Inferna Nuntius

Chapter 20

20

Cassidy sat at the foot of the bed, pillows crammed behind her back giving her little relief from the unforgiving hotel floor. Her knees were pulled close to her chest, creating the perfect resting spot for her book, cradling the soft spine of the paperback between her thighs. By the sliver of light that crept through the slightly parted curtains Cassidy was just able to make out the words on the page. She knew that in a short while she would be forced to either turn a light on or leave the room when darkness finally consumed the room. She glanced away from the book to Derrick who lay sprawled across the bed, the thin white sheet strangling his legs. She blushed slightly at the sight of his nakedness and as much as she wished she had been the one to cause his unclothed body, she knew that was the farthest thing from the truth. Derrick had crawled into bed hours earlier after stripping himself and cranking the air to full blast. He had all but unplugged every light in the room to allow himself to be engulfed in complete darkness. He had given Cassidy an ultimatum-either leave and go to her own room or stay and be absolutely quiet until he instructed her differently. She had chosen the later simply to be close to him.

He had banished her from the bed within minutes of lying down, claiming he could feel her heat radiating off of her. Cassidy obliged, resting far enough away so that he could not feel her, but when he decided to sprawl himself out even farther on the bed, Cassidy gave up and found her place on the floor.

And that was where she found herself for the next few hours, with only the words from the book to fill her empty head. She desperately wanted to once again look at the case files, but she stopped herself, knowing that doing so would only dredge up demons she didn’t feel like facing right then. She closed the book and gently laid it on the floor, turning her head so she could listen to the steady breathing coming from the bed. Every so often she would hear the breathing lapse, causing her to hold her own breath until Derrick’s resumed. These bouts were familiar to her, but the rate and length were cause for concern. His longest episode lasted just under a minute, causing Cassidy to rush to his side. He had not appreciated being awoken, much less so with her turning on the side light and upon opening his eyes, he growled at her, pushing his arm against her body. He forced her from the bed and mumbled incoherently as he fumbled with the light before knocking it completely off the side table. Once he had fallen back asleep, Cassidy cautiously righted the lamp and resumed her position at the foot of the bed. She suppressed her grumbling, but barely.

As the sliver of light from the curtain disappeared, Cassidy’s stomach grumbled and her hand quickly went to her stomach, attempting to quiet it before she disturbed Derrick. She quickly rolled onto her knees and used the edge of the bed to ease herself from the ground.

Knock, knock, knock.

Cassidy froze her moments instantly. She hovered at the edge of the bed, waiting. There was no reason for anyone to be at her door; none of the other officers knew what room she was in and she hadn’t been smart enough to order room service.

Knock, knock, knock.

Cassidy dashed towards the door, unlatching the dead bolt and threw the door open. She let a mighty gasp escape her lips as she saw the two men standing before her.

“Are you going to invite us in?” Her father’s deep voice rattled through her body. “Or are we going to stand in the hallway all night?”

Cassidy’s glanced moved from her father to the man standing beside him, attempting to look as uninterested in him as possible. “What are you doing here?” She tried to keep the shock in her voice to a minimum.

“I can’t want to visit my daughter?” He extended his hand to her face, but she violently jerked away. It was unlike his daughter to do so.

“Sorry, Marcus, I’m just a little….shocked, I guess.” She informed him, immediately feeling horrible about her actions.