"Trust me, pare, I have also no idea what I got myself into. So, please just tell me exactly where to go. You guys need to talk this fucking shitstorm out before I lose my mind. Ang gulo nyo, tang ina!" he said.

Malayo pa kami sa gate nila Jaxx but I could see the men in my life already standing outside – my dad, Ace, Chino, Seb, and of course, Jaxx. Parang sila na ang naging bakod. Si Ace na ang pinakapandak sa lahat and yet he stands at 5 feet ten inches. Mom stood beside my dad, and Val was standing beside Seb. All of them had murder written on their faces. Except Seb, who wore a pained expression. Nakita ko ang higpit ng hawak ng mga kamay ni Val sa braso niya kaya siguro ganyan mukha niya.

"Oh boy. You owe me big time for this Grace. If we get out of this alive, you fucking owe me," Pancho said gravely.

The earlier excitement suddenly turned into dread. Did Collin ever send the video? Will Jaxx still want me? Fuck, ang dumi ko. I need to wash myself. The jacket I had no had a deep lapel at kitang kita ang bra ko if I didn't wrap it around me tightly. The slacks I had on? Hindi na maisara at kailangan ko rin hawakan so that they won't pool on the ground. Ang gulo ng buhok ko, maga mga mata ko, sabog labi ko, para akong taong grasa.

Fuck. Tang ina. Hindi nila pwede ako makita na ganito. They can't. I can't let them.

I can't. I won't.

"Stop the car! Stop the car!" I screamed with my barely-there voice, as I hit the back of the driver's seat repeatedly.

"Aray, tang ina! What?" sigaw ni Pancho. He immediately hit the brakes.

"Turn around! I don't want them to see me!"

"What?! Have you lost your mind, woman? They're going to kill me if I turn around!"

"Turn around, please! I don't want them to see me this way.. please, Pancho," pagmamakaawa ko. Pero bago pa man sya makadesisyon, Jaxx was already pounding on the window.

"Open the fucking door!" dumagundong ang boses nya at lalong lumayo si Pancho sa pintuan.

"Jesus Christ! Tell him to back off otherwise hindi ko siya pagbubuksan! Tang ina, papatay na ata yan on the spot e!"

"Scarlet! Scarlet! Are you there? Are you okay?" he peered through the tinted glass before Ace and Seb pulled him away.

Chino stood outside Pancho's door, arms crossed over his chest and lips pressed to a thin line. He simply mouthed the words "open the fucking door", at parang magic, bumukas ang dalawang pinto. He roughly grabbed Pancho's collar and the poor guy tumbled out.

"Pare! Time out, time out! Damay lang din ako rito!" he said as he held onto Chino's hand on his collar and pulled himself up. Nakawala na si Jaxx at sinugod nya si Pancho. Hinablot nya ito mula kay Chino at saka inalog-alog.

"Did you hurt her?" Jaxx pulled him up and shook him.

"No! Wala akong alam rito! And dude, you're ruing my shirt," he replied, trying to act cool pero kitang kita ang takot sa mga mata niya. Jaxx glared at him a little more and shoved him back to Chino. He stormed to Damien who just stepped out of his car.

Hindi niya pinansin si Grace. Mabuti na rin 'yon kasi baka, sa galit niya, he might hurt her. Nakakatakot itsura niya, I have never seen him so mad, even when he and Ace fought before, kahit na noong winasak nya ang kotse ni Ace, he didn't look this menacing.

My dad was already trying to pull me out of the car but I struggled against him. Ayaw kong makita niya akong ganito. It will break his heart. Pero mas malakas sya sa akin and when he finally pulled me out, we both fell on the pavement. Sobrang sakit ng paa ko at hindi ko man lang napansin na magang maga na pala ito.

"Scarlet, anak, what happened to you?" tanong nya habang namumuo ang luha sa mga mga mata. He scanned me and I clutched the coat lapels tighter and held on to my pants.

"Dad, Mom."

"Oh my...." Iyon lang nasabi ni mommy. Agad nyang hinubad ang knit sweater at sinuot sa akin. "Matt, we need to take her to the hospital."

"No! Mom, please! I don't want to, I don't need to!" sigaw ko kahit na wala akong boses halos.

"Scarlet, you can barely stand up! Your ankle is swollen it might be fractured! We need to get you to the hospital!"

I started bawling while shaking my head vehemently, hindi ko mapaliwanag sa kanila ang mga nangyari. I pushed my dad away, as far as I could. Hindi ko kaya may ibang lalaking humawak sa akin. At gusto ko nang umalis sa harapan nila at magkulong na lang sa kwarto ko until I forget the last two days of my life.

