"Testosterone is a from the class containing a keto and hydroxyl groups at the three seventeen positions respectively. It is in several steps from cholesterol and is converted in the liver to inactive metabolites." Ryan looked up from the paper, scrutinizing Alexia with a strict eye.

She immediately felt his stern gaze and went back to feverishly writing down everything he read aloud. Once he went back to focusing on the paper, she absentmindedly looked up, her mind wandering off again.

"It exerts its action through binding to and activation of the ." He continued, looking at her again. Alexia cursed, dropping her pen.

"I can't do this." She snapped, giving up. Ryan sighed. "I know it's difficult, but you're trying to graduate here."

"Not for another year, and I don't mind having to redo this one if necessary. I can't do this." She pushed her notebook away from her, tiredly leaning against the back of the chair.

Ryan, Chaz and Alexia were in the hospital, taking turns visiting Jason. He was still not conscious and by now it started to worry her. They were nearing the two weeks of him showing no sign that he was going to get better, and it caused a permanent blob in her belly, one that wouldn't leave until he woke up. Teo had gone home days ago, still thoroughly affected by the accident but at least he was recovering.

Chaz was with Jason right now, probably airing his heart about Chloe and the baby and Ryan had taken it on him to help Alexia with catching up on her missed lectures. They tried, they really did, but both were too distracted by the fact that Jason was laying in a hospital bed in the room in front of them.

Ryan covered his face with his hands, puffing out a breath of frustration. "It's just—" he wringed, "So hard to see him like this."

Alexia nodded. The boys were both devastated. They'd been best friend with Jason all their life, and having to be without him for as long as they had was hard enough on itself, now that he was back but in a freaking coma it made matters worse. He was here, but not really here.

"Sometimes I even find myself thinking, 'if he didn't wake up two days after the accident, why would he wake up two weeks after the accident? He's over with.' How horrible is that?" Ryan slumped his shoulders in defeat. Alexia winced at the words, shaking the thought away.

"Don't say that," she mumbled, "I've had my fair share of bad thoughts, but I'm positive he'll wake up."

"Where are you getting your damned positivity from?" Ryan furrowed his eyebrows. Alexia shrugged, because she didn't know. Perhaps it was the fact that she had heard his voice twice over the past one and a half weeks, or perhaps she was convinced that Jason wouldn't leave her hanging, but either way, she knew he'd wake up. He had to.

"I don't know," she said truthfully, "And I don't care. He will wake up Ryan. Just stay strong, he can't have us crumbling down. He needs us."

The crying had gotten much less. Alexia didn't cry anymore every time she thought about Jason's coma, or every time she thought about Jason in general. She didn't cry when she saw him laying in the bed, expressing the same solemn expression he'd had on his face from the first night they brought him here. She didn't cry when his limp, cold hand didn't curl around her own. It was almost like she was getting used to it, and she hated that. She would never get used to it.

Nevertheless, that didn't mean that all of the crying stopped. Because once in a while, when she let her mind wander off far enough, or she took her time looking at him, tears would well up in a fraction of a second, and she'd be bawling by his side, begging him to wake up.

Which, he never did.

Ryan hadn't replied. Alexia threw an arm around his shoulder, "Hey, Butler's not giving up on his best friend, is he?"

"Never." Ryan responded, exasperation evident in his words. Alexia tried to smile, "Good, because I'm pretty sure his best friend didn't give up on him either."

Ryan's lips tugged upwards shortly.

They spent ten minutes in silence, both lost in thoughts. What they were supposed to study lied in front of them, open but no attention paid to it. Who were they fooling anyway? Studying while Jason was unconscious in the room across?

They talked again when Chaz manoeuvred back into the sitting area, a permanent scowl on his face. No one walked out of Jason's room smiling.

Ryan and Alexia looked at him questioningly, though they weren't expecting anything. Chaz looked back at them before raising his eyebrows and shrugging, "Nothing's changed."

"We know." But Ryan's eyes dimmed disappointingly anyway.

Alexia was desperate to change the mood. Dealing with her own feelings about Jason was hard as it was, but seeing how Ryan and Chaz beat themselves up about it crushed her. She couldn't deal with that.

