Love Bird.

Well, that changes things.

"I'm going to get some air. We leave in two hours. Get ready," I told the two who were arguing now about weapon choice.

"Okay," They replied instantly. 

Rolling my eyes as I opened the door, I mumbled as I stepped outside,

"This is a bad idea."

I thought I heard Finn say something about no faith before I shut the door, but I didn't care to ask him to elaborate. The cool night air hit me in the face, and I took a deep breath. I strolled across the porch, and leaned on the railing, looking out at the stars. For a long moment I prayed that Victor was alive and well, unharmed and waiting for me to come get him. Although knowing him he was probably hoping in vein that I wouldn't attempt it. I tried to remember the brief happiness we felt. The ability to touch him, kiss him. Sleep in his arms one more time. I tried to feel his warmth in the damp air, but all I could do was shiver at the emptiness I felt. Life wasn't complete without him, and now that I had the taste of what he felt like in my arms again, I wanted it. Badly. I didn't want to let it go again.

The stars were bright, though they were stunted by the full moon, causing it to seem like daylight in the dead of night. The wind wasn't blowing hard, but it was enough to raise goose-bumps on my arms. I kept expecting to feel Victor's hand on my elbow. His soft voice telling me we should go inside.

But all I felt was wind, caressing, scarring across my bare skin. 

I was distracted from my thoughts when the door opened. I turned my head to see Dad, as he stepped out and shut the door behind him.

"Hard to get fresh air out here. 'Little cold."

Instead of answering, I turned away and leaned against the railing again, ignoring his presence.

"I figure since you're gonna' give me the silent treatment, I can use that to explain all this."

I pressed my lips together against the words I wanted to spew at him. The accusations and hatred I wanted to make clear.

"Back when you were young, your mother and I....we weren't the happiest. Money was tight, and I wasn't the best at keeping a job. I was getting desperate. I was losing your mother."

I glanced at him, as the tone of his voice turned...rough. But he wasn't looking at me. He was staring out at the junked cars, as if he identified with them. As if he and those useless, parted out rust-buckets had more in common than I could ever understand. 

"I searched for years for a job. I just...I kept losing them. I kept having to relocate my family....your mother and I hardly had time to spend with each other."

"Is that why you cheated on her?" I cut in, my voice cool.

He turned his eyes to me, and his smile held no humor. It was a sardonic, and slightly bitter expression.

"After I started working at a bank, I met a man. His name was Kyle. He saw something in me....maybe a fed up man with nothing to lose, about to lose his 5th job that year.

"He offered me a job. It was simple. Deliver whatever they asked, wherever they asked. No questions." He shrugged, with a shake of his head, "It was money."

I stared down at the ground now, picking at my fingers as I waited for him to explain exactly why he broke my mother's heart.

"I was two months in, and things were looking up."

It was his pause that made me look up. The intake of breath right before the bomb in the background, the sort of pause that never led to good things. When his next words came out of his mouth like poison that he wanted to expel as quickly as he could, I realized I was right.