Keifer's POV
The pain hit fast. A sharp burn in my shoulder — deep, hot, and cruel.
I gasped, stumbling back as my knees gave in. My fingers pressed against the wound, but all I felt was warmth — thick, sticky warmth. Blood.
My father's laugh echoed in my head. Cold. Mocking. "Still weak, boy… just like your mother."
My vision blurred, but then I heard it — voices calling my name.
"Keif!"
"Wake up, man!"
"Open your eyes, bro!"
Everything sounded far away — like I was underwater. Then I heard one voice that pulled me back to life.
"Jayjay…" Yuri's voice, panicked. "She's—she's losing it!"
My heart jumped. I forced my eyes open, every breath like fire.
I turned my head — and there she was. Jayjay… her eyes wide, her body trembling as she stared at her own hands.
Blood. My blood.
She froze, her breathing rapid, her face pale as the color drained from it.
Not again… please not again.
I tried to move — the pain stabbed through me like lightning.
But I couldn't just lie there.
I pushed myself up, every part of me screaming.
"Stay down, Keif!" David yelled, running toward me.
"I can't," I rasped, clutching my shoulder. "She—she needs me…"
Yuri and David came to my side, each grabbing an arm.
"Help me get up," I ordered. "When I pull her away, get me a handkerchief—or water, anything to clean the blood off her."
They nodded, eyes wide but trusting me.
Jayjay was fighting my father now. She wasn't herself — her movements sharp, furious, almost desperate.
"Jay!" I shouted, voice cracking. "Jay, it's me! Stop!"
But she didn't hear me. Her world was gone — she was trapped in the past.
The Section E boys rushed in, surrounding my father, trying to restrain him.
Blaster and Felix pinned him down, while Calix and Rory blocked his escape.
"Keifer, don't!" Yuri warned.
But I was already moving — step by step, dizzy, bleeding, but focused only on her.
She swung, barely missing one of the boys, her breaths ragged and uneven.
"Jay!" I shouted again, getting closer.
Adrian rushed beside me, pulling off his hoodie and throwing it over my shoulder to slow the bleeding. "Cover it," he muttered. "Don't let her see more blood."
I nodded weakly. "Good thinking."
"Now!" I shouted to Yuri.
He grabbed a bottle of water from the car and poured it over Jayjay's trembling hands as Ciel handed him a cloth.
Jayjay flinched at the touch of the cold water, her breathing catching.
Her body tensed, then slowly—very slowly—her eyes began to focus again.
I reached her, trembling, my hand cupping her face.
"Jay," I whispered softly. "It's okay… it's me. You're safe now."
Her gaze flickered, confusion and fear fading into recognition.
"Keif…?" she whispered, her voice breaking.
"Yeah, I'm here," I said, trying to smile through the pain. "I'm not going anywhere."
Her body relaxed, the fight draining out of her. Then, before I could react—
She collapsed into my arms.
"Jayjay!" I caught her just in time, her head resting against my chest.
Everything went silent — even my father's laugh faded.
All I could hear was her breathing… faint but steady.
I held her tighter, ignoring the pain, ignoring the blood.
"She's safe," I whispered, mostly to myself. "She's safe now."
Adrian knelt beside me, his hand gripping my shoulder.
"Let's get out of here," he said quietly. "You've both done enough tonight."
I nodded, looking down at Jayjay one last time before the darkness around me thickened again.
And as I finally closed my eyes, I could still feel her heartbeat against mine.