What Fate Brings

Chapter 14

Aria's POV

It was 7:00pm before Ezra finally came home from riding with Toby. He walked through the front door, covered in mud and sweat.
"Hey beautiful" he says sleepily.
"Hi" I say getting up to kiss him.
Because of my height, he has to scoop me up in his arms. My legs straddle his body, gripping on for dear life.
"Go take a shower, you're disgusting."
He chuckles and puts me down.
"Care to join me?" he asks.
"I would love to, but you're literally filthy, we would be in there for hours" I reply.
"Fine. But I expect more kisses when I'm out of the shower."
In a huff, he makes his way to our ensuite.
I take the chance to quickly grab out the gift box from my chest of drawers.
I carefully place it on the bed and get into my pyjamas. I was tired as hell.
I lay back onto the bed and listen to the running water.
Usually, Taylah would be by my side, cuddling me or telling me about her day. It made me miss her presence more then what I already do.
I get up and slowly make my way towards Taylah's bedroom.
Her bed sheets were still unmade. Her pyjamas thrown askew on the floor.
Her dance bag was packed; the day she was diagnosed was supposed to be her first full day of dance.
I sit on her fluffy desk chair and hug a picture frame that was on her desk of Ezra, Taylah and I. It was after her first dance recital. She was all dolled up in her costume with light make up.
A tear escaped my eye and landed on the picture, right over Taylah's chest.
I place the frame back and run back to my room, eager to remove myself from the remains of her bedroom.
I sat on the bed again, regaining myself so I could happily tell Ezra the news. He'll be delighted.

Moments pass before the door to the ensuite slides open, revealing a half dressed Ezra.
He sees the box on my bed instantly.
"What's this?" he asks walking over to it and sitting himself down between the end of the bed and the box.
"I don't know. I guess you're going to have to open it" I say trying to contain my excitement.
He fumbles around with the lid for a moment before pulling it off.
He pulls out the bib and laughs.
"What-?" he begins.
"Just keep going" I usher.
He pulls out the rattle. The blanket. The outfit. All that's left is the pregnancy test and the note.
Ezra's eyes grow wide as he reads the note. A tear runs down his cheek.
He looks up at me grinning.
"Aria...? You're- what? You're... PREGNANT?" he bursts out.
I nod at him faster then normal. I'm just happy he's happy about this. More like thrilled to be honest.
Ezra stops jumping up and down and then grabs my hands to pull me up. He hugs me tightly and I can feel him shaking. I smile to myself; we were happy for once.
He bends down and scoops me up once again, this time I don't have to straddle him because of the strength of his hold.
He looks up to me tenderly and kisses me passionately on the lips. I kiss him back eagerly. I've missed the nonchalance to our kisses.
He looks at me again lovingly after pulling away.
"This is amazing Aria. Thank you for giving me a second chance. I failed as a father to Taylah. I won't let you down." he says with remorse laced through his tone.
"Ezra, Taylah's death had nothing to do with being a bad father. She adored you, and so will this baby." I reply. He can't take the burden for her death; he'll go mad.
"I love you, Aria" he replies.
"I love you too, Ezra" I say back to him before closing the distance between our lips again.

The rest of the night was happy. We completely forgot about the fact that tomorrow; we would say good bye officially to our baby girl.