Chapter-192


Stepbrother


Jay-jay's POV


"We're both illegitimate children."
A-am I an illegitimate child?
I don't know about that. Grandma and I don't tell me anything. None
of them have and they don't plan on telling me.
My grip on the pictures tightened causing
it to sag slightly. I don't understand how I became an illegitimate child?
"Explain." I ordered.
He took out another picture from the brown envelope and handed it
to me. It was a picture of an old man sitting in a wheelchair
.
"That's your grandfather." He said.
My grandfather?
He handed me another picture. I let go of the previous
pictures he had given me. I swallowed and shivered when I saw
who was in the picture. Percy's Dad and Mom and they were wearing
wedding clothes.
"W-what is this?" I asked with a mixture of fear.
He took the picture back from me and looked at it. His
eyes were sad as he looked at it.
"Your Dad and my Mom are victims of arranged marriage." He said
and forced a smile. "...And your grandfather is the one who set it up."
I was tied up looking at him and motionless even though every word he said
made my body shake. The truth he was saying hit me.
"They were married before we were born into this world." He added, completely making
my tears fall.
Shit!
"I-I don't understand. W-how?"
I asked in disbelief.
Is that why we had an illegitimate child? But if they were already married, how come
they had a family with someone else?
What a mess!
I guess my earlier statement to reveal everything
I could find out made it worse.He was really trying to make me cry.
"I don't know how but they both chose to start a
amily while being far away from each other." He took a deep breath. "...We are
the fruit."
Every word he said was clear. Tagalog! But why did
I still feel confused. I didn't want to let what he was saying sink in.
I had so many questions but I couldn't seem to understand the
answers. It was so stupid!
I looked down at my thigh where the other photo
I had left was. I took out our family photo. Mom and
Dad were smiling in this picture and I knew they were happy because I could see the
excitement in their eyes.
"W-but why did Dad leave us and then h-not
show up?" I could barely breathe.
I couldn't breathe properly as if something was choking me. Something
was blocking my throat and
my tears were starting to well up again.
Aren't you tired of falling?!
"Like us." He said sadly. "...Mom left us and
never showed up. Dad married someone else and that's
Felix's Mom."
"But why?"
He took a picture from my lap. He showed me the picture of
my Grandpa.
"Because of him... He found out the truth and threatened to have
us both killed if they didn't stop."
I stared closely at the old man's face in the picture. He looked
weak now but I could still see the sophistication and authority in him. He
was shouting 'even though I'm old, I'm rich!'.
Three M's! Old, Rich, Rude!
I looked back at him as he put the picture down.
His eyes were sad and I knew he was also hurt by what my Grandpa did.
We two are the result of the family our parents built but
that family wasn't right.
"But... How did you end up with Dad?" I asked.
He said his Mom also left him and never showed up but why
are they together?
There's a trick going on!
"When that accident happened----that they thought I died. Someone saw
me floating in the river. They took me to the hospital,
I slept for days so no one could get any information about me."
He looked at me slightly and smiled. "...it's true that
Mom sent people to look for my body and someone at that hospital found me."
A body right away?! Didn't it cross their minds that he was still alive?
"B-but why didn't anyone even know you were alive?" If only you knew what happened when you disappeared.
His friends
were all upset . Almost everyone was angry with Aries because people were blaming him. He grabbed the
steering wheel and slowly tightened it. "Mom... She let them think that I'm already dead." He smiled bitterly. "...
I still have the courage to sulk about why no one visits me. Because I'm already dead to them." I shook my
head. "You haven't shown up for 4 years... Why haven't you done anything ?" My voice was starting to rise. I
wasn't the one left behind when he disappeared. I wasn't affected either because I didn't know him at that time
but I couldn't help but question him. "Almost 4 years..." He corrected me. "...I'm paralyzed. I can't move my
body and your Dad is the one who took care of me. That's why I met you----he keeps telling things about you
and it makes me... Fall in love with you." Tongono! My eyes widened at what he said. Fall in love with me?! The
weight of the word he was saying was so heavy. Just shit! I felt like this was a big problem . "As a sibling...
