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“Private,” I correct.
“Hmm…well, in that case I imagine the decision would be up to the school. But, honestly, it’s not as though he was doing anything illegal. And you don’t even see his dick for Christ’s sake,” she says, almost sounding disappointed. “And let’s not forget that neither of youchosefor this footage to get out into the world. You’re victims here, and that’s exactly how we’re going to play this.”
I cringe. “Urgh. I really don’t like the word ‘victim’,” I tell her. “It makes me feel weak.”
Tina lets out an inelegant scoff. “Please, there is nothing weak about you, honey. If anyone’s weak, it’s the asshole who hacked your account and shared your private moments with the world.”
“I guess…I’m still not sure if I like the whole innocent victim angle.”
“Ellie, listen to me,” she says in the kind of stern yet caring tone that would rival Finn and Aidan’s mom, Aileen. “I know what you’re thinking, and I need you to stop it. You are inno wayto blame for this. When I use the word victim I’m not talking about angles or perception or what’s going to work the best for your image. I’m just laying out the honest facts. What happened to you guys was a crime,” she insists. “It’s no different than if someone broke into your house and then started selling all your possessions on eBay. Except it’s worse, because, let’s face it, this is far more attention gabbing than if that were to happen.”
I let out a heavy sigh. Logically, I know she’s right, but I still can’t stop that little voice that’s telling me I’m at leastpartlyto blame for this. I should have been more diligent about my internet security, rather than just using the same password for everything. And let’s not forget that I was the one who decided to kick things up a gear in that chat when I took my top off. Up until that point it was just an innocent makeup session.
“So, what happens now?” I ask Tina.
“Well, I need to make a few phone calls, see what I can do to get the major E news outlets to kill the story. I don’t have much sway with the smaller gossip mongers unfortunately, and of course there’s really nothing we can do about social media except ignore the chaos.”
“Okay…”
“What’s the deal with Finn, anyway?” she asks curiously. “Are you two together?”
“Um…it’s complicated.”
She lets out a rueful sigh. “Well, you might want to uncomplicate things. I know I said I wasn’t working an angle, but it really would look a lot better if we could say this was a private chat with your boyfriend. I daresay it’d be better for Finn’s situation as well.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I assure her, but I can’t stop my heart from clenching; who knows if Finn will even want anything to do with me after I’ve turned his life into a circus.
After I’ve ended the call with Tina, I scroll through my contacts in search of Finn’s number. But before I call him, a thought hits me and I know there’s someone else I need to speak to first.
With a knot twisting in my gut, I pull up my mom’s number and hit the call icon. It rings, and rings, and rings. Just when I’m expecting voicemail to pick up, Mom finally answers.
“Hello, Elliott,” she says, her tone seeming even more terse than usual.
“Hey, Mom. Happy New Year,” I say with false cheerfulness. It is the first of January after all.
She lets out a hum of obvious annoyance and I know I need to just get on with it before I lose my nerve.
“Um, listen Mom, there’s something I need to tell you,” I venture. “It’s not a big deal, my people are on top of it and it’ll blow over really quick. But I figured I should give you a heads up, just in case…”
“If you’re attempting to warn me about that disgusting video, you’re too late,” she says, her tone scathing.
The phone almost drops from my hand in shock. “Wha—how? How did you know about it? I only found out about ten minutes ago.”
“People have been calling the store,” she spits out. “All morning. It’s bad enough your father has to open on New Year’s Day, but to go in this morning and be greeted by…that.Honestly Elliott—haven’t you done enough to us?”
I rear back, feeling like I’ve been slapped. It didn’t occur to me that my parents’ business would be affected by this, but maybe it should have. It’s not as though it would be hard for someone to connect me to Fox Hardware after I dropped the name of my hometown in the interview Aidan and I did back in October. “I’m sorry,” I tell her, cringing at how weak my voice sounds. “My computer was hacked. That video was never supposed to get out.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better about the situation?” she asks, her tone derisive. Before I can muster a response, she plows on. “Honestly, Elliott, I’ve tried and tried to make peace with your…unnaturalnessbut there’s a limit to my tolerance and we’ve just reached it.”
“What are you saying?” I ask warily.
“I’m saying what should have been said years ago. If you insist on making such a public spectacle of yourself and living this…disgustinglifestyle then you can consider yourself no longer part of this family. We’re all tired, Elliott. No one here wants you anymore.”
I can’t deny the words sting, but at the same time they feel a little overdue. I’ve always wondered why they didn’t just disown me years ago when I first transitioned; why isthisthe straw that’s finally broken the camel’s back?
“Nate wants me.”
“Are you sure about that?” she bites back, and I can just imagine the sneer on her face. “Now that he knows exactly how depraved and disgusting you really are?”
