MARRY YOUR KILLER
Chapter Forty-Three: The Falling
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The days in the Singapore hospital passed like honey. Slow. Thick. Sweet.
Jay didn't leave. She slept in the chair beside Keifer's bed, her head on her arms, her hand in his. She ate when Care brought her food. She showered when Freya forced her. She answered calls when Mica insisted. But she didn't leave. She couldn't.
Keifer was asleep most of the first day. His face was pale. His chest was bandaged. The machines beeped beside him, steady, endless. Jay watched him breathe. She counted each breath. She held his hand. She didn't let go.
When he woke, his eyes were dark. His voice was weak. "You're still here."
She kissed his fingers. "I'm still here."
He smiled. It was small. Tired. Real. "You should sleep."
"I'm not tired."
"You haven't slept in two days."
She looked at their hands. His fingers laced with hers. "I'll sleep when you're better."
He squeezed her hand. "I'm better now."
She looked at him. His face was pale. His eyes were dark. The bandages on his chest were white against his skin. He was not better. He was alive. That was enough.
"You're an idiot," she said.
He smiled. "I know."
She leaned down. She kissed his forehead. His skin was warm. His breath was steady.
"I love you," she said.
His eyes opened. They were bright. "What did you say?"
She looked at him. Her face was close. Her heart was pounding. "I love you."
He pulled her close. His arms were weak. His grip was steady. He kissed her. Soft. Slow. A kiss that said everything.
She kissed him back. Her hands were in his hair. Her face was wet.
"I love you," she said again. "I love you and I signed a contract and I tore it up and I put the ring back on and I love you."
He laughed. It was a surprised sound, something that escaped before he could stop it. His face was bright. His eyes were wet.
"I love you too," he said. "I've loved you since you threw mud at my face."
She laughed. She was crying. She was laughing. She was everything. "You threw mud at me first."
He pulled her close. His arms were around her. His face was in her hair. "I love you."
She held him. His heart was beating. His chest was warm. "I love you."
---
The second day, Keifer was stronger.
He sat up. He ate. He argued with Percy about something that didn't matter. He watched Jay with eyes that followed her everywhere. She felt them. She felt him.
She was standing at the window, looking at the city, her hands in her pockets, her face turned toward the sun. The Singapore skyline was gray and gold, buildings rising above the clouds, the place where her father's brother had been hiding for thirty years.
Keifer watched her. She was wearing black. Her hair was loose. Her hands were empty. She looked like the woman who had walked into his house months ago, bruised and bleeding and ready to die. But she was different now. Her shoulders were softer. Her face was open. She was waiting.
"Jay," he said.
She turned. "You should be resting."
He held out his hand. "Come here."
She walked to him. She sat on the edge of his bed. She took his hand.
"You're thinking," he said.
"I'm always thinking."
He smiled. "What are you thinking about?"
She looked at their hands. His fingers laced with hers. "The contract."
His hand tightened. "The contract is gone."
"I know." She looked at him. His face was close. His eyes were steady. "I signed it because I was scared. I was scared of wanting something I couldn't keep."
He waited.
She moved closer. Her face was inches from his. "I'm not scared anymore."
He kissed her. Soft. Slow. A kiss that was a promise. A kiss that was a vow. A kiss that was everything they had been waiting to say.
She kissed him back. Her hands were in his hair. His hands were on her waist.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you," he said.
---
The third day, the house came to them.
Percy arrived first, his arms full of flowers, his voice loud, his face bright. "You're alive! You're alive and you're sitting up and you're—" He stopped. He saw Jay's hand in Keifer's. He saw the ring on her finger. He saw the way she was looking at him. He grinned. "Finally."
Aries was behind him. Their face was calm. Their eyes were soft. "Finally," they said.
Yuri was in the corner, his arms crossed, his face cold. But his eyes were on Percy. They were always on Percy.
Ci N came next, his phone in his hand, his face bright. Felix was beside him. "I got it," Ci N said. "I got the whole thing. The proposal. The kiss. The I love you. It's all on video."
Jay looked at him. "You recorded it?"
"I record everything." He held up his phone. "You're going to want to watch this when you're old."
Keifer laughed. It was a real laugh, the kind that came from somewhere deep. Jay was laughing too. They were laughing together. They were alive.
---
Care came with Cole. She checked Keifer's bandages, his pulse, his eyes. Her hands were steady. Her face was calm. "He's healing," she said. "He's strong. He's going to be fine."
Jay took her hand. "Thank you."
Care looked at her. Her face was soft. "You saved him. You saved all of us."
Jay shook her head. "He saved me."
Care smiled. "That's what love is."
---
Lyra came at sunset.
She stood in the doorway, her arms crossed, her face blank. Alex was behind her, his hand on her shoulder. She looked at Keifer. At the bandages on his chest. At the machines beside his bed. At Jay's hand in his.
"You saved her," Lyra said.
Keifer looked at her. "She saved me."
Lyra's face didn't change. But her eyes softened. "Good."
She walked to the window. She stood there, watching the city. Alex stood beside her. His hand was in hers. Her face was blank. Her eyes were not.
---
The night came.
The room was quiet. The machines were beeping. The city was dark. Jay sat beside Keifer's bed, her hand in his, her head on his arm.
"You should sleep," he said.
"I'm not tired."
"You've been here for three days."
She looked at him. His face was close. His eyes were dark. "I'm not leaving."
He pulled her closer. His arms were weak. His grip was steady. "I know."
She laid her head on his chest. His heart was beating. His breath was warm. "I signed a contract," she said. "Two years. A promise to leave."
His hand was in her hair. "I know."
She closed her eyes. "I'm not leaving."
He kissed her hair. "I know."
She slept. She slept for the first time in three days. She slept with her head on his chest and his hand in her hair and his heart beating beneath her ear.
He watched her sleep. Her face was soft. Her hands were still. She looked like the woman he had fallen in love with. She looked like the woman who had thrown mud at his face. She looked like the woman who had signed a contract to leave and then stayed.
He kissed her forehead. She didn't wake up.
"I love you," he said.
She smiled. Her eyes were still closed. "I know."
He laughed. It was a surprised sound, something that escaped before he could stop it. She was awake. She had always been awake.
"You're supposed to be asleep," he said.
She opened her eyes. They were bright. "I was waiting for you to say it."
He kissed her. Soft. Slow. A kiss that promised everything.
She kissed him back.
---
END OF CHAPTER FORTY-THREE