Author's POV
The room had grown quieter with every passing minute.
The exhaustion from the overnight flight was finally catching up with everyone.
Percy was leaning against the hallway wall with his arms crossed, eyes half-closed.
Aries looked like he was one argument away from falling asleep standing up.
Cora and Luna were quietly talking near the stairs while Alex checked his phone for the last time before putting it away.
Nobody had properly slept on the flight.
And now—
everyone desperately needed to.
Keifer looked toward Keegan.
He was still sitting on the edge of his bed.
Quiet.
Tired.
But calmer than before.
Keifer stepped a little closer.
"Keegan."
Keegan looked up.
"You want me to stay?"
Keegan was silent for a moment.
Then he shook his head.
"No."
Keifer nodded.
"Okay."
There was no disappointment in his voice.
No pressure.
He understood.
"If you need me," Keifer continued, "just call."
Keegan gave a small nod.
"I will."
Keifer stayed there for another second.
Then quietly said,
"Get some rest."
Keegan looked down.
"You too."
Keifer smiled faintly.
"Yeah."
He turned toward the doorway.
Jay was still sitting quietly in the study chair.
She hadn't said much since the conversation about her childhood.
Her mind was somewhere else entirely.
She was staring at the floor, lost in thoughts she couldn't quite organize.
Keifer noticed immediately.
He walked toward her.
"Jay."
No response.
He waited.
Then gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
The small touch brought her back.
She looked up.
"Hm?"
Keifer smiled softly.
"Let's go, babe."
Jay blinked.
"Oh."
She slowly stood.
Keifer's hand remained gently on her shoulder as they walked toward the doorway.
Jay glanced back once.
Keegan was already lying down.
His eyes were closed.
But he wasn't asleep yet.
He gave her the smallest nod.
Jay returned it.
Then stepped out.
Keifer quietly closed the door halfway.
Not completely.
Just enough to give Keegan privacy while still leaving the room accessible.
He turned toward everyone else.
"Guest rooms are on the first and second floors."
Percy immediately raised his eyebrows.
"Both floors?"
Keifer nodded.
"Yeah."
Aries yawned.
"I'm taking whichever room is closest."
Percy looked at him.
"Of course you are."
"Why?"
"Because you're lazy."
Aries stared at him.
"I'm exhausted."
"So am I."
"You talked for the entire flight."
"You argued with me for the entire flight."
"Because you were wrong."
"You started it."
Keifer sighed.
"Go to sleep."
Both immediately went quiet.
Author's POV
The house had finally become quiet.
Everyone had gone toward their rooms, exhausted after the overnight flight.
Keifer and Jay eventually reached their room.
Their bags were already there, placed neatly near the wardrobe.
Jay walked over and opened hers.
She looked through it for a moment before pulling out a pastel orange night suit.
She held it against herself briefly.
Then looked toward Keifer.
"I'm going to take a bath."
Keifer nodded.
"Sure."
Jay picked up her clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.
The door closed softly.
Jay's POV
I stood in front of the mirror.
For a while—
I didn't move.
I was still wearing my bathrobe.
My hair was slightly damp around my face, and a thin trail of water slipped from my temple toward my jaw.
I watched it in the mirror without wiping it away.
The bathroom smelled faintly of lavender soap and warm steam. Somewhere behind me, the tap dripped at slow, uneven intervals.
I didn't even know how long I'd been standing there.
A minute?
Five?
Maybe longer.
My mind wasn't quiet.
It kept moving from one thought to another.
Keegan.
The way he'd looked when he opened the door.
The faint shadows beneath his eyes.
The stiffness in his shoulders.
The way his fingers had remained curled around the edge of the door, as if he needed something solid to hold on to.
His voice.
Low.
Careful.
Almost familiar.
The things he'd remembered about me.
Those tiny details.
The way I took my tea.
The way I hated loud music.
The small scar near my wrist.
I looked down at it now.
My fingers moved over the pale mark automatically.
For one strange second, I saw something—
a sunlit room.
A child's hand gripping mine.
A boy's voice saying my name.
Then the image vanished before I could hold on to it.
I blinked hard.
Nothing.
Only my reflection stared back at me.
Things I couldn't remember.
Why?
How?
If Keegan remembered them so clearly, why did they feel like pieces of a life that belonged to someone else?
I closed my eyes for a second.
But the questions didn't disappear.
They only became louder.
I could still hear the faint scrape of Keegan's voice.
Still see the way his expression had changed when I looked at him.
Not anger.
Not exactly sadness.
Something deeper.
Something that made my chest tighten with guilt, even though I didn't know what I had done.
