Nayely's legs shook against the ground as she waited impatiently for the doctor to return. She had lost track of time the moment MJ's body came tumbling into her home.

"Make sure to stabilize him."

"Tighten that strap.We need to move him."

Nayely's eye's switched between the EMTs as they worked quickly. The front door of her home had turned into a mini emergency room as everyone moved to get MJ to better conditions.

She hadn't realized that the object she nearly crushed in her hand was MJ's vibrating phone. Her mind had been preoccupied with this life or death situation to the point that she couldn't even answer the calls coming through.

"Is he going to be okay?" Pushing her fingers into the roots of her hair, Nayely felt caught up in the chaos. She knew she probably didn't deserve to be concerned with MJ's life, but the thought of losing his presence in anyway was devastating. She had done what he asked for all these years, surely making sure he stayed alive wouldn't upset him.

The sound of his body shaking against the restraints made her go numb. It was the third seizure he'd gone through since their arrival. A loud squealing sound filled Nayely's mind as she watched the professionals handle the situation in ways that she couldn't. In that moment, she could still feel the heaviness of his head in her hand as she had held him earlier. With her eyes drawn on his convulsing body, Nayely took a step forward, reaching out a hand before she was stopped.

"Ma'am. Did you hear me?" A gentleman stood in front of Nayely as he brought her out of her daze.

"We'll be taking him to Regional Heights." With her mouth slack, Nayely blinked rapidly as she shook her head in understanding.

"My keys..." She spoke to herself as she looked around. Securing her purse, she dug around as the EMTs began to make their way to the ambulance.

"My keys!" She gritted her teeth as she continued to search. The wait was hard to bare but it didn't stop her from running to her car. Rushing to the garage, Nayely waited for the door to rise as she felt time slip away. It became harder for her to focus as she watched the backdoors of the ambulance close in her driveway. At the sound of the siren, her eyes followed the lights as they sped away.

"Wait! Damnit." Stomping her feet, Nayely turned her purse upside down, sending its contents flying across the roof of her car. As the last object fell out, she cursed when she finally saw her keys. With shaky hands, she picked them up, but before she could open her car door a voice called out.

"Nayely, is everything okay? Was that the young man who was waiting outside?" Hearing the voice of her older neighbor calling from across the street, Nayely raised a hand once she saw they intended to cross. She had absolutely no time for talk and didn't need to be delayed anymore than she already had.

The husband and wife stopped in their tracks as Nayely's car sped down the driveway, bouncing on it's reliable suspension system as Nayely whipped it without care. With the sounds of the ambulance slowly fading away, Nayely raced to the hospital.

When Nayely had arrived, she had tracked down an employee to ask for MJ's whereabouts. When they had questioned her relation to him, she hesitated on her instinctual answer.

His friend.

After explaining the situation, the best that she could, she was directed to wait before anyone could inform her of his status. Now, she sat, waiting for a hopeful update that would allow her to rest assured that MJ would make it through. Even in that moment, she wasn't sure what had caused his seizures. Was he sick? From what she knew, he couldn't afford to be halted when he had finally achieved his dream. She could still recall all of the time she spent being MJ's audience as he practiced for audition after audition for school productions. A small grin broke through her tense expression, as she covered her mouth with her hand.

Pinching the bridge of her nose willing herself to not get emotional, Nayely was given a break from her memories as MJ's phone began to vibrate in her hand.

Slowly turning it over, she read the name that shined across its screen.

Biting her lip, Nayely wondered what the possible outcome could be if she were to answer Kahlil's call. After their surprise run in that night, she would be defeating the purpose of dipping out of the party to avoid him if she were to answer now. She didn't have the strength to answer any questions that he may have had. After all, she had lost contact with Kahlil as well and a part of her feared that MJ had confided in him the tragedy her blood had brought into his life. For all she knew, being MJ's friend, Kahlil could have made the decision to stay by his side out of disgust for Nayely's father.

What Nayely wanted to do and what she needed to do were two different things. She could dwell on the unknown later when she was alone, but right now, she had to prioritize making sure someone who MJ wouldn't mind waiting for him once he awoke was there.

"I know you'd rather I leave you alone right now, but you can't just up and leave the way you did. You couldn't just pick up the phone to let me know you were good?" The moment Kahlil heard the call being answered, he wasted no time in expressing how he felt. "We're boys, you can't just do shit like that."

A beat passed with no response, which Kahlil took the opportunity to calm down.

"MJ." He called out, deciding to take a less abrasive approach to reaching out to his friend. He knew that what happened tonight would leave him in a vulnerable state, and if he could avoid making it worse, then he would reel in his anger for now.

