🌙 Chapter 63: The Island
Jay woke up because of sunlight directly attacking her face.
She groaned softly and pulled the blanket higher without opening her eyes. Her head felt heavy, slower than usual, and her body still carried that strange sleepy feeling from the car ride yesterday.
Wait.
Car ride.
Jay's eyes snapped open.
For a second, her brain couldn't process what she was seeing.
Wooden ceiling.
White curtains moving softly with the wind.
The distant sound of waves crashing somewhere nearby.
Natural air.
Not the city.
Not home.
Not school.
Jay sat up immediately.
"…What the fuck."
The room looked huge. Wooden floors. Cream-colored walls. Large glass windows showing endless blue ocean outside. Sunlight spilled everywhere, warm enough to make the whole place glow softly.
It looked like something from a rich people vacation commercial.
Jay immediately checked beside the bed.
No phone.
No bag.
No knife.
Her expression darkened instantly.
"That asshole."
She got off the bed quickly and walked out of the room barefoot, irritation growing stronger with every second.
The villa stayed quiet except for the sound of the ocean outside.
Too quiet.
Which usually meant Keifer was about to ruin her life somehow.
Jay walked downstairs and froze near the open balcony doors.
There he was.
Keifer stood near the shore barefoot, black shirt slightly loose, hands in his pockets while lazily kicking sand with one foot. Morning sunlight reflected against the ocean behind him while the wind moved through his hair softly.
Annoyingly handsome.
Jay hated that phrase.
And hated even more that it fit him perfectly right now.
Her jaw tightened immediately.
He noticed her a second later.
Their eyes met.
And that idiot smiled.
"Morning."
Jay stared at him blankly.
Then:
"Where are my things."
Straight to the point.
Keifer sighed softly like he expected that already. "Good morning to you too."
"Where. Are. My. Things."
"They're safe."
"That wasn't the question."
Keifer started walking toward the villa slowly. "You were sleeping."
"You drugged me."
"You were exhausted."
"You gave me something."
"A mild sleeping pill."
Jay looked murderous instantly.
"You absolute psycho."
"You haven't slept properly in weeks."
"That doesn't mean you get to sedate me like a kidnapped zoo animal!"
"You were going to refuse if I told you."
"OBVIOUSLY."
Keifer stopped in front of her now.
Closer than she liked.
Or maybe not.
That was the dangerous part.
"I just wanted you to listen to me properly for once," he said quietly.
Jay scoffed immediately.
"So your solution was crime."
"You're dramatic."
"You kidnapped me onto a damn island!"
"It's peaceful here."
"I want violence."
That almost made him laugh.
Almost.
Jay crossed her arms aggressively. "Take me home."
"Not yet."
Her expression darkened immediately.
"Don't piss me off."
"I'm trying to fix things."
"You lost the right to act sweet after drugging me."
Keifer rubbed the back of his neck tiredly before speaking again.
"Just stay for a few days."
"No."
"One week."
"No."
"Three days."
"No."
"A few hours?"
"No."
Keifer stared at her for a second before sighing dramatically. "Negotiating with you feels like talking to a very violent lawyer."
"Good."
Jay immediately turned and started searching the villa again for her things.
Nothing.
No bag.
No phone.
No shoes except the ones near the door.
She walked into the kitchen next.
Opened the refrigerator.
Then frowned.
"…Frozen goods?"
That was it?
Frozen meat.
Ice cream.
Vegetables.
Nothing immediately edible.
Jay stared at the refrigerator in disbelief.
"You kidnapped me onto an island with no snacks?"
Keifer leaned against the kitchen doorway behind her. "Good morning to you too."
She slammed the fridge shut.
"Punyeta—fuck this place."
"You've been awake for five minutes."
"And already disappointed."
The ocean wind moved softly through the open windows while sunlight filled the villa. Everything looked painfully calm.
Jay hated it.
Peaceful places gave people time to think.
And thinking was dangerous.
Especially lately.
She walked past Keifer toward the balcony doors.
Then suddenly stopped.
"…Where exactly ARE we?"
Keifer hesitated slightly.
Which immediately made her suspicious.
"Keifer."
"It's an island."
"I can SEE that."
"A private one."
Silence.
Jay blinked once.
Then slowly:
"…Private."
"Yeah."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You brought me to your private island?"
Keifer looked away briefly.
"Technically—"
"Oh my God."
"—it's not exactly mine anymore."
Jay stared at him.
"…What does that mean."
Keifer suddenly looked very interested in the ocean again.
"Nothing."
"Keifer."
"We'll talk about it later."
"No, we'll talk about it NOW."
Before he could answer, Jay suddenly spotted movement near the trees farther away.
Coconut trees.
Her eyes immediately narrowed.
"Is that food."
Keifer blinked. "What."
"The coconuts."
"You can't seriously be thinking about climbing those."
Too late.
Jay already started walking toward them aggressively.
"Jay."
"I'm hungry."
"That's not how normal people solve problems."
"Watch me."
The sand burned slightly beneath her feet as she walked faster toward the trees. Ocean wind moved through her hair while Keifer followed behind looking deeply concerned.
"You're going to fall."
"Your negativity is ugly."
"You literally almost died from stairs last month."
