The Ninth Floor (25 page)

I nodded. He
wanted us to lure the person out by making them think I was alone and, for lack
of a better word,
available
. “Let’s go back inside.”

My mother
arrived over an hour later, and the doctor finally came out to talk to us. “Blair
is stable but still in critical condition. He has several cracked ribs, a
ruptured spleen, and some internal bleeding. We’ve repaired the spleen but will
continue to monitor it. I’m most concerned about brain swelling from his head
trauma. We’ll keep a close eye on him for the next twenty-four hours.”

The doctor
answered a few questions before going back to Blair. Ashley and Melissa were
the first to leave and Mom and Dad were next, though Dad said, “The best thing
you can do for him tonight is to go home and get some rest.”

“You’re
probably right.”

“Be careful,
Ryan.”

The three of
us walked to Aiden’s car. “He’ll be okay,” Vivian said.

I nodded, but
I didn’t believe it. I didn’t trust anyone I loved in this place. I stared at
the hospital looming on top of the hill as we drove away. Whatever was hiding
behind those doors wasn’t going to stop until it had me. No one was safe.

*

I tossed and turned in my bed
until the covers tangled around me. I flopped to my back and sighed. I needed a
plan. But the only things that went through my head were questions. Did it want
me because I lived? Or was it a grudge against my family? Could a flesh and blood
person orchestrate all of this? I struggled out of bed and wandered into the
kitchen for a drink.

“Can’t sleep?”
Aiden asked.

I’d forgotten
he was there. He sat on the couch half in shade, half in moonlight. The shadows
made his cheekbones sharp and his eyes dangerous. “Don’t you sleep?” I asked.

“I was. You
walk like a herd of elephants.”

“Do you work
for me or for my family?”

“My job is to
keep you safe from
anyone
who threatens you.”

I thought
about what he said as I went to the living room with my glass of water and sat
on the other end of the couch. “That doesn’t really answer my question.”

“Ryan, I’ll
protect you from stalkers, your family, and even yourself if need be.”

I leaned
forward. “But will you help me?”

His jaw
stiffened. “With what?”

“I’m going to
go on the ninth floor, and I don’t want to go alone.

“Why are you
obsessed with this?”

“Because I
hear the voices, I have seen the locks come undone, and people have died. Now
Blair is hurt and Bee is dead. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to survive. Maybe if it
gets me back, no one else will be hurt. “

His lips
curved, but he pressed them together to hide the smile. “You believe all that?”

I nodded. “It’s
all the better that you don’t. You’ll give me perspective, and if you’re right,
there’s nothing to be afraid of. There’s no reason we shouldn’t do it.”

“You have
enough to worry about without chasing ghost stories. We need to find your
stalker and eliminate the
actual
threat. My plan is good. It’s
controllable.”

“Humor me.
Come with me tomorrow. If you’re right and nothing’s there, I promise to do
whatever you say to catch the stalker.” His eyes were softening. “Please,
Aiden.”

He ran his
hand over his hairless head. “How do you plan to get in?”

“It’s going to
unlock for me.”

He nodded and
didn’t say what I knew he was thinking—that I had lost my mind. He leaned back
against the couch. “Get some rest. You need it.”

“You’ll do it?”

He didn’t try
to hide his faint smile this time. “Stand in front of a door with you waiting
for it to unlock? Sure.”

I finished my
water, watching the hospital in the distance. A light on the dark floor blinked
on and off as if it knew I was thinking about it.
I’m coming for
you,
I thought as I bit my lip.

When I didn’t
leave, Aiden threw part of his blanket over me, and I scooted closer to him.
Tomorrow would change everything.

The dogs woke me up. My neck was
stiff and Aiden’s hand rested lightly on my legs. Aiden’s head snapped up at
the sound of the dogs whining as they pawed at me. He looked over at me and I
gave him a thin smile.

“You should’ve
gone back to bed,” he said, his hand still resting on my legs, but I didn’t
mind.

“I want to go
see Blair,” I told him, pulling the cover up under my chin

He nodded. “As
soon as you’re ready.”

