Working at the bookstore was a job that Nico could never complain about. It was a cozy building that introverts go to, so Nico liked it so much. Sure, some customers gave her a hard time, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. The store was busy a little today, but it was nothing Nico couldn't handle. After the last customer left, Nico sighed, reached under the counter, grabbed the spray and a towel, and started cleaning the counter.

"Hey Nico," Nico hear her boss call out.

"Yes, Mr. Davis," Nico said, turning to where his voice came from. Mr.Davis pokes his head out from behind one of the bookshelf. Mr. Davis ran and owned the shop; he was a very reasonable boss, and Nico never had a problem.

"Can you do me a favor and grab that box next to the counter and bring it to the back?" Mr. Davis asked. Nico walked to the box lying in front of the counter. She picked it up and placed it on the counter with a heavy thud. Nico opened the box, looked inside, and tilted her head in confusion.

"Books," Nico questioned. Mr. Davis walked out from behind the bookcase and walked up to Nico, adjusting his glasses and looking inside the box.

"Ah, these books have been here for a while, and it is time to recycle the worn and damaged ones." Mr. Davis said.

"Aw, that's a shame," Nico said.

"Well, if you want, you are more than welcome to take a book that catches your interest." Mr. Davis said.

"Are you sure, Mr. Davis?" Nico asked Mr. Davis, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Yea, why not? It is better than having a home for some of them than throwing it in the bin." Mr.Davis said.

"Thank you so much." Nico happily said.

"No problem. Feel free to look after you bring it in the back." Mr. Davis said, walking back to the bookshelf.

"Okay," Nico said.

"Thank you, and when you finish that, you can clock out and be finished for the day." Mr. Davis said before disappearing back into the bookshelves. Nico grabbed the box and, heading to the back room, kicked it open. Nico had no clue where she was going because the box blocked her view, so she took careful steps. The detailed steps didn't help because Nico tripped over another box, causing the box in her arms to fall out. Nico tried to catch herself but didn't have time, and she landed on her wrist, and all the books in the box came out and sprawled out on the floor next to her. Nico moved to her knees and touched her wrist, and flinched. She looked back at the box, opened it, and groaned because it was just more books. Nico sighed and started picking up the books and putting them back into the box. As she was putting the book away, Nico noticed a book off to the side. Nico picked it up, and she started examing the book. This book didn't look like the other books that were donated. This one had a brown leather cover worn out from overuse and a black string holding the book close. Nico unraveled the string holding the book together, opened it, and started to flip through the pages. The pages were filled with writing back to back and some sketches on most of the pages. The more she looked through it, the more she wanted to know where this book came from and who wrote it.  

"Hey, you okay in there, Nico." Mr. Davis said on the other side of the door.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay," Nico said, closing the book back up, wrapping the string back around the book, and throwing the remaining books that were laid out in the ground back in the box. Nico scrambled to her feet and rushed out of the backroom, grabbing her stuff by the door and placing her jacket over her wrist, so Mr. Davis didn't see. At the counter, Mr. Davis counted the money from today's sales, and he noticed Nico walking out of the back room with a book in one hand and her helmet and jacket in the other.

"I see you found a book." Mr. Davis said Nico stopped in her tracks, walked over to the counter, smiled at him, and held the book up higher.

"Sure did, but can I ask where you found this book," Nico asked. Mr. Davis stopped counting the money, looked up, looked at the book, just shrugged, and resumed counting money.

"Don't know, kiddo. I've had this shop throughout the years, a lot of people donate a lot of books, and if I remember everyone who donated a book, we would be here all day." Mr. Davis said.

"I see. Can I ask you something else?" Nico asked Mr. Davis.

"Is it more about this book because I know nothing about it?" Mr. Davis told Nico, and she only shook her head no.

"Do you think I can get this Saturday off, please?" Nico asked, and Mr. Davis stopped counting and thought for a moment. Nico rubbed her arm awkwardly, waiting for his answer, which took longer than usual.

