Give up
Keifer's POV
"You're just as bad as Yuri, you're a coward." Percy said and took a sip from his glass. He nodded. I'll just pretend that his drunk. His answer was far from what I asked. How did I become gullible? "I don't care about Yuri's cowardliness. I'm here for My Jay-jay's phone number." I said and hand signaled the bartender for another round. "I have a lot of concern and will tell you before I give you my number." I massaged my temple because of headaches. Why did I insist on sitting next to him? "You know what? I think I'll just ï¬nd another way to get her number." I said and took my wallet for cash. "Okay... I'll just tell Jay-jay to change his phone number." He said and smiled like a lunatic. I couldn't believe it. This guy was really kidding. I put back my wallet. "Tell me all your concerns. You still have a lot of art!" He suddenly put the glass down on the counter table. It made a noise so the bartender looked at us. Percy's seriousness is back. "I just don't understand why you let Aries suffer like that." He chuckled bitterly. "You should be the ï¬rst to stand next to him but you're the ï¬rst to leave." I frowned. "Don't talk as if it's all our ault. If you let us know you're alive this would never happened to us." "If you still don't know it, my Mom never let me contact anyone from here! Not even my family!" "You should've at least tried. Just one freaking sign that you're alive!" "And then what? I can't still show up, it's useless!" "But we can search for you. Aries, Yuri, Angelo and I can search for you." I can't believe I'm saying this word. I didn't know this conversation would end in a ï¬ght. I knew he knew that I wanted to ï¬ght him a lot. And I know the others have the same agony. "...but obviously it's pointless to ï¬ght because of that. What happened happened so there's nothing we can do." I added and drank. He shook his head. "The damage done by my death is so great ." It's so great that it even damaged the name of Fer. Corp. Because everyone knew that Aries was Fernandez and the accident that happened to the four of us. Many of their investors and stock holders backed out. That's where their downfall began. They tried their best to save the company but they were in even more trouble because of the Hanamitchis. Poor Angelo. "It's so great..." I whispered. I take another sip of my glass. "What's the real reason you came back? Obviously you're not here to get your life back." "I'm planning to take Felix and them to the US. My crazy Dad left some money for them but they can't claim it because the insurance company can't ï¬nd them." He explained. "...I'm also going to take Jay-jay to his Dad." "Are you planning to tell him?" "Which one?" "That her father has cancer." She stopped and looked at me. She probably couldn't believe that I knew that. When I said I would help Jay-jay ï¬nd his Dad, it was true. But I didn't stop like Jay thought. I search for him using my little resource. It was just harder for me because his Dad is based abroad . Mariano is very private. They also use a different name for their business ventures. There are very few photos of their family. I can't believe someone like him can hide himself from the business world. After all, Rory and Edrix were lucky to have gotten the little information about him and Percy back then. "Wow..." He said sarcastically. "...I'm really impressed by what you can do. You even found out about that." "It was my lawyer who found out. He was in New York looking for someone who could help me. Then he saw Mr. Fernandez at the hospital taking his Chemotherapy." "How did your lawyer meet him?" I cleared my throat. "I used to look for him for Jay-jay. When I got a picture of him and gave it to my lawyer to ï¬nd additional information." "Tibay!" He said while smiling teasingly. "You're ready to do anything, right? Is that love?" Yes. It is! I ignore him and continue drinking. I asked for another one after ï¬nishing it. Percy did the same. "Can I have her number now?" "Kiss ï¬rst!" He replied. I almost threw the glass I was holding at him, but I regretted it. "Just tell me if you're drunk." I said almost commandingly. "Not yet! Maybe you, you got here before me." I shook my head and took a sip. It's been a long time since I've gotten drunk. Something I seem to have inherited from the Watsons. When did I ï¬rst realize that we had something like that in our family? I thought it was because my body was just getting used to alcohol. There's a lot of things that I still haven't discovered about the Watson family. It's scary to know about them but it's even scarier not to know even one of them. What else do they have that I don't know about? I don't want to know but I want to at the same time. I feel like I can use it against them. One dark little secret. "Freya..." He said. That's