JAY'S POV :
"Jay! Listen!"
A voice ripped me from the trance, like claws dragging me back to hell. My vision swam, blurring into focus through stinging tears.
Aries knelt beside me, his hands shaking my shoulder, screaming my name like I was dying. When he saw I was back, relief washed over his face.
My mind was a void—empty, broken.
"What… what happened? Why are you here?" I choked out, voice cracking like thin ice.
Then the memories slammed into me.
The blows.
The blood.
Kiefer.
I went rigid, every muscle screaming.
It had happened again. That cursed blackout, triggered by him.
"It happened again, didn't it?" I whispered to Aries, my voice quivering—brittle as frost, ready to shatter.
He said nothing, just stared.
I scanned the room, heart pounding.
Everyone gaped, frozen like they'd witnessed my soul crack open.
Then my eyes found him.
Kiefer.
His eyes—wide, shocked, laced with guilt, sadness… worry? As if he cared.
The man I'd dared to hope was my cure. My salvation. He had become my destroyer.
Rage boiled under the hurt, but disappointment crushed me first.
I clawed at my chest—gripping my pendant, that black dog tag etched with ghosts of my past, its small cross dangling like a mocking prayer, the chain biting cold into my fevered skin.
My only anchor in this storm. My only lifeline.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't face them. Couldn't face him.
I bolted to the nearest washroom, slamming the door and twisting the lock with trembling fingers.
Thud. Thud. THUD.
Banging rattled the door.
"Jay! Jay! Open this goddamn door!" Aries roared, voice raw with panic.
"Jay! Open the do—"
"I'm fine!" I snarled, cutting him off, my throat burning.
The banging softened, desperate now.
"Just… leave me the hell alone!"
Silence stretched, heavy.
"Fine. But be careful, damn it."
Footsteps faded. Finally, alone.
I staggered to the mirror.
God. My face—smeared mess, nose gushing blood, eyes wild and red-rimmed. My hand crushed the pendant tighter, its sharp edges slicing into my palm.
Pain. Good. It cut through the numbness.
My nose throbbed like fire, but my heart—it was bleeding worse. Ripped open.
Kiefer…
I twisted the faucet with shaking hands, cold water splashing as I scrubbed the blood away roughly, watching pink swirls vanish down the drain.
I gripped the sink's edge with one hand, pendant clutched like a lifeline in the other fist. Knuckles white.
My eyes burned, fighting a dam of tears—vulnerable, exposed, furious all at once.
Reflection stared back: broken girl, hunted animal.
Memories hit like knives twisting deeper:
Kiefer winding up, hurling that ball with cruel precision straight at me.
The impact—sharp, unforgiving.
Then him just standing there, watching me crumble, watching the blackout claim me.
No hand outstretched. No regret. Just… nothing.
It ripped me apart, layer by layer.
Tears broke free finally, hot tracks carving down my cheeks.
Sobs wracked me—ugly, guttural, unstoppable—shoulders shaking as I curled inward.
Kiefer, why? Why hurt me like this? Why become the reason for my goddamn trigger?
I knew you'd gone cold on purpose, armored your heart in ice to survive the hell forged you.
Fine, I got it. Understood it even.
But this heartless? Striking a girl—me—just because she's your rival's cousin? Because you hate her enough to draw blood? Because tormenting her, pissing her off, gets your twisted kicks?
God—why NOW? Why HIM?
I swiped at tears furiously with the back of my hand, slamming both palms flat on the sink.
Breath came in heaving gasps, chest aching.
Eyes shifted in the mirror—from soft, shattered hurt to predator's fury.
Vulnerability fueling the anger now, rage surging like wildfire over fragile ashes.
"Fine," I hissed to my reflection, voice low and jagged with barely leashed wrath.
"If it's war you want. If you're too damn stubborn, too blind to see me. If the hard way's your sick game… then bring it. You'll get it all."
I leaned in close, inches from the glass, gaze turning feral, unblinking.
Pendant gleamed under the harsh fluorescent light—black dog tag tough as my resolve, the cross a dark vow swinging against my skin like a warning.
"But hear this, Kiefer. Hear it now."
My voice dropped to venomous ice, each word a promise carved in stone.
"You will fall for me."
"You'll fall hard—in love. Helpless. Ruined."
"I'll make damn sure of it. Every step. Every calculated move."
"And when you do? You'll regret every second of this. Every laugh. Every blow. All of it."
I gripped the pendant tighter still, forcing my heart to steady, emotions to lock down tight, fury honed to a razor's edge.
No more cracks. Just steel.
One final stare into the mirror—eyes blazing, transformed. A bitter smirk twisted my lips, slow and dangerous.
He had no clue the storm he'd unleashed inside me. No idea the fire he'd lit. Time to show him—but piece by calculated, devastating piece.
He'd learn. Soon.