when in rome | ethan

twenty nine

"she told you that?" mia asks, shocked. she held her wine glass in one hand, her other hand over her mouth.

i nodded. sipping my glass as i watched ethan and andi from afar.

we were at aria and noah's wedding which was at a small lake house, but big enough for the guests. i haven't seen aria nor noah yet, but i couldn't wait to.

"this is a good thing, isn't it? i mean, don't you like him?" mia asks in a duh tone.

"yeah i do, but i'm hearing everything from his five year old daughter! i don't even know if he feels the same way." i exclaim.

mia shakes her head, "i'm sure he does. i mean, andi's mom is long gone. there's no woman in his life besides you. and why would he tell andi all those stories if he didn't feel a little something, you know?"

"i'm just scared of rejec—"

"oh my god! it's aria!" mia says, raising her voice a bit. she yelps, waving crazily at aria. she spots both of us, opening her mouth wide. she screams, running over to us.

"oh my god! i missed you both sooo much!" aria says, embracing us both in a hug. "i'm so glad you made it."

"yes of course. congratulations, aria. i'm so happy for you!" i tell her, still embraced in our hug.

"yes! the only relationship out of all of us to last out of college," mia jokes, laughing.

"hey, i wanted to ask." i turn to aria. she smiles, an eyebrow raised, waiting for me to ask my question. "have you heard from izzy?"

arias eyebrows furrowed, and suddenly i immediately thought something was wrong. "she didn't tell you guys?"

we shook our heads no. "isabelle left for the army right after college."

"what? really?" mia asked, shocked.

"yeah. she didn't take the breakup well, as we all knew. but, she works for the military as of now." aria explains. "even when she's done serving, it's not like she'll speak to us again. i seriously think she's done with us."

"why? we didn't do anything wrong?" i wondered. oh izzy.

aria shrugged. "izzy was off when she left. like she just wanted to leave her past behind. alex took a toll on her, not gonna lie."

"god, i hope she's happy." mia states.

someone calls aria over and she dismisses herself from us and walks over to another group of girls our age whom she probably met over the years and are her good friends.

"hey, andi also asked me what happened to her mom. do you know by any chance?" i asked mia in hopes she was still dating grayson at that time.

hesitantly, she nodded. "yes, but it's not my story to tell. if you want to know, maybe you can ask ethan. although i'm pretty sure it's a sensitive subject."

"that just makes me more scared to ask." i scoffed at myself.

she shrugged, "let it just be the right time." she explains. "it's not like he was super stuck up on her anyways. he'll tell you eventually if he wants to move forward with you."

"thanks, mia." i sighed.

she nods, "now go hang out with them. i'm gonna go congratulate noah."

i watch her as she leaves me, walking over to noah who is standing alone at the snack table, grabbing things to drink. i look back at ethan and andi, watching as they sat together at the table.