(Keifer's POV)
aries told she is not home yet. and that make worried
The call ended, but I didn't move immediately.
For a second, I just stood there, phone still in my hand, staring at nothing.
No clues.
Nothing.
That didn't happen.
Not to her.
Not like this.
I grabbed my keys without thinking twice and walked out, not even bothering to turn the lights off. The house felt wrong already—too quiet, too empty.
She had just been here.
And now—nothing.
The drive didn't feel real.
I don't remember half the turns I took. I just know I didn't stop. Didn't slow down. Didn't think about anything except one thing—
Where did she go?
By the time I reached Aries' place, he was already outside.
Waiting.
The moment I stepped out, he looked at me like he already knew I had nothing.
"You didn't find anything," he said.
Not a question.
"No."
He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Same here."
"Cameras?" I asked.
"Checked. She avoided most of them. The ones that caught something—" he paused, frustrated, "—too blurry. No direction."
Of course.
"She planned this," I muttered.
Aries looked at me. "Or she just didn't want to be found."
Same thing.
I leaned against the car for a second, my jaw tightening. "She was already hurt."
"I know," he said quietly.
"No, you don't," I replied, shaking my head. "She wasn't okay when she left. I saw it."
That made him go still.
"…then why didn't you stop her?"
I didn't answer immediately.
Because there was no good answer.
"I thought she'd come back," I said finally.
Aries let out a dry breath. "Yeah. Me too."
Silence settled again.
Heavier now.
"She's not answering?" he asked.
"No."
"Phone?"
"Off."
"…that's not normal."
"I know."
Another pause.
Then Aries looked away for a second, thinking, before speaking again—slower this time.
"If she didn't come here… and she didn't stay near you…"
"She's somewhere she thinks we won't reach," I finished.
That didn't sit right.
Not at all.
Aries nodded slightly, his expression tightening. "And if she's hurt like you said…"
I pushed away from the car immediately.
"I'm not waiting."
"You don't have anything to go on," he pointed out.
"I don't need it."
"That's not how this works."
I looked at him.
"She doesn't get to disappear."
Aries held my gaze for a second, then exhaled slowly.
"…then we find her," he said.
Not calm.
Not confident.
Just decided.
And for the first time since she walked out—
there was at least something.
Not a clue.
Not a lead.
But a direction.
Find her.
(Author's POV)
It came back slowly.
Not the pain—
that was already there.
The place.
Jay's eyes opened again, clearer this time, her breathing steadier but still careful, like even that needed effort. For a moment, she just stared at the ceiling.
Then her gaze shifted.
The walls.
The corners.
The way the light fell through the window.
Familiar.
Not just familiar—
known.
Her brows pulled together slightly as recognition settled in properly this time. Not confusion. Not doubt.
Memory.
She knew this place.
Not from yesterday.
Not from passing by.
From living here.
Two years.
Her fingers tightened slightly over the bedsheet as the realization settled deeper. The quiet wasn't new. The controlled space, the stillness, the absence of unnecessary noise—
It all made sense.
"This house…"
The words didn't fully come out.
Didn't need to.
Her throat felt dry, her body still heavy, but her mind—
her mind was catching up too fast now.
She shifted slightly, slower this time, more careful. The pain in her abdomen reminded her immediately not to push it. Her hand moved to her stomach again, feeling the bandage—properly secured now.
Someone had fixed it.
Of course they did.
A quiet breath left her as she leaned back again, her head resting against the pillow.
"They found me…"
Not a question.
A fact.
Her eyes closed for a second.
Not because she was tired—
but because she knew exactly what this meant.
She hadn't just run into them.
They had been watching.
That thought didn't scare her.
Didn't surprise her.
It just made everything… heavier.
Because if they had found her—
then everything she had been trying to keep separate
was already starting to overlap again.
Her eyes opened once more, this time sharper.
More aware.
More controlled.
The door was still closed.
But she could feel it—
that presence.
Not hidden.
Not distant.
Right outside.
Waiting.
Her fingers curled slightly into the sheet as she stared at the door.
She didn't call them.
Didn't ask anything.
Didn't move to get up.
Because she already knew—
this wasn't going to be a quiet conversation.
And for the first time since she woke up—
something in her expression shifted.
Not fear.
Not weakness.
Control.