Traitor
Jay-Jay's POV
"Mom, when I grow up, I'll buy you a big house . . ." "Get strong, you're always sick." Who was that? Who was talking? I heard a voice and an image was slowly forming. There was a woman next to me ironing her clothes. I watched her closely until she had a face in my vision. Mom? I tried to look around me but it was blurry. I looked at what was in front of me and the ï¬rst thing I saw was the row of clothes. I stared at the same clothes that I had been folding over and over again. Wait a minute? Why were my hands moving on their own? I looked at Mom again and was stunned when I saw the bruises on her ace and shoulders. She looked at me for a moment and smiled as if there were no marks on her face. I tried to speak but nothing came out of my mouth. Why is this? "Jeana!" a male voice called to Mom. He was standing at the door but because of the light behind him I couldn't see his face. Mom stopped what she was doing and attended to the man. He walked towards me but before I could fully see his face, the surroundings suddenly went dark. Was this a dream? I slowly opened my eyes and the ï¬rst thing I saw was Keifer. It was like I was dreaming. I tried to move my hand and it seemed like he noticed it. "Jay, can you hear me?" I couldn't move properly. I felt so heavy, as if someone had stepped on me. I tried to speak but all I could do was cough . "Don't force it, your fever is still high," Keifer said and I automatically felt cold. Not cold to him. To my body. That's why my body was heavy and it was hard to move. But I knew this was true, this was reality. It was different from what I had seen earlier. But when did that happen and why did I see that? "Do you want water?" The King offered and I nodded in response. My body and neck were hard to move. My head was also aching . It felt like my whole body had been slammed against the wall. It was like a rag being shaken to remove dust. That's how it felt. Keifer helped me sit up properly before giving me water to drink. I only drank a little at a time even though I really wanted a glass of it . I was so thirsty, my throat was even drier than the desert . I might have grown a cactus out of my thirst. After drinking and resting for a while, I ï¬nally realized where I was. I was still at Sir Alvin and Ma'am Cindy's house, in their guest room. I thought I had been taken to the hospital again. I would only have to make the hospital a residential address in a few minutes. I suddenly remembered what happened earlier and my cousin. "K-Kuya?" I asked worriedly. "He's downstairs, Ma'am Cindy is giving stitches to his exposed cuts." I breathed a sigh of relief at what I heard. I was silent for a moment and then I noticed the heavy rain. I looked out the window. Why did it suddenly rain? That's probably why we were still here at Sir's house. If it wasn't raining, I would probably be in the hospital again because of what happened. Add to that, Kuya's condition was not good and he lost consciousness earlier. I suddenly thought, why did he lose consciousness again? "What the hell . . . did you do to Kuya earlier that he lost consciousness?" I asked the King of the Snakes and he seemed to turn pale. It turned out he was scared too. "I . . . ahh . . . I kind of hit him with force," he replied. He obviously didn't want to say it. He also looked ashamed of what he had done or maybe afraid of what Death would do to him if he found out he was being attacked by this one. "Why did you do that?" I really wanted to laugh at him. He had the courage to do that. Audacious. "When I heard you screaming for aid, I felt anxious and enraged. I couldn't even look at who was in front of you." He explained calmly. "I only want to save you." That was a lot of saving. I wasn't thrilled. Just a little. Save button. I couldn't help but be touched by touch your my all time lover for what he did even though Kuya was hurt and lost consciousness. Partida, I felt sorry for what happened to him and was also worried. I just couldn't help it. Hari held one of my hands and what happened earlier before I lost consciousness came back to me. Also the bloody man I saw. I was terriï¬ed when I remembered his face and the screams he made. He wanted to kill Mama and me. "Jay? Are you okay? Lie down ï¬rst." He was about to help me but I stopped him. "There's . . . I saw somethingâ€"." "WHERE THE HELL IS THAT MOTHER FVCKER?" Kuya shouted, cutting me off. There he was. Keifer and I were still staring at each other with wide eyes . He held my hands tightly and bowed. It was as if he was praying. That was all he did, he just accepted his death at Kuya Angelo's hands. "Wait a minute! Your wounds might bleed!" I heard Ma'am Cindy shout. "Don't stop me!" Ma'am and my cousin cursed one after another. It was