Chapter 14 : The Final Straw

Seto stood completely still for a time, lost at what to say. He kept his eyes down. He did not think through what was going to happen next. He expected Joey to yell at him but none of that occurred.

"Please just leave." Joey whispered. He looked up to see those hazel eyes that were bloodshot and sad looking but remained determined. Kaiba said nothing as he turned around and left. As Kaiba passed through the chrome elevator doors and pressed the ground button with a pen he had in his pocket he felt tremendous relief. During these past few days he had felt emotions and done things he had never done before but now it was over. Joey was now in the care of professionals and he could not hurt himself any farther. Kaiba had his questions answered and his guilt relieved seeing as he was responsible for getting Joey care. Lastly Joey did not want his company so he did not see the need to stay any longer.

When Kaiba arrived at his manor it was already midnight and the lights were dim. Mokuba emerged from the staircase, still in his regular clothes.

"What are you still doing up?"

"I was waiting for you. Is Joey ok?"

Kaiba scowled but answered flatly, "He's fine."

"That's it? That's all you're going to tell me, I've been waiting for hours for you." Mokuba whined.

"What else do you want me to say? I saw him and he was fine." Kaiba snarled, not wanting to think of what he saw this evening. "Now get to bed," He added while walking up the stairs to his own room.

"But Seto? What happened tonight?" Mokuba squeaked as he scurried behind him.

"Nothing," Seto muttered.

"Please don't lie to me big brother! Please tell me what's going on. Why were you so mad today? And why did you hurt Joey?"

"That is none of your business."

Mokuba could here in his brother's voice that he was pushing his patience but he didn't care.

"How could you be so mean!" Mokuba yelled, tears exploding from his eyes instantly, "Don't you even care about Joey or what you did to him?"

"No." Kaiba muttered. His relief he felt earlier was short lived

For the next few days of school Joey did not attend. Kaiba, who had convinced himself that anything to do with Joey was no longer a concern to him, could not help but notice this. Kaiba wanted to see Joey back at school and well so the last remnants of guilt would finally leave him but instead they grew with each passing day Joey wasn't there.

Kaiba noticed that he was not the only one affected by Joey's absence. Every passing day the geek squad he usually hung around appeared more worried and he always caught them huddled together, talking in low, serious voices. Finally at the end of the 4th day of his absence, Kaiba was confronted by the crew. Yugi was in the lead followed by the other losers and was also the first to speak.

"Kaiba, I know we have had our differences..." Yugi trailed off.

"Uhuh," Kaiba grunted, waiting for Yugi to get to the point.

"But I was wondering if you know anything about Joey." Yugi looked down after finishing.

"What, you're worried about your little mutt? I know nothing." Kaiba decided to go with the non-helpful route. Tristan stepped forward.

"Please man, we just wanna know if he's ok, we can't get a hold of him." It was obvious it was difficult for him to try and remain polite to Kaiba.

This news was unsettling to Kaiba but he didn't let it show.

"Have you checked the local animal shelters, maybe your lost mutt's there," Kaiba sneered.

He heard Tea let out a muffled sob, it was apparent that all of them were on the breaking point with worry.

At Kaiba's words Tristan's face contorted with rage, unable to control his temper. He grabbed Kaiba by the collar.

"We know you did something man, ever since you got involved with him he's been getting worse and now he's missing. Now I'm going to ask you again, where is he?" He used his threatening tone.

Kaiba grabbed Tristan's wrist and tore his grip from his collar.

"Not my problem." Kaiba muttered with his usual disregard and started walking towards the parked limousine.

"Hey I'm not done with you yet!" Tristan started to yell before Yugi could stop him.

"Its useless," Yugi muttered hopelessly, "He won't help us."

Even though Yugi's words were not meant for him, Kaiba heard them, and they bothered him. He halted his step for an instant, contemplating whether he should turn around and tell them what he knew, but then recovered from his moment of weakness and continued his strut at an increased rate and hurled himself into the back of his limousine.

"Home?" The limousine driver asked.

"No, Kaiba said slowly, thinking of a plan as he went.

"Take me to the general hospital."

"Is something the matter?"

"I pay you to drive, not to interrogate me!" he snapped back. Apparently his inner turmoil about that mutt wasn't quite resolved as he hoped.

