JAY-JAY'S POV
"What are you doing?" I asked Ci-N, who was busy texting.
"I'm talking to Daddy. I'm asking him about your possible illness," he answered without looking at me.
"I thought you and your Daddy weren't close?"
He stopped texting for a moment, turned to face me, and smiled. His gums were showing, and there was still a bit of grit between his teeth. I laughed a little at how he looked, but he just went back to what he was doing without answering me.
I know what he means.
He's willing to talk to his Dad just to help figure out what's wrong with me. I smiled to myself, touched by what he was doing. But...
"You don't have to do that. I can figure out what my problem is," I said, but he ignored me.
I was about to tap him to get his attention when a loud sound from a phone caught my attention. I quickly turned toward the Snakes to look for it.
It was coming from Kit's cellphone, and he and Mayo were watching something on it. I had no intention of paying attention, but I could clearly hear the narrator.
"...trauma can also cause short-term memory loss, but in some cases, it can also be longer…"
They were watching a video about trauma. I winced. I knew they were watching it for me too. Just like Ci, they were trying to help me figure out what was going on.
Are they really?
But it seems they're not the only ones searching for answers about my condition.
"Pre… Read it," Rory ordered Edrix as he reached for the phone.
"What the hell is that?" Edrix asked before answering.
"I can't read anymore. You do it."
Edrix grimaced and scratched his forehead. Honestly, if I were him, I'd react the same way. Being asked to read something important after your brain's already overloaded? Not easy. His brain probably short-circuited.
So different.
"Selective amnesia," Denzel said loudly while touching Drew. "You have that. Especially when it comes to paying your debts."
"Are you dumb?" Drew replied, clearly annoyed.
"Hey, that's a real thing!" Blaster cut in.
"Then pay me now," Josh added.
And just like that, the crazy ones at the back started arguing again. They almost got into a fight. Felix and Eman had to step in before it got worse.
"Eat now! You're all acting like this because you're hungry!" Felix yelled at them as Drew and Blaster were already starting to take off their shirts.
Eman quickly slapped their hands away and pushed them outside. The other Ulupong members followed to buy food as well. I feel like they were all just waiting for someone to lead the way so they could finally go out.
It's always like that.
"Come on, Jay! It's lunchtime!" they called out to me. I smiled and signaled them to go ahead.
I have a buyer. Hehe.
I quietly waited for Keifer to come back with my food. I didn't even know which store he went to — he left a while ago and still hadn't returned.
It's like that snake passed through the entire mountain of tralala. I only asked for a burger, fries, and milk tea. There's a vendor just outside the school, but I think that tukmol is searching for something better somewhere else.
"Still nothing?" asked Yuri, who sat next to me. "I'm hungry," he said as he leaned back in the chair.
"Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!" Ci complained, holding his stomach.
"I think he took it on purpose," said David, who was playing games on his cell phone.
I didn't know what trip they were on, and yet they still thought of buying from the King. Ci-N just really wanted food from outside, but these two just seemed to enjoy annoying the Snake King. Well, maybe he deliberately took a long time to get revenge.
I snorted before I got punched, but Yuri's closeness quickly caught my attention. I immediately turned to him.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
"I'm okay. I just don't know if I want to go home."
He looked at me for a moment, as if he was worried about something. He tucked my hair again before smiling at me.
"Now I understand," he said, to my surprise.
"That why yo asked for him that day."
I could feel the silence and the watching eyes of David and Ci-N. They were obviously waiting to hear what Yuri had to say.
"The day you hurt yourself while we were cooking in the kitchen. I know you explained to me why you asked for him, but I was still confused," he said with a slight, annoyed smile. "Because he got to know your situation from the start and knows exactly what to do."
I remembered what he was talking about.
The day we acted like fiancés. We thought of just cooking for them, but he ended up doing almost everything. I tried to help, but I accidentally injured myself. Afraid of the blood and of losing control, I ordered him to call— Keifer.
I didn't mean it.
"Are you still upset about that?" I asked.
"Maybe yes, but not with you. I just feel bad for myself. There's still a lot I don't know about you, yet I demanded so much from you before." He smiled sadly. "I can't imagine how much you would suffer if we were still engaged."
I stared at him, not knowing how to respond because it had just sunk in. If we had continued with the engagement, and my condition was like this, we probably wouldn't have understood each other. We probably wouldn't have known what to do or how to help me. It's scary to think that might have caused our fights.
That he wouldn't believe me.
"Ending our engagement was really the right thing to do," he added, and I nodded.
"Now you know why you don't deserve her," David said, still focused on his phone.
