I am so uncontrolibly sorry!! I know i haven't updated this story in 2 months!I've had such bad writers block I've cried many times. School for me ends June 19, and after that I'm locking myself in my room and will be writing no stop! I think there will be 2-4 more chapters for this story, and for those who are wondering: 3-4 for "The Book of Hurt". again, SO sorry about the logn wait.

xoxo jenna

Taylor and Chad had left hours ago, and had set the dates and everything with Ryan and Gabriella. In fact, at the moment they were both sitting in Ryan's house waiting for his parents to arrive, and Ryan was a nervous wreck.

Gabriella had been watching him rapidly tap his foot for the last hour, and she thought she was about to lose it.

"Calm down, Ry. It's all going to be okay," she said as she placed her hand on Ryan's knee.

"No, not with my parents." Ryan said, now starting to bit his nails – something Sharpay used to do.

"Ryan, I've met your parents many times before. I don't think they'd be hard to you." Gabriella said.

"Yes, you have. But Gabi, those were the friendly, sweet, we-have-company-over versions of my parents. I mean I'm sure they're also blaming Sharpay for d-die-"

"Passing on?" Gabriella finished. Ryan had trouble saying the d-i-e word.

He gulped. "Yeah; I mean when I called them, I don't think they even took the time to think that maybe it actually wasn't any of our faults for the first time."

"What do you mean for the first time?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, growing up, if something went wrong, it was always either my or Pay's fault. Even if like . . . Troy broke a window playing baseball, one of us was to blame."

"Oh, Ry, I'm sorry," Gabriella said.

"It's ok. You were never the one who blamed us." Ryan said.

"So I'm guessing you never had the best relationship with your parents?" Gabriella asked.

At the moment, the front door to the Evans manor flew open. "RYAN?!" Mr. Evans' voice boomed shaking the entire house. The couple could hear the parents storm over to them.

Ryan and Gabriella stood up. "Hi Mother, hello Father," Ryan said.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Evans." Gabriella said quietly.

"Hello Gabriella." Mrs. Evans said blankly.

"Ryan, I think it's time Gabriella went home." Mr. Evans told his son.

"No," Ryan said, holding onto Gabriella's hand. "She wants to stay and talk about all of this."

"Why? She doesn't understand what we're going through!" Mr. Evans said.

"Sir, not to be rude, but I do know what you're going through. I was with Ryan when it happened, and I was with him when we found out, and I was with him when we cried. Troy was my first friend when I moved here; he means a lot to me. And Sharpay; Sharpay is the best friend I've ever had. I was never able to keep friends when I moved around, and Sharpay promised if I ever left we'd still be best friends. Losing those two is harder to deal with than all the times I've moved around combined. I want to do something, I want to help; please." Gabriella said.

Mrs. Evans looked at her husband, who sighed. "Fine." He said, as he and his wide sat down on the couch.

The four didn't say a word for a good ten minutes. This was starting to drive Gabriella crazy, but she knew if she commented on it she'd be sent off.

"So, she's really gone?" Mrs. Evans finally asked. Gabriella shared a sad glance with Ryan, who turned to face his mother. She had an expression in her eyes; they were begging that it wasn't true.

"Yes," Ryan croaked.

Mrs. Evans' eyes began to fill with tears. "No, not my baby," she said quietly before she started sobbing.

"How?" Mr. Evans asked, stroking his wife's back and hugging her at the same time.

"Troy and Gabriella were sleeping over, and Sharpay and Troy went to get some ice cream, and a drunk driver went through a red light and hit them badly. The collision k-ki-kil-" Ryan stuttered.

"Killed them, sir." Gabriella finished. Ryan nodded in agreement.

Mr. Evans sighed. "Are the body's okay?"

"I think. They were brought to the hospital, but the doctor said they were too broken up to really do anything with them. But he said they can hold them until we burry them." Ryan said, the idea of burying his twin sister underground forever sickening him.

"Ryan, why did you let this happen?" Mr. Evans asked.

"You think I wanted this to happen?" Ryan asked, raising his voice.

"No, but as her older brother you are supposed to watch over her! You were supposed to make sure this didn't happen!" Mr. Evans yelled.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know this was going to happen!?" Ryan yelled as well, jumping to his feet. "You think I knew that my sister and best friend were going to get hit by some son of a bitch? Oh yeah, I wanted to keep it a secret just for fun, because I'm some sick twisted kid. Dad, I hate this! I hate this more than you do!"

"No you do not!" Mr. Evans said loudly.

"Yes I do! I care about the fact that Troy and Sharpay aren't here anymore! I cared about Troy a more than you ever have, and Sharpay too!"

Now Mr. Evans jumped to his feet. "You cannot tell me that I don't care about my daughter! I loved her! I gave her everything she wanted; I made her the person she is today!"

"When did you have the time to do that?!" Ryan hollered. "You and Mom were always off somewhere, probably getting wasted and just making more money, leaving me and Pay with a fucking nanny! And when we got older, and we let the nanny go, you never knew! We were always by ourselves! That is, until Troy and Gabriella came into the picture. They were the best things to ever happen to us; they were the closest thing we had to a family. You and Mom – you weren't family. Troy, Gabriella, and I made Sharpay the person she was. And she's a hell of a better person than you would have made her."

"Don't you dare speak to me like that Ryan Evans! I care about Sharpay more than you EVER WILL! I was there for everything I needed to be there for. You don't care about her Ryan! If you did, you wouldn't have let her die! You didn't care about her!"

"Then why was I the person who told her I loved her right before she left?" Ryan asked quietly.

Mr. Evans looked at his son, then at Gabriella who was scared out of her wits, at his wife who was silently crying and still listening to the argument, and back at Ryan again. And then Mr. Evans was sobbing. Ryan was shocked that he caused this, but knew it was for the best.

"I'm sorry Ryan," Mr. Evans said through his hands. "I'm so, so sorry. It was not your fault. I just - I miss her! I lost my daughter. I lost my little Payday; my angel; my princess! I don't want to lose you too, Ryan. I can't!"

Ryan looked back at Gabriella, who gave him a small nod. Ryan nodded back, and walked over to the couch. His parents were both sobbing now, and he sat down next to them. His dad grabbed him into a family hug.

Gabriella smiled, stood up, and quietly exited the Evans home. It was Christmas Eve, and she was going to spend the rest of it with her family, just like Ryan. And tomorrow was Christmas. Her family was going over to the Evans', and the Boltons were coming as well. And even though they just lost two of their kids/friends, Gabriella knew that they'd all be happy for at least a minute. Her guardian angel made her knew. And if she could notice, she would learn she also knows her blonde beautiful guardian angel.