Chapter 26
Aria's pov
Walking into The Grille, I internally sighed when I saw Josh over at one of his tables. This is the first time I'm seeing Josh after our breakup. Every time I've had to come into work, he is either not scheduled or he had called off. Neither Chloe or Graham has said anything about the breakup, so I'm guessing Josh hadn't told them. I'm just waiting for the right time to tell Chloe. Of all the ways it could have ended between us, I really hate that it had to end this way even though there was no other choice. Every thing that he had said is still running through my mind, along with the fight he had started with Ezra. Seeing Graham at the to-go counter, I quickly made my way towards him.
"The boys with Ezra?" He asked before I could greet him and I nodded.
"Yeah, and I miss them already." I told him.
"Your order came out right before you walked in. Pulled pork sandwich on whole wheat with pickles and some chocolate syrup. Also, a large order of curly fries on the side." He repeated my order, trying to hide his disgust.
"I'm pregnant, that's why I have the gross order." I told him just as Josh walked up.
"Not my baby, it's Ezra's. Didn't know you were coming." He said with an obvious attitude.
Holding back a comeback, I internally sighed again. I figured seeing him after the breakup would be awkward, not hostile like he's making it to be. Did he think I was just going to sit at home and not ever order food from here anymore? Or does he think that this is his territory since it's his family's business despite the fact that I still work here?
"You are at work Josh, remember that." Chloe reminded him from the other end of the bar.
"Who the hell cares? I don't even get why dads left The Grille to you Chloe, you're shit at this!" Josh exclaimed.
"Hey! Don't go taking your frustrations out on Chloe." I snapped.
"Daddy told me that neither of you wanted to run this place! You think I actually wanted to run The Grille? I didn't have a choice here Joshua!" Chloe said and I shared a look with Graham.
"Chloe, I wanted to run this place. This was my dream, not yours." Graham told her softly.
"You mean to tell me that I could have been at NYU with Aria like we had planned? Hell, I could have even gone to California to be with Caleb?" Chloe asked upset.
She set down her work iPad on the back counter and pulled the restaurant keys out from the pocket of her slacks. Walking over towards us, she quickly dropped the keys onto the bar in front of Graham. It was clear that she was now pissed off from learning she had been forced to run The Grille, anyone would also be just as pissed.
"It's yours. Now I need to go figure out what I'm doing with my life, since I wasted four years of it here… four years that I can't get back." She said and walked our from behind the bar.
"Chloe wait for me, you can come to the loft." I called after her and she nodded.
I handed Graham my debit card and he quickly processed it. We both kept our eye on Chloe as she punched out, unlike Josh who just walked into the kitchen with no remorse for his little sister. What had Charles and Julian been thinking when they decided what Chloe's future was? They knew she wanted to be on Broadway and get out of Rosewood more than anything else… except be with Caleb. Graham handed me my food and card back, I gently ushered Chloe out of The Grille, this is the last place she needs to be right now.
"All those classes on running a business and restaurant management, all to learn that Graham had wanted to take over the entire time." She said as we got outside.
"But why didn't Graham say anything before?" I asked softly.
"Don't know and I don't really care anymore." She responded.
Walking down the street towards The Brew, I saw it's completely pitch black inside. As much as I had wanted to get away from seeing Ezra across the street… I miss it. Just seeing him when I walk down the stairs into the coffee shop isn't the same. He's usually working, unlike when I'd see him across the street when I was staying with Hardy and Caitlyn. Glancing over at Chloe was all it took for me to loop my arm through hers, she gave me a small smile before resting her head on my shoulder as we made our way up the backstairs. At least the wine I have hidden away will do some good for her, since I can't drink it until after the twins are born.
"You may not like pulled pork with chocolate syrup and pickles, but I do have a large order of curly fries and I'm sure there's a frozen pizza or something if you're hungry." I said.
"You don't mind if I eat your food?" She asked,
"Well, I also have a bottle of cheap wine that I'm not letting you have that on an empty stomach. But you can't have my sandwich." I told her.
"I heard what was on it and even if you weren't pregnant, I wouldn't go near that thing." She said with a smile.
Opening the door, we quickly walked in. I flipped the lights on and we nearly screamed when we saw Alison sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for us… or maybe just me. Without having to see, I know that Chloe is calling Caleb with her phone still in her purse and I carefully yet quickly started recording this.
"What the hell Alison?" I snapped.
"I've been waiting for you Aria, but it's better with you here too Chloe. Girls, I would greatly appreciate it if you told the judge that you're no longer afraid of me. There's no reason why I shouldn't get released. Everything is all in the past now." She told us.
"Oh, is it? Then why the hell did you break into my home to ask us?" I questioned.
"Because I knew that you'd never come near me if I had waited outside." She answered.
"We have good reason for that." I responded shortly.
