This Changes Everything Read Online Free

trouble!”
    Claire ignored
her but took a few steps toward her own house, giving Ellie a half wave as she
crossed the street.
    Ellie stayed
outside with the puppy for a little while longer, not ready to go back inside
and face her distraught mother. However, her neighbor soon came out to take
Chip inside and Ellie considered swinging again, but she didn’t feel good, like
she was getting sick. She went inside and started on her homework, working on
her math problems at the kitchen counter while her mother cooked dinner. It was
a familiar routine, but tonight it felt all wrong. Her mother was distracted and
the pasta boiled over onto the stove.
    Daddy came home
soon after, his laughter filling the house and Ellie’s hollow heart. She ran
off the stool and into his arms, squeezing his neck as he bent down to give her
a hug.
    “Hey, Elliphant.
What’s wrong?”
    Ellie continued
to hold on to him for dear life. Daddy picked her up and she wrapped her legs
around his waist. He held her like he used to when she was little. She always
felt safe when he held her like this.
    “Ellie,” he said,
sounding concerned. “What’s wrong?”
    She couldn’t tell
him about Momma, and she couldn’t tell him about sharing the curse secret with
Claire. Instead, she said, “I had a bad day.”
    He cupped the
back of her head and held her close. “I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”
    She shook her
head in the crook of his neck.
    He moved past the
kitchen and carried her into the living room, sitting on the sofa and shifting
her legs so she sat sideways on his lap. Looking down into her face, he tucked
her hair behind her ear. “Ellie, I’m going ask you some questions and I want
you to be honest with me, okay?”
    Did Daddy know
she told Claire about the curse? The air squeezed out of her lungs, but she
nodded.
    “Has anyone
scared you?”
    Her eyes widened
in surprise. “No, Daddy.”
    “Has a man you
don’t know tried to talk to you?”
    She nodded yes
and her father sucked in a breath, fear in his eyes.
    “Tell me what
happened.”
    “I was with Momma
at the inn yesterday morning eating breakfast and I talked to a man who is
staying there.”
    Daddy wrapped an
arm around her back and hugged her side against his chest. “Not someone from
the inn. A stranger.”
    “You mean like
stranger danger?”
    “Yes, just like
that.”
    Ellie shook her
head, biting her lip. “No, Daddy.”
    His face lowered
to hers. “For the next few days, I want you to stay inside, okay? I don’t want
you to talk to anyone you don’t know.”
    “Why?”
    His fingertip
rubbed her cheek, then he touched the tip of her nose. “Because Daddy’s
overprotective. Just promise me, okay?”
    “I promise.” She squeezed
his neck again. When he held her, she believed that everything would be okay. That
nothing bad could ever happen.
    He hugged her tight
for several seconds before the phone rang. He pulled back to look into her face
again. “And you still can’t answer the phone.”
    She scowled. “I’m
not a baby. I know how to answer the phone, Daddy.”
    He set her on her
feet and stood. “I know you do, Elliphant, but it’s one of those overprotective
daddy things. Why don’t you go wash your hands for dinner.” He left her to go
into the kitchen, and Ellie hung back before following him and hiding in the
hallway.
    “Was it another
hang-up call?” Daddy asked.
    “Yes,” her mother
mumbled.
    “Why was Ellie
upset? Did something happen at school?”
    “I don’t know.
She was playing with Claire when I got home and I gave them a cookie. She
seemed fine to me.”
    “Something upset
her. She was nearly in tears when I walked in, and she hugged me and wouldn’t
let go. I asked her if someone had approached her or tried to talk to her, but
she said no.” His voice lowered. “I know the weather has been unusually nice
for January, but I don’t want her playing outside.”
    “John, we haven’t
had any threatening calls for