Stepsisters

Chapter Nine

At seven in the morning, Ella made herself a cup of coffee and sat outside on the deck. A moment to just think was what Ella had been yearning for since the moment her dad and her stepfamily had come to her house.

First, she thought about what she could do to solve her fight with Jenny. The only logical solution would be to show Jenny how mean Hannah was. But she had already tried, and that's how she got to where she was. She figured that she would just have to apologize and admit her "mistake" for thinking that Hannah was hurting Jenny on purpose.

Next, she thought about what to do about Chloe. She was such a snob. Ella would never admit it, but it really hurt her when Chloe pretended they were best friends for the media, but then told Ella that she shouldn't even talk to her in real life. Sometimes, she wished that Chloe liked her, but then she felt stupid, because Chloe was so mean to her.

Is this how Jenny secretly felt about Hannah?

Ella's thoughts were interrupted by a shriek from inside. Ella quickly stood up and looked inside. Chloe was screaming Ella's name.

"What?" Ella said.

Chloe came outside onto the deck. "You," she huffed, "are the most horrible person I have ever met."

"Wait, what?" Ella asked. She didn't remember doing anything to offend Chloe.

"I can't believe this! You are such a horrible person!" Chloe shouted.

"What are you talking about?" Ella asked. She didn't understand.

"You know what you did! You told Seventeen!" Chloe yelled.

"We talked to Seventeen together," Ella said. "You weren't mad at me after the interview." What could she have done between the end of the interview and today to make Chloe mad? "What did I do?"

"Liar!" Chloe shouted. "After I went to bed, you took my laptop and Skyped Seventeen. And told them about your little invite!"

"My little what?"

"You're dating my boyfriend!" Chloe screamed.

Ella's mom and dad and Sydney came downstairs. They had been woken up by Chloe's shouting.

"What in the world is going on?" Sydney asked.

"She's dating my boyfriend!" Chloe shouted, pointing at Ella.

"What? No!" Ella protested.

"I saw it on the Seventeen website! You told them that you invited my boyfriend here, and that you're dating him!"

"That's not even close to true! I don't even know him!"

"Then why did you say that you were dating him?!"

"I didn't!"

"Girls, please!" Sydney yelled. "Let's sort this out calmly."

"I promise, Chloe, I'm not dating your boyfriend," Ella said.

"How do I believe you?" Chloe asked.

"Why don't you text Ashton and ask him about it?" Sydney suggested.

"Fine," Chloe grumbled, whipping her phone out of her back pocket. Hey, Ash, have you heard the rumors about you and Ella? Those aren't true, right?

Chloe sent the text. She burned with fury, and underneath that, sadness. She was so afraid of losing her boyfriend. He was the only person that accepted who for who she truly was--the person she really was when she wasn't pretending everything was okay for the media or acting like a snob for her family.