Episode 5

•Juan's Home•

After school, Aaron went home without hesitation. He was really worried to know the reason why Juan didn't come to school.

Upon reaching the house, it was so quiet. It seemed like Juan and Alice were inside. He tried to open the door and enter but hesitated, withdrawing himself, and ended up knocking on the door gently.

Receiving no response, he decided to knock a little harder again but still got no reply. He then took a deep breath and slowly pushed the door open.

Upon entering the house, he discovered that no one was in the parlor, and it still looked somewhat disorganized.

"Juan, are you home?" he called out with a soft voice, but no one answered. Everywhere was still quiet, so he headed straight to Juan's room.

He didn't find Juan there. He then checked Alice's room, but no one was there either.

"Anybody home? Juan? Alice?" he started calling out with a louder voice and searched all around the house but couldn't find either of them.

His worry intensified as he began to suspect that maybe Juan had issues with Alice because of him, or it could be that the gangs hunting Alice had come back for her. However, he wondered why they would take both Juan and her if it was really them. Aaron believed that something else might have happened.

He didn't know how to start looking for them, so he simply picked up his phone and dialed Juan's number. It rang, but the call wasn't picked up.

He called repeatedly, but his calls were ignored. He believed that Juan might be okay but was just mad at him about how things unfolded between them yesterday.

Still bothered but not as much, he thought they must have gone somewhere and would return home soon. He returned to Juan's bed and lay on it since he usually sleeps in the same room with Juan, so it wasn't a big deal.

As time passed and the day turned dark with no sign of them, he began to worry more and decided to call Juan again.

Dialing the number again, he heard the ringing tone inside the room, but it was faint and barely audible.

Following the sound, he traced it to the wardrobe and found the phone inside.

"So, she wasn't even with her phone? How could I have been so stupid!" he muttered to himself upon realizing that Juan wasn't with her phone.

This made him strongly believe that something was wrong. He stepped outside the house, contemplating what to do. He thought about transforming into his wolf form to help find them but dismissed the idea, knowing he couldn't control the wolf and might end up lost the next day.

While lost in thought, his phone started ringing. It was an unknown number, but he didn't hesitate to answer it immediately.

"Hello? Who's calling?" he said as he picked up the phone and held it to his ear.

"Hello, Aaron, it's Lucy," she responded, leaving Aaron with a surprised facial expression. It was an unexpected call since Lucy didn't have his number, and he didn't have hers either.

"Lucy...? How did you get my number?" he asked. Instead of answering that question, Lucy went straight to the point.

"Juan is here with me..." Lucy was saying, but Aaron quickly interrupted upon hearing that name.

"Juan!? How is she? Is she okay?" he asked eagerly, his posture changing as he grabbed his phone with both hands.

"Um... I can't answer that now, but I need you to be here shortly, at my place," Lucy replied. Without questioning or suspecting anything, Aaron readily agreed.

"Alright, give me a few seconds. I will be right there," he responded and quickly ended the call. He didn't even bother to dress up or take a bath; he simply jumped out of the house and got into Juan's car, only to realize that the key wasn't with him.

He rushed back inside, grabbed the key, returned and started the car, and drove straight to Lucy's house.

•Lucy's Home•

When he arrived at the compound, Lucy, who had already heard the sound of the car, stepped out of the house standing at the entrance, knowing it could be no one else but him.

"Where is she?" he asked immediately upon stepping out of the car. Lucy opened her door wider for him, and he saw Juan inside the house, tears already in her eyes.

He quickly ran in and hugged her tightly as Juan continued to cry.

"Juan, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you..." Aaron apologized immediately, tears streaming down his face. Juan with a broken heart, remained silent.

"I'm sorry. I know I hurt you deeply with my words, but I didn't mean them. I'm so sorry," he continued apologizing, feeling responsible for Juan's condition.

"I felt terrible. I couldn't focus at school when I realized you weren't at school. I returned home to look for both of you to apologize, but neither of you were at home," he explained, but Juan remained silent, tears still falling.

Traumatized and upset, Juan acted as if she wasn't listening, even though Aaron held her hand.

"I tried calling you. I was so worried, thinking something had happened to both of you. I'm sorry, Juan. I hope Alice is here..." Aaron was saying when Juan interrupted him with a louder voice.

"Why do you want to mention her name now? You were mad at me because you saved her! You were angry because you didn't keep your horrible identity and let her die at the hands of those assassin!?" she yelled loudly.

Aaron was taken aback, seeing Juan in such a high state of anger; he hadn't seen her like that before.

"You chose to run away instead of protecting my sister, and now they have her! She's been kidnapped! Her life is at risk because of your selfishness! I hate you! Stay away from me!" Juan yelled at him, pushing him away and angrily leaving the parlor for the inner room.

Aaron was shocked to hear that Alice had been kidnapped. He was deeply sorry and heartbroken upon hearing that. He attempted to go after Juan but held back as she slammed the door almost in his face.

He quickly returned to Lucy, who was watching them from the corner. "Do you have any idea what happened?" he asked urgently. Lucy shook her head.

"Not really, but as I was driving home from work, I found her stranded on the highway. I brought her here. She didn't tell me much, just that she needed to speak to you," Lucy explained, stepping closer to Aaron and looking into his face.

"What really happened? There seemed to be more to what she was talking about. What identity?" Lucy inquired. Aaron silently stepped back, initially turning to leave but then halted and turned and returned his gaze to Lucy.

"Where did you meet Juan on the highway?" he asked, thinking he might be able to trace Alice from there and bring her home safely since that's the only thing that can make Juan forgive him for now.