Tobey covered his eyes as he looked at the sunrise between the various buildings of the city. After so much time inside the department and just going out at night to grab some food or chase after suspects, his eyes were very sensitive to light. It would take some time until he could fix that matter.
'Maybe my sleep disorder is the result of many days without seeing sunlight... Where did I read about biological clock? Hmmm... Ok, possibly, my memory is failing me due to lack of sleep as well. What a hassle, huh?'
Tobey turned on his personal smartphone after so long without using it. He was feeling a bit strange just by seeing the usual plain-black screen lighting up and showing many pop-ups of messages and calls that he received in the last few months.
Two individuals in specific always called him...'
Han and Phil are always worried about me... I can't even believe that they called me every day, roughly at the same hour of the day, just to check up on me. I shall talk to them as soon as possible, particularly with Han. It's been a while since we don't make out...'
Tobey left the building of MDCI, walking away from there. Feeling the morning sunlight on his skin was very good, he needed to admit. He felt refreshed somehow. A torrent of sensations invaded him at that moment.
Unfortunately, nothing could overlap the frustration and regret in his heart that he had at that moment.
'I don't feel like I should be taking a break at this moment... Not when we are so close... Not when we reached this critical point.'
"I don't want a freaking break...", he muttered, clenching his fist around the handle of his backpack.
That was the same phrase that he stated inside the marshal's room as he hit the table with both hands. Of course, his tone of voice was several decibels above, and he looked way angrier, totally contrary to his usual chill-looking self.
Of course, that attitude earned him another round of humiliation, arguments, and scolds from the marshal, who had his face red as a tomato at that point.
The two of them argued for an entire hour before the marshal basically temporarily expelled him from MDCI for an entire week.
'That asshole won't look at my perspective... This break just makes me feel more guilty. I lost an important suspect, my gun went off by accident and targeted Roger, who is hospitalized, and the entire department is a mess right now due to a shred of new evidence... This is driving me crazy...'
"It's exactly because you are getting driven crazy that I am ordering you to take a break, you boastful boy!" the marshal had yelled at him, but that argument didn't convince Tobey.
He was not the only one getting crazy there, after all.
'Maybe the marshal is so rough with me because he knows that I am an important piece of his game. He already lost many agents by exhaustion, and most of the personnel working with us had their working efficiency reduced by 50%, at least. These numbers aren't optimistic at all, and the trend is to keep decreasing.'
Abruptly, he needed to take his other phone (the one that he used to work) from his pocket. He was receiving a call there. His body acted so fast that it seemed like he was drawing a gun.
"Frankly... you are so helpless..."
"Huh? Beca?"
"Turn off this freaking phone not to receive calls, you dumb! You need to cut ties with your work for some time, or else you won't be able to rest. It's five in the morning, so make sure to get safe home, eat something and go sleep 'till noon!"
Without waiting for him to reply, Beca turned off the call.
Tobey sighed as he looked at the phone's screen with displeasure.
"I am feeling as though my mother just called me... Damn it...", he muttered as he turned off that phone unwillingly.
He let out yet another sigh before he began to go down the stairs in front of the MDCI building.
****
It had been a while since he didn't go back to his home. More precisely, the entirety of the period when Case-37 was ongoing. From the very first day when he decided to take part in that case, he didn't get out of the department.
Together with him were three bags filled with clothes and another one with a lot of smaller things that were needed in his daily routine.
'I took nearly all the clothes I had here and took them to the department in order to stay there for as long as possible. I kind of knew that this case would be a tough one. At some point, I was wearing again the same dirty clothes, until someone showed me a nearby laundry that wasn't much expensive.'
After he entered his apartment, he left all those bags right on the entrance and took off his shoes and socks. He wore the latter all the time while in the department and he was getting tired of using them.
He moved across his small and disorganized apartment. He reserved his perfectionist and organized side just for his work. Aside from that, he allowed himself to be lazy, just for a change.
