The Ugly Stepsister (7 page)

Ellie reached for her phone, her eyes still tightly shut. She cracked an eye open to check the time before she read the message.
What time do you leave for school?
She groaned. There was still another forty-five minutes she could be sleeping. It only took fifteen minutes to get ready. If that.

Still sleeping- Lisbeth.

Knives hidden. What time?

Ellie considered ignoring him, but didn’t think he’d stop sending messages. She thought it best to reply.
Eight
.

She glared at the phone. When it remained silent she went back to sleep to be woken, what felt like minutes later, by her alarm clock. She hit snooze and considered waiting until it went off again. But if she did, it wouldn’t give her enough time to get to school before classes started. Turning off her alarm, she staggered out of bed.

By the time she was ready to leave, it was five past eight. As she stepped out the front door, she froze. Tom was parked on the side of the road, waiting for her. Sam sat in the back seat and Tom leaned against the bonnet of his car. When he saw her, he strode up the cracked path, meeting her on the edge of the verandah.

He glanced at the piece of buttered toast she held. “Is that your breakfast?”

Ellie grinned. “I was tempted to have chocolate strawberry shortcake. You’d be amazed at how much willpower I needed to use.”

“You’ll be hungry before you finish your first class.”

Ellie shook her head. “I’ve got an apple in my bag. Anyway, I’m old enough to feed myself without any help at all.”

“You forget. I saw what you buy and call food.” Tom took her schoolbag.

“We can’t all have a chef for a brother.” Ellie grinned at Sam as they reached the car. “Hi, Sam.” She noticed his eyes went to her toast too. “And don’t start about my breakfast. Considering how many fires I’ve caused in kitchens, toast is the safest thing for me to make.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” Sam held out a container.

Ellie took it and peeked inside. She grinned. “You are absolutely wonderful.”

“I wasn’t sure if you’d manage to keep the pieces I gave you last night.”

“It was close.” Ellie sat in the car, quickly finished off her toast and then slowly ate the shortcake Sam had given her.

“I swear that food is getting more attention then I got.” Tom started the car.

“If you had chocolate drizzled all over you I might give you the same amount of attention.” Ellie took another bite.

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

Ellie looked over at him, startled by his answer. Then she laughed. “Okay, fair enough. But don’t expect me to think clearly until I’ve been awake at least an hour. Anything I say before then I maintain the right to take back.”

“So what time will that be today?”

“About fifteen minutes before school starts.” Ellie licked her fingers and frowned at the container. She could have eaten a piece twice that size. “I’m going to end up as big as a house if I keep hanging out with you two.”

“You could always join me in the pool each morning.”

Ellie shuddered theatrically. “Just because you’re crazy enough to get up at that hour doesn’t mean I will be.”

Sam took the container back. “It’s not too bad.”

“Don’t tell me you go swimming with him.”

Sam shrugged. “Not every day. And just for the fun of it. I don’t compete. I’m nowhere near fast enough.”

Ellie shook her head. “You’re both crazy.”

“Don’t knock something until you’ve tried it,” Tom said.

They pulled up at school and Ellie looked around. “What are so many people doing here at this hour? It’s still ages until school starts.”

“Catching up.” Tom hopped out of the car.

Ellie joined him. “With what?”

Tom rolled his eyes. “Friends.”

“I’d rather catch up on sleep.”

Tom locked his car the moment Sam was out of it. “Who did you send the photo to?”

Ellie frowned. “Huh?”

“When I was swimming.”

She grinned. “No one. Well, I did send it, but I sent it to my email address. And there were two of them.” She pulled out her phone, flicked through her gallery and showed him. “See, nothing to panic about. You look gorgeous in both of them.” She returned her phone to her pocket.

“Why did you take them?”

“Because you wouldn’t let me take one when I said I was going to.”

Tom draped his arm around her shoulder, taking her schoolbag. His was slung over his shoulder and he carried hers. “So what was that? Lizzie breaking free?”

“Probably.”

Tom stopped and pulled her close, her bag dropping to the ground. “I like the way Lizzie kisses.”

Ellie slowly smiled. “Really?”

Tom nodded before his lips met hers. He ignored the couple of catcalls and drew back from her when he was finished. “Really.”

“What are you planning on doing now?”

“Catching up with friends. You coming?”

“Ahh… sure.”

