Ruz's POV
The morning started with violence.
Not the physical kind, though Adrian was still sleeping, so that would come later. The violent kind that came from my phone vibrating, like it was having a seizure on my nightstand.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
I groaned and grabbed it from under my pillow, squinting at the screen.
Chaos Group (CG)
Liam 🐍: Good morning chaos family
Liam 🐍: WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP
Liam 🐍: I have news
Liam 🐍: Important News
Liam 🐍: LIFE CHANGING NEWS
Josh: it's 7am
Josh: why are u screaming
Liam 🐍: BECAUSE I'M EXCITED
Nika: you're always excited
Nika: it's exhausting
Liam 🐍: Mama wants to invite all
of you for a night out
Liam 🐍: TONIGHT
Liam 🐍: AT OUR HOUSE
Liam 🐍: DINNER
Liam 🐍: GAMES
Liam 🐍: CHAOS
Liam 🐍: EVERYTHING
Marco: wait
Marco: like a party?
Liam 🐍: Like a gathering
Liam 🐍: WITH FOOD
Liam 🐍: AND FRIENDS
Liam 🐍: And no Adults except my mom
Diego: that's still an adult
Liam 🐍: My mom is COOL
Liam 🐍: she doesn't count
Eren: all adults count
Eren: that's how counting works
Liam 🐍: you're ruining the vibe
Rifat: what time
Liam 🐍: 6 PM
Liam 🐍: be there
Liam 🐍: or else
Nika: or else what 🤨
Liam 🐍: or else I will find you
Liam 🐍: and I will drag you
Liam 🐍: and I will make you come
Liam 🐍: by force if necessary
Josh: that's threat
Liam 🐍: thats love
Zayn: we'll be there
Liam 🐍: ZAYN SAID YES 😲
Liam 🐍: EVERYONE HAS TO SAY YES NOW 😤
Liam 🐍: ZAYN SET THE STANDARD
Mira: what should we bring
Liam 🐍: SNACKS 😋
Liam 🐍: DRINKS 😜
Liam 🐍: YOURSELVES 🫵
Liam 🐍: YOUR CHAOS ENERGY💪
Aira: i'll bring chips
Nika: i'll bring soda
Marco: i'll bring fried chicken
Diego: i'll bring my charming personality 😎
Josh: that's not a snack
Diego: it's an experience
Eren: i'll bring board games
Rifat: i'll bring my bike
Nika: then i also bring my bike
Josh: i bring my car
Liam 🐍: ADRIAN
Liam 🐍: RUZ
Liam 🐍: WHAT ARE YOU BRINGING
I stared at the screen.
Adrian walked into my room without knocking, because privacy was a myth in this house, then looked back my phone.
"Liam is being annoying," he said.
"Liam is always annoying."
"More annoying than usual."
"Read the chat."
He read the chat.
"What are we bringing?"
"I don't know. Ourselves?"
"That's not enough."
"Then you bring something."
"Why me?"
"Because you're older."
"That's not how responsibility works."
"That's how sibling responsibility works."
He stared at me.
I stared at him.
"We're bringing nothing," he said.
"We're bringing chaos."
"Liam will kill us."
Liam 🐍: i saw you both online
Liam 🐍: REPLY REPLY
Liam 🐍: what are you bringing
Me: us
Liam 🐍: thars not enough
Me: that's all you're getting
Liam 🐍: i will find you
Liam 🐍: drag you
Liam 🐍: i will…..
Adrian: you will what
Adrian: cry?
Adrian: throw a tantrum?
Adrian: call your mom?
Liam 🐍: i hate you both
Me: no you don't
Liam 🐍: i do tooday
Me: see you at 6
Liam 🐍: FINE
Liam 🐍: but i'm not happy about it
Josh: you're never happy
Liam 🐍: I'M HAPPY RIGHT NOW
Josh: you just said you're not happy
Liam 🐍: I CHANGED MY MIND
Josh: that's not how emotions work
Liam 🐍: IT IS TODAY
Nika: this group is exhausting
Nika: i love it
Mira: me too
Aira: me 3
Eren: me 4
Rifat: me 5
Zayn: me 6
Marco: me 7
Diego: 8
Josh: 9
Adrian: 10
Me: 10.5
Liam 🐍: I HATE ALL OF YOU
I put my phone down.
