she was about the same height as Aria maybe an inch or two taller. It all makes sense… Nicole reminded me of Aria when I first met her. It was everything about her that made me think of Aria, and although I knew she was coming home soon, I still missed her like crazy. I need to end this with Nicole, this isn't fair to her. Aria's the one for me and it's always going to be her. God, I miss her… I miss everything with her.
"Hey, I think I'm gonna head home. It's almost Ashleigh's bedtime and we need to be up early tomorrow." Nicole said.
"Let me walk you out, I need to talk to you about something." I said.
"Ashleigh we're gonna get going, go get your things." Nicole said as Ashley reached for a cracker.
Ashleigh nodded before grabbing a couple crackers and going back upstairs to get her stuff. Great, breaking up with her in front of her kid. But it's not like this can wait any longer, this should have ended before it could even begin… or even when Nicole started saying how Aria wasn't really Malcolm's mother. God, why am I stupid? First, I get into this relationship KNOWING that my Aria was coming home then I refuse to be an adult and have a mature conversation about her and Hardy…. Now I didn't end it the second Nicole started badmouthing her! What is wrong with me? Nicole came back from grabbing her jacket and saying goodbye to everyone…. Except for Aria, which I don't think Aria really cared.
"Do I have to take a bath tonight mommy?" Ashleigh asked, coming back down.
"You can skip tonight's bath and take one tomorrow instead." Nicole told her as we headed to her car.
Nicole quickly started her car as Ashleigh waved bye and got in. I waved a little and Nicole walked back over. Just need to rip the bandage off, it shouldn't be that hard to do since I saw Hardy do it all the time back when we were in college. Wait a minute though, I'm not Hardy and I can't just dump someone easily. Though Aria might say otherwise… should probably stop thinking about Aria while breaking up with Nicole.
"This is never easy to say, I don't think it's going to work out for us. Maybe it's best we just end it all here." I said, realizing that there were so many ways I could have worded that better
"Because you're still crazy in love with Aria. It was always going to be her in the end, I knew that." Nicole told me.
"I'm sorry, you just reminded me of her when we met and I never realized until tonight. Although I did have fun spending time with you… it never should have happened." I admitted.
"Yeah, it was fun. I'll see you around Ezra." She said.
….
Aria's pov
Ezra and I were in kitchen, waiting for the boys to come back down with their stuff. Soon after Nicole left, everyone else started leaving too. Which I don't really mind since I'm ready to go to bed and it's only nine, but I also want to start outlining my book about everything that I went through at Rosewood High. Turning around from putting leftovers away, I saw Ezra wiping up something that had been spilled on the counter.
"You do not need to help clean up Ez. With the boys, you're gonna have plenty to clean up yourself." I said.
"Well, I'm probably the one who spilled the dip. Besides, I want to help out with anything and I could use a distraction." He said, looking into my eyes.
As his eyes had met mine, I felt something in my stomach again. There was something in his eyes that I couldn't figure out, he's been acting a little different ever since Nicole left? What on earth happened between them in the five minutes that they were outside? I wanted to talk to Nicole earlier about what she said about me, but tonight wasn't the place to have that talk.
"I broke up with Nicole." Ezra said.
"Does this have anything to do with-." I started asking until he shook his head.
"No, being with Nicole just didn't feel right. It never did, and I didn't notice it until now." He admitted.
"I'm sorry. I know how much you liked her." I told him, gently squeezing his hand.
"She reminded me of you, that's why I liked her." Ezra mumbled, not knowing I heard him.
"The second she started disregarding you, that's when I should have ended it. But I stupidly didn't, and I'm sorry." He said
Before I could respond, the boys came down the stairs with their backpacks. We can both tell Oliver is sleepy but is trying to hide it from us. Hopefully, Oliver will sleep in and not wake Ezra up. Although Ezra does have to wake up early for work, except for those days when he refuses to get out of bed…. Wait, those days he just wanted to stay in bed all day with me and not care about anything else. I really need to stop thinking about those days and torturing myself with memories.
"We're ready." Malcolm said.
"Be good for dad." I told the boys as I gave them their hugs.
"No." Oliver said as he walked to Ezra and lifted his arms to be picked up
"You boys have everything?" I asked
Malcolm nodded. Kissing the top of his head, I gently pushed him towards Ezra and watched the three of them leave for the week. Even though I'll still see them, it still hurts to see them have to leave. I hate having to share custody like this, I hate having to watch my boys leave every other week… and I hate not being with Ezra. But it's time to get over him, I'm with Josh now.
…..
Next day
Pulling up in front of my parents' house, I stared up at the house. Maybe I should have asked Ezra to come with, he at least knows what happened. As much as I wanted to tell Toby about it last night, I'm not fully ready to talk about it… not even if I was talking to one of the girls. What if she found out that I was her half sister and that's the real reason she tortured us? Taking a deep breath, I got out of my car and Ella walked out of the house.
"Aria, honey I didn't know you were coming over. You missed dad and Luna, they left to go fishing with Toby a little while ago." She said as she came over to me.
