Author's POV
Morning came slowly.
The hospital room was filled with pale sunlight.
Everything outside seemed normal.
Cars moved through the streets.
People walked through the hospital corridors.
Nurses spoke quietly.
But inside Jay's room—
nothing felt normal.
Jay had been awake for hours.
She hadn't said a single word.
Not to Keifer.
Not to Angelo.
Not to Percy.
Not to Alex.
Not even to Aries.
She simply lay against the pillows, staring somewhere beyond the window.
And the tears never stopped.
They weren't loud.
There were no sobs.
No dramatic breakdown.
Just tears.
One after another.
Quietly slipping down her face.
Keifer sat beside her.
He had barely moved since waking up.
Every once in a while, he would quietly offer her water.
Jay wouldn't respond.
He would leave it beside her.
A few minutes later, he'd ask again.
Nothing.
Eventually, he stopped asking.
He simply stayed.
Angelo stood near the window.
His arms were folded, but his expression was completely different from usual.
He had tried talking to her earlier.
"Jay…"
She had only turned her face away.
That was enough.
He hadn't tried again.
Because he knew her.
If Jay didn't want to speak—
forcing her wouldn't make her speak.
It would only make her retreat further.
Percy entered quietly.
He looked toward her.
"How's she doing?"
Keifer didn't answer immediately.
He looked at Jay.
"She hasn't spoken."
Percy nodded.
His eyes softened.
"Okay."
He pulled a chair closer but didn't sit too near her.
Nobody crowded her.
Nobody demanded answers.
Nobody said:
You need to talk.
They simply stayed.
Jay continued staring toward the window.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
Then another.
Her fingers slowly curled into the blanket.
Keifer noticed.
He reached toward her hand but stopped halfway.
He didn't want to assume she wanted to be touched.
After a moment, Jay's fingers moved slightly toward him.
That was enough.
Keifer gently took her hand.
He didn't say anything.
Jay didn't look at him.
But she didn't pull away either.
Hours passed.
The room changed as people came and went.
Aries had been treated and was resting in another room.
Alex checked on Jay several times.
Angelo stayed nearby.
Percy brought food.
Jay didn't touch it.
Nobody forced her.
The tears continued.
At one point, Alex quietly placed a cup of water on the table.
"Whenever you want."
Jay didn't answer.
Alex nodded and walked away.
The silence returned.
Keifer looked at her.
"You don't have to talk."
Jay's eyes remained fixed on the window.
"You don't have to explain anything."
Still nothing.
"I'll sit here anyway."
Her lips trembled slightly.
But she still didn't speak.
Keifer gently squeezed her hand.
And that was all.
Later that afternoon, Angelo returned.
He stood beside the bed for several seconds.
He wanted to say so much.
About her mother.
About the past.
About the little girl he remembered.
But looking at Jay now—
he couldn't bring himself to put another burden on her.
So instead, he quietly pulled the chair closer.
Jay glanced at him.
Her eyes were red from crying.
Angelo gave her a small smile.
"You don't have to say anything."
Jay looked away again.
A tear fell.
Angelo lowered his eyes.
"I'll understand."
He stayed beside her.
Brother.
Not interrogator.
Not protector trying to solve everything.
Just her brother.
Evening arrived.
The room became darker.
The lights outside the window slowly appeared across the city.
Keifer was still there.
Jay was still quiet.
Still crying.
But eventually—
the exhaustion finally became stronger than the memories.
Her eyelids grew heavy.
Her breathing slowly settled.
Her fingers remained loosely wrapped around Keifer's hand.
She tried to stay awake.
She failed.
Her eyes finally closed.
The tears stopped only because sleep had finally taken over.
Keifer looked at her for a long moment.
He carefully pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders.
Angelo stood near the doorway.
Nobody spoke.
Because they all understood.
Jay wasn't refusing them because she didn't love them.
She wasn't angry.
She wasn't pushing them away.
She simply had no words left.
So they would wait.
As long as she needed.
And for the first time since the night everything came back—
Jay finally slept.
Jay's POV
I stared at the ceiling.
Everyone had been so kind to me.
Too kind.
And somehow, that made everything hurt more.
How was I supposed to look at them now?
How was I supposed to sit with my team like nothing had changed?
How was I supposed to look at Keif?
At Angelo?
At Aries?
At Percy?
My throat tightened.
They thought they knew me.
But now I knew what I had done.
I was a murderer.
I killed my father.
And Mom—
Mom took the blame for her own daughter.
She carried something that should never have belonged to her.
All these years, she had protected me from the truth.
And I couldn't even remember it.
A tear slipped toward my ear.
I turned my face toward the window.
How am I supposed to face them now?
I didn't know.
For the first time in my life—
I was afraid of looking at the people I loved.