Chapter 49
"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" Oliver screamed from the backseat for the millionth time
"Oliver Scott, stop screaming. You need your shots for school." I told him.
"NO!" He sobbed.
Ezra and I both sighed as Ezra pulled into the parking lot of the pediatrician clinic. Even though we told the boys that we would be seeing Heather, Oliver freaked out once he learned it was because he had to get shots. This happens anytime he needs his shots, I'm just glad he hasn't tried hurting the nurses in any way throughout the past four years. At least Malcolm doesn't mind getting the shots, although he didn't like them when I had brought him to the doctors for the first time.
"Maybe we should have told them beforehand about you-know-where we're going after their appointment." I told Ezra quietly.
"I don't want it!" Oliver cried for the hundredth time
"Ollie, guess where we're going after this." Ezra said, getting Oliver to stop crying.
"Where daddy?" Oliver responded.
"The aquarium!" Ezra exclaimed.
"Why?"
"Cause mama and I thought it would be fun for you two." Ezra told him.
"Why?" Oliver repeated and I shared a look with Ezra.
"Because there are fishies there, and maybe you might get to see a ducky." I told him.
"But you need to be good. We can't go if you keep crying and screaming." I added.
"I see ALL the duckies!" Oliver told us excitedly.
I glanced at the boys through the rear view mirror and saw Malcolm glance over at Oliver. Catching my eye, Malcolm took off his headphones that he had been using since Oliver started his tantrum. Besides Fish and his phone or his video games, he takes really great care of his headphones that Ella gave him for Christmas when he started really gaming.
"Is he done?" Malcolm asked and Oliver gave him an offended look.
"Yes." Ezra and I said together.
"I'll sign the boys in babe, that way you don't have to stand any longer. I was gonna suggest that you could stay in the car but then I figured that might be a bad idea." He whispered
"Thank you and that definitely would have been a bad idea." I said, receiving a chuckle.
As soon as Ezra shut the engine off, the boys rushed out of the car. We quickly got out and the boys raced each other towards the building. I slipped my hand into Ezra's as we followed the boys. They were waiting patiently - well Malcolm was, Oliver was as patient as a five year old can be. We walked inside and I went with the boys to the waiting room. I sat down in one of the chairs and watched Ezra quickly sign the boys in as they started playing with the bead maze. All of a sudden, Malcolm apparently grew tired of the bead maze and sat down next to me just as Ezra came and sat on the other side.
"Who do you want to take?" I asked him.
"I'll take Ollie." He said and I saw the flash in his eyes.
"You're just gonna keep reminding him about going to the aquarium afterwards aren't you?" I asked and he nodded.
"Pretty sure you're more excited about the aquarium than the boys are." I told him.
"Someone has to be." He said, taking my hand in his.
"I am marrying a man-child." I teased.
"Yes you are." He chuckled, kissing my cheek.
"You two are gross and I'm trying to read here." Malcolm said, glancing up.
"Alright, go back to your reading bud." Ezra said
…..
I held back a laugh as Ezra tried walking with Oliver sitting on his foot and holding his leg. He had been watching some fish when a shark swam by, scaring him. Malcolm pressed his face against the glass, watching some jelly fish. At least Oliver got to see some ducks before he ended up seeing the shark, otherwise he would be wanting to leave. Between the boys, I'm pretty convinced Ezra is still the most excited about this whole trip. Sensing that I was trying not to laugh at him, Ezra looked up at me and threw me a wink.
"Mama! The shark will get Macky!" Oliver said, pointing towards Malcolm.
"Ollie, the shark isn't going to get anyone baby." I told him as Malcolm came over.
"Wanna go look at the turtles?" Malcolm asked and Oliver nodded.
"No sharkies?" He asked.
"Nope, not where the turtles are." Malcolm said.
Oliver quickly got up from Ezra's leg, following Malcolm. I slipped my hand into Ezra's as he led us after the boys. He pressed his lips to my hand as we watched the boys stare at the turtles. Frankly, I'm surprised Oliver is still interested in the aquarium. Especially since we haven't seen any ducks walking around. Watching the boys stare into the glass, I giggled as Ezra brushed his lips against my ear.
"Why don't we sneak off and get some snow cones?" He whispered and I nodded.
"Malc, what flavor snow cone do you want?" Ezra whispered to Malcolm.
"Blue, it's the best flavor ever." Malcom said quietly, even though Oliver's too absorbed in the turtles to eavesdrop.
"What if they don't have blue?" Ezra questioned and Malcolm raised an eyebrow and held back a snicker.
"Green apple. But they will have blue." Malcolm told him.
"Mom and I will be back, stay around here and don't lose yourself or your brother." Ezra said and Malcolm nodded.
