Chapter 2

Eight years is a long time for anyone. It had been eight long years since Aria Montgomery had been to Rosewood, yet here she was standing in front of her new house. She stood there for a moment just taking it all in until the pitter patter of an eight year old girl disrupted her thoughts. She smiled at her, grabbed her hand and walked into their new home. It was the perfect house for Aria. Warm brown paint covered the walls of the main floor which was perhaps Aria's favorite part of the entire house; mostly for the fact that there was a small library on this floor. A large kitchen was off in the far corner of the house and Aria knew that her daughter was probably hungry and would be wanting food after the long flight from San Francisco.

"Mom can I please go over to Aunt Hanna's tonight? It is the first time I would ever be able to go over to Juliette's" Lilia begged and her big puppy dog eyes got to Aria like they always did.

"I will call Aunt Hanna and ask her if you can" Aria said with a chuckle as the pair walked into the kitchen. "As for right now why don't you go put away some of the things in your bedroom?"

Rolling her eyes Lilia ran up the stairs to her bedroom. It was a small space much like that of Aria's own childhood bedroom. A bedroom that was just across the street from the house Aria now owned. Aria started shuffling through the cupboards when she heard a knock at the door. Who could this be? She asked herself, no one even knows that we are here yet. Closing the cupboard she had opened she walked to the door and opened it. To her shock there stood a man she had not seen in a long time.

"Hardy?" Aria asked bewildered at his presence at her door. "What are you doing here? How did you know I was back in town?"

"Aria everyone knows you are back in town. It is the worst kept secret this town has had since Alison" He said slyly as he leaned up against the door frame.

"Everyone?" Aria asked as a lump formed in her throat.

"Yes everyone Aria. It is not like you could hide from him the whole time you live here. Which reminds me why are you back?"

"I got a teaching job. Why do you care? Why did you come to my house?"

"To tell you to stay away from Ezra, he has spent the past eight years hung up on you and he finally went on his first date in eight years last night."

"Really?" Aria asked in dis-belief and shock.

"God don't you get how much you meant to him? Do you even remember the last thing you ever sent him?"

"Of course I do I never forgot what I told him" Aria said softly, a tinge of guilt lingering in her voice.

"Look I am not here to be a jerk to you Aria. I am here to protect Ezra from getting-" His voice suddenly cut off and he stared off on to something behind Aria.

"Hardy?" She asked slowly as she turned around to see Lilia standing there. "Go upstairs" Aria said urgently as she looked back at Hardy who was still standing there in his police uniform staring at Lilia.

"But mo-"

"Go!" Aria shouted and her daughter immediately listened and sprinted up the stairs. "Hardy?" Aria asked nervously as she turned back to look at him.

"Who is that?"

"Lilia, she is my daughter"

"You have a daughter?" He asked in utter shock and disbelief at the news he had just witnessed.

"Yes I do and I would appreciate it if you would not tell Ezra."

"Why?"

"I don't want to hurt him that I had a child." Aria said knowing that if she did not get Hardy out of her house soon she would be screwed and her secret would be revealed to the world. A secret that was more important to her than the Alison secret. "Can you leave please? I was about to go out to dinner with my daughter"

"Yes, but remember what I said about Ezra" He warned as he started to retreat to his police cruiser.

"You remember what I said as well"

And with that Aria closed the door. She was screwed. She was royally and utterly screwed. Sighing inwardly Aria went back to the kitchen on a hunt for dinner. After at least forty-five minutes Aria gave up and rounded up her daughter for a trip to the coffee shop and then to dinner. Her daughter was more than excited to be able to get venture out into her mother's home town. It was a town her mother talked so fondly of that Lilia would often dream about it, about what it would be like there and what the people were like in the small town.

Soon they pulled up in front of a coffee shop. It was Aria's favorite coffee shop in town and she was glad that it still open. A lot of fond memories were of this coffee shop, a lot of memories she shared with a certain man. With the push of her eight year old Aria got out of her car and walked in with Lilia. As she remembered it the coffee shop was full of people rushing to get their coffee. Oh how Aria had missed the smell of this coffee shop and the constant busyness of it despite the size of the town that is was in, then again it was the only coffee shop in town so it had the monopoly of it.

"Ezra"

The barista called out and Aria froze. It couldn't be him, not here, not now. A tall man with dark hair stepped forward and grabbed his coffee from the barista and turned around where he came face to face with Aria. Their eyes locked for a moment, a moment they won't soon forget. She studied him for that brief moment taking in everything. He had not changed a bit; in fact he was wearing the exact outfit he had worn on his first day at Rosewood High.

"Holy crap" he said out loud making Aria let out a slight giggle.

"Same line, same clothes. You haven't changed a bit Ezra" Aria said with a smile. She couldn't help, but have this simple moment with him before he found everything out; she needed it.

"Neither have you Aria" He said slowly trying to control the wall he had built up over the past eight years. Aria smiled at the comment and was about to say something when she felt a tug at her skirt and looked down.

"Mom, who is this man?" Lilia asked inquisitively as if she knew the answer already, but in reality had no clue as to who she was meeting.

"This is an old friend of mine sweet heart. His name is Ezra Fitz"

"Fitz?" she asked a bit confused. "Does that make him-"

"Not now sweetie we will talk later"

"You have a daughter?" He asked in shock as he stared at Lilia. Her features were much like Aria's, they were practically twins except one thing, one thing that stood out to him; she had a distinct pair of piercing blue eyes.

"Yes, she is seven" Aria lied quickly hoping he would fall for it.

"No mom I am eight not seven." Lilia was quick to correct her, something her mother would have done at that age.

"You're eight?" Ezra said as he looked right at Aria with a questioning gaze.

"You know what Lilia I just remembered I promised Aunt Spencer that I would bring you over to see Jake. Let's go."

With that she bustled Lilia out of the coffee shop and left Ezra there standing there bewildered by the encounter the two had just had. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew something up and he was determined to get answers. Answers he knew resided solely in Aria's hands, and possibly her clique and parents.