CHAPTER 60 START
You sat in the cabin, unable to sit still. You hadn't been able to get a hold of anyone, and that didn't help your nerves in the slightest. On top of the Joey worry, you knew things would not go well when you got back to the island in a few days, and you weren't looking forward to tearing Aaron and Mokuba apart. But it would have to be done, and you could only think of one way to really end it. You stared down at the laptop and scanned the house and apartment listings in Cairo, trying to find one that would suite both you and Aaron well.
The longer you stared at it, the larger the pit grew in your stomach. Once again, you would have to pack Aaron up and start all over again in someplace you hadn't been to in almost 12 years. You weren't sure how Aaron would adjust, and you weren't sure how it had changed in the time you'd been gone. Not to mention, you were scared to hear what the gang would have to say about this whole thing.
You already knew they'd be happy that you and Seto were done, but you knew shit would hit the fan once you mentioned you were planning on moving out of the country...not to mention the continent. They had freaked out enough over you going on a two to three week vacation, you didn't even want to think about what they'd have to say about that.
"Ms. Miya, we're ready to land."
"Okay. I'm ready." you said, shutting your laptop and sliding it back into your small bag. Once you got to the hospital, you'd have to email Ali and see what she thought about all of this. And maybe you'd have to take a trip out there and get your head cleared out.
Before the plane came to a full stop, you leap up, slung your bag over your shoulder and bolted for the door. Seconds later, the driver of the car pulled the cabin door open and tossed you a set of keys.
"Sam said you should drive you're own car."
You cracked a small smile as you saw the car you'd built when you'd visited Sam with Joey. You slid into the driver's seat, and the cool leather danced on your skin as you revved the engine before taking off down the air strip and onto the street.
"Call, Serenity." you said, pushing the speaker option on your steering wheel. Again, after a few rings, it went to her voice mail. Letting out an aggravated sigh, you hung up and pushed the gas pedal a little harder, wanting to get to the hospital even faster.
Serenity's POV
You groaned as you moved from your chair, your legs feeling kinda jello-like.
"You okay Seren?"
"Yeah, Mom. I'm fine. My legs are just kind of asleep. Guess I sat that way for too long. Have they said anything about Joey?"
"He just came out of surgery and they moved him into recovery. It'll probably be another 2 hours before we're able to see him. And they're not sure how extensive the head trauma is, and won't know until he wakes up...if he wakes up."
"If he wakes up?" came a sad and familiar voice, causing you to flinch and nearly jump out of your chair.
You quickly got up and spun around and came face to face with Miya, who looked a little worse for wear.
"Miya? What on earth are you doing here? Serenity told me you were on vacation?" your mom gasped.
"Well, I had to come see about Joey."
"You heard?"
"Actually Mom, Miya's the one who told me about what happened. She was on the phone with him when he got into the accident."
"Oh my god. I'm so happy you were with him, in sorts. Thanks to you we got here shortly after he arrived."
"So what happened?"
"Well dear, Joey slipped on a wet and slick highway divide down on 7th and the truck didn't see him. Caused quite the pile up and..."
"And Joey?" Miya said, the color already draining from her face.
"He's in a pretty bad shape from what we've heard. He spent the last 5 hours in surgery. And they're not sure how badly the head trauma will affect him in the long run." your mom said, starting to shake a little.
"You just sit down, Mom. Try and calm down, maybe get some rest."
"Yeah, Mrs. Wheeler. I'll be more than happy to stay here."
"Oh I'm alright dears. Besides, that's my boy in there. I'm not leaving him here. Not until I get to see him."
"Does anyone else know?"
"Yeah, Yugi and the whole gang know. They just left not too long ago. Tea had to work, and I guess Grandpa's not feeling so well, so Yugi went home to help him. They'll be back later when we get more of an update on him." she said, sliding into her chair and rubbing her tired eyes with her still shaking hands.
