Anna

36 - The Mole

Ellie knew Joe and Tessa were about to walk into a scene they would not expect. Chase wrung his hands together, and Ellie remembered that she felt sorry for him. She imagined he did not want to take the brunt of Joe's blame again.

"Chase," Joe called from the entrance. His footsteps approached the kitchen. "Chase, I need to talk to y—Ellie." Joe stopped in his tracks, taken by surprise at the scene in front of him.

Ellie sat at the kitchen island surrounded by crumbs while Chase had every type of lunchmeat, cheese, and bread spread out in front of him like an assembly line. Joe shook his head to snap out of his stupor.

"Uh... Chase, can we talk?" For someone upset with his brother, Ellie wondered why he needed to speak to him so desperately.

Chase set down his latest sandwich-in-progress to follow Joe back to the studio. Meanwhile, Ellie fended off Tessa's fussy advances.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay? Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine," Ellie said, shying away. She dodged a hand that attempted to move her hair behind her ears. Tessa received the hint and backed off. "Where did you guys go?"

Tessa pondered for a moment, as if she had to decide whether she should share or not.

"We just stepped out for a bit."

Ellie knew it was a lie, but she was too tired to push it any further. "The real question is what in the world you did to Chase."

Ellie blushed. Chase's bloodshot eyes had yet to return to normal. It was obvious he'd been crying when Joe and Tessa walked in.

"We understand each other."

Tessa's eyebrows raised in surprise, but she left it at that. Ellie wanted to tell Tessa that Robin left him and that he hit rock bottom harder than she did. She held her tongue, though. Chase trusted her to keep his secrets until he was ready to tell them himself.

Curiosity itched Ellie's brain to know what Joe had to tell Chase. With what happened the last time she listened in, she stayed put. That was, until Tessa went back to join them.

The seat under Ellie became too stiff, but she could not pull herself away. Her restless legs bounced as she weighed the decision to eavesdrop. Wherever Joe and Tessa went, whatever they did while they were gone, they were talking about it.

Ellie needed to scratch the itch. Hopping off the barstool, she prepared to creep down the hallway again. She did not get far, though, before Joe and Tessa emerged on their own accord. They looked like they'd stepped off an emotional battlefield.

"Ellie," Tessa said in a gentler voice than usual, "come have a seat."

Not only did Tessa soften her tone, but she almost sounded remorseful. Fear gripped Ellie's heart as the Hollands guided her to the living room. The last time they sat her down in such a way, her mom had died. She lowered herself onto the edge of the sofa while Joe and Tessa flanked her.

"What's going on?" Ellie asked, terrified of the answer. Blood pounded in her ears, and she prepared for the world to stop turning again. "Whatever you think Chase did, he didn't do it. I swear—"

"This isn't about Chase," Joe said. "It's about..." he let out a sigh. "We don't know who it's about."

Ellie's forehead wrinkled in confusion. Tessa's frown turned into a sympathetic smile, making Ellie's stomach turn over.

"You know how you see lies and rumors about yourself? And we tell you to ignore them, but you read them anyway?" Ellie nodded, embarrassed. "Well, we met with someone we thought might help put a stop to it. They told us they weren't just making it all up... they have a legitimate source."