I was shocked when I opened the door. I saw my brother standing at the door, looking at me with a frown.
Then he pulled me out of the house and yelled at me.
"Why didn't you tell me your apartment will be demolished?"
"Brother? What are you doing?"
Maybe I was still in shock, I unconsciously asked him after he yelled at me.
"Heh, this bastard... Didn't you hear what I said?"
"Okay, okay, first stop holding my collar."
He pushed me away in a bad mood.
Hey, that's kind of rude. If you weren't my brother, we might have a fight here.
Penelope came out after hearing my brother's yell. She was slightly pale and looked at me worriedly.
"It's okay. I'm fine." I said, adjusting my collar.
"Keith, do you really hate me that much?"
Sean's expression was really bad. Judging by his clenched fist, he was ready to hit me.
If you ask me. My brothers and I have had some fistfights in our lives. I didn't back down even when I was facing Jeremy or Sean. Hell, I was not even afraid of my Dad.
The answer was simple. I was raised very spoiled and my parents gave me what I wanted. So my mentality was like an arrogant king.
Of the three of us, I was the most problematic and hotheaded. Second was Sean, while Jeremy was the calmest.
Of course, when I fought my brothers, I always lost. I am much smaller and weaker than I was back then...
However, I would always tattle my Mom on them and she would beat them instead. That's my role as the youngest child, to cry and tell my Mom the injustice I suffered.
But now we were both adults. I have no intention of getting my brother in trouble.
Besides, I understand where Sean is coming from.
"Then why didn't you tell me your apartment will be torn down?"
"Because we don't have to. Sean, I can find us a place. You don't have to worry."
"As expected, you are still stubborn."
"Waahhh! Waahhh! Dajjy!"
Suddenly Sophia cried when she saw us yelling our voices. She was crawling, she was still a baby after all. Because of that, her knees and hands were dirty.
"Baby, I thought you were sleeping on the couch." Penelope carried her and wiped away the dirt.
We both fell silent as Sophia stared at us. She looked pitiful. Her eyes shedding tears. It was heartbreaking to see her like that.
"Wuuu wuuu wuuu wuuu."
Especially when she stared at Sean. Sean slowly lost his anger. Instead, he felt bad.
If I'm right, Sean didn't have a child. I learned how to be a playboy from him. He is much more of a master than I am in the art of Rizz.
"This child..." He looked at me.
"That's why her name is Sophia." He completed the puzzle.
"Good thing we bought a cake instead."
The neighbors came out of their apartments after hearing our ruckus.
"Sean, how about we go inside?" I invited him. I didn't want people to hear our discussion.
Penelope stopped Sophia from crying after rocking her. Sophia went back to sleep, but her eyes were a little puffy... Damn it, Sean, you motherfucker. You made my daughter sad!
As we entered the apartment, I saw Roman sitting in the chair with a baseball bat next to him...
Really, Roman? Can you even swing that bat with your little arms?
Roman nodded at me. Almost like he knew my question. Roman glared at Sean, clearly showing his hostility.
"Hey, that kid looks tough. Too bad he's skinny."
Sean made fun of Roman and the boy continued to stare at him.
I sighed. My kids were pretty talented.
Sean looked around and frowned.
"This place is so small. How can you live in a place ?"
"Okay. If that's what you want to say."
Penelope put a cup of coffee on the table. She cut two slices of cake for us.
"Honey, you don't have to. Sean's going to leave anyway."
"This kid..." He grinned at me but I knew that he was not happy at all.
"Keith. I'll get right to the point. Go back to the house. I can talk to Mom and Dad. I'm sure they'll understand you-"
"Never." My answer was clear.
I would never return. I already have a family.
"Bro. If you talk to Dad, he will understand. Dad was just thinking about your future back then."
"Sean, let's not talk about it. I will never come back to our house."
"Okay, fine. Then what about Cavite? Cavite is much better than Manila. At least it's cleaner and more peaceful. Hell, this place is even dangerous for your family."
"Sean, you don't have to talk anymore." I insisted.
"Do you have a place to stay after this building is demolished? Puh--! What is this thing?" His face was ugly after he had tasted the coffee.
"We are still looking for a place to stay. And what you're drinking is rice coffee. It tastes great, right?"
As expected from my wife. She knew how to get even.
Sean put down the coffee cautiously. He didn't like it at all.
"Keith, listen to me. I have a house for you to live in. You don't have to look for another place. I'll give it to you for free."
"What's the catch? It's in Cavite?" I grinned.
"That's right. But it's Dasmariñas, Cavite. It's far from our parents' place."
The province of Cavite had eight cities and more than 10 municipalities. It was a wealthy province with an annual income of 3 billion pesos.
My parents live in Imus Cavite and it was next to Dasmariñas, but they were quite far in reality.
I actually thought about it. My brother's offer was tempting.
"I will never tell Mom and Dad. Mom is too talkative to keep a secret. As for Dad... Well, Dad is Dad."
I didn't know how to answer. I knew how difficult it was to find another place to stay. To be honest, I'm having a hard time sleeping because of this problem.
I'm worried about the children. I didn't want them to live in a small house where they can only sit and stand. The apartments in Manila are so damn expensive. I don't know how inflation has screwed us.
"Can you keep your promise?"
"Keith, have I ever lied to you?"
"Plenty. You lied when you said Jeremy was the one who destroyed my remote control helicopter. You're the one who stole my piggy bank when we were young..."
"Ok, ok. But this time I will keep it a secret."
"I'll think about it."
"Good. Then I have to live here until you have your answer." He smiled.
... This bastard. What a stubborn bastard.
"You're stubborn, huh?"
"I should tell you that myself."
We both stared at each other, grinning.