Leading me away, Ezra wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I lifted my hand and slid my fingers between his. There weren't many people here, which means the line for the snow cones won't be a million years. Mhmm, when was the last time I even had a blue flavored anything? Usually had the grape popsicles growing up, and always wanted cherry snow cones.
"Damn, now I want blue too." I muttered and Ezra chuckled.
"That's usually how it goes once you hear about any type of food nowadays babe. But at least, we don't need to ask Ollie what flavor he wants." Ezra joked.
"He would live off of strawberries if we let him." I said and he nodded as we got to the stand.
"Can we get two blue snow cones, one strawberry and one lemon lime?" Ezra ordered and the cashier nodded.
"Since we'll be dropping the boys off with your parents, why don't we take a small nap when we get home?" Ezra suggested.
"Sounds good to me, I could use a nap." I told him.
…
I stared at my clothes in the closet, unable to find something suitable to wear. Spencer loudly shifted through her closet, clearly having the same issue. Pulling a hanger out, I saw it was a dress that I cannot fit into at the moment and sighed. At least the boys were with my parents already. Otherwise, Oliver would be distracting me for one thing or another. But I know Ezra would distract Oliver by having him help with the laundry. Looking through my clothes one last time, I groaned.
"I'm going in leggings." I declared, giving up on looking for something to wear.
"Me too!" Spencer said on the other end of the phone.
"Your mom and dad won't care?" I asked.
"No, it's not one of their important dinners. They didn't really care when I told them I was coming in sweats." She told me as Ezra appeared.
"Well then, see you guys tonight." We both said and hung up.
"What?" I asked, seeing Ezra stare at me.
"Nothing, just wanted to look at my beautiful fiancée." He said, kissing the top of my head.
"My lips are down here." I murmured, pulling his face to mine.
"Baby, we don't have a lot of time…." He trailed off as I started kissing along his jawline.
"I don't think we need that much time." I whispered, giving him a smirk.
…
Ezra held his hand out as he helped me out of the car. Looking over at the Hastings' house, part of me wished we could have stayed home and eat Chinese takeout. I shut my door as he intertwined our fingers and led me towards the house. I bit back a groan as my both my feet shot pain while walking and Ezra looked over at me. I grimaced as I took another step, looking down at my leopard print slip ons. My feet have been hurting since we got back from the aquarium. He had given me a foot rub, which helped but apparently my feet just hate me.
"Hate these damn shoes." I muttered
"Want the flip flops I leave in the car for you?" Ezra asked.
"You leave flip flops in the car for me?" I asked, feeling the tears well up.
"Yes I do, in case your feet swell up and hurt. You do realize if you start crying - sad or happy tears, you won't be able to stop then Spencer will start when she sees you crying. Which will make you cry harder from seeing her cry." He pointed out, as he got back into the car.
He carefully helped me take off my slip ons. Holding one hand, he slid one flip flop on before switching sides. As he stood up, I cupped his face and brushed my lips against his. He slowly pulled away and quickly pressed one more kiss to me. Pulling away for real, he quickly turned to put my shoes in the car and I looked down at my outfit… well what I could wear. I had one of his undershirts on and my grey leggings.
"I look like crap." I muttered, he lifted my chin and looked into my eyes.
"No, you look absolutely beautiful." He pointed out.
"Promise I don't look like crap?" I asked.
"Baby, you could never look like crap." He told me.
"I'm jumping you when we get home." I said as we made our way to the house.
"Not surprised that you're horny again." He chuckled as he let us in.
"I figured it would've taken you a thousand years to get inside." Toby joked, walking up and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Had to get the flip flops out of the car for her." Ezra said before I could rip Toby apart.
"Hey Spence." Ezra called out and I looked over to see her walking over.
"What's up with them stealing our clothes?" I heard Toby whisper to Ezra.
"Probably more comfortable than their clothes." Ezra responded and I turned to face them.
"Sure way to get laid too." I whispered and Toby's face went white
"Yep. Definitely." Spencer agreed with me.
All of a sudden, Melissa walked in with Wren. I glanced towards Spencer to see no expression on her face. We haven't talked about Melissa and what happened at the wedding. Alex walked over and handed Spencer a glass of water. Mike was hanging out with Mary by the island, it feels a little weird that Peter and Mary invited us but not mom and dad. Toby must have known what i was thinking, because he poked me and I looked over to look at him.
"Mom and dad were going to visit Lizzie over in Brookhaven with the kids. Didn't they tell you?" Toby asked quietly.
"No, we just have a 'don't take the kids out of the state or country without telling us' thing with mom and dad." I explained.
"Dad, since Wren and I are engaged, when can I get the check for the wedding?" Melissa asked, walking up to Peter.
