She closed her eyes, opened her mouth slightly, and made her breathing deep. In for three counts, then out for three. In three, out three. Surely no one would notice that she wasn’t really sleeping.

She burrowed down further under the comforter, then sprang up. Tiptoeing to the door, she remembered what she had forgotten – silently, she slid the deadbolt back into place. She knew it wouldn’t make a difference; she had to let him in if he asked. That was the rule. But it made her feel safer.

With the door firmly bolted shut, she sat up, drawing the blankets around her shoulders. Turning on her iPod, she blasted music into her ears.

When she heard footsteps coming down the hallway, she quickly flipped the light off and dove beneath the covers, but it was just her little sister. “Night-night,” she whispered through the crack in the door.

The clock ticked away the seconds.
Just when she thought it might be safe, she heard a tap on the door.
“Nyssa?”
And she slid the door open, just like every other night.