Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any other such thing involved! It belongs to Disney.
(February 5th)
9:38pm
Troy's POV
We rushed down the halls of the E.R. Everything was a blur to me. All I heard were chatters of nurses as we rushed my infant daughter to the emergency room. I cried. And I couldn't stop. I was broken inside. My heart pounding with fear. My tears falling down showing my anguish. My daughter that lay on the stretcher screaming her lungs sore from being sick. My girlfriend whom looked helpless and didn't know what she could do. And one of my best friends who followed behind for support.. I didn't know how to cope with this situation. All I could do was cry like a baby at this point. Earlier, I had left school to rush to the hospital to find out that my baby girl has a respiratory infection, later a physical altercation with my father because I was absent for basketball practice, had been thrown out of my own house along with Gabriella and our baby, and now she was sick. Most people would think I'm overreacting but this is my little girl I was crying for. She was shy of seven weeks and she was already ill. Her tiny body couldn't handle a fever as high as it was and Gabriella and I didn't have the proper care she needed to relieve it. I was really scared. And the fact that because it was so cold outside and because she had an immature immune system, her sickness would worsen. Luckily, Sharpay had immediate care that she contacted to help Aspen. After a while I felt some what relieved but I was still in despair. And just being in the E.R. made me even more nervous. It felt like my world came crashing down. I held my crying girlfriend to comfort her while her, Sharpay, and I sat in the waiting room to hear the results of our daughter. My hands were shaking, my stomach churned, and my heart wouldn't stop pounding in my chest. I was sweating every ounce of fluid in my body and sure enough, I was paler than a ghost.
"It will be all right, Troy" Sharpay said rubbing my back for comfort. I nodded. I wanted to believe her but I knew with Aspen being so small and barely being two months old, things weren't going to be okay.
"I'm scared, Troy!" Gabriella sobbed. I held her next to me as I kissed her hair. I stroked her back trying harder to comfort her. I knew Gabi was scared too. She was terrified. She just wanted our daughter to be okay. To be healthy.
"Gabriella Montez?" A male doctor called out. Gabriella and I stood up and walked closer to the doctor.
"Are you the father?" he asked referring to me.
"Yeah, I'm Aspen's father, is she okay?" I asked frantically.
"If you'll follow me into the room, please?" he said motioning us to the room where Aspen was.
"Shar, do you mind waiting out here for a few minutes?" I asked.
Sharpay was still sitting down in a chair, "Of course" she replied.
Gabriella and I walked with the doctor down the hall to the room they kept Aspen in. As we walked in I saw her lay on the hospital bed, sleeping. Her breathing was heavy. She had no clothes on besides her diaper. Her chested moved up and down as she inhaled and exhaled, sounding congested. I noticed more tears falling down Gabriella's face. It hurt her to watch our daughter in this condition.
"We had to give her a low dosage of children's Tylenol to lower the fever. And we did further tests and it shows that she does seem to have a very weak immune system" he said.
"Is she going to be all right?" Gabriella asked trying to calm down.
"She'll be fine. We recommend you go to the nearest pharmacy and purchase Children's Tylenol. Mind you, she might be a little knocked out after the shot, but she'll be all right" the doctor said.
Gabriella and I sighed in relief. We were glad to know Aspen was going to be okay Before we left the doctor's office, we followed the prescribed dosage of medicine to give her. We were told not to give her a shot unless body temperature was higher than 104 degrees Fahrenheit. We were also told to frequently check her temperature for the next 48 hours and if any other problems occurred, we were to contact her regular doctor. I carefully listened to all of the instructions. I hoped that nothing else would be wrong with her after this. Gabriella put Aspen's clothes back on her and buckled her into her car seat carrier while I signed out of the doctor's office. The both of us went back to the waiting room to go and get Sharpay. Sharpay quickly got up from her seat and walked over to us concerned about the baby.
"How is she?" she whispered.
"As far as we know, she's going to be okay. Dr. Williams gave her a shot of Children's Tylenol to lower her temperature" Gabriella said.
"Oh, my poor angel" Sharpay said bending down looking at the sleeping baby.
"She still sounds like she's having breathing trouble" she added.