“There’s no need to be nervous.”

“I’m never nervous.”

Tom smiled. “If you say so.” He picked up her bag.

“Never.”

“I’m not arguing.”

Did he think she was an idiot? “Yes you are. With your tone.”

“Okay, maybe not nervous. But at least uncomfortable.”

“Maybe.” Ellie smiled up at him. No one other than Lauren had ever noticed when she was uncomfortable or uncertain about a situation. She wasn’t sure if she liked it. She glanced away. It might take a bit of getting used to.

Ellie slowly opened the container with frequent glances at Lauren to see how she was handling the lengthy process. She grinned at the impatient look her friend gave her.

“If you don’t hurry up I’m going to mug you and eat both pieces,” Lauren warned.

Tom joined them in time to hear Lauren’s comment. He laughed and his eyes met Ellie’s. “Anticipation improves everything.”

Ellie smiled back at him. “I seem to have heard that comment somewhere. I’m just not sure where.”

Tom sat down beside her and whispered in her ear. “Liar.”

Ellie finally opened the container and offered it to Lauren so she could choose a piece. “You might as well take the biggest piece. I’ve had three so far.”

“Not fair.” Lauren took a bite out of her piece. “Ohh. This is to kill for.”

“Isn’t the comment usually to die for?” Tom asked.

“Nope, that’s Ellie’s line when I take the second piece from her.”

“Dream on.” Ellie took as big a bite as she possibly could.

“What are you doing this weekend?” Tom asked.

Ellie had to finish her mouthful before she could answer. “Going to my father’s place. Why?”

“I was just wondering if you wanted to go to a party with me tomorrow night.”

“Sorry. Maybe next time.”

Tom nodded.

“Hey, Tom! I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Dale. This is Ellie and her friend Lauren.” Tom looked first to Ellie and then over to Lauren.

“Hey.” Dale smiled at each of them before he turned back to Tom. “We’re having a quick game of basketball. You interested?”

Ellie smiled at Tom when he turned towards her. “Go on. It’ll give us time to talk about you behind your back. Although I’ve got a feeling that’ll only be after we’ve raved about your brother’s cooking.”

“Good thing I don’t have a self esteem problem.” Tom’s lips met hers before he rose to his feet. “I’ll meet you at my car after school.”

Ellie nodded and watched as Tom walked off with Dale.

Lauren scooted over to sit closer to her, nudging her in the ribs. “I swear I can’t leave you alone for five minutes without your life completely changing. Now tell me everything. If you leave out a single detail I swear I’ll never speak to you again.”

Ellie grinned. “Not every little detail, surely.”

“You didn’t!” Lauren exclaimed.

Ellie kept silent for a few seconds before she relented and shook her head. “Nah. But I was so tempted to stay the night. Isn’t he just melt-in-a-puddle gorgeous?”

“How did you end up together?”

“I’m still trying to figure that one out myself.”

“Then tell me everything and I’ll help you work it out.”

Ellie laughed. “You just want to hear all about my night.”

Lauren grinned. “Yep. But I’ll use my amazing powers of deduction to help you discover exactly what went on in exchange for all the details.”

“Hmm, where do I start?”

“Oh, hurry up. Lunchtime will be over before I get to hear anything.”

Ellie smiled. There were some things she didn’t want to share, even with Lauren. But that still left heaps she could tell her about.

She swung the front door open, her schoolbag slung over her shoulder. Through the doorway she could see Tom’s car parked out the front. She smiled when he walked around the front of his car, stopping at the edge of the footpath. Behind her the phone rang. With a wave, she turned away to answer the phone, dropping her bag on the floor. “Yeah?”

“Elizabeth?”

“Dad.” She should have known it was him. He was about the only person who rang on the landline.

“I’m glad I caught you, Elizabeth.”

She stilled. He had that tone, the one he used when he was about to tell her something she wouldn’t like. “What’s wrong?”

“Well, I know this is short notice…”

“Something else has come up, hasn’t it?”

“I’d rather have you visit. Maybe the next weekend. Ahh, hold on a minute.”

Ellie waited as her father covered the mouthpiece of the phone and had a muffled conversation. She guessed it was with Pamela. And she bet she was saying the following weekend was out. She wasn’t about to give Pamela the satisfaction. “Hey, Dad.”

“Yes?”

