Keifer's POV
Crystal clear. Every plan that Keigan and I discussed. Every detail and the things that needed to be done. He laid them out one by one clearly.
Keigan is really smart as fvck. I've known that for a long time, but now I'm really witnessing his abilities, which I barely noticed before. I can't help but feel amazed.
He's just 14 and will soon turn 15, but he can think like an adult. That's something that sets him apart from Ci, even though they're both smart.
I'm not sure though who has the higher IQ.
My brother explained everything in front of Honey and Mr. Ryder. Because he said they were the only ones who could help me.
Our plan has four major goals.
First, I have to control my anger management issue. They said that it will be a huge problem in the future, especially when one of my enemies targets my weak spots.
I agreed to that. I really need to control it, for Jay-jay. I don't want what happened to happen again. I will never forgive myself if it does.
Second, I have to face my relatives and Clyde, of course. They will do everything to get what they want—my inheritance.
Aside from Clyde, the Elders are also my problem. They're all targeting Jay-jay. But now that she's no longer involved with me, I hope they stop.
Third, I have to face the monster. He's the last person I expected to do such a thing for the sake of money. For the sake of my inheritance.
At first, his target was Keiren's custody, but now that I'm about to get my entire inheritance, his plans will probably change.
Lastly, I have to protect the people around the Watson family. They are the people who depend on us. The real reason why Mom doesn't want to let go of the inheritance.
Sounds easy, but quite hard to fulfill. In order to reach our goals—more like my goals—I have to follow and do a few things.
I have to let go of Jay-jay. I already did. My brother thinks she's a hindrance, while I don't. I never will see her like that.
I have to be stronger. Stronger than before. Strong enough to defeat all those stupid enemies of mine and protect everyone around me.
I have to get more allies. The more, the merrier. I can move freely if I have more.
I have to consult my actions with them. Which I don't think will happen. They think I will ruin everything.
I also have to be wiser than my enemies. I always have to think of a counterattack for them.
Keigan also said that we might add things to our original plan. He's also thinking about having a Plan B in case things get fvcked up.
Mr. Ryder, Honey, and I agreed to his plan. The discussion ended quickly, thanks to his clear explanation.
Right now, I don't even know where to start.How can I even begin when Jay-jay's face keeps running through my mind?
When I wake up in the morning, when I eat, when I take a bath. Even while dressing up and walking. Even in my dreams, she's all I see.She keeps running through my mind.
It just makes me miss her even more.
Suddenly, I slammed the brakes of my car. I got lost in my thoughts and forgot about dropping my siblings at school.
"Next time, I'll just have the driver take me. You're spacing out again." Keigan said before opening the car door.
My lips formed a thin line. "Fine. Take care." I said, almost sounding sarcastic.
Good thing we didn't pass his school.
As soon as he closed the door, I sighed.
"You look sleepy." Keiren said.
"No. I'm just spacing out."
I drove the car to Keiren's school. This time, I made sure to focus on driving. We might get into an accident at this rate.
"Do Kuya Keigan and you have a problem?"
Keiren suddenly asked.
"No. We don't have a problem. Why?" I answered without looking at him.
"Because you both look so busy."
I cleared my throat shortly. I feel guilty for Keiren. This should be a family discussion, but we couldn't include him.He's too young for this. He wouldn't understand anything yet.
"B-because my birthday is coming up soon. Remember? We're just preparing."
"I thought you don't like celebrating your birthday."
"It's different this time."
He nodded as if accepting my explanation. I stopped the car in front of his school gate. I let him get out on his own, just like he always wanted.
Before driving off, I checked to make sure all of Keiren's bodyguards were in position. I left after confirming that everything was in place.
Now, I'm heading to school.I'm praying that Jay-jay is alright.I know she's not going to school today. She needs to rest after what she did—drinking at KingsGround.
She shouldn't go back there again.
Maybe I should talk to Tiger to stop Jay-jay from coming back. It's not good for her to hang out there. Maybe Angelo doesn't know yet—he wouldn't let Jay if he found out.
When I arrived at school, there were barely any students around.
Nice! I'm late.
"Jay-jay will say I'm even later than the teachers and the principal. Even later than the late ones."
