Hidden In The Dark (IN EDITING)

Baltimore

The hand that strangled me was ripped away in an instant, I collapsed to the ground choking and gasping for air. Although it was gone, it still felt like it was there squeezing the air from my body. My lungs slowly filled themselves with air, my hearing and sight returning to normal.

The pain, however, remained as powerful as ever. Every part of me ached, a burning sensation swept over me in waves, igniting the pain even more. I scramble back against the wall and sit there clutching my ribs while I tried to get in more air.

I look up to see Vali fighting the dark figure, a huff of relief flows through me when I realize he's winning by a longshot. A giant sword lay strapped to his back, the color of it the darkest black ever seen, if moved the right way it disappeared into thin air.

Pain overtook me, a slight whimper escaping my lips as I listened to the muffled grunts. I didn't watch, I didn't have it in me to do so, but I listen to the ongoing fight taking place a few feet before me. I heard a loud crack and loud thud, followed by footsteps approaching me, the sound of something dragging accompanied them. I just sat and prayed that Vali was the one walking to me, my body was bare of the energy to pick up my head, but through the midst of it all...I was sure I could come up with a snarky comment.

A loud thud echoes when a dark body hit the ground in front of me, well half of it, the other half must have been what was dragging across the concrete. I didn't see a face, just dark emptiness letting me know it was the figure with the voice and not Vali. Vali stopped right in front of me, standing there before he bent down in front of me, balancing on the balls of his feet.

No look of amusement or confusion crossed his face, or even a grimace, it was just bare of everything like he was merely a sculpted chunk of stone.

"Well howdy." There was no smile on my face or even a lick of enthusiasm, but I mean given the situation could you blame me?

"How do you feel?" I coughed, the blood that tricked out of my mouth reminded me of the stab wound in my back. I didn't look up, I didn't even try to gather enough energy to complete the simple task. My brain felt like a blob just slushing around in my cranium, unable to command my nerves or muscles to do anything or even think.

"Peachy." It took me what felt like hours to roll that six-letter word off of my tongue, and I realized why after it left me. For once my spirit didn't feel like covering its underlying true feelings with sarcastic comments. For once, I just wanted to be held while I cried, dosed up on pain meds with a nice blanket around me...but that wasn't the Leaigh I had come to know, or the one anyone knew.

I was pretty sure the only reason the tears  hadn't come yet was the fact I probably had some brain injury that wouldn't allow me to. The thought made me want to laugh but...well I'm sure you know by now. I feel an arm slide up under my knees and another across my back, when his cold hard hand skimmed across the wound I flinched forward uttering some colorful words.

"What hurts?" The pain electrified me in a way, not in a sucker for pain way, but it didn't make me feel so drowsy.

"My ego." Somehow a laugh pushed out, causing another sharp feeling to hit every inch of me. "Seriously Leaigh." I stopped and looked up at the sky,

"Everything." It came out a mere whisper, almost being swept up and away into the night, away from wondering ears. But alas the giant heard me and muttered something I couldn't make out. His eyes closing and mine following suit, dark silence swallowed us up and spit us out in an unfamiliar room.

My eyes searched the dark bathroom, black marble walls with matching bathroom counters, a black smooth stone tub sat in front of me to the left. There was even a freaking matte black toilet across the room, a few feet away in the corner was a clear shower with a black showerhead and other contraptions on the wall. Everything was black but it was so elegant and relaxing that I didn't feel like I was suffocating, but rather there was fresh air in my lungs.

I didn't realize I was sitting on the bathroom counter until my hand brushed against the electrifyingly cool counter. Vali walked in, not in his usual attire, but in a black turtle neck and trench coat, his legs covered in black dress pants and his feet clad in shiny brand new black dress shoes. But the thing that through me off most was the black brow line glasses that sat perched up on his face.

"Uh where are we?" I had taken notice to the absence of pain at the moment, nothing hurting or sore in anyway.

"My apartment, I killed him but he'll be back, and in the meantime you will stay here in the upstairs bedroom. I'll be back tomorrow, in the meantime, settle in. I have three rules, don't leave when I'm gone, don't go in my office, and be up at 6 am sharp every day." Nothing quite clicked in yet, ergo I nodded my head quickly.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to pay someone a visit and hopefully have a harmonious discussion." I didn't say anything about his tight jawed answer, albeit I knew the events that would take place tonight would be described with adjectives far from harmonious. I watch him straighten his coat and push his glasses up,

"Glasses?"

"It matches the personnel."

"Of who?"

"Someone other than me."

"Oh."

There was silence between us, just staring at each other. I cursed the luxurious bathroom for not having at least a leaky faucet or loud toilet so it wasn't silent. My eyes grow wide and I spin around to face the mirror, I let out a huff of breath when I don't see any cuts or bruises on my skin.

"Wait I have school tomorrow. How am I going to get there?"

"How do you normally get to school?"

"I walk with Gray, but given the circumstances of being farther away from them, that seems a bit uh how do you say it...far-fetched?"

"Wait where are we anyway? I know we aren't in Salisbury just based on your bathroom." His face doesn't change when he tells me where we are but mine sure does, my jaw unhinges. "Baltimore."

Now I know what you're thinking, that Baltimore isn't that big of a deal. But when you have to be at school by 7 and it's practically two hours away, its a pretty big deal. I would have to leave by 5 am, not just wake up, but leave.

"I'll be back in time to take you there, be ready at 6:55."

I don't say anything before he disappears, leaving me alone in the breathtaking bathroom. When I make my way out one of the two doors, I'm met with one of the most breathtaking views. The tall dark ceilings hold black chandeliers, the walls a smoky black color. Black couches, rugs, dark hardwood floors, black modern lamps, and no decorations. Everything looked like it had been untouched and unloved, it felt cold but I knew it wasn't because of the temperature, it was cold from not having any presences.

Although it was bare, it was beautiful, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen before. It was one of those you saw in your dreams but knew it would never come true, and somehow it had.

Everything was black, not a single color was present in the large room, everything was modern, and nothing looking like it had come out the year before. But that wasn't all, there was a heavenly view just outside the floor to ceiling windows that wrapped around the room. You could see the city as the sun started to set beyond its skyline, the lights of the buildings on the verge of cutting on soon.

I looked back to the room and saw a little black stone staircase leading up a few steps and leading into the kitchen, which just like the living room, was beautiful and all black. But was really eye catching was the large clear stair case with black steps that led up to the second floor.

My apartment. I replayed what Vali said earlier in my head.

My apartment.

MY APARTMENT.

This is a PENTHOUSE!!!!!