The Ugly Stepsister (10 page)

Ellie glared at Tom and Sam as she put a packet of soup in the trolley. “Haven’t you two got anything better to talk about other than the contents of my trolley?”

Tom and Sam shared a look before Tom answered with a grin. “Nope.”

Ellie rolled her eyes, stalking down the aisle. She weighed up walking home with her groceries against Tom and Sam criticising her eating habits. She sighed. Okay, so she was stuck with them. She hurried through the rest of the shopping and headed for a checkout. Her hands hovered over the flour she hadn’t put in the trolley. Then she spied a bottle of vanilla essence and cocoa. She knew who was to blame.

Sam shrugged when her eyes landed on him. “You’re nearly out of flour and you need the other stuff.”

Ellie shook her head and started to put the groceries on the conveyor belt. She found several more items as she went. At least they were all food that was kept in a cupboard. She’d be able to keep them in her bedroom so they weren’t used on the weekend. Except the flour. No one was ever interested in flour.

When they arrived home, Tom and Sam helped her put the groceries away. Neither of them commented when she put the extra items Sam had thrown in the trolley in her room.

When everything was away, Sam looked from Ellie to Tom. “How long are you staying?”

“Ellie?”

She shrugged when Tom turned to her. “I don’t have anything planned.” She faced Sam. “Why?”

“I was thinking of walking over to see Lauren. It’s only ten minutes from here.”

Ellie smiled. Sam had joined her and Lauren at lunchtime, bringing with him custard Danishes. It had been odd having another person hanging out with them all lunch, but before the bell rang Sam had actually managed to talk to Lauren without any awkwardness. Tom had joined them until his friends had dragged him away to play some sport involving a ball. She just couldn’t remember which game it had been.

“Are you going to stick around for a bit?” Ellie stepped closer to Tom.

He nodded. His eyes didn’t leave Ellie as he spoke to Sam. “I’ll give you a call when I’m leaving and pick you up on the way.”

Ellie tugged Tom towards her room, kicking the door shut behind them. They tumbled onto her bed, jolted back to their surroundings nearly an hour later when Ellie’s mobile phone rang. She hesitated. Her lips clung to Tom’s a moment longer before she grabbed her phone from the floor, sitting up to answer it.

She listened as the person on the other end identified themselves as being from the hospital. A sense of unreality washed over her as they continued to speak. Once the conversation was over, she carefully placed her phone on the chest of drawers beside the bed, staring down at it.

“Are you okay?” Tom asked. “That was a really quick conversation.”

Ellie nodded, continuing to stare at her phone. Her mind tried to process the call. It was impossible.

“Ellie?”

“Can you give me a lift to the hospital?”

“What?”

“My mum was in some sort of an accident. It didn’t make a lot of sense.” Ellie frowned. “A park, a long flight of concrete steps and a skateboarder knocking her down them. Can you give me a lift?”

“Of course I can.” Tom was instantly on his feet, straightening his clothes.

Ellie continued to sit on the bed. She looked up when Tom held out his hand in front of her. He waited patiently. She stared at him a moment longer before she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She looked around, trying to figure out what she needed. Her fingers wrapped around her phone as she picked up her small handbag.

The trip to the hospital was a blur. She remembered telling Tom to pick her up in an hour and a half, but that was about it. She didn’t think there’d been any other conversation, but she couldn’t be absolutely certain. She asked the woman at the desk where her mum was and was soon standing by her bed. Sharon looked terrible. Plaster, bruises, scrapes and a drip in her arm.

“Mum.” Ellie’s word was part whisper, part exclamation and part plea. On the heels of the worry over her mum came worry for herself. There was no way she could live with her father if anything happened to Sharon. Pamela probably wouldn’t allow it anyway.

Sharon blinked several times, her eyes only half open. “Ellie? What’re you doing here? How’d they track you down?” Her words were slurred.

“I put my phone number in your phone under ICE.”

“Never noticed it.” Sharon’s eyes drifted closed.

“What happened, Mum?”

“Stupid little bastard on a skateboard. Came out of nowhere. Didn’t have time to get out of his way. I was taking a shortcut through a park. That flight of stairs that cuts through the hill is easier than walking around the block, but now it’s full of skateboarders. Your boyfriend doesn’t skate, does he?”

Ellie shrugged. “I don’t know. Not as far as I’ve noticed.”

Before Sharon could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. Sharon and Ellie’s eyes were drawn to the doorway as they waited for whoever had knocked to enter. Ellie didn’t recognise the woman. Although she did remind her of Pamela, with her high heels, painted nails and pale hair drawn back from her face.

