The brunette entered Trevor��s room, wearing a floral dress that reached up to her knees.
A bright smile formed over Danica��s lips as she left Troy��s hand and ran to hug her. ��Tati! I missed you so much.��
Tatiana hugged her back. ��That was a warm welcome, Dani.��
��Oh my god, Tatiana Holden is back,�� Gabrielle said in a teasing tone and went to join the hug.
After their hug, Danica asked, ��Where is Aziel?��
��I told him to freshen up and unpack so he is in your room right now,�� answered Tatiana and then hugged Troy and Trevor one by one. After that, she asked, sitting comfortably in Trevor��s bed, ��What��s wrong?��
Troy, Trevor, Danica, and Gabrielle told everything to Tatiana from the beginning. After they narrated everything to Tatiana, she heard from first to last thoroughly, including the flirting part which made her chuckle.
��You guys should have called me,�� Tatiana said and fixed her hair which was tied in a bun. ��If I didn��t call Hernan to pick up Aziel and myself from the airport, Gab wouldn��t even get a chance to flirt with Kenji today.��
��So the important work Hernan had was to pick up you and Aziel?�� Gabrielle breathed out. ��No wonder why he was in a hurry.��
Nodding her head, Tatiana glared at Troy. ��So much happened and you didn��t tell me anything. May I know the reason?��
Troy was about to open his mouth to explain but Tatiana faced Danica this time. ��You call me your close friend and even you didn��t tell me anything. You were attacked by Kenji, yet you stayed silent. Don��t you feel ashamed for not telling me?��
��I���� Danica was interrupted by Tatiana.
��Shut up, you silly human being. If something happened to you, what would I say to Aziel? He would��ve blamed me the entire time for keeping him with me when you were attacked.�� Tatiana crossed her arms against her chest, making Danica smile at her concern. Seeing her smile, Tatiana said, ��You really have no shame, do you? You are laughing at me.��
Immediately, Danica covered her laugh with a fake cough.
Troy lightly slapped the back of Tatiana��s head and said, ��If you are done throwing tantrums, do you have a solution to this problem?��
��I do,�� answered Tatiana and told Gabrielle, ��Can you bring me a cherry red lipstick, please?��
Gabrielle understood what Tatiana had in her mind, so she rushed to bring the lipstick.
Trevor put his hands in his pocket and asked, ��Do you have an idea already?��
Troy scanned Tatiana��s facial expression and as soon as she nodded in agreement, Troy chuckled, already knowing her plan. ��You are the crazy person we needed to find out whether Kenji Abraham is gay or not.��
��What do you have in mind?�� questioned Danica, being clueless like Trevor.
Tatiana smirked, saying, ��You and Gabrielle, have boyfriends but Tatiana Holden doesn��t stick with one man forever, which basically means I can flirt with Kenji in my way. I have enough experience to figure out whether he feels attracted to me or not.�� She further added, ��I am disappointed in you guys because y��all forgot, only an experienced player can figure out whether the referee is bribed or not. New players stay busy looking around the huge playground.��
��But will it be okay if you do it today? Or will Kenji doubt us?�� Gabrielle asked, entering the room. She handed the lipstick to Tatiana.
��Kenji cannot doubt,�� Troy said, ��With Tatiana��s skills, she will play it cool and find the answer to our question.��
��Indeed,�� agreed Danica. Troy wanted to hold her hand once again, but he refrained from doing so. ��Well, y��all can watch her flirt with Kenji while I go and meet Aziel. I am excited to see him after so long.�� With that, she got out of Trevor��s room and ran towards her room.
After entering her room, Danica saw Aziel almost finished unpacking his clothes. ��Aziel,�� she called out.
Aziel��s hazel eyes shined brightly, his voice lingering with excitement as he called out, ��Dani!�� He ran to her and she pulled his younger brother into a tight hug. ��I missed you so much. You know, I had to sleep with Tatiana at night because I was scared, but it turned out that she was scared as well. When I asked her how she would sleep alone if she was scared, she said that she was a big girl, so she had to do it. I don��t want to grow up, Dani. Otherwise, I have to sleep alone at night.��
��I missed you too and your chattering,�� Danica mumbled with a small smile, not even realizing when a tear slid through her eyes. She missed him so much. She couldn��t express it in words.
After their hug, Aziel asked her, ��Dani, will I have to sleep alone when I grow up?��
Pulling his cheeks, she replied, ��Let��s see it once you grow up. For now, you are a kid, so enjoy this moment. Live in the moment, Aziel.�� Hearing Aziel hum in response, she asked him, ��Did you put your clothes and other stuff properly in their respective places?��
��Yes, but I don��t know how to fold this shirt. This is very long,�� he said and showed Danica a dark-green shirt.
��This is not your size. Did you buy it?�� inquired Danica and she started folding the cloth nicely.
��Yes, I bought it but it fell from the box while unpacking. I bought it for Troy,�� he responded, making Danica freeze in her actions.
She raised her eyebrows in confusion. ��Why did you buy this for Troy?��
��This is because he took care of you when I was away with Tatiana. This is a thank you gift for him from me.��
Aziel��s response was unexpected for Danica. She has always been the big sister, but sometimes Aziel would play the role of a big brother as if Danica was his younger baby sister he should take care of. His nature was so much related to their father.