You weren't sure what to say, but you were glad Miya was here. You knew Joey would be ecstatic to see her when he woke up from surgery, especially since Mai had yet to even stop by.
"Well, sorry I just kinda dropped in. I tried calling, but it kept going to your voice mail Serenity."
"Oh, sorry about that. I left home in such a rush, I left it sitting on the kitchen table. I'm sure I'll have tons of voice mails and texts when I finally get home to get it."
"So has Mai stopped by?"
"Oddly, no. Tea said she just kinda went off somewhere after I called her. Speaking on which, where's Kaiba?"
"Oh, he's still back on the island with the boys."
"Your boyfriend is alright with you being here? I know he and Joey don't really get along."
"Oh, well...He's not my boyfriend anymore."
"Seriously? What the hell happened?"
"Serenity! Language!"
"Sorry Mom. But really...what happened?" you asked, pulling her down into the seat next to you.
"Nothing really. But you were right. He's not happy about me coming here, and we got into a fight about it I guess. And it just...I don't know."
"I'm sorry Hun."
"Eh, no need to be sorry about it. I knew it was bound to happen eventually. He's just so self-centered and I wasn't going to change that. I just wish I could have, for Mokuba's sake."
"How's Aaron taking it?"
"They don't know yet. They were sleeping when I left, so the boys don't know about the break up yet."
"Oh...So what are you going to do?"
"I'm not sure yet. I just need some time to clear my head and figure things out, so I'm hoping Seto will let Aaron stay with him while I get some things straightened out. I can't pull Aaron into another unsettling situation like I've done practically our whole lives."
"Well, you know you're always welcome at our house my dear."
"Thanks Mrs. Wheeler. But I know you'll have your hands full enough when Joey gets to come home, if it's as bad as they say it is, and I wouldn't want to be a burden again. You've already opened your home to us once, and I'm still very appreciative about it."
"Oh Miya, you're never a burden. But if that's truly what you want, Aaron can stay with us until you get a new place to stay."
"That would be great Mrs. Wheeler. I'd really appreciate that. I really didn't want to ask Kaiba for that kind of favor, cause who only knows what he would say."
The three of you sat in silence for a few moments, until the ER doors behind you creaked open.
"Mrs. Wheeler...Joey is in his room now and the anesthesia with wearing off."
"When are we able to see him?"
"Any time you'd like, but he is asking for someone called Miya?"
"Oh that's his friend, here. Miya, you go see him first."
"Oh, Mrs. Wheeler, I couldn't. He's your only son and I..."
"Go ahead Hun. I can wait a little while longer as long as he's with you."
"No, you guys go ahead and go up. I'll wait here."
You shrugged at Miya, who seemed to be dealing with a whole different set of demons at the moment.
"Come on Mom. Let's go see Joey." you said, grabbing her arm and following the doctor back through the swinging double doors.
Your POV
You watched as Serenity and her Mom head, frantically into the Emergency room doors, and as they did you buried your face into your now shaking hands. You really weren't sure what you were going to do, but all you knew is that you wanted to see Joey and maybe that would clear some of your doubts away.
Grabbing your phone out of your jacket pocket, you stared at the screen blankly before searching through your contacts for Ali's number. Your finger hovered over the call button next to Ali's picture, and letting out a sign pressed it gently.
"Hello?" came Ali's sleepy voice.
"Hey Ali, sorry I woke you up."
"Oh Hey. It's alright Miya. Must be important if you're calling me at this hour. What's going on Hun, you sound awful?"
"Well, Seto and I are over."
"What! How? When?"
"Well I told him about me and Joey..."
"He broke up with you over that? Really?"
"No, actually. He said he was okay, but after a week on vacation things kinda got worse."
"Well how did you expect him to react?"
"I knew he wasn't going to take it well. But what really caused the problem was the fact that I flew back to Domino on a red-eye flight to see Joey in the hospital."
"Joey's in the hospital?"
