Days pass.
Then more.
They don't feel separate anymore.
They blur together.
Morning. Training. Small runs. Noise. Silence. Repeat.
Jay moves through the mansion like she belongs there.
Not fully.
Not openly.
But naturally.
She doesn't check the exits every second now.
Only sometimes.
That's progress.
"Faster."
Cora's voice cuts through the air.
Jay moves again.
Steps forward.
Blocks.
Too slow.
Cora taps her arm sharply. "You hesitate."
"I don't."
"You just did."
Jay exhales. "Again."
They repeat.
Move.
Block.
Turn.
This time—
Cleaner.
Better.
"Good," Cora says.
Jay nods slightly.
No smile.
But something close.
Across the room—
Daniel is watching.
"Wow. She's becoming dangerous."
"I was always dangerous," Jay mutters.
"That's concerning."
"That's accurate," Cora adds.
Another day.
Another run.
Jay moves without thinking now.
Not reckless.
Just… faster.
Sharper.
"Right side," she says.
Alex adjusts immediately.
No hesitation.
No questioning.
That's new.
Back at the mansion—
No shaking.
No panic.
Just breathing.
Steady.
Controlled.
"You're getting used to it," Luna says softly.
Jay shrugs. "Temporary."
Luna smiles slightly.
Doesn't argue.
Time moves again.
Faster.
Jay is laughing again.
Not loudly.
Not freely.
But it's there.
More often now.
"You definitely smiled," Daniel says.
"I didn't."
"You did."
"That was not a smile."
"It had emotion."
"That's worse."
Cora shakes her head. "Just accept it."
"I refuse."
Ethan watches from the side.
Same as always.
Quiet.
Observing.
He doesn't say anything.
But he sees it.
All of it.
Night.
The mansion is quieter.
Jay sits on the floor again.
Back against the wall.
Ethan nearby.
Same positions.
Different feeling.
"…do you ever get tired of this?" she asks.
"Of what?"
"All of it."
He thinks for a moment.
"Sometimes."
"Then why stay?"
He looks at her.
"Same reason you do."
She frowns slightly.
"…I don't stay."
"You do."
Silence.
Short.
But enough.
Days pass again.
Faster now.
Something changes.
Small at first.
Almost nothing.
A sound.
Glass breaking.
Somewhere in the mansion.
Jay freezes.
Instant.
Her body reacts before her mind.
Her breathing stops.
Her fingers curl tightly.
Her chest tightens—
Too fast.
Too sudden.
The room fades.
Just a little.
Glass.
Shattered.
On the floor.
Her reflection—
Broken.
Distorted.
A voice.
Loud.
Angry.
Too close.
"Jay."
The present snaps back.
Ethan.
In front of her.
Her breathing is uneven.
Her hands shaking again.
Small.
But real.
"It's nothing," Daniel calls from the other room. "I dropped something."
Jay exhales sharply.
Her shoulders drop slightly.
But not fully.
Not yet.
"I'm fine," she says.
Automatic.
Again.
Ethan doesn't respond immediately.
He just watches.
Waiting.
Her breathing slowly steadies.
Again.
Control.
She forces it back.
Like always.
"…that was stupid," she mutters.
"No," he says.
"It was just a sound."
"It wasn't just that."
She doesn't answer.
Because—
He's right.
Again.
Silence.
Short.
But heavier this time.
Her fingers loosen slowly.
The tension fades.
But not completely.
Not like before.
This time—
Something stays.
Something deeper.
"…it's getting worse," she says quietly.
The words slip out.
Unplanned.
Real.
Ethan's expression shifts slightly.
"How?"
She looks down.
At her hands.
"They're coming back."
A pause.
Then—
"Things I didn't think about before."
Her voice is quieter now.
More distant.
"Sounds. Words. Small things."
She exhales.
"They don't stop."
Silence.
Not empty.
Just… careful.
"You don't have to deal with it alone," he says.
She shakes her head slightly.
"…I already did."
Past tense.
That word sits heavy.
Ethan notices.
Of course.
"You don't have to anymore," he says.
She doesn't answer.
Because—
She doesn't know how.
Her chest tightens again.
Not panic.
Not fully.
Just… something building.
Something closer to the surface now.
"…I saw it," she says suddenly.
Her voice barely above a whisper.
