Chapter 9
Troy could hardly believe it, but they had officially left California that morning, and he was now finally in Albuquerque. He still couldn't quite believe he was there and that he was no longer in California. He couldn't believe that he had left Chloe. It seemed strange he had left her and he knew that he would really miss her. He had promised to visit her sometime in California, and she promised she would visit him sometime Albuquerque. He then let out a long sigh. It was so strange, he had lived in Albuquerque all his life except for the past year, but it felt like this was his first time being there, ever.
He took a deep breath. Gabriella had left her car in the Evans driveway a few days ago and they took off together from there. They were now alone in her car, just the two of them. She was headed towards his home... the place he had always lived except for the past year. He was about to meet his parents... his family that he couldn't remember. It was all so crazy and rather overwhelming to him. He took another deep breath. He gazed nervously over at Gabriella.
"Nervous?" she asked him. She could tell he had that nervous look in his eye, it was the same look in his eye he had before meeting all of his friends earlier.
He nodded, "It's that obvious, huh?" he asked her.
She nodded, "Very much so. You have that same look in your eye that you had yesterday before you met everyone," she explained, "Troy, Relax! Everything went okay yesterday, didn't it? Troy, they are your parents, and they love you! They love you more than life itself. Oh my God Troy, they are going to be so beyond excited to see you have been found and that you are alive! You have no idea how excited they are going to be! They won't care that you don't remember your life before you hit your head, they will just be so happy to have you back, finally!"
He just nodded again, "I know, I know. I need to relax. I'm trying to, but I won't deny it's difficult," He paused, "I gotta say though, that it really helps having you here. I don't think I would be able to do it without you standing by me and I thank you for that."
She smiled happily at him, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, Troy. I've wanted to be by your side all year, and I haven't been able to. Finally, I am by your side, and I don't want to leave you. I want to always be there, if possible."
He smiled at her, "Well I for one am so happy that you are finally by my side."
She smiled as she had suddenly parked the car, "We're here." she exclaimed, as she pointed at the house in front of them, "This is it, Troy." She curiously watched him as he looked up at it.
He stared ahead of him and froze suddenly. He could feel his heart pounding wildly as he looked at the place that was supposed to be his home. His heart sank as he realized he couldn't remember any of it so far. He looked around it wildly. It was truly maddening to think he lived here almost his whole life, and yet he couldn't remember any of it. He swallowed. He couldn't help but feel extremely nervous as he looked around. His eyes widened as he noticed the basketball court in the yard.
"That is in my yard?" he pointed at it.
Gabriella laughed, "Yeah. You used to play on it all the time. You loved it so much, Troy. You and I had a lot of good times on that actually."
"We did?" he asked her. His eyes fell into hers.
"Yeah," She smiled, her eyes were twinkling a little, "We did."
She took a deep breath, "So are you ready? Or do you want to wait a few moments?" She eyed him.
He honestly wasn't sure if he was ready, but he took a deep breath. It was now or never, "I'm ready."
She slowly stepped out of the car, and he did the same. He felt relieved as she felt him reach for her hand, and she held onto it. She squeezed his hand rather tightly. He breathed deeply as she did that and then he smiled at her. She smiled back.
"It's going to be okay," she told him, alluringly, "I promise you that."
He nodded, "I strongly believe you." he told her. She smiled after he told her that.
"Wow," he breathed, he looked around wildly, "So this is my yard. This is my home. This is where I lived all my life except for this past year. It's hard to believe that I'm really here. I honestly can't believe it." he told her. He sighed suddenly, "I just wish I could remember it all."
"I still can't believe you are here," She smiled as she continued to hold his hand, "Troy... you will remember someday... it just takes time..." she took a breath, "God, I'm so glad you are here. Finding you really has been a dream come true, Troy. I really can't believe it still! Thank God we found each other. Thank God!"
He smiled at her, "Thank God," he whispered, "I'm so glad you did find me! So glad. I'm so glad we found each other! Thank God!" he repeated.
"Well, shall we go inside?" She asked. He nodded, and he nervously held onto her hand as they wandered up to the house he did not remember. He felt that trust he felt with her yesterday, as he did hold onto her hand. He knew as long as she was there, that he could get through this. Without her, he wasn't sure if he could. He took another long deep breath before they arrived at the front door. He wouldn't deny he was beyond nervous, but Gabriella being here really, really helped.
