Pretty Little Liars: 16 & Pregnant (Sequel)

Monkey Business

Later That Day
Aria's Pov

"Momma!" I hear Piper and Stella's voices call as the front door opens. I set my book down in preparation for being clambered on by the girls, which is almost guaranteed to happen. Sure enough, within only about thirty seconds of them being inside the house, Piper and Stella are both squished onto my lap.

"Hello you two," I chuckle, giving them both a kiss "How was your date with Daddy?"

"Good!" Stella replies.

"Yeah, what'd you guys do?" I ask.

"We went on the—um—the princess thing!" She says excitedly.

"She means the horse carriage," Piper tells me "It's like Cinderella's carriage Mommy! Except, not a pumpkin."

"I assumed so." I smile "Was it lots of fun?"

"Uh huh," Piper nods "And we got cupcakes!"

"And saw Momma's friend!" Stella chimes in.

"My friend?" I ask "Which one?"

She just shrugs "He was a boy." My mind flashes to all my male friends, but I quickly realize that everyone I know, Stella and Piper do too.

"And you're sure you don't know him?" I question, looking between both girls.

"Well, he said he used to know you, I think." Piper replies.

"And Daddy recognized him, didn't he?" I ask "Just you and Stella didn't?"

"Uh huh, he knows Daddy too." She answers. I don't have time to give it much thought before Ezra walks into the room.

"Hey," I smile, giving him a quick kiss "How was your day with the little munchkins?"

"It was great," He replies "We had lots of fun, didn't we?" Piper and Stella both nod.

"Um, do you know which friend the girls are talking about that you guys saw today?" I ask.

"Yeah, I—uh—can we talk in the other room?" He asks. I furrow my eyebrows, but stand up and follow him anyway after giving the girls the family iPad.

"So," Ezra starts, his deep ocean eyes full of sympathy "Today in Philly, we...we ran into your Dad." I can feel my eyes widen my head fills with a million thoughts, and I can't seem to choose one to address first.

"Did he...were you...was the—" I stammer, before getting cut off.

"Let me explain," Ezra says "There's not much to it, but I'll tell you everything that happened."

"Okay." I frown, looking down at my feet.

"Okay, where to start." He sighs "Pretty much, Stella, Piper, and I were just walking down the street and he was doing the same. We stopped and said hi to each other, I introduced the girls, and we went on our way. But, he did mention that might call you."

"Well..." I trail off "Why is he even here? And I don't want to talk to him, it's been seven years, it's too late."

"He's here for work." Ezra responds "And I know, I thought it was a little absurd that he assumes you're just going to forgive him. Although, I guess he has to start somewhere, and a phone call is probably the first step."

"I can't believe it." I say more to myself than him "My Dad...I haven't even thought about him in so long, I can't believe this is happening."

"You don't have to forgive him you know." Ezra tells me "You're in no way obligated to do so."

"I know," I reply "And I'm not going to, at least for a while."

"Does Mike still talk to him?" Ezra asks.

I shrug "Occasionally, I think. But they're not as close as they used to be, which isn't surprising. I don't think I have anything nice to say about that man anymore."

As I walk down the stairs, I try and keep the hot tears in my eyes from spilling over. I can hear Ezra behind me, but I just ignore him as I trudge into the kitchen.

"Aria," His voice is light and playful. I slowly turn around, keeping my eyes fixated on my feet.

"What." I answer, not looking up.

"Don't do that," He says, a hint of laughter placed throughout his words.

"I'm not doing anything," I reply "I'm just looking for something to eat."

"I understand you plenty well enough by now to know that you can't just forget about things that are bugging you." Ezra starts "Come on, talk to me."

"There's not much to talk about." I mumble "I can't change what my Dad decides to do, it's not in my power. He might call me, but there's no point stressing about it before then."

"Not just about that," He replies "But about your Dad in general. It's still clearly on your mind."

"It is," I nod "And it's gonna be for a while, but there's nothing anyone can do about that."

"Okay, but are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Ezra asks.

I nod, smiling "Yeah I'm sure, I'll get over it. Thank you though, I love you."

"I love you too." He replies, embracing me in a hug. It's silent for a moment, other than the sound of Piper and Stella bickering over the iPad. Despite the unsettling fact that my Dad's back from Michigan and considering calling me, I can't help but feel full of hapiness. Even though I haven't seen my Dad in years, I still live a life greater than I could've ever imagined. I don't know if I lucked out, or if it was in store for me all along, but Ezra and our girls are something that I'll always be so thankful for. I'm happiest with them.

"Well, should we go check on those girls of ours?" I ask Ezra, looking up at him adoringly "It sounds like they aren't having an easy time sharing the iPad."

"What's new?" He grins, taking my hand and marching toward the living room.

"Monkey's!" Ezra calls as we enter the room, causing both Stella and Piper to look quickly up at us. Not a second later, they both start making monkey noises with big grins on their faces that remind me so much of their Dad's.

"I love you guys." I chuckle as I flop down on the couch beside them. Almost immediately, I get an overlapped chorus of three voices saying that they love me too, and there aren't three other voices I'd rather hear saying it.