the ï¬rst time I heard my teacher curse at Kuya. It was like they were ï¬ghting while walking towards here. That was how scared I was when Death suddenly appeared at the door. There, he was picking up Keifer. "YOU FCVKER! WHY ARE THE TWO OF YOU HERE?" he asked angrily. The King of the Cobras immediately faced him. There was no trace of ear or anything. Courage. "I'm here to look after Jay-Jay. You passed out, remember? And the others need to help Sir Alvin," he explained and I nodded. My cousin looked at me and when our eyes met, he took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Ma'am was behind him, looking relieved to see me awake. "I'll make you some porridge. You were unconscious a while ago, so you must be hungry," he said before hitting Kuya and leaving us. Did he hit Kuya? This is on another level, Ma'am. I'm really hungry. I didn't have breakfast and then I got into trouble. I guess that's why I was so weak and quickly softened earlier. Breakfast really does something different in life. "How long did it take me to lose consciousness?" Kuya asked me. I know, I was asleep too. "Couple of hours. You and Jay-Jay were just together." Kuya Angelo rubbed the back of his neck. "How did I pass out? I was wide awake earlier." Hari and I looked at each other in confusion. My cousin didn't yet know that this little guy had hit him. I didn't know if we should tell him or just wait for him to realize it on his own. But it seemed better if we just buried it in oblivion. I was sure he would come back to haunt him. "Anyway, what happened to you?" he asked me. "Why did you suddenly yell at me to stay away?" I was stunned. That's because of what I saw and I thought he was someone else but I didn't want to let him know that. I was sure he would force me to go to a psychiatrist again or maybe he would suddenly have Dra. Claudia come here again. I didn't want to face the Doctor for now. "H-I don't remember." I tried to excuse myself but he didn't seem to believe the way he was staring. I simply grabbed Keifer's hand tightly, who still hadn't let go of me since earlier. It seemed like Hari got what I wanted to convey. He immediately asked something else to change the conversation. "Where's the others now?" Kuya thought for a moment. "I think they're still out cleaning the mess." I couldn't understand what they were talking about. " Are you talking about the Ulopongs?" They both nodded. Wow, at the same time. Just a dance number? "They picked up Ram's companions. Majority of them lost their consciousness," explained the confused Hari. "Will they take them to the police?" "I doubt it. It would be a big deal. The location of Alvin's property would be known," Kuya replied. That was another thing. What would happen to Ma'am? Their house would be exposed. Sir still doesn't want anyone to know about their house because he might be hiding a child. He could also be in debt. "But Ram might be sent back to the hospital. I heard his ribs are fractured." Hari and I stared at Death together. I witnessed what he did and I'm sure the person next to me also knew that only he could have done that. We didn't see any trace of guilt or remorse from him. We both looked at the door when Ma'am Cindy entered carrying a tray of food. She lowered her hand and Keifer immediately helped her up. There was also medicine and water for me. There it is! I was so hungry. I immediately smiled at Ma'am and thanked her. "Thank you." She nodded and approached Kuya. She whispered something and I could clearly see the change in my cousin's expression. I knew he had ound out something bad. He obviously wanted to hurt me. They turned their backs on me and left after saying goodbye. "Did you see?" I asked Hari and he nodded. "Something is wrong." "Follow me." I ordered her and she quickly refused. "I am not leaving you here alone." I winced. "This, I'm sure no one will rush here." He shook his head while stirring the porridge in the bowl. He tried to taste it but I turned my face away. Okay, be stubborn. "Jay . . ." he called to me. "Follow Kuya." "I won't leave you here alone." He insisted. "Nothing bad will happen to me here. I can eat alone." He looked at me as if what I said was a question mark. "What if you get burned? It's hot." "Just a burn from the porridge? Did you think I would die?" "You can't tell." Oh, this one's skin is really different. "Don't go there. Come on!" I insisted angrily. "Why are you skin?" He asked me angrily. He really wanted to be angry. His reason was shallow. "I'm worried. Follow me, even if it's just for a moment and then come back ." He suddenly made me feel uncomfortable. I felt like I was getting annoyed by his look and wanted to poke his eyes. And he really did. "He said follow me." He ignored me and just continued