Danny
Danny Hebert knew there was something wrong with his daughter. It was 4:13 AM, and she still wasn't home. This was the third night in a row she'd gone out late, when she thought he was asleep, only returning in the early morning to crash and sleep until noon or later.
Danny conjured a thousand hellish scenarios in his mind the first night, wondering what she was doing. He got in his truck and drove throughout the Bay looking for her after an hour of pacing, although his run-in with several ABB members dissuaded him from trying that again. When Taylor asked about the bruises the next day, he said that there'd been an accident made on the Docks by a new hire with some machinery.
The only reason he didn't call the cops in the first place was the knowledge that this wasn't her first time doing this. When she left, he heard her quietly humming to herself cheerfully. Reckless. She stepped with practised ease around the creaking floorboards of the house.
It was the movement of somebody who knew exactly what they were doing, having done it many times before.
4:27 AM. Danny wondered what he would say when his daughter came home. He wasn't exactly a nominee for father of the year. After Annette had died, he'd retreated into himself for months. He knew that during this same time, Taylor's best friend had become absolutely rotten to her. They'd been like sisters, once. Losing her mother, and subsequently the rest of her family couldn't have been good for Taylor.
And then there was The Locker Incident. Taylor hadn't been back to school in the month since. On the bright side, she seemed far more happy now than she had since before Annette died. However… he worried for her.
4:35 AM. Footsteps on the front porch. Key jiggling in the lock. Hinges squeaking quietly as the door opens. The soft chunk as the bolt slides into place when the door closes. Shoes tap-tapping down the hallway. The woman he sees appear from the hallway is not his daughter.
It's a cape.
A a rail-thin cape with Annette's hair billowing behind her.
She freezes when she sees him. He freezes when he sees her.
"Fuck."