Many thanks to all of you Reviewers. I loved reading your comments.
Here is the next chapter: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Pretty Little Liars
Ezra pulled up to the house and put the car in park. He looked up at the house before looking over at Aria as fresh tears started to fall. All this time he thought Byron was alive. Never would he have thought that he was dead. He thought he would have at least heard something from the guys at Hollis that he keeps in contact with.
"When did he die?" Ezra shuddered
Aria sniffled back her tears, "A month before I graduated." She looked down at her feet "My father and I haven't spoken since then and I don't ever want to speak to him again."
"Oh my god Aria," Ezra looked at her in shock "So he's alive?" Aria nodded, "Then why would you say-"
"Because he holds what should have been our future together." She hissed, "I never want to see that man again" she opened the door but Ezra reached over and closed it, "Just let me go!"
"No," he locked the doors, "Tell me what happened."
"Please don't hate me. I can't take it anymore; I'm just putting up a front and-"
Ezra took hold of her hands and held it tightly in his, "I don't hate you. I just need answers"
Aria gave him a smile, "I wish I could tell you everything Ezra, I wish I could let you hold me right now but your future is on the line. That's why I left; I wanted to keep you safe from him. From A"
He shook his head, "I know you want to keep me safe. But you need to tell me from what and then you need to tell me how Mona has anything to do with it."
"It wasn't Mona, Ezra my friends and I were being stalked by a new team of –A, or the old one's we don't know. All we know is that they never gave up. They knew of our plans for me to go to Hollis and they knew how to mess with it. Ezra if anyone found out about us you would have been behind bars in a heartbeat."
"What are you trying to say?"
Aria licked her lips, "It's illegal to have sex with a minor"
He turned away from her and closed his eyes he couldn't process the words fast enough. All he could think about was that Aria ran away for him; from them. And now she's dating his best friend which so happens leaves next week to go to some for shaken place that he can't talk about.
"I wanted to tell you; but even telling you this is going to put you into a whole lot of trouble if he finds out. I coming to you today will put you in trouble"
Ezra let out a breath of air "You should have told me you were having trouble Aria. I knew something was happening especially after that car ran into Emily's living room." He looked at her "I tried to confront her about it but she just brushed me off. But you-you should have told me that something was going on. I trusted you and then you bail on me." His voice started to raise again "I don't hate you but I am really angry and upset that you would hold onto a secret like this especially since Malcolm is in my life. What would have happened if they went after him?"
Aria nodded "They did." She whispered not meeting his gaze "They picked him up from one of his karate classes and took him to the town fair"
"What?"
She wiped her eye "At the time we didn't know it was Spencer but I swear he was in good hands. That's why I broke up with you. Ezra it's the reason why you started working at Rosewood high. Everything I have ever done was for you."
"Get out" he mumbled "I can't believe you never told me any of this. Just go!"
Aria opened her door and turned to look at him once more "I'm going to tell Jay the truth, it's what's best"
Ezra's head whipped into her direction as she closed the door before he rushed out of the car and met her up front "You can't tell him Aria, I swear it's not the right time"
"I have to. Seeing how broken you are only makes me feel worse. I-I-I have to tell him" She stuttered "I have to be honest with myself and this is the only way I can think of"
"Do you still love me?" Ezra asked with every unexplainable expression running through his body "Please if you want to be honest"
Aria looked up at the house before looking at him again "Of course I still love you. Once I landed back in Rosewood every feeling that I had blocked out came rushing back. Gah," She laughed harshly and looked up into the raining sky before closing her eyes "Ever since we touched I have been feeling every emotion, every shock that I had since you and I met in that bar."
"I'm changing Aria and it's because of you. You marched into my house and you helped me set a new bar for myself. You are the reason why I am second guessing myself. You are the reason why I have never touched nor looked at another woman. You are the reason why my head is so cluttered and you are the reason why love exists. Aria I am so in love with you and that is why- that is why you can't tell Jay about us. You have to tell him when the time is right and I am telling you the time now isn't"
"Why?" Aria forced out, "Why isn't it right?" Ezra froze as he almost revealed Jay's secret "What are you hiding from me?"
