All characters belong to Disney. I don't own them! I can only dream to
I hope everyone enjoyed that...It might've been a little boring, but that was mostly to build up the story. These other chapters will be more exciting (I hope you think so). ENJOY!
"Hey, " I searched through any shortened version of her name to let her know that no one was mad at her, after a little thought, I settled on one, "Brie, no one is mad at you. There's no reason to cry."
She shook her head and laughed without humor, "You don't understand. I'm not crying about throwing up or my motion sickness. Someday you'll understand, just not now."
Ch. 2: "I Won't Let Go"
Someday you'll understand, just not now, Gabriella's words repeated in my head constantly. What couldn't I understand? Did it have something to do with her motion sickness or was it something that had happened before she came to Albuquerque? Over the next few days I reran everything that had happened that early July morning we'd picked her up from the airport, searching for clues in her actions or faults that I might've made. The only thing that came to mind was when I offered to put my arm around her in case she stumbled again—her face had paled, and her muscles tightened before she backed away while stammering over her words.
The next weird thing was every night since then she woke up screaming. There was no way to tell what had happened, but there was something off about her. It would be almost impossible to tell what it was unless I asked her; that would seem rude, though. Maybe time would tell?
It had been a month since then—school would be starting in the morning and Gabriella was a ball of nerves. Usually once a day she would lock herself in her room. Once, I decided to stand outside the closed door, pressing my ear to the thin wall separating us. I had heard a sharp intake of breath as she cried and repeated the same phrase in Spanish: ¿Que voy a hacer? That would be the first time I had ever wished that I took a Spanish class; but then again, how was I to know that my senior year my family would be hosting a Mexican exchange student?
Gabriella's POV:
He haunted every second of the day and every night I slept he was in my dreams, as if mocking me because no matter what I did I couldn't escape him. His face would be staring back at mine for a long time after now.
I frowned as I pinched my stomach underneath my favorite pajamas, knowing that once school would be in session for a while there would be no way to hide it. I flopped down on my bed and buried my face into the covers, allowing the tears to fall. I closed my eyes and squeezed out a few warm tears, which, once free of the bonds of my eyes, trailed down my cheek and made small, wet drops on the blankets. His face popped in front of my eyes once again—his perfect brown hair sticking out in all directions and a mocking sneer on his face, hidden by his American charm and bright blue eyes. Part of me relaxed, the part of me that wanted to forgive him: the unrealistic part. The other part of me tensed, making me feel on edge, as if he was standing in front of me.
"¿Que voy a hacer?" I sobbed, "¿Que voy a hacer?"
"Brie, are you alright?" A soft voice asked after a knock on the door.
Crap, I can't believe I forgot the shut the door! Stupid Gabriella! I internally scolded myself.
"Are you okay, Brie?" Troy repeated as he stepped through the threshold.
I sat up and quickly wiped my eyes before he could see the signs that I had been crying, though it was a useless task; he already knew I was crying or he wouldn't have stopped to ask if I was okay. Troy opened his arms, asking without words for me to fall into them. A normal, sane girl wouldn't think twice about it—Troy was the epitome of an amazing man and I'm sure any girl would kill to be me now, but Troy was nearly an identical of him. It would seem like I would be hugging him, the man who only pretended to love me.
As I watched Troy, his features made small changes: his perfectly brushed hair loosened itself, his teeth edged apart until they formed a small gap between his right canine and the first molar, and his skin complexion turned from slightly tan till it was so pale that it was nearly white. It was him!
"N-no! I ca-can't!" I scrambled away from the monster that sat beside me. As fast as I could, I ran out of my room; outside, around the backside of the house; and climbed up the treehouse that Troy had showed me my second day at his house.
"Brie!" Troy called from an open window in my room. Despite me fear, I couldn't help but smile at the nickname he'd given me, "Mom doesn't like it when we go outside with our pajamas on, especially on a school night!"
Not wanting to shout my answer across the yard, I picked up my phone and texted him.
Gabriella: Is the strange man in my room gone?
Troy: What strange man? Besides you, I was the only one in there.
I breathed a sigh of relief, happy that it was just a figment of my imagination, though still upset because Troy was a good man and the thought of Troy reminding me of him broke my heart. There was nothing I'd rather do than get closer to Troy, but if every time he tried comforted me it would remind me of him, I would never be able to get closer. My finger hovered above the buttons. I sat there for a minute to try to urge myself about the incident, but the thought of someone else knowing about it seemed to freeze my finger, making me unable to move it in the rhythm it would take to tell him. I shook my head to rid myself of the thought and bit my lip as I responded.
Gabriella: Nevermind. It's nothing. I'm coming in.
He reached out, "Come on, I need to show you something. You'll love it: I promise!"
He took my hand and proudly held it as he led me to a taxi, showing off to all other boys who passed that I was his. Without a second thought, I climbed into the backseat with him closely behind. Once seated, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I leaned against him, letting out a content sigh. Being with him, I was the luckiest girl in the world. With his free hand, he lifted my chin until my eyes met his mesmerizing blue ones. Adoration sparkled in them; I knew that my face held the same expression.
