Chapter 164: Her Biggest Power (1/2)

I didn't catch a wink of sleep that night. I lay down on the carpeted floor of the office and stared at the ceiling. There was a crack on it and as my eyes moved over the concrete, my eyes flitted back to it every few seconds.

Around five in the morning, the door to the office creaked open. I heard the shuffling at the end and looked towards the sound to find Nash trying to gauge if I was asleep or not.

”Got something?” I asked. My voice was hoarse and dry. I gulped down saliva and pushed myself into a sitting position.

”Yeah. I made the lists. I've sent it to you already,” he whispered. It seemed like he didn't want to disrupt me, but that was exactly what I needed.

”Did you find anyone suspicious in that list?” I found myself asking. I knew it was not possible for him to understand that from the simple records made by the government. But I still asked. I needed to talk and divert my mind.

”Nothing yet. I called the prosecutor last night and he is still looking at who the clients are. Collins refuses to open his mouth and with the court hearing getting closer, I think his backer is making sure he is not indicted.” Nash sighed.

”I understand. Just let me know, okay?” What else could I say?

”When was the last time you ate, Sebastian?” Nash's voice was full of concern and I found it amusing that he would think about me when his partner was in a fatal situation.

I shrugged. I didn't remember really. And I didn't feel hungry. At all.

Nash shook his head. ”That bottle of water has been full since yesterday afternoon,” he hissed. ”And you haven't had any food. You know very well what happens when you don't give your body enough energy to work.”

”You don't need to tell me that. I know biology. I can go without food and water for two days.” I may or may not have considered doing that. How could I eat or drink when I didn't even know for sure if Evie was getting any of those? I couldn't very well lock myself up in a cold and dark room and tie myself up, but this was the least I could do.

To think I had promised to share her pain and joy and I was not even capable of such a simple task.

I thought back to what Evie had told me once… no one really felt another person's pain. They only felt their own interpretation of it. They felt it because of guilt and sadness.

Evie was a genius in her own right. She knew the human condition and it was only in this moment I knew and could say confidently that truly, I would never feel the same pain that she felt. There was no way possible for me too.

Could I not then try and understand it? Why would anyone want to stop me from that?

”You can survive without it, but excess hunger and dehydration are going to dull your brain. Right now, you can do nothing but use that high IQ of yours to reduce the time Evie stays in captivity. Understood?”

Did that make sense? Rationally, yet. But what about the part of my brain that wanted to suffer?

”I know…” I whispered.

”I brought some food. It's in my office. Come in and stay with me. I don't have any other work at the moment so I will accompany you,” he said quietly. When I didn't stand up, he huffed in frustration and pulled me up by the arm. ”Sebastian, pull yourself together!”

I was quiet.

”When we find her, you will need to stay beside her and assure her that everything is alright. If you are in a catatonic state yourself, how do you think she will react?” Nash grilled. ”She might be drugged or hurt. She will be paranoid and the only person she will trust will be you and if you look like this, she will get worse. So, pick yourself up and prepare yourself to run to her the second you see her next. Understood?”

I looked at him oddly. I could understand that he was calm and collected, but would it have been the same if it was someone from his family who was in danger?

I knew the answer to that already.

I also knew that he was worried out of his mind for the girl he painstakingly taught everything he knew. He wasn't as calm as he appeared to be.

”Okay.” I trudged after him without making noise. The hallway was desolate and enveloped in silence.

When I entered Nash's office, I glanced towards Evie's empty desk and felt my heart stop for a second.

Nash pulled up a chair to his desk and asked me to sit down.

”Why did you order so much?” I asked, my eyes roving over the ten or so containers of food.

”I brought both fish and vegetable dishes. We have soups, starters, main courses, and deserts,” he announced. He opened every lid and showed it to me. It was a lot of food. Enough to feed ten or so people. It was one of those restaurants that sent copious amounts of food.