"This isn't MJ." The quiet sound of the female voice on the other line finally spoke up. "You should come to Regional Heights. I don't know what's going on, but MJ is going to need you."

"Who is this?" Kahlil asked knowingly. This was the same voice he had heard at the party when he had been lost in his thoughts. His suspicions were confirmed once the woman answered.

"It's Nayely."

"How-I mean why-"

"Listen. Whatever you're about to ask, I don't have an answer for. I'm actually pretty confused about all of this myself. But-but I think you should just get down here to see about him. I don't know how things are going to turn out, so you should be prepared for anything. Remember, Regional Heights." Nayely ended the call when she heard the door to the restricted area open. Seeing an older doctor emerge, she immediately stood as he came to her.

"Are you Min Jae Park's guardian?" Hearing the question being directed towards her felt wrong. She wondered if she should let the doctor know that a more appropriate person would be there soon, but the need to know what she would be walking away from was stronger.

"Is he okay?"

"Thankfully, we've managed to get him in the clear. When he arrived, he did enter cardiac arrest, but after getting him to a stable condition, we were able to determine that this is all do to a drug overdose. We've administered Valium and are going to continue to monitor his state."

Nayely's body stilled as the doctor's words washed over her.

"Is he-?"

"We'll be moving him shortly and will be sure to send someone out to let you know." With a nod of his head, the doctor returned through the sliding doors leaving a bewildered Nayely to take in all that had been thrown at her.

Her head began to ache as the severity of the night weighed on her. To make sure she didn't end up in the hospital for fainting from shock, she fell back into the seat, wishing that Kahlil could get here as soon as possible.

Standing before the private room, Nayely held her breath as she moved across the threshold. The sterile feeling of the hospital made what she saw even worse. In the center of the room lied an unconscious MJ, as the tranquilizers used to relax him worked their magic.

Though she knew he was out, she still worried that her footsteps could possibly draw him out of his much-needed sleep. Across the room was a nurse who tended to the machines that surrounded the man. When Nayely's presence was known, she caught a glimpse of the nurse sliding a cell phone into her pocket. Turning on her heel, she gave a terse smile before gathering her clipboard and exiting the room.

Following her with her eyes, Nayely got a sense of trouble from the young woman. When the sounds of MJ's heartbeat sounded in her ears, she was brought back to why she had entered the room in the first place.

Nayely's heart shattered as MJ coldly turned his back on her. The look of betrayal on his face brought her to her knees. How could this have happened? All she wanted to do was protect him.

Closing her eyes, Nayely suppressed the memory of the last time she had been this close to the one person she thought she would always have. With each step she took, she closed the space between them, wanting to take advantage of the chance to see him up close. She believed he would feel angered to know that the person he demanded to stay out of his life now stood above him with complete disregard for his wishes.

But as Nayely was faced with the paleness of his face, she knew she would have to ask for his forgiveness later as for this one moment, she couldn't honor his wishes. Her tears fell to his hand as she couldn't hold back anymore.

"How did this happen?" She asked through her cries. Drugs? That wasn't like MJ. The MJ she knew had never been the type to even experiment as kids. The thought of him finding himself into a position where this became his solution to whatever he struggled with broke her heart. She knew she had no right, but she wanted to shake him out of his sleep and ask what the hell he could have been thinking to begin using.

They both had to grow up with parents who chose a quick fix over the lives they were to build and protect for their children. Nayely thought the hurt that they both understood would have managed to shield them from ever mirroring the worst habits of their parents.

Using her fingers to wipe away the droplets that slid along his hand, Nayely felt herself lingering more than she should have. Gliding her fingers over the dips of his knuckles, she brought her fingertips to his own. Softly lifting his hand from the bed, she welcomed the wait of his skin against hers as she balanced the sensitive tips with her own.

"Nayely." Lost in the moment, it was unclear when Kahlil had entered the room or how much he had witnessed. Wiping her face before pulling away, she avoided meeting his eyes as he peered around.

"I can't believe its really you." Looking from the bed and back to her face, Kahlil placed a hand against her shoulder." Thank you for being here for him."

"No. It's not what you think I just-here." Remembering that she held onto MJ's phone, she pushed it to Kahlil ridding herself of the responsibility.

"Hold up, Nayely." Kahlil protested, blocking her from leaving." You don't have to leave right now."

"Yes, I do. I shouldn't be here, and you know it."

"Look, I know its been a long time since we've seen each other, but do you really think this is a time to run away?"

