A piece of the past...

The day she left home was the moment she finally gathered the courage to stand up against her mother. Jackie and his parents readily agreed to take her in. Her friends wouldn't allow her to stay one more day in that house with the woman who called herself Dannie's mother.

They had to be honest with Jackie's parents as well. Jackie's dad, Joseph, was more than horrified and angry that he told Dannie he had to report her mother to the proper authorities. Jackie mother cried and wouldn't let go of Dannie until Jackie's younger sister came home from school and she had to be a mother again.

The next days that followed was fast. A lot of things happened that Dannie barely had time to cope. Seeing Jackie's parents fight her fight for her gave her a sense of what a family should be. They made sure that the trial against her mother was kept out of public to protect Dannie's privacy. Jackie's father even stood outside the courtroom door to make sure that no one with a pen, paper and camera could enter.

The hardest part was to testify against her mother.

A big part of her didn't want things to end up the way they did, but whenever she thought of how things went for her and Tessa, she knew she was doing the right thing. When her mother was found guilty, she shouted at Dannie with rage, saying she regretted having them in the first place. She told Dannie in more ways than one how her children were the reason for her sufferings.

That was enough confirmation to her that she made the right choice. No one outside of that courtroom ever knew about it—not the school, not her other friends other than Jackie and George.

PRESENT DAY

After the airport, they decided to stop by for some brewed coffee at Sanders before going home to the apartment. They both needed a strong dose of caffeine if they wanted to survive the battle going on back there.

For Dannie, it was also her way to sort her thoughts and feelings. Her mind and heart were telling her different things. She needed more time away from the wedding drama. Troy offered the best company at the moment.

She found it funny though that he apparently became her source of comfort after all their years of bantering. He was always a friend to her and she couldn't deny that, despite how he had been such a pain in the ass in the past.

"What?" she asked with smile after taking a sip from her cup and caught him staring at her.

"Something changed. I just know it." The surprising thing for her was that he did not say it with a smug look on his face. He said it like he was talking about the weather outside.

She just shrugged her shoulders and leaned against her seat and slouched. She rarely did that in public because she thought she always had to show the best side of her all the time, probably as façade to mask any traces of her past. But now, she was doing it because she felt like lazing around. She had realized that most of the people around didn't even care and those who did have no hold on her. She was free to do whatever she wanted.

When he continued to just stare at her with amusement, she chuckled and said, "I was honestly expecting you to make a long speech about why I should choose you and the outside world over the convent."

His brows raised in wonder. "You did?" He shook his head after she answered with a nod. "Danica, I can tell you a long narrative of how I can share with you the happy moments of my past to help you forget yours." He was smiling at her without any hint of pain. He played with his cup as he continued, "I can make a long list of how I can definitely create more good ones for the future if you'll let me." He paused to look at her and let her know that what he was saying was the truth. "But I won't, because I won't beg though I wanted to weeks ago. I realized I don't want to wonder in the future whether or not you stayed because I went down on my knees for you to stay. I don't want you to feel you need me either because I want my woman to be with me because she wants to, not because she needs me. Likewise, I don't want to be in a relationship with someone who needs me to need her." She watched him take a breath and leaned against his chair to mirror her position. "If you stay, you stay. But it will not be entirely because of me and my promises. It will be because you see more possibility of happiness here with us."

Dannie smiled at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

Seeing her state, he suddenly pushed himself forward to lean over the table. "Come on, Danica, you can't cry now," he whispered. "They know us here and they will think that Troy Brady made a woman cry again. And it's his freaking friend this time. Come on, don't cry. I know my words were touching and all, but you've shed enough tears to give them merit."

She hastily wiped her eyes dry with the table napkin and sniffed. "I just didn't realize you are capable of thinking that deep."

His face fell with disappointment and he pushed away from the table with a sigh. "Why do people think I am that shallow?"

Dannie chuckled. "You never showed a lot of people this side of you, you know."

"Because I don't find any reason why I should let others see this side of me." His words were full of meaning that she just laughed it off. Deep inside, she was grateful she was one of the few who had the chance to see this side of Troy Brady.

Just as they were about to finish their coffees, Miguel and Lee entered the café and saw them. "Where the hell have the two of you been?" asked Lee, taking a seat beside Troy. Miguel took the one beside Dannie and called for the waiter. "Nice to bump into the two of you. This is your treat, right?" Miguel asked Troy.

"Why would I treat the two of you? No one invited you to join us in the first place," Troy rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Still, you owe us," Lee said.

"And why is that?"

"You won't tell us what happened that night we got drunk," Miguel answered.

"You pissed the hell out of me. That's answer enough."

"Well, we would say sorry if we know what we did, right?" Lee said, looking at Miguel with innocence.

"I'll treat you if you say sorry now," Troy said.

"SORRY," the two men said in unison.