"So, are you excited about the baby?" She looked at Chaz. His eyes lit up for a short second before going back to the empty, dark holes that have been there since Jason's accident. "Yeah," he nodded, a small smile curling his lips, "Very excited."

"How many weeks is she now?"

"Five." His answers were fast and enthusiastic. It was refreshing to see him talk about something with passion, because lately Chaz didn't seem to care about anything other than his best friend.

Alexia grinned. "How are you and Chlo?"

"Better than ever," he grinned too, "Don't worry, Lex. I'm treating her the way she should be treated."

"I'm not worried." She muttered, but she had been before he mentioned it. It was nice to get confirmation about the fact that he had changed his ways towards Chloe.

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever. I know you."

"Do you have any names in mind?" Alexia dodged the comment, looking at Ryan with a side eye. He was silent, his eyes fixated on the ground.

"Some. I want a boy, Chloe wants a girl." Chaz' lips crooked into another smile, "Truth to be told I don't really care. If it's a boy I'll name him Jason."

"Chaz..."

"I don't mean anything by it," he quickly added, "I'm not saying he won't wake up, Alexia. I'm just saying; Jason is my brother and he's been through a lot. And yet, he's still fighting. I want my son to be strong like him. That's not weird, is it?"

Alexia was staring at Chaz with wide eyes, her mouth slightly parted. Even Ryan had looked up in surprise, his eyes plastered on Chaz.

Chaz scoffed. "Jesus! I'm getting fucking corny! I blame Chlo and the baby. Stop looking at me like that!"

Alexia and Ryan burst out in laughter and Chaz joined them only moments later, tears rolling out of their eyes.

-

The Valdez house wasn't 'home' to Alexia anymore. It used to be her favourite place in the world, the one place she felt comfortable. Their house used to be full with people, siblings fighting in the corner, siblings laughing in the dining room, their father trying to calm everyone down and their mom judging everyone from a distance. In a way, Alexia liked it like that. She didn't want it to change. It helped that the business required everyone to be nearby, because it rarely happened that anyone moved out. Surely Dominic had a place with Carina and little Toby, but they usually spent their days in the big house.

But it had all changed once Florencia passed away.

Passed away. Alexia let out a bitter chuckle. She had to stop saying that. Florencia was killed and her fiancé was the reason.

The house was now empty and silent. Too big. Stefano was barely every home, and if he was, he was drunk. It had gotten a bit better with Teo coming back home and needing care. Stefano slowed down on the drinking and made sure Teo had everything he needed.

But he wasn't happy. And Alexia knew it.

Dominic was at his own place six out of seven days. He'd already told Alexia why; he didn't want to be around that house anymore. It's toxic, he had said. She understood.

God knew where Catalina was. The woman was moving around all the times. Some days she'd be chirpy and happy, almost fluttering. Some days, she was sad and silent. It used to be rare to see Cat silent and upset, but everyone had gotten used to it in the past months. Stefano tried to take care of her too, but she didn't let him in. And Alexia? The last time she spoke to her sister was a long time ago.

Everybody tried to act normal for Freddie. He was five and is supposed to grow up normally, so for Freddie's sake everyone put their indifferences aside.

Emilio was... bland. He didn't seem to care anymore. All of his children—Freddie aside—were adults and fully capable of taking care of themselves. He only bothered with Freddie, occasionally taking him to the movies or going to the mall. He talked to him whilst eating dinner and tried to take him to school most of the time, but everyone knew he was faking it. Emilio wasn't the same anymore since his wife died. That killed Alexia. She used to be extremely close to her father, but they hadn't been hitting it off lately.

Teo tried his hardest to spent as much time with Maya as possible. He'd proved that she was his main priority and nobody blamed him.

It seemed that the only happy person in the house was Damian. He almost skipped through the hallways, wide smirks curling his lips. It disgusted Alexia.

Alexia sighed, closing the door after walking inside. It was chilly and she shivered, kicking off her shoes and sauntering to the living room. Her dad was seated on one of the couches with his reading glasses on, flipping through a heap of papers.

