Keifer POV
I shouldn't have gotten angry.
I knew that.
The moment I saw Matteo standing there with Jay, I knew I should have stopped and listened first.
But I didn't.
Because all I heard was:
"I like you."
And somehow that was enough.
Not because I hated Matteo.
I didn't.
Not really.
But because for the first time in my life...
I was scared.
Scared that someone else would take her away.
Scared that one day Jay would look at someone else the way she looked at me.
Scared that I would lose the one person who somehow made everything feel lighter.
And I hated that feeling.
I hated how much it affected me.
After the fight, Jay kept talking.
Asking questions.
Telling me to stop acting stupid.
Probably calling me an idiot.
Honestly...
I wasn't listening.
Not because I didn't want to.
I just couldn't.
My head was too loud.
So I turned around and left.
I walked past the garden.
Past the gates.
Past the cars.
Without even knowing where I was going.
The sky was dark.
The party lights faded behind me.
The streets became quieter.
Then the rain started.
At first it was only a few drops.
Then more.
Then a downpour.
People rushed for cover.
I didn't.
I just kept walking.
My mind wouldn't stop replaying it.
Matteo smiling.
Matteo confessing.
Jay standing there.
Silent.
The rain soaked through my clothes.
But I barely noticed.
A flash of lightning cut across the sky.
The thunder followed a second later.
Loud.
Too loud.
I stopped walking.
My hands trembled slightly.
Another flash.
Another thunderclap.
And suddenly I wasn't eighteen anymore.
I was five.
Sitting alone.
Cold.
Waiting.
Waiting for someone to open a door.
Waiting for someone to remember I existed.
Waiting for someone to come back.
The memories hit harder than the rain.
The dark room.
The silence.
The fear.
Being told to stay quiet.
Being told not to cry.
Being told nobody cared.
I remembered staring at the ceiling for hours.
Trying to count the cracks.
Trying to distract myself.
Trying to convince myself that eventually someone would come.
Sometimes they did.
Sometimes they didn't.
Another flash lit up the street.
My breathing became uneven.
I remembered nights when thunderstorms felt endless.
Nights when every sound made me jump.
Nights when I wished someone would just sit beside me and tell me everything would be okay.
But nobody ever did.
Thunder echoed again.
Closer this time.
I shut my eyes.
Trying to steady myself.
Trying to push the memories away.
Trying to be eighteen again.
Then through the rain...
I heard a voice.
Faint.
But familiar.
"Keifer!"
I froze.
Another call.
Closer.
"KEIFER!"
I turned slowly.
Rain blurred everything.
Streetlights shimmered through the water.
But even through the storm...
I knew that voice.
And for the first time all night...
The noise in my head became quiet.
End of Chapter 118.