"Just learned that Alison is my half-sister, were you ever planning on telling me?" I asked
"I didn't even know he had gotten Jessica pregnant until you became friends with her." She said.
"How could you not tell me that the person who made my life a living hell for TWO fucking years is my half-sister? All these years, you KNEW that I'm related to that – that DEMON PERSON!" I yelled.
"You know what? Coming here was a mistake." I said.
Without saying another word, I turned around and got back into my car. She knew what Alison put me through… yet never said a fucking word about it! Was she expecting me to be grateful? I share the same blood as Alison, and no one ever said a damn word about it! I drove off, not paying attention to where I was headed and frankly, I don't really care.
"Never thought to fucking tell me." I whispered to myself, pulling up to the curb.
I got out of car and walked up to the porch. Ringing the doorbell, I ran a hand through my hair as the door opened and he let me inside. As he turned back around from closing the door, I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. He pressed me up against the wall and rested his hands on my hips as I slipped my tongue into his mouth. Snapping back into reality, I realized what I was doing and quickly pulled away.
"I – I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that… I shouldn't have come." I sputtered.
As I turned to leave, Ezra took my hand to stop me. Luckily, the boys have soccer all day. How could I explain to them why I'm kissing Ezra when we're no longer together and I'm dating Josh? I'm the worst role model for my kids! Maybe I need to go hibernate myself until it's time for Spencer and Toby's wedding. Can't keep doing reckless crap like kissing Ezra if I'm in hibernation.
"Wait, Aria talk to me." He said, leading me to the couch.
"I had gone to confront Ella about Alison. It got too much and I left, instead of thinking of going to one of the girls or Josh, my messed up subconscious apparently thought to come to you." I said, refusing to meet his gaze.
"Ar, I don't think your subconscious is messed up. But you have a lot going on in your life right now, and it seems to know that you're not ready to talk to the girls about you and Alison. Remember when I used to be able to make you feel better with just a kiss? I miss those days." Ezra said softly.
"Those days are over Ezra, I'm with Josh now." I reminded him.
"Can you actually see a real future with Josh?" He asked
How could I answer that? I have no idea whether or not I see josh and I in my future! Ezra was watching me, it's over between us and he wants to start reminiscing about who we used to be? Neither of us are those people anymore, we can't just go back to being those people… no matter how much we may want to. I still miss being with him, but I just cannot ignore my growing feelings for Josh.
"What about us? Where do we stand in your future?"
"Why are you asking this now?" I asked, starting to feel my emotions.
"Because I love you, and there's obvious some reason that your subconscious had you came here to kiss me instead of going to Josh or even the girls." Ezra said
"Did you believe that you just say that you love me and everything would go back to normal? You just got out of a relationship and now you love me again?" I inquired.
"No, I-." He started but I cut him off.
"We're getting divorced, I'm not playing games anymore Ezra. We had our chance." I said, even though the words broke my heart.
…
The next day
I pulled into Ella's driveway and took a deep breath. Running to Ezra yesterday had been a bad idea…. he's like a comfort zone for me, but he shouldn't be that zone for me anymore. Especially when it's over between us This conversation really needs actually happen without me yelling, and I really need to stop going to Ezra for every single little inconvenience in my life. Getting out of my car, Ella walked out and seemed shocked that I was back.
"Aria." She said, walking over to me.
"Thought you were dad and Luna back early from the park, why don't we go inside?" She suggested and led me inside.
We walked into the house, and I saw all the photos of Mike, Toby, and I growing up, there's even a copy of mine and Ezra's wedding photo and a photo of me and the girls when we graduated high school. Sitting at the kitchen table, I caught a glimpse of the photos my mom has of Oliver, Malcolm, and Luna. Neither of us said anything as Ella went to get us some sweet tea, pretty sure she's just waiting for me to tell her why I'm back again.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna yell or anything dramatic. I wanna hear what happened; how did you even find out that Byron cheated?" I asked.
"Scott told me, while I was in labor with you." She said
Flashback – July 12th, 1994
Ella's pov
I laid in the hospital bed with Byron's younger brother Scott in the chair next to me, going over the baby names that Byron wanted me to consider. There's no need to go over this list, I have a name picked out already. Glancing at the clock, I sighed at the fact Byron still hasn't arrived at the hospital. He knows damn well that I'm here in labor and have been for the past five hours, and I know that his job knows I could go into labor any day. At least Scott is here, Elizabeth should be here any moment… just like Byron should be. Feeling my baby girl give me with another contraction, I placed a hand over my swollen belly and smiled despite the fact I want to scream in pain. Really hope Elizabeth and my parents get here soon, it's bad enough that Byron moved us away from Rosewood to some stupid city that I don't know anyone.
"Ella… There's something you should know. It may not be my place to tell you, but you're pretty much my only sister and you deserve to know." Scott said, taking my hand.
"What's going ON?" I asked with another contraction.
"Byron's seeing Jessica Dilaurentis behind your back." He said.
