"We can't keep her, Mason," a woman whispers through gritted teeth, "she's a monster."

"We can't just get rid of her, Laura," the man whispers back, "she's our daughter."

"That is not my daughter," Laura snaps, "that thing isn't even human!"

"She is human!" Mason raises his voice, "she is our child!"

"No! That is a monster that could kill us at any given moment! We don't even know if this is all it can do! What if it spontaneously combusts into flames while we're asleep?"

"She's not going to combust! She is a living, breathing child! Our living, breathing child! And you're not going to treat her like this!"

"Daddy?" A small voice calls.

The two look to the doorway and see their young daughter watching them argue. Her mix matched green and brown eyes are glazed over with drowsiness, and her wild silver and black hair is a nest on the back of her head from tossing and turning in bed.

"Hey, Sweet pea," Mason goes over to her and picks her up, "you're supposed to be asleep. What are you doing awake?"

"I heard you yelling," she rubs her eye as she lays her head on her father's chest.

"I'm sorry, Hun," Mason hugs the little girl tight, "here, let's get you back to bed. Okay?"

"Okay," the girl yawns.

Mason carries her back to her room and tucks her in bed, making sure to pick her alligator plushie up off the floor and put it in her out stretched arms. He sings a small lullaby for her while gently stroking her hair, to coax her back to sleep.

"Good night, Daddy," she mumbles as she starts to drift off again.

"Good night, Sweet pea," he kissed her head, "sweet dreams."

He leaves her room quietly, making sure to leave the door cracked to let a bit of light from the hall shine into her room.

When he returns to the living room, Laura is nowhere to be found.

"Laura?" He calls quietly, "Laura?"

He checks the kitchen, their bedroom, the bathroom, and the closet, but still doesn't find her. It's not until he returns to the living room that he sees the headlights of her car shining through the front door that he realizes what's happening.

He runs outside only to watch his wife speed away down the neighborhood road.

He stands in defeat on the porch as he watches her taillights fade in the distance.

He stands there, bare feet going numb on the concrete, for what seems like hours before he finally goes back in and sits down on the sofa.

He places his head in his hands and he quietly sobs.

Laura has left him.
The woman he has loved for thirteen years has left him.

He now has to raise his little Lyn on his own.