Adrian was still standing in my doorway.
"You're not going to get dressed?" he asked.
"It's 7 AM."
"The party is at 6 PM."
"Exactly."
"So why are you still in bed?"
"Because it's 7 AM."
"That's not an excuse."
"That's the only excuse I need."
He stared at me.
I stared at him.
"Fine," he said. "But I'm choosing your outfit."
"Absolutely not."
"I have better fashion sense."
"You dress like a divorced businessman."
"I dress like a CEO."
"GET OUT OF MY ROOM."
He left.
I went back to sleep.
Adrian and I arrived at exactly 5 PM.
Not because we were early. Because Liam had threatened to send a search party if we were late, and I didn't want to deal with the embarrassment of being found.
The parking lot was already full.
Chaos Gang vehicles everywhere.
Cars. SUVs. Two motorcycles, Nika's red one and Rifat's black one. They looked like they belonged in a music video.
"Show offs," Adrian muttered.
"Projection," I replied.
"Shut up."
"You shut up."
We walked to the front door.
It was already unlocked.
The guards didn't stop us. They nodded like they knew us, because they did. We had been here multiple times during the Kairo incident.
The house was warm.
Lights everywhere. The smell of something cooking, something good, something that made my stomach growl.
And in the living room…
…full of chaos.
Josh was lying on the floor, spread out like a starfish, staring at the ceiling.
"I'm conserving energy," he announced.
"You're being weird," Nika said.
"You are the weird one."
Marco and Diego were arm wrestling at the dining table. Marco was winning. Diego was pretending he wasn't trying.
Eren was reading a book in the corner. Actually reading. In the middle of chaos. Like a psychopath.
Mira and Aira were on the couch, scrolling through their phones, occasionally showing each other something and laughing.
Zayn stood by the window, watching the street. Guard mode. Even when he was relaxing, he was watching.
Rifat sat on the armchair, legs crossed, looking like he owned the place. Which he didn't. But his energy said otherwise.
Liam spotted us first.
"YOU'RE HERE!"
He ran toward us like an excited golden retriever.
"We said we would be," Adrian said.
"I didn't believe you."
"That's your problem."
"You're early."
"We're on time."
Liam grabbed my arm. "Come. My mom wants to see you."
"Why me?"
"Because you're her favorite."
"I'm everyone's favorite."
"That's arrogant."
"That's accurate."
He dragged me toward the kitchen.
Adrian followed us.
Tita Luna stood at the counter.
Surrounded by ingredients. Flour everywhere. Vegetables chopped. Meat marinating. Sauce simmering.
She was wearing an apron that said "Kiss the Cook" in bold letters.
She looked up.
Smile at us.
Warm, genuine, the kind of smile that made you feel like you belonged somewhere, like you weren't just a visitor passing through.
"Ruz, dear. Come here."
I walked over.
She pulled me into a hug before I could protest.
Her arms were soft but strong. The way mothers' arms always were.
"How are you?" she asked.
"I'm fine."
"You look tired."
"It's been a week."
"Exams?"
"Exams. Chaos. And Adrian."
She laughed. "Ah. The usual."
Behind me, Adrian made an offended noise.
"Specially him," I said like I was complaining, like I was telling on a misbehaving sibling. "After exams, all the time, he finds a new trick to annoy me. Yesterday he threw water on my face to wake me up. Today he tried to choose my outfit."
"I'm standing right here," Adrian said.
"We know," Tita Luna and I said in unison.
Adrian looked betrayed.
"You're bonding against me."
"We're bonding in general," Tita Luna said. "You just happen to be in the way."
"I'm your son's best friend."
"You're also annoying."
"THAT'S WHAT I KEEP SAYING," I said.
Adrian glared at me.
I smiled sweetly.
Tita Luna shook her head, still smiling. "Both of you. Help me cook."
"I don't cook," Adrian said.
"You do now."
"I'll burn something."
"Then try not to burn."
"That's not helpful."
"That's parenting."
Mira and Aira joined us in the kitchen.
