Hot Mess

by Emma Hart

  Emily laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I want you to be happy, Elle, and if you’re finding happiness there, then that’s where you should be.”

  I glanced over toward Theo’s house. “Like I said, there are great people here.”

  “Oh, my God. Have you already met someone?”

  “Oh, stop it.”

  “Elle!”

  I sighed. “Look, it’s not what you think it is. He owns the place I’m staying in and his daughter is obsessed with me.”

  “He’s a single dad?”

  “A British one.”

  “Lord above, I think I just fell for him. You know those are my favorite books in the world to read.”

  “Yes, I’m aware,” I said dryly. “We got off to a rough start, but we get along really well.”

  “So? What’s happening? You’re literally living a romance novel.”

  I should have kept my mouth shut. “Not a lot is happening, so get your head out of the clouds. He has a child to think about, and I have an entire life away from this place. It’s not that simple, but we’re just kind of… rolling with it.”

  “So you’re screwing him.”

  “I am not sleeping with him, no.”

  “Why not? At least get laid if you’re going to come back here.”

  I rolled my eyes at her. “Emily.”

  “As your big sister, I fully give you permission to bang the hot British guy all the way back to England.”

  “Well, thank you for that. So noble of you.”

  She grinned. “I know. What about friends? Do you have friends there?”

  My mind flashed to Blaire. “I’ve met a few people, and you would love them. Blaire is basically you but two years younger.”

  “Another me? Can I come down now? I’ll leave Amelia with Ben!”

  “No, you won’t. She’d never forgive you if you came to see the World’s Best Aunt without her.”

  “True. I really am glad you’re finding some peace there. You deserve it.”

  I smiled.

  “I included your phone in the box, by the way. I know you’re avoiding social media, but you should check your emails.”

  “Why?”

  “Because there are a lot of people on your side, Elle. Far more than all the assholes who think you’re lying. Some of the people you’ve worked with have come out and said they stand by you unquestionably, and you were trending on Twitter along with revenge porn and your own hashtag for like eight hours last night. In fact, I think you might still be there. Some of the other vloggers grouped together to start the hashtag.”

  I frowned. “Really? It made that much of an impact?”

  “Honey, I know you’ve been ignoring everything outside your bubble, but yes. Your video was heartfelt and honest, and people believe you. They’re supporting you. Want me to pull together screenshots and send some over?”

  “I’m kind of enjoying the detox, to be honest.”

  “Okay, but you should know that your video has twenty million views already. You’re literally a superstar right now.”

  “Great,” I muttered. “Sure, send a few screenshots.”

  “All right. Look, I gotta go, Amelia is trying to ride the dog again. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “See you later.” I wiggled my fingers at the screen and hung up, then put my phone face down on the sofa.

  I had no idea the video would matter that much—that people wanted my side of the story.

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, breathing in the sea air. There was something about the coast that was completely calming. It kind of seeped into my bones and relaxed me, making me feel somewhat normal.

  Normal.

  Did normal exist anymore? Would I ever have any kind of normalcy in my life ever again? Was that possible after this?

  Even if I were to go back to school and shut down my channel, would anything change for me?

  I didn’t need to ask the questions, not really. I already knew the answer. I knew I would forever be attached to this scandal, that my life would never go back to how it was before.

  The tape would always be a turning point in my life. Before The Tape. After The Tape.

  I guess, now, my big choice was deciding what After The Tape looked like.

  I opened my eyes and squealed.

  Ari was standing right in front of me with a huge grin on her face, hugging a book to her chest. “Hi.”

  “Oh, my God, Ari, you scared the life out of me.” I flattened my hand against my chest. “Are you some kind of ninja?”

  She nodded excitedly. “We went to the library. Look! I got a new book!” She shoved a book at me, but I didn’t even have time to read it before she swept it away again. “And we got stuff to make calzones later. Do you want to come and make calzones with us?”

  “Have you asked your dad if that’s okay?”

  Again, she nodded, but this one was like those little dogs people put on their car dashboards. “Uh-huh. He said it was fine. I put extra cheese in the cart. Is that Aunt Elsie?”

  I looked in the direction she was pointing. “Yep, looks like it. With Maude and Agnes.”

  “Ooh. What are they doing?” She craned her neck to see.

  I moved so the post holding up the top of the deck wasn’t obstructing my whole view anymore. All three set up their camp chairs like they’d used the night I’d had the displeasure of stumbling across them, naked, but they also had telescopes this time. They definitely looked like they were settling in for the long haul.

  “Does your dad know about this?”

  Ari shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re out there in the day, so probably.”

  “Huh. A bit like raccoons.”

  “Do they only come out at night?”

  “For the most part.”

  “Okay, like raccoons. What are they doing?”

  They set up a table in front of the chairs, a bit like the kind of set-up you’d see at a bake sale, and then Agnes—easily identifiable by her bright hair—unrolled what appeared from here to be a large poster. I wasn’t close enough to make out the bold letters on it, but there was most definitely a badly drawn picture of a UFO on it.

  Ari tilted her head to the side. “That doesn’t look good.”

  “I know. That UFO is awful.”

