Jessica soon regained her strength and set off once again. Now that she was rested it wasn�t so hard to get through the woods. Her legs were still tired and shaky from the day before but it was nothing she couldn�t handle.
Then she realized it. She had been asleep against that tree for hours. If someone had been chasing her�he would�ve caught up with her by now. Seeing as how this thought had just struck her and it seemed very true, she turned and headed back the way she came.
She would soon be back with her Seto. She was dying to get back, her stomach was growling and she figured she was starting to stink. �I wonder who that was coming after me.� She thought.
�What if Seto sent that man after me �because he didn�t want me there. Maybe he thinks I�m too much trouble.� Several thoughts shrouded her mind. But she quickly shook them away; Knowing good and well that Seto loved her and always would.
~*~*~*~*~AT THE KAIBA MANSION�ONCE AGAIN*~*~*~*~
He slowly walked to the kitchen. Opening the drawer with all the knives in it, he reached for what looked like the sharpest. He ran the blade along the back of his hand to see how well it cut�nothing.
He tried again putting more pressure onto it this time. A few spots of blood appeared on his skin but not enough to satisfy him. He tossed it carelessly onto the table and reached for another.
�If I�m going to kill myself the stupid knife has to be sharper than that!� he yelled pulling the new blade quickly across his hand. He winced at the slight pain, watching as the blood began to run down his arm.
He walked over to the sink and turned the hot water on. He laid the knife onto the counter and reached into his pocket for the picture. He could feel the tears growing in his eyes once again, before they slowly ran down his cheeks.
�I�m sorry�� he cried placing the picture onto the table and retrieving the knife he had discarded. He closed his eyes and quickly ran the blade over his wrist�nothing. �Dammit this is supposed to work! Oh fuck this I�ll worry about it tomorrow!�
With that he retreated to his room and locked the door. He removed his shirt and tossed it into the hamper. Blood had soaked the sleeve of it and it was slowly making it�s down his arm again.
He went into the bathroom and turned the water on. He placed his arm under it washing the blood off. It didn�t take long for the water to get into his cut and start to burn. He didn�t care it wasn�t nothing he couldn�t put up with.
He reached under the sink and pulled out a white bandage. He wrapped it around his hand tightly and turned the water off. He turned the bathroom light off and walked over to his bed.
He lay there for several hours before finally drifting off into a troubled sleep. He didn�t sleep long before he woke up yet again. He could hear the ticking of his clock and it finally got so annoying that he had to look and see what time it was.
4:23 P.M.
The ticking seemed to grow louder. Seto stared at the clock for several minutes but it remained 4:23 P.M. He waited long enough; he slowly made his way down the stairs to the kitchen where he had left the photo.
He reached to pick it up but stopped. Something shining up under the cabinets had caught his eye. He stared at it for a moment before leaning over the counter to get a better look. It was a key of some sort.
He reached up, under the cabinets and pulled it down. On it, it had the numbers 7044417. Seto thought for a moment tryin to think of something that he would have to use a number or key to get into.
�Wow, that opens a wide range� he said sarcastically, throwing the key onto the table. He took the picture and sat down next to it. Memories begin to flood his mind�back to when they had first met.
~*~*~*~*~*FLASHBACK*~*~*~*~*~
"Please, Jessica, open up," Kaiba called, his voice getting an edge to it. He leaned against the door, running his hand down it, as if it were her.
"GET AWAY FROM HERE!" she yelled.
Kaiba laid his cheek onto the door, tears falling. "I'll tell the fucking consular, Jessica Reynolds. I'll tell that fucking bitch you cut yourself. And she'll call your dad and I don't give a shit if you get beat over it!"
"That's the difference between us, Kaiba! I was only trying to help!"
"Why would you do such a thing like that?" Kaiba called back, a sad smile growing on his face. A triumphant smile.
"Because I care about you!" she yelled angrily. His eyes widened. "I didn't mean that!" she yelled frantically, but it was too late, the damage was done.