*3 days prior*

Joey had been in the hospital for a day now after his incident. Even though he was incredibly sore, Kaiba had not done any serious damage and only left bruises, a lot of them. The drugs were effectively flushed out of his system. Joey had been asking the nurses constantly since he woke up when he could leave, but they always gave vague, uninformative answers. One of the nurses told him he would need to see the doctor first which made little sense to Joey since he had already been examined by doctors so he didn't see why another doctor was necessary until he heard the nurses talking among themselves whisper the word "Psychiatrist".

Joey was certainly not interested in seeing one of those so he knew his only option was escape. He just needed to get the IV out of the back of his hand used to flush the drugs out of his bloodstream while no one was watching. He slowly pulled off the medical tape from his skin that was securing the small tube in his vein. That was the easy part. Joey felt a little squeamish as he tried tugging at the tube imbedded in his hand. He realized quite quickly that he would have to pull it out fast and get it over with, like ripping off a band aid. He laughed at himself for being such a baby about it before counting to three in his head and pulling. The tube slid out easy enough but what he didn't anticipate was the oozing of blood from where the tube had been. His unaffected hand flew to the box of tissues on his bedside table and grabbed a handful to stop the blood flow. He quickly made his way to his locker where he found a bag containing the clothes he was admitted in. He slipped into the restroom on the floor he was on, quickly got changed and sped to the nearest stairwell. He bolted down the stairs to the ground floor and tried to quickly navigate to the closest exit. As he stepped out of the stairwell he saw a side door nearby which he attempted to quickly and quietly exit threw.

"Mr. Wheeler? Where are you going?" A puzzled nurse who worked upstairs asked. Joey was startled from hearing his name. He didn't even look back as he broke into a run and slammed into the doors, breaking free. Joey was stopped in his tracks as the bright sun momentarily blinded him after being in dim lighting for days. Regardless, he kept running whether he was being chased or not he was not sure but he wasn't going to stick around and find out. He had no plan at this point; he didn't even know how he felt about all that had happened. He just needed to get out and wanted to be alone to figure things out.

*Present time*

Kaiba had no success in finding Joey at the hospital. The staff there would not tell him anything other than Joey Wheeler was no longer a patient there due to confidentiality issues. Kaiba, rather annoyed and impatient found less than ethical ways of figuring out what happened with the mutt. He managed to bribe the janitor that happened to see someone fitting Joey's description run out of the building and the medical staff made a fuss about it.

Kaiba checked Joey's residence next but no one was home. He was at a loss of where to check next seeing as the obvious locations were devoid of the blonde he was seeking.

"Take me home" Kaiba demanded of his driver after their recent fail in locating the missing.

He couldn't help but feel distinctly disappointed even though he did not want to. That's the unfortunate thing about emotions, they are sometimes uncontrollable no matter how much you'd like to. They are always there. Kaiba peered out of the limo window as he thought mindlessly. They were still in the poor side of town seeing as they had to come far out of their way to reach Joeys residence.

The slum blocks passed by like the ever circling carousal horses; generic and bland and as if they were repeating themselves. Down one of the alleys Kaiba saw a man, leaning against the wall with their knees up and face cupped in their hands. Even though the sight of the man only passed by for a moment, Kaiba knew it was a pathetic sight, and it made him think of someone who had hit rock bottom and he only knew of one person who fit that description.

"Stop." Kaiba demanded. He knew it was a long shot but he also knew that it was likely as well.

The limo pulled over.

"I am getting out here" Kaiba declared, not up for debate.

"Yes sir," the limo driver said, not questioning the strange actions after being scolded earlier.

Kaiba had to walk about a block in the direction they came before coming up on the alley. As Kaiba turned down the alley and made it closer to the man it became more evident that his previous hunch was correct. He approached the man without him even lifting his head from his knees.

"Why is it that I always run into you mutt," Kaiba sneered as he peered down at Joey.

Joey lifted his head to see who was addressing him. Kaiba was blasted with the smell of alcohol coming from him as Joey tried to focus on the speaker.

"What do you want?" Joey spoke darkly.

"You're coming with me." Kaiba said blankly.

"No."

"All your loser friends are worried about you, why don't you just cooperate for their sakes."

"I can handle this on my own."

Kaiba knew Joey would be stubborn as always but he had to try, even if it was the most degrading thing he had ever done.

"Please," he started uncomfortably, the word sounding incredibly false coming from Kaiba, "you need help... let me get some for you." it came out awkward but he was amazed he even said it.

"Uhuh, and how are you gunna help me?" Joey said skeptically, he still remained on the pavement.

