CHAPTER 17

Danny carried Robert and laid him down on the couch. Angela rushed out with all the towels she could find in the bathroom and handed them to Danny. He was taking the wet clothes off of him and handed them to Angela.

"Put this in the wash, then get all the blankets you can find." said he. "Plus some dry clothes too!"

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked, her voice quivering. Danny looked up at her and smiled.

"Don't worry." he said, "It's gonna take more than a fever to kill this son of a gun"

With that Angela left, dumped the wet clothes in the washer and headed to Robert's room. She found Yin there, cleaning herself, with Yang beside her. She took some clothes from Robert's closet and pulled the covers off his bed, taking them with her. She went to tita Glo's room next and did the same.

When she went back to the living room, Danny was busy drying Robert's head. Robert was completely naked, a towel covering him in the middle. Angela looked at him and flushed.

"Good, hand me the blankets." said Danny. He was staring at her with a sly grin in his face. Angela flushed even more and handed the clothes and blanket over. She quickly looked away. "Dump this in the washer too." he said, "Then if you like, you can come back and watch me dress him up." he snickered.

"As if!" yelled Angela. She picked up the rest of Robert's clothing and rushed out of the room, face burning. She stayed in the kitchen then, sulking in a corner.

"Stupid Danny!" she said to herself. "Just like his stupid friend!" She sat there for quite some time when Danny's head suddenly appeared behind the kitchen door.

"There you are!" he called, "I was waiting for you to came back, now you won't get to see him drs-" Angela aimed a spoon at him. Danny ducked, he returned in full view, grinning. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." he said, "Anyway, I think it would be best if we call a doctor." he continued, looking more serious. "I don't think his fever is going down."

"A doctor?" she asked, "But it's hard to travel in this weather."

"I know," said the other. "but we can't just leave him like that you know."

"Guess it can't be helped..." said Angela beneath her breath, "I know someone." she told Danny. She went to the phone and dialed a number. "Hello? Ate Ria?" she said after a few rings, "Oh, ate Pia, right, anyway, I'm here next door... yes, I know, but anyway, we need help... no, not me, Robert's sick... a fever, I think... yes... I know that... okay, oh and please bring me some dry clothes... thanks ate Pia..."

Angela placed the receiver down and sighed.

"It's okay, my sisters are coming over." she said.

"Your sisters are doctors?" asked the other.

"Yeah, but not practicing..." replied the other, turning away. "And do wear something decent, please!" she added.

"Oh, sure, guess I'll go borrow some dry clothes from Robert too." he replied snickering. Angela looked at him menacingly. "By the way," he added as he head up the stairs. "you look cute with that loose shirt on, I can see a lot of things from up here..."

Angela threw a fork at him. The other dodged just in time; the fork missed and got stuck on the wall.

"The nerve of that boy!" hissed Angela through gritted teeth.

She went to the living room instead to check on Robert. He lay there on the couch covered in blankets, a piece of wet cloth on his forehead. Angela took the cloth down and touched his forehead. He was very hot; Danny wasn't exaggerating after all. Robert's face was flushed and he was breathing hard. Angela looked at the piece of cloth and decided to wet it some more. She went to the sink and opened the faucet, passing the cloth under it when she realized what it was.

"That jerk Danny!" she yelled, dropping the underwear. She dumped it into the washer together with the rest of Robert's clothes and took a face towel from the bathroom instead. The doorbell suddenly rang. She headed for the front door but Danny beat her to it. He was wearing a white shirt now with his boxers.

"I'll get it." he said with a grin. He went to the door and opened it. "Come in, come in!" he said with a smile.

Pia and Ria entered the house wearing thick jackets. The rain was still pouring outside and a chill wind blew as Danny closed the door.

"Ate Pia, ate Ria, thank you for coming!" said Angela, approaching her sister. Pia looked at her with a frown. Her jacket was purple.

"Angela!" she said, her tone angry, "How could you leave the house in this kind of weather?" she asked.

"Yes, Angela," her twin said in a much calmer voice, "we thought you were safe in your room all along!"

"Yin disappeared, I was looking for her..." Angela explained.

"Then how did you end up here?" asked Pia, "Wearing those clothes, even! Have you no shame?"

"But my clothes got all wet and..."