"Hey dad."

He looked up, "Hey kiddo." And with that, he looked down again.

Alexia sighed. All the conversations in the house went like that. Hello. Hi. How are you? Fine, you? I'm good, better. Good. I'm going upstairs now. Alright. Bye. Bye.

"How are you, dad?" Alexia plopped down on one of the couches. Her dad looked up again, surprised she proceeded the conversation.

"I'm fine. How are you?"

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. See! All the conversations went like that. "I'm doing marvellous, thank you."

He must've heard the sarcasm in her voice, but he just shrugged and continued reading the papers. "Any news about Jason?"

"No." she mumbled irritably, picking at her nails.

Emilio shook his head in disappointment, murmuring a small, "What a shame. He was a good boy." Inwardly. Alexia clenched her jaw, acting like she didn't hear his comment. He was a good boy. Was. As if Jason wouldn't wake up.

"You know, I'm just wondering, how did you meet Damian?"

Her dad looked up again, his eyebrows raised in suspicion. "Why?"

"I'm just wondering."

"His father and I were friends. When Damian turned eighteen, his father told me about his interest in being a leader. I gave Damian a shot as a favour for his father."

"And then what happened?"

"His father was very sick and passed away. I remember Damian being so broken about it that he threatened to commit suicide. The poor man was on antidepressants for over a year."

Alexia frowned. She'd known about Damian's father. The Albarran's weren't too important, but a loss was a loss nonetheless and the funeral was big and grotesque. She didn't know the man had a son back then and she couldn't really remember seeing him. However, Damian had never told her about being depressed.

"Go on." She urged.

"He flew over to New York to hang out with me. Perhaps he needed a fatherly figure, perhaps he needed company. Either way, his mother and his sister didn't seem to be enough. We filled our time the only way we could—talking about the business. I found out he was still very passionate about becoming the leader and promised him that if he trained enough, I may give him a chance."

"And you did."

Emilio nodded. "And I did. I promised him. It's been long, and Damian has improved. I'll admit he's not what I want yet, but he'll get to that eventually. I trust him."

Alexia snorted, closing her eyes. Her father was stupid, that's what he was. Trusting Damian wasn't exactly smart on his part. If her dad ever found out that Damian was the one to lay a bad finger on Florencia, he would tear him apart. Literally.

Then why won't you tell him?

Because he wouldn't believe her.

"Where is this coming from?" Emilio looked at her, his eyebrows still risen. Alexia shrugged, dismissively waving a hand. "Just curious."

"Right." He looked at her for another while before returning his attention back on the papers. Alexia bit her lip and raked her father's demeanor, sadness vibing off him. His big, wide posture hung and his eyes stood upset. It killed her to see him like this, like he was done with life. Like he had no purpose.

He did have one. He had her. He had his sons. He had Cat. He had to continue being his happy self, even if it was difficult.

"Alexia I swear to fucking God if this stupid dog doesn't stop fucking up my shit I will put a bullet through her head!" Damian stumbled into the living room holding a trembling Sola by the throat like she had a disease.

"Don't touch her!" Alexia jumped up and snatched Sola out of his hand. Sola barked softly. "Shh, are you okay baby? Did he hurt you?" Alexia tried to keep her voice soft and soothing.

"Son of a bitch." She hissed, narrowing her eyes at Damian. Damian inhaled deeply and took a step closer to Alexia, "Say it again."

"Son of a bitch." She spoke, keeping Sola tight against her chest. Damian grabbed Alexia's collar and yanked her closer, her face only centimetres away from his. "Who do you think you are?" he spat, actually spitting. Alexia grimaced, "Someone who brushes her teeth. Man, you stink."

"Alexia, enough." Emilio exclaimed, putting his papers and his glasses down. Damian only now seemed to notice her father and quickly let go of Alexia, taking a few steps backwards. "That is not a way to speak to your fiancé."

Damian snickered.

Alexia's mouth fell open. "You've got to be kidding me! You saw the way he grabbed me, right?"

"After you called him a son of a bitch, yes."

