CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Lance sat curled in the chair beside Angus's bed, scrolling through his phone and looking for any new updates about the explosion. While there were hundreds of reports about what happened, not a single one hinted at what caused it.
It was frustrating not knowing. He wanted someone or something to blame for what happened. He needed a place to send all his anger and grief. Between his shoulder hurting and emotions spiraling, he wasn't sure what to do with himself.
The nurses and doctors came and went, none of them having anything new to report.
Angus was stable and that was all they could tell him.
At times, he swore he saw Angus move. Just a small twitch of a finger or a curl of his lips, but Lance knew it was just his imagination.
It happened at the morgue sometimes. He'd swear a body moved.
Sometimes it was simply nothing more than air releasing from the body. Other times, it was his imagination.
"Lance, I'm sorry I wasn't here last night. I just found out." Cel rushed into the room to stand beside Angus's bed. She glanced at Lance, then back at Angus. "Tell me everything."
Lance smiled. "Thanks for coming."
"I would have been here last night had I known. Someone should have come for me." She appeared to rest her hand over Angus's.
Cel was one of their best friends. She'd been a famous chef when she'd been alive and now spent her afterlife watching over her family and teaching Lance how to make her favorite dishes.
He loved the time they spent together. She always made him laugh.
She was a large black woman, and even though he knew her hand was nothing more than an illusion he could see, her black skin stood out as it appeared to cover Angus's hand, reminding Lance how pale Angus was right now.
"I wasn't thinking about anything but Angus last night. There was nothing you could have done anyway." Lance pushed up from the chair and came closer to the bed.
"Nonsense. I could have been here for you. I could have gone back and forth from the surgery to keep you updated. I could have prayed." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Look at you. Bethany didn't tell me you'd been injured as well." She shook her head. "How bad is it?"
"Not as bad as it looks." He told her about his injuries and explained about the explosion. "I don't know what caused it. I keep hoping the news will update us, but so far, nothing."
"Give them time. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours.
Things like this take time. I'm sure people are looking at every possible angle.
When you get the answers, you want them to be factual, not some half-assed guesses at what happened.
" She reached up and appeared to caress Angus's hair. "He's strong. He'll pull through this."
Lance blinked back tears. "I hope so. I'm so worried. So scared I'll lose him."
"Not going to happen. You two have a long life ahead of you.
He's not going to leave you anytime soon.
Bethany told me about what you saw. I know for a fact that he would not be here, breathing on his own if he wasn't inside that body.
It's just not possible. If he moved on, his body would show no signs of life.
You have to trust he's just healing and in no time at all, he'll be back to doing all those little things that drive you crazy. "
"I'll never bitch about him leaving the toothpaste uncapped again." Lance smiled.
"There ya go. Keep thinking about that stuff. Think about that next vacation you two take. Once he's home and has the energy, you and I will come up with a huge dinner menu and cook all his favorite foods."
"He'd love that." Lance reached for a tissue to wipe the tears that wet his eyes. "Did Bethany mention that Jackson's home?"
"She did. I'm looking forward to us cooking him a big welcome home meal.
But that's for later. Right now, we need to focus on taking care of Angus.
We're not celebrating anything until he's able to celebrate with us.
" She focused her attention on Lance. "I hear you're not planning on going home to rest? "
Lance shook his head. "I can't leave him. I need to be here. I'm comfortable here. I need to be here when he wakes up."
"And from what I've been told that could be days or even weeks before he wakes.
You need to keep yourself strong and healthy so you can help him when he does wake.
I don't like the idea of you sleeping here.
You should go home to your own bed. Let others sit with him for a while so you can rest, shower, and regroup. "
"I know I should. Hell, I'd be saying the same thing to someone, but I just can't. I went down for a coffee earlier and just being that far away from him makes me feel like I can't breathe.
The moment he's out of my sight I start to panic.
No. Even if it's what makes sense and may be best for me, I can't leave him.
I'll be okay. Jackson will bring me what I need.
