Keifer's POV
Keiren was on my back as we got off the plane. He was fast asleep, probably because of the long journey. We arrived in the Philippines in the early morning.
As expected, our ride was already waiting for us. He was leaning against his car, arms crossed while creasing his forehead. I walked up to him.
"How long have you been waiting?" I asked him.
Tiger looked at me. "About half an hour, I guess." He yawned and didn't even bother to cover his mouth.
He opened the backseat door of his yellow car and helped me get Keiren inside. After closing the door, I noticed him glancing at the plane we had just gotten off.
I turned to look as well and saw the flight stewardess stepping down from the aircraft. She was carrying our belongings—ones I had apparently forgotten. I rubbed my face with my hands.
Damn this woman.
Her chest bounced with every step she took.
"Mr. Watson. You forgot this." She said in a sweet voice.
I took the belongings and placed them inside the car. I noticed Tiger grinning widely—he seemed to have lost all his drowsiness the moment he saw the stewardess.
"Hi, Miss." He greeted, and the woman waved back at him.
I rolled my eyes. She really charms men so easily. I had been praying nonstop throughout our entire flight. I called upon every saint I could think of, and even though I wasn't religious, I must have recited every kind of prayer that existed.
I belong only to Jay-jay. She's the only one who can touch my body, and she alone owns my entire being. I may be tempted because I'm a man, but I can resist it.
"She's a catch." Tiger said, looking at me while wiggling his eyebrows. "So what did you do the whole flight?"
"Slept." I answered before getting inside his car.
I was stunned by the decor of his vehicle. His steering wheel was covered in yellow fur. The dashboard had the same texture but a different design—still with a touch of yellow. The interior was a headache to look at. The head pillows were yellow, with the eyes and tail of a Pokémon.
I think this is Pikachu.
Tiger got into the car as well, grinning widely as he drove.
"You really didn't do anything with that woman? What a waste."
"I'd regret it more if I gave in to her."
He shook his head. "Why do you keep sticking with Angelo's cousin?"
"Excuse me?"
"No offense. There are plenty of women out there who are more beautiful and even more feminine than her."
"Jay-jay is a woman." I said as I crossed my arms.
"Maybe boyish, but still a woman."
"She's a tomboy."
"No, she's not."
"She is a tomboy!"
"She is not."
"I said she's a tomboy!"
What the…
"Why do you keep insisting that she's a tomboy?"
I was getting close to losing my patience with him. Of all people, he had to call Jay-jay a tomboy. Yes, she moves like a man, fights like a man, punches like a man, eats like a man, trash talks like a man—okay! Almost like a man! But to me, she's still a very beautiful woman.
"I've seen her before." He said, making me look at him. "When we visited Angelo's province. I saw her there."
I didn't know they had gone there. Even if I had known, they still wouldn't have let me—or us—come along. Angelo's friends kept insisting we were too young to join them. But they had no problem using me as an errand boy whenever they saw me.
"That was a very long time ago. How do you even remember that? I thought you had a bad memory."
"Oh, harsh." He smirked. "You're underestimating my memory."
I squinted slightly as the headlights of an oncoming car shine too brightly.
"No, but I do know your brain is small."
Suddenly, he slammed on the brakes. I nearly hit my head because of it, but I was more worried about Keiren, who was still peacefully sleeping in the back. Thankfully, he didn't fall.
"What the hell is it?" I faced him angrily.
His head was sticking out the window, looking behind us. I turned in the same direction he was looking, but there was nothing on the dark road.
"What exactly are you looking at?"
He faced me, looking utterly shocked.
"I think I just saw Raffy and Ion." He said, looking truly startled.
"Who?"
He frowned slightly. "Which one of us has memory problems now?"
"Fine! I remember Raffy—or Rafael. He's that glasses-wearing friend of yours who mostly just laughs and smiles."
He ran a hand through his hair. "I swear it really looked like them."
"How would they even end up here? I thought Rafael and… Ion were missing."
