Chapter 14 — Chains of the Past
The tension from the pregnancy-test fiasco hadn't cooled. If anything, it left Jay and Keifer at each other's throats even more.
They argued over the smallest things in class.
They bickered over group work.
They couldn't pass each other in the hallway without some kind of jab.
And yet — when they walked side by side, when Keifer snatched her bag before it slipped off her shoulder, when Jay muttered something only he caught — they still looked too much like a couple for Section E's liking.
The Trap
It started on a Friday evening. Jay and Alys were leaving the library, laughing about something dumb. The street was quieter than usual. Too quiet.
The black van rolled up before they noticed.
The sliding door yanked open. Ram stepped out, smile cold and familiar.
"Well, well. Thought you'd gotten away from me for good, princess?"
Alys froze. Jay's entire body locked. Memories slammed into her — dark rooms, locked doors, the smell of gasoline and rope.
"No," she whispered.
Hands grabbed them before they could run.
The Warehouse
They woke tied to chairs, wrists raw from the rope. A single bulb swung overhead, throwing long shadows.
Alys struggled, glaring. "You seriously think this is going to keep us here?"
Ram chuckled. "It's not about keeping you. It's about drawing them out."
Jay didn't hear the rest. Her pulse was hammering too loud, drowning everything. The ropes around her wrists weren't just ropes anymore — they were shackles, chains, ghosts of a past she tried so hard to bury.
She was back there. Back in that moment.
Rescue
The doors burst open with a crash. Section E stormed in — Keifer at the front, eyes blazing.
"Let them go!"
Ram smirked. "Or what?"
The boys didn't wait for an answer. The fight was fast, brutal. Jay barely registered it — her chest was too tight, breath stuck somewhere between a scream and a sob.
Keifer was suddenly there, kneeling in front of her, cutting the ropes. His hands shook.
"Jay. Look at me."
Her vision blurred. The smell of gasoline was everywhere. She couldn't breathe.
"Jay, it's me." His voice cracked, sharp with desperation. "It's Keifer. You're safe. Just leave, I'll handle it—"
She shook her head violently, tears spilling. "No. I won't leave you."
Something in his expression shattered.
Collapse
By the time the last of Ram's men hit the floor, Jay was trembling uncontrollably, nails digging into her palms hard enough to bleed.
"Jay!" Keifer caught her just as her knees gave out. She clung to him like he was the only solid thing in the room.
"I can't—" her voice broke. "I can't breathe—"
He held her tighter, whispering words he didn't even realize he knew. "You're okay. I've got you. I'm not going anywhere."
Alys, scraped and bruised but still standing, stumbled toward them. Drake immediately pulled her close, his quiet presence a shield. She didn't push him away.
The Hospital
The flashing lights, the blur of sirens — Jay barely remembered how she got there. By the time they reached the hospital, she'd passed out in Keifer's arms.
When she woke, the room was too white, too clean. Angelo and Aries were at the foot of the bed, faces carved from fury and worry.
"What were you thinking?" Angelo demanded. "Running off like that, getting yourself kidnapped—again?"
Jay opened her mouth, but the words wouldn't come. The shame pressed down harder than the pain.
Aries's voice was harsher. "You don't understand what you're putting us through. This recklessness—"
Keifer shifted in his chair, jaw tight. For once, he didn't have a sarcastic word ready. He just looked at Jay like he wished he could carry the weight for her.
Across the hall, Drake refused to leave Alys' side. She tried to laugh it off — "I'm fine, just a scratch" — but every time she winced, his hand tightened around hers.
The Night
Long after aries and Angelo left, Jay lay staring at the ceiling. She felt raw, hollow, terrified of the nightmares waiting behind her eyelids.
Keifer was still in the chair, refusing to leave. He caught her looking and gave a half-smile, softer than anything she'd ever seen from him.
"You're stuck with me," he said quietly.
For once, she didn't argue.