"Yeah, he got hit by a car in some very bad weather."
"Is he okay?"
"Not from what I've heard. I haven't seen him yet, Mom and Serenity just got to go in a see him."
"Well, keep me posted. But umm, Miya? What are you going to do about a job and a place to stay?"
"I've kind of got an idea, but I'll run it by you later when I'm not so frazzled."
"So where's Aaron?"
"Still with Seto on the island. He was sleeping when I left and I didn't expect to break up with Seto while doing so, so I didn't wake him up."
"How do you think he's going to handle all of this again?"
You let out a sigh and hesitated to answer. You knew he wouldn't take the news well, but you knew it had to be done.
"I don't know, Ali. I really don't want to pick him up and move him again when he's just gotten use to the area but I don't think I can stay here anymore."
"What about Joey?"
"He's with Mai, so I don't know. And I really don't want to worry him. He's going to have enough on his plate trying to recover from all the surgery he's gone through today."
"Wish him best of luck for me and call me after you see him. I'll let Mom know you might be coming to stay."
"No need for that Ali, but thanks anyway. I'll let you know when I've decided what I'm going to do."
"Okay, you just go see your lover boy."
"Oh Ali, knock it off."
"Whatever you say. You go see Joey and keep me posted. I'm going back to bed."
"Night Ali..." you said quietly as you hung up and slowly lowered your arm down into your lap. "What am I going to do..."
"Miya? What are you doing here?"
You jerked your head up and looked to see who was there.
"Yugi? Hey."
"Hey yourself. When did you get here?"
"About half an hour ago. Haven't been here long though. Serenity and Mrs. Wheeler just went in to see Joey."
"That's good. Did they say how he's doing?"
"Not yet."
"Oh, thank you for calling Serenity so quickly. I'm glad you were on the phone with him when it happened. Who knows how long he would have been here without friends or family. We all would have been worried sick if we couldn't find him."
"That's why I came back. I had to make sure he was okay."
"Where are Mokuba, Aaron and Kaiba?"
"Still on vacation."
Yugi's POV
You couldn't say you were exactly shocked at the fact that Miya was in the hospital waiting room when you got there, you figured she'd show up sooner rather than later.
"Oh, thank you for calling Serenity so quickly. I'm glad you were on the phone with him when it happened. Who knows how long he would have been here without friends or family. We all would have been worried sick if we couldn't find him."
"That's why I came back. I had to make sure he was okay."
"Where are Mokuba, Aaron and Kaiba?"
"Still on vacation."
You were shocked to hear that Kaiba hadn't demanded he come back with her, especially since this had to do with Joey. You were sure Kaiba knew about what had happened at Tea's and wasn't too happy about it, so it was surprising that he'd let her come here alone, it just didn't seem right. Come to think about it, something didn't seem right with Miya either, but you decided not to push the subject given the circumstances.
"So how long are you going to be here?"
"As long as needed, I guess."
"Then are you going back on your vacation?"
"Nah, I've had enough vacation. Besides, there's a number of things I have to take care of here."
"Well I'm glad you came back, even if it was just to see Joey. I'm sure he'd really appreciate that and give him more motivation to get out of here."
After a few moments of silence, Miya let out a deep and heavy sigh.
"I'm leaving Yugi."
"You're leaving? What do you mean leaving?"
"I can't stay in Japan any longer."
"Was this Kaiba's idea?"
"No, actually Kaiba and I are done. And I can't stay in Japan anymore."
"Whoa, what?"
"I know, it's a stupid story but I'm leaving once Joey gets better."
"Where will you go?"
"Probably home."
Home? What did she mean by that? You thought for sure she thought of Domino as her home, you knew Aaron did. But she was leaving? Why?
"Home?"
"Yeah, back to where Aaron and I were both born. Move there and start all over I guess?"
"But Miya...what about us? What about Joey?"
"Yugi..."
