"She would grab whatever she could, a look- a whisper, a moan- to salvage from perishing, to preserve. But time is the most unforgiving of fires, and she couldn't, in the end, save it all."
-Khaled Hosseini
Aria
Marley had set the table while Alison set the food down. I wouldn't lie, it looked great, and probably tasted even better, but Alison being a housewife and cooking? I couldn't wrap my head around it, let alone my heart.
"It looks so good, mama!" Marley exclaimed. Alison smiled at everyone.
"Shall we go around and say what we're thankful for?" Marley raised her hand high in the air. "Mar, you start." Marley sat in silence tapping her chin.
"I'm thankful for my mommy and my daddy and for food and for Pricilla and-" Ezra was quick to cut her off.
"Okay, baby girl. Let Mommy go." Marley nodded and turned her head to Alison.
"I'm thankful," She turned her head from Marley to me, looking me straight in the eye. "for Ezra and him being the best father anyone could ever hope for, I'm thankful for Marley being the sweetest girl in the world," She paused, pinching her daughters cheek. "And lastly, I'm thankful to see my dear friends, Aria and Spencer, again." I could see her holding Ezra's hand under the table. Bile rose in my throat but I made sure my disgust wasn't obviously plastered on my face like it was on the inside.
"I'm thankful for spending another year healthy, and having a wonderful family." He gave Alison a kiss on the cheek, making my heart pound against my rib cage. I was in literal pain and we were barely an hour into dinner.
"Miss Aria, it's your turn!" Marley smiled cheekily. I swallowed, not because I was nervous, but because there wasn't really anything I was thankful for. Sure, there was Riley, but he was more of a curse than a blessing. I wracked my brain for something - anything. Without even thinking I blurted out.
"I'm thankful for Happiness."
A cold sweat came over me. Did Ali know the meaning of Happiness? Did she know what B-26 was? Much to her unknown dismay she nodded and continued until we made our way back to her. She threw her hands into the air as if to say 'Dig In!' Moments later I had almost an entire plate full of mashed potatoes, turkey, and vegetables that were cooked with the meat. It was quiet at first, the room only filled with moans of delight. I took an opportunity to start a conversation with Alison.
"So, Ali, did you use Jessica's recipe for this meal?" Alison stared at her plate and gulped. Jessica was always a sore subject with Alison, she had been killed by the infamous 'A' back in high school, Alison moved back with her father soon after the funeral.
"Actually, yes. Yes, I did." She smiled proudly. I smiled back politely, this dinner was filled with fake, picture-perfect smiles and lies...just like old times...
"What are you interested in, Marley?" Spencer sat next to me. She wore pale lipstick with a beige summer dress that had short sleeves; it was the only dress she had brought with her. With it she wore white, peep-toed heels.
"I really like dolls!" She bit her lip and played with her carrots. Spencer laughed.
"I like dolls, too!" When Spencer was in sixth grade, she had a major obsession with glass, China dolls.
"Mommy! Can I show Miss Spencer my dolls?" Marley showed clear excitement.
"After dinner. Eat your veggies." Marley nodded and didn't come back up for air. She gobbled up everything on her plate, and by the time she'd done so, everyone was stuffed.
"You guys should take some food back to the hotel," Alison laughed. "Maybe it'll get you away from those burnt blueberry muffins." She chuckled like a robot. Ezra narrowed his eyes at her, confused. I sat silent, smiling and nodding. It almost felt like a routine.
Alison was cleaning up after dinner, Ezra and Hardy were out getting wine and grape juice for dessert. Spencer and I sat with Marley in the living room, watching her draw and talking to her. She truly was something sweet and innocent and it was a shame that her mother would take that away from her - and even more sad that her mother was Alison. I had gathered that Marley was almost exactly four years of age, Her full name was Marley Grace Fitz. It rolled off her tongue when she said it too, almost with a hint of sass.
"Here!" Hardy and Ezra emerged from the door, Spencer popped up and have Hardy a kiss on the lips, and I gave Ezra an awkward smile before I heard his footsteps in the kitchen and a muffled 'Hey babe'. I turned back to Marley.
"Miss Aria, can you go tell mommy to get me the green crayon?"
"Sure," I couldn't just tell her no...my heels clicked against the linoleum, I heard muffled moans coming from behind the kitchen doors, without talking a step back and knocking, I barged in to see Alison on the counter and Ezra in front of her, her lipstick was a mess and Ezra's hair was slightly out of place. I apologized quickly.
"I-I am so sorry, Marley wanted a new, green crayon." I held up the broken green crayon and Ezra smiled sadly at me, taking it out of my hands, Alison smirked behind him. She knew what she was doing, and exactly how much it was hurting me. I was fighting tears as best as I could, thankfully, none escaped and I maintained a controlled expression.
"It's fine," Ezra murmured under his breath. I walked into the living room, grabbing my purse. Spencer and Hardy eyed me, looking worried as usual.
"Thank you so much for dinner, Alison. It was fantastic." She nodded as if to say, 'Thank you for finally getting out of my house' and handed me three plates of food. I mumbled a thanks to her after I had said my goodbyes and Spencer and Hardy bid farewell. It was nothing but questions when we were out in the cold California air, nipping at our exposed toes.
"What the hell happened, Aria?" I ran a frustrated hand through my hair - a habit I picked up from Ezra - and sniffed. I couldn't come undone again. With all of my crying, I had begun to annoy myself, and I knew I was long past annoyed with Spencer and Hardy.
"Aria, you can tell us..." Hardy placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, trying to get me to spit it out. It was almost as if the words were stuck in my throat.
