Title - Ezria in LA.
Characters - Aria and Ezra
Story Summery - Following the adventures of Ezrias life as the years passed by. Starts 10 years after Arias High School Graduation. Ezria is married and they live in a big house in Los Angeles, California. Ezra is a teacher at LAs most known private school and Aria is a singer still struggling to become famous. Can they balance their relationship and a family or will their marriage fall apart when Aria gets offered an opportunity of a lifetime? Ezria's Relationship and Family Life is tested. A mix of Ezria and Jaria. Read and Review or PM with thoughts, and story line ideas.
Author Notes: I know some readers were not happy with the last few chapters. I am reminding you that this is my story and I can write it the way I want it to. Please be nice in the reviews. I don't like reading "You are ruining your story" or "I hate this story". A better review would be "I think your story would be better if you did this ..." or "I think this should happen ... instead of this ...". Please give this story more of a chance as it only can get better.
I am still fairly new at writing and I can only improve with each chapter. For those of you that wanted Riley biological father to be Ezra, I think you will be happy in the end. Like I mentioned in a previous chapter. "DNA doesn't make a family, Love does." This quote was taken from another ABC Family show "The Fosters".
I made this choice to make Jason the biological father of Riley because I wanted Jason to be a important part of this story. I still want and plan to keep Ezria together even though there will be some bumps along the road with their marriage and other things that might happen to them in the future.
Just a little clue on what might happen in upcoming chapters or later on in the story: Ezria might get into another fight that causes Aria to maybe make a decision she regrets which Ezra may find out about. Ezras mom comes into town for about a month to celebrate Christmas and the New Years holiday with her son and granddaughters that may cause another strain on Ezrias relationship. Old feelings between two characters might resurface but they won't last very long. Aria may think she is pregnant but it might just be a false alarm. Aria will get a offer for a tour but will she take it? Jason offers to manage this tour for her but Aria and Ezra have different opinions about what that means.
Long Time Hidden Secrets and Lies
Arias POV
A week has gone by since Ezra and I talked to Jason about Riley spending time with him. Today is Rileys first day spending some time with Jason. Ezra and I told Riley to be on her best behavior with Jason. Surprisingly Riley has had much better behavior all week so I'm not worried.
Jason has been calling me all week but I haven't bothered calling him back yet. I've been trying to avoid him after the one night stand I had with him last week. Thank god Ezra doesn't know about that. It gives us one less thing to fight about. We haven't been fighting much this week at all. Just little arguments here and there about his mom coming to town in a few months and the kids.
Since I've been trying to avoid Jason, I had Ezra drop Riley off at his apartment this morning. I took Lucy with me and did some grocery shopping and other small errands. Lucy likes going grocery shopping with me and I like having her with me. Surprisingly she is a really great helper in the grocery store.
"Can we get cookies mommy?" Lucy asked
"We'll stop at the bakery on the way home." I said
"Thanks mommy." Lucy said
"No problem sweetie." I said
"Are you and daddy still having marriage problems?" Lucy asked
"We're working through it. Everything will be back to normal soon." I said not sure if that really was true or not.
We checked out with the groceries and the cashier gave Lucy a sucker. Her name was Maggie. I knew I recognized her from somewhere but I couldn't remember. There was no one else in line so her and I started a friendly conversation.
"Cute kid you have." She said
"Thanks." I said
"How old is she?" She asked
"I'm 5 years old." Lucy said
"Aw, I remember when my son was that young. Now he is a senior." She said
"I know what you mean. My other daughter is 11 and she started middle school last month." I said
"Wow, then you must have had her young. I had my son at the end of my senior year of high school." She said
"I was 17 and just starting my senior year when my oldest daughter was born. Thank god her father was around to help. After I graduated we moved out to LA. We actually got married a few years later and then two years after that we had our second daughter." I said
"You are really lucky. My sons father was absent for the first 7 years and then signed abandonment papers saying he had to many other responsibilities." She said
"That must have been really hard on you." I said
"It still is. 6 months ago we were living on the east coast. I lost my job and we were quickly losing the house. I let my son finish out his junior year and then we moved into my moms house here. That's why I chose LA. I got a minimum wage cashier job and my son has a job here as well mostly after school and weekends but he's off today. We still live with my mom but I'm hoping by the time he graduates we'll be able to afford an apartment. My son already got early acceptance into UCLA but unless he gets a lot of scholarship money I won't be able to afford to send him there. Why did you move here?" She said
"My husband and I moved here because he got a job offer to tech at LA Private. My oldest daughter just started attending there last month." I said
"I heard that LA private is the best school in the country. I never would have been able to afford the tuition for my son even just for the one year so he goes to a LA public school" She said
"It is kind of expensive but we get a huge discount since my husband has worked there for 10 years." I said
I left the grocery store after putting groceries in the back of the SUV. I had to take the SUV because that was the vehicle we had the car seat in. I drove Lucy to the bakery and bought some cookies that she wanted. I went back home and Ezra helped me bring in all the groceries. The three of us had lunch together.