  “Really, really bad. They should have asked me to draw it. I’m very good at drawing.”

  “I’m sure you are.”

  We both jolted at the sound of a door slamming to our right. Theo stormed out of the house and onto the sand where he almost lost his footing, but he kept hold of it long enough to reach where we were and yell, “What the bloody hell are you doing?”

  “Uh-oh,” Ari whispered. “He’s mad.”

  No kidding.

  “Come on.” I jumped up and guided her down after him.

  “You said we could use the beach!” Agnes said. “Well, we’re using it.”

  “But what are you doing? Why do you have telescopes and a table?” Theo threw his arms out. “Why are you so weird?”

  “We’re not weird,” Maude said. “We’re awake. We see the truth.”

  “Fine, you’re awake. But why is there a sign that says, “find out the truth about Creek Keys Aliens” on the table?”

  “Because we’re inviting people to find out the truth,” Agnes replied. “Honestly, Elsie, how did your bloodline create someone so painfully stupid?”

  Ari’s eyes widened. “Uh-oh.”

  Seconded.

  Totally seconded.

  “Nobody on the beach cares about your aliens, Agnes. Nobody here can see your sign.”

  “No, but they can.” Elsie pointed toward the group of cars that was forming on the dirt road. “We put flyers up around town.”

  “I saw those!” Ari exclaimed. “Purple, with the alien head on.”

  Theo did a double take. “How did you see those, and I didn’t?”

  “I don’t have to drive the car. I just look out the window.”r />
  He pinched his nose. “You can’t just invite people onto the beach. This is private property. People stay in my houses because they know there’s a private stretch of beach. You cannot have this many people on it.”

  “You allowed us to use the beach, and this is what we’re using it for. Don’t worry, we’re putting up cones so they can’t go on the beach.” Maude held up a bright yellow cone that said, ‘Stop! Private Property!’

  “Oh, well, I’m sure that’ll stop them,” Theo snapped, then pointed at Elsie. “This is your last time. Don’t ask again. Put out those bloody cones and tell those people that if they step on the other side, they’ll be shot.”

  “By who? You can’t shoot.”

  “I can shoot,” I offered. Not very well, and I’d only done it twice, but I could shoot. Technically.

  Theo held out his hand. “There. Elle will shoot them. Make it happen.” He grabbed Ari’s shoulders and steered her away, back toward the house.

  I followed after them, almost falling on the soft sand.

  “Elle, can you really shoot?” Ari whispered.

  “I can. I’m a terrible shot, but don’t tell them that,” I whispered back with a wink. “I’ll do a warning shot, like you do for bears.”

  “We don’t have bears here,” she replied innocently. “Got sharks, though.”

  And that was me never going in the water.

  “And those sharks are not interested in us,” Theo said. “But they might like nine-year-old girls if they don’t tidy their room!” He tickled her sides, and she squealed, running off toward the house the second she escaped his clutches. Her laughter rang out until she was inside, well away from us.

  He looked over his shoulder at the old ladies at their table. They were now taking names of people and—were they taking money?

  “Are they taking money?”

  Theo squinted. “Jesus, they are. What are they taking money for?”

  “I bet they’re either doing a talk somewhere, or they’re charging people for a UFO-hunting session. That’s what the telescopes represent.”

  “Bloody hell. They have to have permission from the mayor to do that.”

  “I bet they have it. Elsie said to me last week that they thought they were close to getting him to declassify files, so I bet this was a compromise.”

  Theo rubbed his temples. “I have no idea how I haven’t had a heart attack yet with these three around. Are you coming to make calzones? Did Ari ask you?”

  “She did. Right after she shoved her book in my face to show me it.”

  “Bloody Ever After High. She found it on Netflix and won’t stop watching it. She about screamed the flipping library down when she found it on the shelf. I thought they were going to revoke her card for creating such a disturbance.”

  I laughed. “What time are you making the calzones?”

  “I’m going to make the dough in a minute, so come over when you’re ready.”

  One glance down at myself told me I needed at least thirty minutes. “I’ll go take a shower and come over after.”

  “Deal. See you then.” He chucked me under the chin with a grin and headed to his house. I watched after him for a moment, more specifically staring at his ass in his jean shorts.

  I shook my head, breaking the spell, and went back inside, stopping only to grab my phone.

  I needed help.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN – THEO

  “No, you cannot have a tiger as a pet either.”

  Ari huffed. “Can’t have a monkey, can’t have a tiger, can’t have a puppy. Can I have a fish?”

  “As long as you mean a goldfish and not a shark, sure.”

  Elle laughed into her hand. “At least a clownfish. Come on.”

  “Whose side are you on?”

  “Hers.” She grinned.

  I should have known.

  “Elle, will you braid my hair like you do in your videos? From the top?” She pointed to the top of her head. “Please?”

  Elle smiled. “Do you want one braid or two?”

  “Two!”

  “Grab some hair ties and I’ll happily do it.”

  Ari rushed off to her room to presumably spend the next five minutes going through her endless collection of hairbands, just to find two matching ones… to put in her wet hair and ultimately sleep in.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said, loading the dirty plates into the dishwasher. “Now she’s gonna ask you every day.”