Tobey cared little about the many clothes all over the floor or the food packaging. He just wanted to open the windows and let the morning sunlight invade the stuffy environment that his apartment became. Also, that place was as dark as a cave, and he didn't want to turn on the lights. Artificial light was killing him those days since the entire department was illuminated by those strong white lights that were nearly blinding.
'In the end, I was really burning out... I never thought that I would be able to get to this point. I love to work like that, after all.'
The funny thing about Tobey was his inborn laziness that didn't fit even a little with his personality at work.
As Tobey moved across the apartment, his steps became somewhat clumsy, his eyes got heavy, and he was getting slower each second.
'Now that I stepped inside my house, my muscles and mind relaxed. I nearly feel like falling on my bed and-'
and ...
maybe...
sleep...'
Tobey opened his eyes all of a sudden in a start. A loud noise made him wake up from his sleep. His heart was bumping inside his chest crazily and he thought that he would have a heart attack.
'Man, why did I put that landline so loud like this? And this standard ring is so annoying... If I had my gun with me I would have already sh... Wait my gun is here, isn't it?'
For several seconds, he considered taking his gun but decided to maintain it in his waist. He probably would make use of those bullets in a better way in the future.
Tobey stumbled towards the landline and took the phone, placing it beside his ear.
"Dear? Are you at home already?"
'Mom? How did she know? Did I send a text?' he wondered, getting quite worried about his memory.
"Hi, mom. I am at home, yes."
"Haha, you are not talking like you usually do. Were you sleeping, by chance?" His mother had the same funny voice that he remembered. It never changed. She didn't know the word demotivation or sadness at all.
"Yes, I suddenly felt very tired," as he spoke, he rubbed his eyes, taking the dirt from there and trying to feel a bit better. However, the lethargy that befell him was such that he couldn't recover no matter what he did at the moment.
"I see... It's already three pm, dear. I am afraid that you overslept..."
"Mom, are you some sort of oracle?"
He heard a kind and sweet laugh from over the phone.
"No. I just know my son very well. Anyway, I am calling you right now to say that I am really glad that you finally could get some time to rest and maybe visit me and your father in the next few days."
He nodded, smiling faintly.
"Sure. I will gladly do this."
"Today is a special day after all. I am looking forward to it!"
'Special day...? Ah! She is talking about my first day of break... Yes, it's kind of special, I guess. Was she so worried about me working that much?'
"Well, I think that I will visit you and father in two or three days, I guess. I just need to get some things out of the way."
Tobey was looking at his hands as he talked about it. His vision was a bit strange, he was feeling a searing pain in his heart, and all his muscles were tense. Despite that, he didn't feel bad at all, but he was reacting unusually.
'That fright... it could have had killed me, right? Or maybe I am just overreacting?'
Tobey looked out of his window, seeing that the sun was already making his move to set. It probably would start setting by six in the afternoon, though. He had a long time before nightfall.
Suddenly, he received another call, but this time on his personal phone.
'How many calls until people finally settle down and accept that I am at home and not working restlessly?' he complained, finding it a hassle to answer so many calls (even though that was just the third).
"Hi, Tobey! I was missing you soooo muuuch! Why didn't you answer my calls, you idiot!? I was getting very upset!"
"H-Han? Is it you?"
"Who else would be? Of course it's Han! I heard from my grandmother, who heard from your mother, that you are at home right now."
"Yes, I took some days out," Tobey said while scratching his neck.
Han gave a pause, letting out a sigh of relief. Tobey also sighed, feeling glad that he was back, even though it was just for a week or two.
"Jokes aside, I really was missing you. No, I AM missing you, and it won't go away until we meet," she said with fondness. There was a hint of an alluring tone there as well.
"Well, I can visit you today, if you want. We can spend the rest of the night in your house."
Han seemed quite happy on the other side of the line.
"Sure! I will prepare something for us, then!"