It doesn't make any sense. This is the first time I've thought about this. Rafael and Ion are both missing. Angelo's friend and girl have been gone for I don't know how long.
If Angelo finds out what Tiger saw, even if it was just a trick of the eye, he'll lose his mind. He'll probably take reckless actions without thinking.
"Maybe you were just seeing things. The driver I saw was an old man." I lied.
"But it really looked like them." He muttered to himself.
"You're just sleepy. Let me drive." I said, reaching for the door handle.
"Iihhh no!" He whined dramatically, hugging the steering wheel. "Only I can drive Baby."
Baby? He called his yellow car a baby?
"Did you just call your car a… freaking baby?"
He suddenly smacked my arm. I was caught off guard—it was like a girlfriend sulking at her boyfriend.
"Don't curse my Baby!" He said, kissing the wheel before hugging it again. "Don't worry, Baby, Daddy loves you."
I grimaced. Damn! Maybe this guy doesn't have a girlfriend because he loves his car more than any woman he meets.
He restarted the engine and drove off again. I stayed silent while he kept rambling on.
He mentioned again that he had seen Jay-jay before. He only recently realized that it was really her. I smiled, imagining how she looked back then.
"She was dirty, barefoot, playing with boys, and even picking fights."
I started to wonder—what if I had met her back then? If Aries had introduced her to us? Maybe we would have become friends, or enemies like when we first met. Maybe things wouldn't be this complicated.
As he continued talking, I didn't even notice when I fell asleep. By the time I woke up, the sky was already bright.
"Breakfast?" I heard Keiren ask as he handed me a piece of bread.
I accepted it and thanked him. I looked at Tiger, who was also eating while driving.
"Are we still far?"
"We're here." He said, pointing at the house not too far ahead.
Now that I saw it, I started to take in my surroundings. The area was surrounded by towering trees, as if the house was purposely hidden from the public. There were no other houses nearby. The long road led to only one destination.
That creepy house.
We stopped right in front of it. At first glance, it looked like an old provincial house—but it wasn't. The wooden pillars and capiz windows were just a facade. Up close, the wooden color was just paint. The windows were actually glass, tinted to look like capiz.
Tiger got out, but Keiren and I stayed inside his car. He rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door.
We waited for several minutes, but no one answered. Tiger rang the bell again and knocked on the door this time.
The door finally opened—but instead of a person, a gun greeted him.
Tiger quickly raised both hands and stepped back.
"You're a nuisance, Leo!" Said the woman holding the gun.
She was one of our teachers at HVIS. The only teacher that Section E both feared and admired.
Ms. Cindy Smith.
Leo grinned widely. "Did I interrupt your little romantic moment?"
Ms. Cindy narrowed her eyes and cocked the shotgun she was holding. Tiger quickly stepped back, still laughing.
"Hey! Hey! Don't scare me like that!" He said, looking for a place to hide.
"I'm not scaring you. I'll really shoot you."
But Tiger didn't seem scared at all—he just kept laughing.
"Kuya, who's that?" Keiren asked.
"That's my teacher."
The two of them still hadn't stopped when I saw the person I had really come here for step out of the door.
"That's enough." His deep, serious voice cut through the commotion. "…Leo's just messing with you."
"Tsk! Tiger, not Leo," Leo said, annoyed.
I opened the car door and got out.
The three of them looked at me.
"Sir Alvin." I greeted him.
"Just Alvin, we're not in school," he said and went back inside his house.
Ma'am Cindy and Tiger followed him. I helped Keiren out of the backseat and took his things.
This was the reason I had Honey find me a disposable phone. I needed a place where Keiren could hide, far away from our monstrous father.
But Keigan doesn't know about this. Our original plan was to send Keiren somewhere in the United Kingdom, which I think is dumb. That man has too many eyes, so he'd find out where my brother is eventually.
I also knew they would object if they found out I was taking Keiren to the Philippines. We don't have anything here. That's why it crossed my mind to seek help from people who weren't ordinary.