  “You say that like I mind.” She gave me a smile that was on the dreamy side, and I couldn’t help but return it.

  There was something about this woman, and I desperately needed to put my finger on it.

  Ari came rushing back in then with two bright green hairbands, waving them enthusiastically, plus a comb tucked under her arm. “I got them!”

  “Okay, sit on the stool.” She pulled one out from the island and patted it. Ari jumped up right away and sat bolt upright like someone had stuck a metal rod in her back.

  I bit back a small laugh and finished putting the last of the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. When I turned, Elle had Ari’s wet hair split into a perfect parting down the center of her head and had one side secured loosely in the band.

  With nimble fingers, Elle immediately got to work braiding her hair. French braids were a tedious task, one I’d never mastered no matter how many times Blaire had tried to teach me over the years. Elle worked it like a master, swooping the hair through and adding sections as if it were second nature to her.

  Ari grinned the entire time. Exactly like the Cheshire Cat. I half expected her to turn invisible halfway through the first braid.

  “Can you do that to yourself?”

  “Of course she can, Dad. I watched her do it!” Ari rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

  Elle glanced up at me. “Yes. I learned how to do it when I was in my teens because my sister wanted me to do her hair, but she hated how long it took me to practice. So I started practicing on myself, going like down the side of my head to my ear until I had the movements all figured out.”

  “Can you a full head of braids? Like Blaire’s?” Ari asked.

  “I’m not sure. Theoretically, I suppose I could, but her hair is totally different to ours. I don’t think I’d have the patience to do it, to be honest.”

  “I’m surprised Blaire has the patience for it,” I said. “She doesn’t like waiting longer than five minutes for a coffee, but I’ve seen her be in a salon for five hours before.”

  Elle laughed and tied off Ari’s first braid. “It’s hard work. I actually had some requests after I did my video on how I did my own braids and I spent, I think, three weeks? Maybe? Hunting through the city to find a stylist who specialized in braided hairstyles who was willing to come on my channel and give hints. She has her own channel now where she uploads from the salon.”

  “That’s pretty cool. I’d say you should share it with Blaire, but she wouldn’t have the patience to do it herself.”

  “I actually love her videos. I find her methods so relaxing to watch. Kind of like those videos when people carve soap and stuff.” She started on the other side of Ari’s hair. “There’s something really mesmerizing about watching someone braid such thick and unruly hair. Her control is incredible.”

  I understood that. It was pretty damn mesmerizing watching Elle braid my daughter’s hair, never mind watching someone do it over and over and over.

  Or maybe it was just like that because it was Arielle and Elle.

  “What’s her name?” Ari asked. “I wanna watch.”

  “Her channel’s name is Black Girl Braids,” Elle responded. When she saw my raised eyebrows, she said, “Keep the name simple and obvious. That’s what she does. She’s a black girl who braids.”

  I chuckled at that. I’d never given any consideration to naming any kind of channel, on the internet or otherwise, but that made perfectly simple sense. “What’s your channel called?”

  “Life of Elle Ev
ans,” Ari replied immediately. “Because it’s about her life. But not your real one, right? That’s what you said the other day. It’s only a little bit of your life.”

  Elle’s smile was wide and so genuine it lit up her eyes. “Exactly that. It’s only a tiny bit of my life that you see.”

  “And it’s all specially made for the videos.”

  “Just like everyone else’s,” she agreed. “But Calla’s channel is a little bit more real life because a lot of them are filmed in her salon on actual clients. They’re sped up a lot, though.” She finished tying off the braid with a flourish. “Done!”

  Ari ran her hands over them, her face lighting up as her fingertips reached the very ends of the braids. “Wow wow wow!” She jumped off the stool and ran to the downstairs toilet room, where another shriek of “Wow!” was heard from inside.

  Elle muffled a laugh.

  “I love it! Thank you!” She ran back in, right over to Elle, and slammed into her to hug her. Elle let out a grunting noise, but she accepted the hug and returned it just as enthusiastically.

  “You’re welcome, Ari.”

  “I’m gonna go watch that girl’s videos now!”

  “It’s bedtime,” I reminded her. “Brush your teeth.”

  “Aw, but, Dad!”

  I glanced at Elle, who shrugged as if to say it wasn’t her problem. Which it technically wasn’t, but still. “Fine,” I said after a moment. “You can have an extra thirty minutes, but you’re cleaning the sinks tomorrow.”

  Ari didn’t even bother weighing it up. She kissed my cheek with a squeal and ran upstairs.

  “You’re a total soft touch,” Elle said, cleaning Ari’s hair off the comb and putting it in the bin. “No wonder she and I are practically best friends after your first impression of me.”

  I laughed. “Man, I wish I could argue with that.”

  “Think of it like this: she’s learning about other people and the way they do things. Their culture, I guess.”

  “True. And if it means I don’t raise a racist arsehole, then it’s worth her staying up thirty minutes late.”

  “Oh, please. Like she could ever be racist.”

  “I don’t know. It was pretty touch and go when we watched Aladdin.”