"He also said that the medicine should help clear her sinuses a little bit.. We might have to keep her in the house for a little while. Because of the bad weather, it will probably make it worse" Gabriella said.
"Well, that shouldn't be a problem" Sharpay said.
"Yeah, and Troy you still have to go to school tomorrow" Gabriella said.
"I can't go to school looking like this, Gabs. I'll be pulled out of class in a snap of a finger if I do" I said referring to the bruises my father left on my face.
"I might have some coverup for you to put on in the morning" Sharpay said.
"Sharpay, I am not wearing make up" I said bluntly.
"Well you have to figure something out, Troy. You're not missing school" Gabriella said.
It's not that I wanted to miss school and I wasn't all that worried about the bruises on my face. The people at school wouldn't just talk about what was on my face, they would also mention how morose I've been looking lately. It was no secret that my father was pushing me. Even Chad knew it very well. And the last thing I wanted to get around at East High was people making assumptions that my father was an abusive parent. I knew he wasn't. The only reason he really hit me was out of self defense. It was me that came at him the way I did. I did it because I didn't appreciate the fact that he was talking about Gabriella the way he was. Also because of the way he pushed me to work hard basketball. I didn't know why he did? I was already one of the best players on the team. I didn't see why I needed push. I sighed and gave up. Gabriella was right. I couldn't miss school. Even though we had been kicked out of my house, I still had to go to school and earn my diploma and go to college.
"Fine" I replied. I picked up Aspen's car seat as the three of us walked back out to the car to go back to Sharpay's house.
"What do you think my dad's gonna do when I go to school tomorrow?" I asked changing into a pair of sweat pants getting ready for bed.
"There's no telling what he'll do, Troy" Gabi said coming out of the bathroom from brushing her teeth.
"I just hope no one says or thinks anything" I said.
"I know, babe, but you can't control what people say or think. You just have to deal with it" she said getting into bed.
"I know one thing, at least we don't have to panic about Aspen for a minute" I said as I climbed into bed with her. The both of us cuddled next to each other and stared around the room for a while. For some reason, it flt awkward being at Sharpay's house overnight.
"It feels so weird not being at home" Gabriella whispered.
"It feels weird knowing we can't go home" I sighed.
"Call me crazy, but I really think tomorrow we should go talk to your mom when Jack isn't there" she said.
"How are we gonna do that? The only time he's not there is when I'm not. And I don't know if I can face him at practice tomorrow" I said.
"Hopefully, nothing will go wrong. The both of us have been doing this a lot lately and I think we really need to stop" Gabriella said sitting up in bed.
"What do you mean?" I asked with a curious look on my face.
"I mean, we need to stop always assuming the worst. Every time we do, something worse comes about and it messes us up along the way. We have to seek solace, and really try to take a step forward in this crazy world to find our way. We have to stop believing that there is no positive to negative situations" Gabriella said.
"Brie, as much as I'd love for you to go deep on me right now, I'd really like to get some sleep. I've had a long day" I said. Gabriella kissed me and told me that we would talk tomorrow after I got back from school and that she would call my mother. I really didn't know what to expect to happen tomorrow but, I also knew Gabriella had the right idea. For a while, I have always been assuming the worst of things. And every time I did, things always did happen that were terrible. If I had just controlled my anger, I wouldn't have taken down my father. If I had just kept my head in the game, he wouldn't have had a reason to be more strict with me. I was just digging deeper in my own hole. If I didn't shape up soon, I would eventually have messed up everything. I would have messed my life and the lives of the two people I love most that were in it. I couldn't let it happen. I eventually drifted off to sleep. I had to prepare myself for the day I knew would probably go just as badly as today did.
(February 6th)
Gabriella's POV
10:48 am
I lifted my head up from the pillow it rested on. My vision was blurry. I rubbed my eyes and soon everything became clear. The sun was shining. It made me feel a little bit better to see that it was sunny outside after endless weeks of rain. I got out of bed and threw on my house coat that I had packed and put my hair into a messy loose bun. I walked down the stairs of Sharpay's house to find her in the kitchen with Aspen sleeping in her car seat carrier sitting on the kitchen counter top.
"Good morning, Shar" I said rubbing one of my eyes.
"Good morning. Breakfast?" she asked.