Like Angelo.
But he'll definitely ask for a payment. So it's better to ask someone else. And Sir Alvin came to mind.
The door closed on its own as we entered. The house was big, and while it looked old-fashioned on the outside, the interior was modern. There weren't many decorations or figurines, but it had everything necessary.
I set Keiren's things down on their black sofa. We went straight to the dining area, which was right next to the kitchen. Tiger was already seated at the table and had started eating.
"What's your brother's name?" Ma'am Cindy asked.
"Keiren."
She nodded before placing a plate full of fried rice on the table. She also took out an empty plate and a glass.
"Keiren, sit here and have some breakfast," she said as she pulled out a chair for my brother.
Keiren looked at me as if asking for permission. I gave him a short nod and let go of his hand. He then walked toward the chair Ma'am had pulled out for him.
"Eat up, Keifer Jr.," Tiger said.
His food was practically flying everywhere as he spoke. His mouth was full, as if he was scared he'd run out of food. He kept grabbing more even though his plate was still loaded.
I sighed. I'm not here to observe them. I decided to look around and find Sir—Alvin, I mean. We still had things to discuss since our phone conversation had been cut short.
I noticed a shadow move behind an open door. I peeked inside and saw the person I was looking for.
"Mind if I disturb you?" I asked after knocking lightly.
He turned slightly. "Come in."
I entered as he instructed and saw what he was actually busy with. He was cleaning his guns. They were lined up on the table, along with the tools he was using to clean them.
Watching him now, I'm starting to see another side of Sir Alvin. A side that's nothing like our teacher who always begged us to behave.
"How long do we have to watch over your brother?" he asked without looking at me.
He cocked one of the guns and aimed it in different directions.
"I'll take him back after my birthday."
"Just so you know, my wife isn't exactly 'wife material,' so don't expect anything," he explained. "Besides that, he might witness us handling guns from time to time. My wife doesn't know how to cook properly—she knows how to use a bazooka, but she doesn't know how to use a vacuum."
He sighed and rested his hands on the table. "I really don't like having kids in the house, but I owe you, and I want to settle that debt. So, I'll let your brother stay here for now."
My lips curled into a smile, more like a smirk.
"Are you and your wife having some kind of couple's issue?" I asked, crossing my arms.
He sighed again before facing me. "She wants a child."
"But you can't?"
He chuckled. "No one even knows we're married. My grandfather would have her killed if they found out."
"Family issues are tough."
He shook his head. "Tell me about it."
A brief silence filled the room. He turned back to the guns and started placing them one by one into bags.
"I just need to get my inheritance. Once I have it, I'll help you too."
"Don't bother. I don't want to owe you anything."
I smirked. He's really a man full of pride. It's impressive that he can swallow it when he needs to become someone else.
"You're still going to work?" I asked him.
"Yeah. Looks like you need to go there too."
Seems like it.
He finished what he was doing and carried the bags outside. I followed him and watched as he placed the guns in his hidden storage compartments. It seems like every corner of the house has one.
"Does Angelo know you brought your brother here?"
"I have no reason to tell him."
He shrugged and continued stashing the guns in different places—under the table, in the ceiling, beneath the tiled floor, and in many other unexpected spots. We had practically toured the entire house. Even the second floor and their bedroom were now stocked.
The kitchen was our last stop. We found Ma'am Cindy taking care of Keiren, but her expression quickly changed when she saw us.
Alvin opened one of the drawers and placed a gun inside.
"Damn! So, instead of ladles, you guys use guns for cooking here?" Tiger said while eyeing us in the kitchen.
"Don't curse!" Ma'am Cindy scolded.
Alvin finished stashing the gun. He patted my shoulder before walking to the table to eat.
"Eat up, Keifer," Tiger invited.
It's like he owns the house the way he invites people. I just joined them at the table. While we were eating, Alvin explained the setup in the house now that Keiren was staying with them.
Since their schedules were different, they could take turns staying in the house. This morning, Ma'am Cindy would be with my brother. In the afternoon, it would be her husband.