Brotherly thing. It was like Felix when I first saw him." He laughed a little. "...You're welcome! You can react like
that." It felt so good to punch him in the face. I was already feeling so heavy and then suddenly he would say
something like that. I didn't know how to react to him. I was going crazy because of this guy! He was so hard
to talk to! Putcha! "So..." He continued. "...that's me in your life. Stepbrother." He smiled at me. I shook my
head. I was happy to know who he really was but sadness overcame me. My life was complicated. Because it
was so complicated, no one dared to tell me the truth. "Does Mama know that too?" I asked calmly. He took a
deep breath and looked in the other direction. "I'm not the one who should answer it." I didn't feel like asking. It
was as if I already knew the answer. I bit my lip to hold back the tears that were about to fall but they really
didn't want to be weaned. "Argh!" I screamed and covered my face. "...Tangina!" "Tsk! Tanginang to! Don't say
bad words." He scolded me but I ignored him . I continued crying. They knew the truth, Mama. I'm sure, they
didn't tell me anything because they knew. They didn't want me to look for Papa because they knew he had a
amily. I've been looking forward to being with Papa like my older brother for a long time. If they had just told
me the truth, I wouldn't have hoped anymore. I wouldn't have hoped to see him anymore. "Aaaaahhhhhh!!!!" I
screamed loudly. That's why even Kuya Angelo and I were stopping me from seeing him. Because that's how it
is! Is it just everyone?! Is it just everyone around me lying to me? Are they just keeping me alive to hide? That's
why it seems like my other relatives don't accept me. Because the result was that Mama and I became lovers .
Why does my life have to be this messy?! Why does it have to be complicated?! Why do I have to be the one
who has to suffer through everything?! I put my feet up on the chair and hugged my knees. I feel like I'm alone
in the problem I'm facing. Percy was right, I guess I shouldn't have found out everything first. I should have let
my resentment go. I guess it's really nice to make me cry, so my problems kept coming one after another. I
was brave enough to face the fight before, but what I found out now made me cringe. I'm not a crybaby, I just
cried like this now. I was really ready to face the problem but I couldn't even face the truth. Because I was
weak! I looked at Percy who was currently looking at me. He looked at me pitifully as if I was being oppressed.
I don't like being pitied like that at all but what can I do? I was really oppressed. The truth oppressed me,
slapping me like I was in a soap opera and torturing me until I cried. So much for soap operas, feeling like an
artist! "Percy..." I called him as if asking for help. He suddenly hugged me. I hugged him back and cried
uncontrollably on his chest. "It's okay... Big Brother is here." He said and kissed my forehead. "...Big Brother
will never leave you no matter what happens." What a lie... He shouldn't be the one telling me that. Aries
should be the one here hugging me like this. I thought my Big Brother and I would get along even though we
have different fathers but it turns out not. We will never get along. I don't know how long we've been in that
position. I only stopped crying when I felt so tired. I was still clinging to him and looking outside. "Do you want
to go home?" He asked me. I shook my head and let go of his embrace. "I don't want to go home with you." "I
can't... I need----." "For what?" I was cut off from what he was going to say. "...to hide again? To make them
scold me and give in to what they want?" "If you don't go home, where are you going?" He asked as if
challenging me. I bent down and played with my fingers. "To you." "WHAT?!" He asked in shock. "...Is your top
broken?! You can't be with us!" I felt annoyed by what he said. "Why not?! You and Papa are together and I
can't!" "Because your Papa isn't there! Maybe people at home will think I took advantage of their absence!" He
answered me. "When can I be with my Papa?!" I asked annoyed. He looked away. "I don't know yet." "Why?!"