Tinulungan ako ni Val at ni mommy magbihis. Hindi ko alam gaano ka tagal humgulhol sa loob ng banyo. I just know my skin was almost raw trying to rub away the memories of Collin's violation. My only consolation was that I was in Jaxx's bathroom and I got to use his shampoo and soap. Wala akong pakialam kung amoy lalaki ako. Binalot ako ng amoy ni Jaxx and it was the most comforting thing I've felt since I left that god-forsaken yellow room.

I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I hobbled toward them in the living room. Magkakalayo ang mga tao – may nakaupo, may nakatayo. Chino was leaning on the bar stools boring holes into either Pancho or Damien, I wasn't sure. Baka tapos na silang mag-usap sa mga pangyayari kasi maga na mga mata ni Grace and Jaxx was livid. May throw pillow nang punit sa sahig sa harapan niya at nagkalat ang laman nito.

JAXX's Point of View

I've heard enough ridiculousness and imbecility this morning to last me this lifetime. I still could not believe half of Grace's confession on how she and Collin came to an agreement that created this maelstrom of conflicting personal motives.

"How could you go so low, Grace?" I asked as I tore the piece of cloth I was holding.

If looks could kill, she would have been dead the moment she stepped out of that damned car. I was trying my best to stay calm but I was disgusted, disappointed and still very much furious. I had ripped apart an innocent throw pillow on the couch because I didn't want to wreck my house the way I did my condo.

"You've got to believe me, Jaxx, I didn't mean for it to happen! It wasn't part of the agreement!"

"The fact that you got into that fucking agreement with no other than that scum of the earth Collin Diaz shows how reckless you are and just how far low you're willing to go just to get your way. Tang ina, you even blackmailed me! You drugged my drink, stripped me and taunted me until you could get an incriminating video that you sold to the press. The fucking press! And for what, Grace, huh? For fame? Money? More sex?

"I didn't – "

"Are you that desperate to be famous? Because that's just what you did. You're famous now, congratulations! Happy??

"I did it because I wanted you back!"

"Right! And blackmail was a sure way to get me back! How could I be so dumb!" I mocked her. "Did you think, even for one minute, that I was going to cower in fear and let you dictate my life? I may have easily waivered when I was still crazy for you but for god's sake Grace, that was a decade ago! A lifetime ago! Get over it! Get over yourself!"

"Pare, please–"

"Don't' fucking 'pare' me, you bastard!" I turned to see Damien with a busted eyebrow and dried blood on his nose. That fucking traitor!

"You knew who she was, Damien." I said, referring to Cara. "You knew what she meant to me, and still you traded her to protect your shithead good-for-nothing uncle! You're going down, pare. I'm going to make sure you rot in jail and –"

"Jaxx listen! He threatened to find my cousin and her friend and slave them off, okay? It wasn't about my uncle or business, Jaxx, you know I don't give two fucks about him." He sounded desperate and truthful. Damien is a lot of things, but he never lied about wanting to protect his cousin.

"I wish I didn't have to choose, but they can't protect themselves, Jaxx. Dexter hasn't stopped looking for them. But you can protect her." Damien said solemnly, nodding in Cara's direction.

I resisted the urge to knock his teeth out. I didn't care who he had to protect because who gave him the right to trade off Cara? No one! He endangered her and he almost ruined my life! I saw Chino and Seb shift at the corner of my eye, but they didn't say anything.

Cara. She was already there curled in one of the single sofas. She was wearing her mom's sweater but I knew she wore my shirt underneath and she was in my sweatpants.

When I saw her on the pavement, crying, I wanted to rush to her and hold her, but her mom and dad were already there. They were just as worried as I was and she already clung to Tita Sinead for her dear life. My heart shattered seeing her like that – lost, afraid, and downright broken.

Kanina ko pang gustong sugurin si Collin and kill him with my bare hands but I had to make sure Cara was okay, and I had to get the truth from Grace and her accomplices.

"And just for the record, I didn't know who she was. All I had was a faceless name. I just knew you're insanely in–"

"Shut up if you want to live for the next five minutes," I cut him off. I roughly rubbed my face with my hands and leaned back on the sofa. "Where the hell is Collin?"

"I left him in his house in Alabang."

"You left him? You left him alive and breathing?" Suddenly hot rage was quickly rising to my chest. There had better be a good reason why he was still alive after all that he's done!