After eating, I took Keiren to the living room to talk.
"Hey, do you like this place?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Will I be staying here for now?"
"For a while. Once everything is settled, I'll come back for you."
"It's okay. I know you have a lot to do. Kuya Keigan keeps saying that I should not bother you. I don't want to be a burden."
"No, you're not a burden. My mind is just all over the place. I don't know what to prioritize. I just need a friend's help."
"I understand, Kuya." He said and hugged me.
"Just make sure to come back for me."
"Of course, I will." I said and hugged him back.
He pulled away and looked at me. I smiled at him and ruffled his hair.
"Don't go outside. Don't answer the phone. Don't talk to strangers. Don't open the door. And don't be naughty. Ma'am Cindy might shoot you." I said and laughed.
He smiled and nodded. I handed him his bags and let him go to the room that was assigned to him.
I watched him run upstairs. I couldn't help but think about so many things. We were traumatized when they took Keigan away from us. Though the situation was different, the impact on me was the same. I really don't want to be apart from him, but it's necessary.
I took the disposable phone from the paper bag and texted the person I needed to reach now that I was back in the country.
Angelo.
To: Demon
Message: Any updates about the initiation?
I looked at Tiger as he walked toward me. He sat down on the long sofa and practically sprawled out on it.
"Aren't you leaving yet?" I asked him.
"Hold on. I just need to rest for a bit."
I looked him straight in the eye. "Tiger, make sure you don't say anything about this."
He placed two fingers over his lips and mimicked a zipper closing.
He's quite talkative, so I needed to make sure he would stay quiet.
Both of us looked toward the stairs as we saw Alvin coming down, followed by his wife and Keiren.
"Let's go." Alvin said.
He headed straight for the door, and Tiger followed him. I turned to Ma'am Cindy and Keiren.
"We're leaving now. Please take care of him." I turned to Keiren. "Please behave. I'll call from time to time."
He waved and said goodbye. I turned my back on them and left.
I went straight to Alvin's car, holding the disposable phone and waiting for a reply.
This place is far from the city. The trip took almost two hours. No one spoke, and only the sound of the radio filled the silence.
When we arrived at school, Alvin seemed like a different person. He was smiling and looked completely relaxed—his typical self inside the school.
"Where are you going?" He asked while removing his seatbelt.
"I'll stay here for now. I'll wait until the students are gone."
He nodded. "Okay. Got to go."
He opened the car door and stepped out, greeting students he passed by.
I stayed inside his car until classes started and the students were gone.
I got out and looked around. Once I was sure no students were nearby, I started walking.
I headed to our building, and the first thing I saw was a Demolition Notice printed on a tarp.
This can't be serious.
I really need to talk to Angelo before heading back to London. This demolition can't happen.
I kept walking. I almost went straight to our classroom, but luckily, I remembered that I couldn't show myself yet.
Instead, I went up to the second floor. Just like before, this area was quite breezy, probably because of the tall trees. I looked around, and nothing had really changed.
I thought about going to the picture room at the end of the hall, but first, I grabbed the key hanging on one of the broken desks in the first room.
No one comes up here, so no one notices the things I leave behind.
I went inside and switched on the light. I closed the door and locked it from the inside.
My body collapsed onto the sofa.
I feel exhausted.
There's still so much I need to do. Too much. I don't even know if my body can handle it anymore.
I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
I woke up suddenly with a stomach ache. I grabbed my phone and checked the time.
It's almost lunchtime. My stomach must be hurting because I'm hungry.
I got up and stretched. I checked the disposable phone.
Still no text from Angelo.
I think it's better if I pay him a visit.
I opened the door and was about to step out when I suddenly saw Jay-Jay.
Out of shock, I quickly shut the door again.
Fvck!
My hands felt cold as I held the doorknob. I was sweating like a pig.
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when the doorknob moved.
It's her! It's her!
Yes, I do miss her, but this is not the right time to face her.