This man, I had met him three months before. I swore it was love at first sight. We met at a scholastic decathlon match—he was from American High School, which was the school we were facing. Each time we went against each other, he would hold my hand a little longer than needed, causing a warm blush to enter my cheeks and he stared at me throughout the entire meet. After that, we went everywhere together; he lived within twenty miles of my house, so it never took too long for him to get to my house. I had no reason not to trust him.
He closed the space between us and our lips connected in a messy kiss. Happiness exploded through me. In those moments, as his tongue prodded at my teeth for permission to enter my mouth, I could see us getting married—me in an elegant wedding dress that accentuated the curves of my body as well as my chocolate colored eyes. I could see our future: him carrying me bridal style as I clutched my stomach in pain, heavy with our first child. I gratefully opened my mouth and allowed his tongue to slip in between my teeth and he did the same for me. I allowed my tongue to explore his mouth. I ran it along his teeth, savoring the feeling as it dipped when it slipped the gap between his right canine and molar.
What could be better? I thought as I tangled my fingers into his brown hair.
I sighed as his fingers wandered down my breasts, massaging where they attached to my body. He shifted until his body was over mine and I laid on the backseat of the taxi. Dread shot through me when he broke the kiss and mercilessly pinned me down. I felt a tug and tried to kick min off as he pulled my shorts down. I squirmed and screamed at the driver to help and for him to stop, but neither one gave any response, though I caught the driver eyeing my naked butt in the mirror. I screamed and cursed at him, but he only continued his route.
My eyes shot open and I sat up, screaming. Tears streamed down my face and I unsuccessfully heaved for breath. The light flashed on, momentarily blinding me. Immediately, Troy was by my side. He pulled me into his arms. Unable to resist, frozen from fear, I let my small, shaking frame fall into his.
"Brie, what's going on?" He murmured into my hair.
I tried to speak, longing to tell him the whole story, but no words escaped my beaten body. Desperate for oxygen, I took in a huge breath, only to get barely anything.
"Breathe, Brie, breathe!" Troy rubbed my back, urging for my body to take a breath, "Everything's okay! It was just a dream!'
It wasn't just a dream! I wanted to cry, it was real!
Troy's POV:
Something had to be wrong: people don't just wake up in the middle of the night screaming and crying. That doesn't happen on a normal basis, but with Gabriella it was nearly every night. Usually when she wakes up like this mom goes to her—Gabriella seemed to respond best when mom helped her—but this time, mom was covering a shift at the hospital while dad was leaving extra early for work: something about a huge meeting that he had to attend.
I was suddenly awoken by a shrill, bloodcurdling scream. I groaned and rolled over to my alarm clock. It read 4:35 am. I leaped to my feet when the scream came again. Instantly awake, I sprinted into Gabriella's room to the girl sitting upright in her bed, overtaken by fear, heaving for breath and sobbing—The way mom finds her nearly every night.
"Brie?" I asked, "Are you alright?"
When there was no response, I pulled her into my arms and let her cry on my bare chest. I rubbed her back and tried to urge the hypoventilating girl to breathe. She didn't respond, my only answer was her gasping for air. Unsure of what else to do, I scooped Gabriella up bridal style and brought her into while whispering soothing things to her. I gently laid her on my bed and laid down next to her, curling her up until her face was a few inches away from my chest. Keeping her close to me, I began to quietly sing to her.
" 'It's like a storm
That cuts a path
It breaks your will
It feels like that
You think you're lost
But you're not lost
On your own
You're not alone
I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
If you can't cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I won't let go' "
Though she still sobbed, I felt her take a huge breath as she finally began to breathe again.; I smiled to myself and pulled her a little closer against me. Keeping the tone of my voice low and comforting, I continued.
" 'It hurts my heart
To see you cry
I know it's dark
This part of life
Oh it finds us all
And we're to small
To stop the rain
Oh but when it rains
I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
If you can't cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I won't let you fall
Don't be afraid to fall
I'm right here to catch you
I won't let you down
It won't get you down
You're going to make it
Yeah I know you can make it' "
Gabriella wrapped her slim arms around me and gave a small sorrowful sigh, no longer crying. She buried her head farther into my chest and curled up, finally accepting contact with me. Between breaths, I kissed the top of the fragile girl's head.
" 'Because I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
And you can't cope
And I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I won't let go
Oh I'm going to hold you
And I won't let go
Won't let you go
No I won't' "
Even and gentle breathing brought me out of the spell I seemed to have fallen into while I sang to her. Gabriella murmured something inaudible to me. I snuggled against her and sighed in happiness.
"Are you okay now?" I asked.
"Mmhm."
I started to get up but was stopped when Gabriella began begging me not to leave her alone. When she spoke, I could her the tears re-forming in her voice.
"Please don't take me back! I don't want to be alone right now!" She whispered.
Settling back beside her, I pulled the covers over us and waited until Gabriella fell back asleep before closing my eyes, which burned from the lack of sleep. I was lulled back to sleep by the steadiness of the most beautiful girl's heartbeat.
I hope everyone liked this! By the way(so no one sues me)that song was "I Won't Let Go" by Rascal Flatts and I don't own it.