"Melissa, you already got yours." Peter told her.
"You got the check already?" Wren asked.
"No, I gave it to her when she and Ian eloped. They used it for their honeymoon." Peter explained.
"Exactly! I never used it for a wedding, which means it doesn't count! You paid for Spencer's wedding and her honeymoon!"
"You have known since you were a child that you were only going to get one check. Spencer is only getting married once. And I only paid for part of her honeymoon as she saved up the rest. That was also a deal I had made with her when she was ten, if you remember you declined the same offer that same day.." Peter responded and I shared a look with Toby.
"I wish we had popcorn for this." I whispered to Toby and he handed me a small cracker.
"That's as close as I have. But that's as much that I can give you, the rest is in case Spence gets nauseous." He whispered back as Melissa stormed out with Wren right behind her.
"Well then. How has everyone been?" Peter asked, changing the subject, and Mary secretly handed him a blood pressure pill.
"I'm moving to New York at the end of the summer. Got recruited to play for the New York Wonderlanders." Mike said
"You did? I told you that you don't suck!" I told him and he shook his head laughing
"Yeah, I'll be moving in with Hanna and Aiden at your old apartment." Mike said, looking at me.
"That's where Hanna went?" Toby asked.
"Yeah… did you guys not know?" Mike questioned.
"No, she just sent us a text saying she went back to New York. We figured she just wanted to get out of Rosewood for a little bit." I explained.
"How does Hanna like being back in the apartment?" Mary asked.
"I'm sure she likes it a lot more now she doesn't have to share a room with mc snore fest over there." Mike said looking at me and I rolled my eyes
"So, is Hanna there permanently now?" Ezra asked and Mike nodded.
"I thought Hanna wasn't going to pack up Aiden and move him again? Thought she was gonna stay in Rosewood?" Spencer asked carefully
"Her original plan was just to go there for a few weeks to get away from Mona's murder. But then Olivia told her about the chance for Han to start designing a line or something. Which turned her stay into something more permanent." Mike responded.
"She talked to Travis, he apologized for everything before. He said if she thinks it could be good for Aiden and her then she has all the power." He added, reading my mind.
…..
I sat next to Spencer Mike on the porch, Alex had gone inside to get another glass of wine. As much as I wish Ezra was out here with us, it's nice just hanging with Spencer and Alex ... even though Mike's out here too. Of course a while after Melissa came and went, Peter had taken Alex aside and offered her a check for when she gets married if she wants. But that's as far as Spencer and I heard cause Mary shooed us away from the study door.
"Maya definitely would have loved tonight's drama." Mike said.
"Just say you're in love with her already." I joked and he rolled his eyes.
Emily and Maya were gonna come with the kids after their dinner with Carolyn, Hudson, Maya's brother and Hadley. But apparently traffic is horrible, so they're staying there for the night. The second Mike got here, he was looking for Maya and both me and Toby could tell he was a bit disappointed. Especially since he and Maya have gotten closer throughout the past few years. Before I found out about him and Hanna, there were times where I thought maybe he had a thing for Maya. Which brings me back to the short time when Toby had a small thing for Emily.
"Is it me or did Melissa keep looking at me funny?" I asked, looking at Spencer.
"Funny how? Like she still thinks we killed Ian or she knows we did something to her shampoo?" She inquired.
"Hanna really didn't tell you guys about going to New York?" Mike asked, interrupting our conversation
"Mike, Mona's death really affected her. They were best friends for a while. Remember how Alison's 'disappearance' and 'murder' affected us? I wouldn't be surprised if Mrs. Vanderwaal moves out of the state just to get away from it all." I said as a cop car parked in front.
"Hate that car." I muttered, seeing it was Tanner getting out.
"Hate that detective." Mike muttered for me.
"Hi detective Tanner." Spencer said
"Spencer, and Aria. Thought these days were over for you?" Detective Tanner asked.
"Sorry, what are you talking about?" Mike asked, confused.
"I need you two to come into the station for questioning." Tanner specified, ignoring Mike.
"Questioning for what?" I inquired.
"There was another murder." She told us,
"And you think we had something to do with it?" Spencer questioned.
"I just think it's best you four come on in. We don't want to make a scene." Tanner said, eyeing me.
She may not have said it out loud, but we all heard her loud and clear. We're the top suspects in whoever's murder it is. If I could bet my last dollar, she's already planning on pinning it only on me. How does she always know where we're at? Turning towards Mike, he looked at me like he already knows what I'm about to tell him. Tanner motioned for us to follow her and Spencer took my hand in hers, leading me away.
"Mike, go get Mr. Hastings." I said, following Spencer and he hurried inside.