*CHAPTER 47*

*CHAPTER 47*
She pulled back then, and I could feel the shock flitting across my face as what she said sunk in. All I could do was stare at her as I tried to process what she was saying. Because she was right, a gas leak wouldn't do something like that. In the shock of learning what had happened to David, I hadn't had time to think about how coincidental it all was.

"But enough about that," She said with a brightness I could tell she didn't feel, "All you need to be thinking about right now is getting better. You're probably starving, and I'm keeping you from your lunch."

"Oh!" She said, leaning off the edge of the bed to grab something, a plastic bag crinkling as it landed in her lap. "I bought you a couple of things from the gift shop on the way up." A pile of celebrity gossip magazines, lip gloss, dry shampoo, a variety of chocolate bars, a t-shirt with the hospital logo on it, and a teddy bear with a balloon wrapped around his arm. "The options were very limited," she grimaced, "When I come tomorrow, I'll bring you more. Wait—how long are you going to be in here?"

"I'm not sure, but don't worry about bringing anything else, it's perfect. Thank you."

She backed up to give me some space, her hand pulling from mine, but she squeezed my ankle from the place she settled at the foot of my bed. I blinked away the confusing thoughts that now raced through me, to focus in on the table of food that had been set up that Richard now scooted closer to my bed.

The sandwiches that Jenna had brought from what she told me was her favorite local bakery tasted delicious. I could only manage a few bites of food before my stomach protested and Caleb volunteered to finish it off even though he admitted to have already eaten two sandwiches of his own on the way over.

My thoughts were already coming more and more foggy due in large part to the pain medication the nurse had come in to give me half way through lunch. Caleb and Lauren kept up a steady stream conversation, keeping things light by mostly going back and forth about weird clients Lauren ran into as a hair stylist while Malcolm and I ate.

My mind kept drifting back to what Lauren had said about gas leaks as my mind slowly got foggy enough that I leaned my head tiredly back against the angled mattress.

"I think," Jenna said from her chair near Malcolm's, "it's past time we get going so Kassie can get some more sleep."

I wanted to protest, but my muddled thoughts couldn't come up with the words.

Jenna turned to Malcolm who was leaned back in the same seat he'd commandeered yesterday, "Malcolm, honey, why don't you go back with Caleb and get some sleep at home. I'll stay here with Kassie while she sleeps."

"No one has to stay, I'm okay," I tried to say but my voice came out in a tired garble I wasn't sure anyone understood. They ignored my weak protests, Malcolm settling further back in his chair to get more comfortable, "I'll stay," he said, turning the volume back up on the television so the comforting lull of chatter filled the room.

Jenna looked like she wanted to protest for a moment, but after studying Malcolm a long moment she nodded slowly, "Alright, well, call me if you need anything. And I mean anything at all. I'm off today and tomorrow, so I can be here anytime."

She gave Malcolm a squeeze on the shoulder, gathering up her handbag and her car keys. Caleb stood next, coming to lean over where I lay sprawled out in my hospital bed, "Get better fast Kassie, the house isn't the same without you. Winston has been howling nonstop, unlocking all the doors in the house looking for you. And Mrs. Nisbitt tried to get into bed with me last night. Scared the crap out of me too," he shuddered, "It's been chaos." He gave me a small smile, squeezing my shoulder, only letting go when he glanced over at his cousin.

"I'd say that I'll trade off if you need it, but I doubt you'll take me up on it," Caleb sent Malcolm a look I couldn't interpret with my fading fuzzy mind. And then Lauren leaned forward on the bed to pull me into another tight embrace.

"I love you, Kassie. I'm going to track down your phone for you, so you can keep me updated," She planted a big lip glossy kiss on my cheek, that I tried to scrape off with the shoulder of my hospital gown. I was sure I had pink sparkles smudged all over my skin, "I have a few clients this afternoon, but I'll be back." She promised over her shoulder. She waved as she walked through the door into the hallway. Though she did send one last critical, assessing glance Malcolm's way before she left.

My eyes were so tired, they immediately drooped. I think they were half way closed as Jenna leaned down to give me one last hug. And I was gone, lost to my own foggy mind as I leaned back into bed giving in to the heaviness of my eyelids.

The rest of the day was filled with a collection of drug induced naps, blood tests, and scans. I woke up from my afternoon nap from the nurse coming in to check in on me, rechecking my vital signs. Jenna stopped by in the early evening to bring dinner, and I continued to take the herb concoction she'd given me. As the day wore on, the aches in my body were slowly beginning to recede.

It gave me hope that I'd be able to leave the hospital sooner than I'd been expecting. As long as the tests came back clear, I couldn't imagine they'd keep me for much longer.
When Malcolm and I were alone again, I turned to face him, finally saying what we were both thinking, but neither of us had said aloud.

"It wasn't a gas leak, was it?" I asked.

His face shifted to something grim, "We don't have any proof otherwise, but..."

"But?"

"But, a gas leak seems unlikely."

I settled back into the pile of pillows at my back, taking that information in, "Did you see it? My house I mean?"

"I haven't left the hospital," he said. He hesitated for a moment then admitted, "but I did have Caleb drive by and send me some pictures."

"Will you show me?"

He didn't insult me by asking if I were sure I wanted to see it. Instead, he just raised his scarred eyebrow and pulled out his phone. He tossed it to the bed where it landed and bounced on top of my blanket covered legs. I scrolled through the pictures he'd pulled up for me, trying to keep my face blank as I looked through the wreckage.

Lauren was right. The house was completely gone.

An ash-ridden crater in the center of my neighborhood. It looked like a bomb had gone off. I scrolled through the pictures, taken from different angles, absorbing the impossibility of it all.

As I scrolled though, something caught my eye. There, hidden among the ash on the curb, was a red mark.
I blinked, zooming in on the curb.

And then I swore.