The Coffee Spill |Demi Lovato|

Chapter 43

"Please, come inside. It's cold and the children are anxiously waiting." She says, escorting us up the stairs. Ellie grabs onto my hand, squeezing it tight.

I whisper in her ear. "It's okay, baby girl."

We follow Jill into the house. There is a pile of kids shoes, all different sizes by the front door. For a place that houses almost 10 kids, they don't have much 'stuff'. The walls are bare, barely any clutter. What takes up most of the house is the abundance of chairs around two dining room tables and the 3 couches in the living room. I guess when there is a dozen people living in one house, you need a lot of seating.

We follow her to the back of the house to what looks like a sun room. In the middle of the room, kids are sitting patiently on the carpet, waiting for what I assume is me. There are a few balloons taped to the wall and a hand drawn 'Welcome Demi' sign. Once they notice us, they scream with joy. Ellie and I make our way to the front of the room and take a seat on the chairs placed underneath the banner.

*Ellie's POV*
As soon as Demi and I enter the sun room, my eyes scan the crowd, looking for the only reason I'm here. Isabella. Looking back and forth between each little girl, I feel my heart begin to race. I can't find her. The little girl from the photo. She's not here. I follow Demi, taking a seat in a wooden chair, still searching the room. Maybe she's being blocked by some older, bigger kid. But I've looked for minutes. She's not here.

I lean over to Demi as everyone is still screaming. "She's not here." I whisper into her ear. Just then, one of the gentlemen who helped carry the gifts escorts a little girl through the double doors of the sun room. I have tunnel vision, only focusing on the little girl entering the room. Those piercing blue eyes, I don't think I could ever miss them. The little girl is clutching the Supergirl doll that Demi and I bought, burring her face into it. She's shy, clearly not understanding of the situation nor who Demi and I are. She takes a seat in the front of the carpet, right in front of me.

I realize by now I've been staring for quite sometime, but I can't snap myself out of it. I haven't seen her for years. Demi notices what my attention is focused on, giving my hand a light squeeze and a smile.

Max and the two gentlemen carry the toys into the sunroom, opening each box and handing out toys. Demi gets up, holding her hand out. "Come on." She says. I reluctantly snap out of my daze and follow her to the toys. She hands me a Supergirl dress up cape. "Why don't you go give this to Isabella?" She asks. My body becomes stiff, a wave of heat surging through my body in anxiousness. I'm about to speak up when Demi turns me around and pushes me.

I slowly walk towards who I believe is Isabella, my feet feeling like they weigh a ton. My hands are shaking as I grip the dress up costume. Isabella is isolating herself from the other kids. She's in the same spot on the carpet. She's clutching her Supergirl doll, blue eyes big and bold. She's nervous. Like I am in large crowds and uneasy situations. I bend down so I'm more at her height.

"Hi, I'm Ellie." I say, introducing myself.

"I'm Isabella." She says, holding her doll tighter to her chest. I can't stop the smile that forms upon my lips.

"I brought you this. Do you like to play dress up?" I ask, opening the package. She nods her head, still shy towards me. "Do you like Supergirl?" I ask, pointing to her doll that I bought her. She nods her head again. "We'll you're going to love this." I say, undoing the tie. I open it holding it out. She looks at it and sits up tall. I wrap it around her and tie it loosely around her neck. She takes it in her hands, feeling the material between her fingers. "You know, you have blonde hair and blue eyes just like Supergirl." I say in an overexcited tone. Isabella looks up at me and smiles.

***

*Demi's POV*
"I can't thank you both enough for all you have done for us." Jill says, trying to fight back tears for the fourth time.

"Of course." I say simply, taking a sip of my water.

"So." She says, clearing her throat. "What made you decide to help us? Not that we're not grateful, but why? We don't get much local support, let alone support from a pop star." She says.

I bite my lip, debating on how much of the truth to tell her. She's looking at me with intense eyes, waiting for an answer.

"We have a connection to one of the children in your care." I say simply.

"O-oh, which one?" She asks, scanning around the room.

"Isabella." I answer.

"Are you or Ellie related to her?" She asks, curiously.

"You could say that." I say, taking a gulp of my water, hoping to end the conversation. I don't want to say too much, although nothing that we are doing is illegal or wrong.

"We'll again, we can't thank you enough. Hopefully the publicity will help these kids find forever homes." She says, smiling at a few kids that are playing together.

"Publicity?" I ask. Now I'm the curious one.

"Mhm, We took some photos of you and Ellie, playing with the kids, distributing the gifts. My hope is it will touch people's hearts. I'd hate to see these kids go through another Christmas without a family." Jill says, a hint of sadness in her voice.

I scan the room and I in fact see the same gentlemen from before. This time he has a camera in his hand, taking photos. Why didn't I notice that before? I continue to scan the room. This time my eyes land on Isabella. She is wearing the cape that Ellie picked out, running around with her Supergirl doll in her hands, trying to get the cape to fly.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" I ask, not taking my eyes off Isabella. "Can you keep me updated on Isabella?" I lower my voice, not wanting Ellie to hear me. I can see Jill nod her head from the corner of my eye.

"Demi, Demi, Demi." Two older kids run up to me, one has a guitar in his hand. "Can you sing us a song?" He asks, holding the guitar out for me. I set my bottle of water down on the table behind me before taking the guitar in my hands.

"Do you have any requests?" I ask, with a smile on my face.

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A/N
OKAY WOW. If you read this story before, you know that Isabella was in an orphanage that was neglecting children. I felt that it was too emotional and raw for this story, so I changed it so that the group home / orphanage is more nicer, just very poor and underfunded. Plus, I needed a reason more than "were gonna go visit my daughter".

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