JL gasped, “You could’ve been so wrong” he replied. The moment Naomi held Luke’s hand makes him feel that Naomi is far away and as if they never enjoyed each other’s presence. Lorenzia and Fonsi hid inside a vacant room in a building not so distant to where the three are standing. “This is not exactly what I’ve dreamt last night” she said. Fonsi focused on what is happening between JL, Naomi, and Luke.
Luke smirked, “You can’t believe with what you are seeing, huh JL Tiueco?” he said; He raised his arm to place it on Naomi’s shoulder. Naomi looked away; she can’t pretend no more; she can’t control herself from the pain of breaking up with JL. He looked at her with eyes yearning for an explanation. “Care to explain what’s the catch?” he asked; eyes looking straight at Naomi who’s crying silently.
“I don’t love you anymore” she weakly said but he doubted. “That is far impossible! We just regained what we lost in that four – day absence. I don’t think you got attracted to him in just four days. I even see Luke roaming everyday around this campus and now you are saying you don’t love me anymore? Come on, Naomi! We just… kissed” his voice cracked; Naomi is fed up of the lies she is making but she has to save her family.
She refused to talk but then JL already failed to control his anger. He walked close to her and held both of her shoulders. He screamed, “Tell me!”. Luke turned around and signaled Blake and Yilmaz to come over. The two pulled JL away from Naomi. She greeted her ex’s wide furious eyes. She was the one who came closer, step by step while stating fake reasons to satisfy what he wants to know. “You want to know why?” she asked.
She stepped forward and forward. “It’s because you’re weak, you’re incapable, and you can’t help me with my business” she added. She caressed JL’s chest annoyingly, “And then there’s Luke. I’ve known him since young; I thought of maybe we can rekindle an old flame. Besides, he’s capable, strong, and influential. He fed me up with proofs that he can save me unlike the legacy you were always focusing on” she concluded.
Lorenzia stood up; ready to step inside the scene. Fonsi grabbed her arm, “You can’t help your cousin this time! You can harm yourself!” he stopped her. Lorenzia got herself furious with Naomi also. Lorenzia removed Fonsi’s hand from her arm. “She can separate with my cousin nicely! No need to hurt him with her unrectified words!” she replied.
JL responded with Naomi’s words, “Yeah, that’s it. The truth’s out. You want me for the influence I can give? And so, when I had none, you started a relationship with the one who bullied me the most?” he asked; he still thinks that Naomi is being unreasonable but there they are in that situation, making everything hard for him in a sudden move. Naomi grabbed a cigarette stick from Luke’s pocket and lit it. She naturally did that before they got together. She evilly chuckled, “Maybe you already forgot… I am once a bad woman and that doesn’t mean that I will transition to someone angelic just because I dated a well – mannered guy like you. Besides, you are nothing but a weak annoying guy” she said as she blows the cigarette smoke in front of him.
He had his fists tightly clenched. He shoved away Blake’s and Yilmaz’s grips on his wrists and walked away. JL wore his black motorcycle helmet and went outside the campus. Lorenzia was about to follow her cousin when the door opened in a banging sound. Luke, Blake, Yilmaz, and Naomi entered inside. Luke smirked, “No wonder you were missing. And no wonder, our plans kept messing up” he said.
FLASHBACK
Luke dialed Fonsi’s phone number. “JL dared to talk back at me today. Go to their house and dispatch him right away!” he said from the other line. Fonsi chuckled, “Easy, man. I got it under control” he answered and hanged up the phone. Fonsi looked up to see the chuckling faces of Dior and Maj. Peredo. They installed electric bob wires in the Tiueco residence’s walls. Fonsi acted up as a suspect together with Blake but in the end, it was just Blake who got the bait.
There was another time that they planned on kidnapping JL while he’s walking back home but Yilmaz and Blake’s car was towed because they parked in the subdivision’s driveway. As a result, Yilmaz and Blake got offenses but Luke helped them to get out of their expected consequences. Again, Fonsi acted like a suspect and all the sabotaging was done by Dior and Maj. Peredo in a private business.
