Jay-jay's POV
They're definitely hiding something from me.
I couldn't help but feel intrigued. I wanted to know what it was about. But I already had a hunch it had something to do with what happened to Yuri.
"Thank you, Jay. The soup was delicious," Yuri said with a smile.
I took the empty bowl from him and placed it on my study table.
My eyes landed on the King, who had been sneakily watching me from earlier. Even while chewing, he kept his eyes on me.
I hope his teeth fall out.
"Do you guys want anything else to eat?" I asked lifelessly.
"Nothing. Angelo might notice if you go out again," the King replied.
I nodded and leaned against my study table with my arms crossed.
My eyes darted back and forth between the three of them. I wasn't pleased that they weren't including me in their conversation.
Whatever it was, it was important for me to know the truth. I didn't care if it was dangerous. I was already used to getting involved in trouble.
"Dalia... Baby sister. Go to sleep, don't wait up for me," Percy said sweetly to the person on the phone while lying down.
"I'm with Ate Jay-jay. Is Kuya Felix there?"
I wanted to laugh at the way he spoke. He was so affectionate with Dalia, even though she wasn't in front of him.
"Sleep now, Baby. Tomorrow I'll buy you a talking doll. Its name is Chucky," he added, and I playfully smacked him, making him glare at me.
He glared at me before finally saying goodbye to the person on the phone.
I couldn't deny that Percy really cared about his siblings. From Felix, to me, and Dalia — he always made sure we were okay.
He probably wouldn't even be here if he didn't care about me.
"I'm bored," the King said loudly. "Do you have anything to play with?" I thought for a moment. "I have Uno cards." He adjusted his seat slightly. "That will do. Let's play cards."
I took the Uno cards from the drawer of my study table. I handed them to the King, and Yuri and Percy came over to join us.
"Are you okay now?" I asked Yuri. He nodded and smiled. "I'm okay now. You take good care of people."
"Maybe you'd like her to take care of you again?" the King teased, pointing at me. "Do you want me to punch you?" Yuri offered, as if inviting him to a meal.
I immediately hit the King to shut him up. Yuri laughed softly and shook his head. It didn't seem like he was worried about his friend at all.
"Do you even know how to play that? That game's only for smart kids," Percy chimed in and sat on the floor.
Keifer and Yuri sat down, so I did the same. While the King shuffled the cards, the door opened and Aries walked in.
"No good. He's staying in the living room while working on his laptop," Aries announced.
"Okay, looks like we'll be heading home at dawn," the King said and then looked at me. "We'll sleep next to each other." He added and winked.
Idiot!
I grimaced. "Dream on! I'm not sleeping."
"And you're not sleeping next to anyone either," Aries added and sat beside me.
We sat in a circle with the cards in the middle—Percy to my right, Aries to my left, and next to him were Yuri and Keifer, who kept glancing at me.
"Do I still need to explain the rules?" the King asked, and we all shook our heads.
The game started with a red number 4 card. We all played red cards with different numbers until the color changed.
The game went on for hours. Percy won several times, though I suspected he was cheating. Yuri and Keifer managed to call "Uno" several times, but someone always played a +4 card against them.
I only won once, while Aries had three wins.
And because of this game, I realized that people really do get competitive.
"You cheated!" Keifer accused Percy angrily.
I wasn't the only one who noticed.
"Your face cheated," Percy retorted.
"You drew two cards earlier," Aries pointed out.
"You're just sore losers," Percy said smugly and laid down a card. "Uno."
"That was fast!" I complained. "I think you laid down two cards!"
He didn't respond and just gave me a smug grin. I was getting annoyed, but I knew there would be a time for revenge. I played a reverse card, and it seemed like the color of his remaining card didn't match because he had to draw again.
Keifer played next, followed by Yuri, who also played a reverse card. The King played a +4 card, and Percy scowled.
It looked like he wouldn't be able to cheat this time. Eventually, we all called "Uno," and Percy lost.
"You guys suck at this game," Percy grumbled and threw the cards.
"Poor sport," Aries teased, making Percy glare at him.
"One more round," Keifer suggested. "Loser gets a smack on the head." He gave me a meaningful look.
I glanced at Aries and Yuri—they were thinking the same thing. We all just wanted Percy to lose.
