(Part 11)

(Nicole's POV)

"Dad. What are you doing here?" I pressed. Could I have been wrong? Was the incident yesterday actually his fault after all? I scanned the immediate area. There weren't many people out this time of the morning but there was enough foot traffic that I wasn't completely unguarded.

"Good to see you too Nicola." My father signed leaning up against a bricked store front. Not much had changed in the eighteen months since I had last seen my dad. He was still tall, built like a damn truck, and drunk off his ass.

"That makes one of us Pops. Answer my question." I snapped at him in his native language. Be careful! Unless you want another visit to the ER on a stretcher! I mentally reminded myself.

"Oh, come on!" My father slurred matching my dialect, "can't a man just see his only daughter for once?"

"Considering there is a restraining order against you until trial, that's a big fat no!" I pointed out crossing my arms over my chest. My father never got violent in public, so I felt half safe.

"You know, you sound just like your grandmother when you talk like that?" he pointed out in a scoff tone.

"When I talk like what pops?" I questioned defensive.

"Italian" he shrugged, "When you get angry, you sound just like your grandmother."

"Well, good to know. That still doesn't answer what you are doinghere?" I couldn't help but ask the next bit, "Did you not do enough damage yesterday? Just had to come back for more?"

"Yesterday?" he asked confused, "I got into this town only last night."

"So, you're saying it's just coincidence that myself and a classmate were attacked and sent to the hospital with concussions yesterday and here you pop in the very next day?"

There was shock clearly in my dad's eyes. "Nicola-"

"Nicole!" I interrupted.

"Excuse me?" I could tell he was offended.

"My name. I go my Nicole! Not Nicola. And don't try to bull shit me old man."

My dad gripped his sleeve with a squeeze. I was pissing him off. I had to tread carefully from here, "That name is a family name. You know this."

"I'm aware pops. Doesn't mean I'm attached to it. Now, are you saying this is just a massive coincidence?"

"Nicola, I wouldn't-"

"I'll stop you right there pops. I have a multi-page medical report and the court documents to match that says you would and you have before. So?"

"It's wasn't me." He pressed pushing himself off from the wall closing the gap so he stood a half-step in front of me.

"What wasn't you?" I asked trying to keep my own cool.

"All of it! That night at the house and whatever it is you think I have done now!" There was a sudden tight grip on my arms. His grip was bad enough that it was starting to hurt. "What will it take to get you and your mother to listen? It wasn't me."

"Let go of me." I sneered.

"Listen to me. Tell your mother-"

"I won't tell mom jack shit! If you want to prove you are telling the damn truth, leave! Don't let her see you! Don't try to fix things with us until you've fixed your own shit. Prove in the damn court room that you're innocent. Until then, showing up like this and going against every court order mom has gotten against you does not help your case! Each time you show up, she packs up, leaves, and I go with her. I want this to stop."

"Not until-"

"I said Let. Me. Go!" I used all the force I could and stomped onto his instep. The force was sudden enough that he released his hold on my arms letting me put some distance between us. There was a stare down between the two of us. "Get help. This kind of behavior is not normal dad. If you can prove this wasn't you, do it in court. But considering I was your personal punching bag a good while before this, sorry if I find it hard to believe."

"Nicol-"

"No dad. No. Just please. Leave. Get far away from here and clean up. If you can do that, we might be able to actually talk. Until then, I have a bus to catch and a life to put back on track."

I tuned and moved as fast as I could without actually running. I was relieved to see a bus pulling into a nearby stop and jumped right on checking to see if my dad followed. When I saw no one behind me, I gave out a sigh of relief. I took a seat in a back corner a good way away from anyone else. As I sat, the past several moments began to sink in and I felt my emotions get the better of me. I wasn't sure where the man had the nerve to show up and say what happened to me wasn't his fault. My life being turned upside down the past year and a half was 100% his fault. To get my breathing under control, I leaned forward putting my face at my knees.

He didn't follow. You're ok. Breathe.