I smiled at the thought of her mocking me. She's even better at teasing than our classmates. But she can never fight back when I fire back at her.
Typical Jay-jay. Maybe that's why she quickly got along with Section E—because her attitude isn't far from theirs.
I'm starting to miss those days. I took a deep breath to push the thought away. I have to focus. Our goals and plans are my priority now.
Before stepping out of my car, I made sure to put on my cold, expressionless face. I don't want them to see that I'm troubled. They should be worrying about Jay-jay, not me. She should be their priority.
I was close to the classroom when I saw Josh, holding the black cat he always feeds. He looked at me with a blank expression before releasing a heavy sigh. He doesn't seem happy to see me.
He started walking toward the room. I did the same.
Silence filled the whole classroom as soon as I stepped inside. I ignored it and continued walking until I reached my table.
"Can't they just switch? Jay-jay should come to school instead, and he should be the one absent. His face is so annoying." I heard Eren say.
"Shut up." Kit stopped him.
"How dare he show up here? He still hasn't left." Mayo added.
"Dude… Can you just be quiet?" Felix asked in a threatening voice.
"Damn it…" Drew muttered, followed by a small thud on the table.
I can't blame them. It's better this way. If they knew everything, Jay-jay might find out the truth. I don't want them involved in my family's mess.
I need them to stay by Jay's side.
I noticed Yuri beside me, staring at me with a weird expression. It was obvious he wanted to talk to me but was holding back.
This is what's annoying about our friendship. He always knows when I'm hiding something or lying. I don't know if I'm too transparent or if he's just memorized my behavior.
I heard my phone's message tone. Someone texted me. I took it out of my pocket and checked.
It was from an unknown number.
From: +639*******
Message: I saw your classmate and girlfriend. They were together earlier at the mini-mart. Don't know if you want to know.
I wasn't sure who it was. Probably one of the guys I beat down and now works for me.
My classmate?
I immediately responded. There are only two guys I know who would dare approach her despite what happened.
To: +639*******
Message: Do you know who? I have 15 male classmates.
It didn't take long for a reply.
From: +639*******
Message: I think his name is David. They looked serious while talking.
I automatically glanced at David's chair. He wasn't there.
My fist clenched. I can't help but feel angry and jealous. It felt like he was already making a move to win Jay-jay over.
Relax, Keifer… You're not sure yet.
He probably got close to her with Percy's help.
I tried to calm down. Right then, David walked into the classroom. I didn't take my eyes off him until he sat down.
"You're late. Sir said you're getting dropped." Ci-N giggled like a child.
David flicked her forehead in response. Then, as if he noticed my staring, he looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
We had a staring contest for a while, testing each other's patience. It was broken when my phone's message tone went off again. I almost cursed.
From: +639*******
Message: Just a warning. Every gang in town is on heat. Keep your girlfriend safe if you don't want them to target her.
WHAT?!
Now of all times?
It looks like Ram's disappearance made things worse. The gangs under him before are now taking over.
I can't help but feel nervous for Jay-jay. What if she's the one they go after now? Especially since she's out and wandering around. Even if she's with Percy, I still can't be sure.
I only have one option now.
I opened my phone and searched for the special app Edrix made for us.
OTJ101
This is the tenth version of the app. Edrix had a hard time making an app just for us.
It has two parts: one for Jay-jay and one for me.
The one on Jay's phone is the sender, while mine is the receiver. So every message she gets and every call she receives also reaches me.
I know I'm invading her privacy, but we need to know when Percy will contact her again. We were trying to catch him back then.
But honestly, I also use this app to know where she is… and, of course, who she's talking to.
I've caught her sneaking out late at night because of this. It's also why we know where to find her when she's in danger.
I waited for a while until a map popped up.
There was a pin marking her current location.
I arched a brow. The pin is moving fast, which means she's also moving. Too fast for normal walking—unless she's in a vehicle.
But where is she going?
She's with Percy, so he wouldn't take her just anywhere. He knows what I can do to him if he tries to take Jay away.
I decided to put my phone down. I can't blame her if she wants to wander around to ease her anger and pain.
But sooner or later, she'll have to face us again. Angelo is letting her be for now because of what happened, but he won't allow her to ruin her studies.
