Hi all. Here is another chapter. I apologize for the delay in updates. I had a very busy weekend but I am on spring break and I plan on updating several times over the next week. I hope you like this chapter; I apologize in advance for any typos.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars.
Here is chapter sixteen.
Ezra paused for a moment before turning the door knob and pulling the door open. His jaw dropped and a gasp escaped his lips when he realized who was standing on the other side of the door way.
"G-Gretchen." He stuttered.
Not a sound was heard. Not a move was made. As soon as the single word that was his sister's name fell from Ezra's lips the room grew quiet. Just the sight of her familiar figure standing opposite him in the doorway made his blood boil. His deep blue eyes continued to stare furiously into his sister's dark brown ones. Neither of them moved. Mere seconds passed and Ezra finally managed to snap out of his reverie and he shot Gretchen a cold glare.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ezra spat. He attempted to maneuver himself so that Gretchen would in no way be able to catch a glimpse of Aria or Jake sitting on the couch. "Get the hell away from me."
Gretchen's eyes widened in complete surprise but she continued to stand her ground. "Oh c'mon big brother, is that any way to greet your favorite sister? On her twenty-third birthday none the less."
Ezra rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You think you're my favorite?"
Gretchen nodded as If it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Well of course. I mean I am the only sister you have. By default that makes me the favorite."
"And yet you still aren't." Ezra answered without missing a beat. He moved to close the door. "Goodbye Gretchen." He said attempting to slam the door but Gretchen's hand stopped him just in time.
"You can't tell me you are still mad about that." Gretchen stifled a laugh. But when she saw the scowl that Ezra showed on his face she quickly contained her smile.
"You heartless bitch."
Gretchen let out a loud sigh. "So I take it you are still mad."
"You're damn right. Now get out."
Instead of taking a step back at her brother's request, Gretchen attempted to push her way through the door. "You can't just shut me out. It's my birthday after all." Gretchen laughed avoiding the gaze of her brother. "What? Are you hiding something behind the door? Is there something you don't want me to see?"
"It's none of your business. What matters is I don't want you here." Ezra stared. "You're not welcome in my home." At that moment Ezra heard a familiar sound enter his ears. It was one of his favorite sounds, one that always brought a smile to his face. He just wished it had occurred at a different time."
"Daddy." Jake spoke loud enough for Ezra to hear him. "Who's there?"
Ezra sighed. "No one buddy."
"So you do have company?" Gretchen answered wearing a mischievous smile.
"As a matter of fact I do. I'm spending time with my son and my gir-" Ezra paused "I already told you it is none of your business."
"Oh c'mon Ezra. I'd love to meet this girl I once heard so much about, the one you claimed to be in love with." Gretchen let out a chuckle. "Oh and the son that is supposedly yours."
Ezra sucked in a deep breath. He knew that Gretchen didn't have a nice bone in her body. He knew that the only person on the face of the earth that she cared about was her precious self. He knew that she aimed to make everyone else's life a living hell, but how could she stand in the doorway of his home and be so malicious. It was simple, she was Gretchen. And Gretchen saw no problem with the way she treated other people.
"Let me ask you a question, Gretchen." Ezra glared at her with a tremendous amount of anger in his voice. He turned his gaze to the two occupants on the leather sofa for a single moment before moving his attention back to his sister. "Why in the hell should I even think about letting you meet the two most important people in my life?" Ezra took a deep breath before continuing. "I care too much about the two of them than to put them through that kind of torture."
Gretchen scoffed. "Cut the crap big brother." She used all of the strength she could muster to pound through the barrier that Ezra had created with his body and entered the small apartment. "I'm coming in whether you like it or not. So deal with it and get me a beer, would you?"
"Hell no." Ezra muttered.
Gretchen plowed through the doorway and immediately spotted Aria and Jake sitting silently on the sofa. She let out a soft smile and an eye roll soon followed. "You must be the infamous Aria?"
Aria leaned over and gathered Jake into her arms. She answered with a soft nod.
"You're the one who left the voicemail on my brother's phone in which you informed him that he was soon to be a father."
"Shut the hell up, Gretchen." Ezra was quick to interrupt, He pushed past his sister's tall from and took Jake away from Aria as he took a seat next to her.
"What Ezra? I'm just stating a fact."
"I don't care what your intentions are. You will not speak to her like that, not in my home or anywhere else."
"Oh." Gretchen chuckled. "Did I strike I nerve with that one?"
"Gretchen-"" He started but was soon interrupted by the sound of Aria's voice.
"Let me say something really quick." Aria took a deep breath and raised her voice several octaves. "Yes, in a moment of haste, a moment I will deeply regret for the rest of my life, I decided to deliver a piece of life changing news via telephone. Was that a stupid idea? Of course it was. Should I have done things differently? You're damn right I should have. But in my defense, I did attempt to notify him of the situation. I did attempt to give him the option of being a father to our son. You were the one who took that opportunity away from him. And because of you, Gretchen." Aria paused. "Ezra will never get to experience the first three years of Jake's life. He'll be forced to relive those times only through pictures and stories I tell him."
