After a long stretch of quiet, Bex's voice becomes softer. "You hear from him yet?"
I shake my head against the pillow. "Not since the call."
She nods and her hand stays on mine.
* * *
An hour passes when there's a knock at the door.
Phantom comes through with his hat in one hand and two big brown paper bags in the other.
He's been in the ICU with Marlena.
His shirt has dried blood on it that isn't his.
His eyes are the eyes of a man who has been awake longer than he wants to admit. "Brought y'all somethin'," he says.
He sets the bags on the rolling tray and pushes it over to the side of the bed.
The smell that comes out of the bags is real food.
Cumin, lime, the comfort smell of a Mexican kitchen that's been working all day.
"Came from Maria's outside Llano. I got tinga tacos for you, sweetheart, the white sauce on the side the way you like 'em. Got a quesadilla for Bex and a side of rice and beans and the salsa not too hot, because Marlena would skin me alive if I gave a pregnant girl the hot one."
Bex makes a sound that's half a laugh and half a sob.
She lets go of my hand and wipes her eyes with the heel of her palm.
"Thank you, Phantom," Bex says, her voice cracking on his name.
Phantom's hand settles on her shoulder for a moment, then drops away. "Eat, both of you. Marlena's been after me to bring food to people instead of askin' if they're hungry. You're hungry. Eat."
He pulls a chair from the wall to the foot of my bed and sits down hard.
The hat goes on his knee.
He sees the ring on my finger. His eyes go to it for a moment and then come back up to mine.
His voice gentles. "How's your head, sweetheart?"
I touch the butterfly stitch above my ear without thinking and bring my hand back down to the blanket. "They said the CT was clear. Mild concussion. They want me to stay overnight, just to be safe."
"Then you're stayin' overnight." His tone leaves no room for argument.
I almost smile against the pillow. "I wasn't even going to try and dip out."
"Good girl."
He nods at the food on the rolling tray. "Open the bag and eat. I'm gonna tell you what I know while you do it because you've been askin' me with your face since I walked in."
I open the bag.
The smell of the tacos comes up off the foil and my stomach makes a noise I didn't expect.
I haven't eaten since the breakfast Silas made me at the cabin counter at sunrise.
That feels like a year ago.