"Run away?" Nayely asked in disbelief as for a moment she could feel Kahlil challenging her. Was he really that stupid to think that things could be normal after all this time?

"This is just like back then. You two just up and quit and-"

"This is nothing like that!" She hissed at the accusation.

"Isn't it? Do you know how many times I asked MJ what went down between the two of you? I just figured you were having a little fight and would get over things. But both of you just ignored me, keeping me out."

"I wasn't ignoring you." Nayely had fallen into a deep depression during that time. It had consumed her so much that she had almost forfeited attending college, intent on slipping away so that no one could find her. She could still remember travelling by foot to the overpass that stood above the busy highway one night. Her hands had gripped the railing as she wondered how soon things could come to an end if she just took the leap. However, after concerned bystanders put in numerous calls of a suspicious person, she was soon met by police officers who helped talk her away from the edge.

From then on, she realized that if she couldn't be with MJ, all she needed was to exist in the same world as him.

"You know you can stay, Nayely." He said filling the silence her thoughts had left. "At least stay to see that he's really okay."

"You can take it from here. In your mind, me being here might be helpful, but I think he would feel differently. He doesn't need any more stress right now."

Shifting past Kahlil's taller frame, Nayely's feet moved towards the door despite the invisible string of regret that pulled at her ankle, begging her to stay just a bit longer. She knew what would be best.

"Wait-can you at least tell me how you found him?"

Her hand gripped the handle of the door as she contemplated her response.

"I didn't find him." Nayely thought about the irony of the situation. She had told herself that staying away was what she had to do and saw to it that she swallowed any moments of weakness that would force her to violate MJ's command. Yet, it was he who broke the agreement she was compelled to follow.

"He found me."

The hallways of the hospital began to feel as though they were caving in on her as she weaved in and out of the bustling hospital. Even during the early hours of the morning, the doctors and nurses worked hard to save those in their time of need.

Up ahead, Nayely's eyes landed on a familiar face. Just before they passed, she couldn't ignore the wide-eyed look in the nurse's eyes as she picked up speed to pass.

When a tight grip on her arm pulled her back, the nurse's nerves began to work against her.

"Is-Is there something you need?" She feigned ignorance as Nayely's face was devoid of a pleasant smile.

"Your phone." Holding out her hand, she watched the woman react by looking around before pulling away.

"I'm sorry. If you need to make a call you can go to the front desk and someone can assist you there."

"Is that picture really worth being barred from ever working again?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The woman went on the defensive as she narrowed her brows.

"If you don't, then I'm sure HIPAA can better explain why you need to give me your damn phone."

The woman's face turned red as she reluctantly pulled her device out, unlocking it. Other nurses and doctors looked on curiously as embarrassment rolled over the guilty nurse. When one of her colleagues approached to see if things were okay, Nayely went through her phone, deleting the pictures that had been taken. Hitting her nametag with the tip of her phone, Nayely looked into her eyes.

"Ma'am is everything okay here?" The nurse who was ignorant to what was going on was prepared to get defensive as she watched her co-worker cower.

"If I hear anything about a picture of that patient being leaked, be ready to lose it all. I never forget a name or face. You'll be the first one I come for." Looking the nurses up and down, Nayely tilted her head as she waited for a response.

"I apologize." The nurse said breathlessly as she stumbled away. Her colleague began to piece things together and quickly followed her, as she began to feel secondhand embarrassment.

Shaking her head, Nayely wondered what else could possibly be in store for her.

"Mommy. You have to get up. I want to go home." MJ's small hands kneaded at his mother's back as she gave no resistance to his insistent pleads. Breath had left her body long ago, and all that the child was left with was the residual heat he could still feel from her skin. Lying down beside her, MJ buried his head into her hair as he cried. He didn't care about the gross stuff that covered her and he didn't care about the strong hands that tried to pry him away from her body.

He held on with all that he had left.

MJ's heavy lids fluttered open as he came to. The lethargic feeling throughout his limbs told him not to rush getting out of bed. He wondered if he had slept through his alarm once again after the night he had. The stale taste in his mouth made him grimace as he thought about getting to his bathroom so that he could brush his teeth.

Throat dry, MJ made an effort to lift himself up but was quickly stopped.

"Woah, you ain't going nowhere anytime soon." Kahlil's voice spoke out.

"MJ, are you okay?"

Christina?

MJ was confused as to why the two of them were in his apartment so early. Thinking back to the fiasco with Danny, he realized they must have come to check on him after he stormed off.

"I'll let them know he's awake." Christina's voice spoke softly to Kahlil as she made good on her words.