He's at the house. He can take care of Haunt and handle things there.
As far as work goes, I can't do anything until I heal, and even then, I have sick leave and vacation time I can use.
Angus wouldn't leave me. I won't leave him. "
"Stubborn man." Cel rolled her eyes. "You don't know what's good for you. You've got enough friends, both living and dead, that he'd never be alone. We'd alert you within minutes if something changed."
A nurse stepped into the room and smiled.
"Just hanging another bag." She held up a small bag of fluid that would connect to his I.V.
line. "It's great that you're talking to him so much.
I know some say they can't hear you, but I believe they can.
I think those who get talked to a lot while unconscious seem to heal faster than those who don't have anyone to talk to them. "
Cel laughed. "If she only knew you weren't talking to him."
Lance smiled at the nurse. "I think he can hear me as well. I don't want him to think he's alone."
The nurse nodded and quietly hung the bag. "You'll let us know if you need anything?"
"I will. Thank you," Lance promised.
Cel waited for the woman to leave, then said, "If they only knew how many people are in and out of this room, they'd have a fit. I'm guessing between living visitors and ghosts, he may be the most visited patient in this place."
Lance laughed. "Probably. He'd hate everyone seeing him like this. But I'm glad people are coming by to spend time with him."
"Glad to hear that." Isaac's voice had Lance turning for the door. "I was hesitant to drop by today. Hoped you'd be sleeping, but since you're up…" Isaac floated into the room.
"Senator." Cel smiled.
"Celeste Dupoint. It's been a long time." He bowed in her direction. "Good to see you again. And please, it's just Isaac now. I quit being a senator when I died."
"Of course. Isaac it is." Cel stepped to the side, giving Isaac room to stand beside her at Angus's bedside.
"How is he?" Isaac asked.
"No change from last night. Well at least from once he got out of surgery.
He's doing a lot better now than he was at the restaurant.
" Lance reached for his water and took a sip.
His shoulder was starting to hurt again.
"If things go the way they want, there shouldn't be much change for a while.
They just want him to heal for now. The big event will be when he wakes up, and we see if he can still swallow and speak normally.
The surgeon explained the injury to me and he should be fine, but there's always a risk the scar tissue or swelling could cause issues.
" Lance also worried about brain activity.
It hadn't occurred to him at first, but as he'd sat alone all day, he realized that Angus must have stopped breathing for his soul to leave his body.
It had only been seconds, but Lance had no way of knowing exactly how long Angus had been without oxygen.
Now he worried about brain damage along with the injury to his throat.
"I just came from Desorio's. I was curious about how the investigation is going," Isaac told them.
"A lot of speculation still and the scene is a mess, but they think there was a problem with the gas line.
They've called in experts with A.T.F. to investigate further.
Right now, and this hasn't been made public, but they think there was an issue with the gas line of the neighboring building. "
"The dress shop or bakery?" Lance asked, remembering the buildings on either side of Desorio's.
"Sweet Things Bakery," Isaac told them. "They closed at three, so luckily the place was empty, but as you've seen, the explosion was big enough to damage the whole area.
The wreckage is so severe, and the fire did so much damage that they're having trouble piecing it all together.
I'll head back there later and see if there's any updates, but right now, they have teams of people all making guesses at what happened, but no one has any solid evidence. "
Lance closed his eyes, remembering the scene. It had been a disaster, and he hadn't even been where the fire was. He glanced back over at Isaac. "So no one knows if it was an accident or if someone caused it?"
"They're working both causes. Police are interviewing workers from Desorio's and the bakery trying to find out if anyone was upset with any of the businesses.
They've got another team looking at the arson possibility, and yet another group looking at it from an accidental viewpoint.
I guess they've had a few arson cases recently in the area, but those were just small fires, not explosions like this. " Isaac shrugged.
Cel kept her eyes on Angus as she spoke. "If there was a gas leak, even a small fire would be enough to cause an explosion, but this doesn't feel like a small fire. From the reports I heard on the news, the explosion happened first, then the fire."