"Miya, Joey wants to see you now. I'm going to head home and set up his room for when he comes home, and Serenity will be leaving shortly as well. Take as much time as you want, we'll stop by later. Oh hello Yugi, dear. You can go in as well if you want."
"No, I'm quite alright if Joey wants to see Miya first. I can wait. I've got some summer homework to do so I'll just work on it now."
"Alright you two. We'll be back later, just let one of us know if there is anything we can bring back for you. I'm sure you haven't eaten yet Miya, so I'll bring something back for you."
"Don't worry about it Mrs. Wheeler. I'll find something here in the cafeteria."
"If you say so. Tell Serenity I'll be out in the van."
You watched as Mrs. Wheeler left the waiting room and Miya slowly pushed open the ER doors. You hoped she would change her mind about leaving, although you knew staying here would mean having to deal with Kaiba on a daily basis at school. You know it was hard to deal with him being you, but you couldn't imagine what Miya would be going through.
"Yami, is there anything I can do to help her?"
"I'm not sure Yugi. We both know Kaiba is a hard man to deal with, and they're both pretty scared from their pasts. I'm not sure if they can be fixed enough to make it. Right now, we just have to be there for her."
"Was it like this in the past?"
"This is not the same as my past. Kisara never made it this far with the Priest. She died trying to protect him, so they've already changed fate and who knows where this path will lead them."
You shook your head. No matter what happened, it seemed as if bad things always followed Miya. Maybe this was for the best, although you hated to admit it. You'd hate to see her go, but you wanted her to be happy.
"Do you think she'll stay in touch if she does move away?"
"I sure hope so Yugi."
Your POV
Making your way down the hall to Joey's room, your head swarmed with so much clutter, you almost ran into a group of doctors. Trying to shake the worry from your mind, and the sadness off your face, you knocked on Joey's door lightly.
"Come in."
You swallowed hard at the sound of how weak and banged up Joey sounded, even through the door. You were almost scared to walk in, afraid of what you might see, but you did anyway. Your heart sunk when you met pushed open the door and pulled back the divider curtain.
"Miya? What are you doing here?"
"What do you think I'm doing here, Joey?" you said staring down at the ground.
"I thought you were on vacation? I just talked to you a few hours ago, and you were gone...how did you?"
"Sam has some pretty fast aircraft, I got here in about 3.5 hours."
"Miya...what's the matter?"
"I'm so sorry Joey...If you hadn't been on the phone and .."
"Oh stop it. It had nothing to do with you. You can't control that fact that I'm a klutz, besides the rain didn't help either. Unless you can control the weather, there's nothing you could have done. Plus you weren't even there, so stop that and come here."
Almost as if you no longer had control over your body, you nearly ran to Joey's bedside and collapse next to it, your head leaning on the side of the mattress. Tears began to sneak their way out of your eyes and down your face as you felt Joey's hand start stroking the top of your head.
"Miya, stop crying. I know you are."
"I am not." you said, with your voice giving you away.
Joey's POV
You figured the knock on the door would have been Yugi or Tea, but when Miya walked through the curtain you were beyond shocked and a little lost for words. You were unbelievably happy to see her, but something on her face worried you.
"Miya...what's the matter?"
"I'm so sorry Joey...If you hadn't been on the phone and .."
"Oh stop it. It had nothing to do with you. You can't control that fact that I'm a klutz, besides the rain didn't help either. Unless you can control the weather, there's nothing you could have done. Plus you weren't even there, so stop that and come here."
You expected her to hesitate but the next thing you knew was she was limp at your bedside.
"Miya, stop crying. I know you are."
"I am not." she said quietly trying to hide the tears in her voice.
"Miya Suro...Get up here and look at me."
Slowly she got up off the floor and sat on the bed next to you, careful to avoid the tons of tubes and wires connected to you. Careful tucking your finger under her chin, you slowly slowly raised her head so you could look into her watery eyes.