"It's complicated." He said softly, which made me even more annoyed. I grabbed him by the collar and shook
him with so much force. It felt like his head was going to come off what I was doing. "Ouch! Stop---Ouch!" He
shouted while holding my hand. "I'm not going home! I don't want to see them anymore!" I shouted at him. "F-
uck----Jay!" He shouted again. I let go of him and that caused his head to hit the car window. I could see how
he was taking the pain. I must have overdone it! "It hurts... Are you going to kill me?" He complained to me
while crying . I suddenly felt guilty and pity for him. I didn't mean to hit him. He was still holding the part of his
head that had hit him. "That's not okay!" He said to me, annoyed. "...You also need to face them and listen to
their explanation." I bowed my head. It was true that I had to face my family but I didn't know if I was ready to
listen to their explanations. "Okay, just like this." He said and I looked at him. "...when your father arrives, I'll
pick you up so you can go home." When will that be?! I might not be able to do it before father arrives. I pouted
but immediately nodded in agreement with what he said. To be honest, I was afraid to face him. He left me
the first time we met, maybe he wouldn't accept me or recognize me when we met again. "I'll take you home."
He said while tidying up the scattered photos. He put them back in the brown envelope and threw them in the
back seat. He started the car after tidying up. I was looking at the road the entire trip. Nothing entered my
mind. Blank to what could happen. Blank to what I could do except leave Aunt Gema's house. I felt like a
withered vegetable, lifeless and with no desire to live. My eyes hurt and even though I couldn't look, I knew my
nose was red. I think I'd run out of Percy's tissues in the car. He handed them to me earlier while I was
hugging him. It was a box of tissue paper but now, it was empty. He's rich, he can buy new ones. The sky was
yellow and orange when we reached the city. It was so far away that I only noticed it now. The car suddenly
turned into a drive thru. It was then that I remembered that we hadn't even eaten lunch yet. I suddenly felt
ashamed of him. He must be hungry now too. "Ten Happy Meals..." He said to the McDonald's crew. "... The
minion in the package is all burgers and then... The drinks are this Honey Banana float." Honey Banana float?!
My expression was full of surprise as I looked at him. Ten Happy Meals?! Is this guy addicted to McDonald's?
He handed the payment to the crew and started the car again to pick up the order from the other window. We
were forced to wait because there was another car ahead of us. "Ten Happy Meals?!" I asked. He smiled at
me. "Yes... The toys are yours, the food is mine." What should I do with the toys?! The car started moving and
the crew handed us the orders one after another. Ten boxes of Happy Meals, two bags full of yellow burgers
and three plastic bags with drinks. I couldn't move because Percy piled up all the plastic and Happy Meal
boxes on me. We started moving again and stopped in a wide parking lot. "Eat!" He shouted and took a burger.
He took one bite after another so he almost fainted. I laughed at his action, because I remembered someone
eating like that. Those starving people! I closed my eyes slowly and tried to put it out of my mind. The greed of
those Cobras. How they would jump in line just to eat. It hurts me when I remember them, because the
memories of us being together come back----but it's not true. Don't cry! "Eat now... I know you're hungry." Percy
said, causing me to look at him again. He was now holding two burgers and both had bites. In truth, I was
hungry too. After crying non-stop and only a bottle of water gave me some energy back, I was really hungry.
