About a month later, Elyssa and Jack are in Pittsburgh for Christmas. It's Christmas Eve and Elyssa has to go to her dads place to get things organized.
"Can I please just come with you?" Jack asks genuinely, standing across from Elyssa in her childhood bedroom.
"You don't need to. I can talk to him alone." She almost argues.
"I know you can, I just want to be there for you." Jack doesn't back down.
"Jack he's a shitty person. Yeah he's dying, but he'll still make snarky comments toward you. He'll say anything to get under your skin and then talk down about you when you react. He's not worth your time." She explains. She wants to protect Jack from Chad.
"But I feel like shit because I've never even met my wife's dad." Jacks voice is quiet now, calmer. She can tell he desperately wants this.
"He doesn't mean anything to me. He shouldn't mean anything to you." She continues to deny it.
"Lyss please?" He stays calm.
"Fine." She takes a deep breath.
"Hello." Chads nurse greets Elyssa and Jack at the door with a smile.
"Hi." Elyssa smiles back. She's a kind lady, Elyssa feels bad she has to take care of Chad. Jack also gives her a smile as he removes his coat.
"Elyssa?" Chad asks from the living room of his small, run down apartment.
"Yeah." She answers. Jack follows her into the living room.
"Can you hand- oh?" Chad stops talking once he sees Jack. "You must be the pretty boy hockey player I read about." Elyssas heart starts to race.
"Jack." He holds his hand out.
"Chad." They shake hands. Elyssa is happy Jack isn't backing down.
"So Jack sit down, tell me about yourself. Other than the fact that you married my daughter without asking." Chad gestures for them to sit down. Elyssa rolls her eyes, sitting next to jack.
"What do you wanna know?" Jack leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Anything, I got time... sort of." Chad leans back in his recliner chair.
"Alright, uh, I was born in Florida, I'm the middle of three boys." Jack begins telling him the bullet points of his life. Elyssa plays with her ring anxiously. She zones out for a few minutes not listening to Jack tell Chad the things she already knows. She begins paying attention again when she recognizes the tone in chads voice.
"How much her mother pay you to marry her? Or, or did you knock her up? So you kinda had to marry her? I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. Ya know, she's been known to get around if ya kno-" Chad lets loose, laughing. Elyssas heart breaks at the comments. She swallows the lump in her throat, desperately trying not to show how much that hurt her.
"No." Jack cuts him off, "if that's all you think of Elyssa, I feel sorry for you. She is so much more than what you labeled her as when she was a kid."
"I was just askin." Chad casually shakes his head, not phased at all. Jack takes a deep breath, standing up.
"I'll be in the car." He says quietly to Elyssa, squeezing her hand before walking out. She takes a deep breath, grabbing the paperwork she needs to help Chad complete. She silently sits down and fills out the sections she can do without asking.
"Do you want to be buried or cremated?" She doesn't look up from the paper.
"Buried." He says. "E, I was just making conversation, just trying to get to know him."
"No. You are answering these questions, that I am helping you with, because I'm trying to be a good person. We are not making small talk. You don't get to pretend to be my father now. I am done with you." She looks up from the paper at him. She sees his eyes almost break, like he is taking what she is saying seriously. She nods, seeing that she's gotten her point across. She continues asking questions to complete the paperwork.
"How much debt are you in?" She asks the final question.
"None." He shakes his head.
"Chad. I am being serious. I don't need fucking drug dealers coming after me or Teddy because you died before you paid them." Elyssa sighs.
"I'll find out." He decides not to argue.
"When you do, just tell me, I'll take care of it." She stands up, ready to leave. She stares at him, knowing this will most likely be the last time she sees him alive. She thinks about everything he's ever done to her. All the pain he's put her through. All the years she hated herself because of him. Her eyes get glassy.
"I wish you had been a better dad, a better person for that matter." She tells him.
"E, I love you." Tears fall from his eyes. She tries not to react. She knows it's not true; the only person he's ever truly loved is himself.
"Do me a favor and tell Teddy that in person. He'll appreciate it more than me." She sighs, trying not to breakdown. Chad nods as she begins leaving his small apartment.
As soon as she steps outside, she breaks down. Jack gets out of the car, racing to get her. He wraps his arms around her as she collapses into his body. Jack holds her as he slowly guides them both to the ground. Elyssas heart races as she breathes fast and shallow. Tears flow out of her eyes like rapids.
After a few minutes, Jack helps her stand, guiding her to the car.
