FLASHOVER—Chapter3
I wanted to shout out a special thanks to JB. She is the best!!! Thanks babe!
Early the next morning Troy woke up to the sound of his cell phone blaring the Rocky theme song.
"Yeah." He answered the phone still half asleep.
"Hey dude, sorry to wake you up, but Taylor is freaking out!" Chad frantically explained on the phone.
"About what?" Troy slowly sat up and scratched his face and crotch.
"She can't find her cell phone and is panicking. I guess she has some notes and stuff she needs for work saved on it. She said she left it on the counter in the kitchen."
"Well, she doesn't work until four, I thought. I'm sure it will turn up." Troy answered as he looked at the pink metallic phone sitting on his dresser.
"No, dude, she was called to go in at noon now. Some other nurse is sick and they had to do a last minute schedule change."
"Noon huh?" Troy thought that was a better time for him anyway.
"I'm sure it will turn up. But I haven't seen it."
"Alright, well I told her I would give you a call. Hopefully she left it in her locker at work. She's driving me nuts!" Chad whispered in the phone.
Troy could hear Taylor in the background yelling about where the phone could possibly be and was she losing her mind? Troy couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm glad you think this is funny Bolton." Chad said. "O.k. I gotta go; she is starting to throw the couch cushions around the room."
"O.k. good luck." Troy pushed the end button on his phone and laughed again as he picked up Taylor's phone and noticed on the screen 27 missed calls. Troy shook his head, smiled and proceeded to undress for a shower.
Taylor had been searching for her phone all morning with no luck. She told Chad to keep looking while she went to the hospital to start her shift.
"Hey there Gabriella, you're still here?" Taylor asked Gabriella as she entered her father's hospital room.
Gabriella was sitting in a chair next to her father who was sleeping.
"Yeah, He just came back from surgery." Gabriella said as she yawned.
"Well, he's going to be sleeping for quite a while." Taylor told her and pressed some buttons on his monitors.
"You should go get some fresh air." Taylor advised Gabriella.
"I'm o.k." Gabriella poured herself a cup of water and walked over to the window to open the blinds.
"It is a beautiful day isn't it?" she observed to Taylor.
"Yep, would be better if I could find my darn cell phone." Taylor said as she fluffed Mr. Montez's pillows and straightened the bed's blankets.
"You lost your phone?"
"I don't know what happened to it. But it is crazy how much I depend on that little electronic thing. It has so much information that I rely on."
"I'm sure it will turn up." Gabriella tried to sound convincing.
"I swear I have looked everywhere. I just cannot figure out where it is."
"Looking for this?" Troy appeared in the hospital room doorway leaning against the frame dangling the pink phone on his index finger.
Both Gabriella and Taylor turned to acknowledge his smirky voice.
"Troy!!! You found it!" Taylor lunged towards Troy.
Troy smiled and held out his arms for what he thought would be a thank you hug from Taylor. Instead she just grabbed the phone, turned away from him and started to press the keys.
Gabriella laughed at the site of Troy standing in the doorway with his arms outstretched and a blank look on his face.
"Glad I can make you smile again" he said to Gabriella.
Gabriella nodded her head and felt her face blush as she saw Troy's perfect smile aimed at her.
"Troy where did you find my phone?" Taylor asked as she put it in her scrub pant's pocket.
Troy continued to stare at Gabriella as he answered Taylor.
"I found it on the walkway in the front of Chad's building last night when I left." Troy quickly answered Taylor before turning his attention back to Gabriella.
"So how is your Dad?" he asked Gabriella
"He seems better. The surgery went well." Gabriella answered as she took her father's hand in hers.
"He looks a lot better." Troy walked over to the other side of Mr. Montez, but kept his eyes fixed on Gabriella.
He was so enamored with her pure beauty. Her flawless mocha skin, the way her long ebony hair fell across her shoulders, the warmness of her amber eyes, her lips seemed so perfect in shape and fullness.
Troy couldn't take his eyes off of her petite frame for a second.
Gabriella could feel him staring at her, but didn't mind.
"So can you go with me for lunch?" Troy asked Gabriella.
"I mean, it looks like Taylor will take good care of your father for a while."
"I don't know. I feel bad leaving him." Gabriella wanted to go, but was hesitant to leave her father.
"He'll be fine. I promise." Troy looked at Gabriella and reached out his hand.
When Gabriella's eyes met with Troy's she felt this instant feeling of comfort and trust. A feeling she has only felt with her father. It was amazing that this guy, this fireman she just met, could make her feel so comfortable and safe.
"O.k. I guess I am a little hungry." Gabriella took Troy's hand and followed him out into the hall.
"Hey, wait a minute." Taylor exclaimed as she looked up from the I.V. tubes she was adjusting.
"I didn't go through the front door of Chad's building yesterday!" Taylor immediately realized she was bamboozled and that Troy had stolen her phone for some reason.
"Troy!" Taylor yelled down the hall.
"We better walk faster." Troy said to Gabriella as he squeezed her hand and pulled her to speed up their pace.
"What did you do?" Gabriella asked as she looked back at Taylor and laughed.
