Aria shook her head as the Grill door closed behind her. Decoding A's messages was always Spencer's job, she had no idea what she would find when she arrived but as she turned the corner, it dawned on her. Maybe she didn't want to know? No, she brushed that thought away as she kept walking towards the bakery, her pace quickened and her breathing followed. She had no idea why A wanted her there, but she knew she would pay the price if she disobeyed.
"Thanks for coming..." Ella couldn't think of what to say. Ezra nodded politely and looked back down at the coffee in front of him. The awkward tension grew between them and the silence didn't help. "Why am I here Ella?" He blurted out without realising it. Ella coughed and spoke up "How is she?" Ezra looked back up, anger growing in his eyes "So you care now, do you? Because you have made it VERY clear you don't want Aria to be happy if she is with me!" He said, barely controlling his temper. Ella stared at the table and whispered "She is my daughter and she always will be, don't you dare try and take away my rights as her mother!" Ezra could stand it no longer he stood up and grabbed his coat, shooting one last fierce look at Ella he said "What kind of mother abandons their own daughter for being with the man she loves!" Ella stood too and hissed back "Do you honestly think its okay to be sleeping with one of your students!" The sound of the door slamming drew their attention as Aria was watched by her lover and her Mom, walking away from the small bakery, tears staining her face.
Ezra bolted out the door, Ella chasing after him. "Aria!" he yelled as she ran down the pavement towards...something, anything that was better than this. Running and running, until she reached the woods and threw herself behind a tree, hoping it would provide some sort of shelter. She herd rustling and yells, her name. "ARIA!" he yelled again and again. "ARIA!" Her mothers voice fainter, but still loud enough for her daughter to hear. Aria had to stop herself from turning and running into Ezra's arms, she wanted nothing more than him to hold her and tell her she loved him, and for him to say the same. Those words were like air to her, she suffocated in silence and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths and counting in her head, counting the seconds until they left. She stood very still and silent, when a hand came up and wrapped it's hand around her mouth, pulling her somewhere out of sight as she struggled against them.
Ezra turned around suddenly when he herd the rustling "What was that?" Ella shrugged and continued yelling her daughters name. He shook his head "I keep asking myself why you are here. Why the hell do you think she ran away, Ella! She is estranged from her own mother, and whose fault is that?" Ella turned to him and hissed "Ezra, however you feel about me or my choices is not important. What IS important is that I find my daughter!" some further rustling was herd and the pair turn to a tall tree. Ezra turns his head to Ella and puts a finger to his lips, she nods and stays there while he disappears behind the tree. Ezra stepped on something, he looked down to see a note with some scribbly writing on it 'Shes mine now, good luck trying to get her back' 'A'.