Hinder • {Bill Skarsgård}

||Chapter Eleven||

"Something's come up." Dean spoke apprehensively, watching Ella move around the kitchen. She seemed on edge—she had been avoiding him since leaving the office. Ella knew she needed to tell Dean the truth; otherwise, he was bound to find out through someone else.

"What's come up?" Ella glanced in Dean's direction, going back to wiping the counters. She was finding anything (and everything) to keep busy.

"I'm flying to Santa Monica tomorrow. My flight leaves at six am in the morning."

"Oh." Ella said quietly, stopping in her tracks. This made things easier; it gave her more time to think of a way to tell Dean about her situation. "Why? I mean- why do you have to go?"

"I have to meet with the production managers at the studio to get things moving. I tried convincing them of this thing called FaceTime," Dean chuckled, "but... it's gotta be in person."

"How long will you be gone?" Ella asked, pulling out the dining chair to sit down. She moved robotically—Dean could always tell when something was wrong because of her stiff posture. It was as if every movement she made was meticulously planned.

"One week. That's what they're telling me, anyway." Dean shrugged, pulling out the chair across from Ella. "So, instead of going out tonight to go over the script, I invited Bill here... is that okay?" Dean pursed his lips, looking to Ella with raised brows.

"I guess it's gonna have to be, right? You already invited him." Ella spoke flatly, keeping her eyes on the table. "I'll pick up some things to cook... what time is he coming?"

"I'm sorry, Ella. I know this is... spur of the moment, I just found out about it this morning."

"It's fine." Ella lied. She wasn't looking forward to having her current boyfriend and husband in the same room together—not in her presence.

"Maybe you can keep me from over drinking. Last time I went out with that guy... well, you saw me." Dean laughed, recalling the immense hangover that seemed to last an entirety of two days. 

Ella would be purchasing alcohol; whether or not Dean and Bill wanted to drink was up to them, but Ella was determined to drink away the discomfort of her past lover who would reside within the next room. She had already planned on avoiding him at all costs—only dinning with them before they headed into Dean's office to discuss the script.

"You're a grown man, I can't control what you decide to ingest." Ella smirked, shifting her eyes to Dean to see he was grinning.

"Well then, tell me I'm going overboard or something, I don't know." Dean chuckled warmly, giving Ella a bashful grin. When the silence set in, Dean saw that Ella was thinking again. "You gonna tell me what's wrong... why I got a phone call from your dad today?" Dean's words caused Ella's head to snap from it's downturned position.

"My dad called you?"

"Yeah. He said you guys got into it earlier today at the office. He wanted to tell you that he was sorry and... something about it all working out." Dean finished.

Ella's heart began to race—Richard had crossed the line; he had contacted Dean about the problem without giving her a chance to explain. Luckily, Dean was oblivious to the circumstance, her father hadn't elaborated on her reason for being upset with him.

"So what happened?" Dean pressed.

"It's nothing. And if he wants to apologize, he should apologize to my face." Ella stood from the table, pushing her chair back. Her movements were still strategic—Dean saw that whatever it was, must have been really bad.

"So... you're not gonna tell me what happened?"

"It's nothing. He's just... being a dad, I guess." Ella said. Although the last part of her assumption was true, the fact that dean had nothing to be worried about was a lie.