Chapter 23 – few days later
Aria's pov
The kids were playing around the yard, each one dressed up as either a princess or a pirate. Ezra and the guys did such an amazing job setting the backyard up, I had offered to help but Ezra didn't want me to do anything that could hurt me or the twins. Not sure how we did it, but we managed to get everything in time for the party and there's four out of the ten friends from Oliver's camp and the soccer team that we had invited. But that was one of the only small problems we had with planning, most of the kids we invited couldn't come on such short notice. All of a sudden the back door opened and Hardy led Dianne outside, the boys happened to see her and started running over.
"Nana!" The boys exclaimed as I rose out of my chair.
"Hello my darlings." Dianne greeted the boys, giving them both a hug and kiss.
"Hi Dianne, you look lovely." I said, walking over to her.
"Thank you. Aria. My, you are absolutely glowing." She responded, kissing my cheek as the boys went to go play with the others again.
"Would you like anything to drink?" I offered.
"That would be lovely." She said.
Walking into the house with Dianne following me, I headed to the fridge to double check the beverages that Ezra stocked up on. Even though there aren't tons of people here, he had really stocked up. Probably did his grocery shopping as well while getting stuff for the party.
"We have sparkling water, plain water, diet cola, and sweet or unsweetened tea." I told her.
"Glass of sweet tea would be lovely. It may not be any of my business, but have you and Ezra talked about the possibility of getting back together?" She asked carefully.
How could this not have crossed my mind? I told her what's been going on between me and Ezra when Oliver and I called her about the party. She has been quite supportive of mine and Ezra's relationship since I ran into her during my first year at NYU. Of course, she became more supportive while I wasn't even with Ezra… but she still managed to look past whatever feelings she had when she first met me.
"How do you feel about having twin granddaughters?" I asked, changing the subject and handed her the glass of sweet tea.
"Just don't say anything in front of the boys, we haven't really told them or anyone about expecting twins." I added.
"Of course sweetheart, but I cannot wait to spoil those two little girls." She responded, seeming to understand why I changed the subject without a response.
"And I know I wasn't supportive of you two at all in the beginning, but I do think you two can make it through again this time." She added.
Just then, the back door slid open and I glanced over to see Ezra walking in. The moment he realized who was in here with me, he gave me a look that I knew that he really wanted me to stay during his conversation with his mother. Even though I only saw a little bit of what Ezra dealt with his family, I'm probably the only one who can defuse them if their conversation starts going the wrong way.
"Ezra, I owe you not just one but a lifetime's worth of apologies." Dianne told Ezra.
"Actually, I get why you did a lot of things throughout my life, mother. I don't want my kids to grow up, seeing my resentment towards you, but it's going to take time for things to be good between us." He responded.
"Of course, I didn't expect it to be good right away sweetheart." Dianne responded.
Seeing Ezra and Dianne start having a real conversation that didn't involve Dianne trying to control any part of his life, I slowly made my way back outside. Even though Ezra wanted me to stay for it, it was clear he would be okay without me there. Caitlyn patted the seat next to her the second she saw me and I sat down next to her. The kids were having a pool noodle fight, Ezra wasn't sure about giving them play swords, so he had gotten pool noodles. Rosie was whacking the tree with her pool noodle, she was dressed in a rainbow striped t-shirt and a yellow overall dress with white polka dots and black buttons on the straps of the dress. Her hair was even braided into pigtails with purple bows.
"I love Rosie's outfit." I told Caitlyn.
"Hardy dressed her." Caitlyn said as Hardy joined us.
"Actually, I gave her a couple of options and let her choose." Hardy said.
Caitlyn and I both giggled as we went back to watching the kids, who are all now playing on the pirate ship obstacle bouncy house. Ezra walked out with Dianne and ran into my parents, starting a conversation about traveling and art. Glancing around at everyone, I caught Ezra's eye and he gave me a small smile.
…
Ezra followed me inside to get the cake as Malcolm and Dani went to round up the kids. Even though it's fine between us now, there's still the fact we haven't talked about how I blew up at him about him and Nicole. I think he hasn't brought it up since then because he doesn't want to put me under any stress or upset me again. Plus, today is not the day for him to do that.
