It was about 6 p.m. and the girl was off, asleep on the couch after yet another smash win. 'How does she fall asleep so fast?' and most importantly 'how does she keep winning?' now that he was alone and bored doubts suddenly flooded his mind again. 'Anyway going out can't hurt...we also need someone to do the shopping anyway' and with this excuse and a note left for Nora later he was out of the house. 

Now the crossroads 'hospital or supermarket?' but of the crossroads there was only the illusion, the confirmation came the moment the nurse asked him ”patient's name?" "Um. Silas Hyde?" The lady squared him from top to bottom and Samuel's heart rate began to accelerate “room 201, that way” she said hastily with superficiality. “Thank you,” but she was already gone.

His legs moved as if they had a will of their own, pushing toward that room, each step increased the beats, his hand on the doorknob with trepidation then moved quickly, uncertain. 'I have to knock first don't I?‘ the sounds muffled 'knocking is the right and polite thing to do, you don't just walk into people's rooms at random' his eyes danced frantically from the door to the floor and back again ‘well it's not exactly his room however he's in there anyway, I have to knock don't I?’ even his body seemed tired of the mental monologue he was sending forth and before he realized it he was hearing the ‘knock knock’ at the door. 'Ooo fuck I did it I did it' in the silence he felt how his own breathing was irregular and heavy "come on in" 'ooo shit it's really his voice' the realization sent shivers down his skin ‘of course it's him it's his room stupid’ he hesitantly opened the door and as first thing peeped his head then slowly the rest of his body too. “Ei... how are you?” “Mmm that's who it is” and with that the guy pulled himself up to sit on the white crib. Samuel took a good look at him. 'Maybe too well.' He had skin like porcelain, smooth and pale, almost colorless, certainly a nice contrast to his own, rather dark and not immune to acne (unfortunately). On this a series of stunning tattoos wrapped around his skin and ran across his entire figure. His hair, as he had also noticed the night before, despite the darkness, was truly snow-white, blindingly white, of a medium-short length and still shot in several directions. He held himself up with his arms at the edge of the crib, ‘big arms...’ yeah, the guy was definitely fitter than he was, looking at them more cautiously he noticed that here the skin was violently broken by scars that surfaced from his tattoos and gripped the entire circumference of his arm, huge and coarse cuts flanked by thin ones, almost delicate in comparison. As he looked up he noticed similar gashes on his neck. “Finished studying me?” with surprise he looked up even more, to find himself on the same level as the other "so ... are you better?" Silas threw himself off the crib ‘tall, taller than I thought’ he mentally noted. “Infinitely now,” and on the ‘now’ he stared straight ahead at his interlocutor. The temperature in the room seemed to have risen; why was she staring at him? Why did it seem to him that he was getting closer? What did he mean by that 'now? 'After the operation or whatever they did to him obviously' that was the logical and rational answer the one to be believed, but the heart hammering in his chest was not convinced. Silas leaned his head against the wall behind him, those languid eyes that seemed to want to devour and savor him from top to toe still on his "That's it? No other questions?" 'The bastard knows' Samuel walked to the center of the small room, near the chair beside the crib "the other night ... you said my name when you told me to get in the ambulance with you" the other pretended to strain to remember the scene, then leaned forward to bring his face closer to Samuel's, his hands crossed behind his back still clinging to the wall “yes I think I did, any problem with that Sammy?” The boy tried to keep calm, he stepped back hitting the chair slightly “the thing is I don't seem to have told you, so well, I was wondering how did you...know?” Silas, very visibly amused by the situation, returned to sit on the crib, and with a nod invited the other to take a seat in the chair. As Samuel hesitantly sat down on the flimsy pile of plastic, he was pulled forward by Silas's foot, which he had tucked behind one leg of that chair. Samuel held his breath. Sitting he was undoubtedly lower than the other, who was now semi-reclining, still facing him but leaning back on his tattooed elbows. "You mentioned it when you called for help..." he pulled forward a little, very close to Samuel face smiling slyly, his voice now a barely whisper “...silly,” and went back down. 'It didn't seem to me that I said that...however, it is also one of the few plausible explanations' pulled out of his thoughts by the other's movements, an unlit cigarette in his mouth and his hand searching for a lighter “you know you can't smoke that one right?” “Excuse me?” “We are in a hospital” but it seemed that sentence was not enough, he kept looking at him with raised eyebrows, waiting for some other explanation “and you can't smoke inside hospitals” “mmm sure” and if he removed himself annoyed from his lips; Samuel followed every movement eagerly, ‘fuck, it looks weird, he can see me’ and lowered his head slightly embarrassed. From above a small laugh , then the other's hands resting on the back of the chair pinned the poor boy in place, who was too afraid of being sucked back in by Silas's presence to look directly at him. “What is it kid?” Silas lowered his voice “don't tell me you're afraid” immediately the door was heard to open, the doctor entering turned first to the guest “visiting hours I'm afraid are over” and the instant he turned to close the door was the instant needed for Samuel to pull his head up, realize his proximity to the other boy, who whispered to him “right Sammy, hope to see you again soon” all accompanied by a light... puff, from his mouth, of smoke? 'he didn't even lite the cigarette' Samuel's eyes widened in amazement into Silas's half-closed, mocking ones. "Boy I'm really sorry, but you have to go" but what the doctor said was not important, what mattered was in front of him. 'He's making fun of me' and he was convinced that as soon as he finished formulating that thought the other boy's smile had extended a little more, he could have sworn he heard that manipulative voice say 'oh really?' in a sweet sweet, temptive voice, but that little game that had been created was broken ‘regretfully?' attempted that little voice, which was soon cruelly drowned out by the 'FUCK NO, that guy is creepy and I don't want him near me’. But before he left, to close the door behind him, out of the corner of his eye he saw those confident eyes focused on him and one last puff of smoke exhaled from his nostrils.

“You're crazy, you can tell right?” “Wow Nora thank you, your comments help so much” "listen, I love you to death okay? But what you are saying is strange and troubling. Even more is the fact that you want to visit him again" Samuel couldn't understand 'why at the idea of not seeing him again I feel like a pain in my chest, a huge weight on my stomach?' The friend had noticed the change in expression “look at it from a more practical point of view, from the one who cares about your safety: you met this man in a disturbing situation, with a very bad excuse, you are not convinced by his appearance and some of the things he says seem impossible and scary” when the answer was late in coming she added “am I saying correct things?” "Yes, everything is right. The problem is this, I know the best thing for me is not to go anymore, so how come my whole body is screaming at me to go back?" To this the friend had no answer. However she tried equally to do what friends do “...maybe he is very cute and your gay awakening?” She wasn't sure what she was saying either but apparently they were the right words, because the friend was now laughing. “Sure as hell, lived 19 years straight and a stranger in the woods made me realize I've been lying to myself all along” “that's right!!!” Now she was laughing too, then he playfully took her face in his hands and rubbed her face a bit, while in the little voice one usually speaks to a cute little dog he said “how good you are Nora” “let go you're hurting meeeee” "so goooood" "stop! You didn't even do the shopping you bastard!" yelled her joyfully "fuck no, I totally forgot" laughed him. At least she had managed to cheer him up.