Noticing tears pouring from Danica��s eyes, Aziel wiped the tears with his small palms and kissed her cheek. ��Crying makes you look uglier than before.��
Chuckling through her tears, Danica ruffled his dark brown hair. ��You are crazy.��
In the meantime, while flirting with Kenji, Hernan spotted Tatiana, so she made an excuse and ran to Troy��s room where Gabrielle, Trevor, and Troy were waiting.
Tatiana opened the door of Troy��s room and took deep breaths. Then she told them, ��Kenji is not gay. He is straight. He is into girls.��
��Are you sure he is not bisexual?�� Trevor questioned, arching an eyebrow.
Shaking her head in response, Tatiana looked at Troy who was sitting on the couch, and said, ��I am one hundred percent sure he is into girls. Nothing in between.��
��But Trevor saw Kenji and Hernan kissing,�� Gabrielle pointed out.
Turning to her, Tatiana spoke, ��I know men like him. They would do anything to get what they want, and these kinds of people are dangerous. Kenji Abraham wants two things, one is insulting Troy and ruining his image in front of the world, and the other thing is fame for himself.��
Troy rubbed his hands. Twitching his lips, he said, ��Let��s expose Kenji to Hernan then. I am sure Hernan won��t believe if we say all these without any proof, so let��s gather proof and expose him as soon as possible.��
��How about we brainstorm tonight and make a plan tomorrow?�� Gabrielle suggested.
��Yeah, that can work.�� Trevor looked at the watch to see it was 5 PM. ��I have a photoshoot after an hour so my schedule is packed today. Gab, do I have to drop you at the studio?��
��Yeah, okay.�� Gabrielle mumbled, ��The director will kill me if I��m late today.��
��I came a few hours ago and didn��t even get the chance to have a me-time. I am going to my house then,�� Tatiana announced and got out of the room along with Trevor and Gabrielle.
Troy was alone in his room. He rested his head over the pillow on the couch. He was thinking of how everything was going on. What if they failed to expose Kenji��s truth and Hernan would go against them? Even the thought of it was stressful.
After a few minutes, Troy heard a faint knock on his door. ��Come in,�� he said and the door opened. Troy looked at the door and watched Aziel entering the room. Smiling, Troy spoke up, ��What��s up, young man? Come and sit next to me. Tell me how your tour was with Tatiana.��
��It was awesome.�� With a box in his hand, Aziel sat next to Troy, saying, ��We need to have a man-to-man talk.��
Clapping his hands, Troy told him with full curiosity, ��I was waiting for this talk. Come on, shoot me with whatever you want.�� An eleven-year-old kid wanted to have a man-to-man talk with Troy, it piqued his interest.
Aziel handed the box to Troy and said, ��Don��t open it until I say.��
��Yes, sir,�� Troy obeyed him with a smile.
��I know you are my sister��s boyfriend now. Tatiana explained it to me. So I just want to say that if you hurt my sister, I will���� Troy interrupted Aziel.
��You will kill me?��
Aziel shook his head and said, ��No, the killing will not be painful enough. So, I will delete your WhyNTube channel.��
Troy was taken aback at the smartness of the eleven years old kid. He placed a hand over his chest and said, ��Ouch, that was harsh.��
��This is why you have to keep my sister safe and sound always.�� He added, ��Also, you can open the gift I bought for you.��
��Okay���� Troy opened the box and saw a nice dark-green shirt. ��Wow, it is beautiful. Did you choose it?��
��Yes, I chose it and Tatiana arranged the size. Also, don��t think she paid for it, because I used my savings to buy it especially for you,�� responded Aziel.
��I appreciate all these, but may I know the reason for you giving me this gift?�� he inquired, raising his eyebrows, waiting for Aziel to answer.
��This is a thank you gift because you took care of my sister in my absence.��
��A thank you gift?�� Troy asked to be sure and when Aziel hummed in response, Troy chortled, saying, ��Then you deserve a thank you gift for taking care of Dani for the past three years on behalf of me.��
He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. ��No, why will I take a thank you gift? Taking care of Dani is a responsibility because she is my sister and I love her. I don��t need a thank you for taking care of my family.��
��Then why did you give me a thank you gift?�� Troy questioned, trying to make Aziel understand. ��Dani is my responsibility too and I love her.�� When he saw Aziel had a question which he was about to ask, widening his eyes in horror, Troy instantly cleared his confusion saying, ��No, I don��t love her as a sister. I love her because she is the love of my life. She is my girlfriend. She is my family and so are you. I don��t need a thank you for taking care of my family,�� he repeated Aziel��s words.
Aziel understood what Troy meant. He grinned and said, ��Okay, then. Troy, you can keep this gift as a token of my love for you. You can wear this and miss me when I go back to New Jersey with Dani after the vacation ends.�� He further spoke when a yawn escaped his lips, ��I need a nap because I am so tired. I will talk to you later.�� With that, Aziel got up and ran out of the room.
Troy looked at the shirt when a sudden realization hit him hard.
All of this would come to an end when the summer vacation was over. Danica would return to New Jersey along with Aziel to continue their studies. In the end, if it would all be the same as before, there was no point in having a fresh start.
