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robert

[closed - Robert]

By the time she gets back into town, her apartment is ready for her to move into and for that she's extremely grateful. It isn't that she's had a hard time staying with Les -- she's actually enjoyed it quite a bit -- but she likes her space, too. A feeling she's sure Les shares. Since Coop's party, things have felt better, they both seem a little more at ease around each other and she likes that, but she also knows neither of them are ready to be living together.

Her belongings are fairly limited, but she has them moved into the new place and it's only once she's settled, showered and changed that she heads out into Siren Cove once more. There's money in the small safe in her new place that she needs to deposit, though it's going into an account in another town under a different name and she has plans to make that day trip on the weekend, maybe with Les along for the ride. She can convince him just to get away with her for the day, drop in at the bank, make the deposit, and then spend the rest of the day with him.

It's not something she's ever given much thought to before, but thinking about plans with Les now makes her smile. She's distracted, glancing down at her phone, preparing to text him to ask if that's something he'd like to do, when she nearly walks into someone on the sidewalk.

"Sorry," she says, still distracted, doing her best to simply step aside.

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Her eyebrows arches at the comment about her con, the specific of the name, and she doesn't understand what she feels in response to that. There's a faint sense of pride she doesn't know what to do with and something else, too. No one knows what she does, no one has ever known, that's why she's so good. But he knows.

And it sounds like he's proud of it.

"So are you going to give them what they want or am I in danger again because of something a parent I haven't seen since I was two years old has done?" she asks, trying to cover up the conflicting emotions.

"Don't look so surprised. It may not be the traditional scrapbook but I have a folder in a safe that has information on some of your more impressive cons through the years. I know I had nothing to do with any of it, but I'm proud of you and I hope you're proud of yourself."

She deserved every bit of praise and sense of pride she felt at what she did. She never hurt people that couldn't really afford it, one of his own rules when running cons. He probably should have carried that philosophy over to his family as well.

"And I'm not so terrible a father that I'd let you be hurt for something I did. I've made a lot of mistake and left you in a shitty situations but I've always tried to make sure you were safe growing up. Not that you needed it, you turned out a far better person than your mother and I were."

She doesn't know what to make of anything he's saying, but the thought that he has a file on her, even locked away in a safe, makes her nervous. No one knows what she does and that's how she likes it.

But he knows. He has records. She's already trying to decide if there's a way for her to get her hands on it.

"Oh, flattery now, huh?" she asks, but there's a faint smile curving one corner of her mouth. "So what's your plan? Let us know we're in danger or are you actually going to do something about it? I've had my share of unfortunately aimed attacks lately."

"You're welcome to call bullshit on anything I'm saying that's not true," he said with a smile. He hoped that she had a healthy view of her own talents and how well she used them. April was every bit the con-woman that Corry was the actress, not that he'd ever say that comparison out loud.

"And I'm going to take care of it. It should involve you at all but I thought it fair to let you know all the same."

He says he's going to take care of it and April has exactly zero reasons to trust him, but she also knows she doesn't want to get involved with anymore of her parents' messes. The fact that she's been confronted with both of them in their own ways over the past month is a little unsettling and she knows she's withdrawing from it to protect herself, but there doesn't seem to be any other options.

She's not getting involved in something that will get her hurt.

So she nods, then narrows her eyes slightly. "My mother died. Recently. Did you know?"

"I did hear about that," he said. April's mother and Robert got on like a house fire. There were initial sparks, it got really hot, but then everything they owned and cared was quickly destroyed. When she got heavily into drugs and the girls were taken away, there wasn't much reason for him to stay around after that. Not that he was ever around much in the first place.

"Not until it was too late to see her, although I doubt she would have wanted to see me. I don't think your sister knows but then again, she was too young to remember her."

"We both were," April answers, her voice tight. Her memories of her mother are basically non-existent and the only reason she knows about her death is because of the will and letter that had been delivered to her. She doesn't know her mother, doesn't know her sister and she certainly doesn't know this man standing in front of her.

"Guess she liked me better, though, because she left me all the money," she continues dryly. It's money she doesn't need and if he's actually followed her life as he says he has, then he knows that. He knows she's well off enough to have to actually hide most of her income from people so that they don't find out where it's come from.

"Or because your sister... she lives a very happy and normal life. As far as I know, she's never shown any interest in her biological family. I think the money would have been a burden," Robert said. Which had been the best thing for her, really. April had turned out well but Robert didn't think she would have been a very stabilizing influence.

"Neither have I," April says, her brow arching. It isn't entire true, she's wondered from time to time what it might be like to find her real family, the people who had fucked her over and abandoned her, but she's never gone looking for any of them. As far as she's been concerned, it's better this way. She doesn't need them and they clearly don't need her.

So far all it's gotten her is a destroyed apartment, a few death threats, a terrible night and Les injured. And some cash she really doesn't need or want. She could have paid those sirens off with it just to get them off her back, but it's the principle of the thing.

"But you never tried to have the sort of life that others would consider normal," Robert said. Maybe that was his fault, maybe in the short time he had been around he'd left too much of an impression on her for that. Damaged her too much or something. Although damaged would be doing her a discredit. As far as he could tell, April liked her life and was happy.

"Anyway. As soon as I take care of things I'll be out of your hair again and you'll never have to see me again if you don't want to."

Her jaw tenses and she wants to point out that she spent her life being shuffled through the foster care system, passed from one family to another. That she'd only avoided abused because she was a siren, that she'd learned early how to distinguish the men who genuinely wanted to help and those who looked at her even as a child as something to be possessed.

But she doesn't. She only smiles. "I appreciate the heads up," she says. She doesn't say anything about whether or not she wants to see him again because she honestly doesn't know.

"It's the least I can do," he said with a shrug, which was the truth. Robert wondered if there was more that she wanted to say, or maybe he was just unused to having a daughter that didn't want to yell at him or show him just how much she loathed him, that he wasn't quite sure what to do. If April was a complete stranger he would know what to do. If she was Corry, he'd know what to do. But she wasn't either of those things and he was a bit of a loss.

"Here's my number," he said, pulling out a card. It was simple; just his name, number and email address. "If you want to talk or if you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to reach out."

She should just drop the card, she thinks. Let it float down to the sidewalk as she strolls past him without a second glance, walk away from him without looking back because that's what he did to her. No matter what he said, no matter what tabs he kept on her, he never once let her know he was there and whatever information he has on her amounts to nothing.

She should just walk away because that's what he did to her. But she can't.

Taking the card, she glances at it and flips it over between two of her fingers before she drops it into a pocket of her purse. "We'll see," she says and then she steps past him.

At least she manages not to look back.

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[closed - Robert]

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