"Yea, I don't see why not. You work hard, so I think you deserve the day off." Mr. Davis said, shrugging his shoulders and resuming counting his money. Nico let out the breath she did know she was holding in.

"Thank you," Nico said.

"No problem. Do you have anything else you want to ask me? " Mr. Davis said, counting his money, putting it back in the draw, and writing down what he counted.

"No, sir," Nico said, and she watched Mr. Davis reach underneath the counter and grab a metal box, open it up and put the money inside.

"Okay, well, I am going to close everything up," Mr. Davis said. The older man tucked the metal box underneath his arm, walked around the counter, and led Nico toward the front door holding it open. Nico stepped outside and turned back around to face Mr. Davis.

"I'll see you next week, Mr. Davis," Nico said.

"See you, Nico, and enjoy the rest of your week." Mr. Davis said.

" I will. Thanks," Nico said before proceeding to her bike. She opened the book one more time and flipped through a couple of pages, trying to find out who this book belonged to. Nico skimmed a couple of pages and couldn't find any clues as to who this belonged to, but she did know one thing this book had a story to tell. Nico walked up to her bike and looked at the book one last time before sliding it into her bag, getting on her bike, and starting to head home. The closer and closer she got to her house, the more excited she got to uncover what this book held. However, little did she know that this book contained dark secrets that should have been hidden and never discovered.

Nico arrived home practically bouncing with excitement at the thought of her reading the book she found at work. Nico pulled into her driveway, cutting her bike off and sliding her helmet off, tucking it underneath her arm before hopping off her bike and adjusting her bag. Nico walked to her front door; she placed her helmet on the ground for a moment shifting her bag in front of her unzipping it, reaching inside, and looking for her keys. While Nico looked for her keys, she began to feel uneasy, like she was being watched. Nico turned her head just enough to look at an empty sidewalk that emitted little light from the flickering street light. The teenager looked down the dimly lit street and saw nothing. Even though Nico didn't see anything, she still had this uncomfortable feeling settling in her chest. Nico turned to her door, reached into her bag one last time, pulled out her key, and shoved it into the lock, unlocking the door and pushing it open. Nico grabbed her helmet from the ground before looking behind her at the still-empty street. Nico huffed, turned back to her door, walked inside her house, and slammed the door close. 

Once Nico was inside the comforts of her own home, she walked toward the window, pulled the curtain back, and glanced outside to ensure no one was out there. She decided to give up after a couple of minutes because fatigue started to set in as she looked out. Nico dropped the curtain, letting it fall back on the window, walked towards the door, reached for the lock, turned it, and heard the click before heading towards her room. Nico pushed her bedroom door open, stepping inside slightly, dragging her feet, and kicking the door close. Nico dropped her bag as she walked towards her bed, plopping down for a second before she hissed in pain, holding her wrist. Nico looked at her wrist and noticed that her wrist was now swollen. Nico huffed, got up from her bed, and walked towards her door, throwing it open and colliding with something solid. Nico looked up and locked her tired eyes with another pair of tired eyes. 

"Dad?" Nico said, blinking and taking a step back. 

"Well, I am the other person that lives here," Greyson said.

"Well, I thought you were working all night," Nico said, taking a step back, still holding her wrist. Greyson looked at his daughter's wrist and squinted before gently grabbing Nico's wrist and examining it.

"What happened? Did you fall off your bike?" Greyson said, concerned, looking at his daughter. Nico closed her eyes and shook her head tiredly before meeting her dad's eyes.

"No, I fell at work. I tripped over a box, falling on my wrist," Nico said. Instead of saying anything, Greyson fell silent and looked at her wrist, giving it some pressure and watching his daughter wince in pain letting go of her wrist. 

"Nico, your wrist is swollen," Greyson said.

"Oh, I was just going to ice it," Nico said, trying to step around her dad but being blocked by him.

"No, we are going to the hospital," Greyson said.

"What, why?" Nico asked.

"Nico, your wrist could be broken," Greyson said, crossing his arms.