I sat up and
tossed the covers aside. I took a shower and turned the bathroom over to Aiden
while I dressed in a black tunic and dark jeans.

“Did you get
any sleep?” Vivian asked, coming out of her room as I was making coffee.

“A little. I
overslept. Aiden and I are going to the hospital to see Blair. Do you want to
come?”

She shook her
head. “I’ll go later this morning. Thanks though.”

“If you don’t
feel like opening the store today, don’t worry about it—and Viv, thank you for
everything.”

She laughed. “Someday
I know I’m going to need you for something, and you’ll come through.”

“You count on
it.” I went back to the living room, to-go cups in hand. Aiden was waiting.

“You ready?”
he asked.

“Yep.”

We got to the
hospital just as visiting hours started. My parents were already there. “I
think we should move Blair,” I said.

My mother
looked me in the eye and nodded. “I agree. We’ll have him out of here today.”

We all went
into the room together, even Aiden. Blair looked terrible with tubes sticking
out of his mouth and nose. I held his hand for a little while, but I couldn’t
talk and pretend everything was going to be okay. I just hoped Mom and Dad got
him moved as soon as possible. When I’d had all I could take, Aiden and I left.
I tried to call Briggs again, but he still didn’t answer. I frowned, threw my
phone back in my purse, and saw the letters my father had given me. I couldn’t
believe I’d forgotten about them.

The dogs
whining from the deck vaguely registered in my preoccupied mind. I opened the
door, but Aiden caught the back of my shirt when I made a move to go in. “Ryan,
call the police.” His voice left no room for argument as he reached around me
and pulled the door shut again. I hadn’t been paying attention to what was
inside, but I dialed 911 and handed him the phone. He reported a break in, hung
up, and looked back at me.

“What
happened?”

“Didn’t you
see?” He shook his head when I shrugged. “It looks like you were robbed.”

“So why are we
waiting out here? Shouldn’t we see what they took? And I need to get the dogs.”

“It’s best if
we wait. I don’t think you need the extra stress.” His voice was patient,
almost tender.

I didn’t know
what I wanted to do. For the first time since I’d arrived in Goodson Hollow, I
wanted to be back in my tiny city apartment with the dogs and nothing more to
worry about than going to work the next day. But I’d promised Blair I would
stay.

“The dogs will
be okay for a couple more minutes. You look like you’re about to fall over. Sit
down for a bit.”

I sat on the
top step and stared at my hands. “I want to go home.”

“We can do
that.”

“You would
come with me?” Just knowing that made leaving seem more possible. For some
reason, I trusted this stranger more than anyone else.

“I go where
you go.”

“Forever?”

He sat down
across from me. “For as long as you want me to.”

I nodded.

“You’re still
going to the ninth floor?”

“Nothing could
keep me away now.” Anger was burning away my grief with a slow, steady flame
that only seemed to grow. “Did you know about all of this the whole time? The
letters, the kidnapping, the hospital?”

His eyebrows
pulled together. “I’ve seen the letters, but I don’t know everything, no.”

“Did you know
I was born there?”

“No. Does that
matter?”

I shrugged. I
wasn’t sure if it mattered or not, but it felt like it did. “Everyone else
died.”

“It’s very
sad, Ryan, but what does it mean?” He glanced around us. “Okay, let’s say you’re
right and something supernatural is happening. What do you intend to do about
it?”

I hadn’t
thought about it. Part of me had been holding on to the hope that there was a
reasonable explanation for everything. “I don’t know—but I have to at least
find out what we’re up against, or I’ll lose my mind.”

“Let’s not
rush into anything. Let’s figure out what’s happening before we start running
into situations we aren’t prepared for.”

“Yeah.” I
opened my purse and retrieved the letters. “I can’t believe Bee’s gone.”

Aiden’s eyes
cleaved me in half with their sympathy. I was so used to him being strong and
aloof that this break in form almost undid me. I fingered the envelopes sitting
on my lap, knowing I needed to read their contents but not wanting to.