Aria finally finished her argument and shifted her gaze away from the pale woman standing in front of her to the man sitting next to her. A lone tear formed in her eye as she waited for the remaining adults in the room to respond to the words she had just spoken. As she locked eyes with Ezra, she quickly took notice of the pain that showed in his eyes, it was a pain that she was sure he had felt for a very long time.
Ezra nodded to Aria and placed a soft kiss to the top of his son's head before wrapping his arms tightly around Jake's small form. The look on Ezra's face was one Aria was sure she hadn't seen before. He looked hurt and dejected; lost even.
It was then that Aria came to a realization. No matter how much of a bitch Gretchen was, no matter how many times Aria tried to condone her actions long ago, she still had kept Jake from his father and in turn Ezra was the one, who missed out, It was because of her own selfishness that Ezra had lost so much time with Jake. And yet he still loved her despite of everything. He looked past her many faults and gave her a second chance. It was in that moment of clarity that Aria realized that she could no longer hold her feelings for Ezra inside. He deserved to know that she still loved him. He deserved to know that her love for him had not faltered in all the years they had been apart.
Aria was interrupted from her reverie by the sound of Gretchen's harsh tone. "You think I care to hear what you have to say? You're kidding yourself if you do."
Ari furrowed her brow, not even bothering to flinch at the words that fell from Gretchen's lips. "Then why exactly are you here? You did interrupt our dinner after all."
"I honestly don't care that I interrupted your precious dinner. I just came here to get my birthday gift from my brother."
Ezra opened his mouth wide and scoffed. He quickly stood up, shifting Jake in his arms. "I do not believe this. You act like a bitch our entire lives, hell I don't even want to get started on all the stunts you pulled when we were kids. It would take far too long and I have much more important things to do." Ezra paused for a single moment. "But that's beside the point. After everything, you decide to show up at my home expecting to get a gift from me?"
"Well of course. And when I found out your supposed son was here too, there was no way I could resist coming in and taking a look at him for myself. "
Ezra sighed before clearing his throat. "What do you mean my "supposed" son?"
"I mean who knows if she's telling the truth? The kid may not even be yours."
"Are you kidding me? He's the spitting image of me? He's like my clone." Ezra yelled as he locked eyes with his sister." Ezra was infuriated with the way his sister was speaking. This was bad even for her.
"I'm just saying, big brother. You never know."
Ezra rolled his eyes and returned to his seat on the couch, completely ignoring Gretchen's previous comment. His anger faded when he noticed Jake had long since fallen asleep on his shoulder. He smiled as he listened to the boy's soft snores. His irritation had nearly disappeared. With the exception of the sounds coming from Jake's resting body, the room was quiet for several moments. That is until Aria stoop up and began to speak.
"In the few short minutes I have come to know you I have quickly come to the realization that you have one care in the world and her name is Gretchen. That's all fine and dandy, but when you start making accusations about me and the paternity of my son to the man that I love, who is indeed Jake's father, then that really pisses me off." Aria concluded her statement and snuck a brief look in Ezra's direction. She wasn't all that surprised to see a very stunned expression etched across his face.
"Oh isn't this precious." Gretchen chuckled.
Aria rolled her eyes yet again. She seemed to be doing a lot of that here lately. She watched closely as Ezra shifted in his seat on the sofa, careful not to stir Jake in his arms. She listened as he cleared his throat and waited for him to speak.
"Gretchen," He began. "Your attitude disgusts me. Aria and I have discussed our situation privately. It is none of your business. You made your decision all those years ago when you pressed that delete button. That's on you. But I will no longer allow you to speak to Aria or myself the way you have done in the short time you have been here." Ezra was silent for a moment. "And since you did point out that today is your twenty-third birthday, as a gift I will give you a piece of advice: get the hell out of my apartment and don't ever come back."
Gretchen only sneered at Ezra's statement but after several seconds she finally began to walk to the door. "As you wish." She opened the door and began to exit but as she started to close the door behind her she made one final statement. "Don't expect me to take the blame for any of this. I did nothing wrong." And with that she disappeared into the hall way with only the sound of a closed door behind her.
Silence filled the room for the next several moments after the sound of the closing door was heard. Then Aria and Ezra decided to speak at the same time.
"How in the world did Jake manage to sleep through that mess?"
"You really love me, Aria?"
As she stared deep into Ezra's eyes and took another glance at the confusion that was apparent in his eyes, Aria was the first to speak.
"I do Ezra." She took a deep breath. "The truth is I never stopped. I've kept my feelings inside for so long because I was afraid to tell you. I was afraid that this-" She paused for a second time. "I was just afraid, But it wasn't until just a few minutes ago that I realized there was nothing to be afraid of. I realized that you deserve to know how I feel and we deserve a chance to be happy."
Ezra didn't even allow Aria to finish her proclamation before his lips crashed into her in a heated moment of passion. When the two finally pulled away from one another reluctantly it was due to the sounds of Jake stirring in his father's arms. Ezra took a quick moment to speak before Jake was fully awake.
"You're right Aria. " He whispered. "You and me, we do deserve to be happy."
I'm not sure how much I like this chapter but it turned out okay, I hope I succeeded in making everyone hate Gretchen. I actually enjoyed writing her smart aleck remarks. I hope you will take a moment to leave a review. You all are the best readers!