"Look, all you have to do is say that you're no longer afraid of me. Actually Aria, you owe me this. If it hadn't been for me… you wouldn't have met Ezra or have those sweet little boys." Alison said, rising from her chair.
"You get to say NOTHING about my kids or Ezra! My kids could have been with me instead of Chloe and I told you that I want you NOWHERE NEAR ME." I shouted, getting angry.
"I'm your sister Aria, you should forgive me." She said, using her fake sweet voice.
"I should forgive you? After you tortured me and my friends? You nearly killed Hanna and Ezra! All for what Alison, shits and giggles? We may share the same sperm donor… but we are NOT sisters. Now, get the hell out of my loft before I call the cops on you!" I said.
Without saying a word, she walked out of the loft. I stared after her, tears welling up in my eyes. She could have told me a long time ago that we were sisters, perhaps we could've had a good sister bond. Why am I trying to fool myself? We wouldn't have had that kind of bond, because Alison had always only cared about herself and herself alone. Chloe pulled me into a hug as I started sobbing.
…..
The next morning
The girls and I were having brunch at The Radley, Hanna was going on and on about how Mike had taken her and Aiden out to a carnival yesterday. None of the girls could believe what had happened between me, Chloe, and Alison last night. Hell, I'm still trying to comprehend it and figure out how she managed to break into the loft. All of a sudden, my phone started ringing and possible scenarios went through my mind as I dug around my purse. Oh god, what if Ezra and the boys are all hurt? I didn't even bother looking at the screen when I found my phone and answered it.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Aria, I'm assuming you're with the girls?"
It was Peter, not Ezra or any hospitals telling me that he or the boys were hurt. Realizing that they were all safe, I internally sighed. I hate the fact that my mind sometimes automatically assumes the worst has happened when my phone rings. Wait a minute… why would Peter be calling me? Is this about Alison's release or something a lot worse and I have to be the one to break the news to everyone else?
"Yes, we're just having brunch. What's going on?" I asked.
"I have some news for you girls. Unfortunately, Alison's release trial has been pushed up. Just received confirmation that it'll be tomorrow at ten, I'm sorry you girls couldn't have more time to prepare yourselves for this. I've been trying everything I could to get it pushed back before you had to know, but Mr. Dilaurentis is refusing to let it wait any longer." He apologized.
"Thank you for letting me know Mr. Hastings." I responded and we hung up.
"Ali's trial got pushed up, it's now tomorrow morning at ten." I said, looking at the girls.
…
Later that night
I was sitting with everyone at The Flyout bar and grille that Hardy works at, watching Emily sing 'I kissed a girl' as her first karaoke song. We needed a night of fun before having to deal with Alison tomorrow and karaoke was the only thing we could agree on, especially since it's in Brookhaven and not Rosewood… where Alison is probably roaming the streets. It's obvious that Hardy isn't happy about being at work, especially after the chaos Mr. Woods and Caitlyn's ex caused the other day but Alex had offered to stay with her tonight. When I had told Ella and dad about the trial being moved up, they decided to take the boys until tomorrow. That way, in case I needed Ezra for support, he didn't need to run around looking for someone to watch the boys. Hanna had already made me sing 'A thousand years' by Christina Perri. Of course, I dragged her up there with me, so I could pretend to sing to her when I was really singing to Ezra. Something had come over me when I did the song, it was like I didn't care that there is still a chance of him breaking my heart again if we get back together.
"I kissed a girl and I liked it, I liked it." Emily sang the final line, winking at Maya.
"More than kiss I bet." Caleb whispered and I nudged him.
"Shut up Rivers." I said jokingly.
Emily placed the microphone back as we all clapped for her and Maya whistled. I know how much they'd rather be at home with Aaliyah and Darius, I was the same way after Ezra and I had brought Oliver home from the hospital. Hell, I still would rather be with my boys than out somewhere even when they drive me crazy. Picking up my phone, I stared at my lock screen of Malcolm and Oliver making silly faces. Neither of them had wanted their photo taken but then they somehow managed to get me to agree to getting them ice cream if they took one photo.
"Kid free night Ar." Maya reminded me.
"Yeah, I know." I said, setting my phone back down.
Standing up, I looked around at everyone's drinks to see that none of them seemed to have drank anything. Walking towards the bar, Hardy noticed me and gave me a soft smile which seemed to irritate some drunk girl since she started glaring at me.
"Can I get a round of tequila and some mozzarella sticks?" I asked.
"Coming right up, I'll bring the shots then start up on the mozzarella sticks." He told me.
"You're the best." I said before walking back to everyone.