"No thank you" I said as I walked over to Aspen. I picked her up out of her carrier and sat down at the kitchen table to feed her. I adjusted the front of my top and lent her against my chest as I pulled one of my breasts out. Aspen quickly sucked on the nipple to eat. I could tell she had got her appetite back and she was hungry. When we found out that she was sick, she didn't eat very much and when she did, she would spit the food back up. She seemed a lot better this morning. Last night I was worried that she wouldn't be okay. I touched her four head check if she was still hot. Her body temperature felt regular.
"I guess little one here is back to normal" I smiled.
"I took her temperature this morning. Perfect 98.6!" Sharpay squealed.
"Thank you, Shar. I'm so glad to hear that" I smiled as I looked at the young one sucking the milk from my breast.
"Troy will be so happy to hear it" I added.
"Tell me about it!" Sharpay exclaimed.
"Wait a minute, why aren't you at school?" I asked.
"I decided to play hooky today" she said.
"You played hooky from school? Sharpay, I'm shocked" I laughed.
"Well, I wanted to let you sleep. So I watched Munchkin while you did" she said while sipping her coffee.
I smiled at her. "Did you hear from Troy this morning at all after he left?" I asked.
"I haven't. He said he would call during lunch though to give us the 411 on what's going on" she said thinking.
"I really hope nothing is going on. I know he was really dreading school today" I sighed.
"Yeah, but I don't think there should be any problems today. Troy's bruises hardly looked noticeable when I saw him earlier this morning" Sharpay pointed out.
"Well that's a relief" I rolled my eyes still disgusted after what had happened the previous night between Jack and Troy.
"Oh, yeah" Sharpay laughed.
I looked out of the window in the kitchen and saw how sunny it was outside. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The sun had dried the rain on the ground. It looked as though it hadn't rained at all. It was beautiful.
"It's pretty unusual how the weather suddenly cleared up, though" I added.
"I don't think so. I think it's wonderful. We should go do something" she said.
"We would have to wait to do it after school. I'm not trying to be caught by the truant officer today" I joked. Sharpay laughed. I took Aspen and sat down in the living room. I took out my phone from the pocket of my sweatpants to call Troy's mother.
"Gabriella?" Lucille answered sounding panicked.
"Hey, Lucille" I responded.
"Thank goodness you guys are all right. I tried to call Troy this morning but he didn't return my call after I had left a message" she said.
"He ended up going to school this morning. We stayed the night at Sharpay's house" I explained.
"Well, that was very sweet of her" she said.
"Is Jack still at the house with you?" I asked.
"No, he went to work today. He didn't have any visible injuries on him so he went to coach anyway" Lucille explained.
"Does Troy have any bruises on him or anything?" she asked.
"He did last night but I guess it was nothing serious" I said.
"Well that's good. I was going to ask" she paused.
"What?" I responded.
"Would you like to come over so we could talk?" she resumed.
I thought for a moment before responding. I was truly scared to go back to Troy's parents house. After the way Jack acted last night, I was almost too scared to go back there ever. Even if he wasn't there. But I also knew Lucille wanted to see Aspen. She was used to seeing her every day in the morning. I knew it was hard for her to be away from the baby, Troy, and I. At the same time, despite what happened the night before, I wanted to go back.
An hour later;
Sharpay had dove me back to Troy's parents house so that I could talk to Lucille.
"Hello, Pumpkin. Grandma missed you so much!" Lucille said talking to Aspen as she took her car seat carrier out of my hand.
"Come on it, Gabi" she said pulling me in with her comforting hand.
I sat down on the couch by Lucille whom had previously had drank three cups of coffee. Usually she did this when she was nervous or in despair. Lucille took Aspen out of her car seat and held her as she sat down on the couch next to me.
"First, I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry about last night" she started.
"It wasn't your fault" I responded.
"It was, partly. If I hadn't tried to talk to Jack, there wouldn't have been a fight. And I'm also sorry about what he said about you. It really was messed up on so many levels" she said on the verge of tears.
"I'm not worried about it. Just as long as it wasn't anything toward Aspen, I didn't have a problem with any of it" I said.
"Don't say that, Gabi. It was still wrong of him because it was disrespectful" she said.
"I suppose. And I apologize for Troy attacking him" I said.
