A/n: Thank you all for your support and response to this story. I was a little nervous at first but you guys are awesome.
Mary felt numb. Like she had short circuited after the emotional overload of the last few days and now all that was left was a restless humming in her veins. She couldn't even process her own thoughts without them ending up in mangled heaps in her mind. It was all too much and yet not enough at the same time. All of the old wounds left by her father's disappearance had been reopened only to be left bleeding and slightly infected once again.
'Daddy…if this is you…I don't need you anymore…'
It was a lie just like everything else regarding her father. There were the lies he told her, the ones she told herself and the ones she told her partner. Marshall. The poor guy was so desperate to help her and make her pain go away but she just couldn't let him get close enough to actually succeed.
Mary needed the pain. It was the only thing that kept her going at times. It was her crutch. Without it, she had no excuse for her anger and bitterness towards the rest of the world. Marshall had tried numerous times over the years to 'fix' her and failed every time because of her stubbornness. But something was different this time. Mary could see it written plain as day across her partner's face when he spoke to her. He didn't want to end her pain because he was just a genuinely nice guy who wanted to help her, he wanted to end her pain because her pain was hurting him too. Her suffering tore him apart and she had made him helpless to stop it.
Mary's gut churned at the thought. It was bad enough that she lied to his face about her father but knowing that she was inflicting pain on Marshall was simply unforgiveable. She wanted—needed—to apologize, to confess everything to him just to make that tortured look on his face go the fuck away but she didn't know if she could face him without turning into a blubbering mess again.
Her phone clattered nosily on the counter as Marshall's name popped up on the screen. Mary froze as it continued to vibrate for another minute before going to voicemail.
"Hey Mare, it's me. Just wanted to check in and see how things were going. Call me."
Mary could tell he was trying to come across as casual but she could hear the underlying tension in his voice. Which you put there by ignoring him all day a bitter voice in her head reminded. She sighed and pressed the phone to her forehead.
"Come on Shannon, stop being a puss. You can't avoid him forever." She muttered to herself. Knowing it was now or never, Mary quickly grabbed her keys and slipped back out of the house. After everything she had put him through recently, the least Marshall deserved was the truth.