You put all the toys in the back seat and started eating. When I tasted the burger, I suddenly felt very hungry. It
elt like I hadn't eaten in ten days. "I don't have any drinks." Percy pleaded so I handed him a plastic bag full of
drinks. I took one bite after another. It was like I was participating in a game of speed eating. I looked at Percy
who had already finished two drinks while still having one burger in my hand. I almost choked on the speed I
was swallowing. Sometimes I didn't even chew. I grabbed my drinks and drank them straight away. Shit! Brain
reeze... My head hurt from the coldness of the drinks. I couldn't even hold my head because I was holding the
burger in one hand and the drinks in the other. "Hahahaha... You're so stupid." Percy said while his mouth was
still spewing out. This is disgusting! "I'm so ashamed of you." I said annoyed. I went back to eating and
ignored him. He had already finished three drinks while I was two. There was only one burger left in front of
us. He looked at me and smiled stupidly. "This is mine... You ate a lot." His hand was ready to take the burger
but I immediately slapped it hard. "It's in my plastic... So it's mine. You've already eaten five!" I said annoyed
and took the burger. Before I could open the wrapper, he suddenly pushed my face with one hand. "Araaay!" I
shouted. "You're so stupid! This is mine!" He yelled at me and grabbed the burger. Wow! I was already in so
much pain that he was still doing this to me. He let go of me and immediately bit into the burger even though
it was still wrapped. Wow! So, he wasn't greedy in that situation?! After biting, I yelled at him again for the
burger. He tried to snatch it from me but my hand quickly went straight to his head to hit him. "ARAY!" He
shouted loudly and with a hint of anger. I removed the wrapper and took a big bite of the burger. His eyebrows
met while looking at me. While I was chewing, he suddenly looked at the window next to me and pointed
there. To my surprise, I looked too, and then he suddenly grabbed the burger from my hand. I was so scared!
"Hey!" I yelled again. I thought he was just going to take a bite but he suddenly licked the bread. He smiled
stupidly and tried to give me the burger back. "Oh there! Stick it in your lungs!" He said while laughing. I looked
at him with pure disgust. He seemed like an idiot because of his arrogance. Is this guy really rich? "You're
disgusting..." I whispered but I also heard him because of the sudden laughter. He happily ate the burger while
making me envious with every bite. That was a fluke! He gave me another sibling so there was a fluke too.
Can I request something sensible there?! But even so, I couldn't help but smile. I forgot about the problem for
a moment because of his rudeness. That's all I can't be complacent about, because it was like this before. I
was complacent with them so I didn't realize that they were already cheating on me. "Do you still have drinks
there?" He asked while trying to look at the ones in the plastic. I took a deep breath and handed him the
remaining drinks. I took one and let him finish the rest. This guy's greed was so intense. It was like he had just
eaten a burger at Mcdo. After eating, he turned to the toys . "Banana! Banana!" He said while playing with one.
I suddenly laughed at him. He looked like a child and reminded me of Ci----shit! It felt like I was being stabbed
when I thought about them. I looked away and put away the food we had eaten. I collected it in a plastic bag
and got out of the car to throw it in the nearby trash can. When I came back, all the toys were already open
and he was playing with them. Pfffttt... Childish! "I've changed my mind. These toys are mine." He said. "Here
they are." I replied bored. He looked up at the sky for a moment and put away the toys. He piled them all in the
back seat again. "Time to go home." I felt nervous. A big part of me didn't want to go home. I didn't want to
see the people with us. As the car moved and got closer and closer to us, my heart beat faster and faster . I
wanted to open the car door and just jump out. That's why it might hurt... Don't. Turning the corner into our
street, the car slowly slowed down . I could already see the cars parked outside the house from afar. As well
as the people who seemed to be waiting. Wait! What are they doing here?! My nervousness earlier was now
mixed with anger and pain. I felt like I didn't want to go home even more. I didn't understand why those Snakes
had to come here. The car stopped a few houses away from us. I looked at Percy when I heard his sigh. "I
didn't want to show them. That's why..." He looked at me and smiled. "...you need to go home." "Maybe I can go
home tomorrow? Maybe because---." "No. We've already talked about this, Jay." He said seriously so I didn't
say anything. I was feeling mixed when he started the car again. The Snake Animals' gaze shifted to us. Yuri
and Keifer were gone, but even so, my feelings still didn't go away. The car stopped right in front of the
Snakes. They each took their own place and seemed alarmed by our new arrival's presence. Percy turned off
the engine but we stayed inside. I took a few deep breaths and swallowed to stop the tears that were
threatening to fall. Percy held my hand and smiled. He nodded at me as if to say 'That's okay, you can go out'. I
had no choice but to open the door. I went out trying to hide my feelings . I also tried to keep my expression
blank. This was so hard for me! Hiding the pain in front of those who hurt me. +