"What are you two doing here?" Blinking away the drowsiness, MJ's senses finally began to come back to him. The constant beep at his side ringed in his ears, and the feeling of tubes and wires stuck into his stiff body were unfamiliar.

"You overdosed, MJ." Sitting back as he watched his friend come to terms with what was surrounding him, Kahlil wasted no time in filling him in.

"I don't know how, and I don't know why, but luckily you ended up at Nayely's place just before things went left. If it hadn't been for her..."

Nayely.

MJ's eyes fluttered once again as he could see the horrified look on her face through a grainy memory in his mind.

"I don't understand."

"You and me both."

The two were interrupted as a doctor entered the room, followed by a nurse and frantic Christina.

"It's good to see you up and alert, Mr. Park."

The older man reached out a hand to MJ as the nurse slowly raised his bed to a sitting position.

"Dr. Feinstein. I want to walk you through some things I'm sure you'll be glad to know." As the doctor explained the ups and downs of MJ's visit, he became lost in the terminology as one singular fact ate away at him.

He had used so much that he nearly killed himself.

The thought bulldozed him over as what had almost happened made him feel sick to his stomach.

"We suggest moving you to a rehabilitation center to ensure some privacy while you recover. Your body took a major hit, and right now you need to be as careful as possible. You fought hard, so let's not let this victory go to waste." Dr. Feinstein waited for MJ to process the news.

"Thank you. For what you've done." MJ was lost for words, but he was present enough to know that he needed to show his gratitude for the work that kept him here.

"Of course, Mr. Park. If it hadn't been for the young woman who accompanied you here, things could have been a lot worse for you." Referring to Nayely, Dr. Feinstein conducted his last observations before leaving the room.

Once the three were alone, MJ raised his hand to his face.

"What woman was he talking about?" Christina looked to Kahlil for an answer he was reluctant to give.

"Where is she?" MJ couldn't stop his lips from moving.

"Nayely left hours ago. I tried to get her to stay, but it was pointless." Kahlil revealed, still causing Christina to be confused.

"Who is this Nayely person? Do you know where I can find her? I don't think this has gotten out yet, but I'll make sure to keep her quiet until we can make our next move-"

"Don't worry about it, Christina."

"I have to MJ. A video just so happened to be sent in last night after the fight. I know Danny's people are behind it. If this woman could possibly talk, I need to get to her before she can even think of doing it. People will hop on a story like this like a pack of dogs."

Luckily, Nayely's unknown intervention with the nurse helped to lift this worry from MJ's life.

"She's nobody, Christina." MJ insisted to Kahlil's surprise. Judging from his little journey the night before, that was a bold-faced lie. When he cleared his throat, MJ corrected himself.

"By that I mean she's no one you need to worry about. She-she wouldn't do something like that." Dropping his gaze to his hands, a ghost like feeling sent a tingling sensation through the tips of his fingers. Curling his hand into a fist, he allowed his back to fall against the pillows that supported him.

"You're going to be out for a while." Christina huffed as she crossed her arms. " I need to check up on a few things. I'll swing by later to bring you a bag." Reaching to clasp his hand in hers, Christina's eyes looked on with care.

"Please, get some rest. You're going to see this through. I just know it." With that, Christina left.

A stilled silence drifted between Kahlil and MJ as he took a seat, releasing a stress filled breath as he turned his head to the ceiling.

"Ronnie stayed up all night calling to check on you. We were both flipping out after what happened." Sitting up, Kahlil rested his elbows against his thighs as he looked to MJ. "Then to call your phone just to have Nayely answer?  I'm still trying to catch up here."

"I didn't mean for any of this to go down."

"Don't worry about-this-this getting fixed." Waving his hands at the treatments, Kahlil was much more concerned over an ongoing issue that had never been addressed.

"But what I know for damn sure is the thing that's kept you from seeing Nayely has to be the same thing that sent you to her house last night." There was no need to beat around the bush. Kahlil had seen the change in MJ firsthand, so he knew that the hardness he had built up when it came to the topic of Nayely was all superficial. Once upon a time, just the sheer mention of her name would send MJ into a rage, but eventually it simply became untouched territory. Kahlil had been pissed long ago when it felt like the two people he was closest two had frozen him out, but when he saw the way MJ changed for the worst, he stuck it out, not wanting to leave him on his own.

He knew that one day the time would come when they'd have no choice but to face what pushed them apart. He had to be a witness to it.

"I've sat back and watched you not be yourself for so long. I kept my thoughts to myself because I knew how you felt-but now you can't tell me that even you're not tired of the bullshit." Shrugging his shoulders, Kahlil begged for some explanation. "Otherwise, how did we get here?"

