Gabriela was already crying harder, pressing my hand to her cheek.
"Please, Jack… we were so scared. Marina only told us you were hurt… she said hospital… accident… but she didn't say how bad. We ran here as soon as we heard. Just tell us the truth."
Lorena sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I kept calling… and calling… and no one answered. I thought… I thought we lost you…"
Yuko shrank back a step—practically invisible against the wall now. Her hands twisted in the hem of her t-shirt.
[They care about him so much… they're crying… they flew here… I'm the one who hurt him. If they knew… if they knew it was me…]
I squeezed Gabriela's hand gently, meeting each of their eyes in turn.
"I promise—I'm okay. The doctors said I'll be discharged tomorrow. It looks worse than it is. No one needs to be executed, Jayden. No investigations, no pressure on anyone. Let it go. Please."