"Um, excuse me?" Danny butted in, "But we have a patient here in need of medical assistance." he said. Pia looked at him.

"Ah, yes, Robert's sick isn't he?" she took a pack from under her coat and handed it to her sister. Angela took it, her eyes cast down. "Go ahead and change, we'll take care of your friend." With that, Angela left the three and headed to the bathroom. She heard Danny introducing himself as they went to the other room.

"So are you really doctors?" Danny asked the twins.

"Of course," Ria answered him as she placed a thermometer in Robert's armpit "Pia's a brain surgeon, I'm a pediatrician."

"Wow, really." said Danny, "You both look so young!"

"Actually, we're already 27." Pia answered with a smile. Danny felt himself blushing.

"Both of you don't look any older than me..." he said with a silly grin.

"Thank you!" the two said in unison.

"Anyway," said Ria, "Robert here's really burning with a fever, it's a good thing we brought some medicine over..." she opened the small pouch she carried and brought out some capsules.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Danny asked with concern.

"I hope so," answered Pia, looking at the thermometer "Your friend has a temperature of 41 degrees!"

"We would have to watch him for now, make sure the temperature doesn't get any higher." said Ria. She took out some serum and an injection.

"Can I have a glass of water, please," said Pia, "All these commotion have made me quite thirsty!"

"Okay, wait here, I'll go get it." Replied Danny, glad he didn't have to watch the shot.

Danny rose from his seat and hurried to the kitchen. He saw Angela seated in a corner, crying. She had changed her clothes; Robert's were crumpled on her lap.

"What are you doing there?" he asked, taking a glass from the sink. Angela looked up, startled and quickly wiped her eyes.

"N-nothing..." she replied with a sob, "How's Robert doing?"

"Your sisters said he's going to be okay." he assured her, "You don't have to worry you know." he filled the glass with water and headed out of the kitchen. "C'mon," he called to Angela, "we need to keep an eye on him till he wakes up."

The two went back into the living room. Danny handed Pia the glass of water and sat beside his friend.

"So," said Pia with a smile, "how about telling us what happened."

Angela told them everything. From the fight she had with her father that morning, to Robert falling unconscious on the porch.

"So it was my sister's fault all along, huh?" said Ria with a sad frown.

"We're really sorry for causing your friend so much trouble!" both said to Danny.

"Oh, it's really no big deal!" replied the blushing boy, "Knowing Robert, it's no wonder he'd risk his life for something so trivial!" he looked at his friend and smiled. "He's been doing that all the time."

"Saving cats from a storm?" asked Ria with awe.

"Not really," said Danny, "But he's really a good kid, sometimes too good for his own good." he laughed a little and looked back at his companions. Angela sat quietly in a corner. "Anyway," he said grinning, "it sure was lucky that Ange here had 2 lovely sister who are both doctors!"

"Haha, that's too much!" laughed Ria, blushing.

"Actually, we're not practicing!" said Pia with a smile.

"Why not?" Danny asked.

"It was our father who put us up to this profession..." said Ria.

"It truth," said Pia "we much rather be..."

"Actors!" the two said.

"Actors?" asked Danny.

"Yes!" replied Pia, beaming. "The bright lights, the camera aimed at you, and the rush of blood as the curtains begin to rise!"

"And all those lovely clothes that come with it!" added Ria. The two seemed to be lost in their own dream world, their eyes clouding over.

"So, you like dressing up?" asked Danny.

"Yup, it's the fun part of acting!" replied Pia.

"It's really enchanting when you put a costume on and turn into a completely different person!"

"How about modeling, you ever thought of that?" asked Danny again. Angela looked up at him from her sulking.

"Well, it is part of acting you know?" said Pia, "In fact, there are many actors who are also models like Claudia Chauffer, and Cindy Crawford, and Penelope Cruz!"

"And many actors start out with a modeling career!" added Ria.

"Okay then, you three stay right here." said Danny standing up. "I'd like to show you something."

With that, Danny left the room and headed upstairs. The three looked after him.

"He's kinda cute, don't you think so, Pia?" asked Ria smiling.

"Yeah, he's also just a kid." answered her twin.

"I wonder what he's planning..." thought Angela. Danny was back later, carrying a couple of photo albums. He placed it on top of the coffee table and called to the three sisters.

