Anything and Everything

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I

Days had passed since Casey had gone missing, and it seemed like the town was focusing greatly on her disappearance. Will was sick of all the attention he was getting from the local media, and even though Ophelia had asked them to stay away, they still insisted. Until the local police station got involved. Only then did they really stay away.

A paper cup was placed in front of Will's desk and he managed to look up, seeing a very worried Ophelia looming over him. Her eyes softened when she saw his state. "Oh Will-" she walked over and pulled up a chair next to him, sitting down. "When was the last time you got any rest? You look so tired." she frowned softly.

Will shrugged. "I've only been getting an hour of sleep most nights. I keep having this recurring nightmare of Casey calling out to me and crying for help. And I can't do anything- I'm frozen, unable to reach out to her. I feel pretty powerless. It's like no matter what I do- it leads me further away from her instead of closer to her I just wish I could do more, but I am so tired."

Ophelia nodded. "You should rest. Take a day off. Let us handle this for now. You can't overwork yourself too, you know. You keep telling Casey and myself that but when are you going to take your own advice?"

Will shrugged. "Who knows. Probably never. It's the one thing I'm good at. I can easily give out advice and yet, I can never seem to take it myself. Kind of hypocritical, I know."

Ophelia chuckled. "Maybe a little. But hey, worry about getting some rest first. You need it if you want to help find Casey. I'm sure she'd tell you the same if she was here too. Please. Or I will be forced to take care of you." she joked, trying to lighten the situation.

Will nodded. "Alright, alright, I guess for the sake of all this I will get some rest. I'll just nap in here- home reminds me too much of her."

Ophelia frowned a little. "Well, you know that you're always welcome at our place right? It's up to you of course."

Will nodded. "Thanks, I'll think about it. I promise. But I wouldn't want to impose on you two-"

Ophelia chuckled. "Since when have you ever been a bother to me or my fiancé? You're anything but that, William." Ophelia reached for his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as her face softened, concerned for the man sitting in front of her. "You've been working too much. Seriously. Let David and I handle this for a little while. I'm certain we'll make progress while you rest." she smiled reassuringly, and Will finally looked up at her. "I should be doing more though. I feel pretty useless when I sleep. Plus, those nightmares...they're never ending. The last thing I want to do is sleep."

Ophelia sighed. "Very well. I can't convince you to rest so...do what you gotta do. But know that you'll be doing yourself a favor if you rest. Working with a clear mind does you more good than you realize." With that, Ophelia stood up and walked over the door, not leaving before casting a smile over her shoulder at Will, leaving him pensive.

"Huh." Will leaned back in his chair as he stared at the paper cup in front of him, still steaming. 'Somehow I get the feeling that she's hiding something from me. Or maybe she is right. My lack of sleep really is getting to me, and I'm not seeing things as clearly as I should. I know if Casey were here, she'd definitely be on my case and urge me to get some more sleep.' Will frowned, looking down at the notebook in front of him. Every corner of the pages laying in front of him were filled with equations and probabilities. He had checked the equations dozens of times but none of them seemed to work out for whatever reason. 'Unless she was sent to a doomed timeline- one of the ones that are meant to be erased.' Will's eyes widened as he thought about the possibility of that happening. The effects of that would be drastic, not only erasing Casey out of existence but also erasing everyone's memories of her, starting with those that knew her the least. He let out a choked sob, covering his mouth as his breathing became irregular.