“He’s asleep. He said Jesus got him out.”
“Wow.” Shanice joined them. “Nothing like a near-death experience to get a man’s attention. I’ll drive you home. You can get a good night’s sleep and—”
Grace shook her head, decision made. “I’m going to stick around.”
“Oh, girl, are you sure?” Shanice sounded worried. She glanced at Brian.
“He wants me to stay.”
Shanice stepped closer. “Honey, you look exhausted already. I know this whole thing has put you through the emotional wringer, but Roman doesn’t need you. He has good doctors and nurses.”
Grace understood Shanice’s concern. Some time and distance would help her think more clearly. But right now, she wanted to stay as close as possible. “I gave my word.”
“What about Samuel?”
“I’ve already talked with Selah. She encouraged me to stay.”
Shanice rolled her eyes. “Of course. She would.”
Her son was happy and safe with Selah. For now, Roman was the one who needed her.
PANTING, HEART POUNDING, Roman awakened from the nightmare. He’d been back inside the tunnel, surrounded by shadows and monsters. Disoriented, he gasped when he found someone standing beside the bed, a hand on his shoulder.
“Sorry I awakened you, Mr. Velasco, but you were having another nightmare.” A different nurse, this one a middle-aged woman with a kind face.
“Oh.” His breathing slowed. “Thanks.” He could still feel the visceral impact of the echoing screams, moans of anguish, the gnashing of teeth of those he’d seen in hell. The heart monitor showed his rate slowing to normal. “Where’s Grace?”
“She’ll be back soon.” The nurse readjusted the blanket, asked if he needed anything, and left the room.
It was quieter now that he was out of ICU, but people passed by in the outer corridor: nurses, a doctor, visitors. Roman watched the door for Grace. He lay still, attuned to the sounds around him: low voices, squeaky shoes on a polished floor, beeps. His roommate turned on the TV. A news report and talk of the weather. Roman listened, wanted to forget the memory of demonic monsters and a fiery pit.
Hell existed. He’d been there. Every time Roman tried to talk himself out of what he’d experienced, he felt the pain in his leg. He’d seen it when the nurse changed the dressings, and he remembered the doctor asking about the injury. Emotionally raw, Roman said a demon had dug talons into his leg and tried to pull him back down to hell. Jesus told the creature to let go, and it did. The physician stood silent, looking at him the same way Roman must have looked at Grace when she told him about the angel who came to her when she was a child.
“I’m sure there’s a rational explanation, Mr. Velasco.”
“Great. Tell me. Please. I’d like to hear one.”
The doctor thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Roman had felt the demon’s claws. He remembered the weight pulling at him. Jesus Christ whispered a word and Roman was set free. Had he been a soul outside his body, or had he been flesh and blood? He tried to wrap his mind around what happened and couldn’t.
The doctor had asked about family. The condition was often hereditary. Maybe his father had passed down the heart problem. There was no way for Roman to know, no way to find out. Was his father still alive? Maybe he was in that seething pit of fire and darkness. Was White Boy in the outer darkness, too, gnashing his teeth in agony?
The curtain slid back. “Good morning, Roman.” Dr. Ng had a chart in his hand. “Still having nightmares, I hear. Do you want to speak with a psychologist?”
Roman pressed a button, raising the head of his bed. “No.” He told the truth once and wasn’t believed. Better not to mention it to anyone again.
Where was Grace? What was taking her so long?
Dr. Ng checked the site of the defibrillator. “Looks good. Working perfectly. Swelling is gone. No sign of infection. Helps that you’re so healthy.”
Dr. Ng tapped something into the computer terminal. “We’ll get going on the paperwork and have you out of here tomorrow. The nurse will make an appointment for a three-month checkup.”
When Grace entered the room shortly after the doctor left, Roman’s pulse kicked up. Thankfully, the heart monitor had been removed, along with IVs and all the other tethers that had kept him tied down. How was it possible for a woman to soothe and stir him at the same time? Their relationship had changed subtly over the last few days. He saw something new in her eyes and welcomed it.