finally the boy punched her in the face ; it split open her lip and made her see stars . the message was more than two weeks old . you were one of the keys to the kingdom we needed . they told me that has been a point of emphasis . he stopped and leaned against a reservoir , breathing into his shirt in the crook of his arm , fighting to mask the noise of his panting . i took a new candle from the drawer and went to the fireplace to light it . 