I mean, I could doze a little in the desk chair. But somehow, it didn’t feel right. My injured arm was starting to hurt, so I went to the guest room for the bottle of painkillers and took a pill. When I came out, I stood still for a moment at the top of the stairs, thinking about whether it was really worth going back to the living room to spend the night with a stranger who didn’t seem very keen on talking.
That chair in my room was starting to look better and better.
I went back to my bedroom, and when I opened the door, I found the bedside lamp turned on—and not only that: Alexander was awake, sitting with his back against the headboard. He was taking some pills when I appeared. I tried to ignore the fact that he still had his torso bare; it wasn’t right to be focusing on something li
