Broken Memories [I Did it for You - Book 2]

13

Seven thought his head was about to explode. His vision wavered like tidal waves ebbing and flowing across the shoreline as he slapped himself across the face. He needed to focus. He needed to find them. He stared across at his different monitors from his bed, his body had given up after he'd cried on Jaehee's shoulder.

The vermillion-haired hacker heaved out a groan. He couldn't believe he had let himself break like that. What good had that done? It only left him feeling worse than before. His brain was practically on fire, his eyes couldn't focus, and his body felt heavy and numb. It was as though his own body was against him, another enemy. Another thing that hated his guts. And there was a lot of that going around at the moment.

Seven felt tears welling up inside his golden eyes again. He didn't bother blinking them away. He allowed them to fall, as though nothing around him mattered anymore. But everything still mattered. Everyone around him would always matter. The RFA was relying on him to find information on where the new Mint Eye base was, and he still had no clue where Saeran had run off to. But, for once in his years of hacking, he had no idea where to start, having exhausted all other possible leads that led to nowhere, only giving him possible guesses that weren't strong enough to follow.

Whoever was orchestrating this knew exactly what they were doing. And it was putting him through hell.

Seven rubbed his tired eyes. He still couldn't understand why that savior woman at Mint Eye had brainwashed Scarlett into thinking that he was a person to fear. What reason was there to do that? It had to be a distraction, surely. It was the only logical answer he could come up with, but for some reason, Seven felt that there was an even bigger reason lurking in the shadows, waiting for him to find it.

Parting his dry lips, Seven tried to heave himself off the bed, but his body wouldn't budge. It felt like a bag of bricks was holding him down, putting pressure on his body until his bones finally gave up and snapped. He felt pathetic and worthless.

With his golden eyes fixed up at the ceiling above him, feeling a stream of tears roll down his cheeks and dampening the collar of his black shirt, Seven didn't even jolt when he heard a light knock on the door. But as silence fell across his room again as the person waited outside for an answer, Seven allowed the defeating silence to swallow him, as though it was feasting on his very soul that would eventually disintegrate into nothing. But just as the thought of it took over his mind, sending him into a sudden, deep trance, the knock erupted against the wood of the door again, a bit firmer than before, snapping Seven out of the spell.

"I'm not in the mood" he whispered, knowing that whoever it was most definitely didn't hear a single word he said. However, he couldn't raise his voice any higher, as though his vocal cords were shutting down, cutting his voice off.

"S-Seven? Are you in there?" a small, hesitant voice called through the door that Seven just about heard. Hearing the voice made him sit upright as though a jolt of electricity zapped through his body.

"Emjay?" he whispered again, although it was more to himself this time as confusion took a firm grip over his chest. Out of everyone, Emjay was the last person he thought would ever come up to see him. He suddenly wondered if she still hated his guts and wanted to rip into him like earlier when Scarlett freaked out, however, Emjay's quiet voice made him think otherwise.

Hearing the uncertainty, Seven couldn't take it anymore, and with as much strength as he could muster, he heaved himself off the bed and made his way over to the door, his legs wobbling like jelly as pins and needles pricked across his skin. He moved slowly, his heart racing inside his chest at the fear of what he was about to face. He was scared that Emjay was still angry at him. He wasn't in the right state of mind to have someone tear him to shreds for something he didn't do and didn't even understand, let alone someone he was extremely close to.