Author's Note: So I was thinking about revealing where Troy is and what he's doing in this chapter but decided to put it off one more chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Continuing through her day Gabriella Montez had successfully slipped on ice outside her office building, dropped her phone causing a crack in the screen, and ended up at the mall, by herself, to shop for Christmas presents for her mother and fiancé's parents. Gabriella hated going to the mall, especially while she was feeling depressed during the Christmas season. Everyone was seemingly with someone else and in a cheery mood while walking around with bags in one hand and a hot cocoa in the other.
Walking around the mall she saw things she could buy for her family, but nothing special. Finally she decided on getting a purse for her mother and picking out some trinkets from William Sonoma for Troy's parents. Thinking about her relatives, she realized that she would have to make the long trip from Denver to Albuquerque very soon. Hopefully she could arrive at her mother's home, stay for two or three days, and leave again. Although, that was doubtful knowing her mother's siblings and her cousins would be in town this year for the holidays. Her family would hug her, ogle once more at her engagement ring again, and ask when they'd get to see the lucky man. She would honestly reply, "I don't know, soon hopefully," although nothing was guaranteed. Her dislike for the Christmas season wasn't solely based on missing her fiancé, there was also one other distinct Christmas that contributed to her dislike.
It was almost 11 o'clock at night on December 24 and nine year old Gabriella Montez was playing with her best friend Troy Bolton and his older brother Matt in the basement of her house. Once their parents had meet on their first play date a few years ago, the two families quickly became good friends. Her father was working late this night and her mother had invited the Boltons over for dinner and a movie. The parents had began talking and quickly forgot about the movie they had rented to watch that night. Troy, Matt, and Gabriella were asked to go play downstairs.
About an hour earlier the phone had rang and her mother left the house looking worried. The Boltons, recognizing the look of panic in her face, said they would stay and watch Gabriella for however long Maria needed. After that she rushed out the door and headed toward the police station. Little did Gabriella know, her life was about to change.
Gabriella, Troy and Matt fell asleep on the couch shortly after Lucille Bolton, Troy's mother, put in the movie Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Sometime well after midnight Jack Bolton, Troy's father, came downstairs and picked up Gabriella and carried her to her bedroom and woke up Troy and Matt to take them home.
The next morning Gabriella woke up and headed downstairs to see her mother sitting at the kitchen counter staring blankly at the pancakes she had made while she wasn't able to sleep. Her husband had done something stupid and Maria didn't know how to break the news to little Gabriella. How would she understand? She was only nine.
"Mommy," Gabriella said, "You look sad, what's the matter? Where's Daddy?"
Not knowing what to say and how to break the news Maria said "Come here sweetie. Daddy won't be coming home for a while."
Gabriella thought that was strange. Her Daddy told her yesterday that he would be home to watch her open her Christmas presents. She sat on her mother's lap and asked "Why?"
"Honey, sometimes people make bad decisions. Those bad decisions can get people in trouble. Your father, he made a bad decision. He, he hit someone with his car last night after he went out with some people from work."
"Is Daddy okay?" Gabriella asked, not quite understanding the severity of the situation. She wouldn't fully understand what happened for a few years.
"He's fine. Some other people though, aren't," Maria said, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her husband was locked up in jail after causing a car accident while he was drunk.
"Where is he then?" Gabriella asked, still not understanding that if her father was okay, why he wasn't home.
"Well, honey, he's um, he's in jail," Maria finally stuttered out not believing that she had just told her daughter that her husband was in jail on Christmas.
Gabriella looked at her mom, eyes wide, in shock that her father was in jail. "Is he going to come home soon?"
Maria gulped, tears coming to her eyes, "No sweetie, I don't think he is."
It took her a few years to come to the understanding of what happened. Her father had later been sentenced to jail time and community service. Eduardo Montez had later admitted to having an affair. Her mother had decided that the only option for their marriage was to divorce. There was no way Gabriella would forgive her father and she had only seen him a handful of times since he was released from jail.
The years after the incident the Bolton family had consistently spent either Christmas Eve or Christmas day with the Montez's. Troy's father, Jack, had become particularly protective of Gabriella. No one would ever understand the relationship she shared with Jack Bolton. Jack had always been supportive of Gabriella and helped her throughout particularly rough moments in her life by offering fatherly advice in times of need.
Her phone rang in her purse while she was in the midst of putting her bags in the trunk of her car. Looking at the caller ID she decided to answer the phone seeing the name 'Coach' show up on the screen.
"Hello?" She said into the phone.
"Gabs! How are you? Lucille and I wanted to check up on you." She heard him shout in the phone. She rolled her eyes, knowing that no matter how many times she told him there was no need to shout while talking to someone on the phone, he would never change.
"I'm hanging in there. How are you coach?" She replied.
"Well, I'm great. Matt, Jane, and little Sophie arrived today and Mason and Liam get out of school this week." A year after her father had been involved in his accident, Lucille and Jack announced that they were expecting a third child, Mason, and two years later along came Liam. Matt, who was two years older than Troy, had gotten married shortly before Troy left and a few months ago had a baby girl, Sophie. "Sorry we haven't called in a while, we have been busy with basketball games."
"It's okay coach, I understand that you need to train your future basketball superstars." Gabriella smiled hearing about the family she missed.
"We got a letter from Troy this weekend," Jack continued, "He really wants you to come over for Christmas. He even asked Lucille to buy you a present."
"Really?" She asked even more intrigued in the conversation now. She hadn't received a letter from Troy in about two weeks and understood he didn't have much time to write letters to her and his family.
"Yes, I was quite surprised. Usually he just writes you." Was his response.
"What did he write?" Gabriella asked. She always was excited to receive letters from him and was interested as to why he wrote his parents instead.
"He wrote something to each person saying how much he missed them and wishing them a Merry Christmas. He said he sent the letter to us because everyone would be here to read it. He is worried about you. He feels bad that you are alone so close to the holidays. He really wants to be with you."
"I know. I miss him," she said quietly.
"We all do. I couldn't imagine going through Christmas without Lucille, much less two in a row. Are you coming to Albuquerque soon? We want to see you. Maria said that she didn't know when you were coming home." Jack questioned her, honestly concerned about her wellbeing.
"I have to work on the twenty-second. I'll drive down on the twenty-third." She said. Not knowing whether she was excited to see her much loved almost second family or not. It was always bittersweet seeing them. She always had so much fun seeing the Boltons but being reminded of all the time she spent in that house in her teenage years and seeing the similar physical features each member of Troy's family had made her heart want to break a little bit more each time she saw them.
"Take care of yourself Gabriella. Seriously, we all love you and can't wait to see you." Jack said and she could feel her throat tightening and her eyes glossing over. It had been so long without him and each day was getting longer and longer. She had no idea as to when he was going to be coming home. She really knew nothing about him at the moment. The distance was tough. The lack of electricity and phone service made things tougher. Besides the weekly letters and sporadic phone calls she didn't have any clue as to what he was doing or where he was or if he was safe. The thought that she may never see him again scared the hell out of her. God, she missed him. Hopefully he would be home in four months. Maybe even sooner.
"I love you all too Coach. Tell everyone that. I'll see you soon." Gabriella said hoping to end the conversation before the pulled into the parking lot and lost the phone signal.
"See you soon Gabriella. Call us when you leave." Jack hung up the phone before heading to his wife and kissing her. They were just as in love as they were when they first got together in college. He told her he loved her after thinking that his son may never get the chance to tell Gabriella he loved her again. It was going to be another tough Christmas without his son.