Toto and the Boys I: Jackie

Chapter 5

“I don’t think this is a good plan, Jackie,” Dannie uttered silently. “It’s not right.”

“Come on, it’s not like he’s going to find out, right? It’s the perfect plan. If Brian thinks I am in a relationship with the guy, he would back away. I am so sure of that.”

“How can you be so sure? For all we know, it could make matters worse,” George pointed out.

Jackie let out a dramatic sigh. “Trust me, it will work. Brian doesn’t even breathe inside the elevator when the man is around!”

“But--”

She stopped Dannie’s words by saying, “What? I’m just going to wait here until things get physical? Because that would be very tragic. My ex-boyfriend,”--Yes, of course she already told her friends about her dramatic breakup with Kevin--“wouldn’t even lift a finger. And the police won’t do anything, remember? They will wait until I walk in battered and bleeding. Or maybe that won’t happen because I’ll be dead since my freaking stalker suddenly decides to commit a crime of passion.”

Her friends seemed to have thought she was right because they just sat there looking at her.

“This is the only way I know. I am planning to file for a barangay protection order just to keep him away from our apartment. But that is only good for fifteen days. And during that time, I will try my best to file for a protection order at court. But, I wouldn’t have to do that if my plan works. And I hope it works because to file for a restraining or protection order will take a lot of time and I’ll be dead by the time someone signs the papers. This plan is a win-win situation.”

“And how do you get away from this? You can’t keep on pretending a fake affair forever,” George said as she lifted her bottle of beer.

“I will stop when the right guy comes along, someone who will be willing to protect me. And if that doesn’t happen, let’s just pray that Brian has already given up. And if he tries to continue on with his antics, then, let’s just hope the court order is approved. Or maybe I can kill him before he gets to me first.”

She appeared to have thought this through and her friend knew that. Dannie was a saint, but when it came to her friends’ safety, she was willing to do anything. George, Jackie knew, was already thinking this was the only solution. Among the two, George was the one who understood about ‘desperate measures’ better.

“So, how do you plan to do it?” George asked and Jackie almost jumped to her feet in success. She knew her friends would back her up no matter what.

“Well, first thing I have to do is to make sure that his Facebook account will appear legit.”

“How do you do it?”

“I need to take a lot of pictures of him. I tried searching for some from the FB account of the people in the office, but I didn’t get a good one. So I thought of a brilliant plan,” she finished with pride.

“What?” her friends asked in unison.

“I called Troy.”

“Troy?” George asked.

“Troy Brady!”

George rolled her eyes and Dannie groaned. “That guy is trouble, Jackie,” Dannie said.

  *****

Well, well, well, if it’s not Troy Brady! I haven’t seen this guy in months! And I would have been glad if I never saw him again. He was the typical cocky, handsome bastard who played around with girls. Good thing the boys were the type of girls who would never fall for this guy.