Gabriella gazed around, "I don't think it looks like your parents are even here," She stated, before she tried to open the door. To her surprise, it opened easily. They both nervously stepped in.
"Gabriella, honey, is that you? I thought you were still in Cali- " She could hear Troy's mother Lucille Bolton step in the room- however the minute she saw who was with Gabriella, she froze completely in disbelief. She could absolutely not believe it, as there in front of her was the son that had been missing all year. There in front of her was the son she feared to be dead all year. In her heart, she always believed he was alive, but she really couldn't believe he was now standing before her, finally!
"TROY?!" She gasped in disbelief. She stared at her son in absolute shock and watched as he turned to face her. Her eyes met his and she stared into them for a long time. She looked at Gabriella for a quick second in shock.
Gabriella slowly nodded her head, "It's him, Lucille!" her face broke into a grin, "It's really him! I found him! He's alive, can you believe it?"
Lucille let out a gasp, before she went racing towards her son that she wasn't sure was dead or alive for the past year. Finally, her arms were wrapped around him, and she was finally touching her son, "It really is you! I can't believe it! How?! Oh my God, I can't believe that you found him! I can't believe that you're here! Finally!" She could feel tears fall down her eyes, for she was so happy her son was finally there with her. She had dreamed of this moment for over a year and she was so happy it was happening.
At that moment, Gabriella could hear Jack enter the room. She looked up at him. His eyes went wide with disbelief as he spotted Lucille hugging their son that had been missing all year. He looked entirely shocked to see Troy there. He couldn't believe that he was.
"Troy?!" he gasped in pure disbelief. He froze as Lucille looked up at him.
She nodded at him, "It's him, Jack! Come over here, it's really him! Oh my God, Gabriella found him, can you believe it? He's really here, jack!" she cried.
At that, Jack raced over to them, his heart was pounding in his chest the entire time, and before he knew it he had his arms around Troy, and Lucille was still holding onto him also. He cried as he finally had his arms around him, as he couldn't believe his son was there. He was really, truly there. It really was a dream come true.
"It's really you!" Jack gasped, he cried as he held onto him. He couldn't believe he was holding onto his son. He couldn't help but feel tears of happiness fall out of his eyes, "Oh my God, you're really here! How? Where did you find him? Oh my God!" He pulled away for a moment to check out his son, to make sure he was okay. He felt relieved to see that his son didn't look hurt anywhere, at least he didn't think he was. He cried again as he reached over to hug his son once more. He held onto him and didn't want to let him go, ever. He was so happy he was really, truly there.
After a few moments he pulled away from him though, Lucille was still holding onto him. As happy as he was to be able to hold Troy again, he let Lucille hold onto him a little bit. He gazed over at Gabriella, "How?! Where?!" he cried.
Troy eyed Gabriella at that moment, and she nodded at him. She turned to gaze at Jack and Lucille. She took a deep breath, "Everyone, I know this is so exciting and we are all so excited to have Troy back, could I please have your attention for a moment?" She asked, she took a deep breath. Lucille then stopped everything she was doing, and let go of Troy for a moment. Jack looked at his son for a long time, then turned to look at Gabriella.
She took a deep breath, before she began to explain everything to them, "I know this is incredible, but I found Troy when we were in California. I really couldn't believe that I found him when I did, and still can't. Yes, Troy is alive, and he is okay, as you can see! It's amazing! A dream come true, it is! But there is something you should know, and that is that a little over a year ago, Troy fell and hit his head. He doesn't remember anything or anyone before that, including us. He doesn't remember you guys, he doesn't remember me even. He doesn't remember any of his friends. He only remembers the past year of his life." she took a deep breath, as she started to explain everything else that she knew. She explained everything that had happened between her and Troy since they found each other the day before. She made sure not to leave out any details. They watched her with wide eyes as she explained things. After she was finally done explaining things, she took a deep breath.
"This is all so incredible! Wow... I can't believe you've been in California this whole time," Jack cried, in disbelief as he stared at his son in deep concern, "You really don't remember me, Troy? Or your mother? Or Gabriella?"
Troy gazed at him, "I really wish I could remember you, both so much, but I don't," He swallowed hard, "I really wish I could remember Gabriella. I really wish I could remember who I was before I hit my head. I was hoping when I got here I'd remember things, but so far I haven't, and I'm really sorry I haven't." he could feel tears pour down then and there, as it was all so frustrating to him.
