Chapter 9: Mirrors

Here's Chapter 9 I hope you enjoy it!

Troy has been awake for a week now and everyone's lives are finally getting back to normal. Troy's friends can focus on getting ready for graduation and heading off to college now that Troy is alive and well. Troy was still under the watchful eye of the hospital staff and he was hopeful that he would soon go home. Troy was also glad that Gabriella was still by his side and that things were getting better with them relationship wise.

At around 9:00 that morning, Nurse Chris; the nurse who has been with Troy since day 1; entered with a smile to check up on her favorite patient.

"Good morning Troy, Gabi." Nurse Chris greeted the young couple.

"Morning Chris." Troy replied.

"Hi Chris, how are you doing this morning?" Gabi asked with a smile.

"I'm quite well this morning, thank you for asking Gabi. My shift should be over at noon so that's good news." Chris said as she checked Troy's vitals. "Well Troy your vitals look good. We just need to run a few tests and if everything checks out, you'll be free to go home tonight." Chris said with a smile.

"That's great news. As much as I love being waited on, I can't wait to leave this place and be back in my own house. Although I will miss you Chris. You're the best nurse that I've encountered." Troy said with a chuckle

"Thanks Troy, don't tell my other patients, but you're my favorite and I will miss you too." Chris replied with a genuine smile as she whispered the last part.

"Troy, I'm gonna step out for a few minutes to give Lucy the good news." Gabi said as she gave Troy a kiss on the cheek and proceeded to exit the room.

Out in the hallway, Gabi dialed Lucille's phone number and waited to hear the familiar voice that came from the woman who was pretty much her second mother.

"Hello." Sang the voice on the other end of the call.

"Hi Lucy, you sound happy today." Gabi said with a chuckle

"Well Gabi dear, my baby boy is alive and well so of course I would be happy, also today just feels like a good day." Lucille said with a smile on her face

"Lucy, your day is about to get so much better than it already was." Gabi replied

"Why's that?" Lucille asked

"Because Chris is taking Troy back for some tests and she said that if they all check out then he'll be able to finally come home tonight." Gabi told her boyfriend's mother

"Oh my goodness, that is fantastic. If he's able to come home we should do something special. He deserves it after being cooped up in that hospital all this time." Lucille said excitedly

"I'll text Shar and Tay. I'm sure they can whip something great up in a short time. But I don't want them to do anything if he won't be released tonight." Gabi replied

"You should still text them with the heads up and if he won't be discharged today then they'll have more time to come up with something extra special for Troy." Lucille said

"I don't want to get their hopes up if Troy isn't getting out today." Gabi said

"Gabi, sweetheart, Troy needs this. You won't be getting their hopes up for nothing. If Troy doesn't come home today that's okay, he'll be home soon. That just gives us more time to create something great to show Troy how much we all love him and how happy we are that he is alive and well." Lucille reassured her son's girlfriend

"You're right Lucy. I'll get right on it. Have a good day." Gabi said

"You too Gabi. Keep me updated." Lucille said

"You'll be the first to know." Gabi replied. Her and Lucille exchanged goodbyes before hanging up the phone

As Gabriella made her way back into Troy's room, Nurse Chris made her way out to prepare somethings for Troy's tests. While entering the room, Gabriela sent a quick text to Sharpay.

{Hey Shar, Troy might be getting discharged today and Lucille wanted to do something special for him. I was thinking that maybe you and Tay can whip something up even though it's short notice. We're not 100% sure if he's going home today. I'll keep you posted and let me know what you come up with.}

"Hey babe, how are you feeling?" Gabi asked as she made her way back into the room and over to Troy.

"I'm feeling really good. Even better now that you're back." Troy replied as he gave Gabi a kiss. As they pulled away, Nurse Chris came back in the room.

"Alright Troy. I'm gonna take you away from your lovely girlfriend for a little while to get you tested. You're getting a CT scan and an MRI to make sure that you're well enough to go home." She said with a kind smile

"Sounds good to me, I just have one question." Troy said

"Ask away." Nurse Chris replied

"What exactly is an MRI and a CT scan?" He asked

"A CT scan is a computerized tomography and it basically takes more in depth x-rays. We'll use it to look at the different cross-sections of your brain to be certain that all the swelling has gone down and that nothing else is damaged. Now MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging and…" When she said that she could sense the nervous look on Troy's face. "I know those sound like big scary words but there's nothing to be nervous about. The MRI machine will be used to make sure that all of your organs are good and that there is no internal bleeding. We need to see how that lung is holding up." Nurse Chris said to the young couple.

"Aye aye captain. Take me away." Troy replied with a smile on his face. Nurse Chris and Gabi each let out a chuckle

"I'll be waiting here when you get back." Gabriella said

"I love you." Troy said

"Me too." Gabriella replied with a smile as she leaned down to kiss Troy's forehead before he was wheeled away.

As Troy was leaving the room, Gabriella's phone chimed signaling that she got a text. She opened her phone and read the reply from Sharpay.

[OMG! That's great news. Tay and I were thinking of just inviting the gang over, something low-key. We are getting decorations and we're gonna make it look real nice. We can do a big party in a couple of weeks when Troy feels up to it.]