"What was I supposed to do, kill him?" he asked incredulously.

"Of course! What else were you supposed to do? Let him live and fuck us over? Find your cousin? Expose you? Doesn't killing him solve your problem? Just plead self-defense, I mean, look at you. You look like a train wreck anyway. Di mo ba'yon naisip?" I swear Damien is so unreasonably stupid some times. "Jesus fucking Chr—"

My phone vibrated harshly on the glass coffee table, catching everyone's attention. I looked at it for a while then decided I had better things to do than pick it up. It probably was just one of those stock market updates and I had to find where that maniac is. Just then, one by one, other people's phones beeped with a notification from the messenger.

Curious, they checked on it. I was about to pick up my phone when I heard the video playing on Grace's phone.

"Let's do this again. Are you and Jackson together?" There was a short pause before the guy continued. "Then I guess, it's safe for me to fuck you without him coming after me."

That was Collin. I scrambled to get to Grace to watch the video. At the same time, Cara lunged out of the sofa and moved to get closer to her, begging her to stop. I was stunned to see her suddenly moving. She hardly even looked at me the entire time and yet here she was struggling to make it to Grace's phone.

But Grace malfunctioned. She was holding her phone, dumbstruck, mouth wide open.

"Watch this Jackass. This one's for you." My heart stopped.

Mother. Fucker. He. Did. Not.

A crashing sound and a piercing scream brought me out of my shock. Cara was sobbing hard while Grace was once again in a state of shock, but this time, she was staring at a broken phone.

A woman after my own heart. Don't like a video? Break the goddamned phone!

I rushed to her pushing Val aside. "Cara, what was that? What happened?"

"Jaxx, please, don't watch that. Please... please!"

"I won't watch it if you tell me. Please." I regretted saying those words the moment they left my mouth because Cara would not look at me anymore. She moved farther away from me, shaking her head.

"Cara, please. I need to know." But I was not sure if I was ready to know what happened, if I could take it.

"I don't want you to know Jaxx. I don't want anyone to know. Please, delete that. Don't watch it. Don't listen to it. Just delete it and pretend it never happened." She said in her hoarse voice. It was painful hearing her talk.

"Why?"

"Jaxx, don't. Not now, not yet." Chino interrupted. Not yet? It has only been two minutes and not knowing was already driving me mad!

"Scarlet?" I called her but she turned away. When I moved closer to her, she pressed harder against Val. She even pushed away Ace's hand when he tried to comfort her. She pushed away all the guys who tried to help her, even her own father. I could see how hurt Tito Matt was when she refused to let him help her.

I didn't want to believe the worst. I could not take it if Collin... Did he touch her? Did he violate her? The mere thought of Collin touching her hand made my blood boil producing dangerous thoughts and sending them swirling in my head. I did not want to imagine what she had to go through to end up like this.

And with that, I snapped. Hearing those words and Cara acting like that, I made it my personal mission to kill the bastard! I want him dead by my own hands.

I was only brought back to my sense when I heard a stern warning from Tita Sinead. Cara was sobbing against Val as I was being restrained by god knows who.

I pushed them away and crawled beside Cara. I didn't care anymore, I wanted to hold her, I wanted to take away her pain. I was hurting so much and she was the only one that could comfort me and calm me down. I was selfish and just as desperate.

"Jaxx, stop!" she cried. She tried to push me away with all her might. She struggled in my arms, she punched and kicked me with her good leg, but I didn't let go. I'm not letting go.

"Jaxx, don't touch me!" she pushed harder but I held on. I let her take out her frustration. I might be in the wrong for now, but she can't push me away forever. She was stubborn but I knew she would bend if I persisted. I just had to persist. This was one of the times being a jerk was an advantage. When she got tired of kicking and screaming, I let her rest her head at the crook of my neck.

"Why, Scarlet?" I lightly touched the back of her head. When she didn't resist, I held her tighter to me.

"Ayoko, Jaxx...Just don't!...Let me go!" she sobbed in defeat. She was crying inconsolably.

"Damn right, I'm not letting you go," I declared as I stroked her hair and she finally melted into me. I knew it wasn't what she meant, but it was what I wanted it to. It was want I planned on doing.

"I'm never letting you go again, love."

*~*~*~*

A/N

The new characters introduced in the last few chapters – Damien, Dexter, and Camille are part of the next book in the series. Pancho will also be there but it will just be a cameo.

The timeline of the books are overlapping since they span about a decade in the lives of the Valle boys and girls.