mixing the porridge. He seemed to be about to eat a little more. I didn't know how to force him. There was only one way left. Another forbidden technique. "Easy, that's next. That's next, that abujing-abujing ." He suddenly laughed. He almost spilled the contents of the bowl he was holding, but luckily he put it back on the tray. He faced me and laughed even louder. He was so happy. "Do it again. Do it again," he said while taking something out of his pocket. I immediately refused when I saw that he had taken his cellphone. I knew what this idiot was planning. "Do it again, I'll take a video." "No. Stop it!" I said annoyed when he tried to show me the phone's camera. Because of my bad feeling and weakness, I had a hard time stopping him. I took his phone away several times. He just laughed . "Waaaag . . ." "I won't show it to anyone else," he said and showed me the phone's camera again . I won't do that again. I was about to scream when we heard a noise from outside the room. We both roze. It sounded like someone was arguing or ï¬ghting. "Is someone ï¬ghting?" I asked and Keifer walked to where I was supposed to go but I immediately pulled him. "I'll come with you." "No, stay here. I'll just be a moment." I didn't agree and tightened my grip on him. He was about to resist when we heard another scream. He had no choice but to take me with him so that we could see what was happening. He took a position on the edge of the bed and carried me on his back. He adjusted my carry and walked out of the room. When I got to the stairs, I saw the Uupongs standing in a row around Kuya Angelo, Ma'am Cindy and Sir Alvin. Is Kuya ï¬ghting the Ulubongs? David was slightly separated with his arms still crossed and was examining the Ulubongs one by one. Ci-N looked up at me when he saw us. "Jay-Jay," he called to me, grabbing everyone's attention. "What are you doing here? Go back there." Kuya ordered but I ignored him. "What's going on?" I asked. I looked at the Ulubongs who were also looking at me. Some were looking away and others clearly didn't understand what was happening. "Take him back to the room." Kuya ordered Keifer but he didn't obey. "Is there something here that don't want Jay-Jay to ï¬nd out?" My cousin was clearly upset and looked at the couple to ask for their help but they just shrugged their shoulders at him. I looked over at the coffee table where there were many pictures. But I was wrong, these were the pictures that Ram sent me with threats. I didn't know that Kuya brought those but why and for what? What was that? He always brings them? "You two are stubborn. When Jay- Jay's condition gets worse, you'll be the one who gets angry with me." My cousin threatened before confronting our friends again. "Do I need to repeat my question?" Keifer approached Sir Alvin and asked. "What is going on here?" Sir Alvin showed us the expensive but dirty phone in his hand. "This is Ram's phone. Edrix managed to open it and found out . . ." He opened the phone and a Google map appeared with their house location pinned to it " . . . that someone sent my house location." My eyes widened. Who did it? That's why Ram and his group found us. It should be a secret. How are they going to hide it? "Whoever sends our location, is probably the same person taking these photos," said Kuya, pointing to the pictures on the coffee table. "Again . . . one of you betrayed Jay-Jay. Admit it while I'm still calm." "It's impossible for one of us," said Felix and Kuya glared at him. "You're so conï¬dent. Someone did it!" Felix was right. It's absolutely impossible for one of those Snakes. I want to stop my cousin because I don't want him to treat the Snakes like this. They're not doing anything bad. "What if one of us was just followed and then sent it to Ram?" Kuya turned to Yuri, who was the last to speak. "I hope you were just followed or one of us." "There's nothing on the surveillance." Sir Alvin snapped. "I also double checked the CCTV but there's no possible intruder." My cousin sighed. It was as if he was holding back but he wanted to shout that his suspicions were correct. Maybe someone had just gotten through. Yes, once it crossed my mind that someone might have sent a picture to Ram but it was hard to accept that someone might have. I prefer to think that maybe Kuya was just thinking about it wrong. He took the pictures on the coffee table. "This is another thing, this photos was taken too close to Jay-Jay like it was taken just beside her. No professional photographer would have taken a picture like this especially if it was just the two of you together." He said calmly but he still couldn't stop himself from throwing the pictures at their feet. Rory took the one that landed at his feet. He examined it but didn't say