One down, two to go.

Rabbit burst back into the apartment he shared with his sister late that night, sending the curtains billowing and blowing nearby bills and receipts to the carpeted floor. Olivia and her boyfriend whipped toward the door simultaneously, their faces matching mirrors of fluctuating fear, relief, and disgust.

"Hey, Jim," Rabbit said. "You think you could give us a couple of hours?" He hoped Mr. Perfect would relent without too much resistance. After tonight, he'd have the rest of his life to be alone with her. "I'm not violent or anything, I swear." He leaned over the back of the couch and breathed on them in an arc like a flameless dragon. "I haven't been drinking either."

Jim gave Liv a lingering look and nodded as he squeezed her hand. "That's fine. I'll be at home if you need me." He leaned over and pecked Olivia's cheek. "I'm glad you're back, Rabbit. We were worried."

Rabbit nodded as he straightened and circled around to the front of the couch. He wasn't the slightest bit skeptical that Jim's sentiment was genuine, but in this instance it only lent him fuel for what was to come. "Thanks for the concern, man. I just had something I had to do." He started to smile, but the pain that radiated from his lips and nose reminded him that the end result of any extreme expression would probably be horrifying for anyone on the receiving end. He would save it for later, then. Rabbit held out his hand to shake instead. "And thanks for watching the cat too." It could only be assumed that he'd taken care of Liv. To praise him for it would be condescending to the both of them.

"Don't mention it." Jim took his hand, clapping him on the back with the one that was free and almost knocking him over. With one last look at Olivia, he vacated the apartment, closing the door that had been left flapping open since Rabbit had returned.

He was already sitting in Jim's spot by the time he was gone. He could feel his lip splitting again under the strain of his grin, having forgotten that he wasn't supposed to be doing so. Blood trickled down his chin. "Liv. I've got some really great news."

"Where were you?" Her voice was soft, as if she was trying to talk him down from someplace high.

He waved his hand dismissively. "It's not important."

"Can you at least get me some wet paper towels so I can clean off your face?"

Rabbit bounced on the cushion's edge where he was perched, reaching for her hands. She let him take them, brows furrowing and eyes going shiny and damp.

"Come on, don't cry. This is nothing."

"You can't disappear for two days and then tell me it's nothing, especially not when you come home looking like you do." A single tear fell as Liv blinked, bypassing her cheek and landing on her forearm. "Are you in trouble?" She shook her head and chuckled, but there was no joy in the sound. "I can't believe you've got me spewing lines from a bad coming of age movie."

"I'm not in anything," Rabbit said with a sigh. "I had things I needed to discuss with Vic. It didn't go well."

"You needed to?"

"Yeah. I couldn't ignore them."

"But you could. You have for almost fifteen years. So why now? Did he threaten you?"

"He didn't even know I was coming. Look... this was just something that I had to do. I can't explain it."

She was quiet for a time, as if she was piecing together a foolproof statement for a monkey's paw or genie. Finally she asked, "Will you ever do this again?"

Rabbit snorted, wincing a little at the resulting spike of pain. He tried to look sincere. "No."

Liv gently pulled her hands apart, encouraging him to loosen his grip, then switched their position, folding her fingers over his.

"You didn't fight back."

He had so. Fighting back was how he had gotten this far in the first place.

"Your hands. They aren't bruised."

"Oh. That. Yeah, he kinda caught me by surprise. If Lyndon hadn't've been there, I might've..." He licked at his split lip and swallowed, looking down at their hands. "The point of all this is I needed a clean break and now I have one. That's why I'm here too. You and Jim deserve better than what I put you through. A clean break. So I'm gonna move out." He grinned. Blood flowed. Happy news.

"What? Why?"

"I'm sure there've been plenty of times when you've wished I wasn't here to get in your way. And I'm not going all the way back to New York or anything. I'll find someplace nearby, okay?"

It clearly wasn't okay, not with the way she was wibbling, but there was no way he was backing out of this, even if she threatened or begged. It would be better for them all in the long run, he was sure of it. She didn't need him.

"One thing though?"

She drew in a shuddering breath and nodded through her silent tears.

"I can't have p***k with me when I'm hunting for a place, so could he stay here while I look?"

Liv cleared her throat as she squeezed his hands. She tried to look him in the eye, but he turned away.

"Yes, Rabbit. I'll do anything you want."