Chapter 3
Ellie
T here was no way Ellie wasn’t going to get the lead in the spring play. There was no doubt in her mind. It was more than just her normal confidence. She had done her absolute best at the audition and was eagerly awaiting the results to be posted on the theater door. Ellie had already memorized all the lines for the part she wanted and was ready to start practice at the drop of a hat.
“What time is it?”
“Thirty seconds after the last time you asked,” Dylan snarked. They were sitting outside the gym across from the theater. Or, well, Dylan was sitting and Ellie was pacing. “You need to chill out before you have a heart attack.”
“I’m not going to have a heart attack.”
“I don’t know why you’re so nervous. You’re a given for Ariel.”
Ellie had been aiming to play Ariel in her high school’s performance since the play was announced in August. She loved the fact that it was a female lead with little kissing from a boy.
“What time is it?”
“Ellie,” Dylan groaned. “Stop it.”
Just as Ellie was about to protest, the theater door opened. Their teacher, Alice Bowan, stepped out and tacked a piece of paper to the bulletin board by the door. She smiled over at Ellie and winked before disappearing back into the theater. Ellie darted over to the list and didn’t have to look far for her name.
“ Yes ,” Ellie squealed as she saw her name by Ariel’s. “And look,” she pointed at Dylan’s name on the list too, “you got Flounder.”
“Hell yeah. I’m a fish.” They high-fived, excited over their roles. “This is gonna be great.”
“I’m going to go practice. You want to join?”
Dylan hesitated, and Ellie knew the answer without her saying anything. “I would, but I’m meeting Courtney after school.”
Courtney Huntsman was Dylan’s unofficial girlfriend. The two were together often yet never committed to anything. Ellie didn’t understand it, but whatever worked for them worked for her. She waved Dylan off.
“It’s fine. Go have a social life.”
After saying their goodbyes, Ellie made her way into the empty theater. School was out for the day and everyone had gone home except the stragglers who were stopping by to check the list on the board. Ellie could hear their excitement on the other side of the door as she walked up the stage and over to the piano. Even after taking piano lessons for years, Ellie still preferred to play by ear. Without any sheet music, she started to play her favorite song from her favorite musical.
“Winner Takes it All” had captivated Ellie from the first time she’d heard her mother belt it out on stage. She nearly broke the Mamma Mia! CD her parents had gifted her from listening to it so much. And when streaming services became popular, the song often topped Ellie’s top songs of the year. Ellie belted out the song, completely lost in her own world.
Being on stage and singing made Ellie feel alive. It didn’t matter if there was an audience or not; she just loved performing. And the way her voice echoed throughout the open theater with no one else in there.
Or well, she assumed no one was in there. But somehow, Sadie had snuck into the back of the theater. She was sitting in the back row, her eyes locked on Ellie. Ellie was used to performing for an audience, but something about the intense gaze Sadie was giving her made Ellie nervous.
Why is she here? Why is she watching me? Doesn’t she have someplace to be that isn’t here, watching me?
Ellie’s mind was running rampant trying to figure out why Sadie was there. But no answers were coming. Sadie was her friend. Sort of. Maybe she just wanted to support Ellie. But then why would she stay in the dark shadows of the theater and not come up front so Ellie could see her better? Or at least say something to her. She wished the theater wasn’t so dark so she could see Sadie’s eyes better. Maybe then she could tell what she was thinking.
As the song ended, Ellie looked down at the keys and let out a sigh of relief. She took a beat before getting the nerve to look back at Sadie. But instead, Ellie only caught a glimpse of the theater door closing.
Shrugging, Ellie picked up her backpack she’d discarded by the piano bench. She took the side exit of the theater that led directly to the parking lot.
Where she nearly ran into Sadie.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
The two were frozen in place, seemingly unable to move for some unknown reason. Ellie nervously adjusted her backpack hanging loosely off her shoulder and smiled at Sadie. To her delight, Sadie smiled back.
“You sounded great.”
“Thanks,” Ellie quickly responded. “I got the lead in the play.”
“I saw.”
“Oh.” Ellie nervously bit her lip, trying to think of something—anything—to keep the conversation going. “I was worried I sounded so bad I made you leave.”
“Never.” Sadie smiled, blushing as she briefly looked down at the ground and then back up at Ellie. “I should get to practice.”
Without another word, Sadie darted past Ellie and made a beeline for the softball field. Ellie watched her go. There was something dorky and cute about Sadie that captivated her in ways Ellie couldn’t understand.
Maybe I should talk to Mason about this.
Of her two older sisters, Mason was the one who Ellie went to when she needed advice she didn’t want to ask her parents about. She loved her parents and told them everything, but sometimes she didn’t want them to know everything right away. Especially in this case. They would drive her crazy with questions if she showed any indication that she liked Sadie.
Not that that was what was going on. Ellie still didn’t know why she was suddenly having feelings for Sadie. If that was what the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach was.
Oy.
Shaking her head, Ellie headed to her car before driving home. She needed more time to decipher the meaning behind her new feelings before discussing them with Mason. Especially since, despite it being well-intentioned, Mason would pepper her with questions Ellie didn’t have answers to yet. And she would undoubtedly tell Chase, who would tell Charlie, who would tell Delaney, and the last thing Ellie needed was Sadie finding out she might like her through that grapevine.
