The Ugly Stepsister Read Free

been.
    “You’re persistent, I’ll give you that.” Tom headed for his room, disappearing inside.
    Ellie stared after him. The top half of his bedroom door was visible over the back of the couch. Did that mean he’d given up trying to throw her out? She didn’t know what to think. Maybe she should run and lock herself in Sam’s room before he changed his mind. Or had he gone to call the police to kick her out? She sat up when Tom entered the room. Her eyes were drawn to the pillow and blanket in his hands. He dropped them onto her lap, heading for the bathroom without a word.
    It took a few seconds for victory to register. Relief hit her. With a grin, she put the pillow at one end of the seat, shook the blanket out over herself and lay down again. When she heard the shower start, her eyes were drawn to the closed bathroom door she could see from the lounge chair. What had made him give in? She’d been certain he wasn’t going to cave. And then she would’ve been stuck looking for somewhere else to spend the night. Her mobile phone beeped and she reached for it.
    Forget me?
    Ellie smiled and quickly replied with the address of where she was staying. She waited impatiently for Lauren to reply. Her phone beeped again.
    Score! We’re masterminds
:D
    Ellie grinned as she put her phone away. She wouldn’t go that far. They were probably a long way from being masterminds, but it had taken a lot of asking around and planning to find someone she could con into letting her stay. She didn’t have anyone else, she was close enough to, that she could ask to stay at their place. Not without them wondering what was going on. And she wasn’t going to have everyone at school talking about her and wondering what the problem was. No way. She knew how harsh victims were treated. And she wasn’t going to risk looking like one ever again. She ran her fingers over the small scar, on the inside of her arm. She’d bled for ages and yet the rock hadn’t been that large. Pushing the image of rocks, blood and jeering kids from her mind, she rearranged the blanket again.
    The bathroom door opened and Tom stepped out. Ellie’s breath stopped as she stared at him. A towel was wrapped around his waist and droplets of water dotted his chest and arms. She swallowed, forcing her eyes to move away from his chest. Her eyes met his.
    “You sure you don’t want to take a picture?” Tom asked dryly.
    “If you give me a sec I’ll get my phone out.”
    With a shake of his head, Tom strode across the room and turned the light out. The glow from Sam’s lamp fell into the room. Tom was a shadow. “Go to sleep, Beth.” He strode to his room.
    Ellie grinned. She’d take that as another victory for her. And she could certainly do with a few victories with the way things had been going for her lately.

* * *
    Ellie opened her eyes to find Sam sitting on the floor staring at her. She quickly sat up and glanced around. They were alone. She wondered how long he’d been watching her. Glancing towards the television, on the same wall as the bathroom door, she checked the time on the DVD player. Nearly midday. No wonder she was starving. Sam still watched her. If she hadn’t seen him blink occasionally she would’ve said he was frozen.
    “Morning, Sam.”
    “You know me?”
    “Ahh, yeah. I came home with you. Remember? From the party.”
    Sam shook his head. “Not really.” He frowned. “I was talking to Lauren. She told me I should go to the party. I don’t really know her either. She told me at school. Did you look like that last night when I met you?”
    “Real smooth, Sam.”
    Ellie turned to see Tom standing in his bedroom doorway. He wore a pair of jeans that sat low on his hips. “Morning, Tom.” She frantically tried to think her way out of that mistake when she saw Tom’s eyes narrow. Maybe he’d ignore it. She’d wait for him to ask how she knew his name before she worried about it.
    “Can’t say I’d recommend you drinking,