Pretty Little Liars: 16 & Pregnant (Sequel)

A Harmless Hunch

Aria's Pov

"Dad?" I suck in a sharp breath, taking a small step backwards. He just stares at me for a moment, the expression on his face one I can't identify.

"Hi, Aria." He looks down at his shoes.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, surprised by the level of anger present in my own voice.

He answers, his voice uneasy "Well, I-I just—"

"Actually, don't answer that." I cut him off "Although I would like to know what made you think it was a good idea to just show up at my door unannounced. Why would you not at least call first, I haven't seen you in seven years!"

"I was going to, believe me, I was!" My Dad says quickly "But then...I didn't know if you would answer or not, and I just wanted to see you in person."

"So you come straight  to my house so I have no choice?" I question "How do you even know where I live?"

"Years ago when you first moved in, I-I guess you gave your Mom the address, and she wrote it down on a piece of paper. I've kept it since then." He explains. My heart pangs, although soon enough the tiny part of me that wants to forgive my Dad is once again quickly buried by anger. He can't just waltz back into my life after all these years and expect me to be waiting with open arms.

"Right now isn't a good time." I say lowly "We were just in the middle of having a great day." I don't wait for a response, and instead shut the door in his face, locking it behind me. I then leave the foyer and go into the kitchen, where my cellphone sits on the counter.

"Mike," I sigh once he finally answers his phone.

"Hey, what's up?" He replies, noticing the worry in my voice.

"Have you seen Dad yet?" I ask.

"You know he's here?" Mike questions "How'd you know he's in Rosewood right now?"

"He's at my house." I tell him "Well he was, h-he just left."

Mike gasps "You invited him in? What happened, are you—"

I cut him off "No, no I turned him away at the door. But still, he's here...and he actually wanted to talk to me."

"And how do you feel about that?" He asks.

"Well considering that I slammed the door in his face, not very happy." I laugh stiffly.

"Good, he doesn't deserve anything more from you." Mike admits "If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't even think twice before slamming the door on him." I glance down at the floor for moment as I listen to the sound of kids playing out back, hoping some of their undeniable happiness will rub off on me.

"Hey Mike," I say into the phone.

"Hey Aria," He mimics.

"Wanna come over?" I ask "We have some people over right now, mostly neighbourhood families, but you can come if you want. Piper and Stella would love to see you, and I would too."

"Sure, that sounds great." Mike replies "I'll be right over."

I join everyone outside again, trying to act as casual as possible even though I'm still a little on edge from my Dad's unexpected visit. I look around for Ezra, and see him on the slip-n-slide that seems to have materialized out of nowhere.

"Where did that come from?" I ask, walking up to Jess.

"One of the Mom's brought it over from her house," She replies, pointing to a woman sitting down "That one, I think. The kids are loving it."

"Ah, Sam's Mom." I smile "And it looks like the kids aren't the only ones loving it." I look back at Ezra, who once again slides down the slip-n-slide on his stomach, this time with Piper on his back.

"That's awesome." Jess laughs "He's such a good Dad."

"Yeah," I nod in agreement, a proud grin pulling at the corners of my mouth "He really is. He's also kinda like a kid himself, so he relates to them on a personal level."

"Well whatever works." She shrugs. Piper runs over to me with Macyn right behind her, both of them dripping with water.

"Mommy can me and Macyn go inside for a little bit?" She asks.

"Why would you wanna go inside?" I ask, glancing at all the other kids playing "And you're both soaking wet anyway, so not right now."

"But I wanted to show her my dollhouse that Uncle Toby built." Piper frowns.

"Later, maybe." I tell her "And if not, then another day."

"Okay." She huffs, turning around and going back to where everyone else is playing. Just as Piper's about to go down the slip-n-slide, the sound of the gate opening is heard, causing her to freeze in her tracks.

"Uncle Mike!" She gasps, taking off in a run toward him. Despite the fact that she's soaking wet, my brother picks up my ecstatic daughter anyway.

"How are ya munchkin?" Mike smiles, trying to ignore the water seeping into his clothes.

"Good!" Piper replies "We have lots of friends over."

"I can see that." He chuckles, lifting her higher onto his hip "And holy crap you're getting so big, Pipes. I remember when I could hold you like this easily with one arm, no problem. Actually, I remember even before I could hold you like that, back when you couldn't even hold your own head up yet. You must've been eating your veggies lately, you're sprouting up like a beanstalk."

I scoff jokingly "She sure is getting big, but I don't think it's from any veggie consumption. I pack them in her lunch, and more often than not, they come right back home at the end of the day." Piper just grins cheekily, knowing it's true.

"Hey, you gotta eat your vegetables munchkin." Mike pokes her ribs "How else do you expect to grow big and strong like your Uncle Mike?"

"Pancakes." She answers, giggling.

"Well, it seems to be working for you." Mike shrugs. Stella runs up to us, her hands clasped shyly in front of her.

"Hi Uncle Mike," She says, her hair dripping with water.

"Hey there Stella," He replies, bending down and picking her up.

"Look at Daddy." Stella points to Ezra, who still plays with all the kids on the slip-n-slide.

"He's a pretty funny guy, huh?" Mike laughs. I begin to tune out their conversation as I read a text that just came in, a text from a sender that I've grown to resent with every cell in my body.

Would you look at that, Daddy's back in town. Do you think everything will turn out beautifully like the picture-perfect life you're leading everyone on to believe is true? Something tells me it won't, but maybe it's just a harmless hunch.
-V