"Should I stay or should I go?" The song lyrics ran through Joe's head as he prowled the bedroom. He hummed along, absently picking up clothes from the floor, folding them and placing them in a nearby chair. That was one thing about Laurie that he did not miss; the girl just left things where they dropped.

He was searching for any sign that she missed him. At least that is what he told himself. He thought maybe, just maybe, she had kept his letters hidden away in a drawer. As he went through the dresser he was careful to put her intimates back in the exact same place.

"If you don't want me set me free". "Well," he mused, "she made that pretty clear when she got the restraining order against me." This was all just a big misunderstanding. He was sure that if she gave him the chance to explain they could work this out. He hadn't realized that she would freak out that badly over the gun. He would never have hurt her. He could have talked her down if that nosy neighbor had not called the police.

"If I go there will be trouble and if I stay it will be double". He didn't want trouble. He just wanted them to get back together. He took a final look around the room and decided he was going to stay to talk with her. The clock on the night stand glowed the time: 10:37 PM. She should be home soon. In all the time they dated she had never stayed out past eleven. "I'd better go out to the living room," he thought. "If she found me in her bedroom she might freak out again."

There was enough light coming through the window that he could see to walk around. He chose to sit in the easy chair in the corner. That way, he could see both the front door and the kitchen, if she came through the garage.

He rehearsed his speech in his mind. He was turning over a new leaf. He had already joined an anger management group. He was getting help. He remembered the gun and pulled it out. Putting it on the end table, he turned it so it wasn't pointing into the room. He didn't want her to feel threatened. He would give her the gun right away. If she wanted to keep it as protection against him, that was ok. If she wanted to throw it away, that was ok too. He heard the crunch of gravel in the driveway and headlights swept the room.

"So you gotta let me know, should I stay or should I go?"

"Armed intruder killed overnight as he waited to ambush former girlfriend", the talking head announced on the morning news. "TV-9 was there this morning when Laurie Williams gave this statement":

"He was sitting there, in the dark when I came home from a movie. We struggled over the gun. I feared for my life".