"Why isn't Riley here?" Lucy asked
"You know that guy that babysat for you and Riley last weekend." Ezra said
"Yes." Lucy said
"Well he is Rileys mentor, so she is going to be spending some time with him." Ezra said
"Why couldn't I go. I miss my big sister." Lucy said
"Riley will be back home in the morning." Ezra said
"Wait, so your letting her spend the night now?" I questioned Ezra
"She packed an overnight bag this morning so unless Riley calls us and says she wants to come home then yes she is spending the night." Ezra said
"Who's idea was for her to spend the night?" Aria asked Ezra
"Riley wanted to. I tried to talk her out of it but she said she wanted one night away from home." Ezra said
"What about her friends. If she wanted to spend the night away from home she should have slept over at a friends house. I just don't think it's a good idea letting her spend the night at Jason's house. He' just not responsible to take care of our daughter for more then a few hours at a time." I said
"So now you don't want Jason and Riley to get to know each other." Ezra said
"Jason hasn't changed, I just don't want Riley to get hurt if a few months or a year down the road Jason decides that he no longer wants to be involved in her life. That's what he did to me. We were happy together one day and the next day he dumped me." I said
"Riley's growing up and we can't keep her from getting hurt forever. Eventually she's going to get hurt somehow or someway and we have to be there for Riley to tell her that everything is going to be ok. That's our job as parents." Ezra said
"Well last week you didn't want her to grow up, What changed?" I asked
"I did some thinking and I realized that our kids will always be our kids but they have to grow up at some point." Ezra said
Ezra and I were so into our conversation that we forgot Lucy was in the same room.
"What about me, When will I grow up?" Lucy asked
"Your growing older and getting taller every single day." Ezra said
"Will I get as old as you and mommy one day?" Lucy asked
"One day you will be an adult but you still have plenty of time to be a kid." I said
"So, I will always be the youngest of the family?" Lucy asked
"Yes, for right now at least." Ezra said still holding out hope of having another kid.
"I love being the youngest of the family." Lucy said
It was the middle of the afternoon and I got a call from Jason. I went outside to take the call. I only answered the call because I thought something might be wrong with Riley.
"Jason is everything ok with Riley?" I asked
"Riley is great. I just wish I got to know her sooner." Jason said
"Why are you calling me then?" I asked
"I think you know why i'm calling you. I've called you several times in the past week and you have not once answered or returned my calls." Jason said
"I've been really busy Jason." I said even though that wasn't exactly the truth.
"So busy that you couldn't even find 5 minutes to call me back?" Jason asked
"I haven't called you back because we have nothing to talk about. What happened between us was a mistake. I can't have my past coming back to haunt me." I said
"We still never talked about me managing you. We can get past the mistake you made. Just give me another chance." Jason said
"I'll think about it. What is my daughter up to?" I asked
"We had a picnic lunch in the park, Then I took her to Bonaventure. Riley said she was tired so she's taking a nap right now. In a few hours we'll either go out do dinner or I'll make her something here. I told Riley that this was her day so we could do whatever she wanted to do." Jason said
"Riley didn't get hurt while roller skating right?" I asked
No, she's actually a really good skater. You and Ezra must have taken her a lot." Jason said
"No, just a few times. Riley's the only one in the family that likes roller skating." I said
"She must get that from me then. I was in a roller derby club in high school." Jason said
"I didn't know that. I thought you just played Basketball and Baseball." I said
We talked for a little while longer and then said our goodbyes.
Ezras POV
"What was that about?" I asked
"What was what about?" Aria asked
"The phone call that you had to go outside to take." I said
"That was just Jason. He just wanted to let me know that Riley was doing great. I talked to her on the phone and she told me all about what she was doing." Aria said partially lying.
