I WOKE EARLY the next morning, tired of tossing and turning after being awoken yet again by the latest in a string of bizarre and disturbing dreams. Knowing I needed to tell him about the night before, I called Bill.
“Hello?” I heard his voice over the phone.
“Bill, it’s me. I hope I didn’t wake you.” I walked from one room to another, pacing with nervous energy.
“No, I was up. How are you?”
“Good, mostly, at least until last night. There was an incident you should know about. I wanted you to hear it from me, and not rumors.”
“What kind of incident exactly?” He sounded concerned.
I repeated the whole story the way I told Devon the night before, adding only that I no longer bore any marks. Devon told me Brandon’s handprint had faded before we’d finished dinner.
“I see,” he was quiet