what I've been waiting for him to ask. He just asked for clariï¬cation and I can have Jay-jay's number. "Was she happy when I was gone?" I shook the glass I was holding. I hate to say this but there's no point in hiding it. "She didn't even cry when we thought that you're dead. I thought it was because she was just being brave but I was wrong." I take a sip from my glass. "...I don't want to hurt your eelings, but I will hurt it. She's not really into you back then." I heard her soft laugh. He suddenly swallowed his drink. He swallowed it like he swallows a drinking water. He signaled to the bartender. "Give me something hard." Give him a solid earth rock. The bartender put down a glass of ice in front of him. He emptied it before pushing it closer to him. He drank it before speaking again. "Because she's into Yuri." He said and drank again. "...I didn't see it back then but I knew she has a hidden crush with Yuri." My forehead creased. "Did she date you before getting closer to Yuri?" He shook his head. "I don't know, but..." He obviously can't continue his word. Probably painful. "That's what it looks like." I continue his sentence and he nodded. "She had her chance with him but Yuri screwed up." "He's a fvcker!" He shouted and slammed the glass at the counter table. "He took advantage of my Freya! I hope if he really didn't want it he wouldn't have done it like that!" He tapped the table while continuing to speak but I couldn't understand what they were saying. I motioned for another glass to the bartender. He looked at me as if he was wondering about my condition. "Aren't you drunk yet, Sir?" He asked while pouring alcohol into my glass. "Nope. Still not drunk." I said proudly. Percy suddenly got up. I thought he had fallen asleep or maybe he was drunk and couldn't take it anymore. He looked very awake. "How did you and Freya become friends?" He asked in a serious tone. " I really like Freya. That's why when I saw her crying because of their brake up, I took advantage of the situation and comfort her." I shook my head. Remembering my action makes me regret our past.I shouldn't have come near her then. I wish I had let her sort herself out. She's a mess and starting a relationship while on that situation is a big NO. "Did you take care of her properly?" "With my best." I answer shortly and take a drink. "Did you make her cry?" I did... Don't know if I will answer him. I'm ashamed with what I did to her from the past. I promised myself that I would take care of her. In the name of Percyâ€" whom we thought dead. But I didn't do it because of my anger management issue. "Silence means yes." He said and the next thing I know, I was on the floor with a sting of pain on my cheek. He punched me! He fvcking punched me while I'm occupied. Is that what he came here for? Because he wanted to punch me? "That feels good." He said while looking at his ï¬st. He went back to the seat and I stood up. I took my glass and pressed it to my cheek. If I didn't need anything from her, I might have already punched her. I just sat down with the glass still pressed to my face. "Why did you hit me?" "It was an accident." I tried to make up my mind. "...I was furious because of jealousy. I saw everyone with her. I even saw her flirting with another guy." "So you punched her?" I look at him in shock. "What? I never punch her!" "That's what she told me." "I push her too hard on the wall then I punch the wall beside her! I wouldn't do such a thing to her!" I can't believe this. That's why different people get different news because they say different things. Some even called me sadists. I just chose to ignore it. "...and it only happened once!" I added. I swallowed my drink. I regret that we fought that day. That's where our problems started. If I hadn't pushed her too hard, she probably wouldn't have been so scared of me. I also probably wouldn't have punched the wall because I was so angry. I know she was hurt but she chooses to cry silently. I'm so stupid! If only I had just given her the freedom she was asking for. Things would have happened in a different way. I tried to ï¬x what was between us. I bought her a penthouse, a car and gadgets that her parents can't afford for her. She accepted it and we made out but I didn't know she was up again for something else. "So, who's who and who's not?" He asks sounds not interested. "It's useless to point my ï¬ngers to whomever should be blamed. Think whatever you wanted to think." He took out his phone. "As I promised." I'm about to take it from his hand but he slightly moves it away. "I'm telling you Keifer. When Jay-jay runs to me crying, it's because of you again." He points his ï¬nger at me. "...I'll report you to his father." I quickly snatched his cellphone from him. As I unlock it, Jay- jay's phone number shows