"Then why did you take the phone call outside?" I asked
"I just wanted to get some fresh air. It's a nice day outside and I went for a walk around the neighborhood while I talked on the phone." Ezra said
"I believe you, It's just when you have secretive phone calls and then act like it never happened." I said
"When do you ever tell me everyone you talk on the phone with?" Aria asked
"I tell you when I talk to someone that we both know." I said
"Well your're acting like I'm never allowed to have a private conversation when you've had several in the last week." Aria said
"I really didn't think you wanted to talk to my mom on the phone." I said
"True but I would much rather have a phone conversation with her then have your mom staying with us." Aria said
"Trust me I'm not to thrilled that she is coming to visit us either but the kids will be happy to see their grandma." I said
"Can I eat a cookie now?" Lucy asked
"Save the cookies for after dinner." Aria said
"But I'm hungry now." Lucy said
"We wouldn't want to ruin your appetite." I said
Lucy started crying because she really wanted the cookie.
"You can have fruit snacks Lucy." Aria said
"Why can't I have the cookie now?" Lucy asked
"Just let her have a cookie Aria." I said
"No, were going to eat dinner soon and if Lucys really hungry she will settle for something else." Aria said
Jasons POV
Riley and I had a busy last few hours. We started out by taking a walk in the park and then having a picnic lunch. Riley seemed really happy. I hoped that this was going to be a good day and it was at least so far.
"What are we doing next?" Riley asked
"That's up to you, after all today is your day." I said
"Can we go roller skating? My parents haven't taken me to Bonaventure in a while." Riley said
"Sure, That sounds fun." I said
After lunch I cleaned up from the picnic and drove Riley to Bonaventure.
"Do you want me to roller skate with you or just watch you?" I asked
"Just watch. My parents let me roller skate while they chit chat and watch." Riley said
I only rented roller skates for Riley because she didn't want me to join her.
"Go have fun and try not to get hurt." I said
I watched Riley roller skate for almost two hours. I didn't think she was ever going to stop.
"Are you done now." I asked
"Yes, Can we go back to your apartment, I'm tired." Riley said
"Sure, you can take a nap." I said
Riley and I went back to my apartment. She went into the spare bedroom where I already had sheets on the twin bed for her.
"If you need anything let me know." I said
"Thanks but I'm fine for now." Riley said
"I'll wake you up before I start dinner so you can decide what you want and you can help me cook if you want." I said
I let Riley take her nap while I did some chores around my apartment. I also made some phone calls. When it was time for me to start cooking dinner I went to wake Riley up.
"You want to help me make dinner?" I asked
"Yes." Riley said
"Riley, were you crying?" I asked
"A little." Riley said
"What's wrong?" I asked
"I just had a bad dream." Riley said
"Do you want to tell me about it?" I asked
"In the dream something happened to my parents, Lucy and I became orphans. This mean lady was taking care of us and a bunch of other kids in an orphanage." Riley said
"You don't have to worry about that happening to you." I said
"But it happened in Annie." Riley said
"Annie is just a movie." I said
"But my parents said that it was based on a true story." Riley said
"If you really want, I can take you home. You only have to spend the night if you want to." I said
"No, I want to stay here. I actually had a fun day." Riley said
"If you change your mind just let me know." I said
Riley helped me cook dinner and helped me clean up after we ate.
Arias POV
Lucy eventually settled for fruit snacks. She was happy but you could tell that she still wanted that cookie. Ezra and I made dinner together. Lucy even helped me set the table. All Lucy did was put the napkins on the place settings and get her kiddie plate and kiddie silverware. We had to make a separate dinner for Lucy because she didn't want the food that Ezra and I were having tonight. After dinner I gave Lucy a bath and got her ready for bed. It was a Saturday night so Lucy was allowed to stay up a little later then on school nights. Lucy fell asleep on the couch while the three of us were watching Lady and the Tramp movie so Ezra carried her upstairs to put Lucy in her own bed.
"You know we don't have to watch the rest of this movie." Ezra said to me
"I have always loved this movie as a kid." I said
"Ok fine but we have plenty of other movies that we can watch now that Lucy is sleeping." Ezra said
"I'm kind of tired anyway. I think I'm just going to take a bubble bath and then go to bed." I said
"Why do I get the feeling that you just don't want to spend alone time with me?" Ezra asked
"I promise you that's not it." I said
I took a bubble bath and then got ready for bed. I was in bed but I couldn't fall asleep. I decided to look through my old Rosewood high yearbooks. I often looked at them when I wanted to remember my high school days. I was looking at them for awhile before Ezra walked into our bedroom.
