The Unseen

Unexpected Visitor

I wake up and a few things register. The nurse staring at me from the foot of my bed, the IV stinging my arm, the fact that I can feel that the swelling has gone down in my lips and throat, and Drew's hand in mine.

The nurse notices that my eyes are open first, "How you feeling, hon?"

"Okay." I say. Drew squeezes my hand, letting me know he's there.

"Good. We needed to watch you overnight to make sure you were okay. But if you're feeling better, you can go home today." She smiles, "We can go get the doctor and he can authorize it. Can you get a ride home?"

Mom's at work, the car's at home...

"Yes. She has a ride." Drew says.

The nurse sets a stack of the clothing I wore into here next to a stack of clean clothes with a note on top, "Your mom brought these by."

I lean forward and grab the clothes with the note on top.

Rainy,

Sorry I couldn't stay, had to work.

Is the boy by your bed that Halzer kid?

He keeps looking at me.

Either way, he's a keeper.

The nurse said he didn't leave.

Anyways, I brought you your necklace.

You forgot to put it on and that must be why all this happened.

God will protect you if you wear it.

Love,

Mom

I remove the necklace taped to the back and let it dangle between my fingers for a moment. It's a silver cross with my birthstone in the middle, "Will you help me with this?" I ask Drew, handing him the necklace and twisting so he's behind me.

"Sure." Drew pushes my hair that's still fishtailed out of the way. His fingers brush against the back of my neck and chills run down my spine.

I can't see but I can tell he's behind me, fumbling around with the clasp and I giggle, "Having trouble?"

"No, no, I got this." He says with a cute sense of determination. I hear the clasp of the necklace click closed behind me and Drew cheers, "Yes!"

"Good job!" I laugh.

A nurse pokes her head in, "Sweetie? We need this room. If you could go change clothes in the bathroom in the hall, that would be great."

"Ok, but I'm kinda stuck." I raise my IV arm at her to show her.

"Oh, hang on." She comes over and expertly takes it out and replaces it with a Band Aid. "Just get changed and you're good to go, hon."

I stand up and fix my hospital gown, taking the new stack of clothes. Drew picks up the other stack and walks down the hall, "I'll be in the waiting room when you're done."

I nod and turn and walk down a thin hallway off the main one that leads to the bathrooms. I go into a stall and start changing. Mom gave me a pair of jeans and a low-cut Aeropostale shirt. I put them on, grateful she chose this instead of something embarrassing.

I walk out of the stall and then out of the bathroom. Not paying attention to where I'm going, I smack right into someone, I end up smacked towards the dead end side of the hall, "Sorry, I didn't see you there," I look to the person I ran into and....it's Landon. "Landon? What are you doing here?"

"Came to talk to you." Landon takes a step towards me.

I take a step back, "About what?"

"When we did that project together, I thought you were a just loner with a pretty face." He takes another step towards me and I take another back, "Nothing to look twice at. But then Halzer did."

Landon takes exactly two steps forward and I'm up against the wall at the end of the hall, "What is your point?" I ask.

His fingertips glide from my waist down to my hips. A chill runs down my spine. Not like the chills I get from Drew but something different, something more ominous, "Halzer has some sort of instinct that other guys....lack. So I usually go with what he says, but you....unbelievable. So I came here to see for myself what's got him so into you." Landon inhales deeply, "So what is it? Are you some sort of project for him? You his dealer? His hoe that won't go? His pet? His follower? His slave? Either way I want in on whatever he's in on." His voice gets deeper at 'slave'. He's trying to provoke me and it works.

I slap him across the face, "What is wrong with you!? I'm his girlfriend. Hear that? Girlfriend. There was a time when I would've dated you, but now I can see that would've been a big mistake."

Landon smiles, despite the red mark forming on his face, "Just think about it." He presses his forehead to mine, smiles again, and walks off. Something was off about him, he wasn't the Landon I met on the first day of school. He was someone different. Someone entirely different.