up. I send it immediately to my phone number before handling his phone back to him. I quickly snatched my cellphone when I heard the ringing. I stared at her number for a while. I wanted to press the call option to call her. But I'm scared. Fvck this! I'm Keifer Watson and for the ï¬rst time I'm scared to call a girl over the phone. I thought Watson turns into a beast. Why do I feel like it's the other way around? Why do I feel like I'm becoming a coward? I'm starting to hate this feeling. Is it really like this when you're in love? Your mind becomes chaotic? I'm not like this with Freya and Ella. Maybe because it's different. She's different. I put my phone back in my pocket. That's good and I might just be tempted to call her. It's not good that she knows that I know her number. I looked at Percy when I noticed that he was touching the same bottle of wine. I shook my head. To be honest, I envy her. Because she's so close to Jay-jay. I used to envy her because she could make other people laugh. I even forgot about my own problems because of her mischievousness. That's why I preferred being with the four of them before. I was able to escape the problems at home. I bit my lips. Because of my escape, I neglected Mom and Keigan. If only I had been stronger then. And now, I wish I could do what I couldn't do before. To protect the ones I love and not be weak. For my brothers and for her. "You think I'm weak?" I asked Percy almost whispered. "Why did you ask?" "Because I can't protect her without hurting her feelings." "That's not weakness, it's called stupidity." I don't know if he's teasing me or what. He told me everything I was doing was stupid. I wish he was drunk. It's like he doesn't even know what he's saying. "Thanks." I said sarcastically. "Not to mention that I'm also suffering." He laughed while shaking his head. "You're just looking at the easiest option." "It's not an easy option. It's actually the hardest for me and for her." "By hurting her? Bullshit." He said calmly. "Easy for you to say." "Yet you still haven't let her go." I looked away. Because I fvcking can't. All of this are just temporary. This is all my opponents should see but that doesn't mean that I'm really letting her go. "What am I supposed to do? I can't let her go forever." That will kill me! "Didn't you think what you're doing is worse now? You show her that your not really in love with her but in reality you still keep her." He chuckled bitterly. "...it's like you're putting an invisible rope around her neck. And that rope will soon kill her!" "I won't let that happen!" He put down the bottle. "It already happened! That's exactly what you're doing for this past few days!" I washed my face. My actions are true to his words. "You're fvcking killing her inside." "Did you think I didn't think that? It hurts too but I have no choice!" He suddenly stopped and stared at me. He motioned for the bartender and he looked at us. I didn't like the way he was looking at me. "Leave us." He said and the bartender left. "What is that for?" "Tell me Keifer. To whom are you trying to protect Jay-jay?" I looked away. I had no intention of telling him the truth. I didn't want him to know either. He shook his head. "Did you get into trouble and hurt her?" "No. It's not like that. I am trying to protect her from my old enemy." "From your father?" I nodded shortly. I wasn't lying. She was one of the people I fought for her and my siblings. "Fuck! Your ï¬ght isn't over yet?" He sighed. "I miss so many things about you." My lips form in a thin line. "Yeah. I think." He took another sip of the bottle he was holding. It was almost empty. "If you truly want to protect her I suggest you let her goâ€"for real. You'll be noticed, it's not expensive but it's not uncomfortable." I held my breath. He was drunk and it was obvious. His eyes were also blinking . Until the bottle was empty. Suddenly he laughed out loud. "I have a joke. Do you want to hear it?" He said while laughing. Oh fvck! "No." I said and about to leave but he grabbed me. "Wait... No one will listen to my joke. What a waste!" I force to remove his hand. "Save it for the future." He shook his head iolently. "No." I took my phone out and dialed Felix's number. He answered it after a few rings. ["Why?"] "Pick up your brother here at the KingsGround." I said. "Hey... Listen to my jokes. Jay-jay really likes my jokes ." Percy begs. ["Are you drunk? Oh! Just take him to the highway."] I shook my head. I can't believe he's rejecting his own brother. Who would want to take this drunk guy home? He's full of scum. "Just pick him up." I said before ending the call. "I have sooooooo many jokes." I sighed. I can't stay here any longer. I saw the bartender he had sent away earlier was coming back. "There's the bartender. He's ready to listen