Percy
Keifer's POV
Damn you Percy!
Now you choose to come back. Why does he took Jay-jay? Where did he brought her?
"Rory!" I shouted. "...find him! Find Percy now!"
"I'm already on it!" He answered while holding his phone.
"Edrix! Any updates?!"
"I'm having a hard time tracking his car! Didn't anyone see the plate number?!" He asks before typing through his keyboard on his laptop.
"Now you're scared. After hurting Jay-jay and letting her run away, you're searching for her like a mad man." David said that makes me irritated.
I immediately grab his shirt. "Shut your mouth if you don't want me to add to those bruises."
"Even if that's what Keifer did, that doesn't mean he's going to abandon Jay-jay." Yuri said and 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 dusted off his shirt. "Even if I wanted to, I still wouldn't have anything to say. He doesn't tell me everything."
I wanted so badly to squeeze the truth out of him just to get information, but it would only waste my effort. Because just like he said, he doesn't know anything. And I know he's not lying.
My phone suddenly ring. I took it out of my pocket.
Demon calling...
It was Angelo. I kind of already knew why he was calling.
I walked away from them first before answering the call.
"Angelo..." I said upon pressing the answer button.
["What have you done, Keifer?"] he calmly asked.
His calmness is what makes me nervous. Like a storm is coming, but he's only letting me feel the first winds.
"I followed your advice."
I heard him sigh. ["Let's talk about it. Same place."]
He ended the call and I put my phone back to my pocket. I need to find Jay-jay first. Percy might take her and completely take her away from us.
I will hunt you down, Percy, even if it's to the afterlife.
I'll drag you back to your grave if I have to.
"I found them!" Edrix shouts and all of us walk toward him. "...they left town. The CCTV footage got cut off when they reached the highway."
"You did a great job." I said and patted his shoulder.
"Sorry, Keifer. Percy didn't leave any trace. Looks like he knew you were going to look for him." Rory said.
"Fvck! Fvck you, Percy!" I shouted and almost hit the wall.
Percy knows exactly how I move. Most likely because of David. Damn it! I'd love to tie the two of them up. And he even used someone I never expected would follow him.
David has this Boss instinct and attitude, so it's unlikely he'd follow someone else.
I'd have to beat him first just to make him obey.
I noticed Felix in the corner. He's been silent for almost an hour now.
Maybe he still can't believe his brother has shown up.
"We can't just sit here and wait for nothing." Yuri said.
I knew he's worried as fvck just like me.
I looked at him. "Look for them near the last CCTV capture. Use my car and the others at home if you have to."
"You're not coming?" Eman asked.
"I will 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 and talk to Sir Alvin. The teachers will look for us if it comes to that. Although most of them don't really care.
They already 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 where to go.
While looking outside the window I kept thinking about her. I still can't believe I did that. I hurt her in front of everyone and I was calm during those moments.
No other excuse.
I don't know how those words came out of my mouth. I thought so many times about not going through with it, but I couldn't stop. I almost held back my mouth from saying it but Jay-jay insisted on hearing my answer.
Those words... I used you. It felt like I stabbed myself the moment I let those words out. But what broke me the most was seeing her crying...
...And I can't do anything about it because I'm the cause of her tears.
I wanted so badly to hug her in that moment. I wanted to say sorry over and over again and tell her I stopped that plan a long time ago. I wanted to scream to her how much i love her.
I badly want to... But I can't.
It's the first time I saw her cry like that. I feel like i went way too far. My conscience is knocking me down. Maybe I should've done things differently. Maybe I should've broken up with her just like a regular couple.
But that's bullshit. Definitely bullshit! We didn't even have an official label. And besides, that wouldn't work for me because I definitely couldn't stand being away from her. She'd probably just laugh it off and maybe even get annoyed at me.
Too much pain is the best recipe to push someone away, and I had the perfect ingredients.
"We're here." Yuri announced as he parked his car.
I immediately got out of his car and he did the same. 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 about to walk but he stop me.
"Why, Keifer? Why do you always carry your problems alone? 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, sounding so worried.
As much as I wanted to tell him it's better this way, I didn't want to drag him into the weight I'm carrying. For now, he and the rest of our friends are the only ones I can rely on.
Telling him my plan might ruin everything.
"Search for Jay-jay." is the only thing I said before leaving him behind.
Yuri is the one I want to stay close to Jay-jay. Despite being my rival, he still tries his best to understand me. And if Jay-jay ends up choosing him because of what I did... I'm confident he'll take good care of her.
But of course, I'll make sure that won't happen.
I went straight to Tiger's office. Angelo was talking to someone over the phone. He put it down when he noticed me.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he said as soon as I entered.
"What?"
"Someone saw Percy... alive and driving a car." he said.
He's obviously overthinking it. Looks like Percy intentionally showed himself this time. He's been talking to Jay-jay for a while now, but we've never once had a solid lead on him.
Now, he no longer cares if people recognize him.
