JAY-JAY POV
*AFTER SHE FAINTED*
I woke up to the sharp smell of disinfectant and the soft beeping of machines.
My head felt heavy, like someone had stuffed cotton inside it.
"Oh my god!" a girl's voice said. "Finally you woke up!"
I blinked a few times, trying to focus.
A girl with messy curls and bright eyes leaned over me, relief written all over her face.
"Where am I?" I croaked.
"Well, girl, after you passed out, I brought you to the hospital," she said, hands flying everywhere as she talked. "And you've been sleeping for two hours straight. I thought you were gonna sleep forever."
She stuck out her hand with a grin.
"I'm Mia, by the way."
I reached out and shook her hand.
"I'm Jasper Jean Mariano," I said softly. "Jay‑Jay for short."
Mia's eyes widened.
"Oooh, fancy name," she said. "But Jay‑Jay fits you. Cute, but strong."
I let out a tiny laugh — the first one in days.
"So tell me," Mia said gently, pulling a chair closer to my bed, "what happened? Why did you pass out in the middle of the road?"
I stared at my hands.
I didn't know why I trusted her.
Maybe because she didn't look at me like I was a problem.
I took a shaky breath.
"I… I don't know where to start."
"Start anywhere," she said. "I'm here."
And for the first time in a long time, someone actually meant it.
So I told her.
Everything.
From the beginning.
From the moment my body finally gave up on me.
Mia didn't interrupt.
She didn't gasp.
She didn't judge.
She just listened.
Her eyes softened, her expression shifting from curiosity to concern to something like protectiveness.
When I finally finished, my throat felt raw, my chest tight, my eyes burning.
Mia exhaled slowly.
"Girl…" she whispered, shaking her head. "You've been carrying all that alone?"
I nodded, barely.
She reached out and squeezed my hand — gentle, warm, grounding.
"Well," she said, voice firm but kind, "you're not alone anymore."
"Do you have somewhere to go?" Mia asked.
I shook my head, staring at the blanket instead of her face.
"Okay, well, you can live with me for now," Mia said like it was the most normal thing in the world.
My eyes widened.
"No, please… I don't want to be a burden to you and your family."
She snorted.
"Okay, first of all, we're the same age. Second—girl, you and I are a bit similar."
"Huh?" I blinked, confused.
She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms like she was about to spill tea.
"That Yuri kid you told me about forced an engagement on you, right?"
I nodded slowly.
"Well," she said, flipping her hair casually, "my family did the same thing. And trust me, I wasn't having it. So I eloped with my boyfriend."
I stared at her.
She said it so casually.
Like she was talking about skipping class, not running away from her entire life.
"You… eloped?" I repeated.
"Yep," she said proudly. "Packed my bags, hopped on a bus, and boom — freedom."
I laughed
Mia grinned.
"See? You're already doing better."
I wiped my eyes, still smiling a little.
"But… your family? Aren't they looking for you?"
"Oh, totally," she said. "But I blocked them. And my boyfriend did the same to his family."
I blinked at her.
"You both… blocked your families?"
"Yep," she said, popping the 'p' like it was nothing. "We're equal‑opportunity runners. If they're toxic, they're gone."
I stared at her, stunned.
She said it so casually.
Like cutting off your entire family was just another Tuesday activity.
Mia shrugged, leaning back in her chair.
"Look, Jay‑Jay, sometimes the people who are supposed to protect you end up being the ones who hurt you the most. So you choose yourself. And the people who actually care."
I swallowed hard.
Her words hit deeper than I expected — like someone finally reached into the fog I'd been drowning in and pulled me up for air.
"So, please, Jay… come with me," Mia said gently.
"What about your boyfriend?" I asked, my voice small.
She waved her hand like it was nothing.
"Well, he's in college, so he's barely home anyway," she said. "He stays in the dorms most nights. I'm basically living alone."
I blinked.
"Oh."
"Yeah," she continued, shrugging. "He comes over on weekends, but he's chill. And he's not the type to judge or ask questions. He's more like… 'Oh, cool, new friend,' and then goes back to playing video games."
I let out a tiny breath I didn't realize I was holding.
Mia leaned closer, her expression softening.
"Jay‑Jay… you won't be a burden. I promise. I know what it feels like to run. I know what it feels like to have nowhere to go."
"Still—" I started, guilt tightening in my chest.
