The Ugly Stepsister

by Avril Sabine

  Tom dragged his eyes back to Ellie. “Good?”

  “At neutral expressions.”

  Tom chuckled. “What were you expecting? That I’d run screaming to my car?”

  Ellie shook her head. “Nah, you’re too stubborn for that.” She picked her way through the mess to her bedroom door. Unlocking it, she dumped her bags inside then closed the door again. Before she could move away from her door, Tom put his arms around her and pulled her close.

  “Is this what you come home to every Sunday evening?”

  “We’re not having this discussion.”

  “One question only.” Tom stared at her, waiting.

  “Fine. One question. No more.”

  Tom nodded. “Is it?”

  “Yeah.”

  Tom’s lips brushed against hers. “Where do we start?”

  Ellie grinned. “I hope that question was meant to be about cleaning up.”

  Tom laughed. “Yeah. I know exactly where I plan to start when it comes to-”

  Ellie placed her fingers against his lips. “Don’t get me distracted. It’ll take hours to clean this mess up.” She stepped out of Tom’s arms and headed for the kitchen. She pulled out two garbage bags and handed one to Tom.

  Ellie was surprised that Tom stuck around until the house was spotless, even helping her clean the bathroom. She put the last dish back in the kitchen cupboard before she turned to him. “Thanks.”

  Tom shrugged. “What do you plan to have for dinner? The place is empty again.”

  “I’ve got some packet soup in my bedroom.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  Ellie grinned. “And now you lose your neutral expression.”

  “What can I say? My father’s a chef. We’ve been raised to think food is the meaning of life.” He returned her grin.

  “You won’t get any arguments from me. Not about the food your family cooks. Well, your brother and father. I haven’t tasted anything you’ve cooked yet.”

  “I rarely cook.”

  “Because?”

  “There are people who like to do it more than I do.”

  “As good as it’ll get around here is a cup of soup. You interested?”

  “I’ll put the kettle on if you get the soup.” Tom filled the kettle at the sink.

  Ellie grabbed the box of soup from her room and took it back to the kitchen. Tom had placed two mugs on the bench while she’d been gone. Opening the box, she took out two packets and tipped the contents into the mugs. Tom wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her neck as they waited for the kettle to boil.

  “How long have you been home?”

  Ellie turned, Tom’s arms falling away from her. “Couple of hours, I guess.” She grabbed the Panadol off the top of the fridge, handing them to her mum. She was relieved to see her mum wore a dress rather than her ratty dressing gown and overly short nightie.

  Sharon swallowed three and dropped the card of tablets onto the island bench. “Who are you?”

  Tom stepped forward, holding out his hand. “Tom Wallace.”

  Sharon shook his hand. “You Ellie’s boyfriend?”

  “Ahh…” he glanced over to Ellie who grinned at his discomfort. He turned back to Sharon. “I guess.”

  “I didn’t think it was that difficult a question. How did she meet you?”

  “We go to the same school.”

  “I didn’t know they had a special education unit there.” Sharon spied the packet of soup. “Make me one, Ellie?”

  Ellie took out another mug. “He’s a swimmer, Mum. People that do sports aren’t expected to do as well at school.”

  “I-” Tom began but stopped when both Ellie and Sharon burst out laughing. He shook his head instead. “So do I get a pass or a fail?”

  Sharon shrugged. “It’s only the first test. I don’t start marking until they’re all completed.”

  Tom nodded. “Fair enough.”

  Sharon took the mug Ellie handed her. “I don’t mind this one, Ellie. He’s actually got a sense of humour.” She headed to the sofa and dropped onto it. “Turn the TV on will you, Ellie?”

  Ellie handed Tom a mug and picked up the other mug before she headed over to turn on the television. “Leave your keycard out for me in the morning? I need to go shopping.”

  Sharon nodded. “Grab toilet paper too. We’re down to the last roll.”

  Ellie nodded and then looked over to Tom. “Coming?” She headed to her room.

  Tom glanced towards Sharon before he followed her. When Ellie closed and locked the door behind them, he said, “Should I ask why you’re locking us in?”

  Ellie grinned. “Because Mum is likely to come bursting in here in the hope of embarrassing you.”

  “Do you always go shopping Monday afternoon?”

  Ellie nodded, then took a sip of her soup. “Yeah. I only get a week’s worth of groceries.”

  “How do you normally get it home?”

  “Walk.”

  “You carry it all at once?”

  Ellie shook her head. “What do I look like? Superwoman? I do several trips.”

  “Do you want a lift?”

  “Only if you’re not doing anything else. I’ve been taking care of myself for years, Tom.”

  He put his mug on the duchess and placed hers next to his. “I know.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m not asking if you need my help, I’m asking if you mind me tagging along with you.”

  “Oh you’re good. What are you planning to be? A diplomat?”

  Tom shook his head. “Nah, I’ll leave that to my mother. I’m planning on doing a Bachelor of Exercise Science/Bachelor of Business focused on sport management.”

  “That’s a mouthful. How long will that take you to finish?”

  “Four years.”

  “That’s not too bad. Have you figured out which uni and what grades you need?”

  Tom nodded. “How did we get onto this conversation?”

  Ellie laughed. “It happens. What I want to know about is your comment about your mother and being a diplomat.”

  “She’s currently on leave or whatever they call it. But she’s worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for a long time. When we were younger we stayed in a couple of different countries. She’s currently deciding if she wants to continue with the work. Now that Dad’s career has taken off, he’d like to stay in Australia for a while.”

  “I didn’t know diplomats still existed. I thought it was a job that ceased to exist decades ago. I was only joking when I asked if you were going to be one.

  “Nah, they’re not extinct yet.” Tom yawned.

  Ellie rested her head against his shoulder. “I guess you should go home soon.”

  “I could probably be convinced to stay a little longer.”

  Ellie laughed, looking up at him. “I bet you could.”

  Tom grinned. “I take it that’s a no?”

  Ellie kissed him. “Are you giving me a lift to school tomorrow?”

  Tom nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

  “Can I please sleep in? Pick me up at quarter past?”

  “That’ll only give you another fifteen minutes.”

  “Please?”

  “Okay.” Tom kissed her and the conversation ended temporarily. He drew back reluctantly. “Still no?”

  Ellie smiled. “Still no.” She moved away to unlock the door, walking out to the car with him. Sharon was no longer in the lounge room.

  Tom leaned against his car, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. “What’ve you got for breakfast tomorrow? More soup?”

  “Breakfast bar. Stop worrying about me. I’ve been-”

  Tom interrupted. “I know, taking care of yourself for years.” He kissed her before she could comment. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He let her go, turned her and gently pushed her towards the house before he got into his car.

  Striding to the house, Ellie stopped when she reached the doorway, turning to watch Tom drive away. Smiling, she locked
the door and got ready for bed.

  * * *

  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.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “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 anyth
ing 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.