The garage was a lifesaver.

The garage meant that from eight to five,

Monday through Friday, he was surrounded by distractions. The whirr of the lifts, the roaring of engines, the clunk of metal to metal, the strong smell of motor oil- it all contributed to a pleasant blur of time passing.

The garage meant that from eight to five,

Monday through Friday, he could forget about everything.

He liked to forget about it while he was at work.

When he was working it was easy to push the thoughts aside, leave any kind of memory in a daze. The world was made of spark plugs and new valves.

And then at three-thirty, on the dot, every day, the door would swing open and the bell above the door would chime and a high childish voice would call out a tired greeting. "Hi, Dad." It was The twins. Burt glanced up from the engine of the Suburban he was working on. His eight-year-old twins, carson And Chris, wandered in the front door of the garage, Chris' bright blue sticker-bedecked backpack hanging off his shoulder. Carson's backpack was already off.

"Hey, kiddo's," he said. "School go good today?" He asked them. "Fine," Chris mumbled. He wandered into the office and closed the door behind him. Chris usually didn't speak to him when he got off the bus. Carson however did. "It went good today dad! I told the teacher about the facts you gave! Bout being homosexuals and salve owners!" Burt sighed. "What's with your brother?" Carson then shrugged. "He's been weird today."

After work was done however. They walked in silence to the pickup truck on the edge of the parking lot. The cool early evening air had a bit of a bite to it, reminding them that it was October and it would be winter soon. Chris set his backpack down on the floor when Burt unlocked the truck and climbed inside slowly, still a little too small to reach comfortably. Burt got in the driver's seat and turned on the engine. Carson sat next to Chris then buckled them both up. "McDonald's drive-through okay with you two?" Carson's eyes lit up. "Yeah! I wanna happy meal!" He squealed. Chris raised and lowered one shoulder, curling into a little ball behind his seatbelt.

Burt took the detour on the way home, pausing long enough to order a Big Mac meal for himself and a chicken nuggets kids' meal for both Carson and Chris. Carson took the bag with their dinners wordlessly, balancing it on his narrow knees like he was used to it. And to be honest, at this point, he was. Burt couldn't cook. He tried. He was hopeless.

Burt switched on the radio as they drove down the road back to their house, the mumble of a country station alleviating the suffocating silence. The truck smelled powerfully like French fries. To be honest, Burt was a little tired of fast food and Mozen dinners, but they really didn't have another option.

Burt pulled into their driveway, the dark windows of their cold, empty house staring gloomily at them. He took the food sacks from Carson and picked up their drinks- Coke for him, fruit punch for Chris and Carson.

Mollie never let the boys have anything besides fruit punch or Sprite when they took them out to eat. Said they would have enough soda when they were in high school. At least he could remember that much.

Burt turned on the lights and set their dinner on the kitchen table. "Come on, kids," he said, patting the chairs beside him. "Come up here and eat" Carson dropped his bag and Chris put his down gently climbing into a chair. Carson and Burt dove into their food. Chris picked quietly at his dinner, tearing off bits of his chicken nuggets and nibbling on them aimlessly. His fries were piled beside him, untouched. "You gonna eat your fries?" Burt commented. Chris shrugged. "I can get you something else for dinner if this isn't what you want. "It's okay," Chris said to his chicken nuggets. He popped a bite in his mouth and shrugged again. Carson started on his fries next. "Dad! Can I stay home tomorrow?" Burt looked at him. "Why Carson?" Carson's blue eyes beamed with passion. "Writing."

their conversation lasted for about a few minutes. Carson threw his food away then looked at Chris. He went upstairs. Chris sat there eating his fries slowly. Burt looked at him. "You okay bud?" He asked quietly. Chris nodded. "Yeah.. just tired." He whispered. That did not sound good.

Mollie what could I do? Burt thought.

that night as Chris was settling into his bed with Carson next to him. Burt was busy tucking the twins in and getting ready to read Harry Potter to them. Chris finally spoke up. "Dad.. is momma okay?" Burt stood there trying to figure out how to respond. "Yes bud. She's okay and no longer hurting." Carson pulled his twin brother close. Chris was always quiet nowadays no one knew what he would ask. "I'm sorry.." Chris said tears prickled his blue eyes. Burt sat down pulling Chris into a hug. "Why kiddo?"

"because I miss.. momma.. and talking about her makes you sad.." he said with a sob. This broke Burt's heart. Carson didn't say anything either. "I know buddy, but dad is tough right?" Burt asked. Chris nodded. As he sniffled. "Carson is tough too right? Same with Chris?" Carson perked up. Burt laughed. "Yeah that's right. Okay now. Let's get ready for another chapter." He sat in between the two boys. Picking up where they left off from Harry Potter.

Hope you guys like it!!