Jay's POV
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
That was the first thing I heard.
Not voices.
Not pain.
Just that steady, mechanical heartbeat beside me.
For a second, I thought I was still dreaming.
My body felt… heavy. Like gravity had doubled overnight.
I tried to move my fingers.
They moved.
Good sign.
I opened my eyes slowly.
White ceiling.
Hospital lights.
The smell hit next. Clean. Sharp. Antiseptic.
I blinked again, trying to focus.
And then I saw them.
Keifer.
Slumped forward in a chair beside my bed, arms crossed on the mattress, head resting on them.
Yuri on the couch near the window, neck bent awkwardly.
Endrix sitting on the floor against the wall.
Felix and Rory squeezed into two small chairs.
Eman, Kit, Mayo, Blaster scattered around like exhausted soldiers after war.
Section E.
All asleep.
Bandages wrapped around foreheads.
Bruises lining jaws.
Cuts on arms.
Neck scratches.
They looked like they'd fought the world.
And maybe we had.
I swallowed.
My throat felt dry.
That small movement was enough.
Keifer stirred.
His head lifted slowly.
His eyes blinked open.
And when they focused on me—
Everything in his face changed.
"Jay?"
His voice cracked.
That was enough to wake the others.
Chairs scraped.
"Is she awake?"
"Jay?"
"Hey—"
The room filled instantly.
I tried to sit up.
Pain shot through my side.
"Easy," Keifer said quickly, helping adjust the pillow behind me.
I looked down.
My left arm was fully bandaged.
There were smaller bandages on my shoulder.
A bruise wrapped across my collarbone.
My legs felt sore too.
"You slept for a whole day," Yuri said softly.
"A day?" My voice sounded hoarse.
"Twenty six hours," Felix added.
I blinked slowly.
I remembered the explosion.
The flash.
The ringing.
"Sienna," I whispered.
The room went quiet.
Keifer's jaw tightened.
Luke walked in just then, wearing a white coat instead of his usual clothes.
Doctor Luke now.
He paused when he saw me awake.
"Well," he said calmly, stepping closer, "finally decided to return?"
I managed a small smile.
He checked my pulse.
Looked into my eyes with a small flashlight.
"Concussion," he said. "Minor internal bruising. Your left arm is strained again. You reopened part of the fracture when you grabbed her."
I closed my eyes briefly.
"She didn't make it, did she?"
Silence answered first.
Then Luke spoke.
"No."
The word landed gently.
But it still hurt.
"She was too close to the blast," he added quietly.
I nodded slowly.
No tears came.
I didn't know if I had any left.
A knock sounded.
Before anyone could answer, the door opened.
Aries walked in first.
Then Percy.
Then—
My mom.
My dad.
Angelo.
Aunty Gemma.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
My mom rushed to my side instantly.
"Jay," she breathed, holding my face carefully. "Do you know how scared we were?"
"I'm okay," I whispered.
Angelo crossed his arms.
"I allowed you to stay for one week," he said sharply. "One week. And we meet again in a hospital?"
No one spoke.
His voice wasn't angry.
It was shaken.
"You think this is funny?" he continued. "Do you know what kind of call I received?"
"Angelo," Aunty Gemma said softly.
"No," he said, looking at me. "You risk your life like this again and I will personally drag you back home."
I gave a small tired smile.
"Yes, sir."
That only made him sigh harder.
My dad stepped forward next.
He didn't scold.
He just squeezed my shoulder carefully.
"You scared us," he said quietly.
"I'm sorry."
Aries leaned against the wall.
"You always do too much," he muttered, but his eyes were red.
Percy nodded. "We heard you grabbed her hand."
I looked down at my bandaged arm.
"She didn't want to live," I said softly.
Keifer spoke from beside me.
"But you did."
The room grew quiet again.
"Police took statements," Yuri said after a moment. "Everything is handled."
"Sienna left something," Felix added carefully. "A recording. About her property."
I shook my head immediately.
"No."
Keifer looked at me.
"We're not touching it," he said firmly. "None of us want it."
Luke adjusted my IV slightly.
"You need rest," he said in his calm doctor voice. "No dramatic discussions for now."
Eman gave a small laugh. "Too late for that."
Everyone's bruises were more visible now in the daylight.
Keifer had stitches near his eyebrow.
Yuri's lip was split.
Endrix's knuckles were wrapped.
We all looked like survivors of something we would never fully explain to others.
I looked at them one by one.
"You stayed?" I asked softly.
"For twenty six hours," Rory said.
"We rotated bathroom breaks," Kit added.
Blaster nodded. "No one left."
My chest felt tight again.
But this time, not from fear.
From something warmer.
"You're all idiots," I whispered.
Keifer smiled faintly. "Yeah. But we're your idiots."
My mom wiped her eyes quietly.
Luke stepped back toward the door.
"She needs proper sleep now. Visiting hours are not a group party."
"Doctor," Yuri said dryly, "you slept on that couch."
Luke ignored him.
One by one, they moved back slightly.
But no one left.
Not really.
I leaned back against the pillow.
The beeping machine steady beside me.
The room full.
Alive.
Sienna was gone.
The cliff was quiet now.
The explosion was over.
But we were still here.
And somehow…
That felt like the beginning of something new.
End of Chapter.