Adopted by Harry Styles

Explaining

(Song: Lie by NF)
"You... you were right," Ellie says with a sigh.

"About what, love?" I ask, confused.

"About Kyle," she tells me, her voice cracking as she begins to cry. I can't believe Kyle would hurt Ellie. Especially when I was just beginning to trust him.

"What happened between you two?" I question.

"Something's wrong with me," she sobs. I can tell she's frustrated with herself and it makes me feel terrible. The only thing I want is for Ellie to be happy and healthy.

"You need to explain more, sweetie. That's the only way I can help you," I tell her. I bring my thumb to her cheek and wipe a few tears from her face.

"You can't help me... I'm too messed up." She says the last part quietly. What's she talking about?

"That's not true, El," I sigh. "And you don't know that I can't help you. If you tell me what's going on in your head, then I can at least try."

Ellie doesn't respond to what I say and she continues to sit with her knees brought up to her chest on her bed. "If I guess, will you tell me?" I ask. This is my last resort to get information from her. She nods her head and I begin guessing.

"I know he broke up with you, right?" I ask calmly, trying not to make her too upset. She winces and nods her head. I move my hand to her back, trying my best to make her first breakup less painful.

"Are you upset because you have no boyfriend now or because of something he did or said when he was breaking up with you?" I ask. As usual, she doesn't answer. This is going to be a longer process than I expected.

"Is it because you have no boyfriend now?" I ask, rephrasing the question so she doesn't have to speak. She shakes her head telling me that's not why she's sad.

"Is it something he did?" I ask.

She hesitates before nodding her head.

"Was he not paying enough attention to you?" I ask.

"Dad," she hiccups, not answering my question, but thankfully talking.

"What is it, love?" I ask. My concerned eyes meet her tiered, sad one.

"He kissed someone else be-because... I didn't have sex with him," she says. Her voice breaks as she continues to speak, "I-I wanted to, though." Then her voice gets even quieter and I can barely hear her say, " it reminded m-me of... of Dan."

I take a deep breath and pull Ellie close to me. How has her life become so complicated? I knew Kyle was going to do something shitty like this eventually. I should have been more strict with the dating rules.

"Hey, El. That doesn't make you messed up," I start. "And if Kyle thinks that you need to have sex to be in a relationship, well then he is completely incorrect. I know it hurts right now, breakups are the worst, but it will get better. And I know how cheesy that sounds, but it's true. Time is the best medicine for things like this, okay?" I say.

I feel her nod her head on the side of my body which she is leaned into. She is still upset though; I can tell by the lack of words.

"And... feeling uncomfortable having sex with someone right after you experienced a bad event with it isn't rare. I promise, it will go away if you just give it time. Kind of like breakups. This is just the dad in me coming out, but I think you should wait until you're a little older and find someone you truly love to do intimate things with. I promise you, things are going to start looking up from here, and I'm going to do anything and everything I can do to make that happen," I tell her.

Again, she nods her head but doesn't say anything. That's  okay, though. I don't expect my words to instantly make her feel better all the time. "What can I do for you, love? How can I make this easier?" I ask.

She thinks for a few seconds before replying. "Dad... I can't do the musical anymore," she pitifully tells me. "I don't want to see Kyle. Especially when he has his tongue down the other girls throat," she adds with a scoff.

"Well, that's something I can fix since this play just started. The school probably has understudies willing to take your place, but I want you to think for a few before you make your final decision. I don't want you to regret this later," I say. It's a shame that she wanted to stop doing something solely because of one other person.

"Kay," she mumbles into my side.

"Is there anything else I can do? I just want my happy Ellie back," I say, grabbing her hand and rubbing circles with my thumb.

"No... I'll be okay," she says.

"Okay, well you know that you can come to with anything. That's why I'm here," I tell her. Some part of me is still worried about her trying to hurt herself, even though I have her blade.

"How about we have Evan, Claire, Rachel, Ryan, and their parents over on Friday night? We can hang out at the beach or in the backyard," I suggest to Ellie. I think the most important thing for her right now is to be surrounded by the people who she knows love her.

She looks up at me and I notice a little bit of happiness in her eyes. "Okay," she say.

"Awesome," I say, giving her a thumbs up. She smiles a little, which causes me to smile. "Then, I guess we have plans for Friday. Why don't you text your friends? I'll text their parents," I say.

She agrees and reaches for her phone on the table next to her bed. I grab my out of my pocket and begin texting as well.