Caleb was telling Ezra some work story that had them both laughing as I sat down. Even though I agreed to come, I really didn't want to come but I knew that if I had stayed home, tomorrow's trial would just be running through my mind all night. Hanna took a sip of her cosmopolitan and I internally sighed, being in a bar while pregnant sucks right now since I can't drink alcohol. Hardy walked up to us with the tray of tequila shots and one shot of something pinkish clear shot and a glass of something.
"Either you forgot about yourself or just forgot that you're pregnant. But either way, I know better than to give you tequila, especially right now. But I made
"Do I even want to know what happens when you and tequila mix?" Ezra inquired
"Table dancing." I told him.
"More like falling off the table." Hardy joked.
…..
Ezra followed me into the loft, just as I saw the clock on the stove tell me it was nearly elven. No one else left when I decided it was time for me to get going, but Ezra offered to give me a lift home and even though I thought he would try something to win me back, I still took him up on the offer. Maya had made me sing 'Listen to your heart' with her, thinking I'm still conflicted between Ezra and Josh. Then he sang our song a little bit after that, staring into my eyes the entire time and I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. Not sure what reaction he thought he would get from singing our song, but luckily neither of us had mentioned it on the car ride home. Pretty sure Hardy must have told him off about it when I had gone to the bathroom because neither of them really acknowledge each other when Ezra and I left. Glancing at the clock again, I internally sighed at the fact that in about ten or eleven hours, I'm going to have to face Alison again.
"What if she ends up going after the kids?" I asked quietly as the fear poked into my mind.
"Hey, don't think like that Ar. We could get a restraining order against her so, she'd have to stay away from them. Try and get some rest, I'll be here bright and early tomorrow." He said and walked to the door.
"Wait, could you stay? I… I really don't want to be alone tonight." I asked and he set his jacket down.
"Yeah, of course I'll stay." He said.
Leading him towards the living room, my stomach was in knots and I could feel a lump forming in my throat. So many things could happen tomorrow, some of these scenarios are not happy ones. I could feel his eyes on me as I went into the closet and pulled out a few light throw blankets and a couple of pillows for him. Ezra walked over and carefully took the blankets and pillows from me and I bursted into tears. He dropped the stuff and pulled me into his arms, rubbing my back as he led us towards the couch and sat us down.
"What's the matter?" He asked.
"I'm… terrified o-of her get-getting out." I choked out.
"I know and I also know you hate when I say this; but it will all be fine." He said softly.
"Hey, I'm not going to let her hurt you again." He whispered.
…..
The next morning
Hanna gave me a half-hearted wave as I made my way to her car. She offered last night to drive both me and Ezra to the courthouse since we had been planning on going together. Ezra had to run back to the house to change since I asked him to stay last night and he doesn't have any spare clothes in his office but he promised that he'd be there long before it started. I feel numb, as if I'm going to a funeral instead of a trial. Opening the passenger side door, Hanna quickly moved her purse to the backseat and I got in.
"Hey, why do you seem guilty?" Hanna asked the second I had my seatbelt buckled.
"Because I asked Ezra to stay with me last night because I couldn't handle being alone. Nothing happened though, he was just there to comfort me." I told her, not adding how I had fallen asleep in his arms again.
"I don't need to ask if he did comfort you, because we both know he wouldn't be Ezra if he hadn't. But I've known you since second grade, what are you hiding?" She asked, seeping past my poker face,
"I boke up with josh a few nights ago and no, I don't want to talk about it. The breakup was pretty messy." I told her.
She took my hand in hers and gave me a small smile. Neither of us said anything as she drove through town; little kids were already playing at the park with their parents watching from the benches, probably on their second or third cup of coffee. Teens walking in and out of the stores, checking out the movie posters at the cinema. Bunch of friend groups taking photos, probably for their social media. We didn't get that kind of normalcy in high school. Of course, we had done all of that with Ali in junior high and freshman year of high school… but it had all turned out to be fake. Hanna pulled into the parking lot of the courthouse and we saw Emily's grey Mazda sedan.
"Ready?" Hanna asked, pulling up next to Emily.
"No, are you?" I responded.
"Not al all, but sadly I don't think we have a choice here." She said softly.
We got out of the car, as Emily looked up from her phone to see us. Maya and Chloe got out of the car first and I took a deep breath, this was it and there's no way to back out of this. Emily finally got out of the car and I gave her a soft smile. Glancing around, there was no sign of Caleb anywhere and Ezra wasn't here yet.
"Caleb's inside, had to use the restroom. Where's Ezra?" Chloe asked.
"He said he'll be here long before this damn thing starts." I said.
"How do we do this? Go and face Ali after everything she did to us?" Emily asked and Hanna looped their arms together.
"Together, that's how we do this." Hanna said as Maya looped her arms with mine and Chloe's.
"Always." We responded and headed inside.