Yuri turned to him, irritated. But before things could escalate into a fight, Keifer arrived with the food we ordered. He was immediately greeted by Ci-N, who clapped with joy. He took the paper bag from him.
"Yay! Delicious!" the kid exclaimed happily as he took out the food one by one.
Keifer placed the rest of the food on the table in front of us. He handed Yuri's and David's portions to them. I would've taken mine too, but the King set it down in front of me himself.
I guess I'm being spoiled. Hehe.
"How are you feeling?" he asked while organizing the food.
"Hungry," I replied quickly.
He chuckled before taking out his own food and pulling up a bench to sit beside me. I turned to my right, where Yuri was sitting. Keifer was on my left. We shared a meal at the same small table.
"Eat now," he told me. I snorted before picking up my plastic spoon and fork. But he opened the container for me.
Yuri and David ate in silence. Ci-N kept praising the food. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. I wanted the same kind of energy he had. I felt like I was losing my appetite. Char.
I started eating. I turned to the King for a moment while chewing because he kept adding food to my container.
"Eat well," he said with a teasing smile.
I was about to complain when someone added food to my container. When I looked back, Yuri smiled at me.
What?!
I guess they don't notice that I have no appetite. I snorted before continuing my meal. No one spoke to me much until the other Ulupong arrived.
"That's why I didn't buy it at the cafeteria— you bought it outside," Felix complained.
He even peeked at what we were eating before snorting. He followed the others and also looked around as if searching for a dish in the cafeteria. But Ci-N and David were the only ones they managed to tease.
"I don't want it! It's mine!" Ci-N said, annoyed.
"Fuck off," David said calmly.
They had no intention of stopping, but Denzel entered with a lunch bag that looked like it had been sent by Grace.
"We ask!"
"Give away!"
"You just had a baby and you're already horny!"
They immediately received a crisp mura from Denzel. We just shook our heads because the nasty Snake still didn't stop.
But they wouldn't be Ulupong if they weren't that nasty. They were ready to break and fight each other for food.
"Jay, someone is looking for your brother. The security guard doesn't want to let him in the gate," Denzel said, stopping him.
To Aries?
Weird. Why did he come to school here? It's like I just heard that someone is looking for Aries from outside.
"T-They'll tell him that too."
"Just this morning, I saw that outside. It's like they're not saying anything."
Who is that?
"Would you like me to inform Aries?" Keifer asked me, so I looked at him.
"Maybe it's not necessary. We don't know anyone looking for him. He might get hurt again," I answered, agreeing that he might be.
"But it might be important. Maybe he won't wait long if he just destroys Aries," Yuri inserted into the conversation.
"Could be. Let's just tell Angelo so he can inform Aries," King suggested.
"We can also just let it go and ignore it. Aries is looking for him, not us," I answered, and they looked at each other before nodding.
I finished my food, and so did the two people with me. They also put away what we ate. I thought about cleaning up first.
While I was at the sink washing my hands, two girls came in, talking continuously. I couldn't help but overhear their conversation.
"The boy was outside the school a while ago. Section A is looking for Aries," one said before entering the cubicle.
"Why don't they go to Aries to tell him?" one asked while inside the cubicle.
"It's probably already been said. I guess Aries just doesn't want to face it."
"Why is that?"
"Sis, my boyfie said in Section A that maybe that's Aries' father because he looks like him."
I was literally stunned by what I heard. My hands were shaking, and I tried to stop myself. I immediately grabbed a tissue and wiped my hands. I hurried out of the restroom to go back to the room.
I took a deep breath, which made my chest ache. I hope they're wrong, and that isn't Aries' dad. There will be a big problem when they meet.
And when I see him.
Is that why he called Aries earlier? But why did he decide to show up now? What's the reason? Is that all? After what he did to me, he will show up as if nothing happened.
I was on the other side of the door when a memory hit me. Before I stabbed Aries, I hit someone in the face with handcuffs.
There was a lot of blood—and I clearly remembered that it was him.
"Jay!" Ci called out, smiling.
I didn't look at him, even though he was close.
"Oh, I zoned out," he said, and was about to slap me playfully when someone stopped him.
"Jay, what's wrong?" It was David's voice.
I still didn't move. I just stared into nothingness, every detail of that memory replaying in my mind over and over.
What if he comes back to get revenge for what I did? What if he kidnaps Aries again and repeats what he did before? That's all he's capable of.
I looked up at someone snapping their fingers in front of my face. I wondered who it was.
"Are you okay? You zoned out," said Keifer, looking at me with concern.
"I-I just saw something from my past," I replied, then entered the room.
I stayed in my seat and didn't say a word, even though it was obvious Keifer was worried about me.
Our teacher came in for the next class, but I just drifted off. The whole day passed, and I didn't write down a single thing.
