The Coffee Spill |Demi Lovato|

Chapter 32

Written 2015
Revised March 2021

*Demi's POV*
I open my front door slightly as my shirt does not cover my legs as much as they should. Marissa and Andrew are standing there. "It's about damn time." I whisper in case Ellie followed me downstairs.

"Why are you whispering?" Andrew asks, raising an eyebrow.

"And why won't you let us in." Marissa asks.

I sigh, "Ellie is upstairs." I answer, still whispering. I've been asking them to come for weeks, and now they decide to show up while Ellie is here.

Marissa rolls her eyes. "Ah, so that explains the sex hair." She says smirking.

I hear footsteps behind me. I turn around to see Ellie walking down the stairs with an extra pair of shorts in one hand. "I figured you might need these." She says tossing them to me. I smile before putting them on. Ellie peers over my shoulder, curious to who's at the door. "Marissa, hi." Ellie greets her.

"Hi, Ellie. This is my brother, Andrew." Marissa introduces. He puts his hand out, shaking Ellie's hand.

"Nice to meet you." He says. There's an awkward silence until Marissa speaks up.

"Ellie, let's go upstairs while my brother and Demi talk. Don't worry, you can have sexy time with Demi after." Marissa says, pulling Ellie by the hand, giving me a wink before disappearing up the stairs.

I open the front door wider, letting Andrew in. He nods his head thank you before entering. I shut the door behind him, escorting him to the living room. He takes a seat at one end of the couch while I the other. I didn't notice it before but he has a sealed Manila envelope in his hands. He places it on his lap before speaking.

"So I found Isabella is." He says softly with not much emotion. I knew he knew where she was. I don't know how, but I knew.

"Then why didn't you tell me? Don't you think I have a right to know?" I ask him standing up, furiously.

"Don't you think Ellie has a right to know?" He says defensively. I pace around my living room, rubbing my temples to alleviate the pressure building up. I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. It's some therapeutic technique my therapist insists on me doing.

"I didn't want to tell her in case we got bad news or no news for that matter. I can't open a wound like that and expect it to just heal." I say sympathetically. It's true. My intentions for not telling Ellie were just that. To keep her safe.

Andrew understands my reasoning, deciding to not take the disagreement any further. "Well I know where she is. She's in a group home in Massachusetts. She was sent there when the one she was at here got overcrowded. From what I could find out she's been there almost a year." He says handing me the Manila envelope he brought with him. I take it from him, opening the seal with shaky hands, nervous to find out what's inside. I take the papers out, reading over them. It's information about the group home. I'm reading it as Andrew speaks up again. "I looked into the legality of getting Isabella back. It would be hard considering the adoption was a mutual agreement and Ellie was not under duress or fraud at the time of the adoption, making the adoption legal. However, it's not impossible considering the couple who adopted Isabella neglected to care for her, vacating their adoption." He explains as simple as possible to understand.

"We have been dating two months, people are going to think I'm crazy if I adopt my girlfriend's kid two months into our relationship." I explain. "I don't even think I'm ready to be a mother right now." I admit.

That last sentence brought memories of my pregnancy scare with Wilmer just 4 months ago. Like all contraception warns, it is not always one hundred percent effective. We'll that's what happened to us. One careless night of sex and a broken condom almost changed the entire course of my life. When I sat on the bathroom tile the following week, counting down the seconds, I thought what I would do if it ended up being positive. Part of me was angry at myself. Angry at the fact my career could be over all because of one unsatisfying orgasm. But the other part of me felt quite the opposite actually. I sat there thinking of baby names and what the theme of his or her's first birthday would be. I thought which room of mine would be turned into a nursery. I even thought about who would be the god parents. I thought of all of that more than I thought of the end of my career and partying.

Andrew snaps me out of my thoughts, bringing me back to reality. "I'm not saying you have to adopt her now. I'm not saying you have to adopt her ever, I'm just letting you know if that was something you were thinking about, it's possible." He says. "Now, I think it's best you tell her as soon as possible." He suggests, standing up from the couch, smoothing out the wrinkles in his button up shirt.