So that's why it feels like Byron is distant, everything makes sense now. All these 'late nights' at work, him being secretive and smelling like perfume. How could he cheat on me? I'm carrying his child! The hot tears brimmed my eyes as I felt another contraction, it hurt more than the other ones. He has a family at home, and he's out with Jessica? Wait a minute, didn't she cheat on Kenneth with Peter Hastings too? I wonder if Mary happens to know anything… but I haven't seen or heard from her since before she left to give birth. Really wish she were here with me like she promised when we learned we were both expecting. Our babies can't grow up together like we had planned, my baby just has Peter and Veronica's daughter Spencer.
"I'm sorry Ella." Scott whispered.
"It's not your fault, you didn't do anything wrong. But Elizabeth or my parents cannot know about this, she already hates Byron enough as it is. As does my mother, both she and Lizzie will be here soon." I told him.
"What are you going to do?" He asked.
"Byron has a choice to make, but I'll never let my baby know her father is a cheater." I said
God, I want my chocolate ice cream and pickles but no…. I can't eat while in labor, only ice chips. A couple nurses walked and I sighed of relief, seeing that they have my epidural. Byron walked in as Scott fed me an ice chip, bet he had been with her. Daniel would never have done this to me or Marion, he cares too much.
"Sorry I'm late, work was crazy." He said, kissing the top of my head.
"We know you weren't at work, I told her the truth about Jessica." Scott said, and Byron turned to me.
"I ended it with her, turns out that she was seeing another guy behind my back." Byron said.
Scott and I stared at him in shock, was he trying to get us to feel sorry for him? He cheated on me… What in his right mind thought it was okay for him to do that to the woman who is with HIS child. And he wants me to feel bad that his mistress was cheating on HIM? He deserves that karma, ruining his family.
"Just like you've been seeing someone behind MY back, your pregnant FIANCÉE?!" I said, screaming through contractions.
"I work hard AND go to classes! Then when I want to spend special time with you, it's either you don't feel good or you're not in the mood." Byron snapped.
"Don't you dare try to put the blame on me, did you forget that I'm pregnant with your child! Give me one damn good reason why I should keep you in my life, let alone our daughter's!" I told him.
"You learned the sex?" He asked and Scott seemed excited about having a niece.
There isn't a need for me to ask the doctor, I know in my heart that my baby is girl. Whether Byron likes it or not. Plus, I've shown all the signs of carrying a girl. All I need is for my baby to hurry on out and prove me right. Byron thought he could blame me for him cheating? I didn't force him to cheat, he has barely been there for my pregnancy and Scott has been… and Scott isn't even the father. Although at this point, I wish he were the father.
"No, but I just know that our baby is a girl." I said.
"We talked about this EllieBear; you can't get too attached to this fantasy of yours that the baby's a girl. Besides, what kind of mother keeps their child away from their father? That's how they'll resent you in the end." He said, and my nurse came in.
"Okay Ella, let me check you again." My nurse Debra said, walking in.
"Ella… it's time." She said smiling.
End of Flashback (Back to Aria's pov)
Neither of us said anything as I comprehended everything. If Ella had kicked Byron to the curb…. Who knows where we'd be today. Mike may not have been born, and who knows if I would ever have been with Ezra and we may not even have the boys. She had to live with the fact Byron cheated on her while she was pregnant all those years, especially when I brought Alison over to the house. How long had Byron known that Alison was his?
"The moment you had walked in house with her and introduced us, Byron's reaction said it all. I should've told you the moment I found out Alison knew." She told me, I stared at her confused.
"You and Mike were both out with your friends. I came home to see Byron had the table set with two glasses of wine, the garnacha that we only had for special occasions. Then he told me that Alison figured it out." She explained.
"When was that?" I asked.
"Around Halloween, that's all I know about everything when it comes to Alison." She told me.
So, when I had learned Byron was cheating with Meredith, Alison found out that he was her biological father. She convinced me to trash his office…. I bet it was so she could get her anger out instead of helping me. It had always been about Alison and what she wanted, never about any of us or our feelings. Nothing mattered to her unless it benefitted her too, although I'm not sure how getting Hanna to throw up after eating could benefit her.
"Honey, I didn't tell you at first because I didn't want you to know that your father cheated." She said softly.
"But why didn't you tell me after everything ended?" I asked.
"You had gone through so much. Then Alison ended up being alive AND in charge of everything that you had gone through, it was hard to even think about telling you that she shared half your blood." She explained, placing a hand on my cheek
Ella took my hands in hers as I gave her a small smile. If Byron's Alison and Bethany's father, does that mean he was the one that talked to the news station when it was revealed about Bethany and Ali? But him being their father would've spread through Rosewood like wildfire just like any other gossip. How could he have hidden the fact that he had gotten Mrs. D pregnant? None of that matters, all I know is that I know who my real sisters are…. And Alison is not one of them.
AN – There's still time to send in names for Ezria's twins and Spoby's baby! The dinner rehearsal/ wedding are the next few chapters and we'll be learning the sex of Spoby's baby too. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the next chapter out, but I'm going to try to get it out soon.
