The lump in my throat was hard to swallow, and I once again felt that farmiliar tightening around my heart."Jake" I whispered. "Jake,wou-would you mind explaining what you mean by that"? I asked, choking down another lump.Jake slowly turned his head away from me to avoid eye contact. This time i spoke more sternly."JAKE" The tears flowed from his eyes more freely and he was having a hard time catching his breath, much like I. "I-I have to go wait for my dad" he said, and scurried out the door. The knowing and not knowing was killing me, and now I knew I had to make a move. It was Friday. "Monday....Monday....." I chanted to myself.

 I wasn't sure what time it was when i woke up, and couldn't remember falling asleep. My fire had burned out and I was shivering on the lounge in front of it.For some reason I could only think of my tardy student Amy,and had almost forgotten about my visit with Jake. Was I dreaming? Had he really told me I would be dead by Monday? Icy chills crept up my already shivering spine as I shook off the sleep and realized that what I hoped was a dream was in fact my all-too-farmiliar reality. I went to the kitchen and looked at the clock- 4:26 am. Panic gripped me as it had each time before when I awoke to this particular time. Amy again came to mind, and i decided to await my saturday lunch with her in slumber,and retreated to my empty bed to welcome comforting dreams of the family that I had once known.