Chapter 56: Dedication

The room fell silent. Zalen knew a little about what happened with Chad’s mom. Hank leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, watching with detached interest. Nelly blinked rapidly as the gears in her mind turned.

“Well, I don’t..” her voice trailed off. She felt herself shrink in the big room. Chad’s gaze was still fixated on her while she’s already bowed her head.

The tension in the room was palpable. It stretched like a string about to snap.

Hank cleared his throat. The sound appeared too loud in the otherwise silent room. Zalen studied his partner. He carefully masked the concern he felt. Nelly remained in her position. Her fists balled tightly under the table, tears threatening to fall.

“Thanks for the hard work,” Chad said suddenly, his voice softened. Nelly looked up with confusion. “I know it’s not your field of expertise but we made you take care of her. Thank you for trying your best.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. She blinked hard, trying to appear unaffected. She wanted to say something but smiled instead. She knew if she was to speak, she wouldn’t be able to stop the waterworks.

“My mother,” a pause, “she fell into depression when my father passed away. Remained that way for weeks. One day I said something to her. She responded. I was so happy.” Every eye in the room was on him now.

Nelly held her breath. She had a feeling she’s not going to like how the story ended. Her wet eyes focused on him as her heartbeat sped.

“Then she went to sleep,” his focus was on her then, “forever.”

A tear rolled down from her eye.

That night, Neil was walking past his sister’s room. He noticed that the light was still on. It was unusual since she usually goes to bed by ten unless there's a patient to take care of. It was way past midnight.

He went to the door and held up his hand to knock. It froze mid air.

Slowly, his hand slid back down to his side.

He hadn’t really been spending time with her. He tried to observe what she liked and tried to have conversations with her. Those always ended up in awkwardness. He stuffed his hands in the pocket of his jeans.

‘What are you going to say to her when she opens the door? Sleep early? Why are you awake? What are you doing? Just checking on you?’ He mentally rolled his eyes at himself. ‘Great conversation, Neil. Just great.’

He lingered for a moment longer before leaving. His shoulders slumped with dejection.

Just a moment after he left, Jack was passing by when he noticed the light. Without hesitation, he went over and knocked on her door. He waited but there was no answer. ‘Maybe she fell asleep with the lights on,’ he thought.

Just as he was about to leave, the door swung open. Nelly stood at the door, wearing a simple white tee and sweatpants. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun. A pencil was in her hair. Her hand held the doorknob, appearing too keen to close the door. An open book was held firmly in her free hand.

“Oh,” Jack exclaimed in surprise. “What happened?” Nelly asked, too eager to finish the conversation to get back to whatever she was doing.

“What are you doing?” Jack asked as he peeked into her room curiously. Books laid open on her bed and on the floor. Some papers scattered around the room.

“Wow! Your room looks like a damn library,” he commented. “Thanks,” she replied flatly, “did something happen to the patients?”

“Is that the only reason I can knock on your door?” Jack replied casually as he leaned on her doorframe, involuntarily forcing himself between her and the door.

“I mean, why are you here?” She took a step back to put a comfortable distance. Her mind was still reeling from the information she was reading.

“I see your lights are on. Just curious what you’re doing at this hour,” the words came out easily from his mouth. “Oh, I’m researching. I need to find a way I can keep Cecilia alive without the equipment,” she explained, eyes already on the book in her hand.

Jack remained quiet as he stared at her serious profile. “That’ll cause infection,” she mumbled almost to herself. Her eyes continued scanning the page. When she finally found the line she needed, she pulled the pencil from her hair and marked the information. Jack watched her action in amusement.

At least five minutes must have passed when she looked up from her book. Her slight jump suggested that she’d forgotten that Jack was still there.

He smirked. “How long have you been doing that?” The question caught her off guard. “Sorry, what?”

Her reaction made him laugh. “Yeah, that. Going into the book,” he joked as he pointed at the book in her hand, “don’t tell me you’ve been on it since after your meeting with them.”

Silence. His smile dropped. “Really?” His eyes widened as he studied her face. She appeared unfocused, still trying to figure out those medical stuff in her mind.

“Have you eaten?” He asked the first question that came to his mind. “What?” She blinked as her eyes focused back on him.

He sighed. “Of course not. Let’s get some food into your system,” he held her free hand and tugged her out of the room.

“What.. hey!” The action took her by surprise but she didn’t resist. The book was still in her hand as she followed him into the kitchen.

The moment they reached the kitchen, he guided her to a stool and she sat at the counter, flipping through her book. He opened the fridge to study its contents.

“What can I get for you, miss?” He appeared in front of her with an elegant bow. Nelly didn’t even look up from her book. She completely ignored his attempt to be funny. “Anything is fine, thanks,” her reply was short.

Jack shrugged. He started getting to work, pulling out utensils and ingredients.