Dannie observed the exchange with amusement. "Are you guys ready for the wedding?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course. Which reminds me," Miguel said, looking at Troy. "The groom asked when the pre-nuptial shoot is. The wedding's in a few days and they want it soonest."

Troy looked at Dannie and sighed. "Guess we have to stay here a bit more. I don't think I want to go back to your apartment and face this thing."

Dannie shrugged. "We can stay as long as we want."

*****

What they went home to after two more hours was not a mess, but silence.

Jackie, George, Jordan and Dean were there but they were not fighting. And they were not talking either.

But the moment Troy and Dannie entered the door they all jumped to their feet and asked if Toto was okay. Dean and Jordan walked out the door to check Toto. Jam must have heard the commotion outside and went out his own apartment to join the guys.

Troy collected everyone and forced them to face George, Jackie and Dannie.

They all awkwardly said sorry. Jam was sorrier than everyone else because he was the one who took Toto. George and Jackie just nodded their heads in acceptance of their apologies.

"But the wedding is still on, right?" Troy asked, faking enthusiasm. He was obviously tired.

"Of course," George snapped. "Everything was almost ready before you guys decided to carnap our car."

"We said, sorry, didn't we?" Jordan said.

"Let us sleep on it. You all go home now and leave us in peace with our car," Jackie said.

"I don't have Tata," Troy said.

"Either of these two can drive you home," George said, pointing at Jordan and Dean. Jam had slowly crept back inside his apartment after apologizing.

The men sighed and went to their respective cars. Troy tagged along Jordan who offered to take him home.

"Drive safe! One more incident from all of you and the wedding's off," the bride shouted at them.

Dannie just chuckled in amusement and walked back inside the apartment.

"Now, you have to tell us what happened," Jackie said with excitement once the door has been locked and it was just the three of them.

"And don't say nothing happened," George said dryly.

Dannie went to the kitchen and checked the table for food. "Did you guys leave me dinner?"

"There's some left," Jackie said. "Now, stop changing the subject and tell us everything." Her friends followed her around the kitchen, eager for news.

"There's nothing much to tell."

"Dannie, you've ran to the opposite part of the province and hopped to an island with Troy Brady. You went with him to Sipalay for his work. And then you spent another night with him at his family's farm out of town," Jackie recounted and looked at her pointedly. "You cannot just say 'there's nothing much to tell' and expect us to accept that."

Dannie looked at her and then at George helplessly. "What do you want me to say?"

Her friends looked at each other and back at her. They both shrugged and said, "Anything!"

She thought of a way to make them shut up but none came to mind. "We kissed," she said simply as if it was as normal as her eating dinner.

"You did what?!" her friends cried out and moved closer until they were hovering over her.

"You heard me," she uttered, scooping rice into her plate. "Who cooked this?"

They did not answer. They waited until she looked up to them and sighed.

"What?" she asked.

Jackie crossed her arms over her chest. "Danica Grace Berlin."

Dannie snorted. "What?"

"What has gotten into you?" George asked with curiosity. A faint smile on her lips showed her amusement.

"Nothing. I am just sort of starting to figure out what I really want," she answered honestly.

Their eyes widened in surprise. "You've made your decision?" Jackie cried out.

"Oh god, what had Brady done to you?" George asked at the same time.

"I didn't say I made a final decision. I'm just trying to be open to changes and that includes eating dinner while my friends pester me about my activities."

"I don't know if I should be happy about this or not," George said.

"Me too," Jackie seconded, nodding her head.

"And I told Troy everything."

They gasped and their jaws dropped in surprise. "The world must be coming to an end," George groaned as she turned away to cover her face with her hand.

"You told him. Like everything? You told him everything?" Jackie asked, grasping Dannie's hand to stop her from eating.

"Yes. Please, Jackie, I want to eat."

"What did he say? How did he react?" George had gone back to stand beside Jackie.

"He was really angry."

"And?" Jackie asked.

"I don't know if I should say this but can you guys keep this a secret?" she asked. Her friends were already nodding their heads before she even finished. Dannie hesitated. "Well, he was really angry and he cried."

The two of them stood without moving or breathing for a few moments before they both broke into laughter. "I'm sorry," Jackie said, holding her hand between laughter. "I should be serious at this moment..."

George supported her weight on the table as she laughed. "I can't picture that scene and not laugh, I'm sorry," she said before she laughed soundlessly.

"Can I eat my dinner in peace now?"

"How did he cry? Like a child or you know, just...I'm sorry, I can't take it," Jackie said, her eyes watery now.

"If you are making fun of him, I better get to sleep now," Dannie said, her tone more serious.

"Okay, okay, we're sorry," George said as she tried to bring back her composure.

Dannie shook her head but kept her lips sealed. She was not pissed that her friends were reacting that way. She actually missed their laughter. They had been through a lot in the past. They had shared a lot of laughter and tears together.

She just realized that she missed it—all of it. And maybe they were right. The world had a lot of things in store for her, both good and bad. She'd just have to accept that she had to have both or nothing at all.