Chapter 7
Ellie
A fter a successful trip to the thrift store earlier for new comic books, Ellie had decided to invite herself over to Blake’s house for the night. Well, more specifically, to Alexis’s house so they could read the new comics together. Their nine-year-old daughter Harper was also thrilled with the new selection Ellie had bought. They’d all sat around the living room talking about them while they ate pizza and listened to Taylor Swift.
But as the night wore on, Alexis and Blake had to put Harper and her nine-month-old twin siblings to bed, leaving Ellie alone in the living room as they did so. Curling up on the recliner, Ellie scrolled mindlessly through her phone, checking her various social media accounts to see if anything exciting was happening.
There wasn’t.
Not until her Snapchat notification went off. She checked it and immediately smiled when she saw it was from Sadie. Sadie had sent one of those emojis that looked like the person. It was of Sadie inside a heart, smiling.
Just like Ellie was at the sight of it.
Ellie couldn’t get the image of Sadie in that navy dress out of her mind. Sadie looked stunning; the dress fit her perfectly and complimented every part of her body—not that Ellie noticed.
Except she totally did.
Ugh. Girl. Stop.
She knew better than to keep up her fantasies about Sadie. They were pointless, especially if Sadie was going to prom with Trevor. And besides, Ellie didn’t even know if Sadie liked girls. Growing up in the Cove with gay parents and two gay sisters with a ton of gay friends made Ellie’s view on life different from that of a normal teen. It wasn’t a big deal to her to like girls, which she most definitely did.
Hell, Ellie hadn’t even come out to her parents or anyone in her family. It just was what it was and no one ever said anything about it. Ellie knew how special that was, and she thanked God every day for a family that supported each other so much.
Alexis came back into the living room, flopping on the couch across from Ellie.
“Whew.”
“Hard time getting them down?”
“Harper and Reese were fine, but Archer is still fighting it. Blake has him now trying to get him down.”
“Brutal,” Ellie commented, still scrolling on her phone.
“Hopefully, he’ll be asleep soon, and we can start a movie.”
Ellie sat her phone down on the arm of the chair. “Blake said we could watch the new Nun movie.”
“I’m game,” Alexis yawned as she pulled one of the throw pillows to her chest and turned on the TV. She was a pretty woman, kind and sweet, and would do anything for anyone. Blake was beyond lucky to have her as a wife, and her kids had the best mom ever.
Well, besides Ellie’s parents. She was pretty partial in considering they were the best parents.
Down the hall, Ellie heard Blake quietly open and close the door to the nursery. Alexis turned the volume down slightly on the TV, making sure it was low enough not to wake the kids. Picking up her phone, Ellie turned off the ringer.
And noticed a new snap from Sadie.
When she opened it, blood rose to her cheeks, and her palms began to sweat. She held her thumb on the screen to keep the picture from disappearing as she tried to process what she was seeing.
What the hell is happening?
Ellie tried not to say anything out loud, not wanting Alexis to know she was currently looking at a topless picture of Sadie.
A very hot picture of Sadie…
“ Eleanor ,” Blake shrieked, making Ellie drop the phone to her lap.
“Blake,” Alexis scolded in her mom voice. “We just got the kids to sleep.”
But Blake wasn’t listening to her. She pointed her finger at Ellie, and her mouth hung open. “What are you looking at?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“It better not be what I think.”
“It’s not.”
“Wait,” Alexis narrowed her eyes at them as she sat up on the edge of the couch, “what’s going on?”
Ellie looked up at Blake, pleading with her not to say anything. But Blake had crossed over from fun sister mode to protective mama mode. She became a mini-Isla when that happened. Blake crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at Alexis.
“Ellie has boob pics on her phone.”
“What?” Alexis shrieked at a quieter octave than Blake had earlier. She was instantly on her feet, snatching the phone out of Ellie’s lap before pausing and looking at Blake. “What am I doing? She’s not my kid.”
Blake took the phone from Alexis. “Yeah, but she’s my little sister. Why are you sending those messages?”
“I wasn’t.” Ellie couldn’t remember a time she was as embarrassed as she currently was. Maybe the time she got her period during her ballet recital, but this was running a very close second. “Will you let me explain, please?”
“Wait.” Plopping onto the couch, Blake sat the phone between her and Alexis as she rubbed her face with her hands. She took in a few deep breaths before looking at Ellie. “Proceed.”
“Thank you.” Taking a few deep breaths of her own, Ellie stood in front of Alexis and Blake as she explained what happened. “I had just opened the message when Blake walked into the room. I didn’t ask her to send it and I swear, Blake, I’ve never sent that kind of picture to anyone. Ever. I promise.”