"I wasn't thinking straight last night. All I can remember is waking up in front of her place, and going to her door. After that-I'm not sure what happened."

"Have you two been talking again?"

"No. We haven't."

"Then how did you-"

"It just happened." Why had he done it? All MJ had wanted last night was to be alone. He had every intention of locking himself into his apartment so that he could allow the anger he felt to fall away, yet he had ended up far from home.

The sound of his increasing heartrate told Kahlil that this was not a conversation that should be held there. Backing away, he opted to not cause anymore stress as it was now clear and undeniable that something within MJ had stirred him to seek out Nayely.

"I have a favor to ask." Kahlil listened intently, willing to do whatever he needed to help his friend.

"What's up?"

"I need some help getting my car. I kind of left it there."

"At Nayely's? Where does she stay?"

"I'm not sure." He admitted. When Kahlil's eyebrow quirked up, he sighed before turning to look away. "Like I said it kind of just happened."

Nayely circled around MJ's car, trying to decide if this was something she should report in. With a quick call, she was sure she could have someone come and tow it away but thinking of the added headache it would create to his situation, she hadn't yet followed through with the plan. Placing her hand against the handle of the driver's side door. She pulled until she heard the clicking sound that showed the vehicle had not been locked.

Looking inside, Nayely was taken aback by the sight of the drug paraphernalia that lied scattered in the driver's seat. Had he been using while he drove here? With her hand braced against the seat, she could feel a dusty substance beneath her palm. Realizing what it must have been, Nayely quickly pulled away, wiping her hands off.

Leaning her head against the doorframe, she accepted the hard truths of her lost friend. Deep down, a feeling of disappointment began to rise, though it would ultimately mean nothing. She had been out of his life for far too long, so pushing away the need to help him had to be done. That was simply not her place anymore.

Closing the door, Nayely turned to the sound of an approaching car. Her body tensed when she was able to see Kahlil's face staring back at her.

"You too?" She asked incredulously as Kahlil hopped out of his car. Walking around the front, he was greeted be an exasperated Nayely who couldn't understand how her house had become so easy to find.

"I don't mean any harm." Holding his hands up in innocence, Kahlil carefully approached his old friend. A small smile was offered as he hoped the girl he once knew was still there, but all he was met with was a skeptical expression as she was wary to get involved any more than she was now.

"I thought you'd like to know that MJ is awake and he's doing okay. They're going to watch him for a little while longer and then move him to a rehab facility. It's going to be awhile before he's back to his old self."

Shuffling her feet, Nayely took in Kahlil's words, knowing that the last sentence was something only he would know about.

"If you'd like, I can let you know what happens from here on out. If you give me your number, I can just-"

"You don't need to do that. Really. This is his personal life, I know I'm the last person he'd want you letting in to that."

Realizing her feelings were going to continue to hold up this façade, Kahlil looked around the street.

"This is a nice area. It makes sense." He offered as he tried to ease her in to speaking with him. It almost felt like he was standing before someone he had never met before as her coldness warded him off. "I can see you've been doing good."

"I'm great. Now, are you waiting for someone else to come help you? How did you expect to get his car moved when you already have your own?" Icing him out, Nayely redirected the conversation. She hadn't meant to sound so detached, but it couldn't be helped.

"I was hoping you could help me out with that."

"Kahlil!" The sound of her annoyance as she said his name brought Kahlil closer to the times they had once spent together. He was always up to something that was sure to irritate a young Nayely, but no matter what, most of his antics always drew laughter from her.

Feeling more comfortable, Kahlil's shoulders relaxed.

"I'm saying! You follow me back to his place, we drop the car off, and I'll give you a ride back here."

"I'm not trying to run around town doing this. I've got things to do. I can help you find a tow truck to take the car but I'm just not doing it."

"Who knows how long that could take? They may not be able to send someone out for another hour, and it's pretty hot outside, I'd probably need to come in and sit down with you. You know, chill out and talk so I can know what you've been up to." The ultimatum was one he knew she'd hate even more. Kahlil was proven right as he watched Nayely fight the urge to roll her eyes.

"Come on, Nayely. One and done. You do this for me, and I'll leave you alone. For now, at least." He teased. Lifting MJ's keys towards her, Nayely snatched them away.

"For good." Pulling out her phone, she quickly locked her house, not bothering to go back in for her license. God forbid something would happen where she would need it.

"I appreciate this." Kahlil called out as she pulled herself into MJ's car, but not before gathering the things he had left behind and running to toss them into her trashcan.

If he wanted to, he could add this to the list of reasons to hate her for later.