"I know people who could help you," Kaiba was vague, he thought better than to tell Joey to see a doctor when he knew how Joey felt about doctors.

"I doubt it, just leave me alone … And for good this time."

There was a long pause. Finally Kaiba signed.

"No.. I'm not leaving until you get help."

"What type of help..."

"Well ... we can go to the hospital and they can help you."

"No, go away!" Joey yelled as he finally looked up. "I am not going to a hospital." He firmly said.

"Just talk to someone there, it will help."

Joey said nothing as he slowly stood up while shaking his head. He started walking the opposite way of where Kaiba was down the length of the alley. Kaiba stood still for a moment, contemplating what he should do before running to catch up with Joey. He grabbed his shoulder to stop him. He wasn't going to let Joey just leave. Joey looked appalled as he felt the touch of the other boy on him.

"C'mon, lets go." Kaiba pleaded again.

"No!" Joey said angrily now as he pushed Kaiba away.

Kaiba's patience waned quickly as he grabbed Joey on both sides gave him an angry shake.

"You have to go to the hospital. I can't leave you like this." Kaiba said through gritted teeth.

"No." Joey said again as he ripped himself out of Kaiba's grip and kept walking.

Kaiba watched Joey as he made his way to a park bench nearby and slump himself down. Kaiba did not follow. Instead he pulled out his phone again and called 911.

Joey sat on that bench for what felt like forever but in reality only half an hour passed. He felt a light hand on his shoulder which made him jump. He looked up to see the uniform clad officer.

`Aw shit` he thought. He was a young man, tall with short red hair. His partner was a young female as well who remained silent. Standing farther back with a stern expression stood a much older officer with a thick moustache who looked less than pleased to be supervising the situation.

"Hello sir, are you Joseph Wheeler?"

"No." Joey quickly said.

"Well we received a concerning call about someone who matches your description," the officer remarked.

"Can I see some ID."

Joey let out a sigh, knowing that the student card in his wallet would prove his lie wrong.

"What do you want?" Joey finally said.

"Well we're worried about you, is there anything you'd like to talk to us about?"

"Nope." Joey answered flatly.

The officer remained very kind, which surprised Joey seeing as he was accustomed to police brutality.

"Maybe talking about it would help."

"No."

"You look like you're banged up pretty bad, can you tell us how it happened."

"No"

Joey was stubborn as ever. He was depressed and drugged up and really didn't care. The officer continued anyways, regardless of Joey's lack of cooperation.

"We were informed that you are taking prescription drugs and are in a really bad spot right now, why don't you let us help you." It all sounded familiar to Joey, but he was sick of hearing it.

"What, are you gunna arrest me then?" Joey muttered, thinking of the drugs in his pocket.

"No, we are just here to help you."

"I don't need your help."

"Well we cannot determine whether you do or not if you don't talk to us."

"I have nothing to tell you."

"Well then we have no choice but to take you to the hospital."

"What? Why? I'm fine." Joey suddenly perked up defiantly.

"Well from the phone call we received earlier it sounds like you're not and we can't risk it."

"Please don't take me there." Joey pleaded, his entire demeanour changing at the mention of a hospital.

"I'm sorry but we don't have a choice."

"Can't you arrest me instead?" Joey asked. It's sad when jail is more tempting than the hospital.

"Joseph, I think you are misinterpreting the reason for us being here. I know you have had a few run-ins with the police before but you are not in trouble, we are only here to help."

"I'm not going to any hospital."

"You have to go either way, whether you come willingly or in handcuffs is up to you. And we will need to search you before we go."

Joey sighed as he stood up, as if admitting defeat. The officer's serious face that was always filled with empathy turned into a smile.

"Now that's a good lad." He said as he stepped forward.

Joey pivoted on the spot and dodged the officer's grasp. He ran as fast as his drunken legs would carry him. He knew it was foolish but he also would rather die than go back to a hospital, especially when he knew what they wanted with him. He ran the expanse of the park and down another alley before realizing how exhausted he was. Joey internally wished he didn't drink so much before coming to a stop, putting his hands on his knees while panting hard, coughing up mucous that had built up in his lungs. The police officers ran up behind him.

"Put your hands against the wall please." The officer said sternly, losing patience. Joey complied seeing as he had no other options. The male officer patted Joey up and down. He turned red as the embarrassment sank in from being frisked in public. The officer removed the pill bottle located in his pocket.

