BCJ 23 • kidnapped

***

Pete frowned at the current setup the restaurant had for the night. The entire place was decorated with pink and red hearts. Even the table cloths were red and the napkins were folded into swan lovers. Apparently, they were having a test-run for their monthly themes, and that night's theme just happened to be "love."

"Hey, can you stop frowning. I didn't know they're having this stuff tonight," Celeste lightly slapped his hand.

He actually wanted to change restaurants, but he was too tired to look for another and besides, it was the place he usually had business meetings with his clients.

"Let's make this quick, okay. This place is creeping me out," he shivered at the thought of being there with Celeste.

"Geez, not that I want to be with you here. This is creeping me out as well."

"Just give me the ring."

Celeste sneered at Pete's demand before getting a small bag from her bag.

He immediately opened the box and checked if she was able to achieve what he specifically requested for the ring.

He smiled. "This is perfect."

Celeste then excitedly got the ring from his palm and giggled.

"Hey, be careful!"

"Geez, look at this ring!" Celeste exclaimed as she held the ring against the light. The diamonds surrounding the band glimmered under the light. "This must have cost millions! And where did you even get the money for this? We both know your company is not doing well."

"I've been saving for that since graduation," he simply replied. He planned to propose to Kao right after they graduated but after seeing how Kao's eyes glimmer with excitement as he talked about his career plans, particularly his dream of opening his own school, he decided to cancel the idea as he didn't wanna get in the way of Kao's dreams.

"If I were Kao, I'd definitely sell," Celeste laughed.

Pete sneered before trying to grab the ring from her but she immediately slapped Pete's hand away.

"Wait. Let me bask in its beauty for a moment. It's my first time seeing this kind of  gem okay. Just let me have my moment. Besides, I helped you have this customized," she clicked her tongue.

Pete just let her be. Given how stubborn Celeste could be, she would always get her way. He just decided to ignore her and continued eating. In the midst of his meal, he somehow heard a familiar voice. He tried looking for the owner of that voice but his attention was immediately caught by Celeste.

"I just can't take my eyes off this ring, Pete. Ugh, you better give me a large bonus so I could buy something this grand," Celeste exclaimed before moving closer to him. "Can I try wearing it though?" she whispered.

Pete immediately grabbed the ring from her and slid it inside the box before securing it in his pocket. "No! Kao is the only one allowed to wear this, okay? And can you move over? Geez, you're giving me the chills."

"Hey! You're not even my type to begin with."

Pete just rolled his eyes.

Tomorrow's the big day. I gotta make this right for Kao, he thought to himself as he felt the ring in his pocket.

***

"I think, Kao might have seen us in that restaurant that night, Lest. Maybe he assumed that we have a relationship and thought I was proposing," he explained as he stared blankly in the air. It was the only explanation he could think of considering what happened that night at the restaurant.

"Excuse me?" Celeste acted like she was about to puke. "You know too damn well I'm not into men, Pete."

"I know. If you had only told me earlier, then Kao would have stopped being jealous over you," Pete sneered.

"Fine, I'm sorry. I didn't honestly think that Kao saw me as a competition. Even before at the orphanage, I didn't have any interest in you."

"Oh, thank you for reminding me that you just used me to make Mathilda jealous," Pete scowled before grabbing his things. "I'm leaving early today. Just send me the files that I need to review."

He was about to open the door but he froze on his tracks. "By the way, let's proceed with the construction of that project."

***

"What are you doing here?"

Pete's breath hitched the moment he saw Kao come out of his classroom.

He had already dropped Peter at his community service when he decided to go back despite the raging fear he was feeling that moment.

"I... can we talk?" he swallowed the lump in his throat as he prayed that Kao would grant his request.

"K-Kavine's on his way here. I don't wanna keep him waiting."

Pete tried to reach out for Kao but Kao instinctively moved back and maintained a safe distance from Pete.

"I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do, Kao," Pete then muttered before grabbing Kao by the hand and dragged him to his car.

"What the hell are you doing? Guard! Help! Somebody help me!" Kao resisted as Pete pushed him inside the car. He tried getting out but Pete then followed inside and crossed over to the driver's seat, making sure that Kao wouldn't even have the chance to escape.

"Geez! There's another door for Christ's sake!" Kao squirmed under Pete's weight.

