Ellen sat on her bed, feeling like the day had been a crazy ride, but she was proud of what she’d achieved. Telling Clara about Gerald’s behavior had lifted a weight off her shoulders, and she really hoped that Clara would follow through and deal with her son. Maybe now Gerald would finally stop interfering. A small smile tugged at her lips at the thought.
She leaned back against the pillows, letting herself relax. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply, when suddenly, her bedroom door flew open, and Colleen burst in.
Ellen jumped, startled, her eyes snapping open. "Colleen!" she shouted. "You scared me!"
Colleen stood in the doorway with a mischievous grin, her dark hair slightly tousled and her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Oops, sorry," she said, though her tone didn’t sound sorry at all. She stepped further into the room, shutting the door behind her. "I want to sleep with you tonight."
Ellen raised an eyebrow, her surprise quickly giving way to curiosity. "You want to sleep here? What happened?" she asked. "Did something go wrong?"
Colleen shook her head, her expression turning innocent—too innocent. "Nothing happened," she answered, making her way over to Ellen’s bed and flopping down beside her. "Is it wrong for me to want to sleep with my big sister?"
Ellen laughed softly, shaking her head. "Of course not. You’re always welcome here, you know that."
Colleen smiled, snuggling closer to Ellen, resting her head on her shoulder. "Good. I just felt like spending time with you."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, the only sound in the room the soft ticking of the clock on Ellen’s nightstand. Colleen shifted slightly, breaking the silence. "You know," she began. "Dad really likes Mason."
Ellen glanced down at her sister. "Dad?"
Colleen nodded, her eyes meeting Ellen’s. "Yeah. He really likes Mason," she repeated. "It’s like Mason’s the son he never had, you know? He talks about him all the time."
Ellen chuckled softly at that, her heart warming at the thought. "I guess that makes sense," she said. "Mason is... well, he’s kind of perfect, isn’t he?" She could feel her cheeks warming slightly as she spoke, and she looked away, her fingers toying with a loose thread on her blanket.
"Aww, is my sister blushing?" she teased, nudging Ellen playfully. "You’re so cute when you talk about Mason."
Ellen rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. "Oh, stop it," she said, her tone half-annoyed, half-amused. "I’m just stating a fact."
Ellen felt the warmth in her cheeks intensify, and she rolled her eyes again, though the smile on her lips didn’t fade. "Alright, alright. Let’s just go to sleep, shall we?"
Colleen grinned, clearly satisfied with her teasing, and nestled further under the covers, closing her eyes with a small sigh of contentment. "Fine, fine. Good night, big sister."
"Good night, Colleen," Ellen whispered back, her eyes lingering on her sister’s face for a moment. She reached over to turn off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness.
Ellen lay still for a while, staring up at the ceiling, her thoughts drifting. She could feel Colleen’s steady breathing beside her, a sign that her sister had already fallen asleep. But every time she tried to sleep, her thoughts kept wandering back to Mason.
She turned her head slightly to watch her phone on the nightstand. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached over and picked it up. The screen lit up as she unlocked it, and she squinted at the brightness in the dark room. It was late, and she knew Mason was on the other side of the world, where it was daytime.
Despite the time difference, they often exchanged messages, even if it was just a quick update or a simple goodnight. Ellen found herself smiling at the thought, her fingers moving quickly over the keyboard as she typed a message.
"I’m about to go to sleep. What are you doing?"
She hesitated for just a second before pressing send, her heart giving a little flutter. She watched the screen, waiting, and it didn’t take long for a reply to come in.
"Just finished a meeting."
Ellen smiled, her thumb hovering over the screen as she thought about what to say next. She knew she probably should let him get back to work, but there was something that made her feel bolder than usual. She typed out her next message, her lips curving up mischievously.
"Do you know what I’m thinking?"
She waited, her heart thumping just a little harder as the screen showed the three little dots that meant Mason was typing. She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips as she imagined his reaction to her question.
"No. I can’t read anyone’s mind, Ellen."
Ellen let out a soft chuckle, her fingers moving quickly across the keyboard. Her heart skipped a beat as she typed out the words that had been on her mind for a while now, the words that she hadn’t dared to say out loud until this very moment.
"I want to have a child with you."
She pressed send before she could second-guess herself, and the moment the message went through, her eyes widened, and her heart gave a startled leap. Heat rushed to her face, and she quickly put her phone down, her breath catching in her throat.
"What am I doing?" Her hands coming up to cover her face. She couldn’t believe she’d actually said that. What was she thinking?
She half-expected Mason to reply with something teasing, maybe even to scold her for saying such things out of nowhere. She peeked at her phone, her heart thudding with anticipation, and almost immediately, the screen lit up with a new message.
"How many do you want?"
Ellen’s eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat as she read the words. She blinked, reading them again to make sure she hadn’t imagined it. Her fingers trembled slightly as she picked up her phone again, her lips curving into a soft smile.
"Two. One boy and one girl."
A moment later, her phone lit up again, and she could feel her heart skip a beat as she read his response.
"Wait for me to come home. We’ll work on that immediately."