So much fighting lately. It still didn't feel like enough. A mere drop in the bucket to what he hoped to achieve, the man he wanted to eventually to become. Sometimes the road between the two seemed so far, so impossible. But then other times, it felt just out of reach. Dangling in front of his eyes like a carrot on a stick.

It took him a long time to realize what the problem was, he wasn't about to discuss it with Peyton, either. He'd been afraid. All it took was one false move. Just one wrong step, even slightly, to be killed. It was a terrifying reality. One he couldn't allow himself to forget.