I picked up the slice of bread—that had obviously landed butter side down—and tossed it in the bin. After fixing her sandwich and getting her fruit and a yoghurt, plus some Doritos, I took it to the living room where she was tapping at the screen of her tablet.
“This is the video. You see?” She shoved the screen in my face and pointed.
I set her plate on the coffee table and took it from her. Sure as shit, she was right. There was a comment asking her why she had a sex tape. Surprisingly, it was the only one, but I imagined she probably had people who would remove comments. That or they didn’t get through any filters.
Did YouTube moderate comments? I had no idea.
“Okay, well.” I handed Ari back her tablet and sat next to her on the sofa. “The reason Amy’s mum has controls on the internet is for the same reason I do. There are things that aren’t suitable for you to see.”
“But I’m not a baby.”
“I know you’re not a baby, sweetheart, but there are still things that are inappropriate for children.”
“Like whatever a sex tape is?”
“Exactly that.”
“But what is it? And why does Elle have one?”
I sighed and touched her knee. “Elle’s old boyfriend made a video of her doing… grown-up things… with him. Elle didn’t know he had videoed it, and then he shared it a week or so ago.”
“What kind of grown up things? Like what mommys and daddys do?”
“Exactly that. Very grown-up, private things, that you don’t need to know about yet.”
“Okay. Is that why she’s here? Is she hiding from the mean person?”
“Yes. And, you know, she’s really popular. A lot of people know who she is, so there are a lot of people talking about her. They want her picture and want to know what she has to say about it. So she’s here.”
“Is that why I can’t tell anyone she’s here?”
“You didn’t tell Amy, did you?”
“No. I didn’t want to make Elle mad at me. I want to be her friend.”
“I’m sure she’d like that, too.” I squeezed her knee. “But you don’t need to worry, okay?”
“Okay.” She looked down. “Dad, is Elle okay?”
I smiled sadly. She had such a big heart. “She’s okay, sweetheart. Why don’t I see if she wants to take a walk on the beach later? Then you can see for yourself.”
Ari’s face lit up. “That would be fun! Do you think she’d play in the sand with me?”
“You’d have to ask her. She might not want to, though, so don’t get too upset if she’s too busy.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
“Okay. Do you want to wait here while I run over and see if she wants to?”
“Uh-huh. I’ll be fine. I have food.” She grinned and bit down on a strawberry.
I patted her shoulder and got up. “I’ll be right back.”
“’Kay.”
I headed out the back door and down the deck. Elle was sitting on the back deck of her place with a towel wrapped around her head, and she looked up when she saw me approaching.
Her cheeks flushed pink.
I guess we both remembered last night.
“Hey,” she said softly.
“Hey.” I put my hands in my pockets. “How are you this morning?”
“Me, or my head?”
“The same as me, then. But you don’t have a nine-year-old talking constantly.”
“That is a blessing.”
“Don’t count on it. She wants to be your friend. That’s actually why I’m here.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Does she have you doing her dirty work? Wrapped around her baby finger?”
“Yes, and yes. It’s the occupational hazard of having a cute daughter.” I shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m used to it.”
Elle smiled.
“She watched your videos last night and apparently people have been leaving comments about… you know.”
Her smile disappeared in a split second. “What?”
“For what it’s worth, it seems like the comments are being moderated. There was only one.”
“Shit.” She looked down at her phone and tapped furiously. “There. I’ve told my publicist to sort it out. It’s not right for the younger kids. The comments are so interactive and that’s where I ask them to give me opinions and ideas.”
“Well, yeah. I just had to explain to Ari roughly what a sex tape is and why you have one.”
“No. Fuck. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. You shouldn’t feel guilty about what you can’t control.”
Elle stood up, leaving her phone on the sofa, and paced. “No, I can feel guilty, and I will. Kids need to be protected. My channel has always been a safe space for them. Now it’s not. That’s on me.”
“No.” I walked up the stairs and grabbed her shoulders, making her stop and look at me. “Elle, it’s on your ex. Not you. He made that video. He released that video. He did this. Not you.”
She swallowed. “He didn’t release the tape.”
“What?”
“He sold it.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat, looking away for a moment before she met my gaze again. “He sold it to a low-rent, piece of shit tabloid who paid him thirty thousand dollars for the privilege of ruining my life.”