"Look at this." he said, "Angela, come nearer, I think you'll like this."

He opened the albums. It was full of pictures of a little girl wearing different clothes. The designs were really good and fitted the lovely girl nicely, the colors complimenting each other well.

"How cute!" said Ria, "This girl is born to be in front of the camera! Look at those perfect curls, reminds me of Angela when she was younger!"

"Look at those clothes!" said Pia, "Great design! What is it? Burberry? Il Gulfo? Or Simonetta perhaps?"

Angela moved closer to look at the pictures. The designs were really very good. The kid in the picture was very pretty too. "Is that Robert's sister?" she asked Danny.

"Nah," the other replied, "That's Obet wearing his mother's designs."

"What?!" the three said in unison

"Robert's mom is a designer?!" said Pia, amazed.

"Yeah, actually, she's in Itally right now." said Danny,

"In Italy!" the twins said.

"Yeah, we're hoping that she gets to design for this company abroad." said Angela, "They saw her works and invited her to stay for a week."

"Hey, turn the page..." said Danny "See that? That's me!" he pointed at another kid posing with Robert. He was wearing a dress too, a big grin in his face.

"Oh, Danny, you're so cute!" said Ria, Danny was absolutely beaming. "And your hair is long too!"

"Actually, we are both wearing wigs..." he said with a laugh.

Angela looked closely at the pictures. Robert surely looked cute when he was younger. He was thinner then, maybe about 7-8 years of age. His big brown eyes were shining and his full lips red. He looked a lot like the picture he had in his wallet. She turned the pages and saw him grow right before her eyes till he looked more like the Robert she knew today. The last picture showed Robert in his early teens. He wasn't smiling anymore and didn't look much pleased, though he still looked very much like a young lady.

"What about Robert's sister?" she asked. "Isn't she in here too?" Danny stared at her.

"That must be his half sister." he said in a low voice. "He didn't meet her till he was 15 years old... roughly a year ago."

"Oh, he didn't know he had a sister?" said Ria. Pia elbowed her twin.

"Yeah, his father left when he was just a baby..." Danny told them, "They never heard of him since, till last year when he met his sister in school and..." Danny took a deep breath and looked at his best friend.

"...she is someone very special to me..." Angela remembered Robert saying...

"What happened?" she asked Danny. "Ricky and the others, they told me he tried to..."

"They told you that?" Danny asked, cutting her off. He looked distressed. Angela was taken back by the sudden reaction.

"What?" asked Ria, "What did he do?"

"Ria!" said Pia frowning, "Don't be so dense!"

"It's okay..." said Danny. He was looking at his friend again, a sad expression in his face. "I guess it's just right for you to know about it, Ange..." Angela flushed. Danny looked straight at her.

"Her name was Bell. Annabelle Cruz." said he. "We were two years older than her. They met in school, guess it was love at first sight..." Danny looked down, "He didn't know they were siblings. He really wanted to change for her, but in the end it was their father who pulled them apart." There was silence. Angela couldn't believe what she heard.

"He... fell in love with his sister...?" she asked softly.

"Guess he never told you eh?" asked Danny.

"No..." she said shrugging.

"The separation was too much for him..." Danny continued, "He... he tried to kill himself last summer." Ria gasped.

"What did he do?" she asked, teary-eyed.

"He emptied a bottle of sleeping pills. Good thing I decided to sleep over." he gave a deep sigh, "Had to rush him to the hospital, but he was unconscious for nearly 2 weeks."

"What about his sister?" Angela asked. Danny was quiet, his eyes down.

"She... hanged herself when she found out about the news... It was already too late when he recovered..."

Uncomfortable silence. The three looked at the sleeping boy who lay in front of them. Danny took the wet towel from his friend and touched his forehead. He dipped the towel on the bucket beside him and replaced it on his head.

"I think the temperature's going down..." he said with a forced smile.

"Let me see..." said Ria. She touched Robert and placed a thermometer under his arm. She took it out later, the others quietly watching her. "39 degrees..." she said with a smile. "Still high, but I know he's gonna be just fine."

Danny gave a deep breath, he saw Angela do the same.

"See, I told you he'll be okay!" he told Angela, though he was quite relieved himself. "He's doing great now, you know?" he told them, "He's moving on."