"And you definitely don't have to be sorry about that. If Troy didn't hit him, I probably would have myself" she joked. The both of us laughed.
"But I just want you to know, no matter what Jack says, You are still family. And I would like for you and Troy and Baby to come back home" she said.
"I would really like to, Lucille, but, I don't know if I can let you do that. The last thing Troy needs is to be further punished by his father because Jack didn't have a say in this decision" I said.
"At this point, I could care less what Jack thinks. What he failed to realize, this is our son and he has no right to be treating Troy the way he is. He needs to realize that he has a family he needs to think about now. And Troy is doing everything he needs to do. He's going to school, he's earning his scholarship for college. He doesn't need to be pushed any harder than that" she said.
I nodded. I still felt like I had to think before deciding to move back in with Troy's family. I wanted to talk to Troy about it first before making a decision.
Meanwhile;
Troy's POV
I got my tray of lunch before going to the table where my friends were seated at. The fear of unpleasant talk behind my back was still in the back of my mind. I was tired and run down. I had barely caught any sleep last night. I worried all night about Aspen. Every thirty minutes I would be checking her temperature and other times I would be worrying about what would happen at school when people saw my face. When I got up this morning, I didn't see the bruises clear on my face. I thought my brain was fooling me but Sharpay had reassured me many times that they were hardly noticeable. Once I reached the table, Chad stared at me for a very long time before he spoke up.
"Dude, what's up with you?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked taking a bite out of my bread stick.
"I mean, you look worse than ever" he stated.
"You should try one of my home made chocolate chip muffins. They always seem to cheer people up" Zeke said offering me one of his muffins he brought from home.
"Not now, Zeke" Chad said.
"Tell me what's going on" he said.
"It's complicated, man" I sighed.
"Well, you wanna hang out after practice so we can talk about it?" he asked.
"I can't. I have to go and pick up Gabriella so we can go back to my house and talk some sense into my father" I said.
"What? Why?" he asked concerned.
"You guys have to swear not to tell a soul about this" I said. Chad and Zeke nodded.
"I fought my dad last night" I said.
"What? Troy! What did you do that for?" Chad said as he leaned closer to me.
"You know how I missed practice yesterday?" I asked. They nodded.
"He came home shouting at me and then he started yelling at my mom and he said uncalled for things about Gabi and the last thing I remembered was that I attacked him" I explained.
"Damn, Troy" Zeke replied.
"What do you think he's gonna say at practice?" Chad asked.
I scoffed, "If I know my dad, he'll most likely pretend that nothing ever happened but he wont try to talk to me" I resumed.
"Don't worry, dude. We've got your back" Chad said as he tapped me on my back. I nodded at him and continued eating. Truly, I didn't know what to tell my dad when I would have the chance to talk to him. All I knew was that I would have to confront him soon. After I was finished eating, I decided to call Gabriella to check on her and Aspen,
"Hey Gabs"
"Hey, sweetie" she responded.
"How are my girls?" I asked.
"We're doing fine, we're with your mom right now" she said.
"You went to my parents house?" I asked feeling slightly agitated.
"Yeah. Your mom called me and asked me to come by to talk and she said she wants to talk to you and Jack when you guys get home" she explained.
"Gabriella, I don't appreciate you doing things like this without me present" I said.
"She wanted to see Aspen, Troy. What was I supposed to tell her?" she asked.
I scoffed in disbelief and bowed my head to think. I didn't know why I was upset. And who was I to think that my mom wasn't allowed to see her granddaughter. I guess I was a little more disturbed by the fact that Gabi had went back after what had happened between my father and I. But what did my mom need to talk to us about? I came to the conclusion that simply talking to my dad wasn't the best idea. Not now and not ever.
"I'm sorry, Brie. I'm still just really on guard with my dad after what happened" I said.
"It's whatever. Please, just come straight home after practice and we'll all talk" she said.
"Will do" I said as I pressed the end button on my phone. I shook my head to help clear it. All I wanted to do now was lie down and rest. It seemed like this day was taking forever to end. I still had two classes left before school was over and then I would have to stay after for another two hours for practice.
After my classes were over I rushed to the locker room to change into my basketball uniform. I was the last to show up on time to practice. After I got changed, I went to the gymnasium to meet up with the coach and my teammates. I saw them sitting on the benches while my father did row call.