"Nothing"
"You said that awfully fast Ezra" Aria pushed him aside, "I'll find out for myself,"
"Aria," Ezra grabbed her arm "You can't, just let Jay come to you"
"No," She forcefully pulled her arm away, "I am not the same person I was when you met me. I have learned to stand up for what I want and this is something that I want. So if you want me to shut up about us, you will tell me what I want to know."
Ezra opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when Jay walked down the porch and saw them together, "Hey man" he gave a half smile and wiped his face "What's up?"
"Why are the two of you in the rain?" Jay questioned "Come on"
"No," Aria stated her ground "I want to know what the-"
"Aria just needed a ride" Ezra cut her off "Let's get you inside"
"No" She shook her head and back away from the two men "What are you hiding from me"
"Nothing" Ezra spoke while Jay opened his eyes wide
"Really, well do you want to know who Lacy's father is?" Aria blurted out before Ezra could even cut her off again.
"Yes" Jay said quickly "But let's get out of the rain first"
"No," Aria said looking at Ezra, "because the father of my child is-"
"Aria," Ezra shook his head, "Please don't"
"I have too Ezra," Aria cried harder "I have to tell him the truth"
"About what?" Jay asked confused "Tell me the truth about what?"
"About everything," She chocked "About how I am still in love with my ex-"
Jay back away from Aria and looked at Ezra, "Who?"
Aria opened her mouth but words couldn't come out. She knew she had to tell the truth but seeing the pain expression on both Jay and Ezra's face put her in a tough spot. Why couldn't she just blurt it out? Why couldn't she just put on her brave working face and yell out that she is in love with his best friend…
She couldn't tell him, not after seeing the pain that she put Ezra through. Not after everything that Jay and his mom did for her. "I'm sorry," She cried before running in the opposite direction of the house. She ran out into the streets and headed for the town square. Scared and frighten had come to mind when she couldn't tell them the truth.
"What the hell just happened?" Jay asked as he looked to Ezra for answers "Why are you with Aria?"
Ezra sucked in a deep breath "I saw her walking down in the rain and offered her a ride. She seemed distant and blurted out some things. She said that the things between you and she were different. That you came clingier and she knows something is up." Ezra rubbed his face in frustration at the lie that he was telling Jay. But he just couldn't let his friend go off into war without a clear head.
"She told you that?" Jay asked hurt "But it's not like that at all."
Ezra shrugged "I know don't. But maybe you should just give her some room to breathe for a little while. I mean, you don't want to leave with a huge weight hanging over you, do you?"
Jay shook his head, "I don't want to leave at all Kai, and that's my problem. But this is what I signed up for. This is my duty and so is she. I love Aria and I will do everything in my power to see that she sees that."
Ezra creased his eye brows together "What are you saying?"
"I'm going to tell her the truth when she gets back." Jay turned around to walk out of the rain, "I'm going to ask her to marry me."
LINE BREAK
The following morning Aria woke up in one of the hotels suite. She looked around the newly renovated room and let out a frustrated breath. The second she had ran away from Ezra and Jay she found a cab that just so happened to drive by and waved him down. She didn't want to have to face Jay.
Ezra put her in a place that she couldn't question. She thought she was over Ezra, but when in reality all it took was a few rushed kisses and that electric spark for her to fall back into his web.
At this point she felt as if she needed to run away from the two of them. Just go off to some remote island and learn how to survive all over again. She needed to revaluate her life's choices. She reached over toward the bedside table and grabbed her uncharged phone. She opened up the screen and saw less than fifty per cent charge and let out a sigh. She really needed to stay carrying around her charger.
'Aria, where are you!' Her first text message read from Jay 'please come home or at least answer my calls.'
With another breath she looked at the rest of them before listening to her voice mail.
There was a cough before the man spoke 'Aria, I know I'm the last person that you want to talk too. But you really need to go home and be with Jay. As much as it kills me to see the two of you together; I think it is best that we just-'And just like that the call was disconnected.
She closed her eyes and tossed her head back against the head board and looked at her phone, if Ezra loved her so much why does he want her to be with Jay? Was the only question she had in mind? She knew that they were keeping something from her and the plan of the day was to find out. But how was she supposed to do that when all she could think about was telling Jay the truth.
She felt like she was in high school again with all the secrets. She thought that if she was free of –A there would be no more secrets. But the second the plane landed and everything came flooding back she knew this was going to be the toughest battle that she had ever faced.