Ethan doesn't move.
Doesn't interrupt.
"Everything."
A pause.
Her fingers curl again.
Slightly.
"And I still remember."
There it is.
The crack.
Small.
But real.
Silence fills the room.
Not heavy.
Not loud.
Just… waiting.
Jay leans back against the wall.
Her eyes close slowly.
Her breathing steady again.
But her mind—
Not quiet anymore.
Because now—
The past isn't staying buried.
The room feels smaller tonight.
Jay sits on the floor.
Same place.
Same wall.
But nothing feels the same.
Her hands won't stay still.
They open.
Close.
Open again.
Like she's trying to hold something—
And failing.
Ethan is there.
Not close.
Not far.
Just enough.
Waiting.
Silence stretches.
But it doesn't feel calm.
It feels… full.
Like something is about to break.
"…it wasn't supposed to come back," Jay says.
Her voice is low.
Uneven.
"I thought if I just… didn't think about it—"
She stops.
Her breath catches slightly.
"That it would stay gone."
A short laugh leaves her.
It sounds wrong.
"Yeah… that didn't work."
Ethan doesn't interrupt.
Doesn't ask.
Just listens.
Jay looks down at her hands.
Her fingers curl tightly now.
"They used to say that too," she mutters.
A pause.
Then—
"That everything was fine."
Her jaw tightens.
Her breathing shifts slightly.
"It wasn't."
The word lands heavy.
Sharp.
Real.
She exhales slowly.
Like the air is harder to push out now.
"…it started small," she says.
"Or maybe I just thought it was small."
Her eyes stay fixed on the floor.
Not moving.
Not blinking much.
"Yelling."
A pause.
"Then more yelling."
Her fingers press into her palm.
Harder.
"Then it wasn't just that anymore."
Her voice drops slightly.
Quieter.
But clearer.
"I learned how to stay quiet."
Another pause.
Her breathing tightens again.
"But it didn't matter."
Silence.
Not empty.
Just… listening.
Jay swallows.
Her throat feels dry.
"…I ran."
The words come out faster this time.
Like they've been waiting.
"Not once."
"Not twice."
"Every time I thought I could."
Her shoulders tense.
Her breathing picks up slightly.
"But he always—"
She stops.
Her voice cuts.
Her hands shake again.
Ethan shifts slightly.
Not closer.
Not touching.
Just… there.
Grounding.
Jay exhales sharply.
"No."
She shakes her head slightly.
"Not that."
Not yet.
Silence again.
Short.
Tight.
"…I got out," she says instead.
Her voice steadier now.
Forced.
"I did."
A small nod.
Like she's convincing herself.
"And then I met them."
Her expression changes.
Slightly.
Softer.
But heavier.
"They weren't like anything I expected."
A pause.
"They didn't ask questions."
"They didn't push."
"They just… stayed."
Her fingers relax a little.
Just a little.
"Luna talked too much."
A small breath leaves her.
Almost a laugh.
"Daniel never stopped talking."
"Cora didn't trust me."
"That was fair."
Her eyes flicker slightly.
Then—
"Alex watched everything."
"And Ethan—"
She stops.
Her gaze shifts.
Not to him.
But somewhere near.
"He didn't ask anything."
Her voice softens.
"He just… sat there."
Silence settles again.
But it's different.
Less sharp.
More… full.
Jay exhales slowly.
"…I stayed," she says.
Another truth.
Clear.
Simple.
"I wasn't planning to."
"But I did."
Her fingers press lightly against the floor now.
Not tight.
Not shaking.
Just… there.
"They taught me things."
Her voice steadies more.
"Not just how to fight."
"How to think."
"How to move."
"How to—"
She pauses.
"Stay."
The word lingers.
"And for a while… it worked."
A small breath.
"I stopped thinking about before."
"I stopped remembering."
Her jaw tightens slightly.
Because—
That part doesn't last.
"…until it did."
The silence comes back.
Heavier now.
Closer.
Jay leans her head back against the wall.
Her eyes close briefly.
Then open again.
"…and then Ethan—"
She stops.
Her breath catches.
Harder this time.
Something shifts.
Deeper.
Sharper.
Her fingers curl again.
This time—
Stronger.
"…we shouldn't have gone," she whispers.
There it is.
The first real crack.
Ethan doesn't move.