The four of us, Mira, Aira, and tita Luna worked together like a team. Chopping. Stirring. Tasting. Adjusting.
Adrian was banned to the corner after he almost cut himself with a knife.
"That's why I don't cook," he said.
"That's why you're useless in the kitchen," I replied.
"I provide moral support."
"You provide commentary."
Tita Luna laughed. "You two remind me of me and my sisters."
"You have sisters?" I asked.
"Had. Have. We're still close. Just… busy."
She stirred the sauce, her expression softening.
"There were four of us," she said. "Me. Regina. Rozelle. And Alessia."
I paused.
Rozelle.
My mother's name.
Tita Luna noticed my hesitation.
"Your mother," she said gently, "was my best friend. We grew up together. Went to college together. Dreamed together. Started businesses together."
I said nothing.
"She was fierce. Stubborn. Impossible to argue with." Tita Luna smiled at the memory. "Sound familiar?"
"Maybe."
"She would have been so proud of you."
The kitchen was quiet for a moment.
Then Mira spoke. "What happened to them? Your friends?"
Tita Luna's smile faded slightly.
"Life happened. Rozelle disappeared. Alessia moved to another city for work with her family. Regina got busy with her own family. We're still in touch. We still love each other. But we're not together anymore."
"That's sad," Aira said.
"That's life," Tita Luna replied. "People grow. People change. People drift apart. But the love doesn't disappear. It just… changes shape."
She looked at me.
"Your mother loved you very much, Ruz. Never doubt that."
I looked at the sauce simmering on the stove.
"I don't doubt it," I said quietly. "I just wish I remembered more."
"You will. Someday. When you're ready."
The food was ready by 7 PM.
The Chaos Gang gathered around the table, pushed together to fit everyone, chairs borrowed from every room in the house.
The spread was ridiculous.
Adobo, Rice, Lumpia, Fried chicken, Grilled fish and Vegetables that no one would eat. Desserts that everyone would fight over.
Tita Luna sat at the head of the table. Liam sat beside her. I sat across from him. Adrian beside me. The rest scattered around like chaotic satellites.
"Before we eat," Tita Luna said, "I want to say something."
Everyone quieted down.
Which was impressive, considering this group had never been quiet in its existence.
"I'm grateful," she continued. "For all of you. For what you did for my son. For what you did for our family. For the chaos you bring into our lives."
"You're welcome," Josh said.
"That wasn't a request for acknowledgement."
"It was implied."
"It was not."
Josh shrugged. "I'm choosing to take it as one."
Tita Luna shook her head. "Eat. Before the food gets cold."
Nika was the first to break the respectful silence rule by immediately stealing a lumpia off Marco's plate.
"Hey!" Marco protested, but too late.
"Survival of the fastest," Nika said, already halfway chewing.
Across the table, Mira was carefully building an almost impossible rice and adobo tower on her plate like it was an engineering project. Aira watched her for a second, then calmly added a piece of fried chicken on top.
"That is structurally unstable," Mira said without looking up.
"It needed chaos support," Aira replied.
Zayn leaned back in his chair, already relaxed like he owned the place.
"You guys are all eating wrong."
Eren glanced at him. "Is there a correct way?"
"Yes," Zayn said seriously. "Mine."
He immediately reached over and took a piece of grilled fish from the center plate like it was a legally protected right.
Diego tried to stop him but got distracted when Marco slid a spoonful of something onto Diego's plate that Diego didn't recognize.
"What is this?" Diego asked cautiously.
"Mystery food."
"I'm not eating mystery food."
"You already are."
Across the table, Liam was quietly observing the entire situation like he was studying wildlife behavior. Tita Luna noticed and nudged him slightly.
"Don't analyze too much, You'll lose your appetite."
"I already did," he still took a bite anyway.
Adrian leaned toward me, lowering his voice slightly. "If this table collapses, I'm blaming Nika and Zayn equally."
"Fair distribution of blame," I said.
As if on cue,
Nika reached for the dessert plate at the exact same time as Eren.
Their hands collided. There was a brief pause. Then both of them grabbed the plate and pulled.
"Mine," Nika said.
"We are literally sharing a house,"
"Exactly. Shared house, shared dessert."
The plate tilted dangerously.