"Bolton!" my dad called out.
"Here" I raised my had as I sat down next to Chad. I noticed my dad giving me a serious look. I looked away from his darted eyes as he continued row call. The team could sense the tension between my dad and I but I just ignored the stares. Practice was a living hell. My dad had made us run laps 60 times around the court until we were sick, made us practice shooting hoops until our arms were like jello, and made us do 30 sets of push-ups. All I could think while running the drill was how sorry I had felt for my team for making my dad put all of us through it. Chad and the rest of my buddies seemed to grow angrier with me as the hours passed. I already knew that after today, I wouldn't hear the end of it. After practice, all of us had got changed into our clothes. Neither Chad, Zeke, nor Jason would talk to me. I really screwed this one up, but at the same time, I thought my dad was really taking things too far. I felt that today would be a good idea to talk to him about it once the both of us go home. All I could hope for was that he would listen. I grabbed my gym bag and made my way out the parking lot. I got into my car and drove to my parents' house where Gabriella and my mom were. I figured I would beat my dad home before he got a chance to walk through the front door and say something to Mom and Gabi.
"Mom? Gabi?" I called out. They were both seated in the living room.
"Hey, babe" Gabriella said giving me a kiss.
"Hey, honey" I said back to her. I greeted my mom and gave her a hug. She hugged me tightly expressing how much she had missed me even though I was only gone overnight.
"How are you?" my mom asked.
"Tired" I replied.
"You do look pretty beat. I'm guessing your father worked you hard today?" she asked. I nodded.
"My poor baby" she said as she held my face.
"Maybe you should go upstairs and rest for a while" she insisted.
"No. I want to be right here when dad walks through that door" I said watching the front door. My mom crossed her fingers and gave a look of helplessness. She was afraid I would fight with my dad again. But I wasn't going to. I just wanted to have a talk with him and see if him and I could work something out. I didn't want Gabi and Aspen in a position where we didn't have a home. I broke away from my thoughts when the front door swung open. It was my dad. He lowered his eyebrows at me and Gabi as he walked further into the living room.
"What are you doing here, Troy?" he asked sternly.
"We have to talk, Dad" I said.
"There's nothing to talk about, I thought I told you not to come back here" he said.
I scratched the back of my head trying to refrain from yelling at him.
"I know, Dad. But I just need you to listen to me for one second" I said.
"No, I want you out" he shot.
"Jack!" my mom said. My dad looked at her as she gave him her death stare. He straightened up and looked at me. Giving me his impression that he was ready to listen.
"Okay. You've got my attention, what is it you have to say" he asked.
I cleared my throat, "Last night, I know I was out of line. And I know I was wrong for missing practice too, but there's something you need to know. Something I should have been man enough to tell you since this whole charade started" I started.
"And? What is it?" he asked.
"If you let him talk, he will tell you, Jack" my mom said deepening her voice at my father. For some reason he was mildly intimidated by her all of a sudden.
"Dad you have to realize that I'm willing to meet your standards and become a better player and keep going to school but you also need to realize that I have a family now. A family that I need to be there for every day. A family I need to provide with not only the effort I'm making in school to help better our future, but provide with love. Which means I need to be here with Gabi and Aspen more than just 5 hours a day during the week. You should know what I mean. I mean, you really should since you and Mom had me when you guys were eighteen"
My mom, dad, and Gabi, all of of their mouths dropped at what I had just said. I said it. I knew my parents had me before they graduated high school. Never in all of the eighteen years of my life would I ever thought I needed to throw that in my father's face in order for him to understand where I was coming from. What I was going through. When my mom had gotten pregnant with me her senior year. My dad was a basketball player. And for a while, while I was growing up, they struggled to raise me while trying to maintain a job. My mom was unable to go to college since she had me with her. Luckily, my dad still managed. The reason behind a lot of this frustration was my dad never wanted me to go through the same thing he did. He never wanted me to struggle. That's why he pushed me as hard as he could. But he didn't push me hard enough to make sure I didn't wind up with a kid at a young age. And to be truthful, I have no regret for any of it.
"What?" Gabi mouthed to my mom in shock. My mom nodded, saying it was true that she had me at eighteen.
