Ang Mutya Ng Section E (Book - 2) English

Jay-Jay's POV

I ALMOST fell off the bed—almost! If it weren't for—haizt!

I nearly screamed my lungs out. A group of nurses rushed into my room, and even a doctor scolded me for causing such a commotion.

And it's all Ci-N's fault!

"You're crazy!" I said, annoyed, as the nurses left. "I almost had a heart attack because of you! Why didn't you just come in right away?!"

He just laughed while scratching his head. I wanted to kick the wheelchair he was sitting in and send him flying. That thing needs some oil.

"The connection broke," he said, pointing at the laptop in his hand. "It cut off again. I was waiting for the internet to catch up."

For a second, I seriously thought a ghost was peeking at me from the door. I nearly swore in every language—even the ones I don't know—because of him.

"Can't this wait until tomorrow?" I asked, still annoyed.

He shook his head while typing on his laptop. "It's urgent. It has to be now."

That's creepy! I really thought my soul had left my body for a moment. I scratched my head in frustration. To top it all off, my mom had gone missing, and I had no idea where she went. I just closed my eyes for a second, and she was gone. While waiting for the internet connection, Ci-N and I started talking.

"Do you know what happened to Mykel and where he is?" I asked.

He looked at me seriously. "He escaped. Didn't anyone tell you that your brother, Angelo, is looking for him right now?"

I shook my head. "N-no one told me."

That bastard got away.

"Your brother was furious yesterday when he saw you unconscious in the emergency room. We thought we were the ones to blame."

I understand why Brother is upset. Especially since it was that Mykel who did this to me—while he, on the other hand, has already run off like a coward.

"That Mykel is such a pain."

Ci-N nodded while typing something on his keyboard. I got curious because he seemed really focused.

"Is the internet back?" I asked.

He looked at me and smiled. "Nope."

"Then what are you doing?"

He turned the laptop towards me, and—this idiot was playing a game! The title on the screen read Bookworm.

"…I was just thinking about something," he said.

I lay back on the bed, looking at my bandaged hands. I just hope there aren't any complications. It's hard enough to move around with these bandages. Pain in the little finger feels like pain in the whole body.

"Jay… help me out here," Ci-N said.

I sat up and looked at him. He pulled over the wheeled table—the one used for meals—and placed the laptop on it, adjusting it closer to me.

Ci-N slowly got up from his wheelchair and sat next to me. I had to move over because he was taking up so much space. He pulled the table even closer and started typing again.

"Help me with this game," he added.

All I saw on the screen were a bunch of letters, and I had to form words to earn points. Since we were still waiting for the internet, I decided to join in.

"Here…" I pointed at the screen. "Stars."

"Where else?"

"This... house."

"It's a different word—the one with double O."

I almost buried my face in the monitor, trying to find what he was saying.

"This! This! Door!"

He quickly pressed the letters. "Where else?"

"Poor. Cool. Stool. Pool. Boobs—"

He suddenly laughed at the last word I said. I was the last to notice why because I was too focused on reading and pointing at the words.

"Jay-Jay, you're rude," he said.

Are you happy?!

I pinched him on the side. "I didn't notice."

We went back to work, searching for more words with double O. We got so distracted that we didn't realize how much time had passed.

"That's a lot."

"A little more," he insisted and searched again. "Here! Here! Here! Blood."

I suddenly stopped. My mind drifted back to the fight with Mykel. But something was missing. What happened when... when... when... Had I tasted the blood?

"Ci..." I called him. "...W-what happened after... when... they hit me on the head with a pipe?" I held the bandage on my head.

He slowly turned to look at me, his eyes serious and filled with disbelief.

"You don't remember?"

I shook my head. "I remember getting up and fighting another man, but... when the blood touched my taste buds..." I took a deep breath. "...it feels like it's gone."

"Are you serious? Maybe getting hit affected you."

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

He looked at the laptop for a moment before turning back to me. "You were acting a little weird yesterday."

Weird?!

"Mr.—" I couldn't finish what I was about to say because Ci's laptop suddenly started ringing.

