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I didn’t have to turn around, though, to tell who it was. I could see his towering height and imposing outline reflected in the glass, his body silhouetted against the white glow of the hallway.

“How is he?” Mr. Templeton asked in a weary voice.

I looked over my shoulder at him. Truthfully, I was a little scared.

Make that a lot scared.

“He’s doing fine,” I said in a quiet voice, trying to mask my nervousness.

“Is he in much pain?”

How can he even ASK that? I wondered – and then realized that the only image he had of his son was of him yelling at Mrs. Templeton from the hospital doorway.

I wasn’t sure I should tell him – I was pretty sure Connor would be angry with me – but hell, he was a father asking about his son.

“He’s in a lot of pain, but they’ve got him on pain killers. He’s sleeping right now.”

“Good,” Mr. Templeton said, and he sounded like he meant it. Like he was relieved.

He slowly walked over to the glass and stood by me, though he never looked at me once. He just gazed o