Jaden's Pov...
Seeing Karen completely helpless and passed out on the soft couch hit Jaden hard. It brought back a feeling he hadn't had since his motherdied—a deep sadness, a need to protect, and a strange sense that he knew this feeling. This sadness made his heart ache, breaking through his usual calm. He glanced at Ken, who just raised an eyebrow, silently asking what was happening. But Jaden knew he couldn't just leave her. Most other people were leaving, and he and Ken were ready to go too.
It was very strange, almost upsetting, to see the same woman who had looked him in the eye with fiery anger earlier that day now so weak and unable to help herself. What could have happened? The question bothered him, and he had no answer. He didn't know what happened next, what feeling took over, but he just found himself walking towards her, bending down. He gently lifted her into his arms. She felt lighter than he thought, a fragile weight.
He carried her through the few people still there. Ken walked ahead, quietly getting a key card for a room from the bartender. Neither Ken nor Jaden fully understood why Jaden was doing this sudden thing, but Ken didn't ask questions. He just opened doors and showed the way.
As Jaden carried Karen down the quiet hallway, he smelled her soft hair, mixed lightly with alcohol. Then, suddenly, his worst fear struck him. His nightmares, clear and chilling, exploded in his mind: the loud screech of tires, breaking glass, and his mother's terrified scream. It was like living it again, in a sickening way. This was new; he never had flashbacks of his nightmares when awake like this. But why had it happened twice today, both times when he was near her?
He kept asking himself this question, holding Karen tighter without realizing. For a moment, he forgot he hadn't even put her on the bed yet and had been holding her for minutes, standing still in the middle of the fancy room Ken had found. Her weight, and the nightmares coming back for no reason, made him very uneasy. He felt a cold fear settle over him. He quickly carried her the rest of the way to the bed, gently laying her down. He pulled the blanket over her, making sure she was on her side, because a small part of his mind remembered how to help someone who was unconscious.
He quickly left the room, leaving the quiet behind. As he walked out, many questions spun in his mind like a wild storm. Why was he feeling this? What did his nightmares, which he usually buried deep, have to do with this strange woman? Why did all of this feel so familiar, like a strong echo from a past he tried so hard to forget?
These thoughts, sharp and painful, made him remember his mother, who had died years ago and left a big, empty space in his life. The Golf House, which had felt peaceful just minutes before, now felt suffocating. All he needed was to drive fast into the night, hoping it would clear his head.
When they got outside, Ken, who always seemed to know what Jaden was feeling, saw the hard look on Jaden's face and the pain in his eyes. Ken didn't ask any questions. He just got into the driver's seat of his car. Jaden got in next to him, staring straight ahead. "Just drive," Jaden said, his voice short and rough. And they drove away from the Golf House, leaving Karen to her deep sleep and Jaden to his troubled memories.