#COMM

Chapter 37

Jasper didn't say a word. I fought so hard to maintain the expression on my face. I was afraid that he'd ask me why I was asking him to run with me... Would I tell him about Justin's threats? But I was afraid of what he'd do...

I didn't want him to play hero.

Because all heroes die.

"Maggie," Dad called. I followed him to his study. "Last night, I saw you with that Ramirez kid."

I took a deep breath. "Yes..."

"What did he say to you?"

I looked at him. I knew I already told him about the situation, but a part of me was scared... What if sabihin niya kila Abuela? What if sa kanya naman magalit? We all knew what would happen if they get mad... I didn't want Dad to be at the receiving end of it.

"Nothing about me," I simply stated. I knew Justin. He wouldn't dare hurt me... at least not physically. As much as he loved to play with me, he wouldn't dare touch me. I knew that kahit gusto akong gamitin nila Abuela to get the Ramirez in their side, once something bad happens to me, it's game over for the Ramirez.

But that just heightened my anxiety.

Si Jasper.

He's the target, not me.

"Then what was the talk about?" Dad pressed.

I sat down. "Can I have a drink?" I asked when I saw the bottle of whiskey sitting on his table. I never liked drinking whiskey... It's too strong for me... but the situation I was in seemed like it was begging me to become alcoholic. I just wanted to drown my sorrow away.

Dad poured us a drink. We sat in silence as we downed our drinks. Once done, he just looked at me, like he's waiting for my answer.

"Justin... he threatened Jasper."

Dad's forehead creased. "Jasper?"

I nodded, biting my lower lip. I wasn't sure if Dad knew him... He's not always around. Mas madalas na he's abroad for work... But I knew that he'd like Jasper. At least, he'd like him for me. Jasper takes good care of me.

"Jasper Alexander Ybañez," I said.

Dad didn't say a word, his forehead just remained creased. I sighed. Buti na lang. I thought Abuela already ruined this moment for me! Alam ko na she knew about me and Jasper... and I thought she would blabber about us...

"He's... he's my bodyguard."

His brow arched. "Is that so?"

I nodded. "And I really like him, Dad..."

He didn't reply immediately. Dad poured himself another glass of whiskey as I sat there and told him about Jasper. I wanted him to know that Jasper's a good guy... The only reason why he got involved lang naman was because he tried to protect me from that perv!

"You really like him," he said.

"What?"

"Your eyes. They sparkle while you were talking about him."

I frowned. "Really, Dad? My eyes sparkled? E, I was talking about how Justin beat him to pulp!"

"Yeah, that..." he said, and took another sip. "You said you talked to Maven about that?"

I nodded. "Yeah... He assured me naman that if worse comes to worst, he'd help me..." I answered. I trust him naman. I trust all of my cousins. Kami lang kasi nagkaka-sundo. I didn't know if it's generation gap, but seriously, the adults in the family? Sila iyong nagdadala ng problem palagi! Good thing my parents were the least problematic!

"That's good to hear."

"But, Dad..." I trailed. "I'm scared. When Justin told me about Jasper... I felt like he wasn't bluffing. And what if he wasn't bluffing?"

I sat there as I wait for Dad to say something. I was just scared. I was scared of what's about to happen. Okay lang if it's just me... but I wouldn't be able to deal with it if other person would get involved. Most especially if it's Jasper.

"I'll see what I can do, okay? Stop worrying. From what you told me, Jasper seems like a responsible guy. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"But—"

"I'll deal with this. Trust your Dad."

And that was the end of the discussion.

* * *

The next few days, Justin didn't bother me. But instead of feeling relieved, I just got more worried... Kasi what if that devil's planning something big kaya ganyan na tahimik siya? I knew I should be prepared! It felt like I was gunning for a war!

"San tayo ngayon, Ma'am?" Kellan asked, following me as I got out of the house. Still, wala pa rin si Jasper sa bahay. I wanted him back as soon as possible, but when his face's all fixed up. Mom still didn't know about us... I didn't know how to tell her. She's scared of Abuela. I just didn't want to stir more trouble than I already did. Besides, Dad promised naman that he'd take care of this.

"Gym," I replied.

"May gym naman kayo dito, Ma'am," Kellan said.

"I enrolled sa Muay Thai," I said.

"Bakit, Ma'am?"

"I just want to be able to defend myself."

The smile on Nico's face fell down. I suddenly felt guilty for being too reckless with my mouth. I knew naman na until now, he's blaming himself for what happened to Jasper... but it wasn't his fault. It's all that stupid Justin's fault. We all should blame him. That evil family.

"Sorry, Ma'am..." malungkot na sabi ni Nico. "Sabi ko naman kay Sir na 'wag na saluhin 'yung sa akin dapat..."

My chest began to tighten.

"Hey..." I said, tousling his hair. I see Nico as my younger brother. I hated seeing him like this. I hated seeing him blame himself. "It's not your fault."

Nagbaba pa rin siya ng tingin. "Kung namali lang ng palo, Ma'am, baka 'di na nagising si Sir..."

My heart ached again. I began to remember the moment that I saw Jasper lying on the hospital bed. That's the first time in my life that I felt the urge to kill someone. Justin was a monster for doing that to Jasper. Sino ba ang matinong tao na gagawa ng ganon? Just for pleasure? He's so bored that he's willing to waste time messing with someone's life!