"Ho! Let's go," Pete grinned after successfully getting into the driver's seat. He saw Kao attempting to grab the door so he immediately started the car and hit the accelerator.

"Ouch!" Pete felt a pain on the back of his head. Kao's hand was still up in the air, ready to give him another slap. "That hurts!"

"Oh really? Here's another one then!"

Kao then gave him another slap on the head. The car lightly swerved as Pete felt a bit dizzy.

"Hey, hey stop that. We're gonna get into an accident. And can you put on the seatbelt?"

Kao just rolled his eyes before buckling his seatbelt.

"I'm sorry, okay. But I have to talk to you. It's not like I wanna do this but this is important."

Kao stayed silent, his eyes fixed on the road. Minutes later, Kao's phone rang and Pete eventually knew who it was.

"Hello, Kav! I need your hel—"

But even before Kao could finish his statement, Pete had already grabbed his phone and slid it under his butt.

"Hey! Give me my phone!" Kao tried to slid his hand under Pete's bum but the latter just sat on the phone harder.

"Oh, I didn't know you like touching other people's butt, Kao. Ooooh, you're sexually harassing me!" Pete dramatically gasped as he placed a hand on his chest.

"What the fuck? Geez, Pete, I need to talk to Kav!"

"And I need to talk to you. So, I'm sorry to inform you, Mr Sanchez, but you've been kidnapped."

***

Pete held on tighter to the cans of beer he was holding as he gazed at Kao who was sitting in front of the sea.

The supposedly 30-minute drive became an hour since Kao would try to grab the wheel every chance he got.

He silently handed the beer to Kao as he sat beside him, his eyes fixed on the waters ahead of them.

"Thanks," Kao muttered.

They stayed silent for a while. Only the sound of the waves crashing against the shore could be heard.

"Kao."

Pete heaved a deep sigh, an indication of how nervous he was. He wanted to tell Kao everything but he was afraid that Kao wouldn't listen to hm.

"I'm sorry."

However, those were the only ones that slipped out of his mouth despite the many words that he wanted to say.

"For what?"

"For hurting you."

Kao didn't say a word and just finished the beer.

"Let's go. I'm hungry," Kao said before getting up but Pete was quick enough to grab his hand and pulled him back down.

"Kavine told me everything, including...including the proposal you thought was for someone else. That ring was for you, Kao. It has always been yours," Pete finally said, his eyes never leaving Kao's as he tried to find the right words to say. "It was never for someone else. Celeste just helped me have it customized as I got caught with work."

The place was not that well-lighted but the light coming from the distance was enough to shine on the tear that trickled down Kao's face.

"Huh. See? You never really had time for me. You even have to entrust the ring you we're supposed to give to me to someone else! Do you know how painful it was to look at the both of you inside that restaurant, Pete. Her smiling face as she looked at that ring was still vivid in my mind. I could still remember how perfect you looked together that night. You didn't even bother stopping me from leaving. You didn't even bother asking me to stay the night. You just let me go easily. Then what? The next thing I'd see was you being with her as she stared madly in love with that ring in her hand?!" Kao exclaimed before pushing Pete away.

"And I'm sorry for that, Kao. The company was in trouble. My dad was sick. I was struggling to keep the company afloat. And I didn't hold you back because I know you needed a breather. You needed some time to th-"

"And can you blame me for resenting you? You chose not to tell me all of that, Pete! You chose to keep mum whenever I try to ask if everything was alright! You never told me anything, Pete! You never did!" Kao exclaimed, tears started streaming down his face as he tried to keep himself from crying out loud.

Pete felt guilty as he looked at Kao. It was his fault. He knew it was all his and he couldn't even believe how he initially planned on getting revenge on Kao for leaving him when it was all his fault.

He hesitated at first but then decided to wrap Kao in his arms, hoping that it would somehow subside the pain.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, Kao," Pete whispered repeatedly making Kao sob even harder.

***

"Lest, I need your help," Pete's voice quivered as he talked over the phone. He could feel his hands shaking as he read the note Kao left on the bedside table.

Thank you for everything. Goodbye.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I think," he paused as he swallowed the lump in his throat. He would like to think that he was just dreaming but the empty closet where Kao's clothes used to be confirmed his greatest fear.

"Kao left. He already left, Lest. Please, help me find him," he sobbed as he pleaded over the phone.