As Skylar awoke from a short nap, she found her thoughts turning to Marie. She had done nothing wrong, but thanks to Walt, was now a victim of her husband's actions.

What must she be feeling right now? As much as Skylar hated Walt, even she didn't want him dead. He had cancer- certainly he had a short shelf life. How he would spend the rest of his days was anybody's guess. Would he hide out, living the rest of what time he had left a criminal? Would he give himself up to protect his family? Not likely, but it was hard for her to know just what her husband was capable of these days.

Would he return, terrorizing her family however way he could? As Skylar looked around her house, she saw the portrait of him staring at her, taunting her, daring her to move on from him. She knew what she had to do.

As the kids were still sleeping, she knew she had to act fast. Furiously she removed the portrait and slammed it onto the floor. Still, it remained intact. She started stomping on it with all of the anger and hurt inside of her. Not for one more second could she take looking at his evil face. This was not the man she'd once loved and vowed before God to stand by for the rest of her life. In his place was a monster, the face of pure evil. Never before in her life had she felt such hatred for a human being,

Not wanting to disturb her kids, she grabbed the portrait and ran outside. Looking around desperately, her eyes focused on a metal object on the back seat of her car. A tire rod. Perfect.

After grabbing it, she turned her attention to the portrait and with all of her might she began to tear it apart. Over and over again with all of her might she used her entire body strength to tear into pieces that godawful reminder of the life she once had.

After a few more hits, she tossed the rod aside and without another thought Skylar picked up the pieces and tossed them where they belonged- in the garbage can.

Taking a deep breath, she returned to the house where her kids still slept, and sat down, exhausted, on the sofa. She picked up the phone to call Marie when a shiny object on her left hand caught her eye. It was her wedding set.

She'd worn them for so long that it took a minute for her to pry them off, but once she had she felt an immediate sense of relief. No longer was she tied to the monster that had once been her husband.

At one point she had told Walt that she would give the set to Junior when the time was right. Now, everything had changed. The last thing he needed was a reminder of the man who had hurt his family, so she thought about what she could do with it.

Feeling inspired, she calmly walked to the bathroom, put the toilet lid up, and without hesitation threw the rings into the toilet.

After flushing it, she watched with no remorse as her tie to Walt disappeared forever.

0000

"Marie? It's me. I wanted to call and see how you were doing. Is there anything I can do for you? I don't...I don't really know what to say. I love you and will do anything..."

She put the receiver down, not knowing what to say to her sister. What could she say?

As she felt tears start to come to her eyes, Skylar took a deep breath. She would not- could not- shed a single tear for Walt. She had to be strong- hard days were just on the horizon.

If only she could talk to Marie, if there was any way to make her understand that she had no part in what Walt had done to Hank. That she would have protected him with all of the strength that she used to fight for her own kids. Most of all, Skylar wanted Marie to know how much she loved her no matter what.

Right now she knew she was the last person Marie wanted to see. Okay, she thought. All she needs is time. She'll come around. She can't hate me forever.

If there was a special place in hell reserved for Walt, then why did it seem as if she was living that hell right then and there?

TBC