Sissy3211: I might take you up on that one of these days.
Bronco8881: Please do. Have you tried eating something? Maybe you can't sleep because you're hungry.
Sissy3211: I'll get some crackers, be right back.
Austin rubbed his temples with both hands and waited. If he wasn't worried before, he was now. If only she would let him help her, but she was afraid of him. He guessed he didn't blame her for that, but how do you convince someone you're not dangerous?
Sissy3211: I'm back. Why are you still up?
Bronco8881: A little more work to do.
Sissy3211: Tell me a bedtime story.
Bronco8881: Once upon a time.
Sissy3211: I've heard that one. Tell me about your childhood
Bronco8881: You want to hear about my two ugly stepsisters?
Sissy3211: You're kidding, right?
Bronco8881: Wrong. My father passed away and my mom remarried.
Sissy3211: Did you like her new husband?
Bronco8881: I did. Still do, but his daughters…ouch.
Sissy3211: Ugly?
Bronco8881: Don't tell them I said that, okay?
Sissy3211: Okay. Are they older or younger?
Bronco8881: They couldn't have made my life so miserable if they were older. They were younger by two and three years.
Sissy3211: What did they do?
Bronco8881: They hung around my friends, followed us everywhere, and were a total embarrassment. I still haven't forgiven them.
Sissy3211: How old were you at the time?
Bronco8881: Ten, I think, maybe eleven. What about you? Tell me about your childhood.
Austin waited, but she didn't answer right away.
Sissy3211: I'm kind of tired now. Thanks for being there. Good night.
--- Sissy3211 has signed off---
He looked at the clock and decided he had better get some sleep too…if he could sleep after talking to her. She couldn't have found a worse job if she tried. Sadly, there was nothing he could do until she was willing to trust him.