Toto and the Boys III: Dannie

Chapter 18

A piece of the past...

"Brady, give it back!" Dannie cried after him.

"No way!" he said, looking over his shoulder. He held up his hand and did a fanning motion with the photo he just stole from her. "I'll use this to scare the rats from home!"

"Brady!" she indignantly cried out.

"Just let it go, Dannie," George said dryly. "It's just one photo."

"Yeah, and he took one from us a while ago." Jackie said, looking at her own set of photos. Their graduation shots just came and Brady stole one from each of them.

Graduation day was approaching and she wondered if she'd ever step into college.

PRESENT DAY

A very long moment passed in silence. The only proof that time did not freeze on its own was the rustling sound of the sugarcane leaves. And my own whirring engine, of course. There was stillness between the two of them that I almost thought they were having a telepathic communication going on there.

Troy was looking at Dannie baby's eyes. I was really praying he wouldn't kiss her because that would be very gross considering what came out of his mouth just a few minutes ago. They stayed like that for a long time but Dannie baby broke the spell. Her eyes blinked and she stepped away from Troy's embrace.

"Danica..." Troy stuttered. She held up her hand.

"Forget what I just said. It was nothing," she hurriedly said. "It was nothing. Just...just forget it. Let's go."

Honestly, I expected Troy to transform into his usual excited self. I expected him to jump with joy at the thought that Dannie baby was confused. He had a chance, right? Just a bit more pushing and pulling and he'd have his happy ending. What he did next surprised me though. He just stared at her and nodded his head.

What the hell is wrong with you? Shouldn't you talk about it more? You know, dig a bit further and urge her to confess or something?

Dannie baby almost ran to my side and sat behind the steering wheel, gripping it tightly with both hands. I could feel the rush of blood through her fingers. She took a deep breath and shook her head. Troy followed, climbing inside the passenger seat without a word. He stole a look at her before he leaned his head back to rest on my seat.

You know, this could very well be your true last chance and you blew it away. She might be back to her old self in no time and you will not get another chance.

The drive back home was tiring as hell. And should I say dangerous? The road was okay by construction but we had to go through some zigzags. Dannie baby was a good driver though so I knew we were safe. The last time I went through this road, Georgie almost threw us off a cliff, that accident-prone lady!

Troy slept for at least an hour or so. When he woke up, he told Dannie baby they should swap and she should get some rest. She said no, of course. He might be a good driver, but he did drink back in Dumaguete, right?

By the time we reached Bacolod, it was almost midnight.

And by the time we reached the apartment, Jackie and Georgie were already standing by the doorway, their arms crossed over their chests and their eyes darting toward Troy.

"Let me explain—" Troy started in a tired voice.

"We don't want your explanations. The two of you, get inside," Georgie ordered before turning around to go back inside the apartment.

Jackie made a motion of slicing her neck with her finger as she looked at Troy.

Troy just rolled his eyes and allowed Dannie baby to enter the apartment first. Jackie slapped his arm before pushing him inside and closed the door behind them.