"Troy" My dad started. He slowly walked over and sat down on the couch. I stood above him waiting for him to speak again.
"Now, you see why I always told you never to give up" he said. I nodded.
"I just never wanted to see my own son learn things the hard way like I did (A/N: Haha! Chad said it the first time! See Ch. 2)"
"I know" I said simply.
"I do have to tell you though, Troy" he paused.
"I was devastated when you came to your mom and I and told us that Gabriella was pregnant. It made me think, 'my son of all people, did at least have enough sense to use protection if he was going to have sex'. But then, I realized that we all make mistakes" he resumed.
"And, despite your actions, you still turned out to be a good kid. You followed through in school, you missed a few days of practice but you still kept playing, and most of all, you're being what I should have been to you" he said.
"What's that?" I asked.
"A good father" he said with tears filling his eyes. I stood before my father and looked at him for a long time. The way the words fell from his mouth and the tears that were in his eyes said more than the words he spoke. I knew that all of this time, my father only wanted what was best for me. And even though I messed some of that up along the way, he was proud of me because I still pulled though. It felt so good to know that. Now I knew he only did and said the things he did was because he cared and he loved me. And all I wanted to tell him was that I loved my family and I needed to be there for them. When I said that, it made him realize that I not only was growing up, but that I could manage. Just the way him and my mother did when I first came.
"Thank, Dad" I said. He pulled me into a hug.
"I just want you to know, Troy. You're my son, and I love you no matter what" he said.
"I know, Dad. I love you too" I said breaking away from our hug.
"I'm letting you know now, we still have an agreement. But now I'm making a new deal with you so we can set things straight around here" he said.
"I'm listening" I said.
"The deal is; you will attend practice every school day like usual. But you and I wont be practicing anymore after that. When you come home, it's your time to relax and be with Gabriella and Baby. And you will continue to go to school and graduate. Sound fair?" he asked.
"Done!" I exclaimed happily.
"That's what I like to hear" he smiled.
"Thanks, Dad!" I said as I rushed into him for another father and son hug. I couldn't explain how happy I was that my dad and I finally made a deal that the both of us could work with. And I knew he really meant it this time that he would go a little easier on me. I proved to him that I could handle going to school, playing basketball and raising a family at the same time. All of the drama that went on the night before wasn't important anymore. I woke up to see the sun shining in my eyes, knowing my daughter was okay after what I had experienced last night, and that the girl I planned to make my wife some day was with me and now that I was finally at peace with my father. After we talked, he had told Gabi and I to go back to Sharpay's to gather our belongings to come back to our home.
Two hours later;
"It's so good to be home" Gabriella said folding our clothes and placing them back into our dresser drawers.
"Tell me about it. Last night, I thought I'd never sleep in my own bed again" I said swaying back and fourth with Aspen sleeping while she was snuggled into my chest as I held her.
"I'm proud of you, Troy" she said as she kissed me.
"You should be. I was risking getting another fist to my face standing up to my dad" I joked. She laughed.
"That's why I'm proud of you" she said. I smiled at her.
"You stood up for me, our family, and mostly yourself. It's something you should always do" she finished. I locked my lips with hers and kissed her passionately. I did have a lot to be proud of tonight. And from this time on, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again when the time was appropriate. And when it was, I would be doing it because I believe in myself. I snapped out of my thought when Aspen began to cry.
"Honey?" I said looking at Gabriella. She smiled and took Aspen from my arms and then sat down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, adjusted the front of her shirt and started feeding the baby.
"She's a hungry little tyke" I said playfully.
"Yep. And it never ends" Gabi joked. We laughed. I was satisfied that the day ended well. I was without worry, and I was home with my two favorite girls that forever had a special place in my heart. After tonight, the days would no longer be dark and bitter. They would be full of love and laughter. And now, I had a whole new reason for being grateful for waking up in the morning. Knowing that I had my family together and that I had the support of the man I looked up to all of my life. My father.
A/N: Okay, so it took me a few days to finish the conclusion and I have to say, I did come down with a super case of writer's block but I tried my best to come up with a good ending to the chapter. I also want to thank all of the people this story received amazing reviews from! Thanks as always! And stay tuned for the next chapter!
