Page 48 of No One But Us

“I’m not going to listen to this,” he says. “If you want the privileges of being my daughter, then damn well stay put and do what I say next time instead of running off to Delaware. And you’re going to have to reimburse me for the current balance of thatcard.”

I’m so staggered I can’t speak. The arrangement we had is onehesuggested—no, encouraged: I’d spend summers and breaks interning, and he’d cover my expenses. I never got paid a dime during all those years I worked forhim.

“And what is the current balance on that card?” Iask.

“About $3000,” hesays.

“$3000?! I haven’t charged anything close to thatamount!”

“I haven’t paid it off in a while. I think it’s probably those work clothes you bought in NewYork.”

“Youtoldme to buy those work clothes. You said, ‘Go see Anne at Saks. She’ll take care ofyou.’”

“You can send me smaller monthly payments until it’s paid off. I’m not trying to be amonster.”

“Too late, Dad.” I laugh. “And you know what? You’re not getting a dime from me. We had anagreement.”

“You’re going to ruin your credit,” hewarns.

“It’syouraccount,” I reply. “So I’m pretty sure it will only ruin yours. We had anagreement.”

“Is thatallyou can say?” heasks.

“No, I can say other things,” I reply. “Here’s one of them: go fuckyourself.”

I hang up and slam my phone against the deck. The glass on the front of it cracks, and I bury my head in my hands and weep. I thought the universe would come to right the wrongs done to me—the shame of the whole Edward thing, the loss of my internship, my parents’ divorce and the ensuing humiliation. Most of all, the fact that James doesn’t want me. But the universe doesn’t give anything. It seems, right now, that all it does istake.

* * *

That night, miraculously, Brian suggests there are extra shifts available if I’d like to pick them up. I’m still leaving the beach, but until I can go home, the money willhelp.

Toward the end of my shift, I stand with Kristy, watching her last customer nurse his two-hour-old beer. Her boyfriend, Matt, has been off for over an hour, and he sits at the bar waiting for her with decreasingpatience.

“Jesus,” he sighs. “He’s never going toleave.”

“I’ve got this,” says James. He changes the channel from baseball to HGTV, and mere seconds later, the guy is waving for hischeck.

Kristy goes to the back to settle up, and James turns to me. “Did Brian tell you there are extra shifts available?” he asks, not quite meeting myeye.

“Yeah, he told me,” I say. “It’s perfect. I’ve had too much time on my handshere.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard. I’ve got money saved up from last summer if you’re ever in apinch.”

There’s no way this is acoincidence.

“You heard my phone call, didn’tyou?”

He shifts uncomfortably and hesitates, as if he’s trying to decide whether or not to lie. “I didn’t mean to,” he says. “I was lifting weights under thedeck.”

“I probably sounded like a spoiledbrat.”

“No,” he argues. “Your dad is an asshole, in a hundred ways. He always was. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed listening to you tell him off.” He grins. “You’ve got quite a mouth on you, Elle. I never thought I’d hear the kid who could name every single My Little Pony character tell her dad to go fuckhimself.”

I laugh, a little unwillingly. “Not my finestmoment.”

He smiles then, reluctantly, before turning away. “It was one ofthem.”

Chapter 29

---