Chapter 178: About Time

Alex's POV

I couldn't tell if that was a threat to get me shaking up or if he was actually planning on acting that out, but the fact that it was about Lisa made me shiver for a bit as I stared at him in silence for more than three seconds. My brain's still not processing the kind of response I was supposed to give to him because I dare not provoke him to hurting Lisa; I would never forgive myself for that.

Are you going to continue being this sassy father? I just want your bet fair and square, and you said that you were going to stay out of this; you'd leave the both of us alone. Why then are you sending threats her way now?" I asked him outrightly, listening to hear what he was going to say about it because there was no way in hell I was going to gamble Lisa's life with my father.

"Oh, the goddess bear me witness, I never said I was going to hurt her or anything; I am only very much concerned about my son who's about to throw his entire life away by running after a girl that has no future to offer him, so I ask you, Lex, what happens if you don't have her anymore?"

"Or Father, please stop being dramatic. You and I know very well that you do not care one bit about me to think of what would happen to me if I should lose Lisa, and come to think of it, it is none of your business because I am choosing the parts I want to go in, and you do not get to know what my plans are. I am not going to give you that luxury." I was already yelling at this point because deep down within me I was raging.

"I can already tell how this is going to end, Lex. I can already foretell what you're going to find on the way, and it is not going to be anything beautiful at all because you are going to realise that you're making one of the biggest mistakes of your life, something that you might not be able to come back from if you do not decide to change on time. She's going to leave you. I did not need anyone to tell me because people like her are parasites; once they get everything they want from you, they are going to leave you to fall and crumble to the ground, and that's exactly what she's going to do to you," he said to me.

"I am actually trying to wrap my head around how it is that you actually sound so desperate to put me in your cage again. I mean, was I never born to be free? All I wanted from you was a little concern. As a father I had everything else, many things that most kids did not ever, ever dream of having, but the one thing that everyone else had I couldn't have for a second. How much do you even know about me? You call me your son every day, but how much do you know about me? What at all do you know about me? What grade am I in school? What sport am I involved in? What's my favourite colour? What are my allergies?"

"Stop being petty, Lex; none of these things matter!" He yelled at me in response.

"Of course they do not matter to you, Father; they never did. They have never mattered to you, and that is why you think that it does not matter to other people. I'm always the isolated one when it comes to family relationships because I have got none. You gave me everything else, but the most basic thing is something I need to pray for and stand by, watching other people display it in front of me every single day of my life. I used to feel a little lonely when Mum was alive because I felt like you weren't being part of the family enough, and it even got clearer after she died; it showed that you weren't concerned about us at all. So I'll be fine; I do not need you in my life because you've never been there."

"You are going to regret this, Lex, I promise you. If you walk right out of that door this moment, you are going to come back to me begging on your knees, asking me to take you back, and I will not take you back easily until I've made you suffer the consequences of abandoning your responsibility and thinking that you can cut corners."

"Cut corners? You really think that this is Cutting Corner's father? Why the heck am I even calling you 'father' still?" I asked myself, raking my hand through my hair as I stomped for the door.

"You should be very careful out there, and you should keep close eyes on that girl because there is no guarantee of what is going to happen to her seeing that she is the one who is standing between the growth of my family. You know me very well; I do not go easy on distractions no matter the kind," he said to me, and this was the umpteenth time it was threatening Lisa's life from the same night.

"I swear to you, Father, if any harm should come to Lisa while I am away from you, I am going to blame you for it, and I will make you pay. Just pray to the goddess that nothing happens to her because if anything at all hurts her even in the slightest, I am going to have you to blame for that," I said to him as I grabbed the door handle.

"Take a second, Lex, and stare at yourself in a mirror. Ask yourself if this is the lifestyle your mother would be proud of, and whenever you find the right answer, you know where to find me."

"Oh no, but I do not need to do that because she knows what I feel, and I can answer that right here. Do you want to hear it?" I asked him.