“Are you Elizabeth Malloy?”

Ellie nodded. Her mum had rarely ever agreed with anything her father had suggested. Every time she heard her first name it made her wonder why her mum had gone along with the name. Her paternal grandmother had never been interested in meeting her, why would she want to be named after her?

“Could I talk to you for a few minutes? Maybe out in the corridor?”

Ellie shook her head. “What’s wrong with here?” She didn’t have a good feeling about this.

The woman glanced to where her mum lay in the bed.

Sharon scowled at the woman. “Just get on with it. I’m not about to leave my girl alone with you.”

The woman hesitated again. “I’m from the Department of Child Safety. I understand it’s just you and your mother at home. The hospital notified me.”

Ellie looked at Sharon who shrugged and then winced. She turned back to the woman, her sense of dread increasing. “What’s the problem?”

“Your mother will be in hospital for a minimum of two weeks. We need to make arrangements for somewhere for you to stay.”

“What sort of arrangements?” Ellie asked cautiously.

“If you have no other family you can stay with, we can arrange for you to temporarily go into foster care.”

When Ellie saw her mum’s expression, she shook her head, trying to keep her own expression neutral. “I’m fine, thanks.” They both had bad memories of that time.

The woman looked surprised. “Where will you be staying?”

“With my father. He won’t mind. He always complains he doesn’t see enough of me.” Ellie noticed her mum relaxed at her words.

“Could I have his number so we can confirm this?”

“Do you have a business card? I’d have to ring you back with the number. I’m hopeless at remembering numbers off by heart.” But really good at making up stories on the spot. Ellie smiled innocently and took the card when the woman handed it to her. She looked at the name. “Heather. Is that you?” When the woman nodded, Ellie tucked the card into her pocket. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow then.”

Heather looked like she wanted to say something else. Instead, she nodded. “I’ll talk to you then.” Her gaze shifted to Sharon. “I wish you a speedy recovery.” She hurried out of the room, leaving silence in her wake.

“You going to stay with him?” Sharon finally asked.

“Preferably not. I’ll be okay.”

Sharon smiled slightly and then winced. “Stupid bitch. You can probably take care of yourself better than she takes care of herself.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mum. I’m not. I’m going to head now. I’ve got school tomorrow. Is there anything I can bring you when I visit you tomorrow afternoon?”

“Yeah. They won’t give me a drink. Tried to tell me I’ve got a problem. What the hell would they know?”

“Okay. Don’t worry about it. I’ll bring you something tomorrow.”

Sharon reached out to Ellie who stepped forward to take her hand. “You’re a good kid. Better than a clone kid like Stupid Bitch has.”

Ellie smiled. She guessed her mum wasn’t feeling too bad if she was running Pamela down and asking for a drink. Everything seemed almost normal. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She bent forward and carefully placed a kiss on Sharon’s cheek between a scrape and a bruise.

“Don’t forget what I asked for,” Sharon called out as Ellie reached the doorway.

Ellie turned back. “Of course I won’t.”

When Ellie was out the front of the hospital, she glanced at the time on her phone. Tom was due to pick her up in about twenty minutes. She was surprised at how little time had passed. She’d thought it would take longer. Finding a seat to sit on, she waited. Tom was ten minutes early and nodded his head when Ellie said she didn’t want to talk about it yet. On the way home, Ellie had Tom pull up at a pub Sharon regularly frequented.

It didn’t take her long to convince one of her mum’s friends to buy two medium sized bottles of scotch. She withdrew money from the ATM that sat in one corner. When she hopped back in the car, Tom remained silent. He reached for her hand as soon as he’d pulled up in front of her house.

“You’ll let me know if there’s anything I can do?”

Ellie nodded.

“Is your mum going to be all right?”

Ellie nodded again. At least that was what she’d been told.

“Do you still want me to pick you up in the morning?”

Ellie nodded.

“Are you ever going to speak again?”

Ellie smiled and threw her arms around Tom. “Thank you.” She hopped out of the car and hurried to the front door. Tom drove off the moment she stepped inside. The house seemed quiet so she turned on the television. About half an hour later, there was a knock on the door.

Ellie wished she hadn’t turned on the television so she could have pretended she wasn’t home. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to anyone. She didn’t feel in the least bit sociable. There was another knock on the door.

“Elizabeth? Are you okay in there?”

