Toto and the Boys III: Dannie

Chapter 13

A piece of the past…

It happened again.

And he wanted to wring the bastard’s neck.

But he had to let it happen to stop it.

He was holding the camera, trying his hard to keep his hand steady.

Miguel and Lee were on the lookout. He was standing on a broken bamboo bench outside the house.

The man was beating Danica again.

And Troy caught it all on camera.

That very same afternoon Troy, Miguel and Lee went straight to the police.

PRESENT DAY

She cried silently as Troy kicked another chair across the veranda in anger. She didn’t want to see his furious look so she kept her head bent, her tears blurring her vision, her emotions muddled.

“I should have killed that bastard,” Troy rasped out.

It was no secret to a lot of people that her father used to beat her up. But the other things he did to her never went public. “He went to prison for his crime,” she finally uttered.

Troy was silent. And she was suddenly caught in his embrace. He was kneeling in front of her, his big form enveloping her frail one. Her first instinct was to push him away but the comfort he offered was what she much needed at the moment.

“I am sorry. I am sorry,” he said over and over again until his voice faded in his own tears. His shoulders started to shake and she felt him sharing his pain. “I should have been there for you. I could have done more. I didn’t know,” he said in a croaky voice.

Tears welled up her eyes and flowed down her cheeks as she took comfort in his strong arms. She warded off the part of her that wanted to push him away, to protect her self, because she needed his embrace. They comforted each other that way.

“Someone reported him on that last day he beat me up. I will always be grateful to whoever it was. Don’t be angry about things you couldn’t change now.”

She felt him stiffen and his body’s reaction alarmed her once more. He stepped away before she could push.

“You’re saying you’re not angry?” he asked, his voice an octave higher. His eyes were still wet and he was not making any effort to wipe the tears away.

Dannie finally looked up, blinked the last of her tears and looked straight into his furious eyes. “To what he did to me?” she asked. He did not reply. He waited for hers but she stayed silent for a long time. She slowly shook her head. “I am not angry to what he did to me.” She slowly stood up and forced a smile on her face. “But I can’t forgive him either. I don’t think I can ever forgive them.” She walked past him.

Troy held her arm in a strong grip, stopping her. She didn’t have to look to know that he was frowning. “Them?” he asked.

Her hand gently pushed his hand away from her arm, trying hard not to tug harder knowing it was Troy holding her and not her father or other men. “You know what that word means. And I don’t want to discuss that right now. I need to get some air.” She started to walk away again.

“Danica—”

Dannie stopped walking away but did not turn to face him. “I just need a bit of air, Troy.”

*****

She was sitting on the sand, watching the sun slowly fade behind the horizon, leaving behind a gradation of red, orange and yellow in the sky. There was calmness all around as the few people in the resort started to walk back to their cottages to freshen up and prepare for their dinner reservations. The sunset floating bar could still be seen in the distance.