Chapter-242

Happy Family

Aries's POV

*ContinuationOfFlashback...* "Are you ready?" Percy asked,
making me grin. I heard Yuri and Keifer laughing loudly. "What the hell?!" Was all I could answer him.
"Seriously Percy? What went through your mind?" Yuri asked laughing. "I'm older than you, I should be taller."
He answered and compared our heights. He was the smallest of us while Keifer was the bigger one. It was a
bit of a trick because after all, he was the youngest of us. There was a two-year age gap between them, mine
was one and Yuri was a month. It was really coming out that he was the youngest. "You must be sleep
deprived." Yuri teased. "Maybe you're a bag." Keifer snorted. "Come on... Let's cut it so you'll be taller." I did and
he quickly covered his bottom. We laughed out loud. I don't know why he was making a problem of that, when
we were just in grade school. "Okay. Treat me like that. I'm the smallest of you. I'm the one with the biggestâ€"."
He couldn't finish what he was going to say when Keifer lowered his shorts and briefs. He averted his gaze
with his hand. For the second time, Keifer defeated him again. We laughed loudly. I wanted to introduce Jay-
jay to them. That's why they didn't know that I was adopted and that I had a brother from my real mother. I
could say that he was my cousin but they would wonder why I was so close to him. Especially Keifer who is
good at being suspicious. He probably feels like everyone around him is fooling him. I also don't want to
introduce him to Percy because he might say something and teach him. I don't have a problem with Yuri.
"Looks like I need to go home. It's late and Hahaoya might get angry." Yuri said. "What's Hahaoya?" Percy
asked. "That's Mother in Japanese." He nodded and suddenly came closer to me. "I bet, Yuri is Mama's boy."
He whispered to me. "I heard you." Yuri said and looked at him evilly. I just shook my head while laughing. We
each went home after saying goodbye to each other. Keifer's house was the furthest away. Their palace was
in a secluded area. It was a palace, because it was so big. Yuri's was next because their house was in the
business district. On top of their own Hotel. Percy's was in a private subdivision. His dad was a retired US
Army man who chose to live here because he had remarried. Our house was in a regular subdivision. The first
time I went there, I was stunned by the size of the houses. I didn't know that there were even bigger ones.
When I got home, all the lights were on. That meant they were still awake and I was already lost in my
brother's thoughts. I slowly entered the door and saw Mama talking to someone on the phone. "Okay. We're
going home." She said worriedly. I froze as she watched her. For some reason I couldn't understand, Jay-jay
was the first thing that came to my mind. "Where are you from?" Kuya asked authoritatively. "...Go to your
room and get your things. We're going home to Grandma now." "Did something happen?" Mama answered my
question. "Your brother is missing." I didn't understand. There were a lot of people in front of Grandma's
house. They were also talking to a police officer. "That kid has been being hurt for a long time. Every man
Jeana takes home, they're beating them up." An old man said to the police officer in front of him. "They were
making noise after the kid screamed loudly." A woman said to another police officer. "The kid just ran away,
his body covered in blood. His clothes were torn and he had no shoes on." A man added . Jay-jay is missing.
Mama is in the police station and the last person he was with is dead, the reason for all this chaos. I feel like
I'm no good as a brother to him. I didn't even notice that he was going through something. I should have
talked about the wounds and bruises on his body a long time ago . "Hey! Monkey!" Someone called me. I didn't
look at her. I wasn't in the mood to talk to her. I was about to walk away when she pulled me by the collar of
my dress. "Come with me." She said without looking at me. We passed the group of people and police outside.
Each of her steps was so big that I almost tripped. "What?! Let me go!" "Wait! Let's rent a car!" She said and
hailed an oncoming tricycle. "...Get in!" She said and pushed me inside. "Where are we going?" She didn't
answer. She faced the tricycle driver. "Hey... That's where my brother's house is." I was sure she was referring
to Jay-jay's house. I didn't move the entire trip until we stopped in front of the house with the yellow police
line. Aunt got out and so did I. "What are we going to do here?" I asked. "We'll look for Jay-jay." She said, still
holding her hand. I frowned. The police couldn't find him, let alone us. Sometimes he doesn't even think about
it. He looked around for a moment and faced the tricycle driver. "Hey... Where did the kid run to again?" The
driver pointed to where we were coming from. "Maybe he was planning to go to Mom's." He was referring to
Grandma. I scratched my head. He really felt like a smart person. He pulled me by the collar of my clothes
again and forced me to ride the tricycle. I felt like I was going to get sick from this aunt. We had already visited
all the nearby barangays and towns. We almost got into a fight because of the noise my companion was
making. The sky was already dark when we thought about eating a snack. It's a good thing I had money with
me. It's embarrassing for my aunt to have the audacity to rent a tricycle without paying. We're in the plaza now
and sitting in a plant box that looks like trash and not a plant. I really don't feel like eating because my
companion is really on a strong trip. He's even planning to stab me in the throat with a stick . "Eat that! Eat it!"