"We have to give all medication to the staff at the hospital, they will decide whether to return it or not." Joey had little hopes of getting it back. Even though the bottle did say his name on it, it did contain an assortment of pills and seeing he was being brought in partially because of his addiction.

The officer then took out his pair of handcuffs. Joey was shepherded to the police car, hands behind his back in cuffs. It wasn't the first time he had been in that situation but he decided where he was going faired a worse prognosis.

After the long and unpleasant ride in the police car, they arrived at a hospital in the next town. Joey was confused as to why they did not go to the nearby one that he was in just days ago but was informed that this one specialized in psychiatric care. Joey was admitted to the hospital and was directed to a wing that looked less like a hospital and more like a sanitarium. The receptionist in this ward directed him to room 3 but had to shout.

There was one other patient in this ward who was even less willing than Joey to be there.

"I NEED OUT OF HERE!" she screamed.

"They are going to take my house away if I don't make the payment and I need to make the payment by 9 this morning and so now my house is gone and I'm homeless!" She ranted at the medical staff, begging for her release.

"You need to be seen by a doctor first, but we can't let you leave before then." A male psych worker said calmly, trying to reason with the panicked woman.

The contents of his room consisted of white walls, 3 padded chairs and a small table. It did not look like a hospital room at all. He took a seat in the chair and stared at the wall. He saw a whole punched in on the opposite wall which gave the whole room a depressing feeling. It just made Joey think of all the crazy people that have been here before him and he did not want to think of himself as one of them.

After all the liquor Joey drank, he realised he really had to piss. He left his little room and approached the desk to ask for a restroom but before he could ask he was confronted.

"And why are you here?" the woman he heard screaming earlier snarled. She was young but very frazzled looking. She was sitting outside of her room on a chair so she could have better access to the staff working. She was wearing nothing but a hospital gown. When Joey did not answer her she continued in her nasty mocking tone.

"What, are you here because you're sad? Poor little rich kid is sad. At least you have a home to go home to; I'm homeless and have nothing. You have no right be here."

Then she addressed the workers behind the desk.

"Why does he get to keep his shoes, huh? And his clothes?"

"Because we don't see them as a threat. Please do no harass the other patients here, it will not get you out of here any sooner."

This only served to anger the woman further.

"You people should feel horrible, treating me like an animal. I NEED OUT OF HERE YOU FUCKING NAZIS! THEY ARE GOING TO TAKE AWAY MY HOUSE I NEED OUT OF HERE!"

Joey backed out of the way as the staff ran past him to calm down the woman who worked herself up into a frenzy again. Joey just went back into his room as he heard them put her back into her room and close the door which only somewhat deafened her manic screams. He forgot all about his full bladder, his mind preoccupied with the words that crazy lady said. She was wrong about the rich part, that's for sure but he did have a house to go home to, and friends who care about him. Maybe he didn't deserve to be sad. It reminded him when we was young and his mother would tell him about less fortunate kids whenever he acted selfishly as kids do. Maybe he was being selfish. He could here the woman banging on her now locked door and yelling obscenities to the staff. She was like a caged animal, wild and vicious trying anything to escape. It was depressing to even listen to.

Deep down inside he knew he wanted help but refused to receive it, being as stubborn as he was but now he realized he doesn't even deserve help. Maybe he should just toughen up and deal with it, without resorting to his cowardly methods. His eyes began to fill with tears thinking of this so he looked towards the ceiling as to not let them fall. They made him angry, he hated when his body betrayed him like that. He blamed his weakness on the alcohol he consumed earlier, making his emotions easily provoked. He heard the staff trying to give the woman some Ativan to calm her down but she wouldn't have it. Joey was thinking about how he could go for some right about now, but he felt guilty after thinking so.

Joey heard footsteps and hastily wiped his eyes as the male worker popped in and apologized for the other patient's behaviour. It had been around 10 minutes now and the woman had stopped screaming. Joey assumed that they were successful in administrating some medication since she was left in her room alone. All he could hear was her sobbing and moaning that started out loud but had slowly quieted over time. As Joey sat he started dozing off before falling asleep in his chair. He had no idea how much time had past before he felt himself being tapped on the shoulder. His eyes sprung open and his whole body jolted as he awoke. In front of him was a nurse and a doctor. The nurse was middle aged with bags under her eyes while the doctor was tall with square framed spectacles. He was tall and dressed in dress pants and shirt with a tie. It was a clear indicator that he was not a regular doctor.

