Beautiful Disaster (The Bet) (20 page)

There was something really wrong with Maddie
,
and Ellie was scared for her friend. It'd been over two weeks now and Maddie hadn't been seen at school. Ellie had tried on several occasions to call her, but her calls had
gone unanswered. Her c
oncern having grown to full blown panic, Ellie had driven down to Maddie’s house a few days ago, but had been turned away by her grandmother.

Apparently
,
Maddie wasn't up for visitors. Ellie had left both her cell and home number with Maddie’s grandmother, asking her to have Maddie call her when she was able
to do so
.

Maddie had yet to call and Ellie was growing increasingly worried. Guilt ate away at her as she felt partially responsible for Maddie’s sudden alienation. Ellie felt she should've been there for her,
she should have
been a better friend and then maybe Maddie would've confided in her. But she hadn't and solemnly
,
Ellie wondered whether her neglect over the last few weeks had prompted Maddie’s depression.

Ellie didn't doubt for a second that it was depression her friend was going through, all the signs were there. Moodiness, social isolation, low self-esteem, physical illness, the list went on and Maddie had exhibited all those signs.

Ellie knew how she felt. She knew the helplessness and crippling inertia that came with being so down. She'd gone through it
,
she'd survived it and now she wanted to share her experiences with Maddie, let her know that she wasn't alone and that everything would eventually be okay again. But she was unable to do that, unable to lend a helping hand when the one in need refused to take it.

"Thanks for dinner, Ells."

"Shit." The dinner plate almost slipped from Ellie's soapy hands, but she managed to catch it just in time.

Looking all the world
’
s contrite, Tony approached a frowning Ellie an apologetic smile on his face."I didn't mean to scare you. You okay?"

"Fine," She sighed, her
heart rate returning to normal as
she turned back to the dirty dishes in the sink.

"Soph's all tucked in. Thanks for trusting me enough to do that. I think she's starting to like me a little."

Ellie shrugged. "It'll take time, but the more she sees you
,
the more comfortable she'll be having you around." She peered over her shoulder at the father of her child and warily smiled. "You've been doing well."

"I have been trying. Call me foolish
,
but I've always wanted this with you," Tony waved around the room in emphasis. "Living the American dream, in a warm house filled with brothers and sisters for Sophie to play with, a golden retriever that actually fetches the newspaper every morning for me." Ellie hadn't realized exactly how close Tony had gotten until she felt his warm breath tickling the hairs at her ear.

Her discomfort level instantly spiked and she wanted nothing more than to push him away, but she remained calm, busying herself with the dishes.

"We can have that Ellie;
you, me, and Sophie, we can move out of your uncle's house and into one of our own where I'll spend the rest of my life making you happy...you and our children."

Ellie spun around, pushed against Tony's chest to get some breathing space before speaking. "Let's get a few things clear here, Tony. First of all, I don't plan on moving out of Gabe's house anytime soon and if I did, it certainly wouldn't be with you. Secondly, Sophie is the only child you and I will ever have as far as kids are concerned. I don't want to get back with you Tony, so do us both a favor and just stop it."

"You don't understand how much I've missed you
, Ells. E
very moment I spent in the hell hole was with the hope of one day being with you, holding you while you slept, kissing you awake every morning." Tony cornered her against the kitchen counter with his body. "Making love to you every night for the rest of our lives..."

Ellie turned her head away as Tony leaned in to kiss her. "I think you should leave."

"Give me a chance, Ells. Give us a chance to be a family."

"I have my family. Gabe and Sophie are all the fa
mily I'll ever need." Nicholas'
image popped into her mind and Ellie fleetingly smiled.

Tony saw the smile, took advantage of it and advanced on Ellie. His hands traced down to Ellie's hips
,
settling there with disturbing familiarity. "Why do you keep pushing me away when you know how good we are together?" He was in her red zone, face looming ever closer to hers. "You and I are one and the same, Ells. We have history together
,
I know who you are...what you like..." Tony's hand around Ellie's neck ceased her struggling.

The pressure wasn't enough to hurt
,
but the threat was very much there and Ellie couldn't have hated him more in that moment. He smiled without humor, his body bearing down on her. "I know how you like it, Ells." When his mouth crashed against her lips, Ellie bit down hard and yelped when he swiftly backhanded her, sending her sprawling.

"I hate it when you make things so fucking difficult. Why can't you see things the way I see them?"

"Leave now and maybe I won't be tempted to press charges." Ellie conjured bravado li
ke a shroud, holding firm to it. S
he glared at him. "I mean it, Tony, get the fuck out of my house."

Tony angrily reached out, dug his fingers through her hair and yanked her up with enough force that Ellie winced.

"Don't goad me into doing something I'll regret." He said irritably, cap
turing her jaw in a tight grip. H
e forced her to look at him. "I'm sorry for hitting you. But you should've known better than to have bitten me."

Ellie’s attempt to remain
calm proved difficult
,
but
she
managed while her mind worked, trying to figure a way out of her current situation. She knew she shouldn't have trus
ted the two-faced snake. It was
stupid of her for giving him the benefit of the doubt. Now that mistake could prove to be her last
,
if she didn't
quickly
think of something.
Ellie forced her animosity down and
looked at him, finding it hard to believe that she'd once found his obsidian gaze mesmerizing.

"I didn't mean to bite you, Tone, but I didn't appreciate having your tongue down my throat." She said evenly. "I understand you want us to be a family, but you have to understand that you can't just show up out of the blue and expect everything to be perfect between us. I'm glad that you stopped
using, but it's going to take so much
more than that for us to be a family." His grip slackened somewhat for which Ellie breathed a sigh of relief.