"Is there any part of you that still loves me?" Ezra asked quietly.
"Of course, I still love you Ezra. For the past six years I've been in love with you, there's no way I could ever just stop loving you. But that doesn't mean I don't have real feelings for Josh too." I told him, unable to turn around.
"Even though we're meant to be, I just want you to be happy." He whispered.
"Today isn't about us, or me and Josh. It's about our son, so let's focus on him." I told him
Neither of us said another word as we started looking for the candles. Oliver has been practicing blowing out candles for the past few days, by blowing out any candles I have lit. I opened the junk drawer to see the green number five candle Ezra had bought and passed it to him. As I watched Ezra set up the number candle with the green striped candles, all the memories of doing this for the past five years popped into my mind.
"How does five years fly by so fast?" I asked quietly.
"No clue. Are you ready, or do you need a few minutes in the bathroom?" Ezra asked, giving me a small smile.
"I'm fine. Besides, those kids won't wait forever for cake… especially our kids." I told him and led him outside.
"Happy Birthday to You, cha, cha, cha.
Happy Birthday to You, cha, cha, cha.
Happy Birthday Dear Ollie
Happy Birthday to You, cha, cha, cha."
As we finished singing happy birthday to Oliver, he blew out his candles in three tries and both Ezra and Hardy gave him a high five. I haven't heard the 'cha cha cha' version of happy birthday since Malcolm's ninth birthday. Ezra picked up the cake to go cut it and I kneeled next to Oliver's chair.
"What did you wish for Ollie?" I asked Oliver, fixing his hat.
"If I tell you, it won't come true." He told me.
"Oh, good point baby." I said.
…
Ezra's pov
I was putting the leftovers away as Caitlyn walked in and opened her phone. Something about her facial expression isn't sitting right with me. She walked over and sat on one of the stools, tossing her phone onto the counter in front of her.
"Cait, are you okay?" I asked as she groaned.
"Having a wealthy background sucks." She muttered.
"I totally know that feeling. Even though I'm not Aria, I'm here if you want to talk." I told her.
"Did Hardy tell you about a guy he ran into a little bit ago?" She asked and I nodded.
"That was my ex, William… Rosie's biological father. He just told me that he's on his way back here with my father. Somehow, they found out where I live and about Hardy. My dad kicked me out when I got pregnant, haven't seen or heard from him in five years and now he's probably going to try to tear me and Hardy apart. I cannot lose him." She said, trying to hold back the tears.
"Hey, none of us are going to let either of them try anything to sabotage your relationship. Especially Hardy, he is completely crazy about you, Cait. How about a drink?" I reminded her.
"I'd love another water." She told me.
I nodded before grabbing one of the water bottles out of the fridge. As I handed her the water, Rosie came skipping through the backdoor. Ella and Daniel had to get going since Luna had been getting cranky and needed a nap and my mother had a flight to Paris to catch, but she invited us to come up to New York for a visit when she gets back.
"I gotta go potty." She said, skipping towards the living room to go upstairs.
"Remember to wash your hands please." Caitlyn called after her.
The upstairs bathroom door closed, and I went back to putting the food away. Hopefully I can keep Aria from trying to do any cleaning later, the last thing she needs is to strain herself wrong and end up back in the hospital. Keeping my eye on Cait, I remembered her saying something about William.
"Cait, you said that William found out where you lived, like your actual address?" I asked and she nodded.
"Yep. Wouldn't surprise me if either my dad or William attempt to get the FBI or something at our house, claiming that Hardy is holding me hostage." She replied with an eye roll.
"We can make some room, do you guys want to stay here for a few days?" I asked just as we heard Rosie coming down the stairs.
"Thanks, but I think we'll be okay." She told me.
"Rosie, did you wash your hands?" Caitlyn called out.
"Yes mommy, they smell like lemons." Rosie told her.
All of a sudden, the front door opened and Rosie squealed. Caitlyn and I stared at one another. I thought I had locked the front door when we knew no one else was on their way and the kids were in the backyard. And I had locked both the doorknob and the round deadbolt; which we only got after I brought Aria home after she gave birth to Oliver. Even though she never said anything, I knew just having the doorknob locked did not help make her feel safe. Especially when my classes started up before hers.
