Callie sat on the bed with the lower part of her face propped in her hands. She could not believe she was in some strange, paranoid man's house. She was preparing to stay the night, sleep in his ex-wife's clothes and God only knew what she was going to do in the morning. She sighed heavily, her parents would not approve.

   'Oh crap.' She remembered. 'I haven't called them. I'm sure they're freaking out.' She looked over at the clock on the nightstand. It read '10:45' meaning it would be 1:45 am in her tiny hometown of Diana, West Virginia. 

   'If I'm going to get chewed out either way,' she thought, 'It can wait until morning. Serves them right anyway.' Not that she really thought her parents deserved the punishment of wondering whether their daughter was dead or alive but it was late. She was tired and angry and had just decided she didn't care at the moment. 

   She leaned back on the bed and propped her weight on her arms behind her. She took a look around the room. It was quite simple but she still felt like she was within the pages of a fairy tale.  The bedding was creamy white and fluffy. There was a nightstand to her left and a dresser across from her. To her right, there was a large bay window. She climbed down from the bed and walked over to it. Looking out, she saw nothing but darkness and a few stars. She imagined in the daytime or, with the addition of light, this entire place would be a magical kingdom. 

   She heard a knock at the door and turned to see part of Michael's face appear as he opened it. "May I come in?" He asked softly. 

   She was taken aback by this as it was his house and not 10 minutes ago he had looked as if he wanted to strangle her. She couldn't help but wonder why she was not more worried for her safety but, for some reason, she knew he would not harm her. "Uh..yea..." she mumbled. 

   He walked in, sat some clothes on the bed, and turned to go back out the door. He paused before leaving and turned to face her again. "Have you eaten? Are you hungry?"

   Her stomach groaned but it was late, she was still tense from the earlier confrontation and she didn't want to be a burden. "No, I'm fine." she lied. 

   "Oh, okay." He responded.

   She thought she had detected disappointment in this statement. "Well, the kitchen is down the stairs, to the right, if you need anything." Michael tried to give a small smile and it looked as if it pained him. "Goodnight." He said sweetly and sincerely. 

   "Goodnight." She replied shyly. As he left she again noted how perfect he looked. 'If he would only smile,' she didn't finish the thought. 

   She had been staring at the closed door where Michael was once standing lost in a daydream. When she came to, she walked over to the bed and inspected the clothes he had brought. She tossed everything but the night shirt over to the dresser, stepped out of her jeans and pulled off her tank top. She slid on the soft night shirt and took a moment to admire the roominess. Then she pulled back the covers and slid into the soft sheets. "Oh" she moaned softly. After the day she had had the bed felt like heaven. She settled in, cuddled a pillow and drifted off to sweet sleep.