anything. "Wait, didn't you take this from your phone . . ." Eren asked so we all looked at him and the picture he was holding. "Denzel?" Denzel? "Yes, this one too." Mayo added as she sorted through the pictures at her feet. Even the other Ulopongs picked up pictures and looked at them. "Idiot, this one too." "You idiot, Denzel!" "You idiot, is that why you keep taking pictures?" We all looked at Denzel who also looked surprised at what was being accused of him. He also had pictures in his hand that he didn't know how to explain. "H-I'm notâ€"." Before he could answer, he was already holding Kuya Angelo's collar. I screamed, "Kuya!" Trying to push the Ulopongs away. Almost everyone was already surrounding them and trying to separate my cousin and Denzel. Wait! That wife just gave birth!" "Angelo! Calm down!" Sir Alvin shouted. "Let Denzel explain ï¬rst!" Yuri waved them off. "Calm down! Let my friend explain himself!" David was also trying to restrain himself. Despite everyone who tried to restrain him, he still wouldn't let go. Keifer was forced to put me down and leave me next to Ma'am Cindy. He also restrained himself , just not in the way I had imagined. He wrapped his arm around Kuya's neck and choked him. "You calm the fvck down!" Oh, you mean choke him. Miraculously, my cousin let go after struggling to breathe. He was clearly very angry. Denzel coughed while panting. His fellow Snakes immediately helped him, except for the others who also seemed suspicious of him. The King only let go of my cousin when he was sure he was calm. He only received a bad look. "Let him explain ï¬rst," he said to Death. The King of Snakes seemed to be getting impatient. "Denzel, please explain." Sir Alvin pleaded. "H-I don't. "I didn't send those pictures to anyone but Grace," he explained and Kuya clearly didn't want to accept it. "That's really the truth." I believe him. I've also seen him send a picture to Grace himself from his cellphone once. I also don't see any reason for him to betray me or us. "So who sent those pictures to Ram? Grace?" Blaster asked annoyed but he got a slap from David. "Of course, it wasn't her. He never met Ram," he said and turned to Rory and Edrix. "Why don't you talk?" Rory and Edrix now? "Why Rory and Edrix?" Calix asked and looked back and forth between the two. "It's impossible they betrayed." "I'm not implying that they betrayed us. "I know they know something, it's impossible for them not to know a thing or two," David explained and everyone's attention shifted to the two of them. In fact, I noticed the silence between the two of them. In times like these when they're looking for each other, they're usually the ones who take the lead in helping. But now, they seem to be speechless. "W-We don't know," Edrix replied. "If so, ï¬nd the culprit then. Use Ram's phone. I'm sure there 's a number on it." Keifer ordered but Sir stopped him. "We called the number but it was already deactivated." How can we ï¬nd the one who betrayed us? I want to catch him so we can ï¬nd out the truth. I believe none of the Ulopong could do that to us. I really hope none of them would. "Are you Rory?" the King asked Rory but he just shook his head. "No. If there was, I'd let him speak on his own." Felix cursed one after another. "Edi there is! Someone betrayed me!" Even his fellow Ulopongs exchanged words. Others were angry because they didn't understand why Felix said that. Some were making those who could confess confess. Some were even teaching. "Why did you betray me?" The young Kumag asked in tears but no one paid attention to him. I didn't realize that I had also started crying on my own. I didn't know if it was because I felt bad or because I couldn't accept that someone would betray us. With all we've been through, why would someone still do that? It's like that again. The feeling I had when I found out they had cheated on me was coming back to me . It hurts me to think that it's true, what if they conï¬rmed it. Will I still be able to orgive? "Drew! "Why are you so quiet?" Eman asked when she noticed Drew was just in a corner and not moving. He was just holding a picture and staring at it. "Drew, what's the problem?" Kit asked. Everyone's attention gradually shifted to Drew. Even David approached him to snatch what he was holding. It was a picture of me laughing and Drew was right next to me with a big smile. Why was I suddenly nervous about him? "Drew, what's going on with you?" Josh asked. "Drew, answer me!" "Stupid, are you getting old?" "Andrew Klondike Mercado!" Felix was about to approach him to force him to be alone but we were both stunned when he opened his mouth and spoke. I just covered my mouth before crying out loud. Why? Why did you do this? "I- I . . . I sent Ram our pictures and location."