Doesn't speak.
But everything in the room changes.
Jay's breathing picks up.
Faster.
Less controlled.
Her chest tightens again.
"I told him—"
Her voice shakes slightly.
"I told him we should wait."
Her eyes drop.
Her shoulders tense.
"But we didn't."
Silence.
Heavy.
Final.
Her fingers press into the floor.
Hard.
"And he—"
Her voice breaks.
Stops.
She exhales sharply.
Shakes her head.
"No."
Not yet.
Not all of it.
But it's there now.
Close.
Too close.
And for the first time—
She's not running from it.
The air feels heavier.
Jay doesn't move.
Her fingers are still pressed into the floor.
Too tight.
Like she's holding herself together.
"…we shouldn't have gone," she repeats.
Quieter this time.
Like she's hearing it again.
And then—
It happens.
Night.
Cold.
Sharp air.
Jay moves fast.
Not thinking.
Just following.
Ethan is ahead of her.
Like always.
Steady.
Focused.
"Stick close," he says.
She nods.
"I am."
They reach the building.
Dark.
Too quiet.
Jay's eyes scan everything.
Corners.
Windows.
Doors.
Something feels—
Off.
"Wait," she says.
Ethan pauses.
Looks back.
"What?"
Her chest tightens slightly.
"I don't like this."
A second passes.
Then—
"It's clear," he says.
"It's not."
Her voice is firmer now.
More urgent.
"We should wait."
A pause.
Short.
Too short.
"We don't have time," Ethan replies.
And then—
He moves.
Jay exhales sharply.
"…Ethan—"
Too late.
She follows.
Of course she does.
Inside—
Everything is quiet.
Too quiet.
Their steps echo faintly.
Jay's grip tightens.
Her breathing slows.
Focus.
Stay sharp.
A sound.
Behind.
Jay turns—
Too slow.
Everything happens at once.
A shout.
Movement.
A flash.
"Down!" Ethan shouts.
He moves fast.
Faster than her.
Always faster.
Jay ducks.
Barely.
Her heart slams hard against her chest.
Too fast.
Too loud.
Another sound.
Closer.
Danger.
Right there.
She turns—
And then—
Ethan is in front of her.
Not behind.
Not beside.
In front.
There's a moment.
One second.
Clear.
Still.
Then—
Everything breaks.
A sharp sound.
Too loud.
Too close.
Ethan's body jerks slightly.
Jay freezes.
Her mind doesn't process it.
Not immediately.
"…no," she breathes.
Too soft.
Too late.
He stumbles.
Just a step.
Just enough.
Jay reaches forward.
Grabs him.
Her hands shake instantly.
"No—no no—"
Her voice breaks.
Ethan looks at her.
Not panicked.
Not scared.
Just… calm.
Even now.
"You're okay," he says.
The same words.
The same tone.
Her head shakes rapidly.
"I told you—"
Her voice cracks.
"I told you to wait—"
He exhales slowly.
Like it doesn't matter.
Like none of this matters.
"Jay."
Her name.
Soft.
Steady.
"Look at me."
She already is.
She can't look away.
"You stay."
Her breathing shatters.
"What—no—"
"You stay," he repeats.
Stronger this time.
Her hands press against him.
Trying to hold.
Trying to stop something that won't stop.
"No, we're leaving," she says.
Fast.
Desperate.
"We're going—"
"You stay."
Again.
Firm.
Final.
Her chest tightens so hard it hurts.
"I'm not leaving you—"
"You're not losing both of us."
Silence.
One second.
Two—
Her breath stops.
He already knows.
He already decided.
"No," she whispers.
"No, no, no—"
Footsteps.
More voices.
Too many.
Too close.
Ethan's hand grips her wrist.
Weak.
But enough.
"Go."
She shakes her head violently.
"I'm not—"
"GO."
The word hits harder than anything.
Everything freezes.
Just for a second.
Then—
Her body moves.
Not because she wants to.
Not because she agrees.
Because she has to.
She steps back.
Once.
Twice.
Her vision blurs.
Her chest burns.
Her hands feel empty—
Too empty.
She turns.
Runs.
Her legs move fast.
Too fast.
Like they're not hers.
Behind her—
She doesn't look.
She can't.
But the sound—
She hears it.
And that—
FLASHBACK
(ends)