I stand up as well, embracing him in a hug. "Thank you. I'll tell her tonight." I promise.

Him and Marissa leave shortly after. Ellie pulls me by the hand back upstairs, trying to finish what we started. She pushes me against my bedroom door, pushing her thigh in between my legs, spreading them open. "Ellie." I try to stop her but her name comes out as a moan.

"Shh, don't speak." She says, trailing kisses down my neck. I tilt my head back in pleasure for just a moment before I grab her hands, stopping them from sliding up my shirt.

"Ellie, we need to talk" I say in a serious tone, letting her know I'm not playing around. She removes her hands from my grip, taking a step back.

"Demi, please don't break up with me." She says worried. My eyes widen, realizing my word choice of needing to talk might not have been the best thing to lead with.

"Oh god, baby, of course not. I just want to share some news with you." I tell her, reassuring her that there is nothing to worry about. That is unless she gets mad at me for meddling in her personal life. I take her hand and walk her into the bedroom, sitting her down on the edge of the bed.

"Marissa's brother is a private investigator. I hired him to track someone down for me." I say trailing off, carefully choosing my next words.

"Who did you ask him to find?" Ellie asks.

Here goes nothing. I sit down next to her, slowly taking a deep breath. "Isabella." I say softly. I look at her, waiting for a physical response. A glimmer in her eye, a furrowed eyebrow, something. But as I examine her face, I can't find anything. Is she happy? Is she sad? Is she mad at me? I can't tell. "Please say something." I say, worried as I'm not getting a response from her.

"Why did you do that, Demi?" She asks, getting up off the bed. She starts to pace my bedroom, not making eye contact with me. My smile begins to fade. A part of me had a feeling she might react like this. But I was hoping she would feel he opposite. Excited, hopeful. Anything but this.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to help. I know how much you miss her." I say, trying to justify my actions. I bite my lip, trying to contain the tears that want to escape my eyes. My intention was definitely not to hurt her.

"I lost her once, Demi. I can't go on a wild goose chase only to be disappointed and heartbroken again." She says, raising her voice. I sit still, my breath hitched in the back of my throat. I've never heard Ellie scream before. Well I have, when we're being intimate but this... this is far from that. Her eyebrows are furrowed, her body is stiff.

"It doesn't have to be a wild goose chase." I say, my voice cracking at the end. I see her face soften, willing to listen to what I have to say. I get up from the bed slowly, making my way towards her. She lets me. I place my hands on her cheeks, brushing her hair behind her ear. "He found her." I say, keeping my hands on her cheeks.

"Where is she?" She asks, her voice more relaxed.

"She's at a group home in Boston." I say softly. She closes her eyes, letting tears stream down her face. My heart aches, watching her in this state twice in one day. "I gave her up because I had no support from my family or her father. I was on my own. I figured a family could love her and provide for her more than I ever could." Ellie says, wrapping her arms around my waist, burying her face in my neck. I can feel her shaking in my arms, tears wetting my shirt. She leans back in the embrace, locking eyes with me. "Why did you tell me?" She asked. "No seriously, Demi. What was the purpose of this?"

"I figured you might want to reconnect with her. Maybe go visit her." I answer. Truth is, I had no plan for afterwards. I didn't think that far ahead. I was too focused on finding her and making sure she was safe. I can't explain why I'm so invested in Isabella's well being. But for some reason I am.

Ellie rubs her temples, trying to relieve the tension building inside her head. "Is she safe?" She asks with worry on her lips.

I'm silent for a while, collecting my thoughts. "I don't know much. But I can fill you in on everything Andrew told me." I offer with a smile. The first smile to be expressed throughout this conversation. She nods her head.
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Update 2021
QUESTION: Is this your first time reading this fanfic or are you rereading this with the changes made? Either way, how is it so far?