Eternal Flame

Chapter 17

Aria's POV

A knock on the door brings me back to reality and turn to see Ezra standing by the door, "Can I come in?

"Of course." I reply and he walks in approaches me.

"What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night..." He says and takes the dust cloth from my hand and lays it on the desk. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I couldn't sleep..." I simply reply, looking down, hoping he won't ask more questions.

When I don't say anything else, he asks, "What's going on? Why are you cleaning at 4am?"

"I just want to make sure everything's clean and ready for tomorrow."

"You've cleaned this room countless times this week. What is this really about?" He asks and I can't stop the tears from filling my eyes.

"I just... I can't stop thinking about everything that can go wrong and I need to do everything I possibly can to make sure the house is clean and ready." I say and he stays in silence, giving me time to think before I continue, "Our lives are about to change forever and I'm scared... In just a few hours it won't be just the two of us anymore and... what if we aren't ready for this?"

"We've talked about this, Aria. We're ready. We're as ready as we'll ever be, and you know it. I know this is just your fears taking over but you can't let them. We spent months getting ready for this and while there are still things we don't know and will only learn when we experience them, we are more than ready to love him, and at the end of the day that's what matters." He says, "Look, I know this is scary... In a few hours, we'll be responsible for another human being, who'll depend on us for everything and I know it won't be easy but it's never easy with us, is it?" He asks and I can't help but chuckle, "Look, we're going to make mistakes, that's inevitable, but we're going to learn with them and come out of this stronger and better parents. We've been waiting for this day for months and while it might not be exactly what we had imagined months ago, we're so lucky to have this opportunity. We're going to be a family, Aria."

I wrap my arms around him and start crying, letting every bad thought and feeling that's been consuming me these last few days out. Ezra runs his hands through my hair in a soothing manner and somehow being in his arms, listening to the sound of his heartbeat, helps me calm down.

"I'm just scared we're not what he needs right now." I confess, "He's been through so much and... I don't know."

"What he needs right now is love and affection and that is something we're more than ready to give. I mean, we've only been with him a couple times so far and he's already got us wrapped around his finger."

"That he does." I reply, "He's so cute. I love his curly red hair and his light brown eyes. And the way he always carries Theodore, his teddy bear, around and said he would only come live with us if he could bring it." I say and Ezra chuckles.

"See. You have nothing to worry about. You love him already." Ezra says, "Now come on, let's go back to bed. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

(...)

"Are you sure you don't want to eat anything?" Ezra asks as he walks into the living room where into the living room, where I'm looking at the tv but not really seeing anything.

"Yeah," I reply, "I'd throw up if I ate anything. But thanks."

My heart skips a bit and I feel like I'm about to faint when I hear the doorbell. "Take a deep breath. It's going to be ok." He says and takes my hand in his after kissing my head.