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"You came back…" Amanda said, her voice almost a whisper as Lawkeeper Nolan entered her office. He seemed concerned about something but Amanda could only focus momentarily on the fact that he had returned when she was sure she would never have laid eyes on him again.

"Irisa wanted to stay…..so…for now, we're still here…at least until I can change her mind," he said with an air of uncertainty.

Amanda felt a smile tugging at her mouth but she pushed it away. This was obviously not what Nolan wanted.

"Is it because of Tommy?" Amanda asked plainly.

Nolan looked at her surprised. It seemed the thought hadn't crossed his mind yet. He ran a hand back and forth across the stubble of his jawline.

"Maybe…."he said quietly. "We've never really had to deal with….boys, before."

"You still want to leave," Amanda stated, her forehead creased with concern. "You won't reconsider wanting to stay, to remain Lawkeeper in a town that needs someone like you?"

Nolan's eyes darkened. "That kid I killed sure didn't need me."

Amanda could see the pain etched on Nolan's face as he recounted the weeks' prior incident that had sent Nolan and his daughter packing in the first place.

She walked over to him, unable to keep her concern to herself and placed a hand gently on his shoulder as he stared out the window at the fading sunlight.

He didn't turn to look at her or react at her gesture of compassion.

She spoke softly, her voice drifting behind him like a calming spirit. "It was an accident Nolan. You have to let it go; always remember that it happened, but refuse to let it rule your life. Regret can consume you….if you let it."

He turned to her then, his eyes shiny from the tears she knew he would not release.

"You talk to me and look at me like I'm a good person Amanda…and I'm not. There are things I've done…..horrible, things that would make you sick…..and I meant to do them. I'm not some hero. I'm not the kind of guy who gets a happy ending."

Amanda stared at him, trying to imagine him as someone who could be so cruel.

"This doesn't matter anyways," he said gruffly, heading for the door. "As soon as I can talk some sense into Irisa, we'll be on the road and out of your lives and the town will be the better for it."

Amanda grabbed his arm, stopping him midway.

"You can leave if you want, that's your right Nolan…but you're wrong about one thing. You may have done some despicable things in the past but guess what? We all have. They may not be on the scale of what you're thinking but regardless; the sin is still there, staining all of us. We all have ghosts and being human or Votan, it's just something every soul has to live with. We go on, we better ourselves, and we change into the type of person who would never make those mistakes again. We become our true selves. And the man you are now, the man I've come to know…we'll I don't see someone who could do those horrible things. All I see is you."

He looked up, disbelieving. He moved closer to her so that she could feel the warmth of him before her and his breath against her skin.

"I don't know what I've done to make you believe in me, "he said. "But my staying here is only going to hurt you….one way or the other. And that would kill me….more than anything else."

With that, he turned and left.

Amanda released the breath she did not know she was holding.

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