Troy sucked in a deep breath.
Even in the situation, Danica was in, how could she ask him such a question? Was his reply so precious for her? Troy was unable to understand what was going on in her mind, but he couldn��t just give in to his feelings. Not until Danica told him the truth.
As much as he wanted to say yes and pull her into a deep kiss, he refrained himself from doing so. Troy pulled his hand from hers and got up, fixing up his navy-blue t-shirt, which was already fixed. ��Uh...you should take some rest.�� With that, he got out of his room, deciding that he wouldn��t go inside until Danica was fully asleep. Otherwise, she would keep demanding an answer to her question.
Hence, Troy decided to wait on the terrace and watch the dark sky, illuminated with stars for a while. He was wondering whether he should forget everything and move on with Danica. But it wasn��t easy. A relationship should be started with trust and no secrets. If she didn��t tell him about her past, Troy would always feel that he was living in the dark, which he didn��t want��not with his Danica, who made his life meaningful.
Meanwhile, Danica was tired, so she decided to demand an answer later. She kept reminiscing about the memories that she shared with Troy, which was her entire teenaged period. Soon, she fell into a deep slumber while thinking about him.
When Troy returned to his room, he saw that Danica was already asleep. He sat next to her as she was lying on his bed. He started to stroke her hair slowly, which made her sleep even more peaceful with Troy��s touch. He fell asleep as well with his head on the headboard of the bed.
___
The sun was shining brightly, and the entire Rose mansion had the air conditioner on due to the excessive heat.
Danica was feeling slightly better than yesterday. Her fever was almost gone, so she wanted to go back to her room but the glare she received from Troy when she told him that was enough to not raise the topic. Her room was a door away from Troy��s, yet he didn��t want her out of his sight. If this wasn��t love, then the word love must be fictional.
She was sitting on the couch, sipping a glass of orange juice after finishing her breakfast which was brought by Gabrielle. She was also sitting next to her, making sure Danica ate every bit of the breakfast.
��Trevor and Troy will come within a minute or two,�� Gabrielle informed Danica. She pushed a few strands of her ginger hair and asked Danica, ��What happened in the theater room? How did you reach there?��
Danica closed her eyes, remembering what had happened the previous day. She started speaking, ��I was running to hide and saw a white door, which was matching with the color of the wall. I would never spot that room if I hadn��t seen the door slightly open.��
��That dysfunctional door was painted and sealed two years ago as it would get locked automatically, resulting in one to get stuck,�� Troy spoke all of a sudden, making Danica shudder.
She glanced at the door and watched him entering along with Trevor. They were wearing their tracksuit, which made Danica arch an eyebrow in confusion.
��We went jogging because we needed to relax our mind,�� Trevor answered, noticing her confusion. ��How are you feeling now?��
��Better than before,�� she responded, still amused that Troy was habituated with jogging now. ��How did the door unlock though? I didn��t notice anything that would open it, both from outside and inside.��
��The door only unlocks with Gab��s fingerprint. It is near her room, so we chose her fingerprint. Besides, she barely stays home due to shoot, so choosing her seemed nicer,�� responded Troy.
��How did you enter the room when I was stuck?�� Danica questioned Troy, who chuckled. ��How did you even know I was there?��
��We have a backdoor which works completely fine, so I got inside using that,�� he replied to her. ��And I just felt you would be there.��
Their eyes met for a brief moment until Gabrielle cleared her throat.
Gabrielle said to them, ��Okay, enough of your romance. Now tell me what happened after you entered the theater room.��
Danica started narrating, ��I stepped inside, and the door closed all of a sudden. It was really dark inside. I tried to look for lights, but I found none. My phone was in the living room and the camera in my hand had a low battery so it got switched off. I couldn��t even use the flashlight. I was so scared.�� She started to take heavy breaths, thinking of the horror movie scene she saw and those noises.
Noticing that, Troy took out a bar of Hershey's chocolate and handed it to her, knowing it was her favorite.
She smiled softly and unwrapped the bar. She munched on her chocolate and continued speaking, ��Then a horror movie started playing on the big screen. There were werewolves and y��all know how scared I am of the werewolves. But the scariest thing was the sound effect of the movie. It scared me to death. I can still feel it ringing in my ears.��
Troy clenched his fist. ��I should sue that bastard,�� he grunted.