"No, dad, it is just bruised," Nico said.

"Nico, who is trained in this?" Greyson said. Nico huffed and rolled her eyes, looking back at her dad crossing her arms and holding back the shooting pain that went through her wrist. 

"Fine, well go. Only to prove you wrong that my wrist is just bruised," Nico said, turning back into her room to grab a jacket. 

"I am never wrong about my patients," Greyson said, stepping to the side and letting his daughter through. Nico huffed and walked out of her room, and Grey only shook his head, closing Nico's bedroom door. 

Nico sat in the hospital room on the hospital bed, waiting for the doctor to get back with her results. After an hour of waiting for the doctor to check her out, Nico finally met with the doctor just for him to look at her wrist and say that she needed an x-ray. Nico started to get more annoyed because she had to wait twenty minutes for a nurse to take her to get an X-ray. After getting an x-ray, the nurse told Nico to sit tight and wait for the doctor to give her the results and then flirt with her dad, but he never got the hint. After the nurse left, Nico started to huff, looking around the room and getting annoyed with the beeping that made Nico slowly lose her mind. 

"Ugh, can this doctor take any longer?" Nico retorted.

"Well, you know he has other patients," Greyson said, looking at his phone.

"Well, I don't know why I need to be here that long for just a sprain," Nico said. Suddenly the door opened, and she locked eyes with the doctor, and he gave her and her dad a small smile. 

"Hey, sorry for the wait. I just had to make sure that what I saw was right," The doctor said.

"It is alright, Danny. So what is going on?" Greyson said.

"Well, it is not a sprain," Danny said. 

"I told you," Nico said to her dad. 

 "Well, it is much worst," Danny said, placing the x-ray on the wall and flicking the light on.

"What am I looking at?" Nico asked, squinting at the x-ray of her wrist.

"Well, I don't know how hard you fell, but you have a small fracture right here," Danny pointed at the fracture on her wrists. "Fortunately, it is not a major fracture, so this will heal fairly soon," Danny said, shrugging his shoulders.

"How soon?" Nico asked. 

"About four weeks," Danny said.

"Four weeks! Absolutely not. Can you take it off after a week?" Nico asked.

"No, Nico, it has to heal properly," Greyson said, and Nico huffed, leaning back on the hospital bed.

"So now what?" Nico asked.

"Well, you are going to get a brace because you just need your wrist stabilized," Greyson said, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, a nurse will be here in a moment to put it on for you. I would ask if you have any questions, but you have the greatest nurse in this hospital," Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck, and Nico suppressed an eye roll.

"Oh, stop it. I am just doing my job," Greyson said. 

"Well, you are amazing at your job," Danny said.

"Should I leave the room and give you some space?" Nico said, arching her eyebrow.

"S- sorry, I will go," Danny said, rushing out the door.

"Nico, that wasn't nice," Greyson said, glaring at Nico.

"What? Dad, he is laying it on thick," Nico said.

"Well, he is new to the hospital and admires me," Greyson said.

 "Mhmm, sure, dad," Nico said. Before Greyson could say anything, a nurse walked in and put Nico in her brace before sending the two home. 

Nico walked into her house feeling drained and slowly started to walk up the stairs. 

"Hey, Nico?" Greyson called out. Nicole stopped halfway up the stairs and turned, and looked at her dad looking at her.

"Yeah, dad?" Nico asked sleepily. Greyson looked at his daughter with a troubled look, but his face changed again, shaking his head and giving her a small smile.

"Nothing, sweetheart, get some sleep. Love you," Greyson said.

"Love you too, dad. Goodnight," Nico said.

"Night," Greyson said, watching his daughter walk up the stairs. Greyson sighed, running a hand down his face. "I'm sorry, I can't do it,"  Greyson thought before heading to his living room. 

Nico opened her door and sluggishly walked to her bed with only sleep on her mind. She landed on her bed with a heavy thud before hugging her pillow, hugging it tightly, letting exhaustion take over, and falling asleep within seconds.