He closed the game and clicked something on his laptop. Skype opened, and the face of the person I never expected to see appeared. Or rather, the person I had been expecting to see in the next few days. But of course, he had left to give me space and take care of his inheritance. I had lost hope of seeing him.

The King of Snakes.

["What took you so long?!"] he asked Ci, annoyed.

Why does his voice sound different? Deeper, perhaps? Or maybe it's just the laptop speaker. I looked at his face—his hair was a bit messy, and a slight beard had started to grow.

He looks even more handsome.

"Because the connection was lost," Ci answered him.

I won't deny that I missed that voice. That I missed his shamelessness. That I missed him—whatever it is, I just missed him! Even though he was hiding, I still missed him.

["Where the hell is she?"]

His words sent a jolt through me. Was he looking for me? Was I the "she" he was referring to? My heart pounded with excitement.

"She's here—come on! Why are you crying?" Ci asked.

Luckily, I had avoided the laptop camera, so the Kings of King couldn't see me. Even though I missed him, a big part of me didn't want to show myself. I wiped away the tears I hadn't even realized were falling. My tears were silent killers, acting in secret.

"N-no... I just went to bed," I lied.

Ci narrowed his eyes. "I'm not stupid. Are you crying?"

I looked away.

"...You're crying because you think I can't see you on camera—wait, let me fix it."

Oh, yes! That's exactly why! It's a shame because I look beautiful. Annoying!

I wanted to slap my own face, but I couldn't because of the bandage wrapped around it. I wasn't sure if Ci was actually clueless or just pretending to be.

I only snapped out of it when I noticed the Dimunyung King staring at me seriously. I swallowed hard and looked away. Even though we were only meeting through a laptop screen, it felt like he was standing right in front of me.

["Hey..."] he called out to me. ["...How are you?"]

"I'm fine, thank you," I quickly answered like a child.

I suddenly became tense for a reason I couldn't understand. Someone took Keifer and pressed him down next to them.

["I need your complete statement about your experience after seeing blood,"] he said directly.

Did they already know?

I looked at Ci-N, who was just staring at the person speaking on the laptop. Had he told them what happened? Did Keifer know what I had done?

"Is that the only reason you're looking for me?" I almost whispered.

Something stabbed at my chest. I thought I wanted to see him. I thought we both longed for each other.

His eyes were serious as they locked onto mine. ["I need your cooperation. We need to understand what is happening to you. This is for your own good."]

He pressed something beside him again, which I assumed was a computer keyboard. A tear slipped down my cheek, but I quickly wiped it away before anyone could see.

He stopped typing and looked at me. ["Jay-Jay"] he called, urging me to speak.

Annoying! My mood was shifting again. I swallowed and coughed slightly to clear my throat.

"I don't remember what happened. I just remember that I liked the color of the blood and wanted to taste it," I explained casually.

["But you're afraid of blood."]

I shook my head slightly. "I can't say for sure. Maybe if there's a lot of it, I feel like someone is going to die. Besides, it happens to me, too. I'm afraid it will happen again, so I don't want to see blood."

"Are you afraid of your period?" Ci's innocent question made me wince.

Keifer slapped his own forehead, something I had wanted to do to myself. Thank you for the bandage on my hands!

"Why? Isn't that blood too?" Ci added, almost walking out on Keifer.

"Yes, it's blood. But it's a different color than fresh blood. Fresh blood is red, while menstruation is black. Is that clear?!" I explained irritably.

He just scratched his head. I turned to face the King, who was typing on the keyboard again. A moment of silence passed between us before he spoke again.

["Ci-N... I need your statement."]

"Alright..." He started well. "...So, I followed Jay-Jay to the restroom. I didn't want to be as bad as Percy. Then I met Mykel and the—"

["What I mean is… Argh!"] Keifer ran a hand down his face. It was obvious he was getting frustrated but was trying to hold it back.

"That's the part where I got up after being hit with a pipe," I said, and he nodded.

Talking to the Young Snake was just as hard as ever!

"I didn't see everything clearly, but I remember..." Ci rubbed his chin as if deep in thought. "...Jay-jay got up like nothing had hurt her. Her eyes were lifeless as she stared at Mykel. Then, she charged at her enemy like she was consumed by rage."

Keifer continued typing while Ci-N's words held my full attention.