Ellie nearly cringed when she heard Heather’s voice. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Tom.
Please pick me up. ASAP.
What was Heather doing here? How did she get her address?

“Yeah. I’m just packing my bag. I can’t turn up on my father’s doorstep without any clothes.” Ellie looked at her phone when it beeped.
Still at Lauren’s. Five minutes away.
She breathed a sigh of relief. “I can’t stop to talk. My ride will be here in a few minutes.” She hurried to her room and threw some clothes in her overnight bag.

“Your father is happy for you to stay with him?” Heather called out.

Ellie grabbed her schoolbag, shoved the alcohol into her overnight bag and headed back to the lounge room where she turned off the television. Unlocking the door, she stepped onto the verandah. Leaving the verandah light on, she locked the door and started to walk away, still wondering what Heather was doing at her home.

“Aren’t you going to turn off the light?” Heather pointed upwards.

Pausing on the edge of the verandah, Ellie shook her head. “We leave it on permanently. Day and night. Habit I guess. Probably a bad one.”

“How did your father take the news you’d be staying with him for a while?” Heather asked.

Ellie saw Tom’s car pull up in front of her house and felt like cheering. “That’s my ride. I better go. I’ll call you tomorrow.” She dashed to the car before Heather could say anything else. “Get out of here in a hurry,” Ellie said the moment she shut the car door. She noticed Sam was in the back.

Tom pulled away from the curb. “What’s going on?”

“I’m meant to be staying at my father’s since my mum’s in hospital. I don’t know why the hospital had to interfere. Why can’t they mind their own business?”

“Does that mean you’re asking if you can crash at my place tonight?” Tom asked.

“Yeah. Do you mind?”

Tom shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. Who was on your verandah?”

“Some woman who wants to put me in a foster home.”

“What?” Tom and Sam exclaimed together.

“They don’t want me to stay home alone. I guess they’re worried something might happen to me. It’s not like I’m a little kid.”

“Do you think if you talked it over with them they’d let you stay at your home? Explain you don’t need a babysitter or something,” Sam asked.

“I wasn’t going to stick around long enough for her to give me a definite no. It’s okay. I’ll just pretend we’re at war and it’s… what did they call it decades ago… dark or something. You know, when they were being bombed. That way no one will know I’m at home.”

“Blackout. They reduced the amount of lights in towns and cities to make it harder for enemy aircraft to find targets of a night. They even tarred the windows in some buildings,” Sam said.

Ellie grinned. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Night vision goggles made the tactic obsolete,” Sam said.

“Alright. Now we’re getting to the ‘too much info’ point.”

“Sorry,” Sam muttered.

Ellie turned in her seat so she could see Sam. “That’s okay. So, how was your afternoon with Lauren?” She laughed when Sam blushed. “That good, huh?”

Tom rested his hand on her thigh. “Stop teasing my brother.”

Ellie grinned. “Spoil sport. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’ll ask Lauren later. She’ll tell me.” She laughed at the odd sound that came from the back seat. Her laughter dried up when Tom’s hand began to make lazy movements. She looked over at him and their eyes clashed for a second before his attention returned to the road.

She’d have to say one thing for Heather. Turning up on her doorstep like that had made her stop worrying about her mum for a bit.

Ellie didn’t have time to talk to Lauren until lunch the next day. She couldn’t ask her about her afternoon with Sam since he joined them, with his offering of food. She also didn’t have time to ask her in the afternoon as Tom gave her a lift to the hospital.

She wriggled into cargo pants, slipping her skirt off. “Keep your eyes on the road,” she muttered when Tom glanced her way again.

“Then stop doing a striptease beside me,” Tom said.

She pulled a baggy shirt on over her school shirt and sat up straighter so she could do up her cargo pants. Glancing in the back, she was relieved to see that Sam still stared out the side window. “All dressed.” She slipped the two medium sized bottles of scotch into the pockets of her pants and slung her bag over her shoulder, ready to get out the moment they reached the hospital. “What’s that look mean?” Ellie stared at Tom.

He shook his head. “Ask me again later if you really want to know.”

“Fine,” Ellie muttered as she unbuckled. “An hour?” When Tom nodded, she leaned forward, kissed him and got out of the car. She watched as he drove off.

Ellie headed to her mum’s room, not needing to ask directions this time. She paused in the doorway. The colours of the bruising looked even more spectacular today. Sharon’s eyes opened and she tried to smile when she saw Ellie. She winced. Her swollen lips had several cuts on them. Ellie walked into the room to stand beside her mum.

