Stay With Me

Jordan and Ellie returned home a few days later, just after New Year's Day. They returned home to Pittsburgh in the early morning just in time for Jordan to drop Ellie off at the bakery before he went to practice.

"Okay. So do I need to come and get you after work?" Jordan asked as he parked in front of the bakery.

"As far as I know my mom said she'll give me a ride home," Ellie replied.

"All right," Jordan nodded. "Call me if anything changes."

"I will," Ellie smiled. "Have a good practice."

"I will. Have a good day at work," Jordan smiled, kissing her forehead. "Love you."

"I love you, too!" Ellie smiled getting out of the car.

Jordan watched her to make sure she got into the bakery okay, when she got in he drove off.

Ellie walked up to the door and unlocked it. She walked to the kitchen where her mother was and gave her a hug.

"How was Thunder Bay?" Esther asked, going back to starting up the ovens.

"It was great!" Ellie smiled. "His nephews were there and he's so adorable with them, Mom."

"Uh-oh! Someone's thinking about babies," Esther smiled, going into the office and taking note of all the messages.

"No! It's just nice to see," Ellie shrugged. "It's just nice to know that if we were ever to have kids I know what kind of Dad he'd be."

"You do realize that him with his nephews is different than him with his own children, right?" Esther asked, walking out of the office.

"Of course," Ellie nodded. "Levi and Parker are adorable, but they're not Jordan's. I just like knowing that he likes kids."

Esther smiled and walked by her to start baking. Work went by quickly for the women, for they had a lot of things to get done for clients. Rounding 3 in the afternoon the front door of the bakery opened. Esther told Ellie to keep decorating a birthday cake, and she went out to greet the person.

"Hello, welcome to Forester Treats. I'm Esther Forester," Esther stated, she was such a people person. "What can I do for you today?"

"Hi," The female voice replied. "I'm having a bridal shower in about two months and I was hoping to get some cupcakes and pastries for it."

"Absolutely," Esther smiled. "Let me just get my daughter. She's the other half of my brain."

Esther walked to the back, twisting her bracelets. "Hun? Can you come out here for a bit?"

Ellie nodded and washed her hands. She followed her mother out and met up with the client.

"Ellie, this is-"

"Tess Stewart," Ellie stated, forcing a small smile. She was more shocked than angry to see her.

"Ellie! Oh my God, I didn't even realize this was your place!" Tess stated, immediately feeling out of place.

"Yup! This is mine and my mom's bakery," Ellie smiled.

"This is Tess? Sidney's fiancé?" Esther smiled. "I'm sorry, dear! I had no idea. Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Forester!" Tess smiled.

"I'll be right back," Esther smiled, leaving the two girls alone.

"Ellie, I'm sorry. I didn't even realize that this was your bakery," Tess sighed. "If you want I'll leave. I can go somewhere else."

"Don't be silly, Tess. It's fine," Ellie replied. "I promise."

It's fine because I know that your fiancé cheated on you.

Despite all the bad things that Tess had done to sabotage Jordan and Ellie's relationship, Ellie felt bad for Tess. No one, not even Tess, deserved to be hurt in that way. Ellie didn't hate Tess anymore. She knew they'd never be friends, but she could at least be civil with her. They were both engaged. Ellie had won.

Ellie could feel the words "Sidney cheated on you" crawling up her throat and dancing on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to tell Tess. She felt that Tess had a right to know.

Esther walked back to the girls and sat them all down.

"So I just need about a hundred or so cupcakes for my bridal shower. We're having the shower here and getting married in Nova Scotia," Tess smiled.

Ellie hated how happy she was. Not because Ellie was unhappy, but because she had this huge secret that would ruin Tess' life and marriage. She had to tell her, but she didn't want to hurt her. After all the dumb stunts Tess pulled, Ellie didn't want to see her hurt.

"That's so exciting!" Esther smiled.

Ellie couldn't stop herself anymore.

"Tess," Ellie stated. "I need to talk to you."

"Sure," Tess nodded. Ellie nodded towards the front door and they moved their way there. "What's up?"

"I have something to tell you and it's not really my place to say," Ellie sighed.

"Then don't," Tess shrugged. "In my experience, if you have information that isn't yours to tell, you probably shouldn't."

"But it's really important," Ellie replied. "If I don't tell you than you may never know."

"Good," Tess stated. "I don't want to know. I'd rather be blissfully unaware of all the negative things going on in my life. I would rather not know the things that could ruin my wedding or my life. I'd rather die unaware, then know all the things that are wrong in my life."

"Is that really a good idea?" Ellie asked. She didn't know why she cared so much, but she did.

"I don't tell you how to live your life, so please don't tell me how to live mine." Tess stated.

"Okay," Ellie nodded.

"Thank you for trying to look out for me, though." Tess smiled softly, and then walked back to the table to sit with Esther again.

Ellie sighed and nodded, walking back as well. She had tried. That was it. The rest of the "meeting" went by without a hitch and Tess left. Ellie was quiet the rest of the day at work and then her mother drove her home.

"Jordan?" Ellie called, walking into the house. She walked into the bathroom catching Jordan right out of the shower.

"Hey, babe." Jordan smiled, kissing her forehead. "How was work?"

"Tess came in," Ellie stated, rubbing her forehead.

"What?"

"Tess came into the bakery today and asked us to do some cupcakes for her bridal shower, but not her wedding because she and Sidney are getting married in Nova Scotia," Ellie sighed.

"Did you tell her?" Jordan asked, staring at her wide-eyed. "Please tell me you didn't."

"No, I didn't tell her. I wanted to and I tried to-"

"Ellie!" Jordan groaned, tugging at his hair.

"She didn't want to hear it!" Ellie replied. "She told me that she didn't care. She told me that she'd rather be blissfully unaware than know if something was going wrong."

"It's not our place to say!" Jordan stated. "You told me at Christmas that you didn't want anything to do with this. You told me that you didn't want us meddling in this."

"I said we weren't helping Sidney out of this mess," Ellie replied. "If he won't tell her than I will!"

"Ellie, please!" Jordan begged. "We just moved ourselves out of a huge mess with her. Let's not involve ourselves again, okay?"

"Okay," Ellie nodded. "I'll stay out of it. We can just focus on being together."

"Thank you," Jordan sighed happily, pulling her close. Ellie smiled and hooked her fingers into his towel, tugging it off.

"You've got some nerve, little girl." Jordan smirked as she tossed the towel to the side.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ellie laughed as he picked her up and carried her towards their bedroom. "Less talking and more kissing."

"Yes, ma'am." Jordan smirked, laying her on the bed.

In that moment, Ellie decided that she would stay out of Sidney and Tess' life. She realized it wasn't worth it. Ellie couldn't help but feel like she was intentionally hurting Tess, but it wasn't her choice and it wasn't her life.

Instead she focused on Jordan. She would focus on her own fiancé and not someone else's. She would focus on her job and her life. She hoped Sidney would do the same and focus on his own fiancé and find a way to make things right with her.