A Bittersweet Life (1st draft)

Chapter 5

A couple of days passed before I confronted Ellis about what he and Ryland talked about outside my room. I had hoped my drunken subconscious made the whole thing up, but no. I needed to know the truth. I just needed to know what questions to ask in order to get the answers I wanted.

The soft rain that fell caused Ellis to drink his morning coffee inside rather than on the beach in front of the beautiful sunrise. As I walked further into the living room where Ellis sat, I noticed another coffee mug on the table. Steam danced out of the cup and into the air.

"Good morning," Ellis said, glancing up from his tablet.

"For me?" I asked pointing to the mug. He simply nodded. I took the mug from the table and sat on the couch across from the one he was on. Ellis focused his attention on whatever was on his tablet while I sipped the coffee quietly and attempted to conjure up what I was going to say to him. "So," I finally said, "what were you and Ryland talking about the night after the charity ball?"

Ellis looked up at me, his jaw clenched. "We weren't talking about anything."

"Oh come on," I placed the mug back onto the marble table, "what really happened, Ellis?" His mouth hung open but no words came out. "Okay, maybe that was a bit vague. Why don't you tell me why the hell my mother was so insistent on having me come here." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Talia, please."

"Tell me, Ellis."

He let out a huff of air and leaned forward rising his elbows on his knees.

"I contacted your mother and told her to let me see you." He sat up straighter and averted his gaze, but just for a moment. His eyes locked onto mine. His eyes drifted to the other side of the room once more, probably hoping Randall would waltz into the room and save him from this interrogation. I arched my brow encouraging him to continue. "I told her if she didn't, I would sue her." My mouth hung open as he uttered those words. "I needed to see you. There wasn't any other way." I held up my hand, preventing him from saying another word. How dare he. Who the fuck did this man think he was? Ellis fucking Banks. My fists clenched in my lap. The pain from my nails digging into my palms was the only thing keeping me from screaming.

"How dare you," I said through gritted teeth.

"Please, Talia, you just don't understand..." I stood from the couch, hands still balled into fists.

"You were going to sue her knowing we didn't have a damn dime to spare?" My voice was raised.

"You don't know... You just don't understand..." His voice filled with desperation.

"I know enough to know you're a piece of shit," I scoffed. Randall strode into the room. Perfect timing. As he rounded to the other side of the couch I walked out of the room with hast. Ellis still sat on the couch and didn't say another word.

My bedroom door slammed behind me. How could he do this? Forcing my mother's hand. I knew there was another reason as to why my mother was so insistent on me coming here, but I never thought it was because Ellis was going to sue her. Was he really that cruel? I wanted him to be lying. But there was so much truth in his words and that look in his eye when he uttered them. I grabbed a pillow from my bed and chucked it against the wall, hoping that would relieve the pressure building in my head. It didn't. However, the buzzing phone in my pocket did. A number I didn't know flashed on the screen. I answered reluctantly.

"Hello?"

"Hi, there! Is this Talia?" A voice cooed in my ear.

"This is," I said, retrieving the pillow from the floor and placing it back on the bed.