Page 123 of The Christmas You Crash

There’s a beat of silence, and then a voice that is most definitely not my mother’s fills my ear. “Really, Alexis? That’s how you answer your phone?”

All the color drains from my face, and Ryder is instantly on alert. He tugs the phone away from my ear, so he can see who’s calling, and when he seesDadon the screen, he presses the speaker button. His hands fall to my thighs, keeping me tethered to the earth and him, and his blue eyes are alert and focused on me. “What do you want, Dad?”

A deep, annoyed sigh filters through the speaker. “Look, things got out of hand the other day. It was the heat of the moment, and I said some things I shouldn’t have. I want to get things back to the way they were.”

The way they were. It doesn’t escape me that not once in his little speech does my father say he’s sorry or express any real regret. This call isn’t about making things right with me.

“And what does that mean to you, exactly?” I ask, my voice wavering slightly before I force myself to harden it. “Getting things back to the way they were. What does that look like?”

My dad sighs again. “Please don’t be dramatic, Alexis. This was just a misunderstanding.”

A misunderstanding.When I look up at Ryder, a deep scowl mars his face. He stares at the phone like he may reach right through it and strangle my dad. “I fail to see how any of this is a misunderstanding,” I say.

“I thought you were using Ryder to punish me,” my dad says. As if it’s obvious. As if I should have known. He says it like I shouldn’t be offended that this is what he thinks of me.

A harsh, cynical bark of laughter spills out of me. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”

“Oh, come on, Alexis. It’s not that much of a stretch. You always threw a fit when I couldn’t make it to some little thing or other. So, I thought you were getting back at me for canceling dinner with you to attend to Ryder’s injuries.”

My grip on the phone tightens. “You thought I’d use and manipulate a good man just to get back at my dad for canceling dinner plans?”

“There’s no need to be so sensitive. Obviously, I was mistaken. Which is why I’m calling. I want to make things right. I’d like to talk things out and schedule a press conference for tomorrow morning, so we can show a united front.”

Stunned silent, I stare at Ryder and mouth,Is he serious?My boyfriend’s hands grip my thighs a little tighter. There’s no missing the rage in his eyes. He’s furious on my behalf.

“So, that’s what this is about,” I finally say. My voice comes out flat and lifeless, but tears pool in my eyes. Just when I thought my father couldn’t stoop any lower. “You want me to help you save your job.”

My dad scoffs. “You owe me that much, Alexis. I’ve paid for all of your schooling and the majority of your living expenses. Where do you think that money comes from? A tree in the backyard?”

I want to scream. To throw my phone against the wall. I want to make him feel even a fraction of the pain he’s caused me with his rejection over the years. Ryder opens his mouth to tell my dad off, but I shake my head. I need to fight this battle alone.

“No.”

Silence. And then, “No? What do you mean,no, Alexis?”

“I mean no. No, I don’t want to help you sweep this under the rug. No, I will not sit next to you at a press conference and lie to the world. I won’t tell them we’ve patched things up or that you’re a great dad or that I think you’ve learned your lesson. I mean no, I will not help you save your job.”

“Youoweme this, Alexis. It’s your fault I’m in this position in the first place!”

The tears in my eyes overflow and drip down my cheeks. But I don’t let him hear how much he’s hurting me. “No, Arthur. It’s your fault you’re in this position. It’s your fault we don’t have a relationship. It’s your fault you’re a shitty father. I don’towe youanything. I’m done.”

“Done? I don’t think so, Alexis. You do this, and I won’t pay for your last year of school. I won’t pay for your rent. You do this, and you’re on your own. Do you understand?”

I make a strangled sound that’s something between a laugh and a sob. “Fine. If that’s how you want to play it, Arthur, fine. I appreciate that you’ve paid for my school and living expenses, I really do. But in every other way, you’ve been an absent parent for a long, long time.”

My dad growls. “You ungrateful little bitch, I?—”

“That’s enough,” Ryder roars. He gently pries the phone from my hand and presses me to his chest with his free hand. “One more word, Arthur, and I will get in my car, drive to your house, and kick your sorry ass. Howdareyou speak to your own daughter like that? You’re the worst kind of man. Your ex-wife is a saint for putting up with you as long as she did. And as for Lexi? You’re a fucking idiot. You’ve missed out on years with the most intelligent, beautiful, loyal daughter, and for what? A job you’re about to lose, if there’s any justice in the world?”

Ryder’s chest heaves. “You’re pathetic. Pathetic and selfish and sad.” He looks down at me. “Baby, do you want to speak to your father again after this?”

All I can do is shake my headno. My throat is tight with the sobs I’m trying desperately to hold in. Ryder presses a soft kiss to my forehead.

“Lexi doesn’t want to speak to you again. And if she does, she will contact you. From now on, you will leave her alone. Do you understand?”

“I don’t know who you think you are,” my dad snarls. “But?—”

“I’m the man who loves your daughter,” Ryder says, cutting him off. “I’m the luckiest bastard alive. And I’m the man who will kick your pathetic ass if you go against her wishes. Don’t fucking try me, Cross. I swear to god, there’s nothing I want more.”

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