Aira calmly reached in, took a piece from the middle,
"Problem solved."
The dessert survived. Barely
Diego reached for the last piece of chicken at the same time as Josh.
Their hands collided.
"Let go," Diego said.
"You let go."
"I saw it first."
"I touched it first."
"That's disgusting."
"Your face is disgusting."
They wrestled for control of the chicken.
Eren grabbed it while they were distracted.
"MINE," he said.
"TRAITOR," they both shouted.
Eren took a bite. Chewed. Swallowed.
"Worth it."
"This is why we're fat," Nika said.
"We're not fat," Marco argued.
"We're fluffy."
The table was full of chaos.
Tita Luna watched from the head of the table, her chin resting on her hand, her eyes bright with amusement. She wasn't eating anymore, she was just watching. Like this was her favorite show and the season finale was airing live.
"This is why I invited you all," she said.
"For the food?" Marco asked.
"For entertainment."
Tita Luna set down her fork. Her smile faded slightly, not gone, just softer. More thoughtful.
"Tell us about kairo," Tita Luna said. "How did you do it? How did you find him? How did you…" She paused. "How did you face that man?"
Liam shifted in his seat.
"I'll start," he said.
Liam leaned back in his chair, his hands wrapped around his glass. His expression was different now.
"That morning," he said, "Josh and I had somewhere to go. Something important. I don't even remember what it was anymore. It doesn't matter."
He took a breath.
"I left after breakfast. Was walking toward Josh's house to pick him up. The street was quiet, too quiet, actually, but I didn't think about it. I was distracted. Thinking about exams. Thinking about stupid stuff."
"In the middle of the road, I saw a car. Black. Tinted windows. The kind of car that screams 'I'm following you.'"
"Did you recognize it?" Aira asked.
"No. But I felt it. You know that feeling? When someone's watching you? When your instincts tell you something's wrong?"
Everyone nodded.
"So I tested it. Crossed the street. The car crossed too. Turned a corner. The car followed. Made a sudden turn into a side street. The car followed."
"By then, I knew. They were for me."
"What did you do?" Marco asked.
"I ran."
"Just ran?"
"I'm not a fighter. Not like these idiots." He gestured at Adrian and Rifat and Zayn. "I'm a runner. So I ran."
He smiled slightly. "And I was winning. For a while. I dodged through alleys. Jumped over fences. Lost them twice."
"But?"
"But they caught me. Three of them. Big guys. They grabbed me, shoved me in the car, and drove off."
"That's when I escaped the first time."
"The first time?" Nika asked.
"There were multiple escape attempts. I'm very dedicated."
"What did you do?"
"The car was moving. Not too fast we were in a residential area. So I waited until we passed a street I recognized. Then I threw myself against the door."
"You jumped out of a moving car?"
"I rolled out of a moving car. There's a difference. Jumping is dramatic. Rolling is strategic."
"Same thing."
"Different thing."
He continued. "I hit the ground hard. Rolled. Got up. Ran. Made it almost three blocks before they caught me again."
"That's when they got serious. Tied my hands. Covered my mouth. Put something over my head so I couldn't see."
"Did they hurt you?" Tita Luna asked quietly.
"Not then. They were saving that for later."
The table was silent.
I set down my fork.
"Wait," I said slowly. "It was you."
Everyone looked at me.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked.
"That day. The day Liam was taken. I was walking home from the
mini mart. Snacks. I had snacks."
"Priorities," Nika said.
"Always."
"I was on the street. And I saw a boy running from some guys."
I looked at Liam.
"He was fast. I remember thinking, 'Good instincts.' He almost crashed into me. Dodged at the last second."
"That was you," Liam said.
"That was you."
We stared at each other.
"If I had noticed," I said, "if I had realized it was you, if I had helped—"
"Stop."
"No, listen. If I had…"
"Ruz." His voice was firm. "Stop."
I stopped.
"It's not your fault. You didn't know. You couldn't have known. You were just walking home. With snacks."
"Priorities," Josh whispered.
"Shut up."
But I was already smiling. Just a little.
"Fine," I said. "But I'm still sorry."
"Noted. Denied. Move on."
Josh leaned forward, his usual playfulness replaced by something more serious.