Let's see how good you really are.
The King shuffled the cards and dealt them out. A big grin spread across my face when I saw my hand—I had plenty of cards to get back at my annoying stepbrother.
The game started, and it didn't take long for our plan to work. Percy lost, but it didn't seem like he was taking it well.
"You guys cheated!" he accused angrily.
"You just lost fair and square," Aries replied calmly. "No one cheated against you."
"Oh, sure! Keep denying it!"
"No one cheated," I defended. "We wanted you to lose, but no one cheated."
He pointed at me. "See? You admitted it! You wanted me to lose!"
"Relax, it's just a game," Yuri tried to calm him down.
"Exactly! It's just a simple game, and you still cheated!"
"No one here cheated but you," the King replied coolly.
"And yet you're all accusing me? Nice going!" Percy said sarcastically.
It seemed like losing really got under his skin. He was clearly very upset.
Because of UNO, it looked like a fight was about to break out.
"Calm down," I told him. "You're getting way too worked up over a loss."
I started picking up the scattered cards.
"Go ahead, gang up on me! That's what you always do! Just admit you don't want me around!" Percy's words made me freeze.
"Where is this coming from?" Aries asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Why? Isn't it obvious? Now I'm no longer surprised you never looked for me after the accident," Percy said seriously, and I saw a flicker of pain in his eyes.
"I did look for you. I spent millions just to find your dead body," Keifer replied just as seriously, which alarmed me.
It really seemed like a simple game of UNO was about to turn into a fight. I never imagined it would go this far.
"Of course you didn't find me—I wasn't dead!"
"We also looked for you in hospitals," Yuri added. "But you weren't there."
"What kind of search did you even do? It only took my mom a few days to find me!"
"Maybe that's why we didn't find you—because she found you first," Aries reasoned, and Percy turned to him.
"Or maybe you just didn't really try hard enough!"
I couldn't help but get annoyed at his words. How did a simple card game turn into this?
"You never really cared about me!" Percy continued.
"Would we have mourned you if we didn't care?" Aries retorted angrily.
Percy gave a fake laugh. "Of course you would—you'd mourn anyone who died."
"What makes you think we don't value our friendship with you?" Keifer asked irritably.
"Isn't it obvious? You wanted me gone so you could get closer to Freya, Felix, and my family! You wanted to take them away from me!"
"We took care of them because that's what you asked us to do before you disappeared," Yuri explained calmly.
"But you took advantage of them! What happened to Freya? Why did Felix learn to pick fights and get kicked off the school basketball team? And my mom? She can't say no to Keifer because she feels indebted to him!"
Percy pointed at each of them. I was confused by his words, but I knew what he was talking about.
Felix had once mentioned that Keifer gave his mom a job. I also knew about Yuri and Freya's situation. And though it wasn't entirely clear, I was aware that Aries had something to do with Felix getting removed from the basketball team and then getting reinstated with my help.
Percy clearly saw their efforts as interference. I couldn't blame him—it's frustrating when you feel like you've lost control over your family's situation.
I felt a little sorry for him. But if he wanted to air his grievances, this wasn't the right way.
"What's wrong with you? Why bring up your past issues here? We were just playing UNO," I interjected before things got worse.
Everyone fell silent. Percy ran a hand over his face and looked away. Then he got up and lay down on my bed, pulling the blanket up to his neck.
"Wake me up when we're going home."
I looked at Aries, who sighed deeply. Yuri and Keifer did the same. I quietly finished gathering the cards. It was better to stop playing—any more rounds might just bring up more resentment.
As I put the cards back in my drawer, there was a knock on the door. We all looked at each other. Even Percy sat up in surprise.
"Jay-Jay?" Aunt Gema's voice called. "Aries is there, right? I'm coming in."
We all panicked. I motioned for them to hide.
Percy dove under the blanket, but it was still obvious he was there. Keifer tried to hide in my wardrobe, but it was too packed with clothes. Yuri peeked under the bed, but it was too low for him to fit.
I almost ended up pulling my own hair out. Auntie knocked again, and we panicked even more.
"Jay? Open up. The door is locked."
"J-just a second, Auntie."
Aries quickly pointed to the bathroom, and they all ran inside. Percy almost tripped, but he managed to stand up right away.