"Jay still isn't coming to school? I'm worried about her." I heard Blaster say.
"As long as Keifer is here, she won't show up." Denzel answered.
No. She can't skip school forever.
I won't be staying long either. Soon, I'll have to leave. In the meantime, they should take care of Jay.
I leaned back and crossed my arms. I really can't sit still without seeing Jay.
I miss her so much. I want to see her, but I have to train myself to endure it.
Everyone turned to the door when suddenly… Percy entered?
I immediately looked to see if someone was following him.
Hoping that Jay-jay would also come in, but she didn't.
My forehead creased. If he's here, whose car is Jay-jay in? Who is she with? Did she run away from him?
"Hey, David!" he shouted. "…Why aren't you answering my calls?!"
David took his phone. "It was on silent, sorry."
Something seemed off about Percy. He was catching his breath. He looked uncomfortable and tense. As if something bad had happened.
Shit! Don't tell me…
"What the fvck are you doing here?" I asked calmly but with authority.
I didn't want to act recklessly because I wasn't sure yet. But I had this feeling that something bad happened to Jay-jay.
Percy still looked restless, which only made my suspicions grow. He even ran his hand through his hair before wiping his face with both hands.
He couldn't take it anymore and suddenly grabbed David's phone.
"What's wrong with you?" David asked.
I quietly opened my phone and checked Jay-jay's current location. I was puzzled to see that she was far away. Far from the city and already past the highway.
I pressed the pin to see more details. It gave me the exact location and address on the map. An old office of a bankrupt company? What is she doing there?
Fvck! Is she being kidnapped?
I looked at them and saw Percy calling someone.
But it looked like no one answered.
"Fvck!" he shouted and threw the phone back at David.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" David asked again.
"Jay-jay is missing."
I knew it!
Our classmates were filled with worry and alarm. I tried my best to remain calm, but the truth was I badly wanted to kill Percy.
He let this happen to Jay-jay! What the hell was he doing?!
"What?!"
"Maybe she just went somewhere!"
"Or maybe she went home!"
Their reactions while trying to figure out what exactly happened.
I heard my phone's message tone. I opened it, and it was another unknown number.
But this one was different from the first message I received.
From: +639*********
Message: We have your precious girl. Same place in 30 minutes, or you'll find her naked in our bed. Haha
My fist clenched around my phone so tightly that I almost broke it.
I don't know who they are. But I will find them and wipe them out. They better not even lay a finger on Jay-jay.
"You were with her! How the hell do you not know where she is?!" Yuri shouted at Percy.
Percy turned to Yuri and shot him a deadly glare. He was obviously unhappy with the way Yuri spoke to him.
"Don't lecture me!" he snapped while pointing a finger at him.
"What the hell even happened?!" Felix asked.
"She suddenly disappeared… I just finished the fight she started, and then she was gone." Percy explained angrily.
She got into a fight?This is not good.
I thought Percy was helping her fix her life, but it looked like he was only encouraging her behavior.
He should have been keeping Jay away from trouble! Is this guy even thinking?!
"You're not going to do anything?!" Yuri suddenly asked me.
I looked at him without changing my expression. I slowly stood up and threw my phone at him. He caught it.
"I already know where she is," I added before walking out of the room.
I didn't care if they followed me or not. All I knew was that I was going to wipe them out.
The people who took Jay-jay.
I will rip them into pieces.
I reached the parking lot and quickly got into my car. I started the engine without caring if I ran over anything.
All I care about is Jay-jay and her safety. Those bastards will die!
I glanced at the side-view mirror. I saw Yuri and David's cars. Of course, they followed me.
But I had no plans to wait for them. I stepped on the gas as if I were in a race.
Fvck them!
I'm in a hurry to kill them. I feel more than livid. I badly want to break them.
I will make sure they never do this again. And if I could erase them from this world, I would.
I turned left when I saw a shortcut. This was also the route they took, according to the map.
I heard the sudden screeching of brakes behind me. The loud honking of their cars followed.
But I don't give a fvck about them.
I could no longer see Yuri's car in the rearview mirror. Looks like they got stuck in the traffic I just caused.
I'm alone now.
I will save Jay-jay no matter what.