He said and tried to feed me the fishball on the stick. I just winced at his brutality. He really had no mercy.
Sometimes I wonder if the darkness had let him go. "Where is that kid?" He didn't say it on his own. "...He's
probably scared and writhing in tears." If what he said was true that Jay-jay planned to go to Grandma's, why
didn't he make it? No wayâ€"no way! No way. We looked at the group of kids chasing each other. They were
filthy and were getting close to becoming a fat person. "Couldn't Jay-jay have become a fat person?" Tita said
and I looked at her. She had mentioned everything that could happen to Jay-jay earlier. Now it was becoming a
at person. My face just fell from annoyance. I heard his cellphone ring. He looked at it and pressed the
button. "Let's go... Your big brother is looking for you." Big? He stood up and I did the same. We were walking
along the sidewalk when I looked across the street. There was a child sitting next to a trash can,
dumbfounded and not moving. I looked at him and was so surprised and happy to see him. "JAY-JAY!" I
shouted while pointing to the other side of the street. I crossed the street without waiting for Tita. One car's
horn honked because of what I had done. When I got closer, I immediately hugged him. "Jay! What happened
to you? We looked everywhere for you!" I said but he didn't even move. He remained dumbfounded and
looking somewhere. "ARIES! YOUR HEAD IS BROKEN!" Tita shouted angrily as she approached me. "ARE YOU
GOING TO KILL ME?" She stopped in front of us and looked at the person next to me. "Jay-jay! I saw him!" I
said. Tita took her cellphone out of her pocket and called someone at home. "It's clearly a sign of Traumatic
disorder. Dissociative amnesia can sometimes experience by the victim." The doctor said to Grandma. We
were all shocked when she said she couldn't remember what happened. Grandma also gave her name but she
didn't know her either. But the Doctor said it was normal. "How long has she been like that?" "It depends on the
patient but I suggested taking the child to child psychology for trauma treatment." They talked for a while
about what could be done. I chose to go to Jay-jay inside the room. He was currently sitting and reaching for
something on his back. "What are you doing?" I asked him. "What did they treat on my back?" He had a big
wound on his back. He said it was done by his father. He was burned with a hot iron. "Y-you have a wound." He
was trying to reach for his back. "Where did I get hurt? Why didn't I know?" I went over and took his hand. Even
that was all scrapes and bruises. He was really lucky that his young body was able to handle everything.
"Remember that too. Get some rest first so you can get out of the hospital quickly." He lay down on his side,
rowning. "Where is Mama?" He asked, making me stop. The truth is, I don't know where she is either. I haven't
seen her since we came home. The last I heard from her was that she was at the precinct. "I don't know. She
might be on her way here. I'll tell Mama to call her." "Okay. Thank you." He replied and closed his eyes.
Wherever she was, I hope she came here and said hello to Jay-jay. Because of the incident that happened,
Jay-jay's grandmother had to live with her. She will take care of her to make sure that her condition is
monitored. I just hope she's okay, I was still worried about her. Add to that our Aunt who must be angry with
the world. "You're so quiet. Are you pooping?" Percy asked, making me grin. Here we go again. "No." I
answered directly. "You're still embarrassed. Tell me. It's just a joke." "No, it's not. Skin!" "That's okay, I'll find
you a place to stay." He said with a smile and looked around. I just slapped my forehead. When he really
spoke, my head often hurt. "What's he looking for?" Yuri asked while riding his bike. "He's looking for his brain."
I answered lifelessly. "I thought you're out of town." Keifer had just arrived. "We just got home." "How's your
cousin. What's his name? â€"Jason? Jay-ar?" Yuri asked. "Jay-jay." "Boy or a girl?" Keifer seemed really
interested. I raised one eyebrow. He quickly became interested in women. I had no plans to introduce him to
him. "Justâ€"" I couldn't finish what I was going to say because Percy suddenly appeared in front of us. "I've
already found you. You'll just cover me up later." He said. "Huh?" The three of us answered at the same time.
"Aren't you pooping?" He asked me. I just shook my head and turned away. The three of them followed me. We
talked a lot but mostly about Keifer and his family. His mom had also found the courage to leave his dad.
What they had gone through was also intense. But Jay-jay's was even more intense. "I won't be coming with
you next week." I said. "Why, Pre?!" Percy said in surprise. "...That's not possible! We'll have a talk that day!" Of
course. I was still planning to go home to Grandma. I would have visited her more often to make sure she was
okay. Maybe next time, I'll visit her at least once a month. Then I'll go home for vacation. "What?! You can't be
gone." Percy insisted. "Yes, I will. I'll come." My plan didn't go as planned. I didn't visit Jay-jay and it's been two
acations since I went home to Grandma. When I'm with these three, I forget what I have to do. Even my
assignments and projects at school. Yuri is a good thing, it's not a loss for her if she forgets to do that. She
can quickly catch up on quizzes and exams. "Have you seen Percy?" Keifer asked me as I left the room. "No.