When I was sure they were all inside, I finally opened the door for Auntie Gema. Aries stood beside me and greeted her.
"It's 11 PM, and you still haven't had dinner," she said as soon as she saw us.
No wonder my stomach was growling. We got so caught up in playing that I lost track of time. Good thing the beast in my belly didn't go on a rampage.
It's an anaconda, after all.
"Sorry, we were playing cards and didn't notice the time," Aries said casually.
Meanwhile, my heart was pounding like crazy, afraid the three idiots in the bathroom would get caught. My palms were sweaty.
"There's still food in the kitchen if you want to eat. Bring your guests along too," Auntie said, making my eyes widen.
"W-what?" Aries asked in confusion.
"Angelo left — his friend picked him up. You don't need to hide them anymore," she added with a smile.
I didn't know what to say. I just stood there dumbfounded as Auntie Gema walked away.
It looked like we didn't have to stay holed up in my room anymore. I glanced at Aries, and he looked back at me — we were clearly thinking the same thing.
He went to the bathroom to let the others out while I started cleaning up the mess they left behind.
"Are you sure? It's safe now?" Percy asked as he stepped out of the bathroom.
"Yes, stop asking," my brother replied.
"I thought I was going to sleep here. What a shame," Keifer said, making me grimace.
As if! That guy's crazy!
"Maybe I should leave. I've caused enough trouble already," Yuri said softly as he emerged.
"Have dinner first. Besides, your clothes are still in the laundry," I replied, and he looked down at what he was wearing.
"If the food isn't good, I'm going to complain," Percy announced before walking past me.
I tried to pinch him, but he dodged and even made a face to tease me.
Annoying brat!
I followed them, carrying the tray and their used dishes. We all headed to the kitchen. I placed the tray by the sink and went to check the fridge for food.
Aries joined me, peeking inside the fridge as well. Since it was late, I figured we could skip rice. My eyes locked onto the sans rival cake, but my brother slapped my hand away when I reached for it.
Ouch. That hurt.
"Let's just cook. There's ham in the freezer," he said, opening it up.
I pouted. "I'll cook."
"Definitely not a good idea," Keifer quickly countered.
"I don't dream of eating burnt food," Percy added with a huff.
"Maybe… we should cook instead," Yuri offered hesitantly.
"Go build your own kitchen first," Aries shot back and dragged me away from the fridge.
He parked me in a corner like a wind-up doll. I blinked, feeling embarrassed. They made me feel like the worst cook ever.
I can cook! Just… not when I get distracted or forget there's something on the stove.
That was an accident!
The four of them handled everything while I just stood and watched. For the first time, I saw them working together without fighting. They talked casually like normal friends.
I smiled. It would be so nice if they all got along again.
I knew they missed each other. They wouldn't still hold on to their grudges if they didn't care about their shared past.
"What juice do you want, Jay?" Yuri asked while mixing a pitcher.
"Mango flavor."
"Are you having rice?" Aries asked.
"No."
"There's still some chicken curry. Want some?" Percy offered.
"Sure."
"Would you like me for dessert?" Keifer asked with his signature mischievous grin.
This guy!
"Keifer's being gross again!" I tattled on him to the others, and they immediately started cursing him out.
Keifer just laughed softly, clearly unbothered by their insults. As long as he could tease people and amuse himself, he didn't care.
No doubt about it — he really was the king of troublemakers.
I clapped when Yuri finished preparing the juice. He looked for the plates and glasses, and I pointed them out in the cupboard.
"Take them to the dining table," Aries instructed.
Yuri complied. Soon after, the microwave beeped — the food Percy heated up was ready. Percy followed Yuri, bringing the dishes. Aries and the annoying king also carried their prepared food.
I clapped again as I followed them. The dining table was all set, so I quickly sat down.
"Excuse me, but why are you even eating? What did you contribute here?" Percy teased.
I blinked. "You've got some nerve eating here and then questioning my right to eat!"
I heard Yuri chuckle softly. "Eat up, Jay." He handed me a plate and poured juice into my glass, setting it in front of me.
I glared at Percy before scooping some food and starting to eat. Imagine asking what my contribution was after asking me what I wanted to eat! He's insane.
