Chapter 7: Now You Know
Here's chapter 7 I hope you enjoy it!
It has now been three whole weeks since Troy's accident and his condition hasn't changed… neither has Gabriella's. She still spends her days and nights at the hospital sitting by Troy's side hoping he wakes up. The only thing about Gabriella that has changed is that she does leave Troy's side every few days to go home and freshen up. After all she doesn't want to look gross or smell bad when he does wake up. As for everyone else, well they had to get back to their jobs and lives. Lucille reluctantly went back to work a week after the accident. She wanted to keep herself busy so she wouldn't have to think about her son and his fragile condition so she thought that going back to work sooner would be better than going back later. Besides Troy was in good hands at the Hospital. Jack, however, was due back at the high school 5 days after the accident, but truthfully he didn't mind going back to work because he hated hospitals. The gang didn't have the choice to stay at the hospital. They were required to go to school. They went on with their days as usual, but there was always something missing from everyone's lives. Whether it be in the halls of East High, the school gym, the park, anyone's house. There was a certain light missing in everyone's daily life and that light was Troy. He brought happiness and light even when everything seemed to be going wrong.
As well as Lucille, Chad was reluctant to go back to school and even his own house because everything in his life reminded him of Troy. Chad wanted to be strong for everyone else because the truth was that Troy was the only person who had ever seen him cry and he wanted to keep it that way. So to keep the tears back he decided that the best thing to do was to spend his afternoons and nights with Gabriella at the Hospital.
Because Gabriella refused to leave Troy's side she couldn't risk going back to Stanford and not being with Troy when he woke up so she decided to e-mail her professors about her situation and they said that she could do her work while in Albuquerque and e-mail it back to them. So now Gabriella is happily doing her work from Troy's bedside. Gabi's roommate Rebecca even drove down from Stanford to visit for a few days as well as bring Gabriella the textbooks she needed to complete her school work and some other things she needed from her dorm.
Just as Gabi was finishing up the work she had for the day, Chad arrived.
Gabriella looked up at the clock "Right on schedule." She said with a giggle as she got up from the chair she was sitting in to give her friend a hug.
"Ha ha. Very funny Gabs." Chad replied sarcastically as he returned the hug.
"Chad, would you mind staying with him for a few hours? I'm gonna go home to freshen up and grab some things then I'll be back." Gabi asked already knowing the answer.
"Getting the old guitar?" He asked.
"Yeah. I think if I sing to him some more while playing the guitar he'll wake up. He used to love listening to me play and sing." She replied
"Of course I'll stay. It's not like I have anything better to do." Chad said with a little laugh
"Thanks Chad, you're the best." She said as she kissed his cheek and proceeded to leave.
Gabi's Childhood Home
"Mom, I'm home." Gabriella yelled as she walked in the door of the house she grew up in.
"Hi mija. How are you?" Maria Montez asked walking up to hug her daughter.
"I've been better, but I'm alright for right now." Gabi replied returning the hug. "I just stopped by to shower and grab my guitar."
"Alright sweetheart. Let me know if you need anything." Maria said kissing her daughter's forehead.
Gabriella smiled and nodded as she headed up to her room. Upon entering, memories of her and Troy flooded her brain causing her to smile. She shook away the thoughts and proceeded to do what she came here to do.
30 minutes later, Gabriella stepped out of her bathroom in search of a new outfit. She decided on a pair of black running shorts, an East High t-shirt, white flip flops, and Troy's East High Basketball warm-up jacket to finish off the look. On her way out she grabbed her guitar which was sat on her desk chair as well as her purse and proceeded to leave her house.
Back at the Hospital
15 minutes later Gabriella arrived back at the Hospital and went right up to Troy's room.
"Hey Chad I'm back." Gabriella said as she entered the room
"Great, my mom just texted me and unfortunately I have to go home but I'll see you tomorrow after school." Chad said as he made his way out of the room
"Bye, see you tomorrow." Gabriella said as she waved goodbye
She sat down in the chair the Chad had previously occupied and began telling Troy about what happened after she left the Hospital. After about 10 minutes of talking to Troy she decided the sing a song for him. So she took out her guitar and began to play.
(Music)
Four letter word
But I don't have the words to say it
Smile 'til it hurts
Let's not make it complicated
We've got a story
And I'm about to change the ending
You're perfect for me
And more than just a friend
So we can just stop pretending now
Gotta let you know some how
I'll be your shelter
I'll be your storm
I'll make you shiver
I'll keep you warm
Whatever weather
Baby I'm yours
Be your forever, be your fling
Baby I will be your everything
Baby I, Baby I will
Baby I will be your everything
We used to say
That we would always stick together
But who's to say
That we could never last forever
Girl, got a question
Could you see yourself with somebody else?