"I'll explain later." Troy quickly escorted Gabriella into an awaiting elevator and pushed the 'close door' button.
"Troy, you are a sneaky little….." Taylor's last insulting words were cut off as the elevator doors closed.
Troy and Gabriella stood alone in the elevator and laughed.
"I don't know what just happened, but I have a feeling it is funny."
"Yeah it is, although I think eventually I won't be able to out run Taylor."
The elevator reached the main lobby level. Troy and Gabriella proceeded to walk out and noticed they had been holding hands the whole time.
Gabriella pulled her hand apart from Troy's.
"Sorry."
"I don't mind." Troy said as he reached out and took Gabriella's hand back into his.
"So, do you like sushi?" he asked.
"Hmmmm yummy. Of course I do." Gabriella answered as she licked her lips.
"Cool, there's a place right around the corner called The Roll Up. We can walk there if you're up to it."
"Sure."
Troy made small talk as they walked the few blocks to the restaurant.
It was so easy for Troy to talk to Gabriella. He felt as if she had always been in his life. He loved the feeling, but was confused about it since they just met. No other woman has made him feel the feelings he was having towards Gabriella. And he didn't even really know her yet. But that was going to change.
As Troy and Gabriella sat down at a table, Troy noticed a beautiful antique looking ruby and diamond ring on Gabriella's right hand ring finger.
"That's quite a ring you have there."
"Oh thanks. It was my mother's." Gabriella answered and looked down at the menu.
"Was?" Troy asked. "Did she give it to you when you graduated high school or for a birthday or something?"
"No, not exactly." Gabriella seemed to want to change the subject. "So what do you recommend?"
"The tuna roll is a no brainer." Troy answered, but still wanted to know more about the ring. "Is a ruby your birthstone?"
Gabriella looked up at Troy as the waitress walked up to their table.
Troy ordered the tuna roll for both him and Gabriella.
"It was my mother's birthstone. She passed away three months ago. Cancer."
Troy swallowed and took in a deep breath.
"Sorry."
"It's o.k. I just haven't really talked about it with anyone." Gabriella's eyes started to tear.
"And that's why I can't lose my father. He is my life right now. He is my everything."
Troy nodded and just sat there and listened.
"We came here to Cherry Grove just a few weeks ago to scatter my mom's ashes in Topaz Lake because that's what my mom wanted. She loved it there."
"It is beautiful." Troy agreed.
"Yeah she would always talk about how she would go there with her sisters and vacation. It was so peaceful to her."
Gabriella tried to prevent her tears from falling. She looked out the window and tried to compose herself.
"Gabriella, its o.k." Troy comforted her and put his hand over hers on the table.
Gabriella felt she could let the tears fall with Troy and wanted to tell him everything she had never told anyone.
"When we got her, we thought it would be so easy to honor my mother's wish and then turn around and go back to New Mexico. Well, it wasn't or isn't."
"Why not?" Troy hated the thought of Gabriella leaving, but thought to ask anyway.
"My Dad can't seem to part with my mom." Gabriella explained.
"He just won't go to the lake and let her rest in peace. Her ashes are still in a gold urn in his room. He is so sad."
"Wow." Troy didn't know what to say.
"I know, it is nuts. So I told him there was nothing pulling me back to New Mexico, that we could just stay here to be close to mom forever, but we still need to place her where she wished to be for eternity. I figured it was a good solution. My dad is retired and I was able to secure a job fairly quick with the school district, so that is that. Or so I thought." Gabriella started to get more angry than sad.
"Sounds reasonable to me." Troy said as he started to eat his sushi.
"Not with Mr. Montez." Gabriella said. The ease she had with Troy just kept her talking.
"The other day when you came to the house." Gabriella paused.
"Yeah?" Troy stroked the top of her hand to let her know it was o.k. to continue.
"Well, my father and I had had a big argument about the whole thing. I told him he needs to let go and just remember all the fond things about mom and that he still had me." Gabriella's eyes began to water again.
"Damn him!" she yelled.
"Gabs it's not your fault." Troy wanted to take her in his arms and kiss the pain away.
"What did you call me?" Gabriella looked at Troy through her wet eyelashes.
"Ummm Gabs?" Troy answered, not sure if it was the right name to call her.
Gabriella has only had one person call her that. Her father. It never seemed right for anyone else to use that nickname for her. Until now. She liked the way it sounded coming from Troy's perfect mouth.
Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled.
"It's o.k." she smiled to ease the frightened expression on Troy's face.
"It just threw me off guard. The only person who has ever called me that is my.." Gabriella paused. "father."
"I'm sorry, I won't..." Troy started to apologize.
"No." Gabriella put her finger to Troy's lips. "It's o.k. You can call me Gabs too. I like it"
Troy took Gabriella's hand that was at the opening of his mouth and gently kissed her knuckles.
Gabriella's body felt like it was swirling into a haze. The tingles she felt throughout every limb was intense. She struggled to even out her breathing. It was as if the world around her became a foggy black shadow and the only person that came into focus for her was Troy Bolton. She couldn't believe these feelings and reactions she had from just one tender kiss on her hand. It made her crave for more.
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