"That doesn't look like someone that wants to get out of here today." Nick pushed the door open slowly as he waited for a response.

Phyllis sighed and flashed a weak smile. "Well, you try eating this mess." She pulled the cover back over top of the tray and covered the plastic cup with the lid. "It's really, really bad … like my kind of cooking bad."

"Geez." Nick wrinkled his nose as he stepped into the room. "I kind of thought you might be in dire straits, so …" He sat the paper bag on the table in front of her and held out the paper cup. "I called and checked with the nurse before I brought it. I should probably tell you now that it's decaf. They want you to limit your caffeine until you recover from the concussion."

"No alcohol, no caffeine … this is just shaping up to be a hell of a day," she muttered as she took the cup from his hand. "Thank you," she said softly. "I appreciate it."

"No problem. It's the least I can do … considering."

"You don't have to do that." Phyllis shook her head and she took a small sip of the hot liquid. "This isn't your fault." She couldn't help but laugh a little as Nick's eyes narrowed at her. "Well, correction, it isn't all your fault. I certainly played my part in it and what wasn't already destroyed, Billy finished burning to the ground."

"With a little help from our daughter …"

"Right." She reached into the bag, the normally intoxicating smell of bagels and doughnuts not nearly as enchanting after the mention of her daughter's name. "Were you able to talk to her at all? Figure any of this out?"

"I tried to call her last night and she didn't answer and then when I stopped by the apartment this morning, she was already gone. If I didn't know better, I'd swear she was avoiding me."

"Imagine that." She brought her hand to her head as took another deep breath. "I thought getting her through the teen years would be the death of me. Who knew it would be this. Nick, I had no idea she hated me this much. I mean, I know I was far from the perfect mother, but I really can't figure out what I would have done to make her this angry."

"Don't do that to yourself. Summer is … different now. I think she changed a lot while she was off finding herself these past couple of years. We can't blame ourselves for that."

"Do you think she did that? Found herself? Because if this is really her, Nick? If this is the real Summer …"

"I know," he sighed.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Jack's soft knock stopped the conversation immediately.

Phyllis looked up quickly. "No, Jack. Come on in. Nick just stopped by to bring me some breakfast."

"I see … That was very nice of you, Nick."

Nick stood up slowly. "I should probably let you two talk."

"Actually, I just came to pick Phyllis up. She's getting released today and I figured she'd need a ride. I know they said you can't drive for a week or so."

"I could have called a car, Jack. You didn't have to go through all that trouble."

"It's no trouble," he smiled. "I brought you a change of clothes here." He held up the small bag by his feet. "Luckily you had already brought most of your stuff to the house, so I had Mrs. Martinez get your room all ready and …"

"Jack … I don't know if …"

"Don't even start. You can't go back to the living in a hotel room right now. For one, the doctors were clear that you need to take it easy for a couple of days. For another, I still need your help with everything at Jabot and …" He studied her face for a reaction. "And that's not even your argument is it?"

"I know I said I'd come and stay there while I was helping you with everything with Ashley, but now that Billy is …. I just think it's gonna be way too hard and …"

"Nick, you wanna help me out here?" Jack looked over at him. "You tell her she can't go live in a hotel room right now?"

"Jack's right about that. You need someone to help you out … at least for a couple of days, so unless you want to come stay at the house with me …"

Her hand found her head again as she rubbed the side of her temples. "Because my life isn't a big enough train wreck?" She smiled at him. "Look, both of you are making way too big a deal out of this. I'll be fine at the club. There's room service and housekeeping and if I need it, I can even have a nurse come in." She waited a moment, hoping Jack would concede before finally leaning back against the pillows. "You're not gonna let this go are you?"

"Not until I'm helping you upstairs to your room," he smiled. "Come on, it's the best solution and you know it. Besides, Billy was packing his suitcase the last time I saw him. In all likelihood, he'll be gone before we ever get there."

"He's leaving? To go where?" She couldn't help the pang of concern that welled up within her everything she thought of him. As angry as she was, she still cared about him, still wanted to know he was okay, still needed to believe that there was something good in him.

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. I tried to talk to him. I still feel like he's …" He stopped. "You know what … it doesn't matter. You don't need to be worrying about him right now. You need to be focusing on yourself and getting yourself better and that starts with coming back to the house with me and letting me help you. There's nothing wrong with getting a little bit of help."

"For the record, Jack, I still think this is a bad idea." She walked through the door as he held it open.

"Duly noted," Jack sighed. "Why don't you just go have a seat on the sofa and I'll get Mrs. Martinez to make us a pot of tea?"

"You don't need to go through any trouble, Jack." She heaved herself onto the sofa in frustration. "I'm here like you wanted me to be, but you don't have to treat me like I'm some sort of invalid. It's just a couple of cracked ribs and a mild concussion. A week of being driven around and some headaches … that's it."

"Speaking of the headaches, the pharmacy will have your medication messengered over a little later. The doctor said it could cause dizziness so I think maybe you should stay in my room downstairs for a few days."

"Phyllis …" Kyle stepped into the den, his eyes widening in surprise as he saw Phyllis and Jack sitting on the sofa. "I didn't expect to see you here so soon. I'm glad you're doing better."

Jack stood up, his body quickly stopping Kyle from getting any closer. "What are you doing here? And what is all that?" For the first time he noticed the stack of boxes by the wall.

"Oh." Kyle smiled. "There's been a little change in the living arrangements around here."

"What kind of a change? I've been gone a couple of hours. How much could possibly change in a couple of hours?"

"Life happens fast, Dad. Surely you know that." He leaned over to see Phyllis and smiled again. "Besides, I think Phyllis will be much more comfortable with me as a neighbor."

"Wait? You're moving back into the main house?"

Kyle nodded. "Billy said you were all concerned about him not being close by, so we talked and I agreed to move in here and let him take the pool house. It's a simple switch really."

Without even looking, he could feel the shift in her mood. "Why don't you just go get your stuff settled?" Jack sneered. It was obvious Kyle had taken great pleasure in this announcement. He knew Phyllis would be less than thrilled to know Billy would be living so close and Billy had obviously intended to avoid all of them by sheer will alone. He waited until Kyle flashed yet another smug smile before returning to the sitting position again. "Before you even say anything…"

"You said he was leaving …" She was already sitting up straighter, her body poised to stand. "I can't handle this right now, Jack."

"And you won't have to. You heard Kyle. Billy took the pool house so he wouldn't have to be here, so he wouldn't have to see any of us."

She rolled her eyes slightly. "Billy took the pool house to appease you. To make it seem like he was making better choices while still keeping up the same destructive cycle he's …"

"You know how you just get the feeling that people are talking about you?"

Phyllis stopped, her heart immediately dropping as she heard the sound of his voice. She wanted it to fill her with instantaneous rage. She needed to be disgusted by him, by what he'd done, by why he'd done it, but in the moment, his voice brought a relief to her, a quieting to the constant worry that he wasn't okay. And that realization did bring anger, but the anger was with herself.