"Did Rosie just open the door?" She asked.
"I think so." I said.
We ran into the living room to see Rosie waving to someone outside. Caitlyn took Rosie's hand and pulled her back into the house. Oh god, so many things could have happened to her. Maybe I can install another lock that's out of reach of the little kids., the last thing we need is Oliver doing this and running away or even the twins when they get old enough to open the door.
"Rosalie Anna, what have daddy and I told you about opening front doors?" She asked.
"Stranger danger, but it's Wiley!" Rosie exclaimed, pointing towards a guy walking in with two gift boxes.
"I just saw Rosie and figured my two favorite Weasley girls were here. Or I just really need glasses." The guy said.
"How long has it been since we saw you?" Caitlyn asked, hugging him.
"Almost a year? But I need to know… where's the birthday boy?" He asked.
"I go get Ollie!" Rosie declared.
Rosie took off like a cheetah, I managed to beat her to the back door and it for her before she could run into it. Aria walked in, confused on why Rosie was so excited…. until she saw this guy and all but ran over to him. Hardy walked in also confused, we walked into the living room just in time to see Aria throwing her arms around the guy.
"I didn't know you were coming!" Aria squealed.
"Well, I figured I would surprise you guys. Haven't seen any of you in forever. Plus how could I not wish Ollie a happy birthday in person?" He explained.
All of a sudden, Oliver and Rosie came running into the living room and jumped into Riley's arms. Who even is this guy? Luckily, both of the kids had removed their pirate and princess costumes, so this guy won't get poked in the eye with anything.
"Wiley!" Oliver exclaimed.
"I told you!" Rosie told Oliver.
"No knocking Riley over you two." Aria and Cait both said.
"Plus, I have presents for both of you. Since it's Ollie's birthday and I missed Rosie's birthday, you both get a present." He told the kids.
"Frozen?" Rosie asked.
"You'll have to find out after you open it kiddo." Riley told her.
Watching as Riley handed both Rosie and Oliver a gift, I felt a pang of jealousy form in my stomach. It actually hurts to see how much Oliver loves him, he's never been that excited to see me. Even when I went to visit them up in New York. Wait a minute, Riley is Aria's ex…. the one she was dating when she almost hooked up with Hardy.
"Dude, I hate to break it to you but he was there when you should have been." Hardy whispered, sensing my jealousy.
"Don't remind me." I said quietly and Aria gasped.
"God, I forgot to introduce you two… I'm blaming the pregnancy. Ezra, this is Riley and Riley, this is Ezra." Aria said, leading Riley over.
"Nice to meet you." Riley said, smiling.
"You too, I believe there's still some cake leftover if you want some." I said.
"Thank you Wiley!" Both the kids said happily.
We all looked over to see that Rosie had gotten a Frozen playset and Oliver had gotten a Mutant Ninja Turtle playset. Riley silently excused himself and went to sit with the kids, taking the receipts off the boxes and handed them to Caitlyn.
"Hey, no problem. Even though I am late on your birthday Rosie, both of you only turn five once." Riley told them.
"You were always on her mind, even if she was with Riley or Jake. I know it's going to be you two in the end." Hardy said softly and I turned to him.
"That's not up to me, it's Aria's choice." I reminded him as Aria led Riley, Caitlyn and the kids into the kitchen for cake.
"Just tell her what she wants." Hardy said and I rolled my eyes at him.
"Anyway, you want another beer?" I asked as we followed the others.
"Hardy, I got something for you man." Riley said and tossed something over to Hardy.
"Blue pop rocks…. seriously? Is anyone gonna let me live that down?" Hardy asked as Aria and Caitlyn started cracking up.
…
Ezra's pov
Caitlyn quickly looked behind her to see Oliver showing Aria and Riley his presents for the third time. Wiping down the counter, I watched her as she turned back around to face me and Hardy. Everyone except Hardy, Caitlyn, and Riley were already gone, they all offered to help cleanup even though we reminded them that they're guests but they insisted on helping a little. Even though I had been a bit jealous of Riley when I first learned about him and earlier, he's actually a pretty good guy and I can tell he really cares about Aria and Oliver.
