Toto and the Boys III: Dannie

Chapter 19

A piece of the past...

Tessa got worse last night.

Dannie could only do so much as she sat beside her sister's bed.

Her mother came in with a plastic bag. "This is for you."

She raised her eyebrows at her mother in question.

The woman looked at her sister and then back at her with a glare. "Go get ready," she said, throwing the plastic bag at Dannie.

Dannie took the dress out of the bag and tear fell from her eye.

PRESENT DAY

I watched Troy stride toward her with purposeful steps. Gone was the anxious look on his face. It was replaced with anger now. "Why do you keep coming here? We made it clear to you that Danica doesn't want to see you again. Ever," Troy hissed the moment he reached the woman.

"I just want a chance to talk to her and tell her—"

"Haven't you realized what you have done yet?" Troy cut in, his eyes narrowing down at the woman. Thank to my manufacturer, I didn't have any hairs because if I did, they would have erected to full height at seeing Troy's fury. It was intense—frighteningly so. "You have wrecked her in more ways than one," he hissed down at Dannie's mother when she did not answer.

The lady started to tear up but Troy was not having it.

"I don't know a lot about what you have done to her, but I know enough to make sure that she never gets to see your face again. Go before I call the cops," Troy ordered, pointing his finger away from the apartment. "Danica doesn't want to see you. We don't want to see you. Go now."

"I just want to ask for—"

"Forgiveness? For what? For turning a blind eye while your husband molested your daughter? No parent who loves their child could ever stomach that. You were never a mother to Danica and you never will be. Go now. I'm serious. Stay fuck away from her life."

My bumpers almost fell off and for a little moment there I felt bad for the woman. But Troy Brady did the right thing. I know I had volunteered to take Jackie's stalker's dead body in my trunk before, but I would not even dare wish for a single dead skin cell from that lady inside me. Not one!

The lady took a step back and turned around to leave.

Good. And never come back!

Tata was horrified witnessing Troy's fury while I was cheering for him.

Tata told me that he should not have done it but I disagreed.

My friend, he was just doing what's right. That lady is not worth a single second of Dannie's attention.

She asked me what else the lady did.

I hate to tell you and I think I'll have to think about it if I really want to tell you because, my friend, what she did was worse than what Troy thought she did.

*****

Just as when everything was okay, Troy decided to drop by unannounced once again.

The three of them was about to get out of bed after sleep had given up on them. Jackie and Dannie volunteered to do the breakfast while George was to fix the coffee.

The moment they walked out of Dannie's room, a knock came from the front door.

The three of them looked at each other in question, their eyes still puffy and red from all the crying and lack of sleep.