Cause I'm on a mission
And I don't wanna share
I want you all to myself right now
I just wanna scream it out
I'll be your shelter
I'll be your storm
I'll make you shiver
I'll keep you warm
Whatever weather
Baby I'm yours
Be your forever, be your fling
Baby I will be your everything
Baby I, Baby I will
Baby I will be your everything
No matter what you do, yeah,
Oh, I'll be there for you
And every time you close your eyes
I will be by your side
Cause every time you make me sing
Baby I will be your everything
I'll be your shelter
I'll be your storm
I'll make you shiver
I'll keep you warm
Whatever weather
Baby I'm yours
Be your forever, be your fling
Baby I will be your everything
Baby I, Baby I will
Baby I will be your everything
Baby I, Baby I will
Baby I will be your everything
She finished the song with a smile and she didn't see the slight twitch of Troy's fingers.
"That was a beautiful song." Jack said from his place in the doorway.
"Thanks Jack." Gabriella said with a smile
"Why did you choose that song?" He asked as he pulled up a chair next to Gabriella
"It's Troy's favorite. He always sang it to me." Gabriella said. "Even though he didn't like singing in front of other people he always sang to me. And I love that about him. He has a great voice but his insecurities get in the way."
"I know what you mean, sometimes he sings around the house when he thinks no one is around." Jack said with a smile. "I have to ask, why exactly did you break up?"
"Troy cheated on me and after we broke up I made the decision to go to Stanford because the only thing keeping me in Albuquerque was Troy." Gabriella replied.
"What about when Troy went to apologize. Why didn't you take him back?" Jack asked and Gabriella shrugged. "It's clear you still love him because if you didn't you wouldn't still be here. Heck, you wouldn't have flown here the day of the accident if you didn't still love him."
"Of course I still love him. I never stopped. I was just so mad and hurt by what he did to me I guess I wanted him to feel the same pain that I did. But that only makes me feel worse because I hate seeing him hurt. Troy being in that bed and the fact that I can't do anything about it kills me. He wouldn't even be here if I hadn't been so damn stubborn." Gabriella said
"Now, you don't know that and you need to stop beating yourself up about it. None of this is your fault. Yeah, you said some things that you probably didn't mean but at the time you thought the best thing for your relationship was to take a break and I respect that. And so does Troy. I know he was hurting but that boy would wait forever if it meant that you would come back to him eventually." Jack said reassuring her of all her doubts.
"Thanks so much for this talk Jack, I really needed to hear that." Gabriella said as she hugged him
"Anytime Gabi, I know how hard this is on you and I just want you to know that I'm always here if you need to talk." Jack said returning the hug.
Gabriella smiled at Jack as he got up and walked out of the room. She loved that he was always there for her and always knew just what to say. Just like her father would have if he was there. She looked over at Troy and a song began to form in her head so she picked her guitar back up and started to play.
(Music)
In these eyes
More than words
More than anything that ive spoken
As the skies turned to gray
My heart's just about to crack open
So the story goes
There's something you should know
Before I walk away
And I blow the ending
I never wanna be without you
Oh no, here I go, now you know
What I feel about you
There's no running
I must have been wrong to doubt you
Oh no, there I go, no control
And I'm fallen
So now you know
Feel so light
Craving oxygen
All this truth's left me empty
Will you run?
Can you handle it?
Cause I need you to tell me
Maybe this is bold
But I'm hoping you'll stay for the happy ending
I never wanna be without you
Oh no, here I go, now you know
What I feel about you
There's no running
I must have been wrong to doubt you
Oh no, there I go, no control
And I'm fallen
So now you know
No I won't look back
When I tell you what I think about you
No I won't look back
When I tell you what I think about you
So the story goes, yeah
You already know
So don't be a fool
And go spoil the ending
I never wanna be without you
Oh no, here I go, now you know
What I feel about you
There's no running
I must have been wrong to doubt you
Oh no, there I go, no control
And I'm fallen
So now you know
I never wanna be without you
Oh no, here I go, now you know
What I feel about you
There's no running
I must have been wrong to doubt you
Oh no, there I go, no control
And I'm fallen
So now you know
She finished the song with a few tears falling down her face. She grabbed Troy's hand and put her head on the bed by his hips.