"I wanted to say this without Chloe or Aria nearby." Caitlyn said.
"Should I be scared?" I asked.
"No. You need to get Aria back; she may like josh…. But it's completely different with you, I would know from living with her for the past four years." She told me.
"I'm trying, but I don't want to over push and have her end up hating me for it." I said.
"God! Both of you are just so damn stubborn!" She snapped.
"What?" I asked, shocked and a little scared of her outburst.
"She wanted to fight for you Ezra! Before she and Josh even started dating, she told me she wanted to fight for you but then she changed her mind when she saw you and Nicole because she thought you were happier without her. What did you think, that she really didn't care that you just walked away from your relationship?" She told me
"I know, I know. But are you supposed to be telling me this?" I asked.
"No, she'd kill me." She said
"Z, she didn't want to fight for you the same reason you sent her to New York alone." Hardy added, taking a sip of his beer.
….
Ezra's pov
Malcolm was helping Oliver set up the train set Ella and Daniel had given him; all the other gifts were spread around the living room. Aria and I had agreed that for now everything can just stay here until we can figure out which will stay here or at the loft. Sharing a look with Aria, we both realized that now was the perfect time to tell the boys about the twins. I helped Aria maneuver through the presents towards the couch and sat down next to her.
"Do you two want to hear some good news?" I asked the boys, who both nodded.
"You're going to have twin sisters." Aria told them.
"Really?" Malcolm asked excitedly and we both nodded.
"What's a twin?" Oliver asked.
"A twin is when there's two babies instead of one." Malcolm explained for us.
"Me and brother are twins!" Oliver said excitedly.
"Hate to break it to you, but you two are not twins lil man. Malcolm's older than you." I reminded him.
"But there's two of us!" He argued.
"You two are seven years apart. Twins are born on the same day…. In the same year. Like Spencie and Alex, they're twins." Aria explained.
"When sissies coming?" Oliver asked once again.
"Still around Christmas." I told him.
"But when?" He asked, putting emphasis on when.
"We don't know yet, they could come early or they can be late. You were early Ollie, by two whole weeks." Aria explained.
…..
Aria's pov - Next day
Caitlyn and I were preparing the salad while Hardy and Josh were outside, grilling the burgers for lunch. Ezra and Caleb had taken the kids to the park so Oliver could play with his new frisbee that Mike had gotten him. Looking out towards the guys, I saw Hardy was already looking at me with an apologetic look.
'I'm so sorry.' He mouthed as Josh walked in with mine and Caitlyn's veggie burgers.
"You stayed at Ezra's house? Twice?" He asked.
"Nothing happened, I did it so Oliver could spend his entire birthday with both of us. Josh, I explained this to you a few days ago." I told him.
"Yeah, sure. I thought you said that Oliver's party was just family?" He asked with a hint of accusation in his voice.
"It was." I responded, not enjoying this game of twenty questions.
"Then why were the girls, Hardy and Caleb there?" He questioned.
"Because they've always been family to me, and to my kids. You know that." I said.
He didn't say anything as he walked out the front door. Without a second thought, I rushed outside after him. I understand why he doesn't trust me, he has every right since I cheated on him. But we can't have a relationship without trust, which I'm trying to regain.
"Josh, wait!" I called after him.
"What about Riley? Another one of your exes at the party." He snapped, turning around.
"I didn't even know Riley was coming, he wanted to surprise me and Oliver." I explained.
Oh, that's really convenient. I doubt that's what happened." He snarked.
"I know that I broke your trust, but I wouldn't lie to you about Riley. Besides, he has a girlfriend that I had set him up with." I told him.
As if on some sort of cue, Ezra pulled up to his house. Great, this ought to be good. Josh hasn't been taking anything that has to do with Ezra well ever since I told him about sleeping with Ezra. The fact that I stayed over at the house twice did not help, but I had told Josh about this days ago and I stayed on the couch.
"Fritbee is hard." Oliver whined, getting out of the car with Malcolm and Rosie.
"It just takes practice lil man." Ezra explained.
"Ollie did you still have fun?" I asked, receiving a nod.