“I won’t ask how you’re feeling. You look dreadful.” Ellie glanced around before she pulled one of the bottles out. She cracked the seal then handed it to her mum.

“I won’t be writing you out of the will now.” Sharon took a large drink. “They’re trying to kill me in here.” She eyed the bottle. “Is this all you brought?”

Ellie shook her head and pulled out the other bottle. She broke the seal, tightened the lid and slid it under the blankets. “You didn’t get them from me.” She grinned.

“That woman was here again today.”

“Who?”

“The one from last night who thought you were a little kid.”

“Ahh, Heather. Yeah, she was bugging me at home too.”

“Said she hadn’t heard from you. She tracked down your father and he rang me wanting to know what was going on. I told them we decided school was too important for you to ditch a couple of weeks of it. You’ve only got a bit over a month left. Bloody idiots.”

“Thanks Mum. What else did you tell her?”

“Told her I was too exhausted to talk. Pressed the buzzer for a nurse and they threw her out.”

Ellie grinned. “Nice.”

“That’s what I thought. Interfering bitch. And your father wouldn’t stop nagging either. So what’s the plan, Ellie?”

“Good question. I’m working on that.” She glanced at the time. “I’ll have to leave in about twenty minutes.”

“You be back tomorrow? These bottles will be well and truly empty by then.” Sharon slid the one she held under the blanket. “Red alert,” Sharon whispered, her eyes sliding past Ellie.

Ellie turned and nearly groaned when she saw Heather standing in the doorway. She turned back to her mum and winked. “It won’t take me long to get that for you Mum. I’ll run and you’ll barely notice me gone.”

Sharon nodded. “Well don’t take too long.” She looked towards Heather. “Come in then. You might as well, rather than clutter up the doorway.”

“I need to talk to you, Elizabeth,” Heather said when Ellie tried to walk past her.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Try not to wear Mum out while I’m gone.”

“Like you rang me today with your father’s phone number?” Heather continued to stand in the doorway.

Ellie shrugged. “It didn’t seem much point when I had a change of plans. Why would you need me to ring you with his number when I wasn’t going to stay there after all?”

“And yet when I rang him, he didn’t have a clue you were going to stay with him.”

“Of course not. He’s my dad, isn’t he? I should be able to rock up whenever I like. And a good thing I didn’t ring him and bother him when we figured out it’d be better to stick around here. Can we finish this conversation when I get back?”

Heather continued to stand in the doorway. “Where are you staying now? Your father is extremely concerned and his wife said you really shouldn’t be left at home alone. That you aren’t even capable of preparing a simple meal without setting the kitchen on fire.”

She really, really hated Pamela. “I’m staying with friends.”

“Your mother didn’t seem to know where you were staying.”

Ellie turned to her mum. “I wasn’t sure if you were properly awake when I told you. Guess you weren’t. I’m staying with Sam. You remember Sam, don’t you Mum? The super geeky one.”

“Of course,” Sharon said, even though she hadn’t met him.

Ellie faced Heather again. “There you go, all sorted. No problems at all.”

“Is Sam your boyfriend?”

Ellie laughed. “No way! You have to be joking.”

“How can I be joking or otherwise when I wouldn’t have a clue what the situation is? What is Sam’s phone number?”

“Ellie, have you forgotten you’re meant to be running an errand for me? It’s not like I can get out of this bed and do things for myself. Really, some people are so inconsiderate.” Sharon glared at Heather.

“Yep. Sorry Mum.” Ellie pushed past Heather and dashed for the stairs. She didn’t want to wait for the elevator and risk Heather catching up with her. She didn’t think the woman would be able to run very fast in the high heels she wore, but just in case, she didn’t slow down until she was on the ground floor. A glance around showed her the way was still clear and she headed outside to wait for Tom, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw he waited for her.

“What’s up with you?” Tom asked when he started the car.

“I swear I’m going to start getting more exercise. I’m so unfit.” She buckled up and looked in the mirror. “God! Could I be any redder in the face?” She glanced in the back seat. “Hey, where’s Sam?”

“Home. Where do you want to go?”

“I guess I should go home. Oh, and before I forget, what was it you wouldn’t discuss with me earlier?”

Tom was silent a few minutes before he spoke. “Should you be taking alcohol up to your mother? It might give her a chance to dry out.”

“Don’t start on me.”

“I just thought-”

“You don’t know anything about it. I want her to stay in hospital and get better. Not try and drag herself home so she can drink herself senseless. If I take her up some alcohol every day that’ll help keep her in there. Until she’s willing to admit she has a problem no one can help her because she doesn’t believe she needs help.”

