Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical. It belongs to Disney.
Author's Note: In this fic, Gabriella and her mom never moved from Albuquerque.
Not For A Moment
Gabriella ended the call and tossed her phone to the side. "My mom is on her way, Troy." She stroked a hand tenderly through his hair as concern for him flooded through her.
He didn't speak, only turned toward her and settled his face against the crook of her neck. "I can't believe they're gone," he murmured in a voice rusty from tears.
"I know," she commiserated as she began to cry once again.
Chapter 2
The young couple stayed cuddled together on the couch until a knock sounded on the door. Gabriella disentangled herself from Troy's embrace and shuffled to the front door. After checking the peephole, she unlocked it and opened the door to admit her mom to the Bolton's house.
"Mom," Gabriella gasped tearfully, throwing herself into her mother's embrace. Juliana Montez held her daughter tightly before leading her to the couch. Gabriella let go of her mother and dropped down beside her boyfriend once again, sliding her hand reassuringly into Troy's.
Juliana knelt before the young man who sat slumped on the couch. "How are you doing, Troy?" she murmured softly.
The blue-eyed basketball player shook his head, unable to answer.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Gabriella's mother told him, her voice thick with emotion.
He nodded. "Thank you," he choked out as he hastily brushed tears from his face with his free hand.
"It's okay to cry, Troy," Gabriella murmured as she leaned her head tenderly against his shoulder.
Troy rested his head against hers and closed his eyes, his mind whirling. The idea that his parents were gone and not coming back seemed unreal, like this was all a nightmare that he would soon wake from and escape.
"Is there anyone I can call for you?" Juliana Montez asked softly.
Forcing himself to focus, Troy sucked in a deep breath and lifted his head. "I…uhh….I can't think straight, Ms. Montez," he admitted.
She patted his knee. "What about grandparents or aunts and uncles?"
Troy scrubbed a hand over his tear-stained face. "My grandparents are all gone, but there's my dad's sister and her family and my mom's sister and my cousins."
"Would you like some help calling them?" Juliana offered gently.
Troy nodded, positive he would never be able to get the news about his parents out past the tightness that had formed in his throat over the past hour.
"Find their numbers for me and I'll give them a call. Then maybe you can pack a bag and stay with us tonight."
He nodded once again and found the list of family phone numbers his mother kept on the side of the refrigerator. Gabriella didn't leave his side; she was constantly touching him, either rubbing his back or holding his arm or hand in a comforting way.
While Juliana Montez called his family members, Troy numbly led his girlfriend upstairs to his room. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that his parents would never return to this house again. There would be no more one-on-one basketball with his dad, no more back to school shopping with his mom. Letting go of Gabriella's hand, he shuffled to the closet and opened the door. Instead of reaching for his duffle bag, he leaned his head against the doorframe. He couldn't think straight. All he wanted to do was stretch out on his bed and pretend that none of this had happened. He was only nineteen. His parents weren't supposed to die yet. There were supposed to live to be old and gray.
"Let me help you," Gabriella murmured as she reached past him for the bag. Placing it on his bed, Troy watched as she packed it with jeans, t-shirts, and his favorite Wildcats sweatshirt.
He forced himself to move to his dresser and grab a few pairs of boxer shorts and socks to add to the bag.
Gabriella retreated to the bathroom and returned with his toothbrush, toothpaste, and razor. "Where's your comb?" she asked.
Troy reached for it on his dresser and handed it to her, watching as she tucked it into the duffle. She looked up at him and offered a soft smile.
"Are you ready?" she asked as she reached out to brush his hair back from his face.
He leaned into her touch and closed his eyes. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "Part of me wants to go to sleep on my bed and pretend none of this has happened."
"I don't blame you," she answered, "but Mom and I are going to be beside you every step of the way."
"I know," he told her, tugging her slender frame into his embrace. Her buried his face in her dark hair and inhaled her comforting scent.
Gabriella felt worry pinch her stomach as she wrapped her arms around Troy and held him tightly against her. "We'll get through this, Troy, one minute at a time if we have to."
He didn't answer; instead, his tears soaked through her shirt. She stroked her fingers through his hair and then jumped as she heard her mom call out to them from downstairs. "Come on, Troy; it's time to go," she whispered.
He pulled back and sucked in a shaky breath before shouldering his duffle and allowing his girlfriend to lead him down the stairs.
"I spoke to your family," Juliana Montez told him as the young couple reached the bottom of the stairs. "They will be here as soon as they can, but they said we can go ahead and start making arrangements tomorrow."
Troy's stomach turned sour at the thought of planning his parents' funeral, but he nodded and followed the two women out of the front door.
The drive to the Montez's home was made in silence. Troy and Gabriella sat curled together in the backseat, with Gabriella twining her fingers with his.
Once they pulled into the driveway and entered the house, Troy wanted nothing more than to collapse on the couch.
"You can have our guest room upstairs," Juliana told him with a gentle smile. "I'll go put some fresh sheets on the bed."
"Don't go through any trouble," Troy protested. "I can just sleep on the couch."
Juliana shook her head. "It will only take a minute."
"Come on," Gabriella encouraged. "You go shower and Mom and I will get your room ready."
Troy took his duffle bag into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He still felt numb inside, like none of this was real. Dropping the bag onto the floor, he shut the toilet seat and sank down with a heavy sigh. Resting his elbows on his knees, he buried his face in his hands and sat there for a long time before sobs began to shake his body. Reaching over blindly, he turned the bathtub water on full force so that Gabriella and her mother wouldn't hear his cries.
Troy slid down into the floor and stretched out as he cried, the black and white tile cool against his cheek. His belly began to churn and he hefted himself up to empty the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He vomited a second time before pushing himself to his feet to rinse the foul taste out of his mouth. Stripping out of his clothes, he turned on the shower and stepped in, allowing the hot water to cascade over his body.
Troy had no idea how long he stood in the spray of water, but he began to shiver and realized that the water was cold. With a trembling hand, he turned off the shower and stepped out. He grabbed a white fluffy towel and dried off before slipping into a pair of boxers, navy blue sleep pants, and a plain white t-shirt.
Opening the bathroom door, Troy shuffled down the hall with his bag to the guest room and shut the door behind him. He placed his duffle in the chair in the corner and sank down on the bed. He sat there unmoving for a long time, his thoughts tumbling over one another incessantly before he finally stretched out on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The light was still on, but he made no move to turn it off.
A soft knock sounded on the door. When he didn't answer, Gabriella opened it a crack and peeked inside. "Are you still awake?" she whispered.
"Yeah," Troy grunted, still staring up at the ceiling.
Gabriella slipped inside and padded in bare feet and pajamas over to the bed. "Are you doing okay?" she murmured, crawling onto the bed and stretching out beside Troy as she propped herself up on an elbow.
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "None of this seems real."
"No, it doesn't," Gabriella admitted, tracing a gentle finger over the features of his face.
He turned to look at her. "Will you stay with me tonight?"
Leaning forward, Gabriella pressed her lips tenderly to his. "Of course," she murmured against his mouth before pulling back and turning out the light. She curled into his side and rested her head against his shoulder.
Troy's arms encircled her like he was never going to let go. He needed Gabriella now more than he'd ever needed her before. "I love you," he whispered brokenly. "I need you to know that….just in case...,' he trailed off.
"I'm not going anywhere, Troy," she promised.
"Please don't leave me," he begged as he buried his face in her hair and let his tears soak her dark tresses.
Gabriella held him as he cried, her heart breaking.
To be continued…
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