Claiming Her

Thirty Eight.

Her POV

I rode in the passenger's seat and put on my seatbelt.

"So where are we going?" I asked.

"Somewhere you wouldn't expect." He said. I don't know if I was being paranoid but his answer creeped me out.

We drove for almost two hours, Lester was acting pretty strange and I was getting a little tense.

Everytime I asked him where we were going, he just looked at me and smiled.

He turned left and entered a dark street.

"Lester, safe pa ba dito?" I asked nervously.

"Sometimes safety is pretentious. Kasi minsan ang pagiging ligtas ang maglalagay sa ibang tao sa panganib." My stomach churned at his words.

"Anong sinasabi mo?" I asked, scared out of my wits.

"Oh my princess. You were the easiest target among them.." He said.

"Anong pinagsasabi mo, Lester? Umayos ka hindi na nakakatuwa." I tried to act brave.

"I'm not trying to be funny, princess. I'm done pretending. Its time to meet the real me."

"Lester ano ba." My voice begin to rise, and crack.

"Everyone was trying to protect you, but they don't even know who the enemy is. It's funny how they even blamed him for the accident years ago."

"It.. it was you who tried to kill me?" I was getting confused.

What happened before those years? Had I known him?

What did Daniel have to do with this?

"They even blamed you for JC's death. Imagine, your boyfriend trying to make you suffer." He continued talking as if he wasn't hearing me.

"You and Daniel didn't meet by fate. You met because he wanted to meet the girl who killed his brother"

What does this mean?

"And today everyone will suffer. Everyone would know how painful it was for JC. You would know why you never felt peace." He whispered near me.

I tried to get out of the car but it was locked outside.

"Don't get too excited, princess. We're almost there."

He took out a syringe from his pocket, and stabbed my in the neck with it. My consciousness, just like my faux bravery, left my body slowly creeping out.

His POV

After the emotional hug we both had we made headed into her house.

I was trying my very best to calm down, my legs were shaking uncontrollably, my tears were pouring out, I was sweating bad, until Julia handed me a glass of water.

"Calm down, walang matutulong yan." She said reassuringly.

This wasn't Julia. She's simple, calm, and helpful. This can't be her. What is happening. Is all of this a nightmare, wake me up!?

"Stop staring, asshole." She finally broke the ice.

"C-can w-we go on?" I asked.

"Hahaha. I never knew this side of you. It's very refreshing to see a very different Daniel." She tried to ease the tension but I could only give her a blank stare as a response.

"Sorry. Well, where should I start? You moved to New York and had nothing. You risked your mom's savings to go there. She gave you her last savings even when JC badly wanted to have his first car he can't because you were always your moms priority. He was devastated. He was mad at you. Of course he was. Sino ba namang hindi magagalit eh ever since we all know you are your mom's favorite. It got harder especially when Lester's around. He always tried to make things worse. He always gave him the worst advice. Until JC got depressed. Hindi na siya kumakain, hindi na siya umuuwi, he tried taking drugs, he began to be a rebel. Nagalala si Tita Karla pero wala siyang magawa, wala eh pinapaikot ni Lester ang ulo ni JC ever since they were young." She sighed before continuing with her story, "Nagtanim na ng galit si JC sa'yo at sa mom niyo and Lester being a best friend always hated you two dahil ganun pinaparamdam niyo kay JC."

Julia tried to hold my hand for comfort but I moved away. I won't betray Kathryn. I will never do that.

"T-Tapos?" I asked. I was getting numb. I didn't know what to feel.

"Then Natasha's accident happened the week after you left. Everyone was shocked. Everyone was clueless. Everyone got affected and I know nobody told you what happened. But I knew from the very start that it wasn't an accident. It was planned, it was planned by Lester." Julia's tone got a little grim, "After a month or so of trying to be quiet, the guilt was killing me so I confronted Lester sa mga naiisip ko, sa mga nalalaman ko." I was shockee when I heard her sob.

She was crying. She was shaking. She's scared. What the hell is happening? I tried to reach down for her, but she was trying to be brave.

"Don't worry I'm fine. He was shocked when I told him everything but after that he just laughed and said "I would need a helping hand" I got confused by his statement. Hangang sa naglabas siya ng baril. "Kayang kaya kitang patayin anytime I want. But I wouldn't" Natakot ako. He threatened me. I tried to ignored his offer but he slapped me. He even cut my leg. Hindi ko kaya. Hindi ko kaya pero mas lalong hindi ko kinaya nung sinabi nya sakin na buhay pa si Natasha. Pero papatayin niya kung hindi ako sumunod."

She was already crying non-stop that she could barely talk. It must be hard for her. I can't believe this all happened.

"Hindi ko kaya, DJ. Hindi ko kaya maging dahilan ng pagkamatay ni Natasha. Kaya kahit alam kong mali pumayag ako kasi sabi naman niya walang mamamatay eh. Sabi niya hangang emotional pain lang daw. Kaya tinulungan ko siya. Tinulungan ko siyang pagpakilalahin si JC at Kathryn. JC didn't really fall in love with her. He just found her attractive. That's all. It was all part of Lester's plan. At nung namatay si JC doon, doon niya nagamit yung pagpapanggap niya. Doon niya sinabi sainyo na nagsuicide si JC dahil sa pagmamahal niya kay Kathryn. Dun niya sinabi sainyo na sinaktan siya ni Kathryn. Para ikaw mismo ang manakit kay Kathryn. I tried so hard to stop it, believe me."

"And then what happened?" I asked once she stopped.

"You two, fell inlove with each other. It was the most terrible decision you two could ever make. It would kill all of us."