by crow » 08/02/2015 5:20 AM
"Terrible," Tanner said. "Who let this visitor into my room? She's causing a disturbance." He motioned to the girl, but the nurse only frowned, looking confused.
"What do you mean? There's no one here. Visiting hours are over," he said. Tanner blinked at him, unsure of what to say for a moment. He chanced a glance back at where the girl had been, and sure enough, she was still there, though now she looked positively nervous. "Sir," said the nurse slowly, "are you... sure you're alright?"
There was a pause as Tanner processed all this, turning the situation over in his mind. Then, he broke into a grin. "Just kidding," he said. The smile came easily to him, even with everything that had happened. "This thing's pretty nice," he said, toying idly with the bedside remote, pushing the front half of the bed upward so he could sit up. He laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back on the pillows. "That TV up there doesn't work, does it?" He could see the relief break across the nurse's face as he spoke.
"Yes it does. You can control it like this," the man said, pressing another button on Tanner's remote. The TV flickered on, filling the room with the soft drone of two politicians debating over some hot issue concerning the rise of youth crime. Tanner grimaced and immediately changed the channel.