Jayjay POV
It was Friday.
Three days of rest, the doctor said—but the bandage was still on my nose.
I hated it. It made everything feel more real than I wanted.
I came down for breakfast quietly.
"Jay, how are you doing?" Aunty Gemma asked, watching me closely.
"I'm fine," I said, even though we both knew that wasn't completely true.
"Aries said he can drop you at school today," she added.
"No," I replied immediately. "I'll go myself."
I grabbed my bag before she could argue and walked out.
The ride to school felt normal—too normal.
When I entered the classroom, a few people noticed.
"Jay's back."
"You okay now?"
"Nice bandage."
I sat down, pulled out my phone—
It rang.
Hex.
I answered without thinking. "Hi, Hex."
At first, it was just breathing.
Then noise.
A loud bang.
Someone shouting in the background.
A man's voice—angry, rough.
"Hey! Stop—!"
My heart dropped.
"Hex?" I whispered. "Hex, talk to me."
More noise. Something crashing.
"Hello?"
"Hex?"
The call cut.
I stared at my phone.
No. No. No.
I stood up so fast my chair almost fell.
Ci-N looked at me. "Jay… what happened?"
"I need to go."
"You're cutting class?" someone asked.
"So what?" I snapped. "Someone needs help."
I grabbed my bag and walked out.
No one stopped me.
No one noticed.
We drove far—too far.
Back to my old community.
The road ended early. No cars could pass beyond that point.
I got down in the middle of the community.
The moment I stepped out, voices started.
"Jay?"
"Is that Jayjay?"
"What's she doing here?"
People stared. Whispered.
Then a familiar voice.
"Jay, what are you doing here?"
I turned.
Dominic.
Before I could answer, Lorenzo laughed. "Looks like you got backup now, huh?"
Another voice joined in.
"Handsome ones too," Katrina added, smirking.
I ignored them. "Where's Hex?"
They all went quiet.
Lorenzo tilted his head. "Why? You missing your boy?"
Before I could respond—
"Who's Hex?" Keifer asked.
Dominic opened his mouth. "Hex is—"
I shot him a look.
He shut up.
Ci-N frowned. "Jay, why did we come here?"
"Will you guys KEEP QUIET?" I snapped.
Everyone froze.
"Jayjay, calm down," David said gently.
Before I could reply—
Someone crashed into me.
I fell hard to the ground.
"So—sorry!" the boy said as he scrambled up.
I recognized him immediately.
"Leo?" I grabbed his arm as I stood. "What happened? Where's Hex? I left him in your care."
"He's home," Leo said quickly.
Ci-N exhaled. "See, Jay? He's fine. Let's go back to school."
Leo shook his head. "Nathan Navarro is also home."
"What?" Ci-N asked. "Who's Nathan Navarro?"
I didn't answer.
I started walking.
Behind me, footsteps followed.
"Jay, wait—"
"Jay, explain—"
"What's going on?"
I stopped.
Turned.
Looked at all of them.
They went silent.
I kept walking.
Hex's house came into view.
My hands shook as I reached the door.
I pushed it open.
Everyone behind me froze.
Keifer POV
The moment we entered Jayjay's old community, I knew something was wrong.
Everything felt… wired.
Too many eyes.
Too many whispers.
Jayjay wasn't the same girl I knew at school.
She looked fierce. Terrified. Desperate.
Whoever this Hex guy was—he mattered to her.
A lot.
I didn't know him.
But when Jayjay opened the door—
And I saw what was inside—
I finally understood why she came back here.