A Minor Technicality [Completed] *Slowly Editing*

Chapter 47 - A Midnight Visitor

Blythe's POV

Moonlight filtered through the blinds in my hospital room casting soft shafts of light across the floor. Through the cracks, I could see the moon was high in the sky, indicating it was the middle of the night. Puzzled at my sudden rousing, I groggily wondered what had pulled me from dreamland. I could usually sleep through anything, so my nighttime rest was rarely interrupted before my alarm woke me in the morning. Then again, hospitals aren't usually known for being restful places, so maybe I just hadn't settled into a deep sleep, since the nurses kept waking me every few hours to check my vitals.

A sense of unease rippled through my body, and a feeling of foreboding invaded my mind. I peered around the room, trying to make out the shadows in the darkness, but there was nothing out of place, and no one was in the room that I could see. Something wasn't right, though, and I felt a charge of static electricity as the hair on my arms rose. I could feel it...that nameless ominous presence. I began to wonder if it was just the pain meds making me feel a little loopy. I stretched my good arm slowly across the bed, reaching for the button to call the nurses' station. Maybe they could tell me if hallucination or paranoia was a side effect of the medication I was taking.

As my palm slid across the empty table, I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. Where was that blasted remote? I hadn't moved it since waking in this room, and the last time I saw it, it was still conveniently within reach on the table beside my hospital bed. Gulping quietly, I turned my head to stare at the empty table. Light from the hallway shone through the mini blinds, casting stripes upon the empty surface. The remote with the call button was nowhere to be seen.

"Poor little Blythe," a deep voice cooed softly, startling me. "No one to call for help."

Gradually, I twisted my head toward an inky shadow that was now moving across the room. It blackened the vacant wall that I had studied just moments before. Now, though, the bathroom door stood ajar behind the intruder, revealing the hiding place of my uninvited guest.

"What do you want from me?" I whispered harshly, unwilling to fully shatter the quiet of the room. The situation seemed less real that way, but I knew that this was no mere nightmare. This was just a continuation of the terror that had been my life in the last week.

Husky laughter filled the room, cold and ominous as it echoed off the walls, and I stiffened as recognition dawned on me. My eyes narrowed, and I glared at the large shadow drawing closer to my bed.

"How did you get in here?" I demanded. "They've been searching for you everywhere."

"Not everywhere," he smirked, lifting his hand to indicate the darkened room. "They sure didn't expect me to be bold enough to come in here. Too bad your precious Luca didn't keep a better eye on you," he taunted.

With my good hand, I pushed against the mattress, trying to lift my body to face him. My forearm shook with the effort, and my body didn't move even an inch from the bed. My breathing became more labored, as I struggled to calm my racing heart. I was no match for anyone in my present condition, but that understanding didn't lessen my resolve to fight.

"Luca will never forgive you for this," I snarled. "He will hunt you down, and he will make you pay."

The shadow laughed with merriment. "I wouldn't expect any less of him," he growled, stalking silently toward the opposite side of my bed, eyeing the IV bags in a way that left me paralyzed momentarily in fear.

"W-what are you doing?" The words were barely a whisper, but his grin widened, and the shaft of light from the window caused a gold-capped tooth to shine. I'd never noticed that tooth before. It seemed so very cliché in light of his gangster behavior at the moment. He answered deliberately, but his wild gaze belied his calm words.