"It's okay Troy," Jack immediately told him, as he held onto his son again, for he was just so happy that he finally could, "It's really okay. I'm just so happy you are here, and that you are alive! Oh my God! That is a miracle, that you are here! It really is! I don't care if you can't remember your life before you hit your head son, I'm just so happy you are here!" he repeated.
"I feel the same way," Lucille told him, as she reached over to hug him once more, and the three held onto each other for a while, "I'm just so happy you are here, that I don't care if you can't remember your life before you hit your head. We still love you son, so, so much and we are so happy you are home, at last. Oh we are so happy you are here, with us finally!"
Troy couldn't help but smile through his tears a little. Even though he didn't remember them, he did feel a little loved. He couldn't help but believe they were his parents as he held onto them. He was rather shocked how much he looked like them. As he held onto his parents, he couldn't help but look at Gabriella and she couldn't help but smile at him. He smiled back.
He somehow knew as he held onto them, that things would be okay, even if he didn't remember. He knew he would still be loved, and that meant everything to him.
"Here's your room," Gabriella told him softly after giving him a complete tour of his home that he didn't remember. After he had reunited with his parents, Gabriella had started to show him around the place he lived before he hit his head. She had showed him every single room and she had saved his room for last. He froze as he looked inside his room. He was really truly, still so unable to believe he was really there and standing inside his room. He could feel a few tears fall out of his eyes as he looked around. He was quiet as he looked around.
"Remember anything?" she couldn't help but ask, as she watched him.
He was quiet for a moment, and shook his head at her. He sighed deeply, "I really am trying here, but none of my memory has come back to me since getting into Albuquerque, Gabriella." he sadly told her. It broke his heart to say that.
"It's okay," she whispered, before she kissed his cheek lightly. She pulled away after a few moments, and he couldn't help but smile as he felt her kiss him on the cheek.
"It's so crazy that I'm even standing here," Troy explained, as he looked around, "It's beyond crazy that I'm standing in this room, with the girl that loved me before I hit my head," he gazed at her, "It is all still so hard to believe that it's really happening. It's all just so mind-blowing to me."
"It's amazing to me that you are here," Gabriella smiled at him. He smiled back.
He couldn't help but notice a picture of them by his bed, it was of the two of them, smiling together. He couldn't help but pick it up and gaze at it for an extremely long time. She watched him as he did. After a few minutes he placed it down. He could feel more tears wanting to fall out of his eyes. It was so hard to keep them inside. It made him so angry he couldn't remember anything, ever. Right now he wanted to remember more than anything.
He was staring at the photo still. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from it.
"Hey," she whispered, as she noticed the tears falling from his eyes. He tore away from the photo enough to look at her.
He gazed up, "What?" he asked. She stepped closer to him, and wrapped her arms around him, she wanted nothing more than to comfort him, for she knew he was so insanely frustrated right now, "It's okay. It's all going to be okay. I promise you it will all be okay." She continued to hold onto him for a while.
He nodded, and just laid his head against her. They laid like that for a few moments.
A few moments later he pulled away. He stared at her.
"Hey Gabriella," He went suddenly.
"What?" She asked.
"I was wondering," He went slowly, "Now that we are here, in Albuquerque, would you like to go on a date with me? Not tonight, for I admit I'm exhausted and a little overwhelmed right now with everything, but in a couple of days maybe?" He asked, anxiously, "I'd let you pick the place, and you could show me around all of our favorite places if you want." he suggested.
Her heart fluttered, as she gazed at him, she was so happy to know he was asking her out on a date, for it meant so much to her that he was doing that, "I would love to," She breathed deeply, "I would more than love to."
He slowly wandered closer towards her, he took her hand, "Then it's a yes! I'm so happy that it's a yes and that you would love to," he smiled at her, before he leaned in to find her lips and kiss her softly. She gasped as he did, he had completely surprised her with the kiss, for it was the first time they had kissed since the day they found each other.
It did still feel like something was missing, but at the same time, it felt incredibly good to have him kissing her. She smiled into the kiss. She slowly pulled away from him after a long while.
"Troy," she went finally, "Even if you can't remember your life before you hit your head, welcome home. It is so good to have you back, it really is so incredible."
He smiled at her, "Even if I can't remember my life before I hit my head, it feels good to be here, with you. It's especially good that I have you here," he leaned in to kiss her one more time.
And she couldn't be more happier that he was kissing her.
Thanks for reading and please review!
