---- His eyes flicked toward the screen, and something in his expression shifted. The light in his gaze dulled abruptly-almost cold. If I wasn't imagining it, there was even a flicker of something fierce, sharp as a blade. I turned to look. It was Charles. The ringtone echoed awkwardly in the quiet of the hospital room. I didn't answer. The screen dimmed. Then lit up again. Then dimmed once more. It repeated this cycle three times before finally falling into silence. "You're not answering?" Tyler asked. I pulled my gaze away from the screen and shook my head. ---- "No need." He gave a quiet, almost imperceptible laugh. There was a faint bitterness in it, but also something like relief. "So, he finally managed to hurt you that badly, huh? Took a blow to the head to knock some sense into you." His voice was laced with mockery, but I caught the subtle exhale of tension behind it. A release he hadn't meant to show. "Mr. Ford," I said calmly, ''sometimes what you see isn't the truth. Things between me and Charles ..they aren't what you think they are. But thank you. For helping me both times. I'm tired now. I'd like to rest. You should get back to whatever it is you were doing." His presence, his tone-it unsettled me. I didn't want to be entangled with him any further. ---- Charles was no good. And neither was Tyler.