Full of conflicting emotions, she drove home. The streets were empty, and she paid little attentiin to the turns as she made her way.  Her tiny little apartment was just as she lef it. Dark, empty, and quiet. As it always was. There was no one here to greet her as she arrived, not even a dog after Butch had been hit by a car last month. She dropped her keys in the dish she kept on the table, hung her purse from her bedroom door, and went straight into the bathroom to shower.<br/><br/>Normally, she undressed and put her clothing in the hamper first, but tonight, she just left them on the bathroom floor. The water was hot. Almost too hot, but she left it that way, and stepped under the stream. Before she even realized it was happening, tears began to stream, washed away at once by the rushing water. She couldn't figure out why she was cying, whether from the fear, the tension, or the mysterious disappearance of the stranger but she did it for a while. finally, when she had run dry, she washed her hair, scrubbed clean, and cut off the water. After towelling dry, she wrapped herself in the robe hanging from the door, picked up her clothes, and went into her room. She was too tired ro care that her hair was still wet. She simply removed the robe and slipped between the sheets.<br/><br/>Sleep was elusive, as it always was, but finally, she slipped into a fitful slumber.