Everyone else started eating too. It was quiet — no one exchanged looks or words — so I took the chance to observe them again.
I saw something.
I saw Yuri's cleavage. Wait — he has cleavage? He's beating me there.
But more importantly, I saw hope. There was a chance their friendship could be restored. Maybe they just needed some clarity and forgiveness — especially Percy with Yuri, Keifer with Aries, and Aries with all of them. They just needed to be serious and open to each other's explanations.
I smiled at the thought.
"What the…" Percy muttered. "She's smiling to herself. Are you crazy?"
"Eat a lot. That's just the result of hunger," Aries said, adding more food to my plate.
"Maybe you need some water," Yuri suggested, pouring me some.
"Or maybe you just need my kiss," Keifer teased, leaning toward me.
I immediately raised my foot, ready to kick him, and he froze in place.
"I was just thinking! How does that make me crazy?" I snapped.
They all laughed softly, but instead of getting annoyed, I felt happy.
There were no arguments happening. As long as they were getting along, the tension between them eased. But maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe they needed something deeper to bond over — like when they saved me from Sato.
Kidnapping again?
No, no — I don't want that. Getting kidnapped is exhausting. It would only be worth it if they offered free snacks or refreshments. Plus, it's hot, and sometimes they tie you up — and that hurts.
Keifer's kidnapping was the only decent one. At least he gave out an island as a souvenir. That's how it should be!
We finished eating and started clearing the table. I carried my used dishes and placed them in the kitchen sink. Just as I was about to turn around, Percy smacked my back, making me wince.
"Ouch!" I complained.
"You do the dishes," he said.
"Why me?"
"You're the only one who didn't do anything," Aries answered as he set down the plates he was holding.
"I did something."
They both looked at me, obviously waiting for my answer.
"I ate. That counts as a contribution," I said with a grin.
In an instant, I got flicked on the forehead and nose by my two brothers. They even did it at the same time.
"Just wash the dishes," Aries ordered before turning his back on me.
Percy followed him.
Pouting, I approached the sink and looked for the sponge. There were quite a few dishes to wash. I was about to squeeze some dish soap onto the sponge when someone grabbed my hand.
"Let me help you," Yuri said. "You rinse."
I nodded. "Alright."
Keifer suddenly appeared next to me, holding a clean dish towel.
"I'll help too," he said.
"Fine."
Yuri washed the dishes, I rinsed them, and the King dried them. No one said a word, so we finished the task quickly.
"Done," the King announced, winking at me.
I rolled my eyes at him. I walked into the living room, and they followed me. We found Percy and Aries talking, but they stopped when we approached.
"What now? Can I go home now?" Percy asked.
"Please, just leave," Aries replied.
"Don't pretend. I know you don't really want me to leave," my shameless stepbrother teased.
Where does he get the nerve?
"In your dreams."
"I should go, too," Yuri said, drawing our attention.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Thank you, Jay. Despite the huge trouble I caused, you still took care of me."
"It's fine. I'd worry more if you went to someone else's house and ended up in the same situation."
"It would really be worrying—especially if you ended up at Freya's house," Keifer added with a sneer.
I immediately elbowed him to shut him up. My fear spiked when I saw Percy's expression change. The anger in his eyes made it seem like he was ready to end someone's life.
"I'm leaving. I might end up doing something I'll regret," Percy said and walked out of the house without looking back.
I wanted to call him, but his steps were too quick, and it was clear he didn't want to be stopped.
I shot a glare at the King of Snakes. "That mouth of yours!" I snapped.
"Kiss it," he retorted, and my patience was hanging by a thread.
"You should leave. My brother might come back," Aries said, turning around and heading inside.
I wanted to see Yuri off, but he grabbed my collar and dragged me away with him.
"Leave," my brother added.
All I could do was wave as I watched the two of them leave.
Aries only let go of me when we reached the door of his room. I headed to my room to look for my phone and text Yuri.
Thankfully, I found it right away.
To: Pres. Yuri Message: Take care, please! We're always here for you.
Even though I wasn't sure if he had his phone with him, I sent the message anyway.
I really hope Yuri will be okay. I'm scared that next time, the blood flowing when I see him won't just be someone else's—it might be his own.