“Next weekend isn’t any good for me. I think the following one might be out too. But I don’t have my appointment diary in front of me.” Appointment diary! Yeah right. That was something Pamela kept, not her.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I’ve got to go, Dad. Otherwise I’ll be late to school.”

“Goodbye, Elizabeth.”

“Yeah. Bye.”

She hung up the phone and dropped onto the floor to lean up against the wall. Closing her eyes, she tried not to think about anything. She hated Pamela. Not that she had really wanted to visit her father. She was always bored senseless every time she was there. It just annoyed her that Pamela always seemed to find a reason why she couldn’t visit.

“Ellie?”

She opened her eyes to see Tom at the front door. For a moment she’d forgotten he was waiting for her. She started to struggle to her feet and gritted her teeth when Tom came over to help her up. Brushing his hands away, she continued to sit on the floor instead. “Sorry. Phone call.”

Tom sat on the floor next to her. “Bad news?”

“In a way.” Ellie quickly came to a decision. “Do you still want me to go to that party tonight?”

“Yeah. Was that your father?”

Ellie nodded. “Yeah.”

“What time would you have to be home?”

“Sunday.”

“What’s going on, Ellie?”

“Can we talk about it later?”

Tom shook his head. “I doubt you will.”

“We can’t leave Sam out in the car all morning.”

“Stop procrastinating.”

She looked away from Tom. Her words tumbled out, all running together. “My father left when I was thirteen and he married a woman my mum calls Stupid Bitch and she has two clones she claims are her daughters. That’s what everyone thinks, anyway. What really happened was that Dad decided Mum needed help because she has a drinking problem. She went ballistic and threw him out and he tried to convince me to go with him. But I already knew I’d be crazy to live with him. Mum has always been ahh… laidback.”

“Okay, that sounds fairly straightforward. What has that got to do with you staying at my place on the weekend?”

She still couldn’t look at Tom, but at least her words were no longer strung together. “Up until a few weeks ago I stayed at Lauren’s every weekend. We sort of got into a little trouble together and she’s not allowed to have anything more to do with me.”

“Trouble?”

“We were caught sneaking back in from a party.” She couldn’t resist a glance towards him. “And stop grinning.” She glared at him until he looked serious again. “Promise me you won’t tell this to anyone?”

Tom took her hand. “I promise.”

“Mum drinks a lot. Not so bad during the week. But by the time Friday arrives she’s ready to kill for a drink. She starts about midday and doesn’t stop until early Sunday morning when she passes out for most of the day. Her mates come over and they party all weekend. I just don’t want to be here during her parties.”

“Is that what the padlocks are for?”

Ellie nodded.

“Why don’t you leave?”

“It mightn’t be perfect, but I like this set up. I come and go as I please. I run the household how I want. My only other options are living with Dad, which I’m beginning to think mightn’t be an option anymore thanks to Stupid Bitch, or boarding school. My father offered to send me to one about a year ago. And I certainly don’t want to end up in a foster home again.” She instantly regretted the last words she spoke, dropping her gaze to her hand in his.

“Is that why you don’t live in a better neighbourhood?”

“Yeah.” Maybe he hadn’t realised the significance of her comment. She wasn’t going to point it out if he hadn’t.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Ellie?”

“I barely knew you last weekend. I wasn’t about to spill every family secret to you.”

Tom smiled slightly. “Fair enough.” He rose to his feet, helping her up. “Are you going to bring more clothes than you did last time? And swimmers?”

“I can stay?”

Tom nodded. “Of course you can.”

“And you won’t expect… ahh… that is-”

“I won’t expect anything more than last weekend.”

Ellie threw her arms around him. She’d already known he was different to Brodie, but she’d needed to make certain. “Thank you. I’ll only be a minute.” She dashed back to her room and unlocked it. Grabbing the bag she’d packed to take to her father’s, she shoved in her bikini and the black dress she’d worn last weekend. She hunted around for her high heels and shoved them in too. Locking her door behind her, she grinned. “Ready now.”

“Good.” Tom took her bags. “Let’s go before we’re late.”

“I bet you’ve never been late to school in your life.”

“Never. Now being on time to class, that’s a different matter altogether.”

Ellie laughed, suddenly able to look forward to the weekend again. And surprised to find she was actually relieved she didn’t have to lie to Tom anymore.