"When Liam didn't show up, I figured he was just late. Liam is always late. It's his brand."
"Accurate," Liam said.
"I waited. Called him. No answer. Texted him. No reply. Called again. Straight to voicemail."
"That's when I knew something was wrong."
"So I went to his house. To ask if anyone had seen him. And Tita Luna was there. I asked her where you were and she told me that you left early, so I didn't talk more. What if she got tensed then I left ."
He looked at her.
"That's when I called the group."
Nika picked up the story.
"Josh called me. Said Liam was missing. Said we needed to find him."
"I called everyone. Mira. Aira. Zayn. Rifat. Enzo. Marco. Diego. Eren. Everyone."
"We met at Ruz's house," Mira said. "To talk. To plan. To figure out what to do. We decided that we should came here again to check if you come back." pointed at Liam.
When we arrived, tita was crying..
Tita Luna nodded. After Josh left I got Kairo's massage and a video, "I called the police. They came. They asked questions. They took notes. But they didn't know where to look. They didn't know who to look for."
"Tita Luna was there. Crying. Trying to be strong. Trying not to fall apart."
"She's strong," Aira said quietly.
"Stronger than me," Tita Luna said. "I was falling apart. I just hid it well."
Zayn spoke. "We didn't know where to start. No leads. No clues. Nothing."
"Then Mira had an idea."
Mira set down her phone, when did she even pick it up? and looked at the group.
"Liam's phone. I thought maybe I could track it. If it was still on. If they hadn't destroyed it."
"It was. They were careless. Or maybe they just didn't think a bunch of teenagers would be smart enough to track a phone."
"Their mistake," Rifat said.
"Their funeral," Nika added.
"I took Liam's laptop and found the signal. An old warehouse. On the edge of the city. Abandoned. Isolated. Perfect for hiding someone."
"We had a location," Josh said. "Now we needed a plan."
"We didn't have a plan," Adrian said.
"We had a concept of a plan," Liam corrected.
"You were unconscious."
"I was mentally participating."
"That's not a thing."
"It is in my world."
"We argued about what to do," Nika said. "Some people wanted to wait for the police."
"Some people were idiots," Rifat added.
"Who said that?"
"I did."
"Rude."
"Accurate."
"We didn't have time to wait," Zayn said. "Every minute we waited was a minute they could hurt him. Or move him. Or worse."
"So we decided to go ourselves."
"Without backup?"
"Without permission?"
"Just, we are going to bring your son."
"Yes," everyone said.
"Priorities," Josh said.
"Shut up."
"Did you have a plan?" Tita Luna asked.
"No."
"Did you have weapons?"
"No."
"Did you have any idea what you were walking into?"
"No."
"But you went anyway."
"Yes."
Tita Luna looked at us.
Her eyes were wet.
But she was smiling.
"The drive there was silent," Mira said. "No music. No talking. Just… thinking."
"Worried," Aira added.
"Terrified," Nika corrected.
"We parked far enough away that they wouldn't hear us. Walked the rest of the way in the dark."
"The warehouse was huge. Two floors. Rusted. Broken windows. The kind of place where bad things happen."
"We split up," Zayn said. "Some of us went in through the front. Some through the back. Some through the windows."
"Liam was inside. Tied to a chair. Unconscious."
"I wasn't unconscious," Liam said. "I was resting my eyes."
"You were unconscious."
"I was conserving energy."
"Kairo was there. With his men. Twenty of them. Maybe more."
"They were armed. We were not."
"It was not a fair fight. and you know the rest, the fight, Kairo's escaped."
The table was quiet for a moment.
Then Liam raised his glass.
"To almost dying."
"To not dying," Josh corrected.
"To friends who fight," Tita Luna said.
"To chaos," Nika added.
"To family," I said.
Everyone cheered.
"I don't know why," Nika said, leaning back in her chair, "but I feel like this is a family."
"We are a family," Liam said.
"Not legally."
"Legally doesn't matter."
"It matters to the government."
"The government doesn't know us."
"The government is scared of us."
Josh raised his hand. "If you adopted someone between us, Tita Luna, who would you choose?"
"Obviously me," Marco said.
