Chapter 11

Ezra POV

Ezra's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped open in surprise. "Pregnant?" he whispered. Smiling widely, Maria nodded. The smile slowly began to fade from her lips when she noticed him not smiling. "How? I-I mean it's only been a week. I-I don't understand." He stepped away from her and sat down on the arm of the chair behind him. Sitting on the coffee table, Maria grabbed his hands.

"Before we met, about a week before we met actually, I was…" She bit her lip and looked away from him and sniffed. Ezra's eyebrows scrunched together as he watched her. She looked back at him with a forced smile. A tear slowly made its way down her cheek. Ezra reached out and wiped it away and then cupped her cheek. Closing her eyes and leaning into his touch, she continued, "A week before we met I was at a party. It was an After-college-before-work party, you know?" Ezra nodded. It was something that local colleges would do. During the summer after graduation, someone would throw a big party for the graduating class for all the colleges in the area. It was a tradition of sorts. "I had had a little bit too much to drink. There was this guy there that I had been flirting with all night. It was innocent flirting. It meant nothing. Apparently, he didn't think so. He offered to drive me home and since I couldn't drive, I obliged. Stupid I know but I was in no shape to drive. We got outside my apartment. He asked to come in but I refused. After opened the door I turn around to tell him goodnight and he pushed me in. I was kicking and screaming as he picked me up and threw me down on the bed…" Closing her eyes tightly, tears began to stream down her face.

"Hey, shhhh," Ezra whispered kneeling down in front of her. He cupped her face in his hands. She opened her eyes and smiled into the kiss that Ezra softly planted on her lips.

Breathing in deeply, she continued, "It was painful. I had never felt pain like that before. I spent three days in my room. Finally, my best friend came in and dragged me out. She said we had to go shopping before out first days of work," she stopped and chuckled. Ezra smiled softly at her. Maria looked down at her hands and remained silent for a while. "I never told anyone about what he did to me." She looked back up at him with sad eyes. Ezra nodded and stood up. She looked up at him as he hooked an arm under legs and picked her up. She laughed softly. He walked her over to his bed and softly laid her down. They both got under the covers. Holding his arm over his head, she scooted closer to him and placed her cheek over his heart. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close.

Aria POV

Aria awoke the next morning in a brightly lit room. She glanced around at her surroundings and furrowed her brows. Her mother was in the bed beside her and her father was at the edge of her bed sitting in a chair with his feet propped up. "Dad?" Aria questioned. Byron looked up over the magazine in his hands and stood up. He was by her side in an instant.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" He asked with a smile.

"Sore," she replied as she reached up to her forehead. She felt the small bandage near her hairline. "What happened?"

"Some people found you on the side of the road near our house. The doctor said you must have fainted and hit your head on a rock. He says you'll be fine and that you can be released this afternoon." Aria looked at him quizzically. Byron tilted his head to the side. "What?"

Aria opened her mouth to respond but closed her eyes, smiled, and shook her head. "Nothing. I thought something different had happened. I mean it felt so real but I guess I was just dreaming," she said. He nodded. "How's mom?" she looked over at her sleeping mother. Her father did the same and sighed.

"She'll be fine…eventually." Aria nodded. "How are you dealing with everything that's happened?"

"Fine," Aria responded. Aria and Byron both heard a knock on the door. Byron yelled for them to come in. Aria chewed her lip. She really didn't want to see Ezra right now. Especially with her parents in the room.

The frown quickly turned into a smile when she saw a bouquet of flowers covering someone's face. Ezra was such a sweetheart. When the flowers moved to the side to reveal Clark standing there with an awkward smile, her face went blank. She definitely did not feel like talking to him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Fine," she responded nonchalantly. They both remained quiet. Finally, Byron got the hint. He walked over to Ella and softly shook her awake.

"Hey, sweetheart, you want to get out of this hospital room for a while?" Ella agreed happily. Her mother had never been one to stay in one place for very long. She was always out doing something. Once they were out of the room, Clark laid the flowers down on Ella's bed before standing next to Aria's bed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked harshly.

"Didn't Mr. Fitz talk to you?" he asked. When she just stared at him, he continued, "Right. You were unconscious. You probably haven't seen him since I talked to him." Clearing his throat, Clark sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm sorry. I was a jerk. I should never have acted that way when you told me you were staying with Fitz. You have to understand though, Aria. I see the way you look at him. You like him…a lot, and I'm scared of that."

Aria smiled softly and reached up to run her hand through his blond hair. He smiled down at her. "He's my teacher, Clark. Just because I like him and find him attractive doesn't mean something is going to happen between us. It's just a schoolgirl crush. You don't have to worry. Nothing is going to happen with me and Mr. Fitz. Plus, I really like you."

Clark nodded. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Clark leaned down and softly touched his lips to hers. She smiled against his lips and wrapped her arm around his neck pulling him on top of her. He laughed and held himself over her. He quickly lay down beside her when they heard the door open and shut. She snuggled up to him.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she smiled contentedly. Opening her eyes to greet her visitor, she opened her mouth in shock as she saw Ezra standing before her with a hurt expression. He quickly masked it with a smile.

