When you let him in
You relax in the warmth of his smile
You don't see the pointed teeth
Or maybe you choose to ignore it
It really is hard to say
When he sits on your sofa
He leans forward toward you
Shoulders relaxed
Eyes focused
Brow neutral
Voice smiley
You fall into conversation quickly and effortlessly
In your mind, you know he's trained as a salesman to be good at this
But 'friend' writes itself in every que
Every tone
Every word
And it would be hard to hold up defenses if you had even wanted to
And you don't
Because it's so damn good to have someone to talk to
You missed it enough to throw away your safety
And so you put your trust in him immediately
Like he wanted you to

The rain continues to pour
The lightning bolts lighting his silhouette in the otherwise dark house
You see his arms shake as he quietly shivers in his damp suit, still dripping from the rain
You watch how his hollow face moves while he tells a story of his travel
You ask him if he has a place to stay
He senses your concern and says no
You think to ask him to stay
But he asks before you do
You don't hesitate to agree
You build him a bed of your warmest blankets
You light the fireplace
You make him the only food left in your house
You tuck him in
You ignore the strange look of pride on his face as you go to bed
But you don't know of his permanency
Damn charlatan didn't even have to try