A Work In Progress (COMPLETED)

Chapter 31

Dena gasped at the sight of Tim, his face swollen and bruised as she entered his hospital room. Emily gripped Bobby's hand tightly, desperately trying to hold herself together for her mom. Bobby felt anger, pure unadulterated anger at the sight of his friend, his brother from another mother, as they often referred to themselves growing up, lying there beaten. "Not even Jennings had beat him this bad over Caroline" he thought to himself.

The three watched as the nurse arranged his bed, elevating his head slightly for comfort. "Tim's family?"  Dr. Lynch asked while introducing himself.

"Yyyyes" Emily stammered not taking her eyes off her brother.

Dr. Lynch understood their reaction, he'd come accustomed to families reactions though he'd hardened his emotions over the years. "He's extremely fortunate, this could have been worse, much worse " he stated.

Dena looked at the doctor momentarily, wondering at first what he meant stating could have been worse, then realized he meant he could have died instead.

"He's suffered fractures to both orbital sockets and cheek bones, his nose is broken again along with various defensive injuries sustained in the attack" Lynch explained.

"Defensive injuries?" Dena asked.

"He means Tim tried to protect himself , most likely raising his arms over his head or even injuries to his hands or legs if he tried to fight back" Bobby told her.

"Exactly" Lynch responded.

"Will he be ok...will he be....be able to see" Emily asked quietly, never taking her eyes off her brother.

"Once the swelling goes down we'll do a thorough examination to determine if there will be any long term deficits" Lynch replied "he's sedated but can still hear you and may respond. The best thing is for him to rest in order to heal".

"We won't disturb him, I just want him to know we are here" Dena replied.

"I totally understand. If you have any other questions please let me know" Lynch replied before excusing himself to tend to another patient.

Dena walked to one side of the bed while Emily and Bobby walked to the other. Each taking his hand in their's they stood silently. Dena moved a few strands of hair from his forehead then lightly touched his bruised face, the tears flowing heavily. Emily merely stared, fixated upon his swollen eyes. Dena began to pray aloud for strength and healing for Tim when he turned towards her voice "Thank you, Momma" he spoke barely above a whisper.

****
Luisa fiddled with her fingers. anxiously waiting on the cot in the emergency room, hoping to be released soon. She'd only suffered a mild concussion from striking her head on the ground after being tossed out of the way by her father. She had to get out and soon, knowing she needed to help Chance carry out his plan and expose Jenika for the fraud she truly was, once and for all.

Dr. Lynch called her name before pushing the curtain out of the way, walking into her exam area with his chart. "Hello, do you remember who I am" he asked.

"Yes, you're Dr. Lynch, you examined me when I first came in" she replied.

"And do you recall why you are here" he asked.

Luisa explained what had happened prior to being brought in.

"Good. I have a few things to check and then we'll see about getting you out of here" he told her.

"Great" she replied excitedly.

Lynch then performed a quick vision and neurological test on Luisa finding nothing substantailly abnormal due to her striking her head. Making a few notes in her chart he advised her she could get dressed and he would prepare the paperwork for her release. "Do you have someone to drive you home and to stay with you. You should not be alone for the next 24 hours. Even though I'm not finding anything alarming at the moment, you could possibly develop issues later such as a severe headache, dizziness and vomiting" he told her.

Assuming she would have Chance at least take her home she told Lynch yes she had someone. He then told her the nurse would be back with her discharge papers in just a few minutes. Luisa quickly grabbed her phone, texting Chance as she assumed he would be with Tim. She didn't expect him to actually take her home, he needed to stay with Tim. She just needed him long enough to act as if he was taking her out of the hospital. After several minutes and no response, she called his phone. Still no response even after leaving a couple messages. She began to worry, just how bad was Tim if Chance wasn't able to answer.

****
Chance sat in the interrogation room drinking the bottle of water one of the officers gave him when they escorted him to the room. His phone vibrated in his pocket just as Inv Williams entered the room. Ignoring it, he stood to greet the Investigator.

"Good afternoon, sir" he stated before Williams advised him to sit back down.

"I rarely get anyone greeting me let alone standing up when I enter these interrogation rooms" he said with a smile.

"A sign of respect, sir. My dad taught me that" Chance replied.

"Well your father is a good man " Williams replied, sitting down at the table.

"Yes he was, sir" Chance stated.

"My condolences " he told him before opening the folder, placing a note pad and pen nearby. Chance took another large swallow of water from the bottle, listening to Williams explain why he was there.

"Son, what I need from you, in your own words, is a detailed account of your relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Foust".