I gave myself several deep breaths before sitting back up and wiping the stray tears from the corners of my eyes. A part of me did believe him when he said he had only gotten to town last night. The events of yesterday did not line up with his history. If the incident yesterday had been him, he would have made sure we talked. He would have made himself known. Here's hoping Kaiba has more answers as to what happened yesterday then.

It took a little while, but I found my way back to the hospital. I was a little surprised not to see the suit out in the hall. Maybe he actually took a break? It wasn't until I went around the corner near the room and came chest to chest with a familiar uniform.

"Holy mother-" I exhaled as I felt the other person stumble back a bit. I reacted on instinct and took hold of their jacket pulling them back to me. It was then I realized I was nose to chin with Kaiba.

"What areyou doing here?" His voice was low and on edge.

I quickly let go of his jacket and took a half-step back, "Hello to you too. I just," I paused trying to figure the best way to word the upcoming conversation, "I came by to check on you."

He shifted his weight so he now leaned up against the room's door frame, "Check on me? Why?"

His stare was on the verge of being a glare, so I had to be careful. Like I told his brother, it's not like we were friends. Just two people that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. "I want answers about yesterday, and I was hoping you might have them."

"Answers? I was hoping you had them actually Silvers. I'd like to know how I wound up here, and I'm told you would be the person to ask."

I looked at him for a moment and noticed his breathing was slightly heavier and he was shifting more weight to the frame.

"Kaiba, are you ok?"

"Excuse me?" he asked defensive.

"Are. You. Ok?" I asked slowly, "You don't look like you should be on your feet."

His eyes veered to the side before glaring back at me, "I'm fine. I'm-"

"Bullshit."

Kaiba looked at me as if I had lost my mind, but he didn't say anything as if he were too shocked to speak.

"Something tells me that if I were to bump into you again and not catch you, you'd fall right on your ass. Which means whatever anesthetic they had you under has not had time to cycle out of your system. Why are you up?"

"I'm up because I'm leaving." He stated matter-of-factly.

I braced my arm across the door frame in front of him, "Were you officially discharged?"

The fact that he refused to answer the question told me all I needed to know. "You shouldn't be up on your own. Unless you want another gash like the one you have right there." I pointed to the bandage along his hairline.

"Silvers. I'll make this simple, I don't do hospitals."

"Don't do hospitals? Does that mean you are trying to walk out of here against medical advice?"

Again, no answer.

"Kaiba, for a smart guy, you're being really dumb right now."

"Out of my way Silvers." His voice was hard. Angry.

"I don't think so. You and I are going to take a couple minutes to sit and talk back in that room. We're going to talk for at least as long as it takes until I don't have to worry about you falling and hurting yourself from just walking."

"Why do you even care Silvers? Honestly!" He snapped.

I thought about the words for a moment. Sure, this guy was being an outright ass, but that was nothing new. Then I thought back to the kid.

"I care because I have a feeling that if you got hurt again because of stupidity, it would upset that nice younger brother of yours."

"My brother?" He was caught off guard, "Where do you come off talking about him?"

"I met him this morning. Kid was starving. I don't think he'd eaten or slept since hearing about you being here." Kaiba's eyes started to soften as I spoke, "I talked to one of your suits and took the little guy out for breakfast while they reversed whatever meds they had you on. After the way you reacted yesterday, they thought it was best if he weren't here in case you woke up swinging again. So, kid was fed and I asked the guy that gave us the ride to take him home for some actual sleep."

"Silvers, my brother doesn't speak or understand English. How-"

I took out my phone, "You know they have live translator apps, right? The translation may suck most of the time, but it gets the point across."

He kept glaring at me in agitation, but the moment was diffused when there was a scolding voice behind me. Looking back, I noticed an older woman in scrubs walking in our direction. I obviously didn't understand a word she was saying, but the look on Kaiba's face told me enough.

"I take it I'm not the only one telling you to get back inside?" I asked probably a bit on the smug side.

The woman walked up to the two of us and I made sure to get out of her way. Kaiba was trying to speak to her but I could tell the lady was having none of it. She made him sit back down on the bed in the room. It was when she turned to me and started talking that I became uneasy. I could only hold up my hands and look to Kaiba for help.

