by Emma Hart
“Okay, thanks. I know I can’t stop the reporting, but PornHub’s homepage isn’t exactly a career aspiration of mine.”
She laughed again. “I have to agree with you on that one. On the other hand, you’re pretty in demand right now, so you could command a pretty penny for it.”
For the first time ever about this situation, I laughed. “You know what? If all else fails, it might be my only career option left.”
“I don’t think so. You can recover from this, especially when the truth comes out. For what it’s worth, my fourteen-year-old niece thinks you’re up there with Jesus. I’m pretty sure she actually prays to you in church. My brother and sister-in-law have no issues with her continuing to watch your channel and they don’t even know it was revenge porn.”
“You didn’t tell them?”
“No, honey. I have a strict client confidentiality clause. I never speak about my work, especially on private cases like this.”
“You can tell them the truth. I don’t mind. And if anyone wanted to leak it to the media, that would be great, too.”
She chuckled. “I’ll keep it in mind. Listen, I’ve got an appointment in five minutes so I have to go. But think about it like this: you have a platform, Elle, and there are millions of impressionable teenagers and preteens who watch your every video. You could turn this around to be a teachable moment and educate people on revenge porn. Every cloud has a silver lining. This might be yours.”
That was an excellent point—and one I hadn’t thought of.
“You’re right. I’ll have a think on it. Thanks, Noelle.”
“You’re welcome, honey. I’ll have this report sent over to you so you can send it to your lawyer.”
“Thanks so much.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll talk soon. Bye!”
“Bye!” I hung up and put my phone down on the bed. Well, I was definitely awake now, so I was going to take a shower, then grab some Tylenol and hope it worked soon.
And continue wondering why the hell anyone would pay thirty thousand dollars to watch me get fucked against the wall of a broom closet.
CHAPTER TEN – THEO
My head was thumping at a million miles an hour, and now I had the worst possible thing for someone with glaring hangover: a nine-year-old talking non-stop.
I really should have thought going to the bar through.
It wasn’t the only thing from last night I should have thought through, either. I really should have considered the ramifications of going back inside to kiss Elle, but I hadn’t been thinking with my head.
No, I had most definitely been thinking with my cock.
My cock was a twat.
“Dad, what’s a sex tape?”
I jerked around, dropping the bread I’d just buttered for her sandwich. “I’m sorry, what?”
She blinked at me innocently. “What’s a sex tape?”
“Where did you hear that?”
She shuffled from side to side. “We watched some of Elle’s videos last night, and someone mentioned a sex tape in the comments. We tried to Google what one was but Amy’s mom has bans on the internet so we couldn’t find out.”
How the hell did you explain that to a nine-year-old?
“Go sit in the living room while I finish your lunch. We’ll talk then, okay?”
“Okay.” Unbothered, she skipped off out of the kitchen, humming whatever song she listened to on repeat right now.
I picked up the slice of bread—that had obviously landed butter side down—and tossed it in the bin. After fixing her sandwich and getting her fruit and a yoghurt, plus some Doritos, I took it to the living room where she was tapping at the screen of her tablet.
“This is the video. You see?” She shoved the screen in my face and pointed.
I set her plate on the coffee table and took it from her. Sure as shit, she was right. There was a comment asking her why she had a sex tape. Surprisingly, it was the only one, but I imagined she probably had people who would remove comments. That or they didn’t get through any filters.
Did YouTube moderate comments? I had no idea.
“Okay, well.” I handed Ari back her tablet and sat next to her on the sofa. “The reason Amy’s mum has controls on the internet is for the same reason I do. There are things that aren’t suitable for you to see.”
“But I’m not a baby.”
“I know you’re not a baby, sweetheart, but there are still things that are inappropriate for children.”
“Like whatever a sex tape is?”
“Exactly that.”
“But what is it? And why does Elle have one?”
I sighed and touched her knee. “Elle’s old boyfriend made a video of her doing… grown-up things… with him. Elle didn’t know he had videoed it, and then he shared it a week or so ago.”
“What kind of grown up things? Like what mommys and daddys do?”
“Exactly that. Very grown-up, private things, that you don’t need to know about yet.”
“Okay. Is that why she’s here? Is she hiding from the mean person?”
“Yes. And, you know, she’s really popular. A lot of people know who she is, so there are a lot of people talking about her. They want her picture and want to know what she has to say about it. So she’s here.”
“Is that why I can’t tell anyone she’s here?”
“You didn’t tell Amy, did you?”
“No. I didn’t want to make Elle mad at me. I want to be her friend.”
“I’m sure she’d like that, too.” I squeezed her knee. “But you don’t need to worry, okay?”
“Okay.” She looked down. “Dad, is Elle okay?”
I smiled sadly. She had such a big heart. “She’s okay, sweetheart. Why don’t I see if she wants to take a walk on the beach later? Then you can see for yourself.”
Ari’s face lit up. “That would be fun! Do you think she’d play in the sand with me?”
“You’d have to ask her. She might not want to, though, so don’t get too upset if she’s too busy.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
“Okay. Do you want to wait here while I run over and see if she wants to?”
