Before Gryphon had eavesdropped on Mary and Keith, before Polly had learned of Darcy, and before Kenzie had been ignored by her father, Tanner had been scheming.

He stood before his mother's grave, looking down at the stone that marked where the woman he had loved so dearly now lay. A lot had happened since Polly had been let go, and he could barely believe he had found her again. Could barely believe his own brother was in love with her, too. It was a cruel fate that Tanner needed to get a grip on.

"Mom, I don't know where I went wrong."

That wasn't true, because Tanner did know. It was when his mother died. It was when his deadbeat father took him in and introduced him to religion. And as a young child hurting, religion was all he had to turn to.

"I honestly thought I was helping. Dad told me all those things about you, about how you were killed because you were gay. I should have known. I should have made my own opinions. But I was pigheaded and now I am in so much trouble."

Silence answered him, but he was expecting just as much. He leaned down and placed the flowers on the grave, tears running down the apples of his cheeks. He was suddenly a young boy again, living at home with his mother and Priscilla, living a life he was quick to deem wrong.

"I think the hardest thing, mom, was waking up and seeing what a monster I've become. I've hurt so many people, mom. I've tortured them and said horrible things, and it has helped no one. I've only made things worse, and you said to always treat everyone with kindness, and I did just the opposite. You taught me better. You made me a better person when you were alive."

And it was true, for Tanner. The worst thing that had ever happened to him was his mother dying. How had he gone from such a loving family to one full of hatred? And how had his views gone so corrupt in such a short amount of time?

Tanner knew he was going to Hell. He knew it, and it was a troublesome fact, but he accepted it. Because what he had done to everyone, that was so much worse.

"Mom, could you ever forgive me? You were so loving and accepting, and I was not. I was so clouded by hate and pity that I didn't see how I was hurting others. And now the girl I love hates me, and she's gay. And she always will be."

Tanner shut his eyes and tipped his head back to the sky. The graveyard was covered in trees, allowing for a shady space for his mother to rest.

He wasn't a good person now. That wasn't how it worked, but Tanner did feel more free. He felt a weight lift off of his chest. He felt like he could start over, become someone else. He wanted to erase everything, but even he was not so naive to believe that was a possibility.

Tanner Higgins was not a good person. He probably never would be. But realizing his faults and actively wanting to change himself was a push in the right direction because he may have hurt so many in the past, but at least he knew he wouldn't be hurting anyone in the future.

"Please forgive me, mom. I love you so much. So much. I'm sorry for not visiting as often as I should, and I'm sorry for the person I have become, because you would hate me. You would have kicked me out of the house and disowned me. And the moment I realized this, I should have stopped. But now I am, and I love you so much."

Tanner Higgins was changing the course of his life in this moment for the better. He was moving forward from his past. He was becoming a better person.

Keith Chambers was not.

He stood on his daughter's front porch, breathing in and out. There was one car in the driveway, and it didn't belong to Kenzie's mother.

Keith forced himself to ring the doorbell. He had no other choice. It was the hardest thing he would ever have to do. And he hated himself for having to make this decision.

Kenzie answered the door, and she wasn't happy to see her father on the other side. In fact, she was downright pissed off, after he had blown her off the other night. She was not in the mood for forgiveness, and as the queen of masks, she was good at hiding her true feelings. She was the master of deception.

"Hi, Kenzie."

"Dad." Was all she said in response. The word was clipped and short, angry and cold. Everything Kenzie was and was not.

"I know you're mad because work got in the way. But I want to change that. I've come to take you to lunch."

Kenzie's arms were crossed, and her foot tapped impatiently, like she had no time in the world for a father who was not present in her life. But deep down, Kenzie loved her father. Like Elliott, she desperately seeked for the love of her father, and would do anything to have it. She wanted her father in her life, and she wanted him to be there for her.

She loved her father. She wished he loved her more.

"I guess you can make it up to me." is what she said.

Keith had been hoping she would say no. He'd be hoping this would be harder than this, because this almost felt worse to him. He hated knowing he was luring his daughter into this trap, because believe it or not, he loved Kenzie to death. He had kept her out of his affairs so that she didn't end up like Wes.

That had obviously done him no good, as here she was, trapped in his work affairs.

She stepped outside her house, and slid into her father's vehicle. "Why is there dirt everywhere?"

Because I'm playing a second life where I own a farmstand. "Because I bought some landscaping stuff for my house."

Kenzie didn't offer another comment, and Keith prefered it this way. He knew this was wrong. He knew it, and there was nothing he could do about it now. She was trapped and was as good as dead the moment Mary found out about her.

Turn around turn around turn around turn around and drop her off and leave her home

Kenzie turned on the radio and propped her feet up. She didn't feel alarmed or in danger. Of course she didn't feel as though she could trust her father, for he had abandoned her all those years ago. But she didn't feel unsafe around him. She didn't think he would kill her.

She was wrong.

When Keith pulled up to the first house, Kenzie was rigid and confused. She turned towards her father, her eyes hard and a frown on her pretty lips. "Hey, what happened to-"

A rag hit her face. She fought him for a moment, struggling in his hard grasp. Fear pooled in her stomach as her brain grew drowsy. She felt terrified, but it only lasted a moment until she was unconscious in her seat.

Keith hated himself. He hated everything about himself, from the way he let Mary suffer all those years ago, from how he let Elliott slip through his fingers, to how he was about to kill his daughter because Mary was absolutely insane.

He hated himself as he collected all the others. He hated himself as he drove to Mary's. And he hated himself all the way to the front door, victims in tow.

Keith hated himself. He hated that his daughter would be dead soon. He hated that the woman he loved would be dead soon. And he hated that Wes was dragged into all this as well.

Keith wished his parents had never kidnapped Mary for him. He wished he had grown up as a normal child with normal toys. He wished his life was different.

But, it wasn't. And so he brought his daughter and the collection of others involved and brought them back to Mary's, lugging them inside, wishing that he hadn't agreed to this. Wishing that for once, he could be the man he wanted to be. Be the father he wanted to be.

He hated himself. Then again, he couldn't really remember ever liking himself. He'd always hated himself. But now, the hatred that ran through his veins was too much, like poison, and perhaps after this was all over, he too would be all over.

Not in jail. In the ground.

He wanted death like he wanted freedom. It tasted sweet. So sweet. And as he brought everyone downstairs, as he handled his own daughter with care, he wished he'd sought out death sooner rather than later.

* * *

How are we feeling about Tanner right now? How about Keith?

Love you all, XOXO

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