"Old yearbooks. I thought you were tired." Ezra said
"I am but I couldn't sleep and instead of reading I decided to look at a yearbook." I said
"That reminds me, I haven't looked at mine in awhile." Ezra said
Ezra then looked at one of his high school yearbooks. I looked at it with him since I was done looking at mine.
"Funny story. The cashier at the grocery store today looks like that girl on the senior class page in your yearbook." I said
"Oh that's Maggie. We used to be really great friends, Actually we dated for awhile but things didn't work out." Ezra said
"You didn't date her during your senior year did you?" I asked
"Sophomore year, Junior year, and only for like two months of senior year before we broke up." Ezra said
"Please don't tell me your the father of her son." I said
"Aria please don't be mad at me." Ezra said
"I'm more then mad Ezra, How can you keep this from me for so long?" I asked
"Maggie and I were in the beginning of our senior year when she got pregnant. She told me she was going to take care of it. I assumed that meant she was getting an abortion. She left town and I didn't here anything from her for 7 years. Then I met her in a cafe one day on my lunch break. Maggie told me I had a 7 year old son named Malcolm and she wanted me to take care of him because she had to travel out of the country and didn't want him to miss school. I told her no without even thinking about it." Ezra said
"But Maggie told me that her sons dad signed abandonment papers." I said
"I did sign those papers a few weeks after that. It just wasn't a good time for me. Riley was just born and I made a promise to you that I was 100 percent committed to both you and Riley." Ezra said
"But why would you keep this from me Ezra?" I asked
"I was scared that if I told you would break up with me. At the time we were struggling to afford to take care of Riley." Ezra said
"What are you going to do about this now? I don't think Maggie knew who I was or who I am married to." I said
"Nothing, If Maggie wanted to try and convince me to be involve in Malcolm's life then she would have reached out to me. I'm sure Malcolm has a good life even without knowing me." Ezra said
"Ezra, you have a son that you always wanted and you don't even care about him." I said
"I never even met Malcolm. Maggie showed me a few pictures a long time ago. Malcolm is much better off without me in his life." Ezra said
"No Ezra, Malcolm is not better off without you, He's better with you." I said
"He's almost 18 by now, He doesn't need anything from me." Ezra said
"Maggie told me that shes struggling to make ends meet. She moved to LA because her mom offered to let Maggie and Malcolm stay with her. Maggie doesn't even know how she is going to afford to send Malcolm to university in less then a year. She told me that Malcolm got into UCLA but without scholarships he wont be able to go." I said
"How is that my problem?" Ezra asked
"He's your son, we have money so you need to provide a way for him to go to UCLA." I said
"No, I signed those abandonment papers for a reason. I didn't want to be involved in Malcolms life. I'm not going to give him money to go to UCLA that we have been saving for Riley and Lucy to have a decent future." Ezra said
"Just think about it Ezra. You have 18 years of this kids life to make up for." I said
I was mad at Ezra so instead of sleeping in our bed, I got up and went into Rileys room. I slept in Rileys twin bed while Ezra slept in our room. Hopefully tomorrow would go better then today did.
Discussion Questions
What do you think of this chapter?
Will Ezra find out that Aria had a drunken hookup with Jason?
Should Aria tell Ezra what happened between her and Jason? Will Ezra forgive Aria if he finds out?
What do you think about Jason and Riley bonding?
Will Ezra and Riley be able to bond like father/daughter or will things be different now?
What is going to happen with Maggie and Malcolm? Will Ezra Accept Malcolm as his son?
Will Ezria ever be the same again?
Thanks you so much for reading and please review. Reviewing helps me write this story. Also PM me if you would like.
What I would like from you readers is a few other characters that I can use in this story. They can be adults or children of any age. I am planning on using other PLL characters in this story but they will have minor parts compared to Aria and Ezra. Submit your character by either a review or by private message.
I also would like ideas for this story. You can submit those ideas either by a review or private message. I would love it if my readers can help me write the story along the way.
Also the title might be changed. So any title ideas can be submitted in a review or by private message.