“Are you going
to read those?”

I blinked. “Now?”

He nodded. “I
think now is the perfect time.”

I slipped the
top letter out of its envelope. The paper was worn smooth and soft. How many
people had read it? I looked at Aiden. He made a circular gesture with his
hand, prompting me.

“Tears,
idle tears, I know not what they mean,

Tears from
the depth of some divine despair

Rise in the
heart, and gather to the eyes,

In looking
on the happy Autumn-fields,

And
thinking of the days that are no more.”

You left us
alone while you live a charmed life in a mansion high above the rest of us. Like
a princess destined for greatness, but ignoring the lie that is your life. You allow
the evil that destroys everything to slumber inside of you, lying dormant until
it is awakened.

They call
you Ryan, but that isn’t your name. You aren’t one of them. You belong with us,
twisted and broken in the darkness.

Why did you
leave?

Why did you
let them take you away?

You fucking
whore. I hate you. I wish you had died with the rest and nothing would have
changed. Now it is too late. Things can never be as they were and you will pay,
Ryan Sterling. No amount of money can save you now. A reaping is coming. Soon.

I put the note
back in the envelope and threw it on the step. “That didn’t make me feel better
at all. Why the hell did you have me read that?”

Aiden picked
up the letter and skimmed it. “Because ghosts and evil hospitals do not write letters.
They do not quote Tennyson. You have a very real, very human stalker, Ryan, and
you need to start acting like you believe that.”

So many
thoughts went through my mind that I couldn’t make sense of them, but the one
that slipped out of my lips was, “How do you know that was Tennyson?”

He gave me an
impatient look, but he stood up and nodded toward the stairs. Two police
officers started up. Aiden briefed them, telling them that we just got home and
hadn’t gone inside. He opened the door again, and we followed the two police
officers in. Aiden gripped my hand. Everything was shredded or destroyed.
Chunks of my beautiful new furniture were strewn all over the room, tables were
smashed and splintered, and my kitchen glinted with chunks of glass. “Whore”
was scrawled across the wall in red. The bedrooms were just as bad, except for
mine, which was untouched except that it looked like someone had lain directly
in the center of my made bed.

Aiden leaned
close to my ear. “You see?” His finger traced the air around the very human
looking outline. “A person, not a ghost.”

My lips
parted, but nothing came out. I was caught somewhere between terrified and
relieved. The officers took our statements and asked whether either of us knew
who could’ve done it. I shook my head. They left and I let the dogs back in the
house. They ran from room to room, sniffing everything. Aiden and I sifted
through the rubble for salvageable items, but we found nothing. Even Vivian’s
purse was scattered and torn.

Everything
stopped around me. What was Vivian’s purse still doing here? “Aiden.” My voice
shook.

He looked up.

“Give me my
phone.” He handed me my cell and I dialed her number. A faint ring came from
the floor. Aiden swooped down and picked it up from underneath a cushion. The
screen was cracked and jagged over a distorted picture of my face.

I dropped my
phone and covered my mouth with both hands. “He has Vivian.”

I took off running toward my car.
Aiden called after me, but I didn’t pause. No one else was going to die. Not if
I could help it. He caught up with me by the time I made it to the car and
grabbed my arms.

“Where are you
going?”

“To the
hospital. Let me go.”

“No. Stop and
think. What if this is a trap? What if Vivian is fine somewhere and you’re playing
into his hands? You’ve let whoever this asshole is tie you up in knots, but don’t
make rash decisions. What if Vivian is your stalker?”

I tried to
pull away, but his grip only tightened. “That’s preposterous.”

“She came here
right before you did. She just so happened to come into your store right when
you needed someone to work and volunteered though she doesn’t need the money.
She’s managed to move in with you. I’m with you all the time, Ryan, and I’ve
never seen anyone following you—and yet it’s still happening. What if someone
is hiding in plain sight?”

I stopped
struggling. “It couldn’t be her.”

“Why not?”

“How long has
my family received letters?”

“Since you
were a child.”