"I know baby, I know," Tony's hands framed her face, the pads of his thumbs simultaneously caressing Ellie's cheeks. "I know it takes time and I'm willing to stick around to make this work. But
you have to stop looking your pretty nose down at me." T
he hands tightened enough to make a pucker out of Ellie's lips.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Ellie raised her knee and smashed it into Tony's solar plexus
,
hastily shoving him away when he doubled over in pain. Armed with a butcher knife, Ellie hedged towards the phone hanging on the wall and grabbed the headset.
She pressed the "speak" button and heard
the dial tone beeping back at her.

"Put the fucking phone down, Ellie."

Ellie pressed the first two digits of 91, "Get the fuck out of my house before I have the cops swarming this place, I'm sure they won't be too happy if they saw
that
in your pocket." She pointed with the butcher knife at the syringe playing hide and seek from Tony's pant pocket.

Raising his hands in surrender, Tony slowly grinned. "Alright, I'm gone. But I'll be seeing you real soon, Ells, believe that."

"Get the hell out!"

Ellie followed him, butcher knife firmly in hand; she didn't breathe until she slammed the door behind her, setting the locks and door chain for good measure. Sophie's fervent cries pulled Ellie from her temporary state of shock and too soon she was taking the stairs two at a time.

Sophie was standing in her crib, her hands holding tight
ly to the wooden bars. H
er cries increased in volume until Ellie gathered her in her arms. Gently, Ellie lowered Sophie's head to her shoulder and rubbed her back in soothing circles. 

"Shhh, it's Ok, Sophie, Mama's here now, it's Ok baby, shhh..." Ellie softly cooed as she bounced Sophie up and down.

Having come to depend on Gabe's silent strength, Ellie wishe
d he were
there now instead of out with his friends, but instantly admonished herself for her selfishness. Gabe had practically mu
rdered his social life for them. I
t was a wonder he even had friends left. For all the things he's done for them, Gabe deserved some time for himself.

Releasing a shuddering breath, Ellie blinked
away
the tears. Her nerves were frayed and she had to get herself under control
,
if she had any chance of soothing her daughter.

"Ok, sweetheart, how about you and I go downstairs and get something to drink, hmm?" On their way out the door Ellie stopped to wipe at the tears on Sophie's cheeks.

"Nicky...want Nicky."

Ellie sighed at those hiccupped words. This wasn't exactly the first time Sophie had voiced her need for the dark haired man who had become so much more to them both. Just earlier today, she had had to quell a temper tantrum when Sophie had demanded that Ellie call Nicholas over so they could have playtime. That had been around seven in the morning and Ellie hadn't been the least pleased.

But she really couldn't blame Sophie for missing Nicholas. Ellie missed him too, so much that it was becoming a problem. She'd definitely fallen for him, so hard, so fast and so unexpectedly. Nicholas was under her skin now and Ellie didn't know how to get rid of him. Despite what her mind said, her heart refused to believe there was something sinister resting beneath that alluring smile.

The sound of the doorbell drew Ellie from her musings.

"Nicky!" Sophie cheered
,
lifting her head from Ellie's shoulder
. S
he joyously clapped, her tears forgotten as she bounced off her mother's hip.

"It's not, Nicky." Ellie stated firmly, her overzealous child naturally ignored her as they made their trek to the first floor. She hoped it wasn't Tony either back for a second round. Just to be sure
,
Ellie grabbed the phone from the last step, where she dropped both the phone and knife in her haste to reach Sophie.

Cursing the fact that they didn't have a peephole, Ellie vowed she'd drill one before the week was out.
She took a fortifying breath before
she unlocked both
of the top
locks, leaving the chain in place
as
she opened the door.

"Nicky!" Sophie squirmed
,
attempting to free herself even while Ellie stared at her in amazement. "Mama!" It seemed Ellie wasn't moving fast enough for her
,
so Sophie closed the door and struggled with the chain.

"Ok, Ok, relax monster I'm getting to it." Ellie pulled the chain from its slot and reopened the door.  "Soph!" Nicholas easily caught her and laughed when she hugged him.

"Hey there
,
kiddo." He dropped a kiss on her forehead. "Did you miss me?"

Sophie vigorously shook her head. "Miss, Nicky."

"Missed you too, babe."

T
he scene evoked thoughts in Ellie that she wouldn't dare entertain. They weren't really even dating yet, for Christ sakes!

Ellie shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Are you hungry?" God! She sounded like a housewife.

As if aware of her internal battle, Nicholas looked down at her with those unnerving stone grey eyes and wittingly smiled at her expanse.

"I'm fine, thank you."

Ellie nodded. "Uh, come in, I was just going to grab some milk for Soph and then tuck her in."

"Mind if I help?"

"I don't think you have much of a choice." She said leading them first to the kitchen to grab Sophie's sippy cup and then upstairs to Sophie's room. Nicholas set her down in her crib and with a fleeting run of his fingers through her hair
,
stepped away, allowing Ellie to kiss her daughter goodnight. They exited soon after and made their way back downstairs.

"She's been crooning for you all day; I think you've made her exceptionally happy just by showing up." Ellie said with a smile. "She missed you."

"I missed her too,"
Nicholas took
hold of her arm
and
turned Ellie to face him. "I missed
you too." He said poignantly the
n lowered his head to plunder the treasure that was Ellie's lips.