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Fifty Three

Chapter Fifty Three:

Theodora woke up to an empty bed, she sat up with alarm, gazing around the room. Sun beamed in from the large window, blinding her briefly before she stumbled off the mattress and made way for the kitchen.

Malcolm stood behind the kitchen island, two mugs placed neatly in front of him.

"Coffee?" He questioned, a smile on his face.

She released a breath, one she hadn't known she was holding. "Thank god." Theodora rushed over to him, engulfing him in a hug. He tensed with surprise but quickly relaxed and held her back, "What's up?" He questioned.

"Are you alright?" She stepped back, staring up at him. "Are you feeling okay?"

His brows furrowed, "My jaw hurts and I have a headache, other than that I'm fine."

"Do you remember anything from last night?"

Malcolm frowned, "The night terrors? A little."

Theodora rubbed her face, seeing him squirm in the corner of his bathroom. Of the look on his face, trapped everywhere he was.

"I tried to snap you out of it." She sighed, "I tried so hard but nothing was working—"

"So you punched me. It worked, I slept all night."

"I thought you were gonna hurt yourself, Malcolm." She met his gaze, "It's gotten so much worse and you haven't told me. If I knew it was this bad I would've tried harder to be there—"

"I don't need you taking care of me." He cut her off, pouring coffee into one of two mugs. He slid it towards her with a smile, "It sucks, yes but I've been dealing with this for years. I don't need you to be my shadow, it's alright."

Theodora sighed with a nod, "I just— I worry about you, Mal."

He pulled her into another hug, she closed her eyes. Malcolm held her tightly, placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. He smelt like coffee and whatever the hell exploded on him the night before.

"Don't worry about." He whispered, "I've got to go to work now."

Theodora pulled back, "I'm coming."

"No. Gil said you're off the case."

"How come when you got told to take a break you fought your way back in?"

He gave her look as he made way towards the living room where his blazer was in a heap on the floor, "You need to rest. Thank you for watching me last night but it's your turn to sleep."

"You're being a hypocrite, Malcolm Whitly."

"It's Bright."

She shot him a look, "Mhm."

He let out a soft laugh, "I'll bring back food. Don't have dinner."

"I can't cook, remember."

Malcolm rolled his eyes, disappearing down the stairs. Theodora stared at the entry way, frowning when the door clicked shut.

Theodora stood alone in the middle of his apartment for a few minutes before deciding she would go home and change. Today she was going to be productive, and by that she would try to find more information about her mother's disappearance.

She found her phone and found Hugo's name in her contacts, clicking call. It rang twice before he picked up,

"Theodora?"

"Yeah, hi."

He chuckled, "What's up?"

"Do you know more about my mother's disappearance? Like the case files specifically for her missing persons case because if I remember correctly we only went through the files for the body that was discovered in the woods."