They both were wise enough to remain completely quiet. And Brent knew how he was going to manage this.Since he always went running most mornings, this...would be his salvation. His shoes were on the floor by the closet. He opened his dresser drawer and grabbed a T-shirt. The drawer above that was quickly opened and he grabbed a pair of socks. Now came the tricky part. The bottom of his bedroom window was at about chest level. His low boy dresser was in front of it, as well as his record player. He still hated them for the death of his friend Bob Hastings, but it was no longer like an acid eating at his gut. He admitted to himself that the only reason he hunted bushwhackers now was out of habit and a need for something to do. Hell, here it was 1859 and he was 22 years old. He was approaching middle age (at least, in his estimate), and it was time to accept his responsibilities.That still left the question of what to do with the rest of his life. Billy had the good sense not to stew. At least it kept my mind off why I washere. It was really hard to do with my body trembling, though.***02:57 14 Dec "Where were you?" asked Travis. "I, uh, after I called Lisa I had to go fix my, uh, my makeup." Ifelt really stupid, because I felt really embarrassed about telling himI was wearing makeup, then realized he would think it was perfectlynatural for me, and that I had nothing to worry about. "Um. It took mea while." "Well, come on and wait, if you still want to." He. Your arms slip around and hold me close, my safe harbor during the tremors that grip me everywhere. Reaching such a frenzied apex always blurs out the world for moments. Your warm skin is the lifeline that tethers me here, helps me find gravity and breath again. Time passes by in blinks that neither of us seem aware of. There's nowhere to go tonight. No one knows we're here, still connected. There's no discussion of what we should do now. When we disentangle, you turn and pull a blanket over us.