I scrub at my face, the beard growing on my face abrading my palm.
“Fine, I’ll have Agatha bring us something to eat then.”
He sinks into a chair next to mine, dark circles under his eyes. When he showed up and saw the state of Bane, I saw the fury on his face. Saw the complete devastation lurking there.
“Burn it all down,” he said, “but bring Emin’s body. Bane will want it when he wakes up.”
“Are we sure he’s dead?” I ask.
Anthony lets out a huff. “He is.”
“Mikhail thought so too, but he wasn’t. He never was.”
“A mistake. We spoke and I’m sure he will tell you this as well, but he had confirmation that he was gone from an autopsy, but it appears the coroner was paid off. It was never him. The man we have is. I guarantee it.”
“Thank you.”
Anthony nods. “Anything for Bane. He’s like a son to me.”
That right there shows me he loves him just as much as I do. It’s nice to know there are people in his corner. That his affections aren’t misplaced. That when he wakes, people will be overjoyed.
“Do you know how Bane came to work for me?” Anthony asks after a moment of silence. “He just appeared one day. Thin and dirty. Agatha took one look at him and declared we were keeping him. And he’s been with us ever since.”
I eye Anthony, and he rubs at his chin, taking a sip of his drink that he carried in here with him. A whiskey, I believe. I need one as well, but I can’t be bothered to go find one. Why he’s telling me this now, I don’t know. Perhaps he’s reflecting, like I am, on the chaotic way Bane came into our lives.
“I know he’s blocked a lot of it out, but he did tell me a few things back then. Back when he remembered. These are things I haven’t repeated to anyone. Only Agatha knows.”
I hold my breath.
“I knew when he arrived that he was being held captive, that he escaped when he grew the courage. After that, he lived on the streets, being used and manipulated until he finally found his way here. Back then, he wasn’t the Bane you know today. He was scared and shy and afraid.”
“You made him alive again,” I say, and he nods.
“And you will too when he wakes up. That’s your job now. To put him back together. It won’t be easy. It took years for him to come out of his shell, but once he did…it was a sight to behold.”
He sighs and leans back, staring off into the distance. “Just so you know, he insisted on living down below. That wasn’t my choice. He said it made him more comfortable. The outside world was too much for him. Too big, too loud, too bright. So that’s why he’s down there. I don’t force him.”
“I know.”
“I’d like to think his time here has been happy.” I eye him and he takes a long sip of his drink. “I’d like to think that he knows he’s loved.”
“He does. This is his family.”
Anthony clears his throat as Agatha bustles in. She sets a tray down next to me and then moves over to Bane, cooing over him and whispering things only a mother would say to a child. I hope he can hear it. Hope he comes back soon. Everyone misses him.
I miss him.
“We can discuss living arrangements when he wakes up, but I’d like you to know that we would like him close by.”
“I wouldn’t take him from here.”
Anthony nods and then finishes his drink.
“Good. When he wakes, inform us all. I know everyone is eager to see him.”
After Anthony leaves, Agatha lingers for a while, keeping me company and making sure I eat the food she’s made for me. I do it reluctantly, each swallow a lump in my stomach, but I manage to finish it. It’s only when I’ve set the fork down that she nods approvingly and takes the tray away, leaving me alone with Bane.
And once more, I watch him, pleading with him to wake up.
