Chapter: When the Past Came Back
(Keifer's POV — Continued)
The house was quieter after that.
Too quiet.
Aries forced everyone to calm down. Keigan and Keiran cleaned the glass from the floor. Ci n stopped joking for once. Yuri barely spoke.
Jay insisted she was fine.
She wasn't.
Her face still looked pale, but she kept pretending like nothing happened. Like fainting in the middle of my living room was normal.
By afternoon, most of them moved to the kitchen to figure out lunch.
Aries was arguing about ordering food.
Ci n was loudly demanding extra fries.
Keigan and Keiran were fighting again.
I was in the hallway, rewrapping my hand because the bleeding had slowed but hadn't completely stopped.
That's when I realized—
Jay wasn't in the living room anymore.
"She went to your room," Keiran said casually when I asked.
I froze.
My room.
No one really goes in there.
It's the quietest part of the house.
The one place that still feels... unfinished.
I didn't think much of it at first.
Until—
A scream.
Sharp.
Terrified.
Not playful.
Not dramatic.
Real.
My entire body went cold.
"Please don't—"
Another scream.
"Stop! Don't beat her— please— stop!"
Everything inside me snapped.
I ran.
I didn't even feel my injured hand slam into the door as I pushed it open.
Jay was in the middle of my room.
But she wasn't there.
Her eyes were wide.
Unfocused.
Breathing erratic.
She grabbed the lamp from my desk and threw it.
It shattered against the wall.
"Jay!"
She didn't react.
"Don't! Please don't hit her!" she screamed again, backing away from something that wasn't there.
My heart dropped.
She wasn't seeing my room.
She was somewhere else.
Somewhere I couldn't see.
She knocked over the chair.
Books fell.
A picture frame crashed to the floor.
"Jay!" I tried again, stepping closer.
"Don't come near me!" she screamed, grabbing whatever was closest — a notebook, a glass, anything — and throwing it blindly.
One of the objects hit my shoulder.
I didn't move.
Her breathing was turning into gasps.
Tears were streaming down her face.
"Please stop… please… I'll be quiet… I won't say anything…"
The words didn't match the room.
They matched something older.
Something worse.
I moved closer slowly.
"Jay. It's me."
She shook her head violently.
"No no no no—"
She pushed the bedside table, sending it crashing sideways.
My room looked like a storm had passed through it.
"Jay, look at me."
Nothing.
She was trapped in whatever memory had grabbed her.
Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
She backed into the wall.
Sliding down slightly.
Still crying.
Still begging someone who wasn't there.
I stepped forward and grabbed her wrists gently.
She fought back immediately.
"No! Don't touch me! Stop!"
"It's me!" I said firmly. "Jay, it's Keifer!"
She struggled harder.
My injured hand throbbed as she pushed against me.
But I didn't let go.
"Jay, listen to my voice."
She wasn't hearing me.
Her eyes were distant.
Terror-filled.
Like she was reliving something.
Something bad.
Something violent.
She clawed at my arm, trying to get away.
"Please don't hurt her— I'll do it instead— just don't—"
Her words cut through me.
Hurt her.
Who?
My grip softened.
I pulled her carefully into my chest despite her resistance.
She hit my shoulder weakly.
"No— no—"
"It's me," I kept repeating. "You're safe."
Her body was shaking violently now.
Her breathing too fast.
Too shallow.
"Jay," I said more urgently. "You're here. My house. My room."
Her hands slowed slightly.
Just slightly.
But her eyes were still unfocused.
"Look at me," I demanded gently, lifting her chin.
For one second—
Her eyes flickered.
Then rolled back.
Her body went limp.
"Jay."
No response.
She collapsed in my arms.
I caught her before she hit the floor.
"Jay."
Nothing.
Her breathing was there.
But she didn't wake up.
Aries and the others rushed in after hearing the noise.
"What happened?!" Keigan shouted.
Aries took one look at the destroyed room and then at Jay unconscious in my arms.
His expression changed instantly.
"Move," he said calmly.
I laid her carefully on my bed.
"She wasn't here," I said quietly.
Aries nodded slightly.
"She had an episode."
Yuri looked horrified.
Ci n didn't say a word.
Keiran stepped back slowly.
I sat beside her.
My injured hand forgotten.
My room destroyed.
None of it mattered.
She didn't wake up.
Five minutes passed.
Ten.
Twenty.
She didn't move.
Her face was calm now.
Too calm.
The crying gone.
The fear gone.
Like her body had just shut down.
Aries checked her pulse.
"She's exhausted," he said softly. "Shock."
I stared at her.
An hour.
That's how long she stayed like that.
An entire hour.
I didn't leave the room.
The others stayed outside.
No one joked.
No one spoke loudly.
The house felt different.
Heavy.
I kept watching her breathing.
Counting it.
Making sure it didn't stop.
And for the first time since I've known her—
I felt helpless.
Because this wasn't something I could fight.
Not something I could punch.
Not something I could threaten away.
It was inside her.
And I didn't know how long it had been there.
After almost an hour—
She stirred.
Her fingers twitched slightly.
My body straightened instantly.
"Jay."
Her eyelids fluttered slowly.
Confused.
Disoriented.
She blinked at the ceiling.
Then turned her head slightly.
Her eyes met mine.
She looked lost for a second.
Then awareness hit.
She sat up too fast.
"What—"
"Slow," I said firmly.
She looked around.
My broken lamp.
The fallen table.
Scattered books.
And then her face changed.
"I did this?"
I didn't answer.
Her breathing started shaking again.
"I— I'm sorry— I didn't mean—"
"It's fine."
"No, I—"
"It's fine," I repeated more firmly.
She looked at my bandaged hand.
Then at the destruction.
Then back at me.
Her voice dropped.
"Did I hurt you?"
"No."
She studied my face carefully.
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
She swallowed.
"Did I say anything?"
I hesitated.
Yes.
She did.
But I wasn't going to repeat it in front of everyone.
"You were scared," I said instead.
Her eyes darkened slightly.
Like she understood what that meant.
Like she knew exactly what memory had dragged her under.
Silence filled the room.
I leaned forward slightly.
"You're safe here."
She looked at me for a long moment.
Then nodded slowly.
But I could still see it.
That shadow.
That fear.
And I realized something quietly in that moment—
I broke a glass because someone said they loved her.
But whatever broke inside her long ago?
That was far worse.
And I didn't know how to fix it.
But I knew one thing.
If anything from her past ever came near her again—
It wouldn't survive it.