“Uh-huh. I’ll be fine. I have food.” She grinned and bit down on a strawberry.
I patted her shoulder and got up. “I’ll be right back.”
“’Kay.”
I headed out the back door and down the deck. Elle was sitting on the back deck of her place with a towel wrapped around her head, and she looked up when she saw me approaching.
Her cheeks flushed pink.
I guess we both remembered last night.
“Hey,” she said softly.
“Hey.” I put my hands in my pockets. “How are you this morning?”
“Me, or my head?”
“The same as me, then. But you don’t have a nine-year-old talking constantly.”
“That is a blessing.”
“Don’t count on it. She wants to be your friend. That’s actually why I’m here.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Does she have you doing her dirty work? Wrapped around her baby finger?”
“Yes, and yes. It’s the occupational hazard of having a cute daughter.” I shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m used to it.”
Elle smiled.
“She watched your videos last night and apparently people have been leaving comments about… you know.”
Her smile disappeared in a split second. “What?”
“For what it’s worth, it seems like the comments are being moderated. There was only one.”
“Shit.” She looked down at her phone and tapped furiously. “There. I’ve told my publicist to sort it out. It’s not right for the younger kids. The comments are so interactive and that’s where I ask them to give me opinions and ideas.”
“Well, yeah. I just had to explain to Ari roughly what a sex tape is and why you have one.”
“No. Fuck. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. You s
houldn’t feel guilty about what you can’t control.”
Elle stood up, leaving her phone on the sofa, and paced. “No, I can feel guilty, and I will. Kids need to be protected. My channel has always been a safe space for them. Now it’s not. That’s on me.”
“No.” I walked up the stairs and grabbed her shoulders, making her stop and look at me. “Elle, it’s on your ex. Not you. He made that video. He released that video. He did this. Not you.”
She swallowed. “He didn’t release the tape.”
“What?”
“He sold it.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat, looking away for a moment before she met my gaze again. “He sold it to a low-rent, piece of shit tabloid who paid him thirty thousand dollars for the privilege of ruining my life.”
My stomach dropped—bolted right to my feet and kept going down. And then—anger. Anger that someone would do that. To her. To someone who was… well, a good person. A genuinely good person who probably never even considered hurting anyone else.
“I’m sorry. When did you find out?”
“Half an hour ago.” She shook her head and the towel worked loose. It fell to the floor, leaving her long, dark hair to fall around her shoulders in a wet, knotty mess. “I spoke to my private investigator. My lawyer has their report now to make sure the tabloid doesn’t sell it on, and I should have proof they paid his account by the end of the day. Then I can report it to the police.”
My jaw clenched.
She peered up at me, a slight hint of amusement in her eyes. “Why do you look so angry?”
“Because I am. You don’t deserve that, Elle.”
“Aw. And here I’d convinced myself you didn’t like me.”
I looked her dead in the eye, dipped my face closer to hers, and said, “I didn’t think I did, either.”
Her cheeks flushed a light pink.
“Anyway, before she comes out and starts a riot, Ari wants to know if you’d join us for a walk on the beach. She also wants you to build a sandcastle with her.”
Elle dipped her head, laughing gently. “She’s sweet. I’d love to. But maybe later when it’s not so hot… and my hangover has disappeared.”
“Now there’s a plan I agree with.” I dropped my hands from her shoulders. “All right. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, honestly. I just want answers, then I can have my say.”
“Your say?”
“I have to address the situation sooner or later. If people are leaving comments and my younger viewers are seeing it, that’s a problem.” She turned when her phone buzzed, and she grabbed it. “Good.”
“What?”
“My publicist is going through and shutting comments off on my videos. That won’t be a problem for now. And now I’m wondering why that wasn’t done before.” Her jaw ticked with frustration before she sighed. “Well, it’s done now. It can’t be changed.”
I cupped the side of her face, gently brushing my thumb over the soft skin of her cheek. “You’ll get this under control.”
“Why are you being so nice to me? You didn’t like me three days ago. Now you’re kissing me and cupping my cheek.”
“Well, there was a lot of alcohol involved in the kissing. Believe me, I don’t go around kissing people just for the sake of kissing.”
“That makes me feel so good,” she said sarcastically. “Thanks.”
“I didn’t mean it like—oh, bugger. It came out totally wrong.” I rubbed my hand down my face. “I kissed you on an impulse, one that was likely helped along by all the beer. But I kissed you because I wanted to, Elle.”
“Oh.”
“You have to realize I don’t really date. At all. Ari is my sole responsibility, and sometimes, being Dad is entirely who I am. Last night, you reminded me what it was like to be Theo. Dad me wouldn’t have kissed you, but I’m glad that I did.”
She smiled, pushing her wet hair away from her face. “Well, I have to admit, you’re not so bad. As Dad or Theo.”
I returned her smile and stepped forward. “Now, talking of being dad, I’ve left my child home alone while I came to do her dirty work. Come over when you’re ready to go for that walk.”