"And I care about you!" Kaiba said, not longer yelling. He caressed the door, wishing it was her. "Please," he said softly. "Let me in."
Jessica stood, quietly, crying. "Leave me alone."
"What's happen to you?"
"What the fuck do you mean by that?" She slammed his fist at the door.
"You're falling apart! You're fucking...loosing yourself, Jessica! You have low self-esteem and you...just...you're not the person I knew anymore."
"Then leave. Because you're certainly not the Seto I knew."
"I've changed, I know. And you've changed. And I still love you. But I'm scared. I don't want you to--"
"To what? Kill myself?! If only you fucking knew!"
"Why? Why, Jessica, god, please just tell me!"
"If I was to swallow my entire medicine cabinet, do you think anyone would care?"
"No, because there ain't shit in it!"
Jessica smiled. "That isn't what you were supposed to say."
"What do you want me to say? I need you. And god, if you want me to wait, I'll wait for you, but I'm scared that you won't be alive tomorrow. You have bags under your eyes and your skin is yellowing and your arm is covered in cuts and scars."
"Yellowing?" she asked, confused.
"It's a natural occurrence to people who don't sleep or eat. You're fucking thinner than shit."
"Thinner than you?" she asked, amused.
"Not quite. You're body's not meant to be this thin."
"Oh. So I'm not pretty?"
"You're the prettiest thing I've ever seen, Jessica. And the sexiest, and the...beautifulest."
"Even I know that's not a word."
"And the cutest."
"Kaiba..."
"And the sweetest."
"What are you doing?"
"And you have the softest skin with the silkiest hair and the most beautiful eyes."
"What are you doing? Trying to esteem me?"
"I'm just telling you the truth."
"So that's why you haven't mentioned my dueling skills."
"You just need to work on them."
Jessica tore the door open, causing Kaiba to fall into her. "That was a very rude thing to say," he said in disbelief. She caught him before Kaiba could fall any more.
"It's the truth,"
~*~*~*~*END OF FLASHBACK*~*~*~*~
"Wait that wasn't when we first met...that was our first argument...oh well it doesn't matter." He sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*BACK TO JESSICA*~*~*~*~*~
She breathed heavily knowing that she was almost there. No sign of anyone strange or familiar around her. She was growing weak from no food, but it was nothing she couldn�t put up with.
Even the weight of the locket and ring she wore around her neck was getting heavier. She lifted it out of her shirt and ran her fingers over it. She hadn�t taken it off since the day three years ago that Seto had given it to her.
The engravings on the locket had started to wear off but you could still tell that it said, �I cannot tell you every hope each dream or every breath you give me�you take me to paradise�
Of course it stretched from the front to the back. She picked up the ring and slid it onto her finger. It had a small heart shaped diamond with two smaller diamonds on both sides of it.
On the inside, engraved on the ring was �I never said I love you, but you have my heart all the same� It was hard for Seto to admit that he loved her, and sometimes it was hard for her as well.
�I gotta get back! I have to go to school!� she started to get up but she was too tired. She sat there a few more minutes, and then she felt them. Small drops of rain began to splash onto the top of her head and shoulders.
That was enough; she jumped up and started running as fast as she could in the direction she thought was the way back to the Kaiba mansion.
She ran out of the woods and collapsed onto her hands and knees, breathing heavily. She looked up to see that several feet in front of her was the mansion. She heard the door open and saw Paul running out to her.
She was not complaining when he picked her up and carried her inside. He carried her up to her room and laid her on her bed before running off to find Seto. She stood up slowly and walked to her closet.
Being in her bathrobe was fine but not for three days. The white robe had collected several clumps of dirt, twigs and other dirty things. She threw it onto the floor and put on some clean clothes.
As soon as she closed the door Seto came running into the room and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She squeezed him tighter not wanted to let go. She buried her head into his chest longing for the warmth of his body.
They didn�t realize how long they were standing like that before she started to feel her legs give out. Seto picked her up and carried her to the kitchen. He sat her down at the table and went to find something for her to eat.