Chapter 2Everything was a blur from the moment Chad agreed to leave the train with him until the moment James unlocked the hotel room. They talked more. James tentatively revealed that he was leaving because he had lost his job. Chad made the appropriate sounds of sympathy that James expected, though James never mentioned Connie, and he never mentioned everything that had led to his termination. The mistakes he had made, and even more unforgiveable, all the mistakes he’d never made. Chad listened politely, and even asked a few questions to encourage James to continue. James appreciated that—he couldn’t remember the last time anybody had encouraged him to talk more.
Even so, all the answers were fuzzy and distant. His world didn’t sharpen again until he slid the card key into the lock and
