I Loved You From The Beginning

Jealousy Is An Ugly Color

After getting myself under control and checking the time, I saw that it was getting late, and that pretty soon mom and dad would be home with Mike. I quickly got out of Jason's comforting hold, not seeing his hurt expression, and told him and Ezra that they should probably leave. "My parents will be home soon and I don't think you guys should be here for that."

After throwing away all their feeble attempts to stay, I finally ushered them out the door and took my first deep breath since this whole dinner started. It wasn't but ten minutes after Jason and Ezra left that my parents finally pulled into the driveway with a very pissed off Mike in tow.

As soon as they came into the house, he made a beeline for his room, but not before my dad told him that they would talk about what happened. Ignoring his words, Mike just slammed his bedroom door shut and was quiet for the rest of the night.

Sensing that my parents wanted some time alone to talk I briefly told them that the dinner was okay. Then I said my goodnight's to them and went upstairs to my room.

There was no way I was going to sleep anytime soon, so I just laid in bed and pondered at the night's events. From the moment Ezra and Jason arrived the the moment they left and when Mike came back. The night was like a roller coaster with more downs than ups. I kept thinking about everything that happened. Mostly, what happened between me and Jason in the living room. My face started to turn red as I thought about how mad Ezra would've been had he seen us. I felt ashamed, not for what I did, but because, I didn't regret it. It had been a long time since I felt safe and comforted, and the fact that Jason was the one who made me feel that way had me reeling as to why he had that effect on me.

Instead of over thinking it, I resigned to just stop and let the world slow down as I fell asleep.

***

The next morning was eerily quiet, which meant Mike was not up yet. Sighing, I reluctantly got out of bed to start getting ready for school. I decided to wear a casual maroon dress with a black jacket and black heels. I then started on my makeup and hair. After about an hour of prepping, I decided I was satisfied with how I looked and went downstairs to grab breakfast.

I could hear my parents talking and, while they weren't yelling, they certainly weren't quiet either. I figured it'd probably be better if I just grabbed a coffee from the Brew instead and left them to argue about what to do with Mike. I had an art class at Hollis today, which meant I'd more than likely see Ezra. On the drive there, I kept thinking about what happened last night. Even as I pulled into the parking lot and got out, with my coffee in hand, I was in my own world, wondering what the hell I was thinking. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even noticed when Ezra came up to me.

"Earth to Aria," he said, as he waved his hand in front of my face, finally capturing my attention. He looked concerned, and was getting ready to ask me what was wrong when I quickly made up an excuse of not getting enough sleep.

He just assumed it had something to do with Mike, and I was glad to let him think that. Things with us were finally okay, for once, and I didn't want to concern him with my thoughts of Jason. Little did I know that he had seen what happened between us. I also didn't know just how much Ezra had been affected by it.

Still stuck in my own world, I quickly said goodbye to Ezra and made my way into class, practically ignoring his concerned, worried, and jealous look.