I opened my eyes again.
Still staring at myself.
The mirror seemed too bright now.
Too honest.
I didn't know why something so small was bothering me this much.
Maybe because lately—
everything seemed to have pieces missing.
Pieces of my own past.
Pieces I couldn't reach.
And Keegan seemed to be standing on the other side of those missing pieces, holding memories I couldn't even recognize.
I took a slow breath.
Then another.
The air felt warm in my lungs, but my hands were cold.
Finally, I looked away from the mirror.
I needed to stop thinking.
I just needed to sleep.
Keifer's POV
I looked up from my phone.
Nothing.
No sound.
The bathroom had been quiet for too long.
I glanced toward the door.
Jay had gone in a while ago.
I checked the time.
Then looked back at the door.
Still nothing.
I wasn't going to overthink it.
But knowing Jay—
silence usually meant she was thinking too much.
I put my phone down and stood.
Walking toward the bathroom, I stopped outside the door.
I placed my hand gently against it.
"Jay, baby?"
A few seconds passed.
Then her voice came through.
"Yeah. I'm okay."
Her voice sounded steady.
Too steady.
I breathed out quietly.
"Okay."
I paused.
"If you need anything, tell me."
"I don't need anything."
"Alright."
I didn't push her.
I walked back toward the bed and sat down.
Then picked up my phone again.
There were still company matters waiting.
Emails.
Messages.
Reports.
Normal things.
For a few minutes, I focused on them.
Then—
the bathroom door opened.
I looked up.
Jay stepped out.
She was wearing the pastel orange night suit she'd picked earlier.
Her hair was still slightly damp, and the ends brushed against her neck.
She didn't say anything.
She simply walked toward the bed.
Then climbed in beside me.
She lay down quietly.
I was still half sitting against the headboard, phone in my hand.
Jay looked up at me.
She didn't say anything.
But I understood.
She wanted me to put the phone away.
I smiled faintly.
"Okay."
I locked the screen.
Placed the phone on the bedside table.
Then turned off the lights.
The room became dark.
For a moment, the silence felt peaceful.
Then, from somewhere down the hallway, came the faint sound of a door shifting in its frame.
Jay went still.
Only for a second.
But I felt it.
I lowered myself beside her.
For a few seconds—
neither of us moved.
No conversation.
No questions.
Just understanding.
Then I noticed something.
Jay's eyes were still open.
She was staring into the darkness.
"Jay."
"Hm?"
"Come here."
She hesitated.
Then moved closer.
I opened my arms.
She settled against me, and I gently wrapped my arms around her.
Nothing dramatic.
Nothing rushed.
Just a quiet hug.
The kind that said—
I'm here.
Jay rested her head against my chest.
I could feel her slowly relaxing.
My hand rested gently against her back.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then—
Jay's voice came quietly through the darkness.
"Keifer?"
"Yeah?"
She was silent for a moment.
Her fingers traced a small, restless line against my shirt.
Then finally whispered—
"Do you think Keegan is really okay?"
My hand stopped for half a second.
I looked down at her.
Even in the darkness, I could feel the tension return to her body.
Jay continued quietly.
"I know he opened the door."
A pause.
"But…"
Her fingers lightly tightened against my shirt.
"I don't think he's okay."
I didn't answer immediately.
Because I knew exactly what she meant.
She had noticed the things no one else had.
The way Keegan had avoided looking at her for too long.
The way his voice had softened when he said her name.
The way he had looked at her as if he were searching for someone hidden beneath her face.
And beneath her worry was something else.
A strange ache.
A pull she couldn't explain.
She remembered the scent of rain on old pavement.
A blue thread bracelet.
Someone laughing beside her.
Keegan's voice, younger and warmer, saying, Don't let go.
Then the memory broke apart.
Jay pressed her face more firmly against my chest.
"I feel like I'm supposed to remember something," she whispered. "But every time I try, it disappears."
I tightened my arms around her.
"And when I look at him…" She swallowed. "It feels like I've forgotten something important."
I didn't answer immediately.
Because I knew exactly what she meant.
And somewhere down the hallway—
Keegan was lying alone in his room.
Awake.
Silent.
And carrying something none of us understood yet.
I tightened my arms around Jay slightly.
"We'll make sure he's okay."
Jay nodded against my chest.
But she didn't sound convinced.
Neither of us said anything else.
The house remained quiet around us, yet Jay kept listening for movement beyond the door.
For a footstep.
A breath.
Any sign that Keegan was still awake.
And even after her breathing slowly evened out, her fingers remained curled into my shirt—
as if some forgotten part of her was afraid to let go.