For the last plan, Luke still informed Fonsi about it but this time, he faked a plan. He found it suspicious that every time they execute the plan, he always presents himself to just stay in the location and offer a little assistance to Blake and Yilmaz. Luke gazed at him blankly while lighting a cigarette stick.
“For our last plan… We will make JL’s blood flow in this campus” he said. Fonsi looked at him with a surprised look. “Isn’t that too much?” he asked. The three looked at him with doubts in their heads. Luke raised his eyebrows, “Why? Is your conscience killing you now?” he asked back. Fonsi shook his head; they took his reaction as an approval to their plan. Fonsi’s eyes kept wandering around as if he’s formulating something in his mind.
Luke sensed his behavior in the planning, so he called Blake and Yilmaz in a dark room nearby. Without Fonsi, the three planned another and this time, it will be the final and sure plan they will execute while eliminating a traitor. Luke sat on a table while holding two pairs of pliers. Blake and Yilmaz looked at it curiously. “And what should we do with that tool?” Blake asked. Luke scoffed, “Idiot. Just cut JL’s motorcycle wires. I knew from Naomi that he uses the motorcycle often nowadays” he replied.
END OF FLASHBACK
Fonsi chuckled, “Sorry, I just had a guidance from an angel” he replied. Luke replied, “So, you’re already strong enough. You can fight back now. But remember, I didn’t raise a snake to bite its owner”. Lorenzia had Luke’s last line recorded in her mind. Just like what she dreamt about, after Luke’s last sentence, the gruesome things happened. Lorenzia stood up but she was guarded by Blake and Yilmaz.
She fought back and uttered, “I am telling you, Prideus is true”. She ran as fast as she could just to reach JL’s distance. She can’t see him on the road now. She went home while catching her breath. Her tears were mixed with the sweat falling from her face. She barged inside their house’s door; the housekeepers looked at her with a shocked face. She sat in the ground in so much exhaustion. “P-please, c-call Maj. Cev-ino for me” she said. Some of the housekeepers helped her to sit in the couch while helping her calm down.
Maj. Peredo quickly went to her. She hugged her cousin tight with fright in her voice. Her voice is shaking, “J-JL… he went o-out. I-I don’t know w-where he went” she said. Maj. Peredo knew from the moment he saw Lorenzia that something is not going as planned. He immediately dialed Gian’s phone and asked, “How are things going? What can you see in the school’s CCTV?”. Gian replied, “I see no scenes here the moment JL left the area”.
As an older cousin and a mentor, Maj. Peredo felt anxious at the moment. He opened the car’s door and went inside. Before he could start the engine, Lorenzia followed him inside the vehicle. Maj. Peredo uttered, “You are not needed here. Just stay at home”. Lorenzia shook her head and refused, “I might help you look for JL” she replied. Maj. Peredo started the engine, they do not have enough chance to fight about it.
Suddenly, a phone call was received by Lorenzia. She answered quickly, “Fonsi! The plan didn’t happen. What’s happening there?” she hysterically asked. Fonsi coughed a few times, “F-find JL. They are about to c-crash his m-motorcycle” he answered. He was beaten up by the three but they eventually stopped when he pulled a sharp knife from his pocket. After avoiding Fonsi’s attacks, the three – including Naomi rode inside a car to follow JL all around the road.
Lorenzia is currently confused, “What do you mean?” she asked again. Fonsi replied, “They are planning on faking a bumping accident on JL. His motorcycle has a defective brake”. Lorenzia felt like the world fell off her shoulder. “W-were finding him now. S-settle everything in the school for us” she said and dropped the call. Everyone is enjoying the last school moment but little did they know that crimes are already playing inside the campus.
Maj. Peredo fastened up the speed and drove on the long straight road. There’s no way JL can escape the town considering that he is a minor. Luke, Blake, Yilmaz, and Naomi detected JL’s route due to the tracking device they installed there the moment they cut some of his motorcycle wires. The four took the route to meet JL’s route’s end before downtown. Luke chuckled scarily, “I’ve waited so long for this to happen” he said. Naomi looked at him; she thought that Luke cannot do something this far. She wants to stop her but her cold heart won. She thought that if JL could have this accident, he can learn from it and eventually forget about her.
