Forget Me Not

Chapter 2

I married her and now she's knocked up with someone else's kid. Tears of betrayal threaten to spill out of my tear ducts, but I force them away.

I take a deep breath of the warm, autumn air as I stood from the bench I was on. I walked slowly back to the apartment and saw Alison crying on the sofa. She looked up at me then and smiled a frightened smile. I walked over to her and held her in my arms. I had to comfort her, I still loved her and I would love this baby just as much.

"It's a girl," she breathed, closing her eyes as more tears ran past her face. I brushed a strand of her hair out of her face and met her gaze before speaking.

"I don't know why you did what you did...and I don't know who the father is...but I will stay by your side through all of this - no matter what. You need to know that I will love this baby as much as I would love my own." she rested her head on my chest and I just held her.

"Ezra, I-" I shushed her, I didn't want to hear anymore about this.

"I forgive you, just never do this again..." She pecked me once on the lips before nestling back into my arms comfortably. We fell asleep on the sofa that night.

PRESENT DAY

Aria

"Marley, how many times have I told you--Aria?" Alison widened her eyes at me, resembling a deer in the headlights. She chuckled nervously before embracing me. I didn't move.

"Ali?" I choked.

"Hey..Come on in.." she laughed as she told me to come inside. I still couldn't move.

"Yeah! Come inside!" The small girl's voice chirped from below. A part of my heart died then as I realized who this little girl was. She was Ezra's.

I couldn't reject the girl's offer. Marley, I think her name was. I smiled stiffly and entered as I heard footsteps from the second floor.

I faced my greatest fear, then, as I saw him start down the stairs. My heart sped up and I could hear my pulse in my ears. We met eyes and he smiled politely at me.

He wasn't angry. He wasn't hurt.

"Ezra.." I gasped, tears of joy rushing to my eyes. I turned away from Alison, almost forgetting she was there. I couldn't remove my smile, he chuckled nervously, and pointed at me, looking at Alison.

"Who is this..?" He looked to Alison and my whole world was completely shattered. My smile faltered and my expression turned hopeless. The void grew an extra two inches.

"An old friend," Alison said brightly. "Babe, why don't you take Marley upstairs? You've been writing all day."

Ezra nodded and smiled at Marley. She giggled as Ezra picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Daddy!" She giggled. She had his curls, I bit my lip, trying to prevent brutal tears and an ugly cry face as I watched them laugh together as he marched her up the steps.

"Aria..." Alison started, but I shook my head.

"How could you? Are you seriously that big of a bitch?"

"I-" she tried again.

"No! Stop! You knew he was my everything. You knew I loved him more than anything else!" I tried not to speak too loudly so I wouldn't disturb Ezra and his....daughter. "You took him.." I sobbed, quietly sniffling.

"Let's take this to the kitchen," I followed her into the kitchen as she stood across from me, gesturing for me to sit on the brown bar stool. She picked up two coffee cups and poured the liquid into both, fixing one the way I liked. She spoke up. "Aria, I'm sorry, but you have to understand that you put both of us in this position. You asked him to leave. Time went on and we fell in love again." Alison fought back. She was always fighting for herself.

"Why does he even love you? Huh? You were a liar when you first met. How did you get him to trust you? He wrote an entire book about it." I asked, less angry now. My hope was gone. Everything was gone.

"He was in an accident, Aria." Alison explained dryly.

"What do you mean, 'accident?'" I narrowed my eyes at her as she began explaining again.

"Two weeks after he moved here, he was in an accident with a drunk driver. He had a bit of alcohol in his system because he was still shaken up about you. It was fatal, Aria. He was so close to dying. He was in a medically induced coma. He had severe brain damage, he didn't remember anything after Jackie...he still doesn't.." She avoided my eyes.

I stared at her, lost, trying to make sense of all of this new information. What was I supposed to do now? I could feel my heart dying, I had nothing to live for anymore.

"And what? You just didn't tell him anything about me? Nothing about yourself, either?"

"No, I didn't want to confuse him with someone who wasn't even present in his life anymore," She paused. "I really do love him, Aria. More than you ever could. He's a fantastic father, too." She smiled apathetically at me and I was done.

"Can I talk to him?" Alison gave me an apprehensive look before shaking her head. I nodded, trying my best not to cry. "Did I ever tell you that I liked it better when you were dead?" I stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind me, sobbing like a child who'd just been told they couldn't have their lollypop. I hopped into the rental car, beating the steering wheel, making the horn honk.

Hardy was right, I was broken beyond repair, and a girl in my position could only take so much.