"They were in the kitchen..making out. He had her on the counter-" The water works had begun and a wave of pain hit me in a new way. I tried to grasp the last good memory Ezra and I had but my mind was drawing a blank. The file of Ezra had been gone through too many times in my head. "It was us - it was our thing, and, and..." Spencer hugged me from my side as I wailed. I faced away from the house; I couldn't even look at it anymore. My car was across the street, just as it had been three days before when I came to realize this disgusting truth, when the only disgusting thing about it was that Alison was involved with my soul mate.
"What do you wanna do?" Spencer and Hardy asked in unison. I shrugged their hands off of me. I didn't want to be touched.
"We're leaving." I said simply.
"Okay. Get in th-" I cut Hardy off.
"We're going back to Rosewood."
"Aria you don't-"
"We're going back to Rosewood!" I snapped. "First thing tomorrow." I walked around the car and sat down in the back seat with a blank expression. I heard two doors slam, but out of the corner of my eye I saw a smirking, blonde sitting in the window with her hair curled into perfect rings...I closed my eyes and let the tears silently make their way down my face. If it was even possible, I was even more broken than I had been when I first went to LA...
Two Weeks Later
Ezra
Aria had been avoiding me for two weeks since Thanksgiving, I had stopped by the hotel and had gotten no answer from the door. When she did respond to my text, it was a short and sarcastic reply. She had been cold since she saw Alison and me in the kitchen. She looked so offended by our intimate moment.
Ever since we shared that one kiss, nothing with Alison felt right, almost like everything was too perfect. My mind had been wandering about Alison lately, though. Hardy had brought something up when we were at the store that really got me thinking.
"Marley's really cute, Ezra." Hardy commented as they strolled through the wine section. Ezra ran a hand through his hair, smiling halfheartedly at his friend.
"Yeah, man. She's a sweetheart. The other day, she wanted to have a funeral for her goldfish. A casket and everything!" Hardy tried to ease off the subject.
"That's cute. I noticed something though.." Ezra gulped, figuring he knew what he was about to say.
"Marley really looks nothing like you." He scratched the back of his head, looking hesitantly at Ezra.
"You're not the first person to say that." Hardy nodded, unsure of where the conversation was going.
"Oh, Look! Barefoot Sweet Red wine; your favorite if I remember correctly..."
I shivered at the thought of that night. No matter what, I was Marley's father, biological or not. Hardy's comments just made me wonder who's other 26 chromosomes she had. Alison never shared a penny for her thoughts.
"Babe?" Alison sung, her bare feet padded into the living room.
"Hey.." She narrowed her eyes at my tone.
"Everything..okay?" I looked at my hands, trying to prolong this moment as long as possible.
"You-you know that I love you and Marley...a lot." Her face hardened at my words as her lips pressed into a thin line.
"What is this about, Ezra? Was it Aria? Did you sleep with her?" Her voice was nasally and accusatory. I stood up furrowing my eyebrows.
"What? No! Why would you say that?" She crossed her arms.
"Who was it?" She pressed.
"I didn't sleep with anyone, Alison! I was going to ask you who Marley's real dad is!" Her facial expression softened and she dropped her arms from the defensive position.
"Oh.." I scoffed at her lack of response and ran a frustrated hand through my hair. My eyes were blood shot due to my stress level. I headed towards the stairs.
"Ezra!" I ignored her and kept walking. "Mar is sleeping, can we keep this down here?" I kept ignoring her, grabbing my pillow and a blanket from upstairs.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, but I wouldn't let her make me feel bad for her anymore.
"Sleeping on the couch," She shook her head and rubbed her forehead, she looked like she was going to cry.
"I'm sorry for assuming, Ezra! But-" I waved my hand.
"But nothing, Alison! I can't believe you think so little of me! I'll see you in the morning." I threw my pillow and blanket on the black leather couch downstairs. As I laid on the couch I heard her cry for a moment then there was only silence.
The Next Morning
I woke up to the smell of eggs and leaks...my favorite. I saw Alison by the stove, nursing the pan. She perked up when she saw me.
"Hey, baby. I was just making breakfast. You hungry?" She was buttering me up, and I usually couldn't tell but everything was more apparent now. I nodded my head and headed upstairs.
"Where're you going? I was hoping we could talk..?" I shook my head, waving her off.
"I have to make a call." She made the same face she did last night.
"Okay." You could feel the tension in the room before I went upstairs. I dialed Aria's number that I now knew by heart. I didn't have to worry about Marley at the time; she had school for one more week then she was off for winter break. The phone buzzed in my ear before I heard a mans voice muffled in the background and giggling.
"Hello?" Her voice rung, it was so good to hear it again.
"Aria." I could hear her clear her throat and tell whoever she was with, she'd be right back.
"What do you want?" Her tone was harsh, she sounded angry.
"I just wanted to see if you wanted to have lunch again, you know? We haven't talked for two weeks." She scoffed.
"You have a child, and a wife. You're happily married with a perfect family and I don't want to come in the way of anything."
"We can't have lunch because I have a daughter and I'm married?" She scoffed.
"You're happily married, Ezra. I'm not coming between that. Please don't talk to me or call me again. Have a nice life." I didn't hang up immediately, nor did she, but she must have thought I did, because I could hear her clear sobs through the receiver and they confirmed everything.
Somehow, I didn't know how, but somehow..Aria and I knew each other and she was letting on a lot less than there was to the story. I didn't know what she was hiding, but I would find out. Eventually.
A/N:
Hope you like this chapter guys! If you actually do like this story, comment! (:
The next chapter will most likely be published in 4-7 days.
Read on!
-Marissa xx