Jay-Jay's POV
He was smirking.
No—grinning. Like, hello? You just tried to kill me.
I was still standing on the sidewalk, heart pounding, adrenaline buzzing through my veins like electricity. One more inch and I would've been roadkill. And there he was—Percy—behind the wheel, looking like he just won a prize.
I stared at him, waiting for some kind of apology, or at least a "my bad." But nope. Just that grin. Like, this was all some kind of twisted joke.
He rolled down the window, leaned slightly out, and said, "You okay?"
I blinked. Was he serious?
I didn't answer. I just opened the car door, slid into the passenger seat, and slammed it shut. Hard.
I didn't look at him. I didn't speak. I just stared straight ahead, trying to keep the storm inside me from exploding.
I looked at Kuya Percy.
His grin was gone now, replaced with that unreadable face he always wears when things get serious. I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to explain. I just wanted to leave.
"Start the car," I said, voice low, barely above a whisper.
He didn't ask questions. Didn't say what happened? Or are you okay? He just started the engine like he already knew. Like he'd been watching the whole thing unfold from a distance.
And maybe he had.
I started to cry.
Out of nowhere. No warning. No buildup. Just full-on sobbing.
The kind that shakes your whole body. The kind that makes your chest ache and your throat close up. The kind you can't hide, even if you try.
I didn't even realize when we stopped. One second, I was staring out the window, trying to hold it together, and the next… the car wasn't moving.
Percy didn't say anything.
He didn't ask what was wrong. Didn't reach out. Didn't even look at me.
And maybe that was better. Because if he had, I might've shattered completely.
I turned my face toward the window, hoping the glass would catch the tears before they hit my lap. But they came anyway. Hot. Relentless. Like everything I'd been holding in, it finally broke loose.
He got out of the car without saying a word.
I didn't even notice where we were until the engine stopped and the silence settled. That's when I looked up and saw it—the beach. Wide, open, quiet. The kind of place that doesn't ask questions. The kind of place that lets you breathe.
I stayed in the car for a while, letting the sobs fade into hiccups, letting the ache in my chest settle into something dull. Then I opened the door and stepped out, the salty air hitting me like a soft slap.
Kuya Percy was already walking along the water, hands in his pockets, head tilted toward the waves like they were talking to him.
I didn't follow. I just sat on the sand, knees pulled to my chest, letting the breeze wrap around me like a blanket I didn't ask for.
He noticed me.
And without a word, he came over and sat beside me.
Not too close. Not too far.
Just enough.
We didn't speak. We didn't look at each other.
But somehow, that silence felt louder than anything either of us could've said.
After a while, he finally spoke.
"How are you?"
I looked at him for three seconds. Just three. Long enough to feel everything I'd been holding in. Long enough to remember every silence, every absence, every time he didn't show up.
Then I punched him.
Straight in the jaw.
Not too hard. Just enough to make a point.
He stumbled back, eyes wide. "What the fuck, Jay? Are you even a woman?" he yelled.
I clenched my fist again, ready to swing, but I stopped myself. Barely.
"Wow," I said, voice shaking with anger. "You didn't even meet me for almost four years, and here you are asking how I am?"
He looked at me, stunned. Then—out of nowhere—he pulled out a mirror.
A freaking mirror.
"Look what you did to my beautiful face," he said, inspecting his jaw. "It has a red mark because of you."
I blinked.
What the FUCK?
He's worried about that?
Not the fact that I was crying my eyes out ten minutes ago. Not the fact that I was betrayed, humiliated, used. Not the fact that he nearly ran me over.
Nope. Just his "beautiful face."
I stared at him, speechless. Because honestly? I didn't know whether to laugh, scream, or walk straight into the ocean.