It had been a very long day for Alastor. What with all the paranormal stuff happening and that stranger threatening him, he needed a breather. He stepped out on to the porch in hopes that the night air could clear his head. Angel noticed this and decided to check up on him.

"You okay?" He asked him.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just need some air."

"You look like you could use a drink." Angel pulled a bottle of liquor from his jacket and took a swallow. "Want some?"

"No thanks. I never drink when I'm upset. I'm scared it'll turn me into an alcoholic."

"I get that. Booze is pretty much Husk's only form of relief."

"Does he get violent when he drinks?"

"Yeah but he gets violent when he's sober too. It's just his personality. Always has been ever since we were kids."

"So you know each other personally?"

"Yep. When we were kids he had a knack for parlor tricks so we used them to run our own pick-pocketing business. When we became teenagers we went our separate ways, he ran off to Vegas while I stayed behind to be forced into the family business."

"Which was?"

"Drug smuggling. I got out of it eventually and found work as a janitor for various schools and campuses. That's how I met Vaggie."

"Can I ask you something personal?"

"Sure."

"You and Professor Ramírez are together yes?"

"Have been for about three years. She's the longest romantic relationship I've had. I've had many but they usually don't last longer than a month or two."

"Well my question is, you and her seem so different in personality. How do you make it work?"

"Well for one thing she's hot and a total badass in bed. By the way don't ever tell her I said that or she'll cut off my balls."

"So it's just about sex for you two?"

"No that's just icing on the cake. I guess you could say she's the first person other than my mother whoever gave a damn about me."

"I'm guessing your family wasn't all that loving huh?"

"We weren't a family we were an illegal business and my old man was the tyrannical crime boss. My brothers and I weren't his children we were his biological unpaid employees and if we opened our mouths about it we'd get a fist in it or worse."

"How did the other members of your family treat you?"

"My older brothers just followed my pop's example. Sell drugs, act like your above the law, start your own illegal business, treat your spouse and kids like they're your property. They never once tried to protect each other or me from the abuse. They said it was my fault for going against the family and that I had to suffer the consequences. Well screw them."

"What about your mother?"

"My mother loved me and she tried to protect me and my brothers but that's all she could do. Try. She was the exact definition of a battered wife. Tormented by my father yet completely loyal to him. She wouldn't leave him and to this day I don't know if it was out of fear or love."

"Did you ever try to call anyone?"

"Hell no. I couldn't. Not only because I'd be shot dead by my pop if he somehow slipped through the cracks but he had me convinced that if he was caught I'd go down too because ever since I was five I had been involved in all of his schemes."

"But you were a child. You couldn't be held responsible."

"I didn't know that back then and my father made sure of that. He made sure that I knew that no matter what I did I'd never get away from him and that I'd never be good for anything except crime. As if that wasn't enough, that son of bitch had the gall always preach about the importance of family when he didn't even what family meant. I didn't buy that crap but everyone else did."

"So how did you get away?"

"A blessing in disguise. I was fourteen when I was dragged into stealing shipment at a local drug store. The alarm got triggered, we ran, I tripped, but neither my father nor my brothers stayed behind to help me. They left me to take the fall. I was arrested and tried but because of my age and because the drug shop owner had a soft spot for my ma I was given a lighter sentence. At first I thought my life was over but it turns out it was an escape. I was finally free."

"Your family never tried to come back for you?"

"What? And risk getting caught? No way. Ma wrote to me but she knew I was better off as long as away from the family. I didn't see her again until the police finally caught my father and gave him the chair."

"What about your brothers?"

"They had already started their own business and I decided to just leave them the hell alone. To be perfectly honest though Husk was more of brother to me than they were. But what about you? I mean I know you have a wife and kids but what did you have before them?"

"Just my mother. I don't remember my father. I was three when he turned to alcoholism and died from it. It broke my mother's heart and killed a part of her but she still lived on for my sake. In matters of friends I didn't have any. I was considered a local idiot or retard so the other kids didn't like me. The other adults didn't like me either."

"Why?"

"My birth was a complicated one so I was believed to be a mentally retarded and then of course there was the fact that my father was the town drunk. I was an undesirable."

"Ouch. That bad huh?"

"Worse. I wasn't just bullied I was tormented. Tormented because of things I couldn't control. In the beginning my mother was the only person who thought I was anything special. But then I met Charlie."

"How long have you two been together?"

"Marriage wise nine years but chronologically seventeen years. We were nine when we first met and she was just so beautiful, so kind, so sweet...For me it was love at first sight."

"Hold on you were nine when you two met? Wait a minute is she the only woman you've ever been with?"

"Yes. She's the only woman I ever wanted. The only one for me."

"Well how did you know she was the one when you have nothing to compare her to?"

"Not everyone needs to have more than one relationship to know who they truly love. It works for some people but I never felt the need to see other people. I can't explain it but it's like as soon we met I knew right away what kind of person she was. Right away I wanted to be with her, I wanted to make her happy, I wanted to keep her safe. Right away I knew that I'd never love anyone other than her."

"No offense but it's hard to believe that a nine year old can fall into that kind of love that quick."

"Trust me I understand the skepticism of it but heaven help me, after one meeting she was my entire world. I would have done anything for her. Given up anything for her. She was my reason for living."

"Let me guess you were the jealous type?"

"Well I wouldn't necessarily call myself jealous. More like protective. If she preferred another fellow I would have accepted her choice. If he was worthy of her that is."

"What does that mean?"

"It meant that before we were together, if a young man showed an interest in her and I found out that it was only because he wanted to deflower her then I would simply chase him off. Sounds crazy I know but I couldn't help myself. I just couldn't allow anyone to hurt her if it was in my ability to do so."

"Damn you sound like a total chick-flick cliché. If I ever said something like that to Vaggie she would accuse me of copying it from a movie."

"No one really believed that my love for her was that deep, especially not her father. They all thought that it was just adolescence affection. But then came that night..."

He quickly stopped when he realized what he was about to say next.

"What?" Angel asked.

"It's a little personal and disturbing. I'm not sure if you wanna hear this."

"I was raised by criminals. I've seen it all. Nothing disturbs me anymore. You could tell me that you have fish fetish and I wouldn't judge."

"Okay that's somewhat reassuring but no it's not anything like that. It happened about nine or ten years ago, Charlie and I were in our late teens, we were in love but we had a lot of problems."

"With each other?"

"No with other people. She and I were considered pariahs in the town we grew up in which made us targets for bullying and ridicule. We learned to ignore it most of the time but occasionally it would get to one of us really bad. Worse case ever was the week after another one of the local church picnics and a lot of pictures taken during this one so…"

Flashback chapter is next.