"Annika says she's gonna get a restraining order from you, if you don't leave her alone," Ana informed him.
Scott shrugged. "I mean she's the one who's gonna have to sleep in a tent in the yard so that's up to her. I pay the mortgage so I'm not moving."
Ana rolled her eyes. "Why can't you just leave that poor child alone? You're always bothering her."
"It only because she's fun to annoy," Scott shrugged, "Plus, don't tell her this, but she's my favorite. And annoying people is how I show them I like them."
"You don't annoy me?"
Scott raised a brow before rolling his eyes. "That's because you worship the ground I walk on. Rightfully so."
"Oh go suck a dick, Scott," Ana walked past him.
"I would but you consider that," he raised his hands making air quotes, "infidelity, and, wrong if you're not invited."
Ana sighed. "Somehow you came back worse than before. God help us all."
"God is dead. But I'll take the next caller," Scott smirked, kissing her head. "We should still go to Cabo by the way. Since Nikka wanted to go."
Ana sighed. "Yes I guess we should. Well you harass her?"
"A little," Scott shrugged, opening a package.
"What's that?" She asked, peeking behind him.
Scott shrugged. "Oh; it's nothing."
Ana looked at the object that Scott quickly hid.
"I'll be right back," he said, fleeing into the hallway.
Scott looked both ways, before opening Annika's door.
"Annika," he whispered. "You doing some nerdy shit in here?"
At the silence, Scott snuck in, sitting down at her shelf full of her video games, mangas and figures. He pulled the books and games from under his shirt, arranging what he'd bought on the shelf that is alphabetical order.
He chuckled at the thought of her face when she realized she got new stuff.
He always liked to pretend he didn't know what happened, so she always got confused, and when Ana also didn't know what happened, Annika would go crazy for weeks before just enjoying whatever he bought.
He even had a separate Amazon account just so no one could tell when or what he ordered. It was a little prank he liked to do.
She'd been waiting for this game to come out for ages, so she was definitely gonna think she slept ordered it or something.
He snorted.
She was gonna tell her therapist about this.
"I don't understand..."
He paused, looking back at Annika's voice. Why was she in her closet?
Scott ventured closer to the closet quietly.
"Don't you love me? You said your wife wasn't even nice to you. You said you would leave her."
Scott frowned, looking down.
"Oh Annika..." he whispered. He left the room, with a sigh.
He walked into the bedroom. "Did you know?"
"Did I know what?"
Scott clenched his jaw. "I told you to keep an eye on her, Ana. How did you not know?"
"Not know what? And I don't need you to tell me to keep an eye on my kids, you're the absent parent here not me. Where are you going?"
Scott clenched his jaw. "Out."
• • •
Scott sighed, raising his sunglasses. What a wonderful day to be almost mentally stable. He put his gloves on.
Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices for your children, he decided.
He knocked on the door. "This is a new suit. She better let me play her game," he grumbled.
"Who is it?"
Scott grinned. "Is this...Robert? Router Patterson?"
"Yes. Who are you?"
Scott smiled. "Is your wife home?"
Robert narrowed his eyes.
"No..."
"What about tour daughter? How old is she?"
"9...why are you asking me this? What the hell are you?"
Scott pushed him into the house locking the door behind him.
"Robert, my daughter is 16 years old, crying in her closet. As a father, do you know why that is?"
Scott looked around the house, unplugging the landline.
"Get the hell out of my house!"
"I will," Scott smiled. "But not before I kill you."
Robert searched for his phone. Scott grabbed before he did, smashing a vase over his head, and putting the man's face up to the phone to unlock it.
"Oooh, Pizza Hut is texting you. That must be my underage daughter. Let's see what she said,"
Scott blinked, before smashing the phone. He stepped on it, smashing it.
"Well...you have pictures of my daughter. I know she doesn't leave the house. You must've met her in game. You know they say the reason kids are so violent these days is because of videos games?"
Scott took his hammer, clearing his throat. "But my Annika is very kind girl, so I doubt that's true. I'm very violent and I never played video games."
Scott took the hammer to the man's head before squatting. "I'm gonna frame your wife for this by the way. I think there's nothing better than ruining your entire family, life and reputation."
Scott grinned. "Your kids gonna go to foster care and your wife's gonna go to jail for murder, and I'm gonna make sure everyone knows you're a pedophile. What do you say?"
Scott blinked. "Oh yeah. Guess it's hard to talk without brain matter. Yesh. You shouldn't have touched my child."
