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Silence: He opened his eyes and realized he was awake. He never really slept well after having drank so much the previous night. Just lying there, exhausted from staying up all night and the booze having left a toilet ring of dull pain around his head. One beer and he slept like a baby. More than a six-pack or twelve and he slept like shit, body trying futilely to sweat. The alcohol forced so much fluid out of his body, which also encouraged hangovers to start quickly and then he'd try to sleep, clammy all over and with a major headache. It had been like this and especially so since he had hung up the phone 4 hours ago. He looked at the clock- 12:15 pm in red digital. When the call came he forced out some alertness, agreed to meet at a certain time- 3:00 pm. Then, exhausted, he closed his eyes and tried to log some more down time. He'd need it. Now it was 1:15 pm in red digital. Worry crept into his belly. Jesus, the call had come. He peered over the sheet which was drawn up to his nose while lying on his side. She had cried. That's why he was scared. If she hadn't cried, physically cried, then maybe a discreet apology would have covered it. After all, he didn't go through with it, couldn't. Too drunk. That's right. But she was upset enough to cry and she would remember that- forever- and it wasn't so much that she had been upset enough to cry, it was that she actually cried. He remembered her face from last night, wet and unhappy. That was the reason, the actual reason. After that, he did not remember much. But what happened before, he tried to put it together like a lawyer would. He would need a lawyer.