Chapter 10

Ezra POV

Yawning as he opened his eyes, Ezra found himself unable to stretch. Grunting a little, he looked down and saw a mess of brown hair lying on his chest. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion until the memory of him and Aria kissing flooded his mind. Without thinking, he smiled. He felt her move slightly. Quickly slipping out from under her, he made his way to the bed to grab a blanket. He walked back over to the couch and draped it over her and then turned off the television. After the kiss, neither had said a word. They had looked in each other's eyes for a while placing random kisses on each other lips. When her eyes began to droop, Aria laid her head down on his chest which Ezra welcomed. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and they both fell into a deep slumber.

The past few nights she had stayed with him he would wake up in the middle of the night and hear her tossing and turning in her sleep. He assumed it was because of her mother's accident or Alison's disappearance. He often debated with himself about whether or not to wake her but when he would throw the covers off himself to get up, she would settle down. This was the first time he had ever seen her actually sleep peacefully. He smiled lovingly as he peered down at her.

Sighing, he averted his eyes as he made his way to the kitchen. He was just turning on the stove when he heard a knock on the door. Thinking maybe it was a neighbor who had found some of his mail mixed with theirs, he swung the door open. The smile on his face instantly dropped with he stared into the blue eyes before him.

"Maria," he stated. She smiled back at him as she pushed past him. He closed the door and turned. He almost ran into her. Looking over her shoulder, he saw her looking at Aria. She spun around to him with fire blazing in her eyes.

"What the hell, Ezra? I thought we discussed this!" Maria shouted.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down," he whispered loudly.

Maria shook her head. "Get her out of here, now!" Ezra was about to respond when he heard a light rustling behind Maria. He glanced over her shoulder to see Aria stumbling around the room gathering her things. He stepped around Maria and watched her grab things from all over the room.

"Aria…" he began but she interrupted.

"It's fine, Mr. Fitz," she stated putting emphasis on his name. He cringed as he heard the anger etched in her voice. Without looking at him, she pushed past him and headed for the door.

When the door slammed shut behind her, Ezra spun to Maria. "What the hell was that? I told you she was staying here."

"And I told you that it looked bad. What do you think would happen if the school board found out about your living situation?"

Ezra looked at her incredulously. "You think I care what people think? She needed my help. Her mother was just in a serious accident and lost a baby. Ella and Byron don't need to be taking care of Aria right now when Ella should be resting and Byron should be helping Ella through this."

"Oh come on, Ezra! Get over yourself. Aria probably begged her father to let her stay here with you." Maria laughed curtly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ezra stepped closer to Maria challengingly.

Maria stared at him for a few moments before closing her eyes and sighing. "Look, I just got back can we not fight about this. I don't want her staying here. End of story."

"And that's not your decision. End of story." He mocked before reaching for his keys and phone and slamming the door on his way out.

Aria POV

Aria hugged her jacket to her as she walked one of the few streets in Rosewood. The chilly air hit her with fierceness but she refused to put on her jacket. She hadn't gotten very far from Ezra's apartment when she heard a car come up behind her. It stopped and parked on the side of the road but Aria refrained from looking back. She didn't want to talk to Ezra right now.

His girlfriend was a piece of work. She didn't even live in his apartment yet she was telling him who he could and couldn't have living with him? What kind of relationship is that? Aria clenched her jaw in anger. The kiss they had shared the night before was amazing. Every time Ezra had kissed her something ran through her blood she had never felt before. She couldn't place the feeling. Lost in thought, she didn't hear the footsteps behind her.

Aria's eyes widened as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She went to scream but she felt a piece of cloth being clamped over her mouth. She kicked her feet back and forth rapidly trying to release the person's grip but it only tightened. Soon, she felt her body limp as her vision grew blurry and her eyes drooped. All she saw was darkness. Pure darkness.

Ezra POV

Ezra sighed as he looked to his right and left as he drove toward Aria's house. He was surprised he hadn't seen her yet. Ezra turned on the radio and gripped the steering wheel tighter. Maria had no say in whether or not Aria could stay with him. Frustrated, Ezra let out a sigh when he reached Aria's house but saw no sign of Aria. He pulled into her driveway and rushed up to the door. Ringing the doorbell, he felt someone come up behind him. He spun around.

His frown deepened when he saw Clark standing before him. "Hey, I heard Aria is staying with you." Clark licked his lips as he looked from the ground up at Ezra and then back to the ground.

"Yeah, she is." Ezra didn't offer any other information. Clark sighed.

"Look, can you tell her I'm sorry. I screwed up. I was just jealous and scared,"

Ezra scrunched up his eyebrows. "Scared? Scared of what?" Clark raised an eyebrow at him. "Me?" Ezra asked shocked.