"Dad!" she nearly yelled, "I can't believe you!"

Emilio stepped closer to them, "I can't believe you called him that two seconds after we talked about his father."

"I was talking about his mom!" she screeched in disbelief, throwing her hands up in the air. Damian's face fell, but Emilio beat him to responding. "You can't just call his mom a bitch and expect nothing to happen, Alexia. This is unacceptable. I didn't raise you like this."

Damian smirked and looked at Alexia, his eyebrows raised ever so slightly. He dared her to talk back to her father, and she hated it. Why was her dad defending Damian and not his own daughter?

"Don't look at me like that," she snapped, glaring at Damian, "You piece of shit. You're feeling very great now that my dad is on your side too, huh?"

"Alexia!" Emilio was now beyond pissed, taking another couple of steps closer to his daughter. "I do not want to hear this any longer! Apologize to Damian right away." She kept silent.

"Now." He sneered.

"Yeah, apologize to me, babe." Damian spoke smugly.

First, Damian manipulated her mother into worshipping the ground he walked on, and when she decided she was done with his maniac antics, he killed her. Her relationship with Alexia was strained already, but with Damian in the picture it was a whole new level of fucked up. Now that Florencia wasn't around anymore, Damian appeared to have manipulated her dear father into trusting him, and Alexia absolutely loathed it. Damian had done everything to mess with her life, and she was done.

Anger rushed through her veins and she felt heat rising to her cheeks as she pointed her finger at Damian, her eyes on her dad. "How can you stand there and defend him? Out of the two of us, him? Really dad? I am your fucking daughter! Even with the way you've been treating all of us—like shit—I would still stand by you through anything, but you're quick to turn your back on me, for him!" she screamed.

"Alexia—" he warned, but Alexia cut him off. She was done dealing with this.

"You do know that he is the one who fucking killed mom, right? Your stupid ass has been defending the person who assassinated your dear fucking wife! The person who assassinated our mother! How dare you defend him!"

Tears of anger pooled in her eyes. All three of them were silent. Damian looked nervous, anxiously cupping the back of his neck as he waited for Emilio's reaction.

This is it, Alexia thought, he's found out now.

She waited and waited for Emilio's outburst, but it never came. Instead, he stared at his daughter icily, his entire posture straightening and flexing. Slowly, he lifted his arm and pointed at the door.

"Get out." His voice was calm. Too calm.

Alexia let out a chortle of disbelief, quickly brushing away her tears. He was kidding. He had to be.

"Get. Out." He said again, menacing her with his hard stare. Alexia felt her stomach squirm, panic rising to her head. "What?"

"So help me God if you do not know the meaning of those words, get the hell out of my house." And his finger was still pointed at the door. And his eyes were still on her.

Alexia widened her eyes. "You mean him, right?"

"You, Alexia. Get out of my house. I don't want you here."

It was almost like the world crashed down in on her, her heart plummeting into her stomach. "What?" she whispered, "You can't do that. I'm your daughter. He—he's a lying psychopath."

"I can, and I will." Her father snapped, his face motionless. "Another bad word about Damian and I'll throw you out myself."

"You can't do that!" She cried louder, feeling how Sola startled in her arms. "I am your daughter!" It was like she couldn't find another argument, other than that she was his daughter, which should've been enough. Emilio kept his expression solemn, never moving an inch. "This is the last time I'm telling you this. Get out, and don't come back before you're ready to apologize to him."

Alexia let out a whimper of despair, shaking her head. "You're kicking out your own daughter for him? That disgusting, psychotic, lying piece of crap? He's ruining my life dad, you've got to understand. He's not innocent, I swear. I swear—I—I have proof," she begged. Her father had to understand. He needed to understand.

"Out."

Alexia wept, walking backwards. "I hate you," she sobbed, "I hate you so much. You will regret this, I swear you will. Once he has successfully murdered the entire family you'll regret kicking me out. Don't trust him, dad."

"One more word and I'm throwing you out myself." Emilio didn't move, his lips pulled into a firm line.

"You'll never see me again." She blubbered, "Fuck you!" and with that, she turned around and staggered out of the house, Sola still in her arms.

