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The night had gone about as well as Scott had expected. They all ate in a relative, awkward silence as Janice tried to make conversation, which Jonathan masterfully avoided. Whenever Jonathan did participate in the conversation, it only served to point out how woefully inadequate he found Scott to be not only in just about every facet of life, but especially as a partner for his baby girl. In fact, it had been so brutally unbearable that Alexa almost abruptly ended the dinner with her parents on several occasions. However, as much as she wanted end the whole affair and spare Scott any more torment from the unrelenting passive aggressive assault of her father, she didn’t. Instead she tried to make the evening as smooth as possible by changing the topic whenever her father’s attitude warranted it. 

Mercifully, after just over two excruciating hours, dinner was over. Scott had hoped that once the bill was paid, he and Alexa would be free to take their leave of her parents and salvage the rest of the night together. He had hoped for a nice quiet night at home, either her apartment or his, which one wasn’t relevant, relaxing on the couch watching some Netflix or anything for that matter, just as long as they were together. However, fate had other plans. Instead of finally going their separate ways after dinner, Janice proved to be a true sadist and suggested a night cap at Alexa’s apartment. What was worse, they had decided to walk the three blocks from AnGio to her place, which left Scott with no chance to avoid further conversation. 

The night went from bad to worse when Jonathan suggested that the ladies walk ahead so that he and Scott could “bond.” As the two ladies moved further ahead of them, a tight knot developed in his chest as he had an unsettling feeling about what was surely to come. Thus far in his relationship with Alexa, any and all interactions with her parents, particularly her father, were about as pleasant as a colonoscopy, and here he was, walking side by side with the man who had been the bane of his existence since they had been introduced. 

“You know Scott, I really do think that you’ve got me all wrong.” Jonathan said almost out of the blue.

[i]Here we go…[/i] Scott thought to himself as he looked into the windows of an upscale women’s clothing store as they walked past it.

“I know you think I don’t like you, and while I don’t approve of you dating my daughter, I don’t dislike you.” He said in an almost friendly manner.

“You certainly seem to go out of your way to show me otherwise.” Scott countered.

“The thing is, for me to dislike you would mean that you matter. And I want to be crystal clear, you don’t.” Jonathan told him.

Scott was about to respond, but was completely taken aback by the older man’s statement that the words just wouldn’t come. A thousand things came to mind that he wanted to say, but for Alexa’s sake, he didn’t. Instead, he walked along silently wishing that Umbraxis would suddenly show up and attack the city again. 

“Look Scott, you seem like a nice kid. You seem to have your head on your shoulders. You’ve got that little club of yours, and it allows you to…do whatever else it is you do in your spare time.” Jonathan said with a sideways glance and a smirk. “But you just aren’t what she needs. You can’t support Alexa, and you can’t protect her.”

“To be perfectly honest Jonathan, Alexa doesn’t need to be taken care of. And she sure as hell doesn’t need anybody’s protection.” Scott started. “I may not make the kind of money that your family does, but I would never, ever let anything happen to Alexa, and if she needed it, I would give her every penny I had.” 

“That’s nice to hear. It’s inconsequential, but still nice. The fact of the matter is, I don’t trust you. You aren’t good enough for my little girl, but for some strange reason she chose you. Scott, you make my daughter happy, and to me that’s the most important thing. So let me be crystal on this…if you hurt her, if anything happens to her while you two are together…I will make your life a living hell. Your club, your apartment, hell…your mother’s home…everything that has ever meant anything to you, will be mine. I will erase you with the snap of my fingers and I’ll sleep like a baby while doing it. Because that little girl is my whole world, and I will destroy anybody that causes her any pain.” Jonathan said, his tone indicating to Scott that it wasn’t just an idle threat, but that the older man meant every word.

“You don’t have anything to worry about. I’d never do anything to hurt her.” Scott told him.

“I know that you believe that, but I’ve been around, Kid, and I just don’t see this lasting.” This was the last thing that Jonathan or Scott said for the remainder of the short walk back to Alexa’s apartment. With each step, Scott wished that he could just take off and get away from this miserable human being, but again for Alexa’s sake, he stuck his chin out and endured for the rest of the night.