Aria stumbled toward Joan's front porch and knocked loudly. She knew Joan was home because of her vehicle parked in the driveway. She'd earned the right to work mostly nights at the restaurants. When minutes ticked by, Aria felt herself closing in, and her breathing became harder to maintain.
She turned her back to the railing and braced against it, taking deep controlled breaths, she sobbed like a baby. Joan's front door opened, and she stood in a pajama set, with her hair twisted up in a towel. "Aria, are you okay? Is the baby okay? Come inside."
Joan ushered her inside and closed the door. "Sweetie, what's the matter? Are you okay?" Aria sat down on the small loveseat where Joan made room for her, amongst a pile of clean laundry. "Is the baby okay?" she asked, rubbing her stomach gently.
Aria nodded, finding herself feeling like a fifteen-year-old girl whose heart had been crushed. Ethan wasn't officially hers, nor had they made it exclusive, but she'd gotten her hopes up with his persistence and with the tiny human growing inside of her.
Joan squatted in front of Aria and braced her palms against her knees. "Tell me. What happened? Did you tell Ethan?"
Aria took a calming breath and exhaled slowly. "No. I was going to tell him today, then Landen showed up at my job because I wouldn't answer his calls or texts. When I finally got him to leave, I saw a gossip magazine with Ethan on the cover … and he was with another girl."
Joan's mouth popped opened, and her eyes widened. "Are you sure it was him?"
Aria covered her face with her palms. "It was him, and the girl had her arms wrapped around him. I know we're not together—"
"No," Joan said, shaking her head and leaning back on her feet. "He has been after you, and then does this?" She stood up and took the towel off her head. "We're going to Devry and—"
"Crap!" Aria shouted. "I forgot to call in. I just up and left."
Joan put her hand on Aria's shoulder and made her sit back down. "I'll call in for you. You sit down. It's not good for you to deal with this while you're so far along."
Aria leaned back against Joan's couch and listened as she looked up Devry Media and called in for Aria. She felt betrayed by Ethan and couldn’t stand to look at him at work today. The sad part was they weren't exclusive, but she got her hopes up that he may just be mature enough to be a father.
But lying about being out with another girl wasn't mature. It didn't scream father; it screamed player, which Aria had just weaseled herself out of a relationship with a playboy, and she didn't plan to fall back into one—ever.
Joan walked back into her living room and sat down beside Aria. "I'm so sorry, Aria. I would have never encouraged you if I had known he was such a jerk. Are you sure it wasn't misunderstood? You know how those gossip magazines are."
Aria sighed and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "They looked pretty cozy in the picture, but I'm not sure. I just freaked out when I saw it. Maybe I should ask him about it. I’m just scared he'll lie, Joan. I just got rid of Landen—crap. I promised Landen I would meet with him tonight. I'm not ready to deal with him knowing he isn't the father. He is going to have a heart attack and stress me out. He's told his mother about it!" Aria said exasperated. "Can you believe it? He wants me to meet with her."
Joan recoiled. "That's cringe-worthy right there," she mumbled. "Okay, we need a plan. If you don't want to tell Landen yet, don't. Go out with him, buy yourself some time by telling him you're busy at work, and you'll speak with his mother later. Then … you need to go see Ethan."
Aria tucked a curl behind her ear, catching a glimpse of herself in a mirror hanging on the wall beside her. She looked ridiculous with mascara running down her cheeks and a blush over the span of her face. Not to mention the sweat gathered at her hairline.
"You're right. I need to speak with him. I'm going to tell him … everything."
Joan walked over and pulled Aria in for a hug. "Everything is going to be okay. Now, let's go to your apartment because I sent something over there, and I need to make sure no one steals it."
Aria chuckled and wiped underneath her eyes. "Okay. Let's go."
They drove over to Aria's apartment and found a car seat sitting beside her front door. Aria pulled Joan in for a hug. "Thank you, Joan. You didn't have to do that."