{That sounds great Shar. Something low-key is perfect. I'll let Lucy know so she can start cooking the food. Make sure to have everyone park at my house and don't tell chad until the last minute. I don't want him telling Troy and messing up the surprise. We don't need a repeat of Taylor's birthday.}

[You're so right lol. Tay and I will go get the decorations and then head on over to the Bolton house to set everything up. Let Lucy know that we're coming cause if she's busy we don't want to get in her way. Also any updates on Troy?]

{Nurse Chris took him back for some tests about 15 minutes ago. He should be gone for another 45 minutes and the test results shouldn't be too long after that. Keep me updated on the party plans.}

[Will do boss. I'm leaving to pick up Tay now.]

After texting with Sharpay, Gabi gave Lucille a call to inform her of the plans.

"Hey Gabi, how are things at the hospital?" Lucille asked

"Things are good. Troy was brought back for tests about 35 minutes ago. Sharpay also texted and said that we're just going to have the gang over, real low-key. She and Taylor are going to get decorations and then head over to you to set up." Gabi informed the woman who was basically her second mother

"That sounds wonderful dear." Lucille replied

"Do you want to cook or would you rather have Shar and Tay pick something up while they're out?" Gabriella asked

"Sweetie I will cook. Let me worry about the food because I haven't cooked for my baby boy in over a month. A home cooked meal is in the books for him. If it's not too much trouble can they pick up a cake, red velvet with cream cheese frosting."

"How could I forget the love of my life's favorite cake?" Gabriella asked with a chuckle. "I'll be sure to let them know so they have time to put in the order at the bakery and then pick it up when it's done. And when I say bakery I mean Zeke because we all know that his desserts are the best. Also I don't think Sharpay would ask anyone else because she probably only trusts Zeke to make something really special."

"You are very right on that one. Let the girls know that the front door will be unlocked and they can come right in and start setting up." Lucille said with a laugh

"Will do Lucy." Gabi replied

Gabi and Lucille talked for a while longer and Gabi sent a text to Sharpay about the cake. Troy came back just as Gabriella was hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Troy asked

"Your mom, she wanted to see how you were doing." Gabi replied

"Alright, well I am going to take a nap because those tests really tired me out. I still don't have as much energy as I used to but healing is a process and I don't want to do too much too fast." Troy said

"Sounds good, I will be right here when you wake up." Gabriella said

About an hour later Troy woke up to quiet sniffles beside him

"Hey what's wrong?" He asked concerned about his girlfriend

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you? It's nothing really I am fine." Gabi said

"Gabs I know you it's not nothing if you're crying. Please tell me." Troy said

"I was watching you sleep and it reminded me of when you were in a coma.

**Flashback**

About a week and a half after Troy's accident Gabi was sitting next to Troy's bed just watching him and waiting for his eyes to open and for him to come out of this coma.

"So the doctor and nurses say that I should talk to you and sing to you so I thought of this song. It's not done yet but I want to sing you what I have so far. I'm not sure if you can hear me or not but I need you to know that I really love you. So here goes."

'Cause I don't wanna lose you now

I'm lookin' right at the other half of me

The vacancy that sat in my heart

Is a space that now you hold

And tell me how to fight for now

And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy

Comin' back into you once I figured it out

You were right here all along

'Cause it's like you're my mirror

My mirror starring back at me

I couldn't get any bigger

With anyone else beside of me

And now it's clear as this promise

That we're making two reflections into one

'Cause it's like you're my mirror

My mirror starring back at me, starring back at me

"Please wake up soon, I can't live this life without you." Gabriella said as the tears began to fall silently.

**End of Flashback**

"Gab I vaguely remember that song. It's a little fuzzy but it's there for sure." Troy said

"So you heard everything that everyone said while they were in the room?" Gabriella asked

"It's all fuzzy and mixed up but essentially yes. I have these memories that happened while I was asleep so they feel like dreams but you just confirmed that they may not all be dreams." Troy said with a smile

"Wow that kind of reminds me of that movie Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon. You know which one I'm talking about, right?" Gabriella asked

"Yeah you made me watch it a bunch of times. It's the one where she's in a coma but doesn't know it and the only person who can see her is Mark Ruffalo's character. I hate to admit this but it actually is a pretty good movie." Troy said with a smile as he remembered all of the times that Gabriella made him watch the movie.

As they continued to talk and laugh and share memories of their relationship, Nurse Chris entered the room.

"Hello lovebirds." She said with a smile

"Hi Chris." They said in unison

"You're test results came back a little bit ago but you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you." Nurse Chris said

"Am I leaving today or are you keeping me prisoner for a little while longer?" Troy asked and everyone in the room let out a chuckle

"Troy you are…"

That was Chapter 9 and I hope everyone liked it. I know that I haven't updated in a while but I just haven't had much time or motivation to write. I went through a rough patch earlier this year and a love story was not even on my mind at all. I recently opened up my idea notebook and finished writing this chapter as well as started the next one. Chapter 10 should be out within the next couple of weeks. The song I used in this chapter was "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake but the version I had in mind was the cover by Madilyn Bailey. You can find that cover on YouTube if you want. I want to thank everyone who reads my story and as always if you have any questions or ideas feel free to message me. I am open to finding new paths for this story as well as future stories to take. I really want to shout out to everyone who reads and reviews my story. Without you guys my motivation would be shit. It's nice to know that some people enjoy my writing even if it's not that good. I love you all and I appreciate that you take the time to read this story. Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review.

Xoxo - Christina