It was surprisingly easy pretending I was okay. Of course I felt different after that night, nothing was the same anymore. I was glad May finished quickly, Troy was starting to avoid me. I couldn't tell anybody what happened on prom night, I was too broken to relive it just yet. In July, I knew something wasn't right. I was dizzy all the time and I hadn't gotten my period. I never thought of putting two and two together until one day it hit me like a ton of bricks. I rushed out of the house that morning. I told mom I had to get stuff for my dorm, which was partially true. I ran down to the drug store and bought a test. I tried to clear my head by shopping, but nothing was working. The thought of being pregnant burned in the back of my mind.

I rushed home and ran upstairs and took the back into my bathroom. This is it. I pulled out the test and read the directions. I peed on the stick and placed it on the counter. I paced around the room for the remaining time. I walked in after about 5 minutes, which seemed like an hour and read the result.

"Mom come here!" I yelled from my room. Dad was at work, Tony was outside and Isabel was at Daniella's house.

She came in my room quickly. "What's wrong?" She stood in the door way.

I got tears in my eyes. "I don't know how I was going to tell you but I have to."

She looked at me worriedly. "Are you okay? Tell me"

I looked up at her. "I'm pregnant…" I said, just the look on her face made me burst out in tears. "I'm so sorry. It was a one time thing, my first time and I can't keep it but I cant kill it mom, I don't know what to do." I buried my face in my hands sobbing.

"Oh honey…" She sat next to me, rubbing her back. "its going to be okay…"

She kept my secret for a couple of months when I left New Mexico and went to school in Oregon where I got accepted. It was the beginning of November now. I was sitting in my dorm working on homework. My phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey Honey, how are you?" It was Mom, she has been worried sick about me since I left for school.

"I'm okay, I guess." I sighed, smoothing my hand over my stomach. "I'm fat mommy." I said, on the verge of tears.

"Oh honey, You should come home for Thanksgiving." She said. "We can tell your dad together and figure out what we are going to do."

I felt the tears streaming down my cheeks. "I can't tell him" I said, sobbing into the phone. "He will hate me!"

"He won't hate you baby." She said quietly. "He loves you so much."

"I can't come home." I said after composing myself. "I need to tell him now, before he actually hates me… Can you come down for a couple days?" I asked quietly.

"We'll see baby," She said. I heard a door shut in the background. "Your dad just got home, do you want to talk to him?"

"Yeah." I mumbled. I finally told my dad, he wasn't angry, he was just hurt I hadn't told me sooner. He said he felt helpless, being so far away from me. I felt even more guilty.

I looked up adoption agencies that were local, I got in contact with one. Mom came down a couple weeks later and she came with me to meet some families.

"The Simmons family" Nancy, the lady from the adoption agency announced. "They lived locally in Oregon." I nodded and we walked into the office. First, I noticed Mrs. Simmons long red hair, she was very beautiful, like the little mermaid.

"Hi, I am Sierra Simmons" She smiled and stood up, giving me a light, slightly awkward hug. "This is my husband Tyler."

"I am Gabriella." I said, "This is my mom, Maria." We sat down and started talking. "I am a freshman at Oregon state, I just moved here from New Mexico, I am almost 6 months pregnant."

"Ty and I have been trying since we have got married," Sierra started to tear up. "I got diagnosed with cervical cancer a couple months after we got married. They had to take most of my cervix out."

"I'm so sorry" I said quietly, starting to tear up myself. I was on hormone overload.

"It's alright sweetheart, everything happens for a reason." She gave me a slight smile. "We are happy with an open adoption, unless you would like otherwise. You can come over anytime you'd like, holidays, birthdays, whenever."

After our little meeting was over we met with a couple of other families then we went out to dinner, Mom and I. After discussing it, we decided to go with the Simmons' family. I felt connected to them immediately. They were very helpful and accepting of my situation. I spent some time with them in the months before the baby was born. We decided we wouldn't find out what the babies gender was.

As the holiday season progressed I missed my house, my family and in the back of my head I missed Troy the most. I thought about him all the time, I wondered if he ever thought about me, or tried to call me, like I did everyday. I didn't have the heart to press the talk button though.

My due date was February 10. They doctor said I could come sooner or later, depending on the baby. I went into labor on February 1st. I called my mom and she flew up immediately. I called Sierra and Tyler and they gave me a ride to the hospital. They were so excited to meet their son or daughter. I had mixed feelings about it. I gave birth to a healthy baby boy 12 hours later. They named him Elijah Davis Simmons. He was beautiful.

I kept in touch with them, I came over sometimes. After a few months I started to separate myself from the Simmons' and my baby boy. Something inside me changed and I couldn't handle it anymore. Every time I saw Eli I thought of Troy. I dived back into school work. I didn't come home for holidays, I only went out of my room for school. I didn't see my family in years. My parents called all the time and I talked like everything was fine, but it wasn't .