"Then I saw Jay-jay's fist covered in blood. I don't know if it was her or her enemy's. She and Mykel fought, but Mykel managed to escape when his teammate got back up."

["What happened after his opponent ran away?"] Keifer asked.

"She sat down and hugged her knees. She cried and cried while saying something—what was it again?" Ci scratched his head, trying to remember.

["'No one will hurt me. I won't allow them to hurt me.'"] Keifer seemed to answer Ci's question.

"That's it! But how did you know?"

Keifer looked at me and rested his elbow on the table, crossing his fingers in front of his mouth, covering everything from his nose to his chin.

["Ci... Please leave us,"] he ordered.

Ci-N obeyed. He slowly stood up and settled into his wheelchair. Gripping the wheels, he pushed hard to exit the room.

"Why did you send Ci-N out?" I asked, a little annoyed.

["I need to discuss something privately with you."] He took a deep breath. ["Do you remember what you did to Ram?"]

I nodded. I would never forget the first man who kidnapped me to use as bait against Keifer. Suddenly, I felt weak. I didn't know why.

"It's the same scenario. While I was holding you, you were trying to fight me, repeating the same words over and over again."

Suddenly, a phrase echoed in my mind.

"No one will hurt me. I will not allow them to hurt me."

It felt like a promise I had never let go of. My heartbeat quickened.

"Jay? Are you alright?"

"M–Am I sick? A–Am I crazy? The c–crazy one who needs m–mental help? The d–dangerous one?" I asked nervously.

"Relax... You're not like that. Please stop worrying about yourself. I'll send your statement to Keigan's psychiatrist and wait—"

"Psychiatrist?! Am I crazy?! Is that what you're saying?!" My chest tightened; I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"No. Please, just relax."

"I–I'm sick!"

"No! Don't think like that!"

"H–How do I h–have...?"

"JASPER JEAN!" He shouted like a tiger.

If he were standing in front of me, I might have frozen in fear, my eyes shut tight. I took a deep breath and kept my gaze on him. He was right. I wasn't sure if I was really sick. I wasn't crazy enough to be mentally unstable. I just needed to go to the kitchen first.

"Sorry. I got scared."

"It's okay. We'll wait for what the doctor says."

I nodded. He glanced at his wristwatch before looking at me again. When our eyes met—even through the laptop screen—I swallowed hard.

"I have to go. Please take care of yourself and..." I waited for him to finish his sentence. "…I miss you." ❤️

The video call ended abruptly. I blinked, dumbfounded. Did I hear him right? A smile slowly formed on my lips. I miss you too, idiot.

"It's over?" Ci-N asked as he entered the room.

"Yeah. Did you tell him what happened?"

He grinned mischievously. I didn't need a verbal answer to know.

"You're loyal to Keifer, right?" I asked sarcastically.

He just laughed. I handed him the laptop so he wouldn't have to get up from his wheelchair. We talked for a while about the chaos with Mykel. Where is that jerk?

Ci-N mentioned that the "snakes" were planning to go back to him—if they could get Kuya Angelo to see him first. It hadn't happened yet, but I already felt bad about the possible consequences. Yes, Mykel was my enemy, but Kuya was strong, and there were still too many backstabbers around.

"Look… Our classmates really went all out for revenge against that fool," Ci-N said, smirking.

I frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing... I just hope—just hope—you'll notice them."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Go ahead... They'll sulk. And when they sulk—"

"What?! When they sulk, what?!"

He grinned, almost showing his gums. "They'll just sulk."

I grabbed my pillow and threw it at him. He didn't even flinch. Where does he get all this energy?

We were about to continue our playful banter when the door suddenly opened, and Mama walked in, carrying coffee and bread.

"Where have you been?" I asked, still irritated.

"The cafeteria. I bought this, but it took longer because of the crowd. Why are you both still awake?" She glanced at Ci-N. "You too. Shouldn't you be resting?"

Ci scratched the back of his neck. "O-opo. Jay-Jay and I were just talking about something. I'll go now."

He said his goodbyes. I lay back down, forcing myself to sleep. I didn't want to forget what Keifer had said.

What if I really had an illness? What should I do?