Chapter 3: September 21, 2001

Suddenly Milo opened his eyes and looked around the room. Millions of thoughts ran through his head as he felt a soft, delicate hand take hold of his. Then he looked over and met Nemesis' gaze.

"Why am I at the hospital?"

He asked with a confused tone of voice as he gently squeezed her hand in return.

She gave him a sympathetic look as she continued to hold his hand.

"You fell, and that thick skull of yours broke a big chunk off of the bathroom sink."

A little laugh escaped her lips before she leaned in closer and planted a kiss on his cheek. Then she moved his hand up to his stomach as she laid her head down on his chest.

He smiled at her, then rubbed the stitches on the back of his head.

"Thankfully, it was only a gash and not a concussion."

He let out a little laugh after he spoke, then he looked at her and placed his free hand on her head to stroke her hair.

A smile spread across her lips as she started rubbing his hand that she still had a hold of with her thumb.

"Yeah, Milo."

She said as she contently closed her eyes, then she giggled as a random thought popped into her head.

"Have you ever thought about bleaching your hair out white?"

Her mouth stretched open into a yawn as she rubbed her eyes with her free hand.

He nodded and thought about what she said.

"I might just..."

He paused as he watched her rub her eyes.

"Aww, are you tired?"

He asked as he continued to stroke her hair.

Another yawn escaped her as she nodded.

"Yeah, I stayed here all night with you, Milo."

She said with a smile, then slowly closed her eyes again.

He gave her hand a little squeeze.

"You didn't have to stay with me, Nyx."

Then he sat up as he spoke, which caused her to sit up.

"Sorry, I just needed to stretch."

He said even though the real reason he sat up was that he wanted to see her eyes.

A little grin appeared on her face as she looked into his eyes.

"There's something I want to know, why did you start using Nyx as my nickname?"

She asked as she continued to hold his hand, but with her fingers interlocked with his this time.

He looked into her eyes and smiled.

"Well, A, your name is Nemesis..."

He paused as he reached up and pushed a strand of hair from her face.

"B, Nemesis is the name of a Greek goddess, Nyx was her mother's name, and happens to be quicker to say."

He continued to look into her gorgeous brown eyes, then he let out a little chuckle before winking at her.

She started to blush as he lovingly continued to look at her, then she playfully punched him on the arm before giggling. After a few seconds, she regained her composure.

"I never knew you were so into Greek mythology."

A smile appeared on her face as she moved a little closer to him.

"I like it."

The smile on her face slightly grew as she looked into his hazel-grey eyes, then she thought for a second.

"What's that condition called again that keeps your right pupil permanently dilated?"

Her question lingered for a moment as she patiently waited for his answer.

A smile spread across his face as he looked into her eyes, then answered.

"It's anisocoria."

Then he leaned forward just enough to rest his forehead on hers, which caused her face to fully-redden.

"Do you know how cute you look when you blush?"

The question left his lips as he lifted her right hand, then kissed the back of it.

A bright, beautiful smile reappeared on her face as she looked back into his eyes.

"I lov..."

Before she could finish her sentence, he had his lips pressed against hers in a passionate, loving kiss.

After a few moments, he broke off the kiss when he heard the door open and looked up, then saw Frank, Nemesis' father standing in the doorway. The pissed-off expression on Frank's face made him feel very unsure about her safety.

"Hey Frank, how's it going?"

Milo said as he waved.

"Shut the fuck up, kid."

Frank spoke aggressively then he walked over to them before he combatively grabbed his daughter by the wrist.

"You're coming home with me now."

The words shot out of Frank's mouth like venom as he started to drag her towards the door.

She tried to pull her wrist from out of Frank's grip.

"Ow, Dad, that hurts."

She said before she looked back at Milo with pleading eyes.

Milo jumped out of the bed as Frank dragged her out of the hospital room.

"Frank, let her the fuck go!"

The yell liberated itself from between his lips before he even had time to think about it. Then as he began to run out of the room, his shoulder clipped the frame, hard. He went spinning out of the room, then ended up smacking into the wall on the opposite side of the hall. After he hit the wall, he collapsed to the floor as he felt tears begin to form in his eyes. He watched as Frank and Nemesis disappear, then he got up as a nurse quickly made her way over to him. He then let out a loud sigh as he fought back the tears that continued to form before he waved her off.

"I'm fine."

A tinge of sadness hit his voice as he spoke, then he walked back into the room and laid back down. That's when he felt a few tears as they ran down his cheeks, then he closed his eyes. He abruptly heard Sasha's voice, which made his eyes snap open, then he sat up as he looked around the room.

"Why didn't you go after them, Milo?"

Sasha's voice had a disappointed tone as she asked her question.

"You know what he's going to do to her, don't you?"

The second question rang through his head as she let out a cruel laugh.

"You're worthless, Milo. You couldn't save me, and now you're going to let the same thing happen to Nemesis."

He laid back and closed his eyes.

"Shut, just shut the fuck up, Sasha."

A heavy tone of sadness hit his words as he spoke. He rolled onto his side and went into the fetal position.

"It's not my fault. It's not my fucking fault."

He repeated to himself as he started to cry fully. Then after roughly seventeen more minutes of Sasha's voice tormenting him, he cried himself back to sleep.