“You shouldn’t have to deal with this, Ellie.”

“It’s my choice. I could have let my father put me in a boarding school and forgot all about Mum. At least if I stay I not only get to run my own life, but I can make sure there’s food for her when she’s hungry, her bills are paid and she has a clean house to live in.”

“It’s not your responsibility.”

“Whose responsibility is it?”

“Hers.”

Ellie shook her head. “If someone was disabled would you say it was their fault?” Tom parked the car in front of Ellie’s house. “Drive along two houses.”

He moved the car without questioning her. “That’s completely different.”

“No. It isn’t. Alcoholism is a sickness. She can’t help it. And until she figures out there’s a problem, we can’t help her either. She’d just kick me out of her life like she did Dad. And then where would she be?”

“Can I come in?”

Ellie stared at Tom for a couple of minutes before she shook her head. “Best not to.”

“Is it because of what I said about the alcohol?”

“No.” She smiled wryly. “I might not let you go home once I get you inside.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

Ellie laughed. “Definitely not a good idea. The two of us alone, in the dark.”

“That doesn’t exactly bother you when you’re at my place.”

“We’re not alone. Your parents are upstairs and your brother is in the room next door. Are you picking me up tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah.” Tom leaned close and kissed her.

Ellie reluctantly pulled away. “See you in the morning.” She glanced around to make sure Heather was nowhere in sight before she hopped out of the car.

As soon as she was inside, Ellie quickly made something to eat and drew all the curtains. Before it was completely dark she showered and hung a heavy blanket across her window so she could have her laptop on without the light showing outside. Plugging her headphones into the laptop, she put them on. Next she checked her emails and had to smother her laughter when she clicked on the link one of her friends had sent her of a swearing cockatoo on Youtube. Then she signed into her messenger. She was barely signed in when she had six windows pop up all at once wanting to talk to her. She typed brb in all the windows, except for the one that would be the quickest to chat to, and set her status as busy. She quickly talked to and said goodbye to most of them.

Ellie says: Hey.

Society of Australian Magicians says: How are you?

Ellie says: Okay.

Society of Australian Magicians says: Was just checking. Lauren said a really big chocolate cake would cheer you up.

Ellie says: lol. And I bet she’s expecting me to share it with her.

Society of Australian Magicians says: Probably
:D


Ellie says: I wouldn’t turn it down
;)


Society of Australian Magicians says: Done.

Ellie says: Really?

Society of Australian Magicians says: Yeah.

Ellie says: Thanks. You’re brilliant
:D


Ellie says: I’ve g2g. Still have your brother and Lauren waiting to talk to me. I get confused if I have too many conversations going at once. End up typing in the wrong window *goes red with embarrassment*

Society of Australian Magicians says: lol.

Ellie says: Buh-bye.

Society of Australian Magicians says: Night.

TW says: What is taking you so long to answer? Longest brb I’ve ever experienced.

Ellie says: Give me a chance. I’m a wanted woman
:D


TW says: Now that I’d believe. I’m sure I’ve seen a poster of you in a police station.

Ellie says: Very funny.

TW says:
:D


Ellie says: Lauren’s waiting to talk to me.

TW says: I’m waiting to talk to you.

Ellie says: I’m worth the wait, aren’t I?

TW says: Hmmm.

Ellie says: Think carefully how you answer now- Lisbeth.

TW says: Hurry up and finish talking to Lauren.

Ellie says: Will do.

Ellie says: Back.

Miaow is cat for PLEASE says: Finally *rolls eyes* what took you so long?

Ellie says: Haven’t been online a lot lately. Everyone wanted to know if I was still alive.

Miaow is cat for PLEASE says: I’ve g2g to bed in about ten. I have so much to tell you and ask you.

Ellie says: brb. Sorry. Just knocked a cup off my desk. Better check to see if it’s in one piece. At least I’d finished drinking it.

Miaow is cat for PLEASE says: Hurry.

Ellie stubbed her toe as she got up from the desk and the chair nearly hit the floor. She caught it but kicked the cup across the floor. Opening her mouth to swear, she froze when she heard a knock on the front door. She fought the urge to check out the window and held her breath. Another knock.

“I know someone is in there. I heard a noise,” Heather called out.

Ellie carefully sat back at her laptop and sent the same message to both Lauren and Tom.

Ellie says: Very important you don’t send another message until I tell you it’s all clear. Don’t even acknowledge this message.