…
I stared at my Caesar salad, unable to even just pick at it. Even though I had just wanted to go home after the trial and take a nap, the girls and I were all hungry. The trial had been what seems like years of chaos and torture; the only good thing that came out of it was Alex and Cece had been reunited and they're at The Grille to catch up. The girls were all chatting as if we hadn't just faced Alison to keep her in Welby, or that they all found out that I'm related to Alison because of Byron. Peter had punched Mr. Dilaurentis out of anger after finding out how they had treated Alex when she was in their care, which also led to Mr. D getting arrested for child neglect and abuse.
"Do you guys think I messed everything up?" I asked, looking up from my salad.
"No, you had to let your emotions out." Chloe told me.
"Ar, we've been friends literally forever. How could you not tell us about you and Ali being sisters?" Emily asked.
"Babe, it's really big news to take in… let alone tell anyone." Maya said softly.
"How could I have told any of you Em? I found out not only did Byron cheat on my mom more than once, but that the person who made our lives a living hell is related to me." I said.
"Is that what she told you before…?" Chloe asked concerned, unable to finish and I nodded.
"I bet Ezra knew." Hanna slightly snarked.
"So, what if he knew first? Ezra was the one Graham had to call after Aria fainted at work because of her." Chloe snapped.
"It's not like any of us had kept secrets from the rest before." I pointed out.
Before any of them could respond, I quickly tossed enough money for my food and a tip for the waitress onto the table before standing up. Chloe and Maya gave me sympathetic looks, both of them looked like they were about to beg me to stay until they saw the look in my eyes. Without saying another word, I walked off. It hurts that Hanna and Emily are both acting as if I have to tell them every new single thing that I learn about myself. I found out Byron cheated on my mom long before Meredith and they want to act like the victims because I didn't tell them right away?
…..
Walking into the loft, Ezra and the boys all looked up from their game of Candyland. After the trial, Ezra offered to go pick the boys up from Ella's and bring them out with him and Caleb to the pizza parlor while the girls and I had lunch. Even though I kind of wanted him with me at lunch, especially with how it just ended, I'm grateful I got to come home to see this. Seeing all three of them playing together is exactly what I needed.
"Did lunch with the girls end…." He started to say but trailed off when he saw the look in my eyes.
"Go back to your game guys." I told them, sitting on the couch behind Ezra.
"Would you like to join?" Ezra asked, turning to look at me.
"You three are already in the middle of it. Besides, I'd rather watch." I said.
Ezra gave me a small smile in response before turning back around. Watching the three of them go back to their game melted my heart, and I don't want to interrupt their time together. Besides, I still have to figure out what we're going to have for dinner. Oliver rolled the dice and Malcolm pointed to a spot on the board for his piece to go.
"One, two, tree, seven, five." Oliver counted as he moved his piece and Ezra gave him a small high five.
"Good job lil man!" Ezra said.
"Your counting is getting better Ollie." I told him.
"How would you like to stay for dinner?" I asked Ezra and he nodded.
"I want taco-titos." Oliver said.
"Taquitos, you want taquitos Ollie." Malcolm helped.
"That's what I said!" Oliver pouted.
"I think we still have plenty of taquitos. What do you three say to having tater tot nachos on the side?" I asked, receiving three head nods.
…..
The boys were upstairs washing their hands as I was slicing up the avocado for the tater tot nachos. Ezra was with the boys, making sure they were doing what they were supposed to be doing and not just messing around. I heard someone walking down the stairs and I turned to see it was Ezra. Grabbing the other half of the avocado off the counter, I started slicing it up in case anyone wanted extra for their nachos or just as another side.
"Are the boys actually washing their hands or just pretending to?" I asked, turning my attention back to slicing the avocado.
"Definitely washing their hands. Here, let me get that." He said.
"Think I'm going to cut my finger off?" I teased.
"Not until you said that." He said softly.
He slipped his hand over mine to take the knife and our fingers automatically intertwined together. I slowly turned to see him, closer than I had anticipated. We both let go of the knife and he gently cupped my face. As I tried to tell him to kiss me, I couldn't get the words to form. Seemingly, he read my mind and leaned closer. But just as his lips were about to touch mine, he quickly pulled away. The second he turned around, I silently sighed. Of course, he wouldn't just know that it's over between me and Josh just by looking into my eyes…. But couldn't he see that I had wanted him to kiss me?
"I was thinking of replacing the windows and getting an alarm system for this place." He said quickly.
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea." I responded
"And for your sanity, we could even get a monitored alarm system and one of those doorbell cameras." He added.
"I would love some sanity." I told him.
I quickly turned towards the cabinet and pulled out the plates for dinner, replacing one of the glass ones with Oliver's Mickey Mouse plate. Either Ezra wants to be with me or he doesn't, either way I need to tell him how I feel. Just without the boys around, where it can be just me and Ezra there…. Face to face.