"It's best if you didn't know." He sighed looking over at the two of us with a peeved expression. He said something to the woman I didn't understand.

The woman looked between the two of us then sighed as she walked away mumbling something in Japanese.

(Seto's POV)

Of all the people I delt with on a normal basis, this girl was the bluntest. No one ever gave me as much trouble as she had. Where a part of me was pissed at her audacity, another part was impressed. She gives absolutely no care of who I am. She treats me exactly as she would treat anyone else. The only time she is different is when she is at the office. Would she tell me off? Probably, but I'm sure she'd do it in the most passive aggressive 100% professionally sound way possible.

"Do you mind translating the past say two minutes?" Silvers asked leaning up against the room entryway.

"It doesn't matter." I pointed out crossing my arms over my chest. "I think you understood enough."

"Maybe, but what about what she said to me?" She pressed as she came into the room and sat down on the nearby arm chair.

"You don't need to know what she said to you." I tried to explain.

"You know the fact that we both had to get onto you for trying to walk out of here AMA, makes me want to question that." She pointed out as she shifted herself in the seat so she sat sideways letting her legs dangle off the chair's arm and her head rest on the other arm.

She wants to know? Tell her.

"Fine. She was asking you what kind of girlfriend lets an injured man walk around and try to leave."

The wide-eyed and red face look I got in response was at least amusing. "Well, she read that situation all wrong."

"That would be why I corrected her."

"And do I want to know how you corrected her?" she questioned with a raise in her brow.

"Why does that matter?"

"It doesn't." She shrugged, "but I'm killing time. Unless you prefer to just sit and wait for the meds to wear off in absolute silence?"

That is not a bad idea actually. I was about to say something when she chimed in first.

"You should call him."

"Excuse me?" I asked trying to follow.

"Mokuba. You haven't talked to him yet, have you? If not, take the couple minutes and give the kid a call. I think you'd make his day, and it will kill a bit of time."

I wasn't sure what to think about this girl, but she had a point. I took my cellphone out of my pocket and dialed the house number.

"Kaiba residence" the voice of our head maid came across the line.

"Ruby, it's me. Is-"

"Seto! Thank goodness boy! I've been worried sick. How are you? Are you ready to come home?"

Her questions were quick and one after the other, "Ruby. I should be home soon, hopefully. Is Mokuba around?"

The woman seemed to calm down. "Yes. He just got home not that long ago. Give me just a moment." The line went silent as I could only assume she was getting Mokuba.

"Seto!" Another voice suddenly blared in my ear. I recognized my younger brother.

"Hello Mokuba. I wanted to let you know I should be heading home soon."

"Great! Is the Nikki girl there?" I looked over at Silvers who just sat in the chair scrolling through something on her phone. She wasn't paying any attention to the conversation. Not that she could understand any of it. I actually noticed her attire. It was the first time I'd seen her in actual casual wear. Her legs were wrapped in legging pants that didn't hide anything of her figure. She wore a plain tight t-shirt with a light jacket and canvas-material shoes. She opted to not wear her contacts because she also had those black rimmed glasses she had worn at the office.

"Seto? Hello..." Mokuba's voice brought my focus back to the conversation.

"Yes. She's here. I'm told you met her this morning?"

"Yep! She was awesome! She took me to the one place that has the big waffles. She used her phone to talk to me because she said she just moved here and hadn't gotten to learn to talk like us yet. She was really nice. Can we go out with her next weekend? She said she'd take us if you said it was ok."

"Let's hold off on that Mokuba." I warned as his excitement was getting the better of him, "Look, I'll be home hopefully soon. You just sit tight, ok?"

"Sure thing! Tell Nikki thank you for me, will you? She was really nice and I think she was worried about you too."

"Will do Mokuba. I'll see you soon."

I ended the call and slipped my phone back into my pocket. The girl was still sitting there just scrolling through her phone. What was she doing here? Why did she care? Mokuba wasn't one to trust or like many people either. How had she gotten him so engrossed with her in such a short time? People only seem to care when they can get something out of you, but this girl had no angle that I could see.