"Because we're not sure why he's coming back."
He points his finger at me. "You should know why! What if he drags Jay-jay into this again?"
"They are together." I almost whispered.
He looked at me in shock. "What?!"
"Yuri saw him—." He cut me off by punching me in the face.
I fell to the floor. Honestly, my face always feels different whenever he's the one hitting me.
"Look what you've done? You dragged her into your mess again!"
I wiped the blood from my lips. "Tss... Maybe you forgot that Aries was the reason for the accident. So if you're blaming someone, it's not me."
He didn't say a thing. He's obviously putting the blame on me by the way he look.
"...It's not my mess that dragged Jay-jay in. It's the mess of her brother."
His expression suddenly changed. He's now looking at me in horror. Maybe he can't believe I know that.
"H-how..."
"I'm being clever as fvck. Thanks to you."
He raised both hands in the air as if 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 with a challenging gaze. "I will surely wait, Keifer. I will."
He didn't wait for anything else I had to say. He walked away and turned his back on me. My fist clenched. I was planning to ask for his help to find Jay-jay but it looks like that won't happen anymore.
"Damn you!" I shouted out of frustration.
My mind is a complete mess. I don't know what to do anymore. What if Percy goes through with his plan? What if he takes Jay-jay?
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 scheduled flights. Percy might be planning 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. What you're asking me to look into is highly secured. Even Edrix can't—"]
I'm 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, their family owns a private investigation company. Even he himself is slowly becoming a part of it, that's why I know he can.
I decided to leave Tiger's office and head straight to Kingsground's exit.
"You're leaving?" It was Tiger.
"Sorry. I'm in a hurry." I answered.
I didn't wait for anything else he had to say and walked out. Taxis aren't really common in this area. This place is known as a hangout for addicts and muggers. I had no choice but to walk to get to the main road.
I quickly hailed a taxi and got in. I had it take me home. I took one of my cars and drove off. I need to search, I can't just sit and do nothing.
Jay-jay must be feeling really hurt because of me. I just broke her heart.
She might end up doing something she'll regret. And now, she's with Percy.
Dammit!
I couldn't stop myself from punching the steering wheel. So many things are running through my head. Especially now that they're together. Jealousy is boiling my blood.
Touch Jay-jay and I'll drag you back to your coffin, Percy!
I don't understand what his real plan is. Why is it that he only shows himself to Jay-jay? It's very suspicious.
Revenge is the first thing that comes to my mind. But if that's really his plan, he should've shown up a long time ago. Back when things weren't this complicated.
I've probably been driving for hours 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 also had his cousin looking for them. He must be restless about the idea of them 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 knew I wasn't welcome there, but I was willing to take the risk. I just needed to make sure Percy hadn't done anything to Jay-jay.
When I arrived at their house, some of our friends were already there. I parked the car and got out. Rory is the first one to talk to me.
"Sorry, Keifer. Someone blocked me from accessing the flight schedules. I think it was the airline's security." He explained.
"It's okay. You tried your best." I said and walked towards Yuri.
I couldn't miss the look Rory and Edrix exchanged. I could tell he didn't follow my orders. Maybe he's upset with me. They might have purposely made me worry or think.
"Keifer..." Yuri greeted me. "...It looks like Percy hasn't done 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.
Beside him was his mom, also talking on the phone.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Aries snapped at me.
He grabbed me by the collar and shoved me out.
"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 crossed his face.
"H-how the hell..."
I pushed his hand away and left him standing there in confusion. I walked back into the house, and Angelo's mom greeted me.
"Keifer... Do you have any news about Jay-jay?" she asked.
"Sorry, but no news yet."
"Is that so? Please have a seat, Angelo is looking for her." She said, pointing to the sofa.
I did what she said, and Yuri followed me. I sat on their sofa. Every now and then, Angelo glanced at me, but we didn't exchange any words.
"Should we call the police?" Jay-jay's grandmother asked, having just arrived.
"It's 24 hours before you can report a missing person," Angelo replied.
"What the hell is that girl doing?" It was Jay-jay's mom.
It wasn't long before everyone else in the house arrived, including her new stepdad.
Aries was still staring at me like he was ready to kill me. I chose to ignore him.
After a few hours of waiting, I heard someone talking outside. It didn't take long before the door opened, and she walked in. It was Jay-jay.
You make me so damn worried.
She was immediately surrounded by her grandmother, aunt, and mother. Her exhaustion and the tears she had shed were evident on her face. She looked lifeless, her eyes empty and distant.
"Where have you been?" her grandmother asked.
"Your classmates have been looking for you," her aunt added.
"What happened? Why did you suddenly leave school?" her mother questioned.
She didn't answer any of them. She looked around until our eyes met. It broke me. Seeing her like this, seeing her suffer because of me, and seeing her avoiding me.
"Mom..." She broke her silence. "...Am I a disgrace to the family?"
And at that moment, I realized Jay-jay would suffer more than I ever imagined.