Aria opened her eyes and let out a frustrated breath before answering her phone "Just leave me alone"
"Don't hang up!"
"Ezra?"
"Yea, we need to talk." His voice pleading "Please, I will meet you anywhere; just please talk to me. It's important"
"I'm at the hotel in room 1010" She answered "Go through the back of the building I don't want Carol to know I'm here!"
"I'm actually in the lobby but I swear she didn't see me." Ezra replied as he pressed the elevator button "I'll be there soon"
"Fine, I'll unlock the door"
"Thank you!"
Ezra waited as he tapped his foot on the floor waiting for the elevator to come down. He looked up to see what floor it was on and it read three. He looked at his watch and let out a breath. After last night when Aria ran off he stayed with Jay. He wanted to wait around and make sure that she wouldn't come back and tell Jay that they were dating.
The elevator finally arrived and a few people got off. They looked as if they were checking out with their luggage and the bell hop following behind.
He pressed the button that would allow him up to the tenth floor and got off when it reached. He looked down the two halls until he looked up in front of him that read rooms one to ten on the left and eleven to twenty to the right. He took the left turn and went to the very last room on the right hand side of the hall and took in a breath before he pushed open the door.
The bed to the room was unmade and the blinds from the balcony were pushed to the side with the sliding door open. There was a couch with a TV chest in the room and two bedside tables.
"Aria" Ezra called leaning against the wall from the bathroom
A few seconds later Aria emerged from the bathroom only in a robe, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be working?" she asked tying the robe closed and then she walked over to the dresser they had next to the television and grabbed the complimentary brush "I hate these things" she mumbled trying to brush the tangles out of her hair
"Why didn't you go home?" Ezra asked not answering her question "I was with Jay all night, he is worried about you!"
"I'm fine. I just needed to think" She sighed and sat down on one of the chairs and brought her left leg up "I just needed to think"
"Are you cleared now?"
Aria creased her eyebrows and looked Ezra in the face "You and Jay are hiding something from me. And-"She stopped to think about it "Did he cheat on me?"
"What?" Ezra blurted out before he could even comprehend it "No, he would never cheat on you!"
"Why are you really here?"
Ezra shook his head and sat down at the edge of the bed before he lent over with his forearm on his leg and looked at her "I am here to make sure you are okay. To make sure you won't tell Jay about us"
"Why? Why are you so scared of telling your best friend that you have a daughter?" She shouted, "You are Lacy's father Ezra, are you ashamed of that?"
"No of course not" He retorted, "How can I be ashamed of someone who looks exactly like us Aria?"
Aria let out a laugh and shook her head "I'm surprised Jay hasn't put two and two together." She laughed again causing Ezra to smile "Can you tell me why he calls you Kai?"
Ezra nodded and wiped her upper lip "When we were kids I would always be late for school. One day Jay asked me if he could sleep over and I said it wasn't a problem "Ezra licked his lips and lent back against his hands on the bed "the next morning Jay was getting ready for school and I was watching my favourite television show." Aria smiled "Kikaida, it was on every morning it was something that I couldn't miss. From that day forward he just kept calling me Kai for short and it kind of stuck"
"Oh my god, that was my favourite show too. Although, it was re-runs by the time I was born" She joked
"Very funny" Ezra sat back up as their laughter came to a silence "It's nice to see a genuine smile and not the ones you were putting on for show"
"You too Ezra, I'm sorry for turning you down. I wish I could change everything but-"
"I know you can't and I know I can't tell you the real reason why you can't tell Jay. But it's for the best; at least for now!" He stood up and headed for the door but then turned around when he reached the handle, "I know that the two of us are really complicated, "He smiled, "But I don't want to fight with you anymore. Aria, it really pains me to see us like this."
Aria gave a half nod, "Ezra, I know it's hard. But- "She pressed her lips together and bit her cheek before continuing "Let's just take this one day at a time. Be friends first?"
"That sounds cool." He opened the door, "But I'm still mad at you!" He joked closing the door
Aria rolled her eyes as she whispered, "Men"
I really didn't want to post this chapter because I really didn't like how it ended up. But I couldn't come up with another way to flow with the way the other chapter came up.
Here is a little spoiler: Jay find's out that Ezra is Lacy's father.
Now my question for you: How will Jay react to this new found news?
Don't forget to review