Change of Heart 2

Chapter 9

The room was so incredibly dark that even with his supernatural eyesight he couldn't see a thing. His hearing however was still in tack as he could clearly hear the pounding echoing through the room, knocking so hard that it made his head hurt. It was becoming harder to breathe. He couldn't take it. His fingers went to his head, grabbed onto his hair and it almost felt as though he was trying to rip it all off while he started to scream and scream even though he knew no one could hear him.

"Hey, you're ok, it's alright you're ok."

When his eyes finally opened he was looking into the eyes of a woman whom he never saw before. They were a bright blue, moist and very worried.

"Were you having a nightmare?" She sat on the bed next to him. "You were screaming."

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"My name is Angelica. Don't worry I'm a nice person. I don't mean you any harm, you don't have to worry. I'm not a kidnapper either I just, well I thought you needed the help and−

"How did I get here?" He asked stopping her rambling.

"Ok, I saw you in the street yesterday. You collapsed on the floor. At first I thought you were a hobo but then I saw your face and I thought 'No he's too pretty to be a hobo', but then you weren't really breathing so I thought you were dead, but when I checked your pulse I realized you were still alive." She took a deep breath. "I was gonna call the police but my phone was dead. Instead I signaled a cab to drive as close as possible to where you were and I put you inside and brought you here. This is my house by the way."

"And, during all of that, I was unconscious?"

"Yes. I was really scared, but your pulse was really strong. And then early this morning, about three hours ago I saw that you started breathing again."

"You looked after me continuously since yesterday?"

"Well yea, I wanted to make sure you were ok. Do you feel ok?" She asked touching his forehead to check his temperature. "You're really hot." She said then smiled.

"I feel fine." He returned her smile. "Where did these clothes come from?" He noticed his clothes had been changed.

"I changed your clothes. I hope you don't mind, the others were dirty. I washed them for you in case you wanted them back."

"Thank you...for everything. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem, really." She said touching the bandage she put on his head the night before. "You hit your head pretty hard. What happened? Were you drunk?"

He shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know what happened. It's all just one big blur." He said rising up to a sitting position on the bed.

"I'm just happy you're ok. What's your name by the way? I've been trying to guess it all night long."

"Vince."

She smiled again. "Are you hungry Vince?"

"I think you've done enough for me, don't you think?"

"It was my pleasure. You weren't any trouble at all."

"How about I do something for you?"

"Like what?" She looked surprised.

"Anything, I owe you Angelica."

"You don't have to."

"I insist." He said touching her face. "Let me take you out."

"Oh, no you shouldn't."

"Why? Would your boyfriend be mad?"

"I don't have a boyfriend."

"Then why can't I take you out?"

"I just, I don't really think it's necessary." She shrugged.

"Ok, it's no problem." He stood up from the bed. "I think I should leave."

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"I'm fine." He reassured her. "Thanks again."

She nodded.

"And if there's anything you need, anything at all," He said jotting something down on a nearby notepad. "just give me a call." He smiled and kissed her cheek before leaving.

"Bye." She said more herself, smiling as she watched him walk away. He was out of her gates and almost out of sight when her phone rang. She walked inside, closed the door and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Angelica." A strange voice was on the other end of the telephone.

"I'm sorry, who is this?"

"You won't remember me, but I met with you two days ago." The male voice stated. "I asked you to do something but I see that you have failed."

"Who are you? Where did you meet me?"

"You don't need to worry about my identity Angelica, nor the place where we met. I noticed however you didn't ask me what I asked you to do." He laughed softly. "You know what I asked. You remembered that I know for a fact. What I don't know is, why wasn't it done?"

Her voice stammered and cracked. "I...I can't do it."

"Yes you can. You have all that is necessary to do it."

"I won't do it!" Angelica was shouting. "That's not who I am!"

"There's a first time for everything love. This will be yours."

"I don't know who you are," There were tears in her eyes. "but you will not make a killer out of me."

"You are forcing me to take serious actions Angelica. Think about what you need to do. We'll see each other soon, even though you might not remember it."

When she slammed the phone down the tears were now dripping from her lashes. There was an uneasy feeling in her stomach and the strength that was holding up her body was rapidly decreasing. She had just dropped herself down onto the couch when the doorbell rang.

"Who is it?" She called propping herself up with her elbows. A few seconds went by and there was no response. Reluctantly she weakly stood up and stumbled to the front door. No one was standing outside. Well, at least not in the portion of space that the peephole provided sight for. She took a deep breath and opened the door just to see a white box with her name Angelica written on the cover. Slowly, she picked it up and took it inside where she removed the tape from the edges and lifted the cover. Inside of the box laid a single white rose which would've been perfect if the petals weren't stained with what looked like blood. She didn't know who sent it or what it meant but she didn't want the answers to any of those questions.