Keifer's POV
Damn you, Percy!
You really had to come back now? Why did he take Jay-jay? Where did he bring her?!
"Rory!" I shouted. "...Find him! Find Percy now!"
"I'm on it!" he answered while holding his phone.
"Edrix! Any updates?!"
"I'm having a hard time tracking his car! Didn't anyone catch the plate number?!" he asked before typing rapidly on his laptop keyboard.
"Now you're scared. After hurting Jay-jay and letting her run away, you're searching for her like a mad man." David said, which really got on my nerves.
I immediately grabbed his shirt. "Shut your mouth unless you want me to add to those bruises of yours."
"Even if Keifer did that, it doesn't mean he'll just abandon Jay-jay." Yuri said as he removed my hand from David's shirt. "...We don't know what Percy plans to do with her. Unless you want to tell us."
David brushed off his clothes. "Even if I wanted to, I have nothing to tell. He doesn't tell me everything."
I really wanted to wring the information out of him, but it would've been a waste of energy. Because like he said, he really doesn't know anything. And I know he's not lying.
My phone suddenly rang. I took it out of my pocket.
Demon calling…
It was Angelo. And I already had a good idea why he was calling. I stepped away from them before answering.
"Angelo…" I said as I pressed the answer button.
["What have you done, Keifer?"] he asked calmly.
His calm tone only made me more anxious—like a storm is coming, but only the wind has arrived so far.
"I followed your advice."
I heard him sigh. ["Let's talk about it. Same place."]
He ended the call, and I put the phone back in my pocket. I need to find Jay-jay first. Percy might take her and disappear for good.
I will hunt you down, Percy—even to the afterlife if I have to.I'll send you back to your grave if that's what it takes.
"I found it!" Edrix shouted, and all of us walked toward him. "...They left town. The CCTV footage cuts off at the highway."
"You did a great job." I said and patted his shoulder.
"Sorry, Keifer. Percy didn't leave a trace. Looks like he knew you'd come looking for him." Rory said.
"Fvck! Fvck you, Percy!" I shouted and almost punched the wall.
Percy knows exactly how I operate. Probably thanks to David. Damn it! I want to tie them both together and toss them somewhere. And the nerve of him to use someone I never expected would follow him.
David has this boss instinct and attitude, so it's hard to believe he'd take orders from anyone else.
I still have to beat him before he'll obey.
I noticed Felix in the corner. He'd been silent for almost an hour now. Maybe he still couldn't believe his brother had shown up.
"We can't just sit here and wait for nothing." Yuri said.
I knew he was worried as fvck, just like me.
I looked at him. "Look for them near the last CCTV sighting. Use my car and the others at home if you have to."
"You're not coming?" Eman asked.
"I'll talk to someone who can help us find her." I said, and they all nodded.
They gathered their things and immediately walked out of our room. I asked Calix to go to the Faculty Office and talk to Sir Alvin. The teachers would look for us if ever—though most of them honestly don't care.
They left with my car. I waited for a taxi outside the school gate, but a car stopped in front of me.
Yuri...
"Hop in. I'll take you to him."
I didn't say a word. I got in, and he drove the car like he knew exactly where we were going.
While looking out the window, I couldn't stop thinking about her. I still can't believe I did that. That I hurt her in front of everyone... and I was so calm in those moments.
No other excuse.
I don't know how I managed to say those words. So many times I thought about not going through with it, but I couldn't stop. I even almost stopped myself from speaking—but Jay-jay insisted on hearing my answer. Those words... "I used you." It felt like I stabbed myself the moment those words came out of my mouth. But what broke me the most... was seeing her cry.
...And I can't do anything about it because I'm the reason for her tears. I wanted so badly to hug her at that moment. I wanted to apologize to her over and over and tell her I'd stopped that plan a long time ago. I wanted to scream how much I love her.
I badly want to... But I can't.