"Hey," he whispered. "I heard about what happened and wanted to make sure you were okay."

Aria sat up. "Yeah, no, I'm fine. Thanks," she hadn't exactly forgotten about what happened at his apartment but having Clark by her side she couldn't exactly say something about it now.

Ezra nodded and looked between her and Clark. Shaking his head, he smiled, "Uh well, I'll leave you two alone. Uh, I'm glad you're okay," he stated in a loving voice that only she'd recognize. Aria smiled back at him and nodded. He smiled and nodded to Clark before leaving.

Aria watched him go. When she heard the door close behind him, she sighed to herself and lay back down with Clark. She looked up at him and smiled brightly. He grinned back down at her. She stretched up and placed a light kiss to his lips before resting her cheek on his chest.

Ezra POV

Seeing Aria with Clark had hurt. Ezra sighed and smiled. She looked happy. He was happy, too. He had Maria. After she had fell asleep after telling him about her rape, he had gotten a call from Byron Montgomery explaining what had happened. Ezra wanted to rush over but thought better of it. So, he had stayed with Maria.

Ezra had chosen the following morning, Sunday morning, to visit Aria while Maria was at church. He didn't even think about Clark being there so he hadn't prepared what he was going to say just in case he was. When he walked in and saw them snuggled up together both sporting a smile, he hadn't been sure how to react. When he saw the look on Aria's face when she saw him, he knew he had to forget about everything that had happened between them. He had told himself that the day before but seeing her with Clark made it a done deal.

Ezra opened the door to his apartment and was greeted by the smell of bacon. "Hey, I thought you might like some bacon," Maria said giddily. Ezra smiled and nodded. "So, where'd you go? I was expecting you to still be in bed when I got back from church."

"Oh, uh, Aria was in an accident last night. She bumped her head. I just went to see if she was okay which she is, by the way." Maria halted her cooking momentarily but remained silent. Sighing, Ezra walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said innocently as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. Finally, she sat the juice down and turned in his arms. "I'm not comfortable with you being around her."

"Why?" he asked.

Maria looked down at his chest and then back up at him. "She likes you, Ezra. It's obvious. The way she acts around you. She flirts with you all the time at school and sometimes I even catch you flirting back."

Chuckling, Ezra wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Tilting her chin up with his hand, Ezra looked into her eyes lovingly, "I know how she feels about me. I've made things very clear with her. I told her she can flirt but nothing can happen. It may look like I'm flirting back but I'm not. I'm with you. So, relax."

"If something happened between the two of you while she was staying here, you'd tell me, right?" Maria asked quietly. Ezra's eyes widened momentarily. When Maria looked up, he quickly masked it with a smile and a nod. She smiled back and kissed him on the lips before turning back to her orange juice. Ezra stared at her back guiltily.

Aria POV

"You're going to be staying here alone for two days. I only have one rule. No boys. And yes, that means Clark." Her father looked at her narrowly. Aria nodded in understanding and smiled when he turned around. Byron left but not before repeatedly asking if she was okay and if she needed anything.

Aria spent the next few hours writing in her notebook. It was bugging her that she didn't get to finish Ezra's book. She was just getting to the heart of the story when she had pretty much been kicked out of his apartment. Since she didn't get to finish the book, she decided to continue it from where she left off with her own ending.

She was writing away in her notebook when she heard the doorbell ring. Smiling, Aria got up, hid her notebook, and bolted downstairs. Opening the door, she greeted Clark with a caring smile and a gentle kiss to the lips. She grabbed his arm and quickly pulled him and slammed the door closed behind him. When he turned around, she swiftly made her way up to him and kissed him passionately. He responded with equal eagerness.

He carried her upstairs to her bedroom where he laid her down on the bed. He got on top of her and ran his hands up and down her side. She pushed him away slightly. He looked down at her ready to apologize when she put a finger to his lips, smiled, and leaned up to pull the oversized T-shirt over her head. He smiled back down at her and dived back down for another kiss.

An hour later, Aria laid curled up in Clark's arms. She sighed as she snuggled closer to him. She played with the happy trail leading from his bellybutton down to just above his manhood. He rolled his head over and kissed the top of her head. Aria looked up and bit her lip. He smiled down at her happily and leaned down to plant a long sensual kiss on her lips.

Pulling back begrudgingly, she stated softly, "I should probably take a shower." She slipped away from him and took one of the sheets with her. She wrapped it around herself and made her way to the door. Hand on the doorframe, she turned and asked seductively, "Want to join me?" He smiled and chased her into the bathroom. When he caught up to her, he wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked at him over her shoulder with a huge smile. The smile fell as he looked at her seriously. She turned in his arms. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing," he whispered back. With a soft smile, he brushed a strand of hair out of her face and caressed her cheek lightly with his thumb. "I love you," Clark leaned down and kissed her passionately not giving her a chance to respond to those three little words.