(Julia — First-Person POV)
I barely slept.The hospital chair was stiff, my back aching, but I refused to leave my father's side. His breathing was shallow, his skin cold, and every second felt like sand slipping through my fingers.
Around dawn, I stepped out to get some water.Just five minutes.Just to breathe.
My phone buzzed, but I ignored it.I wasn't ready to face anyone.Not Alan.Not Kai.Not the world.
When I pushed the vending machine button, my reflection looked terrible—swollen eyes, messy hair, dark circles.
I was raising the bottle to my lips when I heard footsteps. Fast. Sharp. Desperate.
My heart stuttered.
I turned.
Alan was standing at the end of the hallway.
His hair was disheveled, shirt wrinkled, eyes bloodshot like he hadn't slept at all. His chest rose and fell in ragged, almost violent breaths.
For a second, he didn't move.
He just stared at me with something between disbelief and heartbreak.
"Julia…" he whispered.
My throat closed.
He took one step—then another—then suddenly he was right in front of me, invading every inch of air around me.
Before I could speak, before I could even breathe—
His hand lifted—
And he lightly slapped my cheek, a shaky, trembling tap, the kind you give someone when you're terrified and furious and relieved all at once.
"Why didn't you answer your damn phone?" he rasped, voice cracking. "Why would you disappear like that? Why would you—"
His voice broke.
And then he crushed me against his chest.
My breath left me.His arms wrapped around me so tightly I could feel his heartbeat pounding through his ribs—fast, uneven, frantic.
He buried his face in my shoulder, voice muffled but trembling.
"I thought you died," he choked out. "I thought you were on that plane, Julia. I thought I lost you."
My eyes burned instantly.He held me like he was afraid I'd vanish if he loosened his grip even slightly.
I slowly raised my arms, hesitating, then wrapped them around him. His entire body shuddered.
"You weren't answering," he whispered, voice raw. "You weren't on any list. No airport could confirm you. I— I went insane. I—"
He pulled back suddenly, hands gripping my face, thumbs brushing the edges of my jaw.
"What were you thinking?" he demanded, breath shaking. "You left without telling anyone. You turned off your phone. Do you understand what that did to me?"
I swallowed hard, guilt and exhaustion crashing together.
"My father…" I whispered. "They called me. He's dying, Alan. He doesn't have long. I had to come."
Alan's anger evaporated instantly.
His expression collapsed in pain.
"Oh god."His hands dropped to my waist, steadying me."Julia… I didn't know."
A tear slipped down my cheek.He wiped it with his thumb gently.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"No," he breathed, pulling me into him again. "I'm the one who's sorry."
He held me like he needed to feel every inch of me alive.Like he needed proof.Like the world had almost taken me from him.
I trembled, leaning into his chest, letting myself breathe him in—salt, sweat, fear, relief.
His voice was low, breaking apart.
"I can't—"He swallowed."I can't lose you, Julia."
For a moment, the hallway disappeared.The world disappeared.Only his arms around me felt real.
Kai arrived at the hospital doors twenty minutes later.
When he saw through the glass—
Alan holding JuliaAlan's forehead resting on her hairJulia's arms hesitantly, softly wrapped around him
Kai froze.
His grip tightened around the bouquet of white lilies he brought—her father's favorite.
Then his jaw clenched.
His composure cracked.
But he still stepped forward, because this wasn't about him.It was about finding her alive.
Yet every step felt like walking through broken glass.
Back to Julia
I pulled away slightly, breath uneven.
"Alan…" I whispered, "I have to be with my father. He doesn't have much time."
Alan nodded, hand sliding down to softly hold mine.
"I'm here," he said quietly. "I'm not going anywhere."
I almost believed him.
Almost.
Because a voice behind us said softly:
"Julia."
I turned.
Kai stood there.
Eyes dim.Face pale.Looking like he'd lost her, found her, and lost her again—all in the same breath.
My heart twisted painfully.
Alan's grip on my hand tightened.
And just like that…
The real storm began.