It has been days since Derrick last saw Jerson. He didn’t know what Vishnu was planning on using his name again but seeing how he pushed Jerson away, Vishnu must have his reasons and that's what he wanted to know.
Vishnu was acting strangely fine as if all of his actions were calculated.
Derrick was afraid. He knew Jerson.
Jerson never cried even though he was suffering so much, but once he did, that only meant one thing. That all that was happening in his life was tormenting him badly that he wanted to give up. He saw it once. He saw how Jerson suffered before and it was far beyond worse than he had suffered from.
Derrick looked around the Night Stripped. Vishnu, Noah, Alec, and Van were having booze as if they never cared about Jerson.
Have they ever cared for Jerson genuinely?
It was almost eight in the evening so he got up and planned to check on Jerson.
He saw it. He saw the blood that tainted around Jerson’s arms and clothes. He saw his empty eyes. He saw how Jerson hit himself. He saw it and it made him think back to when Jerson showed the same sign of his mental issues.
Derrick was worried about what might happen.
“Where are you going?” Van asked.
Derrick looked at them. He tried to hide his anger. “I’m going home to rest. I'm beat as fuck,” he answered.
Vishnu looked at Derrick and stood up. “I’ll drive you home.”
Derrick shook his head. “No. You stay here. I can go back by myself. I swear I’ll punch you if you follow me.”
Derrick gets out of the bar. It was a good thing that Vishnu listened and all of them continued drinking.
Derrick had his fears and one of them was the past repeating itself. He knows that someone from his circle of friends was a traitor and he had to find out who it was before it was too late. For now, he was suspecting Alec.
The boulevard to Jerson's residence was peaceful and serene. Even though it was already evening, many people were still working and making money for a living. As soon as he arrived, he immediately entered the building and used the elevator to get into Jerson's floor.
Derrick was nervous and curious about what Jerson's reaction might be. Would Jerson beat him up and curse him? Would Jerson be happy to see him again or would he curse him for hiding this whole time?
Derrick knocked three times but no one answered. He tried knocking again but no one replied. He got his phone out of his bag and tried calling Jerson but he was out of reach.
Is it possible that Jerson decided to go back to the Ferrer estate? If that's the case, then he doesn't have to worry about Jerson as he knew that the Ferrer wouldn’t let their heir die in vain.
Derrick decided to go back but was stopped when an old lady grabbed his hand. “Are you trying to find the young man who was living here?” the old lady asked.
Derrick politely nodded.
“I'm the tenant next door,” she said. “That young man didn't leave his room for the past few days. I saw him leave this morning and go back with his clothes soaked in rain." The old lady sighed in frustration. “He would sometimes shout. I would hear some loud slamming of walls and breaking things. He was a good neighbor, I don't know what happened to him. Are you perhaps his friend? It would be better if you check him now.”
Derrick felt his heart thump. Without saying anything, he immediately kicked the door open. The door wasn’t that firmly built at all so when he kicked it for the second time, the door pushed open.
The old lady shouted when he saw Jerson sitting while he was pointing the gun at his head. Derrick felt alerted. He slowly walked towards Jerson who seemed to be in a daze. His eyes were empty. He was soaked wet.
“Jerson… put the gun down, please,” Derrick stated.
Jerson remained the same. Jerson smiled genuinely which made Derrick's heart quiver in fear.
“Put the goddamn gun, Jerson, you idiot!" Derrick shouted.
Jerson didn't listen. Jerson pulled the trigger which made Derrick fall on his knee.
Thankfully, no bullet came out. Jerson tried pulling the trigger again but the same thing happened.
Jerson laughed miserably. He just wanted to be free, why would they deprive him of being free? Why would someone hold his life when it brought him nothing but pain?
Derrick hastily stood up and ran towards Jerson. He grabbed the gun away from Jerson’s hand. The old lady kept it away from the two men.
Jerson lies down on the floor exhaustedly. As soon as the gun vanished, the voices came back.
Derrick immediately holds Jerson and carefully takes off Jerson’s jacket. He was shocked to see a wound on his arms. It was swelling so bad that some part of it was leaking white liquids and was violet in color.
“What the hell?!” Derrick cursed. He could also feel Jerson’s high temperature. More than that, Jerson just lies down on the floor, not feeling any pain.
“How could a living man be so lifeless?” the old lady asked.
Derrick looked at Jerson who was staring at nowhere. Seeing this, he was certain.
Jerson goes back to what he was before. A suicidal person who had no reasons to live. A person who was only waiting for his death. A person who had lost all of his reasons. He saw it before and this is what he feared the most.
Because Jerson is living in chaos, this is bound to happen but he failed to notice that it could be worse.
A man could be so strong but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t break down.