I put down my gym bag.

"Nico," I seriously said. "Don't blame yourself, okay? I'm sure if you were in Jasper's situation, you'd do the same for him... 'Di ba?"

He looked at me, and nodded. His eyes still looked sad. I badly wanted to wipe that sadness from his eyes.

"So, stop worrying. No one's blaming you. No one's mad at you," I told him. He nodded, but I could still see slight sadness in his eyes.

* * *

When we arrived at the gym, I let Kellan and Nico do their job with checking the perimeter. Evan's beside me. He's quieter than usual. I wanted to ask him about Jasper... was the reason why he kept on telling me that I'd never get Jasper was because Jasper felt responsible over someone else?

I wanted to ask him that... but it felt wrong.

And selfish.

"Jasper will return in three days," he said, breaking the silence.

I looked at him. "He's okay na?"

"His face looked fine," he simply replied.

I pursed my lips. "Do you think... it's safe for him to return?"

Evan shook his head. "There's no place safe, Ma'am. Every day is a risk you take."

I sighed. This was far too complicated than what I bargained for.

When the instructor came, he looked intimidated by the Protection Squad. Mas malaki pa kasi iyong katawan nila Nico kaysa sa kanya. I blame Jasper for that. Up until now, iyong braso nila? Still big from all the push-ups Jasper made them do when I was still in Europe! Buti na lang talaga I got Nico new shirts kasi wala na siyang masuot.

I carefully listened to the instructor as he began to taught me. Napapailing iyong mga guys habang nanonood sila sa amin. When I took a break, I asked them, "Is there a problem?"

"Wala naman, Ma'am..." Kellan said.

I arched a brow, and looked at Nico. He's the easiest to break. "Ma'am, mas madali kasi kapag ganito," he said, and began to show me moves I could use to quickly disengage an attacker.

"You know naman pala. E 'di sana sa house na lang tayo nagganito?"

Agad na umiling si Nico at Kellan—their faces were covered in horror. "Ayaw, Ma'am! Baka saktan na kami ng tuluyan ni Sir Jasper kapag kami nagturo sa 'yo."

"At bakit naman?"

"Syempre, Ma'am, magdidikit tayo," Kellan said. "Halos patayin na nga ako ni Sir nung nahalikan mo ako!"

My eyes widened. "Ako pa? Ako pa nanghalik sa 'yo?!"

Kellan nodded. "Opo, Ma'am. No offense naman... Maganda ka at saka sexy, pero 'di kita type, Ma'am. Ayoko sa mas matanda sa akin."

My face was probably red from what Kellan was saying. Ano'ng mas matanda?! Ang kapal ng face niya! Mas mukha pa nga akong bata sa kanya! I was about to give him the lecture of his life when I heard Evan chuckling. My head turned to him, my eyes wide... Seriously? This guy knew how to have fun? Surprise, surprise!

But as soon as he saw me looking at him, he erased all trace of emotion from his face. Balik robot na naman si Evan.

"Ma'am, start na daw ulit kayo," Kellan said, trying to evade my anger. I eyed him, and told him na hindi pa ako tapos sa kanya. How dare him insinuate na I'm older!

After the session, we all went home. I still felt energetic from everything. And I looked forward to Jasper's return... Iniisip ko na nga rin if I'd tell Mom about him... I mean, hindi na ako makaka-labas masyado... Ayoko kasi i-risk na lumabas... What if baliw na talaga si Justin? Mamaya ipa-baril nila kami habang nasa labas kami...

I wanted to stay inside the house. At least here, we're safe...

The day before Jasper's about to come home, I decided to tell Mom about us. I didn't want to hide anymore. Besides, tahimik pa naman... I didn't know what's up with Justin. I wanted him out of my mind kahit sandali. Feel ko kasi mababaliw na ako kakaisip sa kanya. I kept on imagining torturing him and feeding him to the sharks.

I was collecting myself, trying different ways to tell Mom about Jasper and me. Ilang minutes din ako nagprepare in front of the mirror... I wanted to be able to properly explain everything... Na I tried naman na iwasan si Jasper... But what could I do?

First Lieutenant makes me weak.

Pagbaba ko, my forehead automatically creased when I saw Abuelo... with fucking Justin! Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang makita ko sina Kellan, Nico, at Evan sa harap niya.

I froze.

"Do you follow?" Abuelo asked.

"Sir, yes, Sir!" the three of them responded. They all stood in front of him, looking at him like he's their boss... Shit. He's their boss! He's literally the Chief Commander!

"You may now go, soldiers," Abuelo asked.

My heart was beating wildly inside my chest. I couldn't understand what was happening. Gusto kong bumaba... gusto kong magtanong... pero hindi ko magawa...

Justin seemed to have felt my presence. The side of his lips rose. Tumayo siya. He walked towards me... every step dripping with sneer... like he's telling me that he won...

"Long time, no see," he said when he stopped in front of me.

"What did you do?" I gritted my teeth.

"You just said that I shouldn't mess with that boyfriend of yours, right?" he asked, then tucked a portion of my hair behind my ears. "But you didn't say that I couldn't have my fun with your other little friends."

My breathing deepened.

"What did you do?" I asked, glaring at him.

"You know, there's always a war going on somewhere in the country... They always need soldiers..." he said, smiling at me. "We'll see if your little friends are good enough to survive that war."