"Please come back to me Troy." She whispered and for the first time in a month his hand closed around hers.
Her head shot up to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"I'm not going anywhere." Troy whispered and coughed with his eyes still closed.
He attempted to open his eyes but the light in the room was too bright and it just made his headache worse so he decided to keep his eyes closed.
"Troy?" Gabriella asked
"Yeah." He whispered a raspy reply. "Water please."
"Here." She said as she held the cup of water to his lips and gently tilted it so he could drink. "I'm going to go and tell everyone that you're awake."
"Wait. Before you go how long was I out and what exactly happened?" Troy whispered with curiosity lacing his voice.
"You've been in a coma for about a month. I'll tell you what exactly happened a little bit later." Gabriella said with a small smile then she kissed his head and walked out of the room to go and find his family.
Once she got out of his room she ran to the waiting room with a smile on her face.
"Hey" she said and everyone looked up and stopped their conversations. "He's awake!"
"Oh my god, really?" Lucille asked
"Yeah I was singing to him and after the second song I was holding his hand and I told him to come back to me and just then his hand grasped mine and he said that he wasn't going anywhere." Gabriella explained through her smile and tears.
"That's great news." Jack exclaimed
Lucille was in tears as her and Jack entered their son's room
Jack and Lucille stayed in Troy's room for about 10 minutes and when they exited they had huge smiles on their faces. In fact everyone did because Troy was finally awake. They walked up to Gabriella and embraced her in a hug.
"Troy is asking for you." Jack said with a smile. Gabriella nodded and Lucille took Gabriella's face in her hands and kissed her on the head then embraced her once more before going over to talk to Maria Montez.
Gabriella quietly entered the room and paused to admire Troy with a smile on her face because her Troy was finally awake. She walked over to the chair that had been hers for nearly a month and sat down immediately taking Troy's hand in her own. This had become routine to her. Troy stirred a little before trying to sit up.
"Hey, hey, hey." Gabriella said as she stood up to help him. "You don't need to strain yourself, you've been in a coma for almost a month there's no need for you to rush into getting up."
"I guess you're right." Troy said with a little laugh as he laid back down. "I have a question for you."
"You know that you can always ask me anything." Gabriella said with a smile
"Not that I don't love this, but what are you doing here? I thought we were done and you never wanted to see or hear from me." Troy asked
"Troy I was mad and hurt by what you did that doesn't mean I stopped loving you. When I heard what happened I couldn't believe it and I flew back here on the next available flight. And when we were finally able to visit you I broke down. I absolutely hated seeing you like that. And in that moment I wished I had never said any of those things that I said. I feel like your accident was all my fault. If I had just taken you back instead of being a bitch then this wouldn't have happened to you. I'm so so so sorry." Gabriella replied and by this time she was looking down at the ground as the tears fell down her face.
"Hey, none of this is your fault. Okay? You are not the one to blame here. We both said some things that we didn't mean and yeah it got a little messy but we can work through everything. I'm fine now, it may have taken me a little while but I will always come back to you. You can't get rid of me that easily." Troy reassured her with a loving smile.
"I know that now. I just… I thought that I lost you before I could tell you that I love you more than words can describe and I can't imagine my life or future without you in it." Gabriella said
"I love you too Gabriella… So much." Troy said and then pulled Gabriella in for a kiss. It was the first kiss they've shared in over a month and Gabriella had no trouble melting into it. They pulled apart after a few seconds and a blush graced Gabriella's cheeks.
"Gabs?" Troy asked
"Yeah. What's up?" she replied
"What exactly happened to me? No one will tell me and I really want to know. All I remember is leaving you, driving home and calling Chad to tell him that I was coming over to talk to him about what happened between us. I can't remember exactly what I was upset about and I can't recall why you and I were fighting. I know it had something to do with our breakup." Troy asked with confusion and hurt laced in his voice.
Gabriella took a deep breath and started to tell Troy what exactly happened the night of the accident.
That was Chapter 7 and I hoped you liked it. I've been trying to find the time to write and I have all of these ideas that I try my best to incorporate so sometimes it takes me a little while to get the chapters just right so just bear with me. The songs in this chapter are "Be Your Everything" by Boys Like Girls and "Now You Know" by Hilary Duff. Thanks so much for reading I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my stories. I am in the midst of writing a new untitled story that will start to be posted once this one is finished. Please review and if you have any questions or ideas about this story or about the other one I am working on please feel free to message me and I will do my best to answer your questions as well as incorporate ideas not only in this story but in future stories as well.
Xoxo - Christina
