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have missed it. Erik was entirely too perceptive.
    “So what do you want to do today? Shall we actually attempt a board game?”
    “Fuck board games.”
    And please fuck me, I thought to myself.
    Erik stopped pacing and looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. “Everything alright?”
    “Yeah, yeah. I’m just really tired,” I said with a sigh as I waved off his concern.
    “We’ll go ahead and nap why you can. Before the storm gets loud again.”
    I was already standing up from the couch when I looked at him and asked, “Are you sure?”
    Erik nodded I nearly sighed in relief, grateful that I wouldn’t to have to spend the entire day trying to ignore my attraction to him. I knew I’d have to deal with it again later, but at least I’d have a few hours to myself first.
    “Do you have a book or something I can read?”
    “Of course. Come on,” I beckoned him with a jerk of my chin, leading him down the hallway to the room that Gerald used as a study.
    I wasn’t sure if Erik would be entirely grateful to be brought into a room that belonged to his father, but it was where we kept all of our books. Gerald’s, mine, and even the occasional book or two that my mom picked up were all housed on the shelves in that room. As we entered, Erik looked around the room was a knowing expression, not looking entirely pleased but also not upset.
    “This is where our books live,” I said was a forced chuckle. “Help yourself to anything in the room. A lot of the books are mine but as you can probably tell...”
    “A lot of them are my dad’s,” he finished for me.
    I nodded in response, knowing that verbally agreeing wouldn’t make a difference. Erik was already lost in the room, seemingly torn between distain and an almost childlike curiosity. Even though he denied wanting to get to know the man that his father had become, I could tell that a small part of him had wanted to, even if it was unconsciously.
    And since Gerald was dead, going through his belongings was the closest Erik was going to get to knowing his father.
    I exited the room in silence, my eyes going wide with surprise when I heard Erik’s whispered, “Sweet dreams, Kristen.”
    I spared him one last glance before closing the door behind me, knowing that the light shining into the windows of the study would be enough for him to read by. I exhaled shakily before making my way to my bedroom and slipping under the sheets fully dressed, burying my nose not in my usual pillow, but in the one Erik had rested his head on last night.
    I was asleep within seconds.
    ~*~*~
    It was almost dinner time when I finally saw a sign of life from the study. I had only managed to nap for another two hours before being waking up, my body having more than enough sleep by that point. I strolled out to find the door the study still shut and I knew Erik was still inside. I used the time alone to read a novel while simultaneously freaking out about the possibility of sharing a bed with Erik again that night.
    Now, the sun was starting to go down and the sound of the study door opening made my body tense with anticipation. The storm had already started to pick back up, the wind having been pounding against the side of the house for a few hours. The rain was just returning though and I knew we were in for another rough night.
    Any hope I had that the power would turn back on tonight was diminished. Thankfully, this time I was prepared, candles already sporadically placed around the house should we need them.
    Erik came into the kitchen as I was picking at leftovers from the night before. I supposed it was lucky that I made as much food as I had before the power went out, and thankfully most of it had kept just fine in the relative coolness of the refrigerator. Still, everything would be bad by tomorrow so I was eating as much of it as I could.
    “Hey,” Erik greeted as he came into the kitchen and saw me sitting at the table. “How was your nap?”
    “It was good. How was your