Laura escaped to her room, grateful for the opportunity to flee his overpowering presence. She changed into a blue silk nightdress and lounged in bed, reading a magazine she had found in the room. For some reason, she was unable to fall asleep and decided to venture into the kitchen for a glass of warm milk. Since it was well past midnight, she was quite sure that she wouldn't meet anyone on the way. She slipped into the lacy robe that matched her nightdress and left the room. When passing the open door of the library, she noticed that the lights in the room were still burning and peeked in, wondering if David had forgotten to turn them off when he went to bed.David was stretched out on the leather sofa, one hand still clasping the papers he had been reading before he had fallen asleep. Laura walked over to him and looked down at him as he slept. In repose, his face had the innocent look of the child in the photograph albums. Gone was the arrogant demeanor she had come to dread. Her heart filled with love and compassion for the man before her, whose cold hard features had been softened by the warmth of sleep.