to your jokes." He let go of me and greeted the bartender. The other one was surprised. I put down some cash at the counter table before leaving. I quickly went to my car, which was surrounded by people interested in stealing it. I also approached and pressed the unlock button right in front of them. They quickly left. I got in and quickly drove the car away. I enjoy talking to Percy but I don't like his advice. Let go Jay-jay for real. How? Wasn't it enough to chase him away that I still have to let him go completely? I pressed the gas pedal. My car sped away without me realizing it. Where I was going, I didn't know. I keep driving until I notice the tallest building in front of me. I'm in the business district. My grip on the steering wheel is tight. Is it time to tell Yuri? I don't want to involve her but I'm out of choices. Even if it's just simple advice, it's a big deal to me. I just need someone to listen to this. I turned the steering wheel and followed Yuri's building. I headed straight for their basement parking. The guard quickly let me in when he recognized me. After parking it, I headed straight for the elevator. Unlike other elevators, it doesn't just go straight to Yuri's house. Someone from the security section are processing a face recognition. If you're not familiar or the Hanamitchi Family doesn't let you in, you can't just go in. It's a good thing I always visit Yuri. So I don't have to go through their security processes anymore. When the elevator door opened, Yuri's Mother greeted me. Which is kinda weird. "Auntie..." I said and hugged her briefly. She smiled at me. "Visiting Yuri?" "Yeah. Is he here?" She smiled and shook her head. "Maybe on his way." She grabbed my arm. "I'll take you to his room. Let's go." This is really new. She walks slowly as I try to keep up. I'm not comfortable. I don't like the way she holds me. It's really awkward. "You've been friends with Yuri for so long. I still remember how Angelo used to ï¬ght with you in front of us. It's quite painful because I don't want to see my son get hurt or be lectured. But I guess it has a good result." She said and forced a smile. "I really don't want anyone else to scream or hurt her. I feel pain for my son. Especially when he cried, I'm the one who breaks down for him." What every mother's feel for their child. But I really don't understand why she says these things to me. The last time she talked to me like this, it's about Ella. Who is it now? "That's why I felt so bad when I saw him cry because of Ella. I thought I did the right thing for him. But I saw him change. My sweet son changes into someone that I don't know who. I can't afford to see him like that again." I stopped after his hand gradually left my arm. This is about Jay-jay. "I know you know what I want to tell you. That Jay-jay girl. She has to be with my son." She said with teary eyes. "No." I answer briefly and about to leave but she stops me again. "I'll tell the Watsons the truth!" She shouts. I turn to face him in shock. How on earth did she know about the Watson? "Ilang beses ng may pagkasingan from the Watson company. We thought it's about your investment to us but it was more than that." Her teary eyes turn into a ï¬erce one. "They keep asking about Jasper Jean. We gave them the same answer that we keep giving them. She's my son's ï¬ancée." Fvck them! They are on the move! I try my best not to show any emotion. But I'm fuming inside. "But I know that Clydeâ€"your cousin is waiting for a different answer. I can give that to him." My ï¬st clenched. I don't want to say bad things to Tita. She's been so good to me that I almost treat her like my mother. But my patience has a limit. It is true that Yuri's mother is a genius. She knows when to use her resources on someone's weaknesses. "Alright. I'll do what you want." I said and she smiled as a relief. "I will tell your son what you want to hear." I start walking towards her until I'm close enough. "...but if Jay-jay got married to Yuri before I receive my inherits. I will burn your family alive and turn them into ashes." Her smile disappeared. "You can't do such a thing." "You don't know me, Mrs Hanamitchi. I'm a Watson and I'm more powerful than you think I am." She shook her head and smiled arrogantly. "Not without your inherits. Your still a kid claiming to be powerful." She pointed at me. "They'll still get married before or after you get your inheritance. The Headmaster of our family wants to meet her and that's not a good sign for you." I smirked. "You think I will let that happen? I assure you someone will be on checkmate and that won't be me." I passed her and headed straight for Yuri's room. I didn't know Yuri's Mother would get involved. But I don't give a fvck. What I said will be done. The person she threatened was wrong. +