JAY-JAY POV
Day one of Operation: Keep Keifer Alive.
I had a schedule. A system. A color-coded chart taped to the fridge. I was ready.
The Watson household?
Was not.
Kieran had already tried to "test Keifer's reflexes" by throwing a sock full of jellybeans at his head. Kegain responded by narrating the chaos like a nature documentary.
"And here we see the youngest sibling attempting to assassinate the wounded alpha. Bold move."
Keifer, groggy and stitched up, just blinked at me from the couch. "I regret everything."
"You should," I said, fluffing his pillow with unnecessary aggression. "You got shot. You don't get to be reckless for at least seven days."
Kieran popped up from behind the couch. "Seven days? That's like a century in chaos years."
"Go build a fort," I snapped.
"I already did. In the bathtub."
Kegain walked in with a smoothie and handed it to Keifer. "Drink this. It's got protein, vitamins, and probably glitter."
Keifer sniffed it. "Why does it smell like birthday cake?"
"Because Kieran put frosting in it."
"I'm going to die," Keifer muttered.
"You're not dying," I said, sitting beside him. "You're recovering. And I'm here to make sure you don't do anything stupid."
He looked at me — really looked at me — and something shifted.
"You've been here every day," he said quietly.
"Of course I have."
"You didn't have to."
"I wanted to."
Silence.
Then he reached for my hand.
I let him.
"I missed you," he said.
"You were unconscious," I replied.
"Still counts."
I rolled my eyes, but my heart was doing cartwheels.
Kieran burst in wearing a blanket cape. "I declare this room a no-romance zone!"
Kegain followed, holding a broom like a scepter. "All emotional tension must be redirected to pillow fights."
Keifer groaned. "I take it back. I am dying."
I stood up, grabbed a pillow, and smacked Kieran in the face.
"Jay!" he yelped. "You betrayed me!"
"I'm emotionally fragile and physically armed," I said.
Keifer laughed — really laughed — and it was the best sound I'd heard all week.
Later that night, after the chaos settled and Kieran passed out in a pile of blankets, I sat beside Keifer in the dim light of his room.
"You okay?" I asked.
He nodded. "Better now."
I hesitated. "You scared me."
"I know."
"I thought I lost you."
"You didn't," he said. "You found me."
And then?
He kissed my cheek.
Soft. Quick. Real.
I didn't say anything.
I just leaned into him.
Because this house was chaos. But he was mine. And I was his. And we were healing.
Together.