Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

• It was almost nine pm when he brought the car to a stop in his driveway. Colin realized he had been holding his breath and he let out a long breath, his heart rate beginning to speed up from the uncertainty, and shame, and pain of walking back into that house to confront all that had happened. Bracing himself up for whatever awaited him, he slowly alighted from the car, quietly answering Tim's greetings and waving him off, as he made his way to the front door.
• As he stepped through the front door, a heavy silence seemed to descend upon the house, the usual buzz of activity replaced by an atmosphere that carried heavy silence, and so many, too many, unsaid words, and unasked questions.
• The workers present when he entered greeted him with a cautiousness to their tone, and their eyes a subdued picture of sympathy and curiosity. He offered a tight-lipped smile in return, acknowledging their presence with a nod before continuing on his way, heading upstairs to his daughter's room, and trying so hard to ignore the feeling of shame and embarrassment burning within him, about his workers knowing that, even with everything he had, a man had come into his home, and contaminated it, and he hadn't been able to do anything about it.