��Sue? Who?�� Danica inquired.
��Kenji Abraham,�� Gabrielle answered.
Danica was confused. ��Why Kenji? What did he do?��
��He was the one who trapped you in there,�� Troy told her. ��He just wants to harm us, nothing else. He doesn��t love Hernan.��
Danica let out a humorless chuckle. ��Are you crazy? Why will Kenji do this? Even if he wants to harm us, he is new in this house so how can he know about the theater room?��
��Hernan was the one who got stuck in that room two years ago and which was why we locked that room. He must��ve told Kenji and he planned it accordingly,�� Trevor pointed out to Danica, who still didn��t believe it.
��It must be an accident. Otherwise, how can he get Gab��s fingerprint?�� she reasoned out.
Troy squinted his eyes. ��For God��s sake, we live in the 21st century. Even by stealing your hairbrush, I can get your fingerprints.��
��Exactly. That Kenji guy is bad news, and we must expose him to Hernan as soon as possible,�� Gabrielle announced.
Danica shook her head in denial. ��I believe it was an accident.��
��If it was an accident, how did that movie get played?�� Troy was annoyed because she wasn��t believing him or anyone. ��Everyone in high school knew that you were scared of werewolves when the teacher was showing us a documentary on different mythological creatures. Kenji was in the same high school, you know?��
��And,�� Trevor spoke up, ��Kenji saw the video which Troy uploaded on WhyNTube where he pranked you by wearing a werewolf costume. So in that way, Kenji knows that you are still afraid of those.��
��Well, even if he did it, we shouldn��t do anything against Kenji because if Hernan finds out, he will hate us.��
As soon as Danica said that, Troy hollered, ��Are you crazy, Danica? Why will I risk your life with the fear of Hernan hating me?��
��Tr����
��No ifs and buts, Danica. I won��t even argue about this with you. I, Trevor, and Gabrielle, we will find ways to expose Kenji, with or without you.�� Troy crossed his arms against his chest. ��Yesterday, he scared you, tomorrow he will harm you, and the day after tomorrow he might even end up killing you. When I know the culprit, why will I save him? Staying quiet is calling trouble for ourselves.��
��Yes,�� Gabrielle stood up with her brother. ��And if staying quiet will call trouble, I��d rather be talkative.��
��Dani, we know it is Kenji and we need to prove. If we don��t expose Kenji to Hernan, he will be the one to suffer in the future. Which do you call friendship? Saving your friend from the bad person or letting your friend stay with the bad person to save your friendship?�� questioned Trevor.
His question made Danica silent. She couldn��t let her friend stay in danger deliberately. If Kenji did set up all of this, she should reveal it to Hernan with proof. Saving the friend was more important than saving the friendship. If the bonding was true, the friendship would last forever, come what may.
Friends love, argue, and even fight with each other. But in the end, friends protect each other from all evils.
Troy walked to Danica, who was sitting on the couch. He pulled up her chin softly, to make her face him. ��If we do this now, Hernan will be upset but he will eventually come around. But if we don��t do this now, we will lose him forever, Dani. And Kenji might harm you out of his hatred for me. I can��t lose you as well,�� he breathed out.
Danica nodded her head, feeling confident. ��What��s the plan?�� she questioned Troy, with a cute smile taking over her lips.
��We have to find out whether Kenji Abraham is gay or not,�� Gabrielle said and pushed Troy��s hand away from Danica��s chin. ��But first things first. I can��t see my brother romancing with my best friend.�� She scrunched her nose in disgust which made Trevor chortle.
Troy narrowed his eyes. ��I see you with Trevor every fucking day. Do you see me complaining?��
Rolling her eyes, Gabrielle continued, ��As I was saying, we have to find whether he is gay or not.��
��I had my doubts on him but then I saw him kissing Hernan in the kitchen instead of bringing the bowl of warm water with a cloth,�� Trevor said to them.
��So he is gay now.�� Troy muttered, ��He really changed his preference.��
Danica and Gabrielle exchanged a look. Immediately the two of them shook their heads.
Danica said, ��There are high chances he is not gay.��
��What made you think that?�� asked Troy, waiting for her answer.
��Because he touched our waists,�� Gabrielle answered Troy.
Troy and Trevor looked at each other before letting out in unison, ��What?��
