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out back and thought I saw someone in the window? I knew Darcy and Lynn were gone, and thought somebody'd broken in, so I came up to check.
         Okay? That's not bad. Okay, that's what it'll be. He might believe it.
         The best thing to do is go see Dad right away. Tell him the story. That's what I'd do if I really had seen someone in the window.
        Kyle sat on the stair, unable to move.
         Dad'll never believe it. It never worked, trying to lie to him. He always knew the truth. Like he was a mind-reader, or something. He'll know what I was doing in there. He'll think I'm perverted.
         Better not to say anything, Kyle decided. That way, at least, I won't get it for lying. Just wait and see what happens. See what he asks.
        Kyle finally got to his feet and went downstairs. He pushed through the metal door. Feeling numb and shaky, he headed for the lobby.
         Please, he thought, let Dad not be there.
        Kyle's father was behind the registration desk and looked up at him as he approached. Nobody else was around.
        'You have some business in 210, young man?'
        'Darcy wanted to borrow a couple of my speleology books,' he said, and wondered where that idea had come from. 'I just took them up and left them for her.'
        He nodded.
         He believed it!
        'Business pretty brisk at the Chalet tonight?'
        'About the same as usual,' Kyle said. 'It was pretty full.'
        'Glad to hear it.'
        'Guess I'll go watch some TV, okay?'
        'Go on ahead. I'll let you know if I need you.'
        Kyle stepped around the end of the registration desk and opened the door to their rooms. He went straight to his bedroom and shut himself in. Immediately, he slid two of his speleology books off the shelves and hid them in the space behind some other volumes. Not that Dad was likely to check. But when you make up a story, you have to follow through with the details.
        Once the books were concealed, Kyle felt a lot better. He turned the television on, and sat in the middle of his bed.
        He was too uneasy to follow the shows. Part of the time, he worried about Dad finding out the truth. ( He's gonna. No, he won't. What if he asks Darcy about the books? What if he just knows? ) Part of the time, he got past the worries and took himself back into Darcy's room. There, he lifted her things from the drawers, looked at them and touched and smelled them and dreamed of how they would look on Darcy.
        Later that night, with the lights off, he sat propped up in bed and stared at the television and thought about the next time.
        Next time, maybe he would take off his clothes. Maybe try on some of her things. (If he stole a pair of her panties, would she notice they were gone?) Maybe he would lie down on her bed, stretch out naked on the same sheet she slept on. In the bathroom, maybe he'd find a towel Darcy had used after a bath or shower. It might still be damp. A towel that had rubbed her body all over.
        
***
        
        Someone shook Kyle's shoulder. He woke up, startled, and rolled onto his back. His father was leaning over the bed, face grey in the fluttery light from the television. The screen was fuzzy, the way it looks after a station has signed off for the night. Kyle glanced at the digital clock on his bed table. Two thirty-six.
        'What's wrong?' he murmured.
        His heart sped up. He knew what was wrong. Dad knew he hadn't been in Darcy's room to leave books for her.
        'Get dressed and come with me,' Dad whispered.
        This was strange; if Dad meant to give him a lashing, or even just a lecture, he'd do it here, wouldn't he? Maybe he had some other kind of punishment in mind.
         Maybe he plans to make me face Darcy! At this hour?
        'Where are we going?'
        'Do like I say.'
        Dad didn't sound angry, but Kyle heard a tremor in his voice. Was he scared about