JAY'S POV —
The first thing I felt was pain.
Not sharp.
Not sudden.
Heavy. Everywhere. Like my body had been dragged back into itself against its will.
Then came sound.
Beeping. Low voices. Fabric shifting.
I opened my eyes.
White ceiling. Hospital lights. Too bright.
For half a second, I didn't remember anything.
Then I turned my head.
And saw them.
Everyone.
My mother sat right beside my bed, eyes swollen, hand hovering inches away from mine like she was afraid I'd disappear again.
On the other side stood Percy—alive, real—his face tight with something like fear and guilt braided together. Section E filled the room awkwardly.
Yuri near the window. Cin pale. Aries stiff, arms crossed. Angelo at the back, unreadable.
Tita Gema and my lola near the corner, whispering prayers under their breath.
The air felt thick.
Trapped.
A doctor noticed I was awake and stepped forward with a clipboard.
"You're very lucky," he said lightly, like luck had anything to do with it. "A few inches more and—well. You've got a concussion, fractured ribs, internal bruising. But you'll recover."
Lucky.
I stared at the ceiling and let out a hollow laugh.
"Haha," I whispered.
The doctor blinked, uncomfortable. "We'll let you rest," he muttered, backing out.
The door clicked shut.
Silence.
Then my mother touched my hand.
I jerked away instantly, like her skin burned.
"Don't," I snapped.
She flinched.
"Jay—" her voice broke. "Please. I thought I lost you."
Something inside me screamed.
I turned my head sharply toward Percy.
"Get them out," I said. My voice was hoarse but clear. "All of them."
Percy hesitated. "Jay—"
"NOW," I yelled.
My mom stood up quickly. "Jay, listen to me—"
I saw red.
My hand shot out and grabbed the metal tray beside me—the one holding gauze and instruments—and before anyone could react, I hurled it at her.
It crashed against the wall inches from her head.
"GET OUT OF THE ROOM!" I screamed.
Everyone froze.
My chest heaved painfully, but I didn't stop.
I grabbed whatever I could reach—pill cup, clipboard, water bottle—and threw it, sobbing now, screams tearing out of me like I was being ripped open.
"GET OUT! ALL OF YOU! I SAID GET OUT!"
"Jay!" Tita Gema cried.
"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" I sobbed. "YOU DON'T GET TO STAND HERE—YOU DON'T GET TO TOUCH ME—YOU DON'T GET TO PRETEND YOU CARE NOW!"
My mother tried to step forward again.
I screamed so loud my throat burned.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
The room erupted into chaos—people scrambling back, nurses shouting, someone calling my name over and over—but Percy moved fast.
He stepped between me and everyone else.
"Out," he said, voice sharp and commanding. "All of you. Now."
No one argued.
Not Angelo.
Not Aries.
Not even my mother.
One by one, they filed out—stunned, shaken, silent.
My mom lingered at the door.
I looked at her with wet, broken eyes and whispered, "You already lost me."
She broke down.
The door closed.
The room finally went quiet.
I collapsed.
The moment the last footstep faded, everything I was holding back crushed me.
I sobbed.
Ugly. Loud. Uncontrolled.
Percy rushed to my side and pulled me gently into his arms, careful of my injuries, holding me like I was something fragile and precious and already broken.
I clutched his shirt and cried into his chest.
"I can't—" I gasped. "I can't do this. It hurts. Everything hurts."
"I know," he whispered, pressing his cheek to my hair. "I've got you. I'm here. I'm not leaving. I swear."
My hands shook violently.
"I trusted them," I sobbed. "I trusted them all."
"I know," he said again, voice thick. "I know."
I cried until my body gave up.
Until my chest stopped fighting.
Until the world shrank to just his arms around me and the sound of his breathing keeping me grounded.
And for the first time since everything broke—
I wasn't alone.
PERCY'S POV —
Jay spiraled fast.
One moment she was clinging to me like the world was slipping out from under her feet—breath stuttering, fingers digging into my shirt—and the next, her body started shaking like it couldn't hold the weight of her own heart.
"Jay," I said, low and steady. "Look at me. Breathe with me."
She tried.
God, she tried.
But panic doesn't care about effort.
Her breaths came sharp and shallow, eyes unfocused, lips trembling as tears soaked into my shoulder.
"I can't—Percy—please—" she gasped.
I raised my voice just enough. "Doctor!"
They came quickly. Too quickly—like this wasn't new to them. Like they'd seen this kind of breaking before.
The sedative was gentle, they said. Necessary.
I held her hand while they administered it, feeling the fight slowly drain out of her fingers. Her eyelids fluttered, lashes wet, breath evening out into something closer to sleep than peace.
Before she slipped under, she murmured, barely audible—
"Don't let them… hurt me again."
My throat closed.
"I won't," I promised. "I swear."
The doctor pulled me aside once she was stable.
"She needs to stay away from stress," he said firmly. "What she went through was traumatic—emotionally and physically. Continued exposure to triggers could push her into severe depression. Panic disorders. Self-destructive patterns."
He paused, looking me straight in the eye.
"She's vulnerable right now. Dangerously so."
I nodded once. "She won't be here long."
The doctor studied me for a moment, then sighed. "Make sure of it."
When he left, the room felt too quiet.
Jay lay asleep, sedated, lashes resting softly against bruised skin. Tubes, wires, machines—things she never should've known this young.
I sat beside her and brushed my thumb gently over her knuckles.
"My baby sister," I whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner."
Guilt pressed heavy on my chest—years of it.Every thing she had to endure here without being able to express it, Every night she cried and I wasn't there to hear it.
"But I'm here now," I said quietly. "And I won't let anyone touch you again."
I leaned closer, voice ironed flat with resolve.
"I'm taking you away from this place. From all of them."
I stood and walked out of the room.
That's when I saw him.
David.
Leaning near the end of the hallway, pretending to scroll on his phone like he hadn't been stationed there on purpose. Section E's quiet one. Jay's so-called best friend.
The one who'd been helping me protect her without anyone knowing.
"Percy," he said, straightening. "She okay?"
"She's sedated," I replied. "I'm taking her out of the country tonight."
David's expression tightened. "You can't. Angelo's her legal guardian remember!?"
"only for a few more hours," I said coolly.
He frowned. "What?"
"Our father is landing in a few hours," I said. "Papers are ready. Legal team's already moving. Once he's here, Angelo has no say this time."
David exhaled slowly. "You're serious."
"I've never been more serious about anything in my life."
He hesitated, then nodded. "I'll keep watch. But Percy… if anyone from her family or Section E comes—"
"Update me immediately," I finished.
He nodded again, then swallowed.
"One thing," he said. "Can I… can I see her before she leaves?"
I looked at him carefully.
David had played his role too well. Jay thought he was just another betrayer. Another name on the list of people who failed her.
"I'll let her know," I said. "If she wants to."
Relief flickered across his face. "Thank you."
As I turned away, my phone buzzed.
Dad:
Papers are ready. Legal team prepared. Jay is coming back to her home this time..
Take care of her.. I'll be there soon...
I stared at the screen for a long moment.
Then I looked back toward Jay's room.
"This ends now," I murmured.
I slipped the phone into my pocket and headed back to her side.
Because this time—
I was not leaving her behind...