As usual. Nothing new.
While everyone else was busy packing up to go home, I just sat there, holding my bag on the table. Keifer remained nearby, not moving either, just watching me.
"Let's go home first," Felix said, saying goodbye.
The King just nodded, but I stayed silent.
"Is Jay-Jay sick? Why doesn't she talk anymore after recovering from the CR?" Ci asked, worried.
"There's no ghost in the bathroom. Stop that," David replied to his question.
"I'll take care of her. You guys go ahead," Keifer said firmly.
David nodded and gave me a glance before walking away. Ci waved goodbye and followed after her grandfather. Yuri patted Keifer's shoulder before leaving too.
"Bye, Jay," he said.
All the others had left. Keifer moved to the seat next to mine. I knew he was just waiting patiently. I appreciated that he didn't tease me.
"Can you call Kuya and tell him I'm not coming home?" I asked softly.
"You can't do what you're thinking about," he said gently.
He pulled a chair in front of me and sat down, holding both my hands.
"It's all in the past now. Aries is no longer angry with you. He's already forgiven you, right?"
My trembling hand squeezed his. My breathing grew heavy, matching the rhythm of my tears.
Crying again.
"B-But when I remember… I feel so sorry for him." The memories of what he went through came flooding back. "He put up with me being in the house… with the person who tried to take his life."
"Please don't be so hard on yourself. We still don't even know why you did it."
No matter how much I try to reason it out, I can't shake the guilt. There's no justifiable reason for hurting him.
I shook my head. "Even so."
"I know you... You wouldn't do such a thing."
I was stunned for a moment. I wiped my face and took a deep breath.
"Why do you say that?"
"I have a theory. I think you stabbed him because you weren't yourself," he began. It made me stop and think.
That could be the reason. Because if I had been in my right mind—no matter how angry I was—I wouldn't have hurt him like that. I may have said some awful things before, but I knew I never meant them literally.
He continued, "I think you were in a dissociative state. Like when you zone out—especially when you see blood."
Blood.
I focused on what he said. If I revisit that memory, I do remember there was blood everywhere. But I can't tell whose it was. I need to carefully think through what happened right before I stabbed him.
I let go of his hands and covered my face with both of mine.
"What are you doing?" asked the King.
"Using the remaining brain cells in my head to think."
He laughed a little, but it was immediately cut off. He stood up, and I heard his footsteps walking away. I didn't know what he was doing, but then I heard a familiar voice at the door.
It was Aries.
"What are you doing? We need to go home now," he said.
"We're discussing something important. I'll deliver her," Keifer replied.
"Can't wait until tomorrow?"
"Nope."
"Kuya Angelo won't like this."
"I'm ready to explain for us."
I didn't hear Aries reply, but I could feel him looking at me. I peeked through my fingers, and I was right.
I could see the concern in his eyes, but I couldn't face him. Where would I find the courage to face him?
How do you even grow a thicker skin?
He turned back to Keifer and simply nodded in acceptance. Then he left, and the King immediately walked back toward me.
"He's gone," he said.
"I'm still thinking," I replied, covering my face again and closing my eyes.
I forced myself to recall what had happened before Aries was stabbed. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember anything. I knocked on the table.
"I don't remember anything," I whispered, then began to sob.
"Hey, don't pressure yourself," he said gently.
But I ignored him. I cried softly and drowned in guilt. I felt like a horrible person because of what I had done.
Jay-Jay... bad.
We have been in the room for an hour before I decided to go home. I was grateful that the King just waited for me—no complaints, no signs of impatience.
"Do you want to eat before you go home?" he asked.
I thought for a moment before replying to his offer. About 0.1 seconds.
"Just ice cream."
I heard his soft laugh. There were no students in the school anymore. It looked like they had all gone home.
While we were in the parking lot, a man suddenly approached me. I stared at him for a moment before recognizing him.
The scar on his jaw reminded me of what happened in the basement—
Where we were imprisoned. Where he locked me in with Aries.
I automatically clung to Keifer, then pulled back. He seemed to understand what I was going through and immediately stepped in front to shield me.
"You're Jay-Jay, aren't you?" the man asked.
His voice was different from what I remembered. It was soft, almost soothing. You could see the resemblance between him and Aries. Even his appearance would have seemed relaxed—if it weren't for the scar on his jaw.
I gave him that scar.
"Can I talk to you?" he asked again.
I couldn't answer. I was still clinging to Keifer, and he could feel— I was trembling.
"And who the hell are you?" the King asked irritably.
They stared at each other before the man finally replied. He even glanced at me for a moment.
"I am Aranes... or Ares. I am Aries' father."