In the past, Tommy stays home alone with his father while Luann flies to Seattle after Uncle Dave’s heart attack. Tommy is uneasy about being alone with his abusive, alcoholic father, but his mind is mostly on Alison’s ultimatum. Alison has demanded that Tommy break up with Daisy or risk exposure to the police as Brandi Healey’s secret boyfriend, yet Tommy cannot bring himself to end the relationship and keeps hoping for another way out.

While eating a steak dinner he cooked for himself, Tommy exchanges affectionate texts with Daisy and thinks about how much he loves her. His father comes home drunk from work and the bar, immediately angry that Luann is gone and that no dinner was made for him. The confrontation worsens when his father accuses Tommy of stealing whiskey, threatens to beat him with his belt, and mocks Tommy’s relationship with Daisy.

The argument turns deadly when Tommy’s father reveals he knows where Daisy lives and begins speaking about her in a sexually threatening way. Tommy, who has tolerated his father’s violence toward himself and Luann, is pushed past his limit by the threat against Daisy. He grabs the steak knife and warns his father to stay away from her.

Tommy’s father laughs off the threat and says he may go see Daisy that very night. In response, Tommy stabs him in the stomach. His father collapses but does not die immediately, and Tommy realizes he has a choice between calling for help or making sure his father cannot survive.

As his wounded father crawls toward the phone and begs for an ambulance, Tommy watches without helping. He then kneels beside him, tells him, “You will never hurt her again,” and cuts his throat. The chapter ends with Tommy deliberately killing his father to stop him from ever threatening Daisy again.