Page 47 of Someone Just Followed You

I start climbing the stairs.

‘People like you!’ Dad throws back. ‘And she made out like Maple’s going the same way as Ella, all rebellious now, and then AWOL later, because she’s so famous and so young and this is your doing, not mine!’

I reach the top of the stairs without either of them noticing, then creep into my bedroom. I close the door behind me – silently – then lean against it and close my eyes. I can still hear them arguing, but at least it’s muffled now. The volume just low enough for me to think.

Because that’s what I need to do. I want to be proud of what I’m doing with Dylan. Enjoy the momentum we’re creating together, my profile ballooning but for an actual cause, not because I query-kissed a boy. But I hate the arguments it’s causing. I can handle Mom and Dad being mad with me; I deserve it, I guess, throwing a hand grenade on the family income. But watching them fight with each other over something I’ve done is so much worse.

And there’s Maddie firing me. It’s a relief in some ways. No more drinking gross smoothies for hours, or applying some greasy face cream, or dealing with Mom stressing about new content every minute. But there were some amazing moments, like working with Azione. It made Mom proud too, and it was something we did together. If I reject it all now, what have I got left?

My phone buzzes, and it’s Coco requesting FaceTime. I haven’t spoken to her for a couple of days, and I click to accept like I’m underwater and she’s an oxygen tank. ‘Hey,’ I breathe.

‘Hey, babe. Sorry I’ve been offline. I’ve been super busy.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yeah, I’ve been going door to door on Sophie Lyle’s street to see if anyone remembers anything new.’

‘And any luck?’

‘Hmm, maybe. A lady across the street says she remembers a guy hanging around outside quite a bit before Sophie was murdered. That she had a bad feeling about him. She told the police, but they weren’t interested, which is so negligent. I mean, bad feelings are really our subconscious telling us something, aren’t they?’

‘I’ve never thought about it that way,’ I murmur. ‘But it makes sense, yeah.’

‘Anyway, enough about me. I loved your show, babe. Honestly, you are kicking up a storm. What do you think Selena and Bodi were arguing about? Everyone on TikTok is saying that Bodi’s a secret psycho, and that they’re always fighting when the cameras are off. But I don’t know. What’s your take?’

I listen to the argument still going on downstairs, Mom’s screeching and Dad’s hollering. ‘Maybe they were arguing about Ella.’ I drop into my desk chair and wiggle my mouse. I was looking at the comments on our latest video when Mom summoned me downstairs, and the page is still open. I roll my finger over the mouse wheel.

‘But why?’ Coco asks. ‘She was such a good girl back then. What would she have done to cause an argument?’

I sigh. ‘Yeah, I don’t know.’ A comment catches my eye, and I lift my finger off the wheel. I read the words and my stomach twists. ‘Oh,’ I say, and it’s loud, like a pop.

‘What?’

‘This is bad, Coco.’

‘What’s bad?’ Coco asks. ‘What’s happened?’

Chapter 55

Maple

@MollyMarch14, TikTok

Sorry, but why is no one talking about Ella’s siblings? They must want to find their sister too #findElla

‘There’s a new comment on our video,’ I tell Coco. ‘From someone called Anon357.9.’

‘That sounds legit,’ she murmurs sarcastically.

‘Yeah, but he’s saying – I mean, I’m guessing it’s a man – that Ella’s some star on the dark web. A porn star.’

Coco sucks in a breath. ‘What the fuck?’

‘I suppose that means she’s alive, which is good, but she must be in trouble if she’s doing that. No one chooses that kind of life, do they?’

‘No,’ Coco says. ‘I mean, some actors claim they do, but they’re all exploited, one way or another.’ Her eyelids blink super-fast, like she’s trying not to cry. It makes me wonder what’s behind her desire to get justice for Sophie. Whether bad stuff has happened to her too. Maybe one day I’ll ask her.

‘So why would Ella leave her family for that?’ I ask now.