"What's wrong? And don't you say 'nothing' cause I know you wouldn't lie to me would you?"
"Oh Joey...I don't want to bother you with my problems right now, you've got a lot of recovering to do."
"I'll move a lot quicker now that you're here."
You saw her face turn a slight pink under her beautiful tanned skin and it made your heart race. Why had she come back? You knew this had to have caused a major problem with money bags. Than it hit you.
"Did he break up with you?"
"What?" she exclaimed, a look of shock on her face.
"You guys got into a fight didn't you?"
"How'd you know?"
"I'm sure he wasn't happy about you coming here to see me. So where's he off sulking?"
"Still on the island, probably knee deep in his work. Not that it's my business anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"We're done."
"For good?"
"Oh yeah. I'm never going back to that self-centered, high and mighty...jerk."
"Wow...I didn't know you could talk like that." you said with a chuckle, that caused a sharp pain to radiate through your whole body.
"You okay Joey?"
"Yeah, just some pain. Nothing that I can't handle. I'm pretty sure the gang did worse to me."
As soon as the words slipped from your lips, you wish you hadn't said a thing. You knew Miya knew you had been in a gang, but not to what extent. You hoped she'd never know.
"Oh Joey..."
"Don't worry about me Miya, really. I'll be fine. The doctor said I was lucky that it wasn't worse. Sure, I've got a number of staples in my head, but at least I'm awake and don't feel anymore idiotic than when I woke up yesterday morning."
Miya chuckled under her breath and rolled her eyes, than leaned over and kissed the small exposed area of your forehead. Instantly, all the pain you had felt moments before was gone.
"Whoa..."
"What?" she pulled back surprised.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing."
"You made it go away...All the pain. It's gone. You must have done something."
"Not that...Wait a moment."
"What?"
"It must have been Kisara or the Item." she said referring to the charm bracelet dangling from her wrist.
"I always forget you have that thing. It's not as noticeable as the others."
"That's kinda the point silly. I don't want to go around flashing this thing around and draw even more attention to myself. If I could get rid of it, I would. I want nothing more than just a boring normal life, Joey. I don't want this crazy, dramatic, horridly stressful life. I'm sick of being chased, and having to watch my back all the time."
"Well...I'm not sure how much I can offer, but I know I can offer a boringly normal life, if that's really what you want." you said, blushing slightly. "I'd do my best for you and Aaron both."
"Joey, If I didn't know any better I'd think you were asking me out."
"And what if I was? What would you say?"
"I don't know Joey. I didn't plan on staying in Domino. I have to get away from him."
"I'd be willing to go with you."
"Joey, your mother...your sister. You're not even finished with school yet."
"Well then, we stay here until school's over and then we'll go wherever you want."
"Joey..."
"I mean it Miya. I'd do anything for you."
"I can't stay here another 2 years Joey. You see how Kaiba causes so much trouble for Yugi, can you imagine what he would do to cause me trouble?"
You looked down at Miya's hands, that were fidgeting with her bracelet. You knew she couldn't stay here. If she had been the one to leave Kaiba, you knew he would do anything he possibly could to make life hell for her, just as he did with Yugi. But the thought of her leaving hurt. You didn't want her to leave, ever. You never wanted her to leave your side again, but if it was for her happiness, you would have done anything.
"What do you want to do?"
"I was planning on moving home."
"Wait...To Egypt?"
"Yeah. I still have some business connections there and I'm sure I could get a job in the museum or one of the dig sites, or take whatever I can get. Try and find Aaron a school in Cairo..."
"What about...Aaron come live with me so he can finish out middle school here and that'll give you time to get things settled out there."
"Joey, I couldn't possibly ask that of you and your family."
"Aaron wouldn't be a problem. Besides, my mom and sister love him. Probably more than they love me." you laughed.
"We'll see about it Joey. Let's just work on getting you better first."
