"Mrs. Atkin," he called from the hallway, "It's me, Stephen." She was usually in the lounge-come-kitchen watching television when he arrived but the s...ound of the ancient set was curiously absent today. Pushing through the ajar door, he found her in her usual spot on the couch, completely silent and still. The television was off and the only sound was the low hum of a neighbour taking advantage of the warm weather by cutting his grass. Stephen found it a terribly strange scene. "You alright. All of a sudden I was hit by a throng of old friends from middle school on bookface .. They said they had a place in the heart of the party precinct and they wanted me to come party with them. So without telling Randy I went while he worked, I knew I was being naughty but if I got there and could show him that I was all grown up and responsible and I had also promised myself I wouldnt do anything dumb as I had a University degree and a career in law to consider ,And Randy was correct in. They included kids from the cheerleading squad, the football and basketball teams, and some additional kids that had been helping during the study sessions. I also noticed Tina talking to some of the cheerleaders, although I didn't think she noticed me yet. It occurred to me at that moment, how completely I was integrated into Zoe's social group. So much so that my sister was also integrated.When we walked in, Zoe was talking to Tami and Amanda and she hadn't noticed us. I held my finger over. That led to thoughts of what followed and . . . wow, what had followed had been great. The feel of her next to him, under him, touching him—it had driven him crazy. He wanted it again. That was when he realized Connie wasn’t in the bed. He shot upright. Oh, no. Did I just screw it all up? No, he reassured himself after a minute’s reflection, he didn’t think so. Connie was a fairly early riser, even on weekends, and probably hadn’t wanted to wake him after he’d been so exhausted. Would she talk.