Not Thinkin' Bout You

Chapter 8

PREVIOUSLY: Even if he didn't feel the same, she could pretend he did.

Sienna's stomping footsteps on the stairs broke the silence. Ellody glanced at the door before sitting up on her bed and admiring her nails; she'd never done them so well.

"Ellody! Sister! Blood-relation!" Sienna screamed, and Ellody had never wanted to ignore someone more than right now. She tried to redirect her thoughts back to how Zach knew she was going to take a bath, because it didn't matter how creepy some people would find that. "I swear, if you're just sitting in your room and listening to me yell at you without replying, I'm going to-"

BANG.

The door flew open, and the blonde girl appeared, looking dangerous.

"Ever heard of knocking? You could take a leaf out of mum's book," she suggested, raising her eyebrows at her older sister. Sienna didn't look impressed. At all.

"Oh my God. You could hear me the whole time. Seriously, are you OK?" she pressed, watching Ellody's face for a reaction. Ellody blinked a few times, trying to register that Sienna was asking if she was alright.

"Well, it's not like you care," she snapped, avoiding eye contact. She hated confrontation between herself and her sister. It never ended well.

"What?" Sienna muttered, and Ellody immediately felt bad. OK, so maybe she does. Just a little. "That was totally uncalled for. You're my little sister, of course I care if you're not happy. Is this about Zach? Hang on, I've just thought of something that will cheer you up. Goodnight," Sienna exploded, leaving hastily. Ellody decided it would be much safer not to ask, and to take that bath instead of spare a minute of thought towards whatever she might have to say.

The water was lukewarm by the time she climbed into what could be considered the world's biggest bath. It was on the verge of being a small spa in Sienna and Ellody's shared bathroom. She decided against using her sister's bath crystals, instead just a whole lot of soap and music. Why Don't We's Trust Fund Baby played quietly through the shower speaker next to her, joined by her currently buzzing phone. She blindly answered the call, turning her music off and the speaker mode on.

"Hello?" she said uncertainly, knowing that this could be anyone from Sienna to Miley Cyrus with the wrong number.

"Oh, hey Ellody." Jonah's smooth voice filled the room, and she reached over to turn her volume down.

"Jonah! What's up?" Ellody stuttered, trying to sound confident, but she was having a mild heart attack. She had always felt safe and secure in the bath; she had also never been called by Jonah in the bath.

"Oh, not much. I just noticed that Zach left the room when he was talking to you, and I was wondering if you're OK," he explained easily, and Ellody felt a strange urge to throw her phone in the water and watch it drown. "He normally lets all of us chat with you," he added as an afterthought.

"Right. Yes, well, I'm alright. Thanks for calling, I guess. I just, um, needed to talk to him," Ellody replied, reminding herself to take a deep breath. He hesitated for a second, and the girl's heart rate quickened.

"OK. Cool. Just... if you wanna talk at all, I'm happy to take a minute out of my day. FaceTime or just a call is fine. Whenever you like. I assume Zach will tell you when we're about to go on stage, so you'll know when I won't be so available." He paused again, and Ellody smiled to herself, relaxing a little.

"Thank you," she sighed, and they said goodbye. Her thumb lingered over the red button to hang up; for some reason, she just didn't want to. She couldn't bring herself to. The moment of indecisiveness ended abruptly as he hung up, and Ellody placed her phone on the bench beside her before submerging herself in the water, unable to comprehend what had just happened. She'd just taken a phone call, in the bath, from Jonah Marais. Ellody stuck her head above the water to breathe. "What the actual hell?" she muttered to herself, reaching up to touch her wet hair. Her phone vibrated next to her with a text, and butterflies burst into her stomach; she found herself hoping that it was Jonah.

SIENNA: is the bath ur new office or something

SIENNA: who were u talking to

ELLODY: her name's nunya beeswax

SIENNA: sure

Ellody sighed, wondering what to make of her feelings. Why had I really wanted that to be Jonah? I like Zach, not Jonah. I can't like Jonah, he's Tatum's boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. Who knows, those two are confusing. She Googled Jonah and flicked through photo after photo of him, stopping at one in particular of him smiling on a beach. She could imagine herself there, standing next to him in a pretty dress with her arms around his neck. She could imagine smiling for the picture, then turning to kiss him once it was taken. Tears filled her eyes, and she put her phone back down to go under the water again. As her head broke the surface, she broke into quiet sobs. I can't like Jonah, there's just no way. It's hard enough liking Zach, but not Jonah too? Her tears tracked down her face, spilling into the water with a soft plop. All her built-up emotions poured out as she silently cried into her hands, the image of her and Jonah at the beach at the forefront of her mind. Her mind drifted to what Zach would think if he could see her right now, crying in the bath over his band mate... he wouldn't be happy.