Just spent 30 minutes typing up from my notebook, and added a flashback scene to teenage Valerie and Jack, featuring Allan.

Allan is a stumbling block for Jack — perhaps almost as much as the drug use. Allan is his stepfather, who growing up was a verbally, physically and emotionally abusive man, who was also a drunk. And Jack is determined to protect Holly from him.

Was trying to think on what to call this post, and all I thought about was the Dashboard Confessional song “We Fight”: