"Where are you?" Stevie said putting her phone between her ear and shoulder. She had just received a text message from the school to say that Ellie hadn't turned up for a lesson.
"What are you on about?" Ellie spitted back.
"I've had a text from the school. I know you aren't there so just tell me what you are doing?" Stevie asked annoyed at the girl's attitude. It had all started this morning when Ellie had rolled her eyes when the woman had asked her to put away her dishes. She had dropped the girl off at breakfast club at the school before heading into work.
"It's none of your business" Ellie muttered.
"Oi, I think I am being completely reasonable asking where you are rather than shouting at you, so don't you dare cheek me like that" Stevie said. Ellie hung up on her aunt and Stevie cussed bringing her phone to her hand.
"What's wrong?" Faith asked.
"Little madam" Stevie said as she went to press call again.
"What's she done?" Faith asked putting her hand on Stevie's to stop her pressing call.
"I got a text message to say that she wasn't at school. So I calmly called her asking where she was and then just got a load of cheek back" Stevie said and Faith nodded.
"She'll be chancing her luck – seeing how you react" Faith said.
"So how should I react?" Stevie asked and Faith shrugged.
"Well, she needs spoken to about it but whatever you do – make sure you don't hold it against her. Show her that she can do things wrong, she can push you away, but you are still there for her" Faith explained.
"She just hung up on me" Stevie admitted, and Faith raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, she needs to realise that that is not okay" Faith said, and Stevie nodded.
"I'm furious at her for doing that. I just need to know that she is safe." Stevie said "I didn't shout at her or anything. I actually thought I handled it well".
"Call her back, if she doesn't answer leave a message demanding that she calls you. Tell her that the longer she leaves it the more trouble she will be in. Make sure you give her into trouble but then let her see you are there for her too" Faith explained "Give her time to explain why she made the decision".
Stevie nodded before doing as her friend told her. As expected, the call went through to voice mail. Stevie was firm but fair on the voicemail that she left. She needed the girl to know that she needed to tell her what was going on. She then messaged the girl asking that she called her.
Stevie kept her phone on her but tried to get back to work. She heard nothing from the girl for almost 2 hours when she then received a message.
I'm home now
Stevie was not impressed with that response. She had asked the girl to call her ages ago and noticed that the text message had been read almost as soon as it had been sent. Stevie called the girl again and still she refused to answer.
Stevie's shift finished at 6 so it was only two more houses before she could go home. She tried to get home as soon as she could after the shift had finished wanting to spend time speaking to Ellie about today.
She arrived home and noticed that the door was locked. She thought that this was unusual and used her key to let herself in. Once in she noticed that it was very quiet.
"Ellie" She called walking into the living room. She noticed a note on the table in the middle of the room and lifted it up.
Away out with friends. I'll be back at some point.
Stevie cursed. How dare the girl do that? She was so angry. They hadn't discussed a curfew as this was the first time that the girl had left to hang out with friends. She was glad that the girl was settling in well but unsure about her new so called friends group.
Stevie knew that she needed to find out where the girl was. She thought carefully before remembering that she had allowed the girl to create a snapchat account and she had made one see what it was about. She hadn't planned to use it this way but had mentioned to the girl that it would be useful for her to share her location with Stevie.
Stevie grabbed her phone and quickly looked at where she was. She noticed that the girl had been online at a park about a 15-minute walk from Stevie's house. She looked at the girl's snapchat and instantly wasn't impressed. She was trying to work out what the girl was wearing as it didn't look like her clothes.
Stevie drove to the park and caught a group of young teenagers mucking about at the park. She drove closer and noticed one was her niece. Her niece was standing leaning towards an older boy with her arms around his neck. Stevie noticed the girl and boy moving closer to each other before they started making out. The boy's hands moved down and rested on the girl's bum which were barely covered by the shorts she was wearing.
"Get in the car now" Stevie demanded putting the window down getting the girl's attention.
"Nope" Ellie said turning around and continuing to whisper to the boy.
