ALL THAT WAS LEFT BEHIND

Revealing Words

In the midst of the sleeping night, the soft, ever fragile silence had been broken. Within the dark and motionless walls of the hospital room, Jarrod lay in a blissful state of unawareness, until the minuscule sound ripped him away from it all.

            The door opened slowly, was closed with a small hardly audible click, but it was enough for Jarrod’s well trained ears to catch.

            His eyes opened, and peered around the room in the faintly painted light of the moon, with the tiny view his positioning gave him. He didn’t move an inch or unclenched his tightened muscles.

            One by one, he could hear the distinct noise of a set of feet quietly walk around the room. And closer to his bed. Each soft click echoed in his heart, and echoed into a circuiting sound of heaviness.

            With one eye open, he could see the black dress shoes gradually clicking across the floor in measured strides, just frequent enough to confirm his dread.

            His heart didn’t pound in anxiety or fear, however. Instead, he only experienced the blanket of dread drop over him in a new, fresher scent.

            He remained silent, and likened his breathing unto a willowing body of boggy water. The man cleared his throat, granting a low scratchy rumble into the silence of the room.

            “You can stop pretending you’re asleep, Jarrod,” Charlie sneered matter-of-factly. He stood over the bed with his pompous glare.

            Jarrod opened and rolled his eyes, then blew out an angry sigh. He sat up to face the old man in the frail darkness, and could make out his features just by the dim light of moonbeams drizzling into the room.

            Charlie appeared even more wrinkly and bald, but still just as hefty and potent. He beamed at him with his ice cold blue eyes that shone like a cat’s sly glance. “Did you have a nice nap?” he asked innocently.

            Jarrod scoffed. “Before you showed up? Yeah, it was great.”

            His remark made Charlie chuckle. He closed his eyes and let the slow laugh sway through him, and then looked back at Jarrod, pausing just simply to watch him.

            “What do you want?” Jarrod demanded, frustrated with Charlie’s endless riddles. He immediately swung into full mode, as if he had been doing nothing but building his anger the entire night instead of sleeping.

            “Listen,” Jarrod harshly ordered. “You told me to get out of where I was. I had a job, I had an apartment, and I had acquaintances. But you told me to get out of everything, and I did. So how do I get paid? Huh?”

            Charlie stood there, and calmly smiled as Jarrod glowered.

            “Tell me,” he continued, raising his voice slightly, but rather dangerously. “Why the heck do I get hunted down, and nearly blown to bits in that hotel?!”

            Charlie cocked his head, and wearily eyed him. “Jarrod, I believe that you left out a part. You knew the deal, and you were quite familiar with all the consequences behind your every move. You ignored those instructions, and had to be stopped. Sorry for any inconvenience. Oh, and don’t exaggerate. It was a simple time bomb. You probably have access to one too, I’m not quite sure. But you were quite easy to track down.” Charlie shrugged.

            Jarrod looked away from the old man, who stood so tall in front of him, and fixated his eyes upon the wall. His climbing temperature only numbed him in a burning resentment.