"That was different."
"How."
"There were emotions involved."
Keifer snorted softly.
Jay reached the first coconut tree and immediately grabbed the trunk.
Tall.
Very tall.
Still climbable.
Probably.
Maybe.
Whatever.
"I can do this," she muttered.
"No you cannot."
"Yes I can."
"Jay."
She ignored him completely and started climbing anyway.
The problem appeared immediately.
The trunk was slippery.
Her foot slipped slightly.
"Shit."
"Exactly my point."
"I got it."
"You absolutely don't."
Jay tried again stubbornly.
Then suddenly—
A warm hand landed on her butt to steady her.
Jay froze completely.
Silence.
Then slowly—
"You animal," she said dangerously quietly. "Don't touch me there."
Keifer looked way too calm for someone close to death.
"You know," he said casually, "I could do this all day."
Jay looked horrified.
"You pervert."
"You're the one climbing trees badly."
"Leave me."
"If I let go, you'll fall."
"I don't care even if I lose a bone."
Keifer sighed dramatically.
"Okay," he muttered. "You asked for it."
Then he removed his hand.
Exactly one second later—
Jay slipped completely and landed hard on the sand.
Silence.
Keifer stared down at her.
Jay stared back from the ground in absolute betrayal.
Then:
"YOU ASSHOLE!"
"You said let go."
"You said you'd catch me!"
"You literally told me not to touch you."
"Yeah but if you REALLY wanted to you could've caught me anyway!"
Keifer blinked slowly.
"…Is this reverse psychology?"
Jay glared harder.
"Wow," he muttered. "Women are terrifying."
"My butt hurts."
"That sounds unfortunate."
"You're smiling."
"I'm trying not to."
Jay grabbed one shoe immediately and threw it directly at his face.
Keifer dodged easily.
The shoe flew past him dramatically—
Straight into the ocean.
Silence.
Jay slowly turned toward the water.
Then toward him.
"…Why didn't you catch it."
"With what?" Keifer asked innocently. "My face?"
"You are genuinely useless."
"Violent words from someone weaponizing footwear."
Jay pointed aggressively toward the ocean.
"Go get it."
"You threw it."
"You dodged."
"That sounds like self-defense."
Jay looked moments away from murder.
Keifer crossed his arms lazily. "On average, how many times a day do you curse me?"
"Depends."
"On what."
"How often I remember you exist."
Keifer snorted softly. "And that number is?"
"About a hundred."
He looked fake offended. "Only a hundred?"
Jay crossed her arms. "Actually no. More."
"Oh?"
"Whenever I remember your nonsense, you damn animal, it probably reaches a thousand."
Keifer nodded thoughtfully like he was doing serious calculations.
"Interesting."
"What."
"From what I counted," he said calmly, "including previous months and today…"
Jay narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"…What are you counting."
Keifer looked directly at her.
"Pro…fa…ni…ty."
Jay stared at him for one second.
Then immediately started running.
"OH HELL NO."
Keifer burst out laughing behind her while she sprinted toward another tree farther away.
"Jay!"
"DON'T TALK TO ME."
She climbed the second tree halfway this time before glaring down at him again.
"Does Angelo know about this?"
Keifer's expression shifted slightly.
"Sort of."
"What the hell does sort of mean."
"He knows you're helping me."
"Helping you WHERE."
A pause.
Then:
"Here."
Jay frowned. "Here where."
"The island."
Silence.
"…Island."
"Jay—"
"You brought me to a WHOLE ISLAND?"
"You already knew that."
"No I thought this was a rich people beach!"
Keifer started laughing again.
Jay looked genuinely offended.
"This isn't funny!"
"You thought an entire villa beside private shores was a beach resort?"
"I WAS DRUGGED."
"That's fair."
Jay climbed down slowly this time while muttering curses beneath her breath.
Then suddenly remembered the shoe.
"…My shoe."
Still floating farther into the water.
Keifer looked toward the ocean too.
"You can survive with one shoe."
"I hate uneven things."
"That sounds psychological."
Jay walked directly into the water without warning.
Keifer frowned immediately. "Jay."
"I'm getting it."
"The rocks are slippery."
"I don't care."
"That sentence follows every bad decision you make."
Jay ignored him and kept moving deeper into the water.
Then suddenly—
"Ow—shit!"
Keifer reacted instantly.
By the time she lost balance against the sharp rocks beneath the water, he was already there grabbing her arm before she could fall fully.
Jay hissed quietly as he lifted her carefully back toward shore.
Blood mixed lightly with seawater near her foot.
Keifer's expression changed immediately.
Serious now.
"Sit."
"I'm fine."
"Jay."
The tone made her stop arguing.
He sat her carefully on the sand before crouching near her injured foot.
The cut wasn't huge.
But deep enough.
Jay watched him quietly while he cleaned the wound carefully with bottled water nearby.
His movements stayed gentle.
Focused.
Like hurting her accidentally would destroy him.
That realization made her chest ache strangely.
"You're staring," Keifer muttered softly without looking up.
"I'm judging your medical skills."
"Liar."
Jay looked away toward the ocean immediately.
The wind moved softly around them while waves crashed nearby.
And for a few quiet seconds—
Neither of them fought.
.....