Elle wrapped her arms around her body and nodded, her eyes shining. “I will.”
“See you later.” I left her on the deck and jogged back to my house. Ari was still sitting on the sofa, her face covered in Nutella.
I had no idea how this child got in such a mess eating something as simple as a chocolate spread sandwich.
She looked up the moment I walked in. “What did she say? Is she coming?”
Grinning, I nodded. “She’s going to come over when she’s ready, so just be a little patient, okay?”
She sighed dramatically. “I suppose I can try.”
“Oh, go and wash that mess off your face, will you?”
***
“She’s here! She’s here!”
I winced as Arielle’s shriek pierced my skull. “All right, all right, calm down.”
“But she’s here!”
“I know she’s here. Aliens on Mars knows she’s here.” I ruffled her hair as I headed for the back door where she was waiting.
“Are there aliens on Mars?”
“No idea. Ask Aunt Elsie. She’ll know.” I opened the sliding door. “Come on then!”
Elle raised her eyebrows. “Oh, God. She’s not obsessed with aliens either, is she?”
“No. Not yet, at least.”
“Elle!” Ari rushed across the room with a bucket and spade in each hand. “I brought you a bucket!”
Elle pressed a hand to her chest, pretending to be delighted. “Oh, my gosh! Thank you so much. I was just thinking that I didn’t have a bucket to make a sandcastle.”
Ari grinned and held it out to her. “Here you go. You can borrow my spare one.”
“You are so lovely. Thank you. It’s perfect.” She dutifully took the bucket and spade. “Shall we go? Where’s the best spot for sandcastles?”
“It’s the sand! Not too wet, not too dry. C’mon!” She snatched up Elle’s hand and all but dragged the poor woman down the deck.
“Ari! Let her walk!” I called, closing the door behind me.
“It’s fine!” Elle yelled back with laughter in her voice. “It’s fine!”
It was not fine.
Elle, in keeping with everything I learned about her last night, tripped on the dry sand after a particularly insistent tug by Ari and landed on her knees.
At least it was sand. Not even Elle could hurt herself on sand.
Probably.
“Good spot!” Ari plopped herself on the ground next to Elle. “Perfect sand!”
Elle looked at me and shrugged. I laughed from where I was, still several feet away from them. It wasn’t exactly the walk I’d envisioned, but Ari was happy, and I knew she was worried that Elle was sad.
She might not fully understand what Elle was going through, but she had the most sensitive little soul. She was still young enough to be ignorant of the cruelties of the world, and even though one of those had been shown to her today, she’d responded in the way everyone should respond.
Not with anger—not like me.
But with a good heart and kindness.
“What are you building?” I asked, sitting down between them.
“A sandcastle. Duh.” Ari rolled her eyes.
“Oi. Attitude,” I warned her.
“Sorry, Dad.”
All right. She mostly had a good heart. With a bit of attitude thrown in there.
It could be worse. She could be all attitude with a bit of a good heart, I suppose.
“I don’t think I’m very good at sandcastles,” Elle said, filling her bucket full of the damp sand. “They always break when I tip the bucket over.”
“You have to pat it own.” Ari leaned over to Elle’s full bucket and hit it with her spade. “Like that, you see?”
“Ohh, of course. Let me try.” Elle copied what Ari did. “Now flip
it?”
“Yes! Quickly so it doesn’t fall out!”
“Okay, okay, okay.” Elle put down her pink plastic spade and, sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, flipped her bucket. “Now what?”
“Tap it again.”
She dutifully did as she was told.
“Now pull it up! Carefully!”
Elle did just that, revealing a perfectly formed sandcastle.
“Yay!” Ari squealed and clapped her hands. She sent her spade flying right into Elle’s sandcastle and squished it. “Uh-oh.”
“Yep. Seems about right,” Elle said. “Don’t worry. Let’s do it again!”
The relief that covered Ari’s face sent warmth running through my heart. I fully agreed with the whole ‘never meet your idol’ ideology, but seeing my daughter meet hers was magical.
Also, the fact that Elle cared enough to give her the time of day and make her feel special only endeared her to me a little more.
I sat back and watched them play together. Elle genuinely cared, answering all Ari’s questions and talking to her about things I barely knew about. I couldn’t tell the difference between the ponies in My Little Pony and I didn’t really care about the monsters of Monster High.
Elle, however, knew. She knew. She cared. She laughed when Ari told her about the movie she just watched on Netflix. She asked questions about the book she was reading. She listened when Ari went on about how badly she wanted a puppy and how mean I was for not buying her one. She worked with her when she couldn’t get her moat deep enough around her castle, and she never once took a moment to so much as roll her eyes or act annoyed.
I rubbed my hand down my face and smiled when they both went down to the shoreline, Ari armed with a bucket for the seashells she needed to decorate her castle. They laughed together, and the sound of Elle’s laughter mingling with my daughter’s knotted my stomach.
I barely knew this woman. I’d only known her a matter of days and for half of those, I’d actively disliked her.
Now, I was finding that she was swiftly becoming someone I could see myself spending a lot of time with.
