Chapter Text
Private chat: Nicky Hemmick.
NickyH:
Heyyyy rookie
Thea told me to tell you that you can nap in her office if you need to.
NickyH:
Did you see this message?
NickyH:
Helloooooooooo??
🖱️💻
Private chat: Andrew Minyard.
NickyH:
Have you seen Neil?
AndrewM:
I happen to do work when I come into the office
So, no.
NickyH:
He’s not responding to my Swoops.
Looked rough as hell this morning
AndrewM:
Not understanding how this is my concern.
NickyH:
Can you go check on him?
AndrewM:
He’s an adult, Nicky. I’m sure he can take care of himself.
NickyH:
With that haircut? You think he’s taking care of himself?
AndrewM:
Touché.
🖱️💻
Unfortunately for Neil, doing jumping jacks in the stairways in an effort to stay awake hadn’t worked. Neither had the terrible coffee, nor splashing his face with water, nor blasting heavy metal music through his flimsy, company-issued headphones until Renee asked him to turn it down. The more he sat idle at his desk, the heavier it was getting to resist gravity. He was fading fast, leaning on his hand with no work to keep his brain active, closing his eyes for only a moment and being unable to open them again.
“Jesus Christ.”
Neil jolted up. Andrew was standing at a distance, frowning at him, still carrying his stupid mug. Somehow, Neil noted, it was always steaming.
“Nicky said you looked like shit,” he grimaced. “I thought he was just being rude.”
The insult didn’t mean anything to Neil. He was too tired to care about how he looked.
“Tragic.” Andrew sipped his drink. “And only your second day. Go nap in Thea’s office, acquaint yourself with the couch.”
Neil blinked slowly, shaking his head and turning back to his computer. Nicky’s messages were still there — he thought, for a moment, he’d dreamed them — giving him the same instruction.
“Does everyone nap in Thea’s office?” He asked.
Andrew peered over to look at the Swoop chat with Nicky. “Oh. Well, at least you have permission.” Another sip. “You’ve got an hour and a half left of today. May as well spend it wisely.”
Defeat seeped into Neil’s bones. There really wasn’t any point in him pretending to work in an office that was barely alive. “Is it always this boring?”
Andrew nodded, still drinking. “You’ve got the Kevin Day curse, though. As soon as he comes back, you won’t have time to breathe. Say goodbye to your loved ones.”
The idea of having ‘loved ones’ to say goodbye to made Neil laugh. He rolled his chair back and followed Andrew to a small room he hadn’t seen before. It smelled clean and bright and was decorated minimally, with a degree on the wall and a suspiciously empty photo frame below it.
Andrew noticed it too, tracing his finger along the edge of it like he was investigating a crime scene. “That’s new,” he murmured, but left the room before Neil could ask any questions.
Truthfully, he didn’t know if he would ask questions. The second he sat on the sage green couch and pulled a blanket over his lap, his brain began to shut down. Andrew returned only to smack the lightswitch off and shut the door with obvious exasperation, but Neil barely paid any mind to it. He’d laid his head on a soft cushion and began planning how he was going to steal this blanket to keep overnight. By the time he’d worked out some of the details, he was dead asleep.
🎧☕🛌
Private chat: Thea Muldani.
AndrewM :
Neil in your office napping. Be aware.
TheaM :
Thanks.
AndrewM :
You took the photo of your husband down.
Trouble in paradise?
TheaM :
Reminding you that my personal life is not your entertainment, nor any of your business.
AndrewM :
Just making conversation.
TheaM :
And I’m ending the conversation.
🖱️💻
Neil had set an alarm on his phone for 5pm, but even with the darker evenings creeping in with every day closer to Winter, he woke up to a pitch black room and knew he’d overslept. The clock on the wall was analogue and barely visible, but it was still obvious that the work day was long since finished. He sat up and tumbled to his knees, almost sprinting out to the office floor to grab his bag.
Thea was at his desk, working on her laptop in the dark. She looked up slowly and smiled when she saw him.
“Good morning,” she said.
“ Morning? ”
“No — no, no.” She chuckled. “It’s, like, 7pm. Not too late. The call centre is still here.” With a stretch of her shoulders, she shut her laptop and flicked the lights on as she stood. Neil felt like he should thank her, for the quiet space and for waiting for him, but as opposed to his cracked and frantic mind from the rest of the day, his nap had made him feel sludgy. He just nodded.
“If a couple of pillows and blankets go missing from my office, I won’t notice,” Thea mentioned. Neil blinked slowly with a frown. “I’d rather you get some actual sleep tonight. You’ll have your work cut out for you when Kevin comes in tomorrow.”
“I’ll be fine,” Neil argued.
“It’s only going to get colder.” Thea shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
She waved him goodbye as she left down the stairwell, giving him a look that Neil couldn’t immediately translate. He leaned against the wall and stretched out his shoulders. As good as the couch was compared to a car boot, it was still too cramped and angular for even someone of his stature.
The pillows were soft, though. And Thea was right, it was only going to get colder.
That night, he set up his new bed. Two cushions, two blankets, plus his work laptop and headphones with some pre-downloaded white noise to block out the sounds in the street. It wasn’t completely bulletproof, but it was already a massive improvement on the night before. He spent an hour or so trying to squash himself into the coziest corner possible, hoping he wouldn’t fall asleep too quickly so he could enjoy the first ounce of true comfort he’d had in weeks.
Unfortunately, he woke up in the morning, somehow colder than he had been the day before. Well-rested, thankfully, and the blankets did ward off the chill, but it felt as though the city was trying to freeze him out. Neil Josten — Nathaniel Wesninski — was too stubborn to accept that, though.
🚘🛌
Private chat: Andrew Minyard.
AndrewM:
I see your car is in the parking lot
You’re as bone-headed as you are miserable
KevinD:
Very funny. Almost laughed.