Jay POV
The moment Keagan smiled...
I knew exactly where Keifer got his annoying personality from.
😭
"So you're Jay."
Keagan said.
I blinked.
"How do you know my name?"
"Keifer talks about you."
Silence.
I froze.
Ci-n froze.
Yuri froze.
Even David looked interested.
👀
"What?"
I asked.
"Nothing."
Keagan replied.
"No."
"Yes."
"What does that mean?"
"You'll never know."
😭🔥
I immediately turned toward Yuri.
"Why is he like this?"
"Runs in the family."
"That's unfortunate."
"I know."
😭
Keagan laughed.
Then looked around.
"So why are you all here?"
"We're looking for Keifer."
The smile vanished.
Just slightly.
Enough for Jay to notice.
"He's not here."
Everyone exchanged looks.
"What do you mean?"
Yuri asked.
"Exactly what I said."
Keagan leaned against the railing.
"He left this morning."
"Without coming to school?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
Keagan hesitated.
A tiny hesitation.
Keagan laughed.
"No reason."
Liar.
A complete liar.
Before I could respond, another voice echoed from upstairs.
"KEAGAN!"
"WHAT?"
"WHO'S STEALING MY CHIPS?"
"YOU ATE THEM."
"OH."
😭
A few seconds later...
A boy came running down the stairs.
He looked around twelve.
Messy hair.
Holding a game controller.
And somehow looking even more energetic than Ci-n.
Which honestly shouldn't have been possible.
"Who's here?"
The boy stopped halfway down the staircase.
Then looked at us.
Then looked at me.
Then looked at Keagan.
Then looked at me again.
👀
"...Oh."
Keagan immediately groaned.
"Don't."
"What?"
"Don't start."
"I haven't said anything."
"Exactly."
😭
The younger boy walked down the rest of the stairs.
Then pointed directly at me.
"You're Jay."
I blinked.
"Why does everybody know me?"
"Because my brother talks about you."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Yuri looked away.
David adjusted his glasses.
Ci-n nearly exploded.
😭🔥
"HE WHAT?"
"Ci-n."
"HE TALKS ABOUT HER?"
"CI-N."
"THIS IS IMPORTANT."
😭
I felt my face getting warm.
Which was annoying.
Very annoying.
Keagan immediately smacked the back of Keiren's head lightly.
"Stop exposing family secrets."
"Ow."
"Good."
"Rude."
😭
Keiren rubbed his head dramatically.
Then turned back toward me.
"Anyway."
Uh oh.
That "anyway" sounded dangerous.
"You're prettier than I expected."
The room froze.
I froze.
Yuri froze.
Even David looked shocked.
👀
"KEIREN."
"What?"
"STOP TALKING."
"Why?"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE."
😭🔥
Meanwhile Ci-n was laughing so hard he nearly fell off the couch.
"This family is amazing."
"This family is a disaster."
Yuri corrected.
"Same thing."
😭
I crossed my arms.
"Can we get back to the important part?"
Everyone looked at me.
"Where is Keifer?"
The room became quiet.
The playful atmosphere disappeared.
Just slightly.
But enough.
Keagan's smile faded.
Yuri noticed immediately.
So did I.
"Keagan?"
The older boy sighed.
Then ran a hand through his hair.
"He's not home."
"We know that."
Yuri replied.
"Then where is he?"
I asked.
Keagan hesitated.
A bad sign.
A very bad sign.
Because confident people only hesitate when they don't want to answer.
Finally he sighed again.
"He's with Dad."
That surprised me.
"Business?"
"Sort of."
That answer wasn't reassuring.
At all.
Then a phone rang.
Keagan checked it.
His expression changed instantly.
The joking disappeared.
The smile disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
Yuri immediately stood.
"What happened?"
Keagan stared at the screen.
Then answered the call.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
We all waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Finally the call ended.
Keagan lowered the phone slowly.
His face unreadable.
Then he looked directly at Yuri.
Then at me.
Then at everyone else.
And for the first time since we arrived...
He looked genuinely worried.
"We need to go."
My stomach dropped.
"Why?"
Keagan swallowed.
Then quietly said:
"Something happened to Keifer."
The room fell silent.
And suddenly...
Nobody was joking anymore.
End Chapter 👀📖⚠️✨