"No, me," Diego argued.
"It's me," Nika insisted. "She already has a dumb boy. She might need a girl."
Liam looked offended. "Hoy. I'm not dumb. And also my mom dont adopt any stray animals."
"Debatable."
"I have grades."
"Grades don't measure intelligence."
"Then what do they measure?"
"Your ability to suffer."
Tita Luna laughed.
Zayn spoke quietly. "We're not stray animals."
"We're VIPs," Eren added.
"Very Important Problems."
"Exactly."
Tita Luna thought for a moment.
Her eyes moved across the table. Josh's eager face. Nika's confident smirk. Marco's hopeful expression. Diego's casual indifference that hid actual interest. Mira's calm observation. Aira's shy smile. Eren's blank stare. Rifat's crossed arms. Zayn's steady gaze.
Then she looked at me.
"If I choose," she said, "it would be Ruz."
The table went silent.
Liam's face lit up like Christmas morning.
"YES," he shouted. "FINALLY. TODAY ONWARD, RUZ IS MY ELDER SISTER."
He grabbed my arm. Clung to me like a koala. His grip was surprisingly strong for someone who had almost died multiple times.
"Let go," I said.
"No. You're my sister now."
Adrian stood up.
"She is not," he said, his voice flat. Dangerous. The voice he used when someone touched his things.
"She is now," Liam said.
"She is only my sister."
"She can have two brothers."
"NO."
"YES."
"NO."
"YES."
"SHUT UP."
"MAKE ME."
They started arguing over me like I was a trophy.
I looked at Tita Luna.
She was smiling.
"You did this on purpose," I said.
"Maybe."
"You enjoy chaos."
"I enjoy family."
Adrian grabbed my other arm. "She's coming home with me."
"She's staying here," Liam argued.
"She's not a possession."
"She's a person."
"THEN STOP FIGHTING OVER HER."
"YOU STOP FIRST."
"NO."
"NO."
I sighed.
"This is my life now," I said.
"Yes," everyone said.
The chaos gang moved to the living room.
Games. Phones. Arguments about nothing.
I stayed behind to help Tita Luna clean up.
She washed. I dried. The kitchen was quieter now just the two of us, the sound of water running, the clink of dishes being stacked.
"You don't have to help," she said.
"I want to."
"Why?"
"Because you cooked."
"Because you're kind."
She smiled.
We worked in comfortable silence.
Then she spoke.
"You know, Adrian reminds me of someone."
"Who?"
"Myself."
I looked at her.
"Possessive. Protective. Afraid of losing the people he loves." She rinsed a plate. Handed it to me. "It took me a long time to learn that love isn't about holding on. It's about letting go."
"What do you mean?"
"Adrian wants to protect you. That's good. But he also wants to control you. That's not."
I dried the plate.
"He's scared," I said. "Of losing me. Of losing control. Of things falling apart."
"Because he's already lost so much."
I looked at her.
"So have you," she said gently.
I didn't answer.
She didn't push.
We finished the dishes in silence.
After cleaning up, I wandered upstairs.
Not intentionally. My feet just took me there.
Liam's room was at the end of the hall. The door was open. He was inside, organizing his gaming setup controllers, headphones, cables everywhere.
He looked up when I walked in.
"You found my room."
"It's not hidden."
"It's private."
"Then lock the door."
"I trust you."
"Bold choice."
He grinned.
I looked around.
The room was huge. Posters on the walls. Shelves filled with games. A bed that could fit five people. A desk that looked like NASA control center.
And on his bed
A stuffed toy.
I recognized it.
The cheap stuffed animal I had won for him. The one with the uneven stitching and the lopsided eye.
He had kept it.
"You still have that?" I asked.
He picked it up. Held it like a precious treasure.
"This is my favorite stuffed toy," he said.
"It's ugly."
"It's sentimental."
"It's poorly made."
"It's well loved."
He looked at it.
"I named it Ruz."
I stared at him.
"You named a stuffed toy after me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you won it for me. Because you saved my life. Because you're annoying but I love you anyway."
"That's disturbing."
"That's friendship."
He hugged the toy.
I shook my head.
"You're weird."
"You're weirder."
"Impossible."
"Accurate."