“This is why I don’t date,” she muttered as she got out of the car and headed inside the back door.
There were six cubbies in the mudroom, each labeled with a different name. Ellie placed her backpack and jacket into the cubby with her name on it before putting her shoes into the smaller cubby at the bottom. Walking around the corner into the kitchen, Ellie found her mama standing at the kitchen counter with a pen poised over a piece of paper.
“Hey, Mama.”
“Hey, baby.” Vera held out her arm as Ellie went in for a hug. She gave the best hugs, not that Ellie would ever tell Isla that. Both of her moms were amazing, but she was definitely a mama’s girl. “How was school?”
“Great. I got Ariel!”
Vera squealed, “Ellie! I’m so proud of you, baby.” She bear-hugged Ellie as she savored how safe and loved she was in her mama’s arms. “I knew you were going to get that part. You’ll be great, Ellie.” Vera kissed her forehead. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Mama.” Ellie took a piece of candy out of the bowl on the counter. “Is Mom home? I want to tell her.”
“No, she’s working late,” she said with a sigh. “Hey, how about you go check with Brayden and Everleigh and see if they want to go to the bar for dinner at six.”
“Okay.”
“Oh,” Vera added, “Bridget is upstairs too. Can you make sure Brayden’s door is open, and if not, remind him it’s supposed to be?”
Ellie chuckled. “Of course.”
Bounding up the stairs, Ellie made her way to the second floor where their bedrooms were. Her parents were generally chill about them having people over, even significant others. Granted, it had only been Brayden who had brought home a girlfriend. But so far, they hadn’t been caught doing anything they shouldn’t be doing.
Arriving at Everleigh’s slightly closed door, Ellie knocked and waited for her to tell her to come in before entering.
“Hey, sis.”
“Hey, Evie.” Ellie sat down on the floor beside Everleigh, who was watching a movie. Her service dog, Willow, lay on the floor beside her, and Ellie patted the dog on the head. Everleigh had type 1 diabetes, so Willow alerted her to high or low blood sugar.
“Guess what?”
“You got Ariel?” Everleigh’s excitement was palpable, and it made Ellie beyond thankful she had such great relationships with all her siblings. Well, she was still working on her relationship with Blake but it would happen in time. “Yay!”
“Will you help me practice my lines?”
“Duh,” Everleigh laughed.
“Oh, hey, Mama wants to know if we wanna go to the bar for dinner. Is that okay with you?”
“Yep.”
Ellie knew it felt weird to ask her twelve-year-old sister to the bar, but Straight to Ale had been her mother’s restaurant since before they were born. They had probably eaten more meals there than at their kitchen table over the years. It was a major hub of the Cove, and Ellie loved eating there.
“I’m going to go check with Brayden. Mama said dinner at six, so we’ll probably leave here at fifteen till.”
“Okay!”
Making her way to Brayden’s room, Ellie knocked and waited for permission to enter. Years ago, she had learned not to enter her brother’s room without his approval. It only took being scarred one time for her to learn that lesson.
“Yeah?” Brayden called out behind the closed door.
“Can I come in?”
“Um,” there was the sound of scrambling on the other side of the door, “hang on.”
A few seconds later, Brayden opened the bedroom door. Ellie arched her eyebrow at him, and he instantly knew she was about to call him out to their mom. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the bedroom before closing the door behind them.
“You know you’re not supposed to have the door closed. Hi, Bridget,” Ellie waved at her, sitting on the bed.
“Hey.”
Ellie playfully pinched his arm. “What are you doing with the door closed?”
“Nothing.”
“I’m sure.”
“We were just doing homework.”
“Mmm,” she jokingly narrowed her eyes at him. “Biology?”
“English lit,” Bridget chimed in.
“Well, whatever is going on, just don’t get caught by Mama. Or Everleigh.”
“We’re not doing anything, Ellie,” Brayden groaned. “Gosh, stop being my third mom.”
Ellie held up her hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m on your team here. I’m trying to protect you from getting caught.”
“We won’t get caught unless you tell Mama.”
Brayden arched his eyebrow at her, silently asking her to not rat him out. Which Ellie wouldn’t. She was a better sister than that. They all had the safe sex talk, even Everleigh, and she knew Brayden knew not to mess things up by getting Bridget pregnant.
“Fine.” Ellie held her head high as she walked over to the door. She dramatically opened it all the way as she stood in the doorway and faced them. “Dinner at the bar at six. Bridget, you can come too.”
“Sounds great.”
Brayden nearly pushed her out of the room as he shut the door behind her. But this time, she noticed how he left it halfway open. She was proud of her brother. He was a good kid, even if sometimes he didn’t always think before he did something.
Pushing open her bedroom door, Ellie found their dog, Holly, asleep on her bed. She often slept in Ellie’s room, as it was the one over the furnace and always the warmest. Holly wagged her tail at Ellie as she lifted her head. Ellie lay down beside her, cuddling with the dog as Holly licked her face.
“Hey, sweet girl.”
It wasn’t until she laid down that Ellie realized how sleepy she was. Maybe a nap before dinner would be good.