"You're still here, Kelly."
That was all Jonathan said when he entered the faculty room.
Kelly didn't answer; she continued writing something while talking to Kevin.
"Kev, that'll be finished tomorrow, right?" Jonathan asked, gesturing toward Kelly.
Kevin nodded. Jonathan slumped into his seat. Another stack of paperwork waited for him—during lunch break, no less.
I just want to nap… he thought, sulking at the sight of his workload.
Before he could zone out completely, someone called his name. He looked up—surprised to see Joel.
He immediately hid the surprise and smiled.
"It's not your schedule today, right?" Kevin asked Joel.
"Yeah," Joel replied. "I came here to ask you something personally, Jonathan. You're the one I'm looking for."
That made Jonathan straighten in his seat.Cielo and Dennis also stayed quiet, sensing something important.
"What is it, Joel?" Jonathan asked.
"If it's okay with you… can I ask what really happened to your sister?" Joel asked carefully. "Only if you're willing to talk about it."
Jonathan froze. He and Kevin exchanged looks. Kelly, overhearing, raised her eyebrow.
"What is he talking about? Since when do you care about your classmate's personal life?" Kelly blurted out.
A pen immediately flew at her forehead.
"Hey!" she snapped, glaring at Jonathan.
"Why do you want to know?" Jonathan asked Joel.
"I'm curious. Isn't that a valid reason?" Joel said.
Jonathan gave a small laugh. "It's okay."
He sighed. He didn't like revisiting the past—not because he was sensitive, but because reopening old wounds drained him.
I leave it in the past. I stopped looking back years ago.
"Kelly, you know Jonathan and Nicole really well, right?" Chris spoke up.
"Yes, we grew up together. Our houses were close," Kelly answered innocently.
"Then can you share something about Jonathan's past?" Chris asked.
Jonathan smiled faintly.Ah, Chris. You noticed I'm having a hard time saying it myself…
Kelly hesitated. "He might get mad."
"No, I won't. Let's test how much you really know," Jonathan teased. "Then I'll judge if you're worthy to be my childhood friend."
Kelly glared at him. Kevin stayed silent, listening intently.
Kelly turned her gaze on Joel."Fine. But this is from my own memory. Just listen."
Joel nodded, staying very still. Jonathan chuckled under his breath.
"You know their father's gone, right?" Kelly began.
"Yeah," Joel nodded.
"It all started there. How old were we?" Kelly asked Jonathan.
"Grade four… around ten," Jonathan replied.
"Yeah. Ten years old when your father died."
Jonathan felt the familiar sting in his chest.
He remembered his mother crying endlessly after the funeral, her swollen eyes fixed on his father's picture. He remembered his own quiet tears, hiding in corners because he didn't want to add to her burden.
"Jonathan?" Kelly had asked back then, hugging him tightly when she found him crying. She cried with him—like she felt the pain just as deeply.
Sometimes they cried themselves to sleep together. Their families would look everywhere for them.
"Brother!" Nine-year-old Nicole had clung to him and sobbed. "I thought you'd leave me like Dad did…"
Jonathan hugged her back. "I'm sorry."
Kevin had been there too—he was the first to know Jonathan and Kelly were cousins.
Over time, their mother began to heal. Eventually, she fell in love again. Kelly's family opposed the remarriage, but Jonathan and Nicole accepted it—at first. Nicole was excited to have someone to call "Dad" again. Jonathan accepted the man for their sake.
But everything changed after they lived together.
Their stepfather came home drunk, yelled when things weren't his way, and their mother always tried to calm him down.
Jonathan witnessed him slap their mother.He was in Grade Six.
Nicole, still so young, began to fear him. She told Jonathan she was sometimes locked inside the closet. Jonathan saw bruises on her arms and legs.
He wasn't spared either. The man whipped him with a belt—welts marking his back.
"Jonathan, what happened?" Kelly asked once, seeing a mark on his hand.
He hid it. "Nothing."
But Kenjie, Kelly's older brother, noticed the truth.
"Dad, see this," he said, showing Jonathan's injuries to their uncle.
Their uncle's face hardened with fury. Nicole was sobbing, refusing to go home.
"I need to talk to your aunt," their uncle said grimly.
Later, Kelly witnessed the abuse herself and told her parents. Their aunt confronted Jonathan's mother.
"When will you wake up? Do you want one of your children to die before you act?" she demanded.
Their mother cried, unable to speak.
"I don't want to interfere," their aunt continued, "but do you know your daughter Nicole has trauma?"
Then the truth finally came out.Nicole confessed to Jonathan that their stepfather had touched her inappropriately—even when he wasn't drunk. She was too scared to sleep alone, so Jonathan let her stay in his room at night.
"Nicole experienced sexual assault," Jonathan said flatly now.
Their mother trembled. "Nicky… is that true?"
Nicole nodded through tears. She was only eleven.
"You have to decide," their aunt said firmly. "Do you want your daughter to be raped?"
Their mother broke down. "Sis… please help me."
Authorities stepped in. Police monitored the man.
Then one night, he returned unexpectedly.They found him on top of Nicole, half her clothes torn as she fought and screamed.
He was arrested on the spot.
Their mother filed for divorce, and the family went back to their original surname—Villa.
"He didn't get life," Jonathan said quietly. "Just up to twenty years."
"Twenty years isn't enough," Dave muttered.
"The law is the law," Chris agreed.
"Is your mom divorcing him?" Kevin asked.
"Yeah," Jonathan replied. "Mom never remarried after that. She's too scared. And Nicole…"
He exhaled deeply.
"Nicky has trauma. She's terrified of men—especially when she feels threatened. She avoids, she runs… because of what happened. It wasn't easy for her. Honestly, I thought I'd never see the old Nicky again."
He let out a soft laugh—sad but hopeful.
"But she's fighting. She's trying to move forward. Supporting her… that's all I can do as her brother."
Kelly suddenly burst into tears.
"Why are you crying?" Jonathan asked.
"Because I KNOW all of this!" she sobbed.
Jonathan laughed softly. Joel nodded, expression grave.
"It's hard to believe… but it really happened," Joel murmured.
"I'm really sorry," Joel added.
It's not your fault, Jonathan thought.
Chris gently patted Jonathan's shoulder.
"We were classmates back then," Dave said. "You were always rushing home. We didn't know what you were going through. You were brave."
Jonathan smiled faintly.Back then, he had no choice but to be strong.
Because his sister needed him.