“Shall I call the others back in?"He nodded. "Why ask me? It's all of you who are making the decisions.”

“Drop something?" he asked, trying to suppress a smile but failing miserably at the act.I nodded and smiled back at him sheepishly, unable to find my voice to respond in any other way."Interested in locks, I see," he commented.I nodded again."Well, here you go," he said, and he handed the book to me.I nodded. Oh crap, why did I just nod? Take the book! I screamed inside my head. Take it! I took it slowly. He kept looking at me, smiling.”

“Well," I said finally, knowing he was waiting, "you make me laugh."He nodded. "And?""You're pretty good-looking.""Pretty good-looking? I called you beautiful.""You want to be beautiful?" I asked him."Are you saying I'm not?”

“Aren’t you going to ask me if I’m all right?” I say.“No, I’m pretty sure you’re not all right.”He shakes his head. “I’m going to ask you not to make any decisions until we’ve talkedabout it.”

“Sometimes it's just silent...No sound at all.'Does that scare you?'Chad nods. 'Why?' asks his father.'It's like something's waiting.”

“Why didn't you kill me like you did that guy back there? Billy? Or does it even make any sense to ask? Are you beyond why?'Oh shit, we're all beyond why, you know that.”