CHAPTER 8 ALEXIS
I wait all day to hear from my father, but a call never comes.
A text never comes.
Nothing.
I finally text him just after dinner.
Me: Merry Christmas, Dad. I’m sorry we didn’t get to spend time together today. I hope you can understand why I did what I did.
By the time I drift off to sleep, I still haven’t heard from him.
And I’m not quite sure how to take that. Is he just shutting me out because he’s mad? Or is he planning something?
I feel a little sad about it, but I’m not going to let it ruin my day. I’m sure he has plans for other ways to ruin my day, anyway.
When I wake in the morning, I have a text from Gregory waiting for me.
Gregory: We’ve run into a wrinkle with the house purchase. Call me when you can.
I slip out of bed where Danny’s still sleeping and pull on one of his sweatshirts. It’s huge on me, and it’s warm and cozy, and it smells like Danny.
It’s mine now, obviously.
I slip downstairs and dial Gregory once I’m settled on the couch under a blanket.
“Ma’am,” he answers.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I got word that you don’t have the funds to purchase the house in Mission Beach first thing this morning.”
“What?” I gasp.
“I think your father might have frozen your assets,” he says.
Businesses were closed yesterday due to the holiday, obviously, so that’s why we didn’t hear anything before now.
“Seriously?” I mutter. I knew full well he’d find a way to ruin my day, and this is a pretty damn good start. “Okay. We’ll head back to Los Angeles. Clearly this is something I’m going to have to deal with in person.”
“I’m not sure when he froze them,” he adds. “You’ve been off the radar for some time now, so he may have done it when you first ran out on the wedding.”
“Good call. I bet he did it thinking I wouldn’t get far without them.”
“Most likely. I’m still in San Diego but would be happy to meet you at Mr. Bodega’s house,” he says.
“Do you have anything at the house that you need?” I ask.
“Nothing I can’t live without.”
“Then I’m fine,” I say. “You enjoy your time off with Tracy, okay? I’ll need you next week when we’re back to filming.”
“Of course, ma’am.”
He ends the call, and I’m heaving out a heavy sigh when Danny walks into the room.
“Who were you talking to, and what’s wrong?” he asks, plopping down beside me. He yanks part of the blanket to cover his legs, too.
“Gregory said he thinks my father froze my assets and I can’t pay for the house we put the offer on.” I purse my lips as I lean my head back and stare up at the ceiling.
“What the fuck?” he mutters.
“I need to go to LA and confront him. And, you know, get everything I own out of the house since I don’t want to live there anymore even if I can’t afford to buy my own place.” I roll my eyes. It sounds so ridiculous when I say it that way. I grossed over six hundred million on my last tour. Of course I can afford a twelve million dollar home on the beach.
His brows crinkle. “Then let’s go.”
My eyes meet his. “Let’s go.”
We’re back on the road toward Los Angeles once again even though we’ve only been home for a day. At least Danny can check in with his mom and sister while we’re in California, but I’m not exactly sure where we’re going to stay since my dad’s house feels less and less welcoming with every passing second.
I’m getting tired of the constant traveling. It’s been my life for so long that I can’t even remember a time when I just felt…stable.
“What are you thinking about?” Danny asks as we zoom down the highway.
“Just that all the travel is starting to wear on me. Back and forth to Los Angeles, Vegas, up and down California, and backwards to filming and the tour before that.” I shrug. “It just feels constant, like I don’t have a place to rest my head that’s permanent, you know?”
“In my arms, baby,” he says, and he reaches over to set his hand on my thigh.
“I know,” I say, and I grab his hand in mine. “You are home to me now. You are. But I’m just starting to feel…unsettled. You know?”
“You are unsettled. You’ve hardly been in one place for more than a few nights at a time since…” he trails off as he waits for me to fill in the blank.
“Since I was sixteen,” I admit.
“Jesus. At least I have three to four months at home after a season and traveling then is my choice.”
“And here you are, stuck with me.” I frown, and he turns his hand around to squeeze mine.
“Not stuck, Lex. It’s my choice, like I said. I wouldn’t be anywhere else than beside you.”
I look over at him as love fills my chest. “I appreciate that. And I love what I do. I’m eternally grateful for the opportunities I’ve had because of this career. But sometimes…”
“You just want to run away from it all?” he guesses.
“I did run away from it all, and now I’m back, and I think that’s the whole problem. I didn’t outrun my problems. They were still waiting right here for me when we returned.”
He huffs out a mirthless chuckle. “That’s kind of the problem with problems, isn’t it? They stand still unless we deal with them.”
“You’re very wise,” I tease. “And thanks for coming with me to deal with this.”
“You should know by now, Lex. I’d do anything for you.” His voice is raspy and soft as he says the words, and I absolutely do know that by now.
“Right back at you, Brewer.”
He smiles, and we head on toward Los Angeles to deal with our problems.
I wish I could say once and for all…but I have this gut instinct that this whole thing is going to get really complicated really quickly.