"I'm Dr. Andrews, and you must be Joseph," smiled the doctor as he held out his hand to Joey. He ignored it so the doctor continued.

Joey wasn't there long. They had a very similar conversation to the one Joey had with the police officers; very one-sided. It ended with the doctor making Joey promise he wouldn't kill himself and they let him go. It was a complete waste of time, but what else could they do when Joey refused to cooperate. As Joey was leaving, he recalled his medicine bottle. He addressed the nurse working at the front desk of the psych ward.

"I came in with some medication…" Joey trailed off, he knew it was a long shot. The nurse appeared somewhat surprised.

"Oh did you?" She question as she looked behind her and found it on the desk where they kept patients personal effects. She handed it back to him to Joey's greatest shock. They must not have noticed it with Joey's other things so they never thought to check it. Joey figured he was the luckiest person ever. He gave thanks and turned around quickly, planning to get out of there before they changed their mind or thought to question it.

"Mr. Wheeler?" the nurse called after him.

Joey figured the nurse caught her mistake, but was surprised when she continued.

"Since you're such a ways from home a friend of yours was considerate enough to call ahead and ask when you would be ready for pickup, so we let them know you're ready to go. They'll be in the pickup zone about 10 minutes from now."

Joey couldn't mask the surprise from face but was relieved anyways and glad for the ride. It was better than his original plan for getting home which consisted of mostly hitch hiking.

After waiting for the allotted time, Joey grew suspicious. He originally figured that Yugi was getting his grandpa to drive him home or some other friend of his, but he also recalled that no one knew he was here. Well maybe one person did, but that person would be the one who called the cops on him in the first place. The sudden realization caused Joey to explode with shock and anger. Before he could do anything he saw the black sports car roll up. He knew only one person who could afford something like that.

It was Kaiba.

He rolled down his window and addressed Joey.

"Just get in. I'm only going to drive you home which I am sure will be a lot better than walking or whatever god awful way you're planning on getting home."

He was right and Joey was so tired he figured he might as well waste the pricks gas.

The ride to Joey's residence was silent. Kaiba didn't even stop the car before Joey leapt out without a word. He was mortified at receiving help from his enemy but at this point he had bigger problems, like what his dad would say after days of being missing.

Joey opened the front door and entered. Kaiba could see another person in the doorway as well when Joey opened the door. Kaiba assumed it was his father. He could see Joey and his father enter an argument before out of no where he saw Joey crumble to the floor as his father decked him in the face.

A rage flared up instantly inside Kaiba that he could not understand or comprehend, but only act upon. The breaks screeched to a stop and he jumped out of the vehicle, slamming the car door with enough force to echo through the empty, grungy streets. He ran up to the door where Joey lay, grabbed the collar of his fathers shirt and started pounding in his face with an unrelenting force.

"Stop, please STOP!" Joey yelled from the floor. He stood quickly and tried grabbing at Kaiba's jacket with no avail.

Kaiba could not stop. Not even when he felt Joey's father go limp from unconsciousness. Joey's father's face was now masked with the oozing splattered red which matched Kaiba's blood ladened hand.

"Don't ever lay a hand on him again!" Kaiba yelled at the figure he dropped to the floor. This situation reminded him of what occurred a few days ago in his manor when he lost his temper with another Wheeler, which angered him farther.

"Did you hear me?" Kaiba yelled in his deadly tone when Joey's father did not respond. Silence followed.

"I SAID DID YOU HEAR ME!" Kaiba yelled again as he began kicking the fallen body furiously.

When Joey's father still did not respond, Kaiba slowly sank to the floor, covered in blood and began shaking. The fit of rage he just experienced came to a quick halt and was replaced by shock.

Then Kaiba did something he hadn't done since he was a child in the orphanage which was when he decided to abolish all emotions. He wiped his bloodied hands on his jacket and then put his face in his hands. Joey just stood speechless as he watched the boy who had just beaten his father into a bloody pulp heave up and down with uncontrollable sobbing.

Kaiba had finally broken down.

Joey thought he should feel furious because of what Kaiba did to his father, but oddly enough he didn't. He kneeled down next to Kaiba's shaking body and tentatively put a hand on his back. "Hey" Joey whispered.

Seto looked up to see the blond kneeling in front of him.

Before even thinking Kaiba leaned forward and pressed his cold, tear dampened lips against Joey's warm ones.

Authors note: I know I haven't updated in like a year but I plan to keep writing, I just needed a break. So this is my longest chapter ever, just for you.