"Well, I mean, you've only known Aria for a short period of time and I've known you even less. Plus, you're our teacher so we don't know you that well." Ezra nodded in understanding and looked back at Clark. Clark wanted to say something else but paused hesitantly. Ezra raised an eyebrow at him in curiosity. Sighing, Clark continued, "And I'm scared of Aria's feelings for you. I'm not blind, Mr. Fitz. I see the way she looks at you in class, in the hallway."

Ezra closed his eyes slightly. This kid knew about Aria's feelings for him. Could he also see his feelings for Aria? Ezra peered over at Clark. "She's my student, Mr. Riley. Nothing else." It was a lie but one that Clark seemed to buy.

"Just tell her I'm sorry and that we need to talk, please." Ezra nodded. Clark smiled politely and turned to leave. He stopped halfway down the sidewalk before he turned around. "And tell her…tell her that I love her." With that said, he turned, got in his car, and left behind a very flabbergasted Ezra.

Clark loved Aria? Looking down, Ezra sighed. Maybe Maria was right. Aria staying with Ezra was a bad idea. Aria had this wonderful guy willing to do anything for her and he was just getting in the way. The kiss they had shared last night might have been amazing and wonderful and mind blowing but it wasn't right. Ezra was her teacher. Looking back at the door to the Montgomery house longingly, he turned and left.

Aria POV

Aria opened her eyes to the darkness. She tried to move her hands but found that she couldn't. The tingling sensation that shot up her arm alerted her to the fact that she was laying on them. She rolled onto her side and tried to pull her hands apart only for them to remain together thanks to the zip tie tied around her wrists. Groaning in defeat, Aria allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness before looking around again. A crowbar, speaker, and blanket were beside her. Was she in a trunk?

Aria continued to look around in hopes of finding something to undo the zip tie. She was startled when she heard a bang on the trunk door. She remained still until she heard the engine give a roar. Aria's breath began to quicken as realization of where she was kicked in. Suddenly, the air seemed to be removed from the confined space as she started to toss and turn frantically. The walls seemed to be closing in. She rolled back over swiftly and felt a sharp sting on her forehead. Cursing, she opened her eyes to see the end of the crowbar. A cool liquid was slowly making its way down her face. Her vision became blurry just before the darkness overcame her once again.

Ezra POV

Entering the hospital, Ezra became very nervous. What was it about this family that always made him nervous? Oh yeah, it could be the fact that not twenty-four hours ago he was making out with their sixteen year old daughter. He knocked on the door lightly and opened it before stepping in. He smiled when he saw Byron poke his head around the corner and motion him in.

"Ezra! Is Aria with you?" Byron asked. When Ezra made his way around the curtain he saw a drained Ella peering up at him with a soft smile.

"Uh, no. I actually wanted to talk to you about Aria staying with me…"

Byron interrupted him. "I was just talking with Ella about that actually. It's probably not a good idea that she stay with you anymore."

Ezra shook his head slightly in surprise. "May I ask why?" he asked softly. Did they see the feelings he had for their daughter?

"It's nothing against you," Byron quickly put in. Ezra nodded slightly in slight confusion. "It's just that it can't look good for you having a female student staying with you and with the feelings Aria has…" Byron quickly stopped when Ella slapped him on the shoulder softly. He looked over at her and with her eyes bulged she shook her head.

Ezra looked down at his feet and smiled before peering back up and meeting Byron's gaze. "That's actually what I came here to say. Aria is great but it really doesn't look good for me. As for the feelings she has, she didn't act any different toward me at my apartment than she does at school. She didn't let her feelings be known. Or at least, no more than at school." Byron and Ella looked at him quizzically. Chuckling, Ezra continued, "I know about her feelings. She doesn't hide them well but it's okay. It doesn't bother me." Byron nodded and Ella smiled at him a raised eyebrow.

"Good. So, tell Aria she can stay at home by herself and that Ella and I will be home in a couple of days, okay?" Nodding, Ezra left. He drove back to the Montgomery house and took out a pen and paper he had in the center console of his car. He wrote down what Byron had told him to tell Aria. He got out of his car, walked up to the door, slipped the note under it, and rang the doorbell. Then, hastily, he got in his car and drove back to his apartment.

As soon as he opened the door, Maria got up off the couch. He strode over to her.

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time. They both smiled at each other and looked down.

"You were right," he said. "It didn't look good that Aria was here. She needed my help though, Maria. The girl has been through a lot in the past year. First her friend goes missing, and then her mother gets in an accident and loses a baby. It has to be hard. And, honestly, it was nice to be needed."

Maria smiled and stepped forward wrapping her arms around his neck. Ezra smiled back lovingly as he placed his hands on her hips. Pursing her lips, she asked, "Do you really feel that way? That you liked being needed?"

Ezra smiled. "Yeah. It was like when my two-year-old niece stays with me sometimes. It felt…" he didn't know what word he was looking for.

Maria smiled, "Father like?" Smiling, Ezra nodded. "Well, I'm glad to hear you say that because, Ezra," Maria bit her lip and smiled, "I'm pregnant."