Joan smiled and glanced down at the top of the car seat. She picked up a note that had been put there and handed it to Aria.
Aria read over the note and a twinge of panic hit her.
I came by looking for you. Please answer your phone.
We need to talk.
Ethan.
Joan whistled. "I’m guessing I'll receive a congratulations about my new car seat soon."
Aria chuckled, tucked the note inside of her pocket, and pulled out her phone. She'd put it on silent before she walked into Devry that morning, and she hadn't realized anyone called.
She had ten missed calls from Ethan, four texts, and a reminder about their meeting from Landen, as if she had forgotten since the hour before.
"Are you going to call him?" Joan asked.
Aria nodded. "Yeah, I am. Let me unlock the door so we can go inside."
She unlocked her apartment, while Joan lugged the car seat in and sat it beside the door. Aria walked over to the sink and poured herself a large glass of water because she suddenly felt really hot and unsteady.
Joan walked into the kitchen and stopped at the sight of her. "Are you okay?"
Aria placed her palm on her stomach and closed her eyes. "Yeah, just … my stomach is cramping."
"Like a contraction?" she asked.
Aria shrugged. "I don't know? I've never had one before. What do they feel like?"
"Cramps, I think. Come over here and sit down." Joan guided her toward the couch, where she sat, and leaned her head back to relax.
Aria grabbed the fabric of her dress and breathed out slowly. "I'm scared Joan. I'm not ready to have this baby. I haven't even told them about my pregnancy at work—"
Someone knocked on the door, and Aria's eyes widened in fear. "Crap. What if it's Ethan?"
Joan tiptoed over and looked out of the peephole and turned around slowly. "It's him," she whispered. "What do I do?" she mouthed.
Aria swallowed harshly, feeling her cramps start to subside; she tucked her hair behind her ears, and stood up. "I'm going to tell him," she said.
"Are you sure?"
Aria nodded fiercely, her mind made up. "I can't take another minute of this. He needs to know."
Aria walked over to the door, hearing Joan run into the bedroom to hide, and she swung it opened. Ethan's piercing blue eyes pinned her to the floor, and the hurt there made her sigh. He was bound to be even more hurt after their conversation.
"Aria," he said, taking a step into her apartment. "I saw the magazine you were looking at. I'm—it's not what it looks like. I wasn't with that girl. I went with Abe to the bar. She came onto me and followed me outside. Nothing happened."
Aria believed him, regardless of what it looked like, and it didn't matter anyway, did it? She was about to lay a bomb on him that would change the course of his entire life—maybe. If he decided to take responsibility.
"It's okay," she whispered.
"No," he said, taking her hands in his. "It's not okay, Aria. I hurt you, and I never wanted to do that. You deserve better."
Aria's throat began to close from the fear of what she needed to say. Her mind screamed for her to say it. "I believe you, Ethan—"
He stepped forward and cupped his palms around her face, bringing her in for a kiss that nearly swept her off her feet. She clung to the memory of his mouth against hers, breathing in the taste of him until she felt swept away to sea.
Reality snuck in, and she pulled back, covering her mouth with her palm.
Ethan's brows pulled down in confusion, and he shoved his palms into his pockets as if trying to keep from reaching for her. "Aria—what's the matter?"
Aria sighed deeply and opened her warm brown eyes to stare into his icy blue ones. "I have something to tell you, Ethan, and I don't know how to say it."
He shifted nervously on his feet. "What is it? Are you married?" he joked.
Aria didn't smile, she lowered her gaze to her feet that hurt from the extra weight and fought back her nerves.
"Aria," Ethan said, lifting her chin with his finger. "Tell me. I'm all ears."
"I'm pregnant."
Ethan stilled, so much that Aria would have thought he froze in time. His face paled, and he became utterly quiet. She heard every creak and noise of her apartment, the only sound that challenged it was the beat of her heart.