"So is that a yes to my offer?"
Miya closed her eyes for a moment and took your hand carefully.
"I cant answer that right now Joey. I just broke up with Kaiba, and Aaron knows nothing about what's happened."
"That's fine Miya. Just work on getting yourself settled and come stay at our place for a few days. And I may already have a job for ya."
"Oh?"
"I heard Duke Devlin is looking for a tech designer since his just quit. His phone number is in my phone, if you hand it here I'll text him and ask about it."
"Umm, where is your phone Joey?"
"Oh. Uh, I'm honestly not sure. I just hope they didn't leave it there on the highway divide."
"I don't think they did. One of the police officers picked it up and talked to me, so I'm sure it's here somewhere."
Suddenly the door flew open and Mai came bursting through the curtain.
"Joey Wheeler! How dare you! How dare you do this to me! And you...you filthy little tramp!" she turned and screamed at Miya.
Your POV
You jumped out of your skin at the sound of Mai's shrieks.
"And you...you filthy little tramp!" she screamed at you.
"Mai, what are you doing?" Joey tried to ask over her screams.
"I'm here to check on you, you idiot. And what do I find?! I find you cheating on me with her! That damned womanizing bitch!"
"Cheating on you? We're not even dating Mai."
"Oh we're not? Than what do you call the last few weeks? Was I just a booty call to you Joseph Wheeler?!"
"What are you talking about? We never did anything. You just drug me around shopping."
"So you'd rather be with this ugly, goody-two-shoe, nerd? You'd rather have Kaiba's sloppy seconds instead of me?"
You and Joey stood there in shock.
"Mai, you need to leave now. Can't you see Joey's in critical condition? And you barge in here, screaming and yelling and having no idea about what's going on. Joey and I are not a couple, he is not cheating, and I am not Kaiba's sloppy seconds."
Every word had been strong until you mentioned Seto. As Kaiba crossed your lips, your voice cracked and fresh tears started to form in your eyes.
"Oh is that so? I know that you're his real girlfriend and you're just pretending to be someone else to avoid paparazzi. Well guess what, guess who's going straight to the media and spilling your little secret!"
"Mai, don't be like this."
"Mai! No! I'll do anything!" you screamed after her as she made a mad dash down the hallway, crashing through the doctors and nurses. Unable to catch her, you sunk to the floor. Sure you weren't his girlfriend any longer, but that didn't mean the media hounds wouldn't just pass you by. You knew that as soon as Mai told them who you really were, they'd be swarming in no time.
Moments later, Yugi stood just in front of you.
"Miya, are you okay? What happened in there?"
"She came in screaming, and saw me sitting on the bed with Joey and just lost it. She said she's going to the media and telling them I'm Kaiba's girlfriend."
"Seriously? I told Joey she was crazy. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. Now I really can't stay here. I've got to leave now, before the reporters show up."
"What about Aaron?"
"I'll call Kaiba and figure something out."
"Well, take my keys from in my jacket and head for the house."
"I can't go there either Yugi. I have an idea of where to go, but I can't tell you just in case they try to pester it out of you cause I'm sure Mai will tell them everything. I'll be in touch. Please tell Joey that as well."
You stared as Miya dashed out the doors of the hospital and dove into her car. Even from here, you could hear her tires scream as she tore out of the parking lot. Knocking on Joey's door, you cleared your throat.
"Yug? Is that you?"
"Heya, Joey. How ya doin?"
"Well, I was alright until Mai decided to barge in here and threaten Miya."
"Yeah, I heard."
"Where is Miya anyway?"
"Well, she made a run for it. She didn't tell me where she was going, but she did say she'd be in touch."
You saw Joey's expression go from excited to the saddest you'd probably ever seen him.
"She's going to Cairo."
"What makes you say that Joey?"
"She wants to move there, and she was going to wait. But now, with this happening, she's probably going to go now." he said, a few tears streaming down his face.