JL drove faster and faster. He is beyond his limits now and all he thinks about is Naomi and their sudden break up. He had his eyes focused on the road. He feels nothing but resentment from Naomi’s sudden change in attitude and regret for himself on not knowing her more before starting a relationship between them. They say the first heartbreak is the most remarkable one. This heartbreak will cause him a lot to learn including about loving once again. From a distance, he saw a black car approaching.
He pulled the brake but it failed to work. The car’s speed is getting faster and faster and is really meant to approach his way. He moved to the other lane; suddenly, the world got slower when someone opened the car’s window. He saw Naomi sitting in the passenger seat with Luke as the driver. Luke faced his way and bumped the side of the motorcycle JL is riding.
The motorcycle crashed behind a lamp post. They took a u-turn and hid their vehicle. Naomi looked at him from afar; she saw blood stains in JL’s plain white uniform. She cried a ton and whispered, “Blood… he’s bleeding there”. Luke replied, “He deserves that. Don’t you dare turn back your decision”. Naomi stole the steering wheel from Luke’s hands that made their run move unevenly. Luke cursed, “What the hell, Naomi!? You might get us into an accident!” he complained.
Her strength is nothing compared to Luke’s. She leaned back weakly with JL in her mind. It kept flashbacking that she can’t get over it. Their parents are clueless about what they did. Luke still wears the evil smirk in his face until they got back in the school. Currently, Lorenzia and Maj. Peredo took the long road continuously until they saw a crowd forming in a circle.
He opened down the car’s window and asked a resident. “What is happening here? Why is the road closed?” he asked. The resident replied awfully, “There is a student who suffered an accident here. The police are investigating his motorcycle and the medics are already here to give a first aid”. Lorenzia’s eyes widened; she went outside the car and walked straight to the crime scene.
Police lines blocked her. She was about to cross the plastic police lines when the police officers stopped her from going. She kept fighting back, “I want to see the person who had an accident!” she acclaimed. Maj. Peredo followed her to the crime scene and showed his medal signifying that he is in a higher rank. Lorenzia went quickly inside the police lines the moment her hands were freed by the police officers.
She can’t recognize him because of the bandages in his face. She looked around and saw the motorcycle being inspected by Maj. Peredo. “The brake is really cut” he said while looking at his cousin’s vehicle. Lorenzia went near the stretcher. She shook him but the medical staff reprimanded her. “He’s quite shocked at the moment” the nurse said.
Maj. Peredo and Lorenzia both rode the ambulance and followed JL through the hospital. Lorenzia’s hands were shaking; Maj. Peredo held it tight, “Everything will be alright” he said; comforting his younger cousin. JL’s parents followed them in the hospital; his mom is agonizing but they kept on making her calm because the baby inside her can get into harm. The doctor went outside from the emergency room few hours after JL was brought.
“There was a hairline fracture in his arm. It may be caused by the imbalance of his fall a while ago. His head wound is currently dressed. It took as a while before the bleeding stopped. Overall, everything is stable including his vitals. Just don’t surprise him with questions that can pressure him later when he wakes up” the doctor said. His mom and everyone else are relieved upon hearing the outcomes.
Few more family members went after JL was admitted in a VIP ward. Gian, Dior, and even Fonsi is present inside the room. He suddenly gained consciousness; little by little he opened his eyes and started moving his body but everything just ached. Everything looks blurry not until Gian handed him a pair of eyeglasses. “Your glasses broke a while ago. Glad I brought a spare before going here” he said.
JL acted coldly the moment he remembered what happened before and during the accident. “Luke… Luke with Naomi and the other two bastards did this to me” he said. Fonsi looked at him, “Sorry we failed to stop this” he said. Maj. Peredo added, “Luke Fuerte is a wise guy. He’s despicable enough for a sixteen year old”. Lorenzia sighed, “Jealousy and insecurity made his attitude go worser than ever” she said.
From that moment, Luke enjoyed the school program as if nothing gruesome happened with his manipulation. Naomi just sat down in a corner while hugging the kraft box JL gave her just that day. Now she is sobbing, overly concerned with JL’s condition which she is clueless about. Just like her usual doing, she climbed up to the tall wall at the back of the campus to make her way going to the hospital.