That was the first time I saw her cry like that. It felt like I had gone too far. My conscience was knocking me down. Maybe I should have done things differently. Maybe I should've broken up with her like a regular couple
But that's bullshit. Definitely bullshit! We never even had an official label. And besides, I wouldn't have been able to stay away from her. She would've just laughed at me and probably gotten annoyed.
Too much pain is the best recipe to push someone away—and I got the perfect ingredients.
"We're here," Yuri announced as he parked the car.
I immediately got out, and so did he. I faced him before I could enter the door of Kingsground.
"I think you should search with them. I'll be the one to talk to Angelo," I said and was about to walk when he stopped me.
"Why, Keifer? Why are you handling everything on your own again? When will you stop being like this? We're friends—no, we've been best friends for so many years. Maybe we're rivals in some things, but we're still best friends," he said, clearly worried.
As much as I wanted to tell him, it's better that I don't. I don't want to drag him into the weight I'm carrying. Right now, he and our friends are the only people I can rely on.
Telling him my plan might ruin everything.
"Search for Jay-jay," was the only thing I said before leaving him behind.
Yuri was the one I wanted to support Jay-jay. Despite being my rival, he still tried his best to understand me. And if Jay-jay chose him because of what I did... I'd be at peace knowing Yuri would take care of her.
But of course, I'll make sure it won't happen.
I went straight to Tiger's office. Angelo was on the phone with someone. He hung up when he noticed me.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he said right away.
"What?"
"Someone saw Percy... alive and driving a car," he said.
He was obviously overthinking it. It looked like Percy deliberately chose this moment to show up. He'd been talking to Jay-jay for a while now, but we never had a single lead on him.
Now, he doesn't even care if people recognize him.
"Because we're not sure why he's coming back."
He pointed his finger at me. "You should know why! What if he involves Jay-jay into this again?!"
"They're together," I almost whispered.
He looked at me in shock. "What?!"
"Yuri and the others saw them—" He cut me off with a punch to the face.
I dropped to the floor. Honestly, it always feels weird when he's the one hitting me.
"Look at what you've done! You dragged her into your mess again!"
I wiped the blood from my lips. "Tss… Maybe you forgot that it was Aries who caused the accident. So if you're going to blame someone, it shouldn't be me."
He didn't say anything. But the way he looked at me, he was clearly blaming me.
"...It wasn't my mess that dragged Jay-jay in. It was her brother's mess."
His expression suddenly changed. Now he was looking at me in horror.
He probably couldn't believe that I knew about it.
"H-how..."
"I'm being clever as fvck. Thanks to you."
He raised both hands in the air like he was surrendering. "You really learned a lot from me." He smirked. "...But you're still weak."
"Just wait... One of these days I'll be stronger than you."
He looked at me challengingly. "I'll be waiting, Keifer. I will."
He didn't wait for what I had to say. He walked away and turned his back on me.
My fists clenched. I had planned to ask for his help in finding Jay-jay, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen anymore.
"Damn you!" I shouted out of frustration.
My mind is a total mess. I don't know what to do anymore. What if Percy goes through with his plan?What if he takes Jay-jay away?
I need to move. I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed Rory's number.
["Keifer... Not yet—."]
I cut him off. "I want you to check all the airport's scheduled flights. Percy might be trying to take Jay-jay out of the country."
["W-what? What you're asking is impossible."]
"You're disappointing me, Rory."
["You don't understand, Keifer. That kind of info is highly secured. Even Edrix couldn't—."]
I was desperate.
"Rory... please." I said, almost begging.
I heard him sigh. ["Let me see what I can do."]
"Thank you."
["But I can't promise anything."] He ended the call.
I know he can do it. He's Rory Abejar—they own a private investigating company. He's slowly becoming part of this too, so I know he can manage.
I decided to leave Tiger's office and headed straight for the Kingsground exit.
"You're leaving already?" It was Tiger.