"Fine then," she said, rolling her eyes dramatically. "If your self‑respect is so high, I have an idea."
I blinked at her.
"When you get better, you can work and then you can pay rent," she said simply. "You're planning to go to college, right?"
I nodded slowly.
"Great," she said, clapping her hands once. "My college still has open seats. I'll work on that."
I stared at her, stunned.
She was doing all this for me?
A stranger she found unconscious on the road?
"Thank you," I whispered, my voice barely holding together.
Mia softened instantly.
"Jay," she said gently, "you don't have to thank me. You just need a place to start over. And I'm giving you that."
My throat tightened.
"Miss Mariano," the doctor said as she stepped into the room.
"Yes, doctor?" I answered, sitting up a little.
She checked her clipboard, then looked at me with a mixture of concern and awkward hesitation.
"You fainted due to a very high level of physical exhaustion," she said carefully. "Your body is extremely depleted stress, … and, um… some recent intimate activity."
I looked down
The doctor cleared her throat. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. But your body is telling you it's overwhelmed. You need rest, proper meals, and a safe environment."
I swallowed hard, heat rushing to my face.
Mia didn't say anything — she just looked at me.
Not judging.
Not teasing.
Just… checking if I was okay.
"You're good to go," the doctor said, closing her chart.
"Thanks, doc," Mia replied, already slipping into this calm, responsible mode I didn't expect from someone who eloped at seventeen.
The doctor gave me a small smile. "Make sure you rest, eat properly, and avoid stress for a while. Your body needs time."
Avoid stress.
If only it were that easy.
When the doctor left, the room felt quieter — too quiet.
I stared at my hands, unsure what to say, unsure how to feel.
Mia nudged me gently.
"Come on," she said. "Let's get you out of here."
I nodded, even though my legs still felt weak.
Even though my heart felt heavier than my body.
"You ready?" she asked softly.
I wasn't.
Not really.
But I nodded anyway.
I went with her outside of the hospital, the cool air brushing against my skin and waking me up just enough to feel how tired I really was.
Mia opened the passenger door for me like she'd done it a hundred times.
"Come on, Jay," she said gently. "You need rest."
I climbed into her car, the seat warm from the sun.
The moment I leaned back, my body felt heavier than ever — like it finally realized it didn't have to keep fighting.
Mia buckled herself in and started the engine.
My eyes were already closing, my breathing slowing, my mind drifting.
The last thing I felt was the car moving, the soft hum of the engine, and Mia glancing at me every few seconds to make sure I was okay.
And then I fell asleep.
Mia woke me up
"Jay we're here" She said
I nodded and went inside her apartment
**********ONE WEEK LATER********
It's been one week since everything happened.
Mia and I… we get along like we've known each other forever.
Like we were meant to find each other in the middle of all this mess.
But even with her here…
There hasn't been a single day where I didn't hope someone would come for me.
Maybe Kuya Angelo.
Maybe Aries.
Maybe Section E.
Maybe—
maybe even him.
Keifer.
The one person I thought would tear the world apart to find me.
But no one came.
Not a call.
Not a message.
Not a sign.
And somewhere between the sleepless nights and the quiet mornings…
I lost my hope in them.
All of them.
"Jay, get up. Today is your first day at work," Mia said, shaking my shoulder with way too much morning energy.
"I'm up," I mumbled, even though my eyes were barely open.
I dragged myself to the bathroom, the cold tiles waking me up faster than the alarm ever could. When I looked in the mirror, I almost didn't recognize the girl staring back.
Tired eyes.
Hair a mess.
But… standing.
Still standing.
I gripped the sink and took a deep breath.
"Okay, Jay," I whispered to my reflection. "Today is your first day at work. Forget about them. Forget everything."
My voice cracked a little, but I forced a small smile anyway.
"New day. New life. You can do this."
Behind me, Mia knocked on the door. "Hurry up, we will be late"
I rolled my eyes, but for the first time in a week…
I felt a tiny spark of something I thought I'd lost.
Hope.
After I finished getting ready, I walked into the living room and froze.
My outfit was already laid out neatly on the couch
"Jay, that's your uniform," Mia said, sipping her coffee like she hadn't just saved my morning again.
I nodded and slipped the shirt on.
While I tucked the shirt in, Mia started explaining everything with her usual dramatic hand gestures.
