𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝐾𝑛𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒉

Charlie Henderson (caras father)

13 years ago, after the case.

I headed downtown to my favorite bar, Timmy's bar had the best tequila in the world and after this case it's exactly what I needed. It was beyond late and I didn't want to do anything more than to pass out drunkenly from alcohol, the stench so strong it fogged my memory.

Stepping inside the bell rings and inside it's quiet, peaceful. Not many people come to the bar after eleven and that's exactly how I preferred it.

"Hey Charlie! You look... like shit" Timmy, the actual guy who worked there smiled up at me and with how exhausted I was I simply smiled, taking a seat on the stool.

"Long case" I yawned, rubbing my eyes tiredly, wanting nothing more than sleep in my bed..man did that sound so damn good.

"I bet, you look tired" he nodded, his presence comforting. Timmy had known me for a few months, one of the few friends I did have. He was around fifty, the old age kicking in on him strongly. He was pretty short for his age, but had this dominant aura around him that made him seem extremely tough. He was built lanky though, skinny and thin, wrinkled in a lot of parts in his body but his eyes remained kind, gentle and brown eyed. He had lost his hair due to cancer, but he beat it awhile back and he's stronger than ever.

"I am..but right now I need alcohol" I spoke and he nodded, grabbing a glass cup.

As he poured the alcohol I watched him completely dazed out, my mind somewhere else. What has bothered me about this case was how little years they had been sentenced too. Ten years in prison...I hadn't known if that was alot of time for that..but I was so tired and unfazed I thought nothing of it. Cara would be safe from here, life would be different...

Cara...fuck.

Pulling out my phone I dial the nanny's number, and call her quickly, waiting for her to pick up.

"Hello?" I hear a click and hear the nanny speak from the other line.

"Is she okay?" I spoke frantically, I had forgotten to check up on her and it was something I forgot to do regularly.

Since I was always away I was constantly hiring nanny's for cara, since her mother was off doing her own thing so was I, but that didn't mean I didn't wanna be in her life. Her mother had decided she wanted to leave and do drugs and all of that stuff she left after she was born, throwing the whole fatherhood part directly into my field and I tried so damn hard to have her grow up into a perfect child but even then I wasn't perfect and it didn't go well.

"Yes she's okay, she's sleeping right now."

The nanny's name was maria I think, she had watched her for awhile now and I trusted her just a bit more everyday, but not completely. It was shitty of me to leave her with strangers, but there was nothing more I could do, except keep putting bad guys in jail and trust that these nannies wouldn't hurt my child...or else I would end up in jail for hurting a nanny.

"Thank you" I hang up the phone and shove it back into my pockets, just in time for Timmy to hand me the glass. I grab it gratefully, chugging it back as the familiar warmth of the tequila rushes down my throat, sending a shiver down my arms. The sting is welcoming and tastes so good I finish the glass in seconds, handing it back to tim for more.

"One for me" someone speaks next to me and I turn at the deepness of his voice, sounding more like a rumble. He was a tall and broad shouldered man, a thick leather jacket drapped around his shoulders. His skin was bronze, his face hardened along with his eyes, sharp like daggers as he stared my way for a second before turning away. His hair was thick and brown, lengthy against the back of his head.

"On me" I nod and he nods back, thanking me silently.

Timmy hands him one and me as well and I hold mine up to him suddenly, not caring he's a stranger anymore.

"Celebrating something?" He spoke.

"I won a case today, put away two murderers" I exhaled and he nods, clinking his glass with mine.

I chug it back, the tequila burning even worse the second time down.

"You a lawyer or something?" He asked me and I nod, tilting my head slightly. He seemed defensive at first, his aura demeaning but his tone was genuine and it was easy to talk for some reason, or maybe it was the tequila speaking I wasn't sure anymore.

"Someone's gotta put the criminals away" I say and he nods at my words.

"Cops gotta do a better job, honestly".

Agreed.

"I'm Charlie" I hold my hand out and he grabs it firmly, shaking it.

"I'm Rory."

"Nice to meet you Rory."

Another shot is suddenly in my hands and his as well, clinking against each other's once again.

"To success."

"To success."

Time flies by quicker than expected and I'm suddenly drunker than ever, tipsy and swaying side to side as Rory holds me against him. Even within those hours it felt like I had gotten to know him more than anyone else in my entire life. I didn't know a complete stranger would be the reason everything in my entire life changed.