Page 89 of After Midnight

“Okay,” I say.

“Okay?” he repeats. “Is that all you’ve got to say?”

“What do you want me to say?” I snap back.

Dad lets out a sharp, humorless laugh. “I don’t know, Sebastian. Maybe act like you actually give a shit. It’s not like your mother and I live in a multimillion-dollar fucking mansion.”

The words are meant to hurt—he’s good at that.

My family didn’t have much money growing up. I was the kid who had a job at fifteen, working at a surf shop and playing music with the guys on the weekends. Dad worked, Mom worked, and yet it felt like we never had enough. Now I have money for all of us, yet somehow, I still feel like I’m falling short—at least in my father’s eyes.

“I do give a shit,” I say, some of the heat gone from my voice.

Dad scoffs. “Could’ve fooled me.”

I glance through the sliding glass doors, watching as Remi slips into the pool, making the water ripple and glisten around her. I want to be out there with her right now, not in here, fighting with my father.

So, in hopes of getting off this call, I say, “How much do you need?”

His answer comes quickly. “Five grand.”

I actually grind my teeth. No way he needs five thousand dollars for a “roof leak.” Part of me wants to tell him to go to hell and slam the phone down. But Remi is out in my pool right now, floating on her back under the summer sun, and the last thing I want is chaos. We only have a couple more days together before she flies back to Vegas, and I have no intention of letting my father ruin that. If five grand is what peace costs, I’ll pay it.

“Okay. I’ll send it. You need anything else?”

My voice comes out sharper than I intended, and I wince, knowing I just doused his fire with fuel.

Shit.

There’s a pause before he speaks. “You know, Sebastian, I don’t like your fucking attitude.”

Heat builds in my chest. I shouldn’t fight back. I should just swallow my words down and hang up the phone. But my control fails, just for a fraction of a moment, and the truth slips out without me meaning for it to. “And I don’t like only hearing from you when you want my money.”

“Your money?” Dad laughs his shitty laugh, the one that he’s used to belittle me since I was a boy. “Everything you have came from this family.”

I scoff. He acts like I haven’t worked my ass off to get to where I am.

Dad’s voice drops low. “You think that’s funny?”

He’s gearing up for a fight; I can hear the slight tremble in his voice that means he’s about five seconds away from exploding.

And I really don’t want to do this right now.

So I finally rein myself in, take a tight breath, and say, “I’ve gotta go. Tell Mom I love her.”

He draws a breath, probably ready to launch into one of his tirades about how lazy and ungrateful I’ve always been, but I hit the screen to end the call, and it cuts him off before he can begin.

Without his voice in my ear, the kitchen feels quiet—so quiet I can hear a low ring in my ears from the adrenaline tingling inside me.

I slowly lower the cell to the island beside me, and I find my hand shaking.

When I was young, I learned not to fight with my father. No matter what I did or said, I could never win our arguments, never convince him to see things from my point of view. So I learned to dance his dance, to do what he wanted to keep the peace in the household. Back then, I had no idea it’d follow me into adulthood, but I’ve been dragging this weight around for years now.

And I’m not sure I want to anymore.

My gaze lifts once more to the sliding glass door. Remi has her arms crossed on the side of the pool now, and she’s looking right back at me. When she catches my eye, she smiles, completely unaware of the conflict churning inside me. But just that one look from her helps calm the beating of my heart, and my shaking hand goes still on the countertop. She waves a hand at me, her fingertips still damp with pool water, beckoning me to join her.

Trying not to let myself get spun up again, I quickly grab my phone and send my father the five thousand dollars. Then I take the plate of fresh mango and pad through the living room, going to join Remi outside.