"Mom, we need to talk to you." Aria let go of Ezra's hand and together they walked into the living room. They sat down together on the couch across from the chair Ella was sitting on.
Ella looked up from her magazine and asked, "What's going on?"
"There's something we need to talk to you about." Aria said quietly.
"Are you failing English or something?" Ella asked worriedly.
"Uh-no." Aria said uncomfortably. "Ez- I mean Mr. Fitz doesn't teach at Rosewood anymore." Aria said, quickly catching her slip.
"Oh, why? Did you not like it there?" Ella looked at Ezra.
"No-no-not at all, I loved Rosewood." He paused. "I just... wanted to be able to spend more time on my writing. So I got a job at Hollis, not long ago." He said slowly.
"Byron works there!" Ella exclaimed.
"He knows that." Aria mumbled.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Ella asked.
At that same moment, Byron walked into the house. He followed Ella's voice into the living room.
"Did you tell her yet?" Byron asked, noticing Ezra sitting next to Aria.
"Tell me what?" Ella asked, confused.
"About them." Byron said, as he took a seat next to Ella.
Ella shook her head, confused.
"Oh, this will be fun!" Byron said, sarcastically.
Aria just looked on from her mother to her father, wondering how she ended up with such a weird family.
She shook her head and started to speak. "Uh, well..."
Byron looked at her expectantly.
Aria took a deep breath, "Ezra and I-"
"Mr. Fitz, Aria. He's your teacher, be nice." Ella interrupted.
"Oh my god, Ella!" Byron exclaimed. "Let her finish! You're not going to want her to call him Mr. Fitz after they tell you."
"What in the world is going on, Aria, that you would tell your father before me? Are you two dating or something?" Ella laughed.
Ella quickly stopped laughing when she saw the looks on Aria's and Ezra's faces.
"Oh my god... you're dating..." Ella said slowly, as the realization sunk in.
Byron got up from his chair with a smug look on his face. "Have fun," he said, to Aria and Ezra, before leaving the room.
"You're dating your teacher?" Ella closed her eyes as she tried to imagine her one and only daughter, kissing her teacher, of all the people in the world.
"Why, Aria? Because your dad dated a student, you wanted to try a student teacher relationship too?"
"No mom!" Aria responded, shocked. "That's not why we're together! Besides, we met before school started!"
"So you just thought whatever, I'll just continue to see him, even though he's my teacher, and even though it's illegal?"
"Mom..." Aria whispered, hurt by her mothers' words. Aria knew she would be shocked, but not mad. She had not prepared herself for a mad Ella. "Please, can you just understand what we're doing here, just a little bit? And Ezra isn't even my teacher anymore."
"So you were together while you were teacher and student." After getting no response from either Ezra or Aria, Ella's suspicious were confirmed.
Ella let out a huge sigh.
"What am I supposed to do here? And why did you wait so long to tell me?" Ella asked.
"You can't do anything! Please, don't get Ezra in trouble. If you really love me, then you won't do anything to hurt us." Aria repeated the words she told her father earlier.
Her mother closed her eyes in frustration.
"Ezra, why don't you leave for a little bit, I want to speak to Aria alone, please."
Aria got up with Ezra to walk him to the door.
"I'll let you know how it goes." Aria told him, before leaning up to kiss him.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON, ARIA?" Mike exclaimed, as he ran down the stairs to the sight of his sister kissing their English teacher.
Aria pulled away from Ezra and sighed.
"I'll explain later." She waved good-bye to Ezra and retreated back into the living room.
"Okay, now that he's gone, I can tell you one of the real reasons I waited until now to tell you now about us..." Aria trailed off, as she sat down in the chair across from her mother. Her eyes started to water as she started thinking about Jackie and Maria. The tears threatened to spill over, but she knew she had to be strong.
"Honey, it's okay, I won't do anything to hurt you two. I can tell just from the way he looks at you that he loves you." She motioned for Aria to come sit next to her.
Aria's wall of defense broke right then and there, and suddenly she started sobbing uncontrollably, for the second time that day. She got up and sat next to her mom, while Ella held her close, trying to comfort Aria.
"T-today, I found out... that E-Ezra has a d-daughter." Aria sobbed.
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." Ella said, while rubbing her hand soothingly up and down Aria's back.
"With h-his ex-fiance." She cried. "What the hell am I supposed to do mom? I love him so much, and I don't want him to leave me for Jackie, his daughters' mother!" She exclaimed angrily. "But there's no way Ezra can be a part of Maria's life, without Jackie being a part of his life too!" She continued to sob.
"Is Maria his daughters' name?" Ella asked, as she handed Aria a tissue from the box on the windowsill.
Aria wiped her eyes and nodded.
"Aria, how did you manage to get yourself into this situation? Dating an older man, who just so happens to be your ex-teacher, who also happens to have a long lost daughter." She said, a little frustrated.
Aria just shook her head and whispered, "I wish I knew." Aria paused a moment, then continued. "It's not Ezra's fault though. He just found out about Maria today, too. Jackie kept it a secret from him for three years." She informed Ella.
"Wow, what a bitch. Who would keep a secret like that from the child's father for that long?" Ella angrily exclaimed.
Aria let out a small giggle at the sound of her mom calling Jackie a bitch. Aria had no idea that bitchwas even in her mothers' vocabulary.
All of a sudden, a wave of nausea swept over Aria. She jumped out of her mothers' arms and sprinted towards the bathroom. She made it just in time to throw up into the toilet. Breathing heavily, she slumped back against the bathroom wall, wondering what in the world just happened. I was fine five minutes ago... And nothing I ate today upset my stomach until now... But it's been five hours since I've last eaten... Since I skipped dinner because I was upset over Ezra... Ugh, it's probably all this stress just catching up to me...She thought.
Aria got up and washed out her mouth as she heard a knock at the door.
"Aria? Are you okay?" Ella asked worriedly.
"Yeah, mom, I'm fine. I don't know what just happened. It was all so quickly." She said slowly.
"What did you eat today?" Ella asked, opening the door.
Aria's stomach let out a loud growl, causing her to laugh.
"Not much, obviously."
Ten seconds later, Aria was once again bending over the toilet, with Ella holding her hair back.
"Are you sure you're okay?"Ella asked frantically.
"It's probably just a bug mom, I'm sure I'll be fine."
"Aria... you're not... pregnant,are you?" Ella cringed.
"NO!" Aria yelped. "That can't be possible." She whispered, mostly to herself.
"Have you and Ezra had sex?" Ella asked, calmly.
Aria made no move, however, the look of fear on her face said it all.
"Aria!" Ella exclaimed, as she too, sunk down to the floor, with her head in her hands, trying to comprehend everything that was happening.
Aria stared at the pattern of the wallpaper on the wall, until it became a blur. Suddenly, she burst into tears.
"Aria, honey, don't cry. You've already cried enough for one day." Ella said, as she took Aria in her arms.
Aria continued to sob quietly, as Ella held her tight.
"Come on, let's go to the hospital, to see whether this is just a bug or not." Ella said confidently, not wanting to think about the worst case scenario.
Aria nodded and stood up, while wiping her tears with her away with her hand. She slowly walked up the stairs to her room to wash her face and reapply her make-up. There is no way this is happening. God please, please, please, don't make this be happening, I can't do this to Ezra,Aria silently prayed. She heard Ella telling Byron that Aria was not feeling well and they were going to go to the hospital.
After finishing her make-up, she grabbed her purse and walked down the stairs. She took a deep breath, and followed her mother into the car.
Hope you guys liked it! Let me know what you think, and don't forget to review!