Thirty Nine Minutes (COMPLETE)

Chapter Twelve: Neighborhood Neil

"We'll be in touch soon, Ms. Newman."

Helen nodded and stood, taking the clammy hand of the portly man for a final time. This had been her second interview in as many days and she'd shaken more pudgy palms than she wanted to think about. The kind of people that worked top jobs in therapy, she'd discovered, were usually the same: all middle aged men stuffed into suits slightly too small for them, sometimes with thinning hair on top as a bonus. She'd almost forgotten what a woman resembled until she looked in the mirror that evening as she was cleaning the last of the foundation off her forehead. Her acne scars shone through as she wiped off her comforter mask, and internally groaned at them.

Knock knock knock.

She jumped as the door went. It was nine o'clock, who was banging on her door at this time?

Turns out it was Neil in her doorway, looking pristine as usual in a crisp white suit and shoes like he'd polished them just before he knocked. "What are you doing here?" she blurted out, immediately feeling self conscious and naked in only her robe and without any makeup.

"Good evening to you too. Can I come in?"

"I wasn't expecting company," Helen grumbled as she stood aside and Neil went straight for the couch that was still littered with her pantsuit and crinkled shirt.

"I can see that. You should hang your shirts up as soon as you take them off, you know."

"Well, thanks for the tip, Mr. Cole."

He pulled one ankle to rest on his knee and grinned as Helen went to her kitchenette to prepare the coffee machine. "Is this what you expected my apartment to look like?" she said, gesturing her head towards the unwashed dishes soaking in the now ice-cold water and the plant starved of water wilting on the windowsill as she dumped coffee into the filter paper.

He was looking at her as she turned. Blue eyes were looking up and all the initial friendliness dried up. "I'm worried about Craig."

The coffee filter drip, drip dripped into the silence. "I am too," she said, leaning against the counter. "I feel like I'm just going through the motions at the moment, like I should be there rather than job hunting. How is he?"

"Sullen. Depressed mainly. Although he has his moments."

The coffee had finished brewing, and the steam billowing up from the filling cup calmed her mind a little. With it, the fresh smell coated her nose, and all she could think of was Craig. As she poured Neil a black coffee, she passed it to him and sat on the couch too, tucking a leg underneath her. "Moments?"

"He's starting to rebel, fight back against his situation. Of course, he can't do much but that hasn't stopped him." The blue eyes looked at her. " He's stopped listening to David entirely, like a teenager."

Helen didn't mean to, but she found herself snickering and shaking her head. "I guess he didn't have much of a teenage rebellion given his circumstances. Better late than never."

"But there's a problem. With this new sedation method, they can get him to depths and basically coerce him to do their bidding. He's slower than usual but they don't really need him to be fast."

"Just what the hell is this sedative, anyway?"

"Hey, I'm a fisherman by trade, not a scientist. All I can tell you is how it affects his behaviour."

Helen was growing impatient. "...and?"

"Hmmm, how do I describe it? I guess it's almost like hypnosis. Craig is quite susceptible to that stuff anyway, so they keep him mostly nice and quiet because since you left since he won't…" He stopped himself, and Helen let the silence sit between them in the hope he would continue. She had an inkling over what he might say, but she wanted to hear it directly.

Neil bottled it, and Helen rolled her eyes as he quickly moved the conversation on. "Anyway, that sedative is very addictive, hence why they were so unwilling to use it before. They have little time left to prove to their funders that Craig can be proven useful."

Helen rolled her eyes again as she finished her coffee. "So, why are you here, Neil? What's your plan?"

"In two weeks from now, Craig will be sent to swim off the shore of Sicily. The first time he's been in open water since me and Dad found him. Let's say you had a vacation at the same time, just happened to be in Italy for a well-deserved vacation. I hear it's a very beautiful country, especially at this time of year."

Helen had never been to Italy either: she'd never even left the United States. "I don't have a valid passport," she said glumly.

Neil sprang off the couch, looking way over enthusiastic and made Helen jump. "You just leave that to your friendly Neighborhood Neil, little lady! I can fast track you one through in the next few days!"

A few moments passed.

"...'Neighborhood Neil'?"

He was still holding his hands in the air like an utter buffoon. Hardly the same idea she'd had of hm when they first met. Only a few months ago, Neil was the smoothest, coolest guy she knew. Now he was standing on her couch, fist bumping the air with one hand and holding an empty coffee cup with the other. She burst out laughing.

Neil chuckled a little too, and sat beside her. "It's good to see you laugh, Helen. Frowning doesn't suit you much."

"Hey shut up, I've had plenty to frown about over the last couple of weeks. It was entirely justified."

"Maybe so, but you look better when you're happy."

She smiled, and she could feel it on her lips and indeed in her heart, that it was a genuine one. Neil smiled too, highlighting his dimples in the limited light.

"Okay, fine, you can renew my damn passport. Let me go find it, help yourself to coffee."

Neil stayed until the early hours. Talking, drinking - when Helen finally found the corkscrew to open her last remaining bottle of wine - and drinking more until the couch seemed comfier than the bed, and Neil seemed even comfier than the couch.

As they lay there staring at the ceiling trying to ward off the spinning room, Neil was gently running his fingers through her hair, the smell of his cologne especially tantalizing on his neck. They were beyond tired to talk, but they both seemed comfortable lying in each other's immediate company.

Helen didn't want the night to end.