“I believe you. And I’m sorry I overreached.”
“Well, you are Isla Mackenzie’s child,” Ellie tried to tease, and it made them all laugh.
“Touché.”
“And I don’t know if this makes things better or worse, but I don’t even know if it was meant for me.”
“Do you want it to be meant for you?” Alexis’s question wasn’t judgmental; in fact, it was something Ellie could imagine Vera asking. After she got over the shock of the situation, of course.
“I,” Ellie searched for answers she knew she didn’t have, “I don’t know.”
“Come here, sweetie.” Holding out her hand, Alexis invited Ellie to sit between them. Ellie put her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands as Alexis rubbed her back. “It’s okay; you haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I just feel so bad. If that picture wasn’t meant for me, she must be embarrassed.”
Alexis pulled Ellie closer, and Ellie willingly snuggled up against her. Although the two hadn’t been particularly close over the years, Ellie always knew Alexis was there for her. She was proving that to Ellie more than Ellie could have ever expected. Ellie rested her head on Alexis’s shoulder.
“You’re a good kid, Ellie, with a big heart. Just like your moms and your sisters.” Alexis kissed her forehead. “I wish I had some words of wisdom to give you, but I feel you’ve learned enough of a lesson with this situation.”
“Oh yeah. Never send nudes on Snapchat.”
“How about we take the last two words out of that sentence, hmm?” Blake was teasing, but Ellie also knew she was serious.
“I won’t send them, I promise.” Ellie sat up a little, while also remaining in Alexis’s warm embrace. “I’ve never even received one until now. So, I really have no idea what to do now. Because, like I said, I don’t think it was for me. I mean, we’re barely friends. Acquaintances, maybe. But not that kind of friends.”
“And you know not to send those pictures, right?” Blake had her Isla mom voice on. “Because you never know who may see them. I know people think Snapchat is secretive because things go away but nothing is really secretive on the internet. Someone could screenshot it and share it with more people and it’s just not good, okay?”
“I know. I hope that doesn’t happen to Sadie.”
“Well, you didn’t screenshot it, did you?” Blake arched an eyebrow.
“God, no.”
“Then hopefully, if she sent it to anyone else, they didn’t either.”
Ellie nodded. “Yeah. So, what do I do now?”
Alexis and Blake looked back and forth at each other for a moment before Alexis responded.
“I think the best thing to do here is to forget you saw it and never bring it up to Sadie.”
“Unless she says something,” Blake added with a shrug. “Maybe. I really don’t know.”
“Well, look at it this way,” Ellie playfully tapped her sock-covered foot on Blake’s knee. “Now, if this happens to Harper, it won’t be your first experience.”
“Oh, geez,” Alexis laughed as she playfully tickled Ellie. “Don’t remind me that my baby is growing up too fast.”
“Sorry,” Ellie giggled. “So, can we please just watch the movie now?”
“Totally.”
As they watched the movie, Ellie happily stayed snuggled up to Alexis. She felt safe with her sister-in-law, and given their choice of movie, that was a good thing. They quietly screamed, jumped, and laughed throughout the whole movie. By the end, Ellie was too tired to drive home and decided to crash in their guest bedroom.
She had finished getting ready for bed and was about to crawl under the covers when there was a knock at the bedroom door. Blake peeked inside.
“You need anything?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
“Here.” Blake handed her phone back to her, but Ellie was afraid to look at it. “I’m sorry I freaked out.”
“Don’t worry, I did too.”
Blake chuckled. “I bet.”
“Thanks for understanding, sis.”
“Hey,” Blake reached out, tucking Ellie’s hair behind her ear, “that’s what sisters are for.”
Ellie wrapped her arms around Blake, resting her head just under Blake’s chin. “Thanks, sis.”
“Come on. Let me tuck you in.”
Despite being way too old to be tucked in, Ellie didn’t complain. She loved getting closer to Blake. Ellie snuggled under the covers as Blake tucked them in around her and kissed her forehead.
“I love you, Ellie. Sleep well.”
“Love you too.”
“And if you get scared, you know where our room is,” she added with a laugh.
Ellie waited until Blake was out of the room to look at the phone she’d been clutching in her hands. She had a few messages from Dylan and a good night text from each of her parents. But her Snapchat notifications were empty.
Once again, Ellie felt conflicted about the whole situation. If Sadie meant to send that picture to her and Ellie didn’t respond, it could kill any chance Ellie might have to ask Sadie out one day—if she ever got up the nerve.
But on the other hand, if Sadie didn’t mean to send it, then Alexis was right. She should ignore it.
Act like nothing happened.
Easy.
Yeah.
Right.