"Sorry. I'm in a hurry." I answered.
I didn't wait for his reply and walked out. Taxis aren't really common in this area—it's known for being a hangout for addicts and muggers. I had no choice but to walk until I reached the main road.
I quickly hailed a taxi and got in. I asked the driver to take me home. I took one of my cars and drove off. I need to search. I can't just sit still doing nothing.
Jay-jay is extremely upset with me. I just broke her heart. She might do something she'll regret later—especially with Percy by her side.
Dammit!
I couldn't stop myself from punching the steering wheel. All sorts of thoughts are running through my head. Especially now that they're together. Jealousy is boiling my blood.
Try to lay a hand on Jay-jay, Percy... I'll put you back in that coffin, Percy!
I can't understand what his real plan was. Why did he only show himself to Jay-jay? It's very suspicious.
Revenge is the first thing that comes to mind. But if that was his plan, he should've shown up long ago—back when things weren't this complicated yet.
I must've been driving for hours, searching, when I heard my phone ring. It was Yuri.
I answered the call. "Yuri..."
["I received a text from Angelo. Someone saw Percy and Jay-jay at a fast food restaurant."]
Looks like he asked others to look for them too. He probably couldn't stand the idea of Percy and Jay-jay being together.
"Good. Let's meet at Angelo's house."
I ended the call. I drove as fast as I could to Angelo's house. I know I'm not welcome there. But I'm willing to take the risk. I just want to make sure that Percy didn't do anything to Jay-jay.
When I arrived, some of our friends were already there. I parked the car and got out. Rory was the first one to talk to me.
"Sorry, Keifer. Someone blocked me from accessing the flight schedules. I think it was airline security." He explained.
"It's okay. You tried your best." I said and walked toward Yuri.
I didn't miss the look Rory and Edrix exchanged. I could tell he didn't follow through with my request. Maybe he's mad at me too. Maybe they wanted me to worry and think things through.
"Keifer..." Yuri began. "...it doesn't look like Percy did anything to Jay-jay."
"How sure are you?"
He didn't answer. I chose to walk inside Angelo's house. He was in the living room, talking on the phone.
His mom sat beside him, also on a call.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Aries said irritably as soon as he saw me.
He grabbed me by the collar and shoved me outside.
"What did you do to Jay-jay?!"
"I thought you didn't care about your cousin—oh wait! Your sister? Why are you mad now?"
Fear and shock spread across his face.
"H-how the hell..."
I shoved his hand off me and left him stunned. I walked back inside the house, and Angelo's mom was the first to speak to me.
"Keifer... any news about Jay-jay?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but none yet."
"I see. Please sit down. Angelo already sent people to look for her," she said, pointing at the sofa.
I did as she said, and Yuri followed me. I sat on their couch. Every now and then, Angelo would glance at me, but neither of us said a word.
"Maybe we should call the police," said Jay-jay's grandmother, who had just arrived.
"It needs to be 24 hours before we can report a missing person," Angelo replied.
"What is that girl even doing?" said Jay-jay's mom.
Before long, everyone who lived in that house had arrived. Including his new stepdad.
Aries was still looking at me like he was ready to kill me. I chose to ignore him.
After a few hours of waiting, I heard someone speaking outside. It didn't take long before someone stepped through the door. It was Jay-jay.
You made me so damn worried.
Her grandmother, aunt, and mom immediately approached her. Exhaustion and endless tears were written all over her face. The way she looked, it was like all the life had drained out of her.
"Where did you go?" her grandmother asked.
"Your classmates have been looking for you since earlier." said her aunt.
"What happened? Why did you suddenly leave your school?" her mother asked.
She didn't answer them. She looked around until our eyes met. It broke me. Seeing her like this, seeing her suffer because of me, and seeing her avoid me...
"Ma..." she finally broke her silence. "...Am I an illegitimate child?"
And in that moment, I realized— Jay-jay will suffer more than I expected.