Chapter: "Don't Leave Me Again"
I didn't remember how I even reached the hospital.
Everything after Aries said "Don't panic… Keif met with an accident" felt like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. My ears were ringing. My hands were shaking. The world looked like it was spinning in slow motion.
I just remember running.
Running out of Kuya Angelo's house.
Running with tears blurring my vision.
Running like if I stopped for even one second… I would lose him.
When I saw him sitting on that hospital bed — bandage wrapped around his head, a small cut near his eyebrow — I felt my knees weaken.
He was alive.
That was all that mattered.
I ran to him without thinking and hugged him tightly. I didn't care that the nurse was there. I didn't care that Aries was watching. I didn't care about anything.
"You scared me…" I cried into his chest. "You scared me so much…"
He didn't hug me immediately. For a second, I thought maybe he was still in pain. But then I felt his arm wrap around me — slow, careful.
"I'm fine," he whispered. "It's just a small accident."
Small?
SMALL?
I pulled back and looked at him properly. "Your head is literally bandaged!"
He gave that annoying half-smirk. "Still handsome."
I almost hit him.
Instead, I walked out.
Not because I was angry.
Because if I stayed one more second, I would cry again.
I went downstairs, bought food from the hospital canteen — soup, bread, juice. My hands were still trembling when I paid. I kept imagining worst-case scenarios. What if the accident was worse? What if I came five minutes late? What if—
Stop. Stop thinking.
When I came back to the room, he was talking to Aries.
The moment he saw me holding the tray, he frowned. "You didn't have to."
"Yes, I did," I said quietly.
I placed the tray on the side table and sat beside him.
"Open your mouth."
He blinked. "What?"
"Open. Your. Mouth."
Aries started laughing from the corner. "Bro, she's in nurse mode. Obey."
Keif rolled his eyes but obeyed.
I fed him slowly. Carefully. Making sure he didn't move too much. Every time he flinched slightly, my heart jumped.
"Does it hurt?" I asked for the tenth time.
"I said I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You got into an accident."
"It was just a bike skid."
I froze. "You were riding fast, weren't you?"
He didn't answer.
That silence was my answer.
I stopped feeding him and looked at him properly. "You promised me."
He looked away.
"You promised me you wouldn't be reckless."
His jaw tightened. "Don't start."
"I'm not starting anything. I'm scared."
That made him look at me.
Really look at me.
And maybe he saw how my hands were still shaking.
He sighed softly. "I'm sorry."
Those two words broke something inside me.
Because Keif never says sorry easily.
I continued feeding him quietly after that.
Later That Evening
Aries had left to inform the others. Kuya Angelo called me to check if everything was okay. I reassured him.
But I didn't leave.
I stayed.
I adjusted Keif's pillow when he shifted.
I checked his bandage like I was some professional nurse.
I made sure he drank water.
I even scolded him when he tried to get up too fast.
"Jay," he muttered, "I'm not dying."
"Don't say that."
He went silent.
The room became quiet. The beeping machine sound filled the space.
After a while, he asked softly, "Why were you so scared?"
I looked at him like he asked the dumbest question in the world.
"Because I thought I lost you."
He didn't respond immediately.
"I've already lost too much," I continued quietly. "I can't lose you too."
He stared at me like he wanted to say something but didn't know how.
Then he did something unexpected.
He reached for my hand.
His grip was weak, but warm.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said.
I wanted to believe him.
But life doesn't give guarantees.
So instead, I squeezed his hand back.
"You better not."
Night
The nurse told me visiting hours were almost over.
I stood up slowly.
"I'll come tomorrow," I said.
He nodded, but his eyes didn't leave me.
I walked toward the door, then stopped.
Turned around.
Came back.
And adjusted his blanket again.
"You're overdoing it," he murmured.
"I know."
But I couldn't stop.
Because the image of him hurt, sitting alone in that hospital bed, was still haunting me.
As I finally walked out of the room, I looked back one last time.
He was watching me.
Not with his usual teasing look.
But with something softer.
Something deeper.
And for the first time since the accident…
I felt like maybe everything would be okay.