He exhaled and looked out over the lake. "She doesn't like it. She says it's better that I'm home and gone a lot, then still being MIA. But I'm not sure I believe it. At least when I was missing, I was missing. Now I'm home, but I'm not really home." He shrugged as he continued to watch the lake. "She's better right when I come back, because I'm better. But I still can't sleep in the same bed. I still am not comfortable naked around her. And I still wake up screaming in the night, if I get to sleep at all."

He rubbed his face, then looked at her. "Sometimes, I think she'd be happier if I just wasn't there. I think that's why she lets me leave with so little question."