"Ellie now. You really don't want me to have to get out of this car and drag you into car" Stevie threatened. Ellie just shrugged and turned her back to her aunt. Stevie raised her eyebrows, turned the engine off and got out of the car. She was quickly round the side of the car and took a firm – but not tight – grip of the girl's arm.
"Car now" Stevie said firmly as she turned the girl around and Ellie sighed before getting into the car. So much of her wanted to start kicking and screaming but she couldn't do that in front of her new friends.
"What? Are you just going to let her do that? You are going to do exactly what she said. You are such a wimp" The other girl said and instantly Ellie was so embarrassed. She put her head down not fighting Stevie anymore and allowed her to drive off.
Ellie kept glancing at her aunt, but Stevie didn't say anything the whole journey home. That was making Ellie feel even worse. She was angry but still so anxious about the reaction of her aunt.
They arrived home and Stevie watched the girl walk up the stairs.
"What the hell are you wearing?" Stevie asked noticing that the girl was in a lace black crop top and extremely short denim shorts.
"That's also not your bra and it's definitely stuffed" Stevie said crossing her arms and looking at the girl. Ellie bit her tongue and didn't reply to her aunt.
"Get changed into your pyjamas" Stevie said encouraging the girl into the bedroom and following her. Ellie grabbed her pyjamas before taking it into the bathroom.
Stevie exited the bedroom and made her way to the kitchen.
What do I do – came home and she'd gone out with friends. Found her and caught her snogging the face off a boy
Stevie lend back on the kitchen counter before taking a deep breath and turning the oven on to put on some pizza for their dinner. She jumped when Faith replied and quickly read it.
Oh she's starting on a big one. She needs grounded. Show her that she has broken your trust and don't let her out of your sight.
Stevie knew that she needed to deal with the girl, but she was dreading it. She was meant to be the fun aunt, she wasn't supposed to be dealing with this.
"Ellie, come here now" Stevie shouted, and she heard some movement. She noticed the girl standing at the door but she didn't come in.
"Sit on the sofa" Stevie demanded. Ellie nodded. Much of her wanted to disobey her aunt again but then she knew that she was really pushing it.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Stevie asked and Ellie just shrugged still glaring at her aunt.
"Ellie, I don't understand where this has come from? As far as I'm away, I've not done anything wrong unless you can add something?" Stevie asked and Ellie just crossed her arms.
"Are you willing to speak to me?" Stevie asked and still Ellie shrugged.
"Oh Ellie, I'm not dealing with you if you are being like this" Stevie said leaving the room to put the pizza in the oven. She took a deep breath. She knew that she needed to go back in. She had to show the girl that she was there for her and not leaving her but this was hard.
"Right, since you are not speaking to me – I will explain your punishment. You are grounded for a week. That means you will come to the hospital after work if I am working and that is all. We will also not be going to the carnival on Saturday" Stevie said, "Instead you will have to help me tidy up and I'll give you jobs to complete."
"That is so unfair, you are such a bitch" Ellie said storming into the bedroom. Stevie sighed before sitting time. She needed a little bit more time. She waited until the pizza was ready and called the girl through.
Ellie came through and grabbed the pizza before walking through to the bedroom.
"We don't eat in the bedroom" Stevie said.
"Well, I'm not eating with you" Ellie fought back. Stevie couldn't believe that Ellie was still going.
"Well you don't have another option so sit down" Stevie said and reluctantly the girl sat down.
They sat in silence whilst they ate before Stevie couldn't last any longer.
"Can you tell me where you were when you skived from school?" Stevie asked and reluctantly Ellie shrugged before looking at her aunt.
"Just the woods behind the park" Ellie admitted.
"Why?" Stevie asked, not understanding the choices of her niece.
"We went out for lunch and then I had PE. I didn't want to do PE" Ellie stated.
"Why not?" Stevie asked and Ellie shrugged.
"Don't like my PE kit. It's the one from the children's home. It's not what the other's wear. Makes me feel… I don't know" Ellie admitted.
"Why didn't you just say something? I'm happy to get you a new PE kit" Stevie explained not understanding why the girl won't ask her.
"But you've gotten me so much stuff already" Ellie admitted.
"It's a PE kit" Stevie said, "Come on, show me what the other's wear."
"Shorts like these" Ellie said nervously showing her aunt the Nike shorts that the other children in her class wore. She was embarrassed that they were about £40.
"Okay, I'm happy to get you one pair especially if we can get you into a club outside of school and you can wear them too. If you do more clubs then I'll buy you more" Stevie said finding the smallest adult size and adding it to the basket.
"Right, what top?" Stevie asked moving to the tshirts.
"It's got to be a dri-fit one" Ellie admitted nervously barely speaking louder than a whisper.
"Okay, how come?" Stevie asked.
"I get sweaty" Ellie admitted, and Stevie nodded.
"Do you have deodorant in your bag to use before and after PE?" Stevie asked and Ellie shook her head.
"Do you want me to buy you some? And some for in the morning?" Stevie asked and Ellie nodded.
"No worries, I'll give you one of mine just now and I'll get you your own tomorrow" Stevie explained, and Ellie nodded.
"So you know the people you were hanging out with today. They aren't the same people that you've been hanging out with recently, are they?" Stevie asked and Ellie shock her head.
"I met them in the woods, and they thought I was cool for skiving" Ellie admitted.
"Well, I hope you now realise that it wasn't cool. Who's clothes were you wearing?" Stevie asked.
"Kayla's, one of the older girls. They are two years above me and they said I was cool, but I needed more grown-up clothes. We stayed in the woods until school finished and then I came home, and she text me saying to go to her house. So, I did, she gave me different clothes" Ellie explained, and Stevie nodded glad that the girl was now talking to her.
"Why did you wear the clothes?" Stevie asked encouragingly.
"Because I wanted to be older. I felt like I've been acting like a baby because I talk to you, and you do so much for me" Ellie admitted.
"That doesn't make you a baby, that makes you a child" Stevie said. Ellie shrugged.
"So how exactly did you stuff your bra because you did a pretty good job of making it look natural" Stevie said, and Ellie blushed.
"Kayla said that you do it from the outside and underneath and push your boobs to the top" Ellie admitted, and Stevie laughed.
"Okay, I'll try that next time" Stevie said.
"She had a packet of thongs and gave me one to wear. It was so uncomfortable" Ellie admitted, and Stevie laughed at her niece. She was glad to see that the girl was relaxing a bit.
"That will teach you" Stevie said before biting her lip and looking at the girl.
"You do know that you are still grounded, right? The skiving isn't the bit I'm most angry about. I'm not happy about it but if you had just spoken to me then we could have sorted it out. I was sure you were skiving for a reason, so I wanted to help you. You have lost my trust now and you are going to have to work hard to gain it again" Stevie explained, and Ellie nodded.
"I understand" She admitted, and Stevie smiled. She was glad that the girl had listened to her.
"Your punishment is that you have to be either at school, at the hospital or with me. That is it. I am no longer mad at you, all I ask is that you follow your punishment" Stevie explained and Ellie nodded.
"Am I still allowed hugs even though I am grounded?" Ellie asked.
"Of course, you are" Stevie said sitting back on the sofa and helping the girl get comfortable. Stevie pulled the girl into her arms and helped the girl relax.
"What made you kiss that guy?" Stevie asked and Ellie shrugged.
"Wanted to feel more grown up, I suppose" Ellie admitted.
"Did it? Did it make you feel more grown up?" Stevie asked and Ellie shook her head.
"It made me feel worse. At the time I didn't feel anything but now the feeling of him touching me reminds me of how John touched me" Ellie admitted, and Stevie nodded.
"That's what I was worried about" Stevie said before pulling the girl closer.
"Don't rush into things, especially when it's just for showing off. You have been through far too much for that" Stevie explained, and Ellie nodded.
"I was silly to let him do that because now I'm feeling not good and I'm panicking" Ellie managed to admit.
"I'm so proud of you for telling me that. I've got you know. You are not on your own, I will continue to help you" Stevie said as she muttered into the girl's ear. Ellie nodded and snuzzled closer to her aunt.
Hope this is okay :) I really love this chapter and I hope you do too :)