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She continued to have nighth they were not as loud as the one that occurred the first night, and they lessened in intensity as each day passed They were quiet enough to wake no one but him, he didn’t run to her roo her bathed in sweat, wearing skiood idea at this point

How Sarah slept through them all, he would never know She must be a deep sleeper, orthe day She barely ever sat still, unless she waswith his ift that his mother always seemed to adore She posted every last one on her vanity mirror so she could enjoy them all day

His mother sat up a few tiet out of bed He watched the life draining right out of her eyes as she beca was much shallower and her periods of alertness were fewer and farther between

It was just a matter of time

Lou was disturbed by Brody’s et any closer to hiht herself at thewhere he was in the big old house Then he would appear right behind her, as though he had been conjured for her discomfort

She had given hi impression She wasn’t like her mother and she never would be She would never allow a man to use her for sex and then discard her like a piece of trash She didn’t knohy every tiot close to Brody, she behaved like a harlot She let him take liberties she normally didn’t allow anyone else to take It all felt so natural, like he’d been there forever But he wasn’t And he wouldn’t be

To avoid the pitfalls that hter She found paperwork to do and Girl Scout schedules to adjust She helped with hotails

The nighth they were still troubleso in a pool of sweat, Brody’s bedroo she hadn’t disturbed him He would wait for a moain Soined she heard him blow in frustration

She regretted disturbing hi moments were filled with his presence Was it so bad his sleep was filled with hers?

Brody woke on Sundayaround nine, much later than normal Lou’s clock usually woke him as it blared music from a popular rock station It always screamed well before dawn

His eyes opened slowly as he glanced around and noticed that daylight had flooded the roolanced at the clock and ree pants and a printed T-shirt He then slipped his bare feet into slippers and ran a hand through his curly blond hair, all of which was standing on end

He padded softly down the stairs and entered the kitchen The smell of coffee met his nose He blindly poured a cup and turned around There sat Lou, sitting casually at the kitchen table with the newspaper, one leg dangling on the floor and the other knee up by her nose with her arm wrapped around it She looked just as tousled as he did in a robe and fuzzy bedroom slippers with Pooh Bear faces at the toes She looked like she had just risen from bed, too, with hair that was askew and lines pressed across her face from her pillow

“Where is everyone?” Brody mumbled

“Church,” she replied, without looking up