They clatteredon the floor. In one swift motion I grabbed the comforter and pulled itover my body, covering the nightie. My feet poked out from the bo...tom. Myheart was racing. My body was sweating. My eyes were wide open.The door closed."Jason, what the hell are you doing in there?" It was Mom again. Shecontinued after a short pause, "I'm opening the door now."I thought it was bad before but this is much worse. Mom is going to flip.Just completely flip. She must know I was masturbating. How. I’m fine.“You’re not! Why weren’t you wearing something? A vest, a trauma plate –”Because I thought I was invulnerable, I wanted to say. Instead:Work I do. Trust is everything. Go in armoured. No trust.“Joshua, they shot you.”Don’t know. Who. “They” are. Yet.I squeezed her hand.Long day. Tired. You should go home. Rest.“I’m staying here.” She spoke if there was no question of any alternative.Yael.“I’m staying here.” Her eyes blazed.Okay. Okay.I squeezed her hand in surrender.“I’m going to. She offered to pay us generously so I gave her my number and left it at that. Around a week later I received a phone call from her asking if me and one friend would come to her 'girls night in' and waiter for them shirtless. We discussed prices and dates and came to an agreement, and she texted me her address. The next week, on a Saturday night, me and my friend both turned up to a modern-looking suburban house on an estate in town, after hitting the gym and the sunbeds in preparation. We were. Dylan somehow has recovered from the wounds I inflicted. It was not a lethal blow! ‘Oh my God. I don’t know what to say. You came all this way to tell me that?’ ‘Well, I don’t know if you got my letters. You wouldn’t talk to me on the phone at Stan’s. There was no other way to reach you.’ ‘Sasha, I’m so sorry.’ I put my face in my hands. Without warning, my tears began to flow, the months of suppressed emotion erupting. I shook with silent sobs. I felt his hand on my back, then his strong arms.