Author's POV
The hospital corridor was unusually quiet.
Not peaceful.
Just quiet in the way hospitals became quiet when everyone was waiting for something they were afraid to hear.
Keifer stood outside the private room with his arms folded tightly across his chest.
He hadn't moved from that spot.
Not once.
Percy sat nearby, elbows resting on his knees, staring at the floor.
Alex stood against the wall.
Aries was sitting farther down the corridor while a nurse finished treating the injury near his shoulder.
Angelo hadn't said much at all.
That was what worried everyone.
Angelo was usually the one making jokes.
The one keeping everyone from becoming too serious.
Tonight—
nothing.
His eyes remained fixed on the closed hospital door.
Finally, it opened.
A doctor stepped out.
Everyone immediately stood.
Keifer was the first to speak.
"How is she?"
The doctor looked at all of them before answering.
"Physically, she's stable."
Everyone exhaled slightly.
"But…"
The word immediately brought the tension back.
The doctor continued carefully.
"She's under an extreme amount of mental and emotional strain. Whatever happened tonight appears to have triggered something very deeply rooted."
Keifer's jaw tightened.
"Will she be okay?"
"She's going to need time."
The doctor paused.
"And when she wakes up, don't overwhelm her with questions. Keep the environment calm. She may be confused, withdrawn, or unwilling to speak."
Angelo lowered his eyes.
That last part seemed to hit him differently.
The doctor continued.
"We'll keep monitoring her."
"Can we see her?"
"One or two people at a time."
Keifer nodded.
"Thank you."
The doctor walked away.
Nobody moved for several seconds.
Then Percy looked toward Angelo.
"You knew this could happen."
Angelo didn't answer.
Keifer turned toward him.
"Angelo."
Angelo finally looked up.
His expression was exhausted.
"I knew she had memories buried somewhere."
He swallowed.
"But I didn't know Kyle could pull them back like that."
Nobody replied.
Because none of them had an answer.
Inside the Room
The room was dim.
A small light beside the bed illuminated the quiet space.
Jay lay completely still.
Her eyes were closed.
The machines beside her gave occasional quiet sounds.
Keifer sat beside the bed.
He didn't touch her at first.
He simply watched.
She looked exhausted.
Not the kind of exhaustion that sleep could fix.
Something deeper.
Something that seemed to have settled into every part of her.
He carefully placed his hand on the edge of the mattress.
"Jay…"
Nothing.
He lowered his voice.
"I'm here."
Still nothing.
Minutes passed.
Then—
her fingers moved.
Keifer immediately straightened.
Jay's eyes slowly opened.
She stared at the ceiling.
For a few seconds, she didn't seem to know where she was.
Then everything returned.
The compound.
Kyle.
His voice.
His words.
The fragments.
And suddenly—
she remembered.
Not vaguely.
Not like before.
Enough.
Her mother's hands folding clothes.
The room.
Her father.
Kyle.
That day.
The thing she'd spent years not understanding.
Her breathing changed slightly.
But she didn't panic.
She didn't cry.
She simply stared ahead.
Keifer noticed the change.
"Jay?"
She didn't answer.
He waited.
"Can you hear me?"
Nothing.
Her eyes remained fixed on the ceiling.
Keifer slowly reached for her hand.
She didn't pull away.
But she didn't hold his hand either.
Her fingers simply remained still beneath his.
He looked at her carefully.
"You're at the hospital."
Silence.
"You scared everyone."
Still nothing.
Keifer's voice became softer.
"You don't have to talk."
Jay blinked once.
A tear slowly slipped from the corner of her eye.
She didn't wipe it away.
Another followed.
Still—
she said nothing.
Keifer's heart tightened.
He had seen Jay angry.
He had seen her scared.
He had seen her exhausted.
But this was different.
She wasn't fighting.
She wasn't defending herself.
She wasn't even pretending to be okay.
She was simply sitting inside a memory she had spent years not knowing she carried.
The door opened quietly.
Angelo entered.
His eyes immediately went to Jay.
She turned her head.
Their eyes met.
And Angelo froze.
Because he knew that look.
She remembered.
He walked closer.
"Jay…"
Her lips finally moved.
Her voice was so quiet that Keifer almost didn't hear it.
"Mom."
Angelo's expression changed.
Jay stared at him.
"She took it."
Angelo didn't move.
Keifer looked between them.
"What?"
Jay's eyes filled again.
"She took the blame."
Her voice cracked.
"For me."
Angelo slowly sat down beside the bed.
"Jay…"
She shook her head.
Her tears finally began falling freely.
"I remember."
Those two words broke something in the room.
Keifer tightened his hold around her hand.
Jay stared down at their hands.
"I remember what happened."
Nobody interrupted.
She swallowed hard.
"I remember Kyle being there."
Angelo closed his eyes briefly.
Jay continued.
"I remember what happened after."
Her voice became smaller.
"And Mom…"
She stopped.
Her face crumpled slightly.
"She protected me."
Angelo reached for her hand.
Jay finally let him hold it.
"I was little."
Her voice trembled.
"I was just…"
She couldn't finish.
Keifer leaned slightly closer.
"You were a child."
Jay shook her head.
"But I did it."
Keifer's expression immediately changed.
"Jay."
She looked at him.
Her eyes were filled with guilt.
"I killed him."
The room went silent.
Angelo's eyes filled with tears.
Keifer didn't let go of her hand.
"Jay…"
"I killed my father."
Her voice broke.
"And Mom took the blame because of me."
She looked away.
"I forgot everything."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I forgot she protected me."
Keifer moved closer.
"You were a child."
Jay didn't respond.
"You were a child, Jay."
Still nothing.
He gently squeezed her hand.
"You don't have to carry what happened when you were five like you were an adult."
Jay's lips trembled.
"But she carried it."
Angelo finally spoke.
"She carried it because she loved you."
Jay looked at him.
Angelo's voice broke slightly.
"Not because you deserved punishment."
Jay lowered her eyes.
For years, the missing pieces had protected her from a truth she hadn't even known she was carrying.
Now they were back.
And they hurt.
Not because Kyle had told her something new.
But because he had forced her to remember something she had spent years forgetting.
Keifer remained beside her.
He didn't tell her to stop crying.
Didn't tell her to forget.
Didn't tell her everything would magically become okay.
He simply stayed.
Jay's fingers finally curled weakly around his.
And for the first time since waking—
she held on.
Not tightly.
Just enough to say she didn't want to be alone.
Keifer looked at her.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Jay closed her eyes.
A fresh tear slipped down her cheek.
And this time—
she didn't hide it.