Why?" "That fool, he doesn't want to introduce me to Freya." I raised one eyebrow. Freya Hidalgo? I looked like I
knew where she was. "Let's go to the court." I said and she followed. The court wasn't far from our room. We
were quite close when I saw Percy messing around with the men. It was like he was peeking at something like
the others. "Percy!" I called and he looked at our behavior. He seemed confused and didn't know what to do.
"What are you doingâ€"hey!" Keifer shouted as he pushed us away. "Let's eat a snack outside. I'm free! Where is
Yuri?" He said and tried to push us away from the court. Why doesn't he seem to want to show us what he's
looking at? I know it's Freya. Too bad, I haven't seen him yet. I would also like to meet him. "Where did you go
to high school?" Yuri asked me. "The one where Kuya went." "Which one? Your Kuya went to many schools."
He said with a laugh. I laughed too. Kuya kept moving from school to school. He was always fighting and
Mama was trying to fix his life. Her effort was a waste. We had to go home to Grandma. We found out that
Kuya was going home without us knowing. She said that Grandma was the one who sent him to school to
deal with the trouble Jay-jay was involved in. I was shocked when he admitted to us what Jay-jay was doing.
Once when he came to me he was fighting but I didn't know it had reached this situation. He was sitting on
the sofa with his knees raised to the level of his face. He was bowed down and it seemed like there was no
one in front of him to talk to. "Are you listening?!" Kuya asked angrily. He didn't answer. He looked at me for a
moment and then went back to bowing down. "You woman, you're fighting! Are you thinking?" Kuya added. In
act, Jay-jay and I are in almost the same situation. We were involved in various fights but we were different, I
have three friends in the prank. "Maybe give the kid a rest." Mama said. Kuya hadn't been able to speak when
Jay-jay suddenly stood up. He walked straight outside. "I'm not done yet! Get back here!" Kuya shouted angrily.
He even planned to follow Jay but Mama immediately stopped him. "Let me go!" "I'll just follow him." I said
and they let me go. I thought he went down the road at first but I saw him go straight to the back where there
was a big tree. "Jay!" I called to him but he ignored me. "...Jay!" He turned around with raised eyebrows but
immediately looked away. "A miracle, did you come home here?" He asked sarcastically. A lot had changed in
him but one thing remained. He still acts like a man even though he looks like a woman. "Are you mad at me?"
"No. Do I have a reason to be mad at you?" I asked the wrong question. It was obvious that he was mad at
me.Maybe it was because of our last conversation and because I hadn't visited him lately . I looked at the
basketball in the corner. I picked it up and dribbled . "Let's go... Let's play." I said. He quickly faced me and
gave me a hard time. "We're not young enough to play anymore. You told me that and now you're going to
play. Is that a joke?" I think I remember it now. That was the last conversation we had when he invited me to
play outside. I wasn't really in the mood so I told him that. But I didn't mean it. "Ahh is that it? Whatâ€"." "You can
probably just leave me alone." He cut me off from what I was going to say. I looked up at him. He was looking
in the other direction but I understood. I let go of the ball and grabbed some money from my pocket. "Let's
go...." To make up for Jay-jay, I chose to celebrate my birthday here. I couldn't help but smile. He thought it
was my 13th birthday. He didn't know that my birthday was already correct. It's my 14th today. I'll probably tell
him that later. "I have a question for you." He said while eating. "... I'm told I have a brother. Is that true?"
I was stunned and slowly looked at him. Until now, it was still not
clear to him what he was. I couldn't help but feel
sad.
I'm your brother.
"Is that true?" He asked again.
"Oh-yes... He's older than you."
"I thought we were twins. You were the one I was thinking about." He answered
and continued eating.
But it was really me.
["Dude! Why don't you celebrate here?!"] Percy shouted from the
other line.
"Don't yell."
["But why?! The celebration is okay! It's planned! Let's drink!"]
"Maybe we're still minors."
["Okay! I'm weak to you! After all, you know how to
drive, right?"]
I sighed. It was as if I knew what they were planning.
We had already escaped from Kuya's car once but only Yuri was with me.
It was as if I had already told him what we had done.
"I don't have a license yet."
["That's fine. When you get home, call me right away."]
He didn't wait for my answer. He just hung up the phone
. After hanging up the phone, I looked out the window. Jay-jay was at the gate
and seemed to be talking to a man.
I went out and approached him. My eyebrows quickly crossed when
I saw who he was. I couldn't be mistakenâ€"he was the one
ollowing me in the car.
"Jay-jay!" I called out but before he could face me,
the man he was talking to covered his mouth and carried him. "Let
him go!"
I tried to fight and help Jay but another man
carried me like a toy. They forced us to get into a Ban.
"Who are you?!" Jay-jay shouted as we got into the car.
"What do you need?!" I asked.
The car drove off without us getting any answers.
I couldn't understand. Who exactly is this man? Why does he always
ollow me?