I was taking anti depressants for the last couple of years, but they started to not work at all for me. I turned to pain killers. I walked into my room, waiting for Lacey, my study buddy. My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten a whole meal in a couple weeks. I just didn't feel like anything. I was a shit mom and a shit bestfriend. I was worthless. Everything went black.

"Come on Gabi, wake up" I heard a familiar voice.

"Daddy?" I asked. I opened my eyes.

He gave me a half hearted smiled. "How are you feeling baby girl?"

"Like shit." I said quietly. "What happened? Can I have water?"

He handed me over a cup and watched me as I took a sip. "You scared your mom and I to death." He said. "I get a call from a girl named Lacey on your phone. She said she found you passed out on the floor."

"I'm sorry Daddy" He smoothed down my hair. "I couldn't take it anymore. I cant do it. I cant."

"Sh…" He whispered. "You just need to rest baby."

They were putting me in a rehab center and I was not happy about it.. I got off the plane and sighed. I had very specific instructions. I had to find my driver accompanied by my counselor and we would be off to the little ranch house in northern California. I saw a man who had a board with my name on it, standing next to a short white haired lady. I grabbed my luggage before walking over to them.

"Gabriella?" The white hair lady said as I approached them.

"That's me," I said, with a blank expression on my face.

"Good, lets get going before dark." She said grabbing one of my bags wheeling it out to a mini van. I rubbed my forehead. I really didn't want to be here. I only did it for my dad. An hour later we pulled up to a big ranch house labeled Del Valle Ranch. I got up and got showed to my room which I was sharing with a young girl around 16.

"I'm Kiana" She said, quietly. "What are you in for?"

"Depression and addiction to pain killers." I sat down on the empty bed. "I'm Gabriella, by the way."

"I'm anorexic." She said. "That's what the doctors say at least. I was really fat. Fatter than I am now." She sighed. "It's a long story."

"you're not fat Kiana" I told her. "I got pregnant, by my best friend since I was born. On prom night." I said, biting my lip. "He said he wanted to be with me, then the next day he said the opposite. I Haven't talked to him in 6 years."

"That is so fucked up." She said bluntly causing me to giggle lightly.

"It is isn't it." I said. "I thought something was wrong with me for the longest time."

"What happened to the baby?" she asked.

"He got adopted by a wonderful family. He looks just like Troy, Identical." I sighed.

"There is nothing wrong with you Gabriella, you just have a broken heart that you haven't dealt with." She said. I shrugged.

I got some therapy and I started to feel better about everything in the couple of months that I was there. I finished school and I got my degree finally.

I moved down to LA and I finally went back home after 6 years, for Christmas. I saw a picture of Elijah when he was a baby on the mantle. They told my sister and brother it was a distant cousin. I felt bad they had no idea what happened for the past couple years, but I will tell them one day.

I hadn't spoken to Troy in six years. He knew nothing about the pregnancy or Elijah. He was off on the east coast last I heard. I thought about him a lot every time I was around Elijah. I wondered if he missed me like I missed him all the time. I wondered what his expression would be when I actually tell him. When I went back home I connected with Sharpay who was still local. She came over a couple days out of the month that I was there.

I went back home for a while then came back to New Mexico My little brother was graduating high school and my sister was a nightmare.

"Tony!" I said and he opened the door.

"Hey Gabi, I missed you so much. Where in the world have you been?" He asked me, squeezing me tightly.

"I just wanted to finish school, ya know?" He looked confused. "Are you excited to be graduating?"

"Yeah! I got into-" Tony said, getting interupted.

"Oh. look who's home." Isabel said coldly. "You're getting fat." She snorted.

I swear I was about to smack the shit out of her. "Grow up Isabel"

"Whatever." She said, rolling her eyes. "We better go buy more food, Gabi is going to eat it all."

I bit my lip. She didn't know. I felt a lump rise. I walked upstairs back to my old room.

"Stop being a bitch Isabel, God." I heard Tony say. "She just came home after like 7 years, I don't want you to make her leave again."

I left a couple days early right after Tony's graduation. I was happy to head back to LA away from my little bitchy sister. Antonio got into a university somewhere near LA and I was happy I was going to see him a lot.

I drove back home later that summer. Daniella, My sisters best friend died at the age of 15. She was in a car wreck. It was so crazy to me cause I babysat them all the time and she was so young. I flew back to support my little sister who didn't want any part of anything. She had broken down just like I had. My mom got transferred to LA so they moved down there at the end of that summer.

I was working full time and I was starting to feel happy again after all these years. After Daniella died my sister changed. She wasn't the brat she was months before. I started going to my parents more frequently. I could still sense the hostility my sister had for me. I went up to Oregon for a week to see Elijah. He knew who I was. He was 8 years old and he looked just like Troy.