By the time Ford had dropped me off it was almost 3 in the morning.
I tip-toed inside the house, being as quiet as I could.
Until a voice stopped me in my tracks. "Who was that man that just dropped you off?" John's voice boomed.
I turned to face him. "None of your business. Don't worry about it."
The corner of his lips curled up. "Don't give me any sass, girl. I asked you a question and I expect an answer."
"That controlling tone might work with my mother, for reasons I fail to comprehend; but you're surely mistaken if you think it'll have the same effect on me. I don't answer to you."
I headed in the direction of my room when I was suddenly slammed against the wall. I rubbed the back of my head, trying to thwart off a headache that would be starting soon, thanks to him. "Touch me again and it will be the last thing you ever do, you son of a bitch," I warned.
"Young lady, that is no way to talk to your father."
I saw red at that moment."You might be screwing my mother, but you are not my father."
He looked me up and down, disgust in his eyes. "Yeah, well, maybe if you actually had a father you wouldn't be walking in the house at 3 in the morning looking like a tramp."
I was so angry I started shaking. "Yeah, well, maybe if you were half the man my father was, you wouldn't have to buy my mother off with gifts to get her to fuck you."
The slap across my face seemed to echo throughout the entire house.
A light turned on in the hallway and my mother stood there in shock.
I took a step forward. “You can try and cover up manure...but at the end of the day, it still reeks like shit.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he barked.
I looked at my mother briefly before focusing my attention back to him. "You might be in her bed now, but trust me when I say that when the booze leaves her system and reality sets in, it's not you that she wants next to her. It will always be him."
My mother gasped but I ignored her and held up my cell phone instead. "And you just made a big mistake by touching me."
I ran out of the house and dialed Ford's number.
A woman's voice picked up on the third ring.
"Hello," she answered.
"Can I speak to Ford?" I heard some shuffling in the background. "It's 3:30 in the morning. Who is this?"
Aggravation coursed through me as it dawned on me. "Why are you picking up his cell phone?"
A giggle erupted, followed by the sound of his low groan. "Because he's a little preoccupied at the moment."
I let out a shaky breath, the impact of her words sinking in.
"Tell him it's important," I whispered.
With a huff, I heard her faintly murmur what I said to him.
"There's nothing more important than you, sweetheart. Just hang up on her," Ford's voice commanded before the line went dead.
I shoved my phone into my pocket and turned back around. I was startled to find John outside on the porch smoking a cigarette.
"Look, I'm sorry about before," he began.
I continued walking, my heart breaking with every step. "Whatever."
"Who was that you were on the phone with?" he asked.
That's when the tears erupted. John stomped out his cigarette, appearing daunted.
"It doesn't matter," I sniffed. "What we had is over, for good. He made that perfectly clear."
He looked pleased. "Listen, I've been thinking, I want your mother to go to rehab."
I laughed and walked past him. "Yeah, good luck with that."
"I'm gonna make it happen, Alyssa. But I'm going to need your help."
He held out his hand. "Truce?"
"Fine," I muttered before heading inside.
An hour later, my phone rang. Ford's name flashed on the screen.
“Leave me alone,” I answered.
“Don't be like that, Alyssa.”
“Be like what, Ford? Be like you?”
“Stop acting like a child. I told you the way it had to be.”
I stayed silent.
“I told you I'll always be there for you when you need me,” he said.
“Yeah, except when you're too busy being there for her. I won't be the other woman.”
He chuckled. “You'd actually have to be a woman for that to happen.”
His words stung. There was only one way to make the pain go away. “Have a nice life, Ford.”
”Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you like that. You know I love you. I will always love you. But maybe it's best that we don't talk for a while,” he said before he hung up.
It was the last time I would speak to Ford for 4 years.
The next time...he would shatter the rest of me.
He stared at me for what felt like forever, finally standing up from his desk after a full 5 minutes had passed.
His gray suit was immaculate, and even though a few lines creased his forehead with age, it only made him better looking.
“You cut your hair,” were the first words he uttered. “It suits you. I like it. Makes you look more mature.”
I gave him half a smile. “Most newscasters have shoulder length hair. I figured it was time to conform.”
He nodded. “Did you get here okay?”
I held up the keys to the BMW. “Yeah. Thanks to a certain special agent I know.”
Nothing shocked me more than when I had received the title and a set of keys to his BMW in the mail, along with directions telling me where I could pick it up.
On his wedding day, no less.
Not wanting to acknowledge that statement with words, he gave me another nod.
I wrung my hands and looked around. “I like your office.”
“Yeah, I have the promotion to thank for that. It seems the higher up the chain I go, the less field work I do.”
I smiled, until I spotted a picture of him and my father on his desk. His eyes followed mine and he looked away.
Figuring this moment couldn't get any more awkward, I decided, to go for the gold. “How's Penelope?”
“Fine,” he responded curtly.
He seemed different now. Colder. “Is everything okay?” I asked.
He cleared his throat and walked out from around his desk. “I guess I'm just trying to figure out exactly why you're here, Alyssa.”
I stepped back as though I'd been punched. “You really have no idea why I'm here right now?”
The sex tape had gone viral, my stepfather had lost the election, and my mother had officially disowned me.
I had no one else to turn to. All roads led back to him.
“I guess you haven't been on the internet in a while but—”
“I saw the fucking sex tape!” he screamed loud enough to make me jump.
Not waiting for a response, he continued. “Like I said, I'm having trouble figuring out why you're here.”
I swallowed hard. “John won't help me and my mother's turned her back on me.”
“Okay?”
“Okay?” I scoffed before my voice started cracking. “You're all I have left, Ford.”
I took a step toward him and he lifted his chin. “What exactly is it that you want from me, Alyssa?”