"Okay, so since this is your first day at work," she said, pacing like a manager giving a TED Talk, "you just have to restock in the market. Easy stuff. No pressure."
I listened carefully, trying to absorb every word
"And then," she continued, eyes lighting up, "in two months, you can join the college. I already talked to the admin. They said seats are still open."
I blinked.
College.
A future.
A life that wasn't tied to the people who broke me.
"Really?" I whispered.
Mia grinned. "Girl, I told you — I've got you."
I opened my mouth to say something — probably another shaky "thank you" — but Mia held up a hand like a traffic cop.
"Before you start with the whole thank‑you speech," she said, narrowing her eyes playfully, "save it for tonight. We're gonna be late, and trust me, the manager is—"
She made a dramatic throat‑cutting gesture.
"—terrifying before 10 a.m."
I blinked. "Terrifying?"
"Like… 'I will fire you with my eyes' terrifying," Mia said, grabbing her bag. "So let's move, Jay. Chop‑chop."
I laughed
We went to work and, to be honest…
my first day wasn't bad at all.
It was a lot of moving around — stocking shelves, carrying boxes, learning where everything went — and my legs were screaming by lunchtime. But compared to the chaos I came from?
It felt almost peaceful.
People smiled at me.
No one whispered behind my back.
No one looked at me like I was a problem.
And for the first time in a long time, that was enough.
Mia kept checking on me every hour, popping her head into the aisle like an overexcited meerkat.
"You good?"
"You need water?"
"Do you want to quit and run away to Bali?"
I laughed every time.
By the end of the shift, I was tired — the good kind of tired.
The kind that comes from working, not from crying or running or trying to survive.
Everything wasn't perfect.
But it was the closest I'd felt to okay in weeks.
***************ONE WEEK LATER*************
I was in the bathroom.
The door locked.
The light too bright.
My hands shaking so badly I almost dropped it.
A pregnancy kit sat on the sink.
I tested it with shaking hands, placed it down, and stepped back like it might explode.
Now all I could do was wait.
While waiting, I paced the tiny bathroom
My fingers kept twisting the hem of my shirt, over and over, like the fabric could somehow calm me down.
My mind wouldn't stop racing.
What if it's positive?
What if it's not?
What if everything I ran from… didn't stay behind?
I pressed my palms against my face, trying to breathe, trying not to cry, trying not to fall apart again.
Then the timer hit.
My heart stopped.
I reached for the kit with shaking hands, my fingers cold, my breath trapped somewhere between my ribs.
I looked down.
Two lines.
Positive.
For a moment, everything inside me went silent — like the world had been muted.
I froze.
My knees almost gave out
Positive.
I'm pregnant.
Pregnant with Keifer's child.
The words echoed in my head, heavy and unreal, like they belonged to someone else's life
A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Not now.
Not like this.
Not when I was finally trying to rebuild myself.
I pressed a hand to my stomach, barely touching it, like I was afraid it would burn me.
"Keifer…" I whispered, voice breaking.
He wasn't here.
He didn't come.
And I don't think he ever will.
My breath hitched as the thoughts started crashing into me, one after another, sharp and cruel.
If I tell him… what would he say?
Would he even care?
Would he believe me?
A horrible thought twisted in my chest.
What if he asked that question?
How do I know it's mine?
My stomach dropped.
Because I could hear his voice — not the soft one he used when he cared, but the cold one he used when he was angry.
The one that cut deeper than anything else.
He called me a slut, whore
"Jay, are you okay?" Mia asked from the other side of the door.
I couldn't answer.
I just opened the door and threw myself into her arms, the sob ripping out of me before I could stop it.
"Hey—hey, what happened?" she whispered, holding me tight.
I couldn't speak.
I just handed her the test.
She froze.
"Is it… Keifer's?" she asked quietly.
I nodded, my whole body shaking.
"Okay," she said immediately, she guided me to the couch. "Sit. We'll figure it out."
I sat down, still crying, still clutching my stomach like it might fall apart if I let go.
"Okay," she said softly, sitting beside me. "What are you thinking?"
"I don't know," I whispered. "I don't know anything."
Mia took a breath. "Jay… are you thinking about aborting the baby?"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
💙🔥 Author's Note 🔥💙
Sooo how was the chapter 🤭✨
Please comment and tell me how it was — I actually wanna know if you liked it or not😭💬💙