Hinder • {Bill Skarsgård}

||Chapter Six||

Ella stood next to the photocopier, watching the hands on the clock from the far side of the room tick by.

She was intentionally working late—avoiding Dean at all costs. Ella knew that if she came home before he left to dine with Bill, he'd try his best to convince her to come along.

There was a tap on the glass, causing Ella's gaze to shift toward the entrance. Her father stood just on the other side of the glass barrier, peeking in cautiously with a smirk.

"What are you still doing here?"

Ella smiled, gathering the papers she had already copied. "Working." She giggled.

"Why? You were supposed to clock out an hour ago." Richard stepped into the room, holding a briefcase with his blazer over his arm.

Ella sighed, unsure if telling her father about the circumstance would somehow make it easier to tell Dean.

She had never spoken of Bill to anyone—no one knew he ever existed in her life or that she was married to him; never taking on his last name.

"Just... trying to avoid Dean." Ella admitted.

"Everything alright between you two?" Richard asked, folding his arms over his chest. He cleared his throat; his eyes narrowing quizzically at his daughter.

Ella knew that face all too well—Richard was a persistent man. Although he would never press verbally, his stance on the other hand, would. She sighed; a faint blush rising to her cheeks as she thought of a way to explain the situation.

"Yeah, Dean's-Dean's perfect," She stuttered." We're fine, it's just- he's having a meeting tonight with his lead and... well, I don't wanna go."

"Hm, and why is that?" Richard asked, leaning into the steel frame of the entrance of the copy room.

Ella's eyes shifted to the floor, unsure of how to tell her father the situation. She had never spoken of Bill—she had never given anyone his name, mostly because the taste of it stung.

Finally, her eyes wavered to Richard; her eyes narrowing at the memory.

"Do you remember what all happened when I was in LA?" She swallowed, her stomach twisting in knots.

Her father nodded.

He knew of what happened—the young love resulting in a miscarriage. He could never forget the devastated state his daughter had came back home in all those years ago.

She continued. "Well, Dean's lead is... it's him. I don't know how to tell Dean- I don't even know I should tell Dean... I don't know what kind of problems it's going to create for him professionally." Ella admitted, already regretting her confession.

"Dean's a great guy, I think he'll understand. You need to tell him." Richard pushed off the doorway, trailing his hand through his silver hair.

It wasn't a big deal. It puzzled Ella as to why her father didn't seem to grasp why she was so at odds with telling Dean the truth.

Then she remembered that there was more to the truth she had just spoken; Ella was married to Bill. Her father was completely unaware of just how serious things had gotten between her and her foreign lover in California.

He started to turn, but Ella's voice stopped Richard in his tracks.

"Dad, there's something else."

Richard looked to his daughter with questioning eyes. The look on his face intimated Ella to a point where she decided it was best to not lay everything out just yet.

"There might be some things that come to light soon. Things that... you don't know about me. I just want you to be prepared for that." Ella managed to say, shifting her eyes away from her father quickly.

She was ashamed—embarrassed that it had taken seven years for the truth to come into view. She always wondered when it would happen; little did she know it would happen as soon as her current life began falling into place.

"Does it involve the boy you met in LA?" Richard asked, taking a step toward Ella. She nodded, clenching her jaw.

Her father stepped closer until placing his hand on her shoulder. He gave her a rough shake, looking into his daughter's saddened eyes.

"Ella, I want you to know that no matter what happens, I'm very proud of you. Your past is your past, you can't change that. Everyone makes mistakes, you took yours in stride and got a law degree. There is nothing you could ever do that would make me view you any different, I want you to know that. You'll always be my baby girl."

Ella nodded with a smirk, wondering if her father would admire Bill as much as he admired Dean—he was her husband, after all.

Richard started to leave, stopping just outside the copy room.

"Oh, your mother's having that dinner next week, Macie and Grace will be there. Your mother wanted me to remind you."

Ella nodded, going back to the copier to gather the rest of the papers. She was sure that by the time she made it home, Dean would be gone—off to dinner with her husband. She decided that her father was right, it was probably best to tell Dean the truth.