"Yesterday, care to tell me what happened?" I asked bringing her attention back from her phone.

She gave an audible sigh and rubbed her temple, "Truthfully, I don't know."

"You don't know?" I pressed. Was this girl lying to me?

"Exactly. Like you, I was flung up against a brick wall according to the staff here that assessed me. Last thing I can remember is unlocking my bike and Yugi asking about weekend plans. The next memory I can recall is waking up in the back of a rig with a paramedic who didn't know English. I'm told memory loss is a probable effect of the blow to my head."

I thought about her words for a moment. She didn't seem to be deceitful, but at the same time I couldn't say I trusted her either. "It's all still a fog. I'm told the treatment they gave me might cause the issue. I remember being near the gates and hearing yelling. My IDs and other items were in my locker so nothing was stolen. You?"

"My bike? Police only returned my school bag. They said nothing about my bike."

"Your bike?" I couldn't help but ask skeptically.

"Your guess is as good as mine. The police already asked. There was nothing special about it. Just your standard bicycle that my mom picked up at a clearance store so I could get around. Which means I'll be walking for a bit."

A bike. All of this hassle for a damn bike?!

That's when another nurse came walking in with a clipboard.

"Good news! We need to run a quick cognitive test and the doctor will be signing some forms to send you home."

I was relieved to say the least. I could finally get out of this hell! Silvers looked on with a skeptic eye but she stayed to herself.

The woman took out some tools and started asking a series of questions about the date and what not. I was able to answer the questions pretty easily. She was checking something with my eyes when the question changed. "Your girlfriend has the prettiest voice. How long have you been dating?"

I was taken off guard with the comment. What is with these people?! "She's not my- wait voice? What do you mean?"

"When Namori had her sing something while we had you two in triage yesterday." She smiled as she kept going with her tests, "I'd say we were able to do our job because her pretty song calmed you just enough for us to put you back under safely."

I tried to think back to the day before. Though my memory was hazy, I did faintly recall a familiar voice when I first woke up. The singing voice I never found? That was Silvers?!

It would check out. If we were both being treated at the same time.

"So, I'd say everything is checking out Mr. Kaiba. You're going to be a little uneasy on your feet for a bit longer, but that should ware off in the next couple hours. Your girl-"

"Not my girlfriend." I interjected.

"Oh?" The woman was a little taken back like the nurse before. She looked between Silvers and myself as if not sure what to say.

"We go to school together and she works for me. That's it." I clarified.

"Well, if that's the case, do you have someone at home that can keep an eye on you for the next couple hours?" She asked making a note on her clipboard.

"I do."

"Perfect! We wouldn't be able to release you unless you did. So," She began to spout other directions and instructions, but I had stopped listening. I wanted to leave. It was when she went to hand me several documents that my mind focused back on the conversation, "And with these, you should be ok to go."

I nodded in acknowledgement as I took the documents.

"And a quick side note. I was one of the nurses that saw you two when you first got here, so I know she doesn't understand any of this, but that young lady cares about you. Girlfriend or not, she was asking about you and wanting to know that you were ok. She was scared for you. Whatever you do, don't screw that up."

I was taken back by her words. What did she think was going on? The nurse just smiled at my confusion and took her leave.

There was a small silence but Silvers soon got to her feet looking in my direction. "I take it they gave you a clean bill of health and ok'd you going home?"

I nodded taking my chance to get out of this place once and for all.

(Nicole's POV)

Kaiba gathered his things and started to leave. Not sure exactly what to do, I just followed behind. It was a silent walk but what was there to really say? Like earlier, there was a dark car waiting out front when we came out the main doors. Unlike before, I had no intention of getting inside.

"So, glad you're ok, and I'm sorry you got dragged into all this."

This got him to stop briefly and look back as if he was surprised that I was still there.

"This little detour cost some valuable time Silvers. So, if you don't mind, I have some things to do."

I was a bit flabbergasted by the sudden mood change. Kaiba turned, got into his car, and left. No other words spoken. I was left standing there wondering What the ever-living FUCK just happened?