🌙 Chapter 65: Things He Remembered
Jay woke up to the smell of butter burning.
At first she thought the villa was on fire.
Then she heard Keifer swear from downstairs.
"Shit—"
Metal clanged loudly.
Jay stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before groaning into the pillow. The sunlight slipping through the curtains felt warmer today, softer somehow, and the sound of waves outside no longer felt unfamiliar.
That realization alone annoyed her enough to sit up aggressively.
The oversized hoodie she slept in slid slightly off her shoulder while she rubbed sleep from her eyes. Her foot still hurt faintly from yesterday's cut, but not enough to stop her from walking.
Slowly, she made her way downstairs.
The smell got stronger.
Definitely burning.
Jay entered the kitchen and immediately stopped.
Keifer stood near the stove wearing black sweatpants and absolutely no shirt, one hand holding a spatula while the other rubbed his forehead tiredly.
Jay looked away instantly.
Not because she got affected.
Obviously not.
"Why does it smell like suffering in here?"
Keifer glanced back and sighed dramatically in relief. "Good. You're awake."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"The pancakes are fighting back."
Jay walked closer carefully and looked into the pan.
Silence.
Then—
"…Those are charcoal."
"They're slightly overcooked."
"They look cremated."
Keifer looked offended. "I'm trying."
"That's the scary part."
She moved beside him and took the spatula from his hand before he could continue the massacre.
"Move."
"Yes ma'am."
"You sound annoying this morning."
"You slept properly."
Jay paused slightly at that.
Because he was right.
She did.
For the first time in weeks maybe.
And she hated that it happened beside him.
Keifer leaned against the counter quietly while watching her fix the pancakes. The kitchen windows were open, letting cool ocean air move softly through the room.
It felt…
Normal.
Dangerously normal.
Jay hated how quickly people could get used to things.
"You keep staring," she muttered without looking at him.
"You look less tired today."
She flipped the pancake harder than necessary. "You should learn survival instincts."
"That sounded like a threat."
"It was."
A small smile appeared on his face.
Then silence settled between them again.
Not awkward.
Just slow.
Comfortable enough to become terrifying.
Jay focused on the food instead.
Anything except him.
The problem was she could still feel his eyes on her sometimes.
Not in a creepy way.
In a remembering way.
Like he was relearning her all over again.
That made her chest feel strange.
By the time breakfast was done, they ended up sitting across from each other near the balcony doors while waves crashed outside.
Jay took one bite.
Paused.
Then looked at him suspiciously.
"You remembered."
Keifer looked up from his coffee. "What."
"There's no strawberries."
"You hate them."
Silence.
Jay stared down at the plate quietly.
Because she never told most people that.
Everyone assumed she liked strawberries because she liked strawberry milk.
But actual strawberries made her uncomfortable.
Too soft.
Too sour sometimes.
Too unpredictable.
Keifer remembered anyway.
"You also separated the syrup," she noticed quietly.
"You don't like soggy pancakes."
The problem with Keifer was never the grand gestures.
It was things like this.
Tiny details.
The kind people only remembered when they paid attention for a long time.
Jay suddenly lost some of her appetite.
Not because of the food.
Because her chest started feeling too full.
"You're being weird," she muttered.
Keifer blinked once. "By remembering things?"
"By caring too much."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Silence filled the kitchen afterward.
Keifer looked at her quietly for a few seconds.
Then finally:
"I don't know how to care halfway."
Jay looked away immediately.
That answer was too honest.
Too soft.
Too dangerous.
So instead she stood up abruptly and grabbed her plate.
"I'm going outside."
"With the plate?"
"Yes."
"That feels illegal."
"I adapt quickly."
Keifer laughed softly behind her while she escaped toward the balcony.
The ocean stretched endlessly ahead, sunlight reflecting beautifully across the water while warm wind moved through her hair.
This island was ruining her emotionally.
That had to be the explanation.
Because there was no reason her chest should feel this tight just from pancakes.
Jay sat down on the wooden steps outside the villa quietly.
A few minutes later, the balcony door opened behind her.
She didn't turn around.
Keifer sat beside her anyway.
Not too close.
Just enough.
For a while neither spoke.
The island itself filled the silence instead.
Birds somewhere distant.
Waves crashing.
Wind moving through trees.
Then quietly—
"I wasn't lying yesterday."
Jay frowned slightly. "About what."
"London."
Her shoulders stiffened a little.
Keifer noticed.
"I really hated myself after saying those things to you."
Jay stared ahead silently.
"When I said I used you…" he continued quietly, "I wanted to hurt you before you could hurt me first."
That sentence landed heavily inside her chest.
Because she understood it.
Too well.
"You're an idiot," she muttered softly.
"I know."
"You could've just communicated like a normal human being."
"I'm surrounded by Section E. I lost that ability years ago."
That almost made her smile.
Almost.
The wind grew slightly stronger around them.
Jay pulled the sleeves of the hoodie over her hands absentmindedly.
Then paused.
"…This is yours."
Keifer glanced at the hoodie she wore.
"You noticed late."
"I thought it smelled familiar."
"That sounds creepy out of context."
Jay ignored him.
The hoodie smelled faintly like detergent and his cologne. Warm. Familiar.
Safe.
She hated that word.
Safe things disappeared eventually.
Everything did.
Keifer watched her quietly for a moment before speaking again.
"You know what the worst part of London was?"
Jay looked at him briefly.
"What."
"I kept seeing things you'd like."
Her breath caught slightly.
"I'd pass bookstores and think about you," he admitted softly. "Or cafés you would complain about but secretly like anyway."
Jay looked down at her hands.
"I even saw this ugly black jacket once," he continued with a small laugh, "and immediately thought, 'Jay would absolutely wear that.'"
That stupid ache in her chest returned again.
Worse this time.
Because she could picture it too easily.
Him alone in another country.
Still thinking about her.
"I tried hating you there," Keifer admitted quietly. "Didn't work."
Jay swallowed slightly.
Then muttered:
"You talk too much on islands."
"You listen more on islands."
That shut her up immediately.
Keifer smiled faintly to himself afterward.
And for some reason—
Jay didn't run away this time.
.....