-

It felt like heartbreak. Don't they say that a father is a girl's first love or some kind of bullshit like that? Alexia didn't know, but all she knew was that her entire chest hurt and she didn't know what to do.

She'd gone straight to Maya's place, knowing that Teo was there as well. She dropped Sola off in tears, claiming that she just had to see Jason when they'd asked her what happened. Now she was here in the hospital, sitting next to Jason's bed. He remained unmoved, arms by his sides and no emotions on his face whatsoever.

"Dad kicked me out." She wailed, grabbing his hand. "I don't know what's wrong with him, but he just kicked me out after me and Damian got into a fight in front of his face. I—I can't believe he did that. For Damian. I'm his daughter!" she hiccupped, "Doesn't that mean anything?"

The instrument continued beeping like it always did, indicating that Jason's heart was still beating.

"This is a perfect time to wake up, Jase." She murmured, "I need you. I always need you, but now I really do."

Silence.

"You're the only person who'll know what to do. You're the only one who can calm me down. Please. Please." She begged. The desperation was a big knot inside her belly, one that repeatedly tugged at her heart. She was forlorn and at the end of her rope, and Jason was the only one who could make her feel better.

But Jason proceeded being unconscious. He didn't twitch an eyelash as Alexia cried and begged and yelled. He prevailed frozen and static, laying on the white bed with no responsiveness to her sadness.

"Will you ever wake up?" she breathed, her gaze blurry. It didn't matter, Jason looked the same every time she visited him. The picture of him laying on the bed was now imprinted in her head, her mind, and every single nightmare she'd had the past few weeks.

The beeping rang in her ears.

"I guess not." She sadly mumbled, laying her head on his chest. His heart beat—and for now that was all that mattered. Inwardly, she apologized for being so pessimistic. She didn't want to jinx it, but she couldn't help it.

"It's okay." His voice was husky and sad. "I'd be the same. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

"Stop this! Stop fucking talking to me!" Alexia wheezed out, unable to deal with Jason's voice in her head. It hurt her too much.

The voice didn't reply and from then on, it was silent inside and outside her head.

-

"Alexia? Alexia, honey..."

"Oh God, she looks like she spent all night here."

A splitting headache was what caused Alexia to open her eyes eventually. The white of the hospital room dazed her for a short moment, but when she heard the periodic beeping of Jason's heart monitor and noticed his stagnant body she realized she must've fell asleep.

She looked at him, ignoring the pain twinges in her stomach. He seemed unmoved.

Like always.

"Alexia? Did you sleep here?"

Alexia looked up and met Pattie's concerned eyes. There was Pattie, and next to Pattie was Jeremy, and in the back were Ryan and Chaz' parents, accompanied by Ryan and Chaz themselves. They all stared at her with big and hesitant eyes.

"What? I—" She furrowed her brows and slowly looked around, thunder bolting through her back once she tried to move. Apparently the position she'd been sleeping in wasn't good for her back.

The curtains were open and the sun shone brightly.

"Wait, it's morning?"

"Yes, sweetheart." Pattie smiled sympathetically. Alexia frowned again, reminiscing everything that happened yesterday. She croaked out a whimper and held back her tears as she mumbled, "I must've fell asleep."

"We thought so, too. How come no nurse sent you away?" Jeremy raised his eyebrows. Alexia shrugged, still struggling to not remember her father kicking her out. "I have no idea," she said, "I'm surprised."

Ryan stepped forwards. "How about we drive you home? You missed half of today's lectures anyway, you can miss the other half too."

She reeled with anguish, shaking her head. "I can't go home."

"What do you mean?"

"Just..." she sighed, "Take me to the dorms. Can you do that?"

Ryan slowly nodded.

"I'll come too. I can't deal with seeing Jason like this so early in the morning." Chaz growled, running a frantic hand through his hair. The parents all agreed.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later then Alexia." Pattie put a hand on hers before she stepped back. Alexia tried to smile and nodded, pressing a chaste kiss on Jason's cold forehead.

"I'll be back." She whispered.

There was no response.