Hardy and Caitlyn came outside just as Caleb and Ezra started walking up. My stomach started knitting up, why am I nervous? Josh is pissed at me and Ezra, but there is literally no reason this time. Well, I did tell Ezra that I still love him… but I didn't tell anyone else that. Plus that's not really something Josh should be told, especially since I slept with Ezra after Josh told me he loves me.
"We loaded them up with sugar before coming over." Caleb said and Ezra shook his head.
"No, we didn't. If they are hyped on sugar, I had nothing to do with it." Ezra said.
All of a sudden, Josh stormed over and punched Ezra, knocking him to the ground. I covered my mouth in shock, seeing Ezra fall to the ground. It was dead silent as we watched as Josh gained control of Ezra, who was throwing punches just as much as Josh was. This isn't the same Josh I had a crush on when I was nine, or not even the same from before. Has he thought about hitting me that way? All of a sudden, there were a few gasps and I whipped my head. The boys were standing there, watching this. How the hell could I forget that they were still out here?
"Kids get inside now!" I yelled as Caitlyn rushed the kids inside.
"But daddy!" Oliver exclaimed at the door shut.
I felt like I couldn't move as Caitlyn hurried back and held onto my hand. Caleb and Hardy were frozen in place as we all watched Josh start to throw another punch at Ezra's face. I sighed in relief as Ezra dodged it before punching Josh in the nose. Oh my god, he's going to kill Ezra! Caitlyn tried to hold me back but I managed to break free from her, rushing over and started trying to pull Josh off Ezra with Caleb's help. This cannot actually be happening!
"Get off him!" I exclaimed as Hardy came back out.
All of a sudden, Hardy lifted me up and brought me away from the fight. He stood me next to Caitlyn before rushing back over to help Caleb as Ezra flipped Josh over. Caitlyn held me back from trying to run back over to them, god, I'm the reason this is happening. Ezra kicked Josh in the leg, knocking him down. As Josh threw another punch to Ezra, I threw my face into Caitlyn's shoulder.
"It's okay, they pulled Josh off in time." Caitlyn whispered.
"None of it is okay." I said softly.
Looking back at them, I watched helplessly as Josh And Ezra rolled around, kicking and throwing punches at each other as if they're in a child-like fight. Hardy and Caleb finally got Ezra and Josh separated. Ezra said something about something being mine, but I wasn't hearing anything because all I could see is red. Josh attacked Ezra… and in front of my kids. Feeling my blood boil; I broke free from Caitlyn's grip and stormed over towards Josh.
"What the hell was that Josh? Picking a fight IN FRONT OF MY KIDS!" I yelled.
"You're mad at me? HE'S THE PROBLEM!" He yelled back.
"Ezra didn't do anything and you attacked him in front of the kids! Like it or not, he's the father of my children and going to be around a lot for them! If you cannot respect him, this relationship won't last." I told him.
…
Caleb's pov
Caitlyn and Hardy rushed inside to check on the kids as Aria started checking on Ezra. I watched as Josh get into his car, glaring at Ezra as he drove off. Aria was checking Ezra's wrist and we both saw him try to hide his flinch. I rushed over to help as she tried to get him up.
"Come on, I'm taking you to the emergency room." Aria said.
"I don't need to go Ar." He tried.
"Ezra, I saw you flinch when I checked your wrist. Humor me." Aria said, giving him a look.
"Come on, let's go." I said helping him up.
"Dude, I'm fine. Tell her that I'm fine." He said, pointing at Aria.
"We both saw you flinch, no matter how hard you try to deny it. And I think you know better then to argue with her while she's pregnant." I pointed out.
"There is nothing wrong with me." Ezra argued as Aria searched his pockets for his keys.
"Squeeze your wrist then." Aria said as she found the keys.
Sharing a look with Aria, I carefully got a hold of Ezra and started walking towards the car. He sighed before actually cooperating, Aria opened the door and I helped him in. Ezra gave me a look that I already knew, he had kept Josh in place when Aria was trying to get him off of Ezra to protect her and he didn't want it brought up. Aria and I both got in the car and she pulled away from the curb. None of us said anything as Aria drove. There's not much any of us could really say, we were all in shock…. Aria's probably the most in shock. Glancing down, I saw Aria mindlessly place her hand on top of Ezra's.
