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Chapter: Survival. Confession. Accepted.
The sun stretched its golden fingers across the sky, warming the city awake. Birds chirped. Kettles whistled. Someone's burnt toast triggered a smoke alarm. Life was moving—buzzing, alive.
And then, Dee opened her eyes.
At first, everything was... blank. White walls. A beeping sound. The scent of antiseptic. Her head throbbed like she had partied with a hammer.
Then—snap—a rush of memories came crashing in.
The accident. The crash. The blood. So much blood.
A sharp pain struck her temple. She winced.
"So… I'm dead."
That was her first actual thought.
She blinked around. "Okay, this doesn't look like heaven. It looks like—wait, is that... a plastic ceiling fan?"
She tried moving her hand. It felt like lifting a boulder. But then she realized—
Someone was holding it.
She turned her head slowly, painfully.
"Rayyan…?" she whispered.
There he was. Slouched in a chair. Pale. Eyes swollen. Clutching her hand like it was the only thing keeping him from falling apart.
He looked like he hadn't slept in years.
Dee blinked again. "I'm... not dead?"
She turned to her other side—
Ayat was there, asleep, holding her other hand tightly. Her cheek stained with dried tears.
"Wait... are those... tears?"
She looked back at Rayyan. Same tear tracks.
She blinked again. Harder.
"They cried... for me?"
Her voice cracked out loud:
"Am I... really worth those tears?"
Rayyan stirred. His eyes slowly opened. The moment he saw her, he jolted upright.
"Dee?"
She stared. "You cried."
His jaw dropped. "Wait—you're awake?!"
Ayat shot up too. "DEEEEE!!! Oh my God!" she screamed.
Before Dee could say anything, Rayyan hugged her. Tightly. Like a lifeline.
Dee froze. That was unexpected.
And then—Ayat joined. Group hug.
"Okay, okay! I'm alive! You two are acting like I've already been buried," Dee muttered, trying to push them away.
Rayyan pulled back, slightly red. "Don't joke like that, Dee."
"You're like a part of our hearts," Ayat said, sniffing. "We can't live without you."
Dee raised a brow. "Okay, did you rehearse this in a drama club or something?"
"YAAHH! Stop ruining the moment!" Ayat shouted, laughing through her tears.
Rayyan, still dead serious, asked, "Is it funny to almost die?"
"I mean, maybe a little," Dee said with a grin. "Look at your faces."
"We thought we'd lost you," Rayyan said, voice low. "I... I thought I'd never see you again. When I saw you lying there, covered in blood... it felt like—like it wasn't you who was hurting. It was me."
He stopped.
Silence.
Dee blinked. Her heart thumped harder.
She wanted to ask what he meant—but Ayat and the doctor came in.
---
"She's stable now," the doctor said after ten minutes. "Still weak. Give her fruits. Iron. Proteins. And don't let her pretend she's fine. She's not Wonder Woman."
Dee grumbled, "It's just a few scratches."
The doctor gave her the look. "She says that, but the next minute she'll be passed out on the bathroom floor."
Rayyan and Ayat nodded like soldiers receiving orders.
After the doctor left, Dee whispered under her breath, "Who said I want to live anyway..."
But they heard.
Rayyan leaned in, eyes blazing.
"Say that again, and I swear I'll make you regret it—while you're alive."
Ayat clapped. "Yup. That's the spirit."
---
A few hours later, Ayat got a call. "Ugh, my friends. Presentation today. But I'm not leaving you."
"No, you should go," Dee insisted. "I have Rayyan here. If I need anything, he'll help me."
"Help you not die," Rayyan added, serious.
"You better not let her," Ayat threatened, grabbed her bag, kissed Dee's cheek, and left.
---
Now it was just Dee and Rayyan.
Alone.
Silence.
Awkward.
"Rayyan..." Dee started, wanting to ask about what he said earlier, about how it felt like he was the one bleeding...
But then he leaned close, those intense black eyes locked on hers.
Her brain short-circuited.
Nope. No thoughts. Empty. Dead. Flatline.
"I—uh... water. I need... water." She turned her head away quickly.
Rayyan blinked. "Oh. Right." He got up, grabbed the bottle. "Wait, how are you gonna drink it? I'll get a straw."
As soon as he left, Dee buried her face in her pillow.
"What is wrong with me!?"
His words kept replaying:
"It felt like it wasn't you who was hurting—it was me."
Did he mean it?
Does he care... like that?
No! He probably meant... as a friend... or because of Ayat... right?
But her heart wouldn't stop racing.
---
Rayyan returned, gently helped her drink the soup he bought.
"For you," he said. "Doctor said this is safe. No spice."
"You bought soup? For me?" she asked.
"You're surprised?" he raised a brow.
"You take too much care of someone you 'hate.'"
Her words hit him like a slap.
Rayyan stayed silent.
Truth was—he never hated her. He just didn't know how to not feel too much when it came to her.
---
Days passed.
Ayat came mornings and evenings. Rayyan stayed all day and night, no matter how many times they told him to rest.
Dee's heart started shifting.
This was the first time they were this close. The first time he wasn't just the cold, distant Rayyan. He was kind. Gentle. Protective. Real.
But with every caring gesture, she panicked.
What if this is just temporary?
What if he doesn't really feel anything?
What if I fall... and he doesn't catch me?
Meanwhile, Rayyan was thinking the exact opposite.
What if I lose my chance again?
What if she never knows how much she means to me?
---
One night, Ayat left, and it was just the two of them again.
Dee shifted awkwardly. "I... need to go to the bathroom."
Rayyan stood. "I'll help."
"No, I can go alone."
"Go where? You're walking like a noodle."
Dee frowned. "You pervert."
Rayyan looked offended. "I meant I'll help you to the door. Not inside. Jeez, your imagination..."
He helped her up, walked her carefully, and waited outside like a gentleman.
When she came back, he helped her into bed.
"You should sleep," he said.
"I will."
That night, as Rayyan worked from the chair beside her bed, Dee watched him in silence.
He never left.
Not once.
And somewhere in that silence...
Her heart made its decision.
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