I don’t know what to do next. I study the room from my seat on the couch. The area is small but clean, and there’s a large window with the curtains drawn against the night. There’s not enough detail here to preoccupy my mind while I am alone. Thoughts creep back. She’ll be happy here…

She comes into the room with a pillow and a blanket. Some words are exchanged; nothing important or relevant or even close to how we’re actually feeling. She turns out the lights and comes to me.

She puts the pillow on my lap and lays her head there. The blankets are draped over her laying form and part of my legs. My heart twists with passion, lust, desire, and makes the quiet room rage with a silent storm. I can only take her hand.

Her hand is cold, but her grasp is warm. She falls asleep and I think how different it will be when she wakes up. There’s nothing to do now. Maybe I sleep at some point, or maybe I don’t. All I really remember is the dull gray light of daybreak leaking through the heavy curtains.