Hey, everyone! I'm so thankful for all of your reviews! They mean so much to me! I'm hoping to get to 200 reviews after posting this chapter, so be sure to review! I might be willing to wait even longer to get those 20 some reviews! :) On a less conniving note, you all should see "Something Borrowed"! It was an awesome, totally not predictable movie! Loved it! Review and Enjoy!
Everything to Me
Chapter ten
The sun peeked through the wooden window shades in Troy's bedroom the next morning, falling on his face and waking him up. His pillow was scrunched up against his face and his arms were folded underneath his pillow, hugging it somewhat. He sat up once he had laid in bed for a good twenty minutes and rubbed his face with his hands before looking at the clock on his nightstand. It was almost noon, and since he didn't have to work at all today, he wasn't concerned with going anywhere or being late for something.
Passing the full length mirror hanging on his bathroom door before making his way out of his room, he couldn't help but notice how much of a slob he currently looked like. He was shirtless with a pair of wrinkled sweat pants on, and his hair looked like he had stuck his head out of a window while driving. His eyes, though, looked rested, and there was a smile on his face, probably, because the dream he had of Gabriella was still fresh in his memory.
The sound of something crackling in the kitchen drew his attention to it once he made his way down the hallway into the family room. He saw his mom standing on one foot cooking bacon and eggs while her crutches leaned against the counter.
"Morning," she said without having to turn around to see if Troy was actually there.
"Morning," Troy said back, walking into the kitchen. He grabbed onto the crutches and stuck them under his arms as he watched his mom at the stove. He had to lean over just to be able to rest his armpits on the cushiony grey part of the crutches.
"How was your night out with everyone?"
"It was fun," Troy nodded.
"How much longer are they staying for?" Mrs. Bolton asked. Her hair was curled and pulled back into a half ponytail and she was wearing makeup. She must have finally got sick of looking like a mess just because she couldn't go to work until her leg was better.
"Sharpay left this morning. Zeke had some kind of emergency back home with the oven. Apparently he lost an eyebrow," Troy answered.
"Eh, that's not good, but considering this happens almost every time he tries a new recipe, I can't say I'm surprised."
"Trust me, I know," Troy said, nodding.
"And what about Taylor and Chad? How much longer do they have until they're sent back to work?"
"They have a month, but in a few days they're going to visit Chad's family in Pennsylvania for a while. Apparently, Chad's mom wants grandchildren, ASAP. They're going to give her back all of the baby clothes she keeps sending them overseas."
"I'm sure that'll happen sooner than they think," Mrs. Bolton said with a smile. "Speaking of, you know, starting families and all, when am I ever going to meet the girl who keeps you out so late?"
Troy felt himself blush as she looked up from the pan on the stove. She smiled at him innocently, like the thought wasn't too far fetched. Troy rocked on the crutches, trying to stall.
"I don't know," Troy said with a shrug.
"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?" Mrs. Bolton asked. "Invite her over already."
"Do you really want to meet her? I'm afraid you'll scare her away," Troy replied. He laughed when his mom smacked him with the dishtowel she had slung over her shoulder.
"I wouldn't do such a thing," she commented. "Just invite her over; I'm dying to see a new face."
"Okay," Troy said.
"Okay? Great! Have her over tonight. I'll try to clean up this place, and get to the grocery store before dinner…"
"Mom, Mom," Troy said, holding his hands out and placing them on her shoulders. "You don't have to do anything special. I'll go to the grocery store to pick up a few things. You can just go on with your normal day."
"Troy, lately my normal day has been watching TV and eating. I'm tired of watching TV and eating," she said in a monotone. "I'll clean and get an air freshener going, the whole nine yards."
"What ever you say, Mom," Troy said with a laugh, setting the crutches against the counter again. "So is that breakfast for me, or am I going to have to fend for myself?"
"Aren't you rude," Mrs. Bolton said with a smile, swatting him again with the dish towel.
...
The smile on Gabriella's face hadn't faltered since the moment she stepped into her father's law firm, which was filled with smiling men and women answering phones and walking around in designer clothing and expensive shoes. A bowl of candy sat untouched in the lobby, obviously because no one would actually eat anything around the office. The people Gabriella had encountered were just how she expected them to be: well manicured and occasionally well mannered.
There was a fish tank in the lobby too, one that held salt water creatures from places Gabriella most likely never visited. Her dad always told her that no matter how old you are, a fish tank will draw you closer, and he wanted to make sure that his clients were always being reeled in.
Since Gabriella was on her lunch break, she sat in the chair by the fish tank, eating a recently microwaved Lean Cuisine. The steam rose and hit her chin as she waited for it to cool off before taking another bit.
Within minutes, she already had company.
"Gabriella, I figured I'd eat with you today since you probably don't know many people yet," said a blonde paralegal, Suzanne. She had on a pinned striped suit, one that hugged her body and showed off how skinny she really was. She had an apple and piece of toast for her lunch.
"Thanks," Gabriella smiled, finally taking a bite of her lunch. "It's been a busy day getting to know how everything works around here."
"Oh, I bet. I remember my first day," Suzanne commented. She bit into her apple, letting the juice run down her hand without a care. Her diamond ring on her ring finger was so large, that Gabriella's eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets when she saw it. It must have weighed four times the apple.
"That ring is gorgeous," Gabriella told her, nodding toward the engagement ring.
"Thanks," Suzanne smiled, looking at it. She held her hand out so that they both could get a better look at it. "My fiancé said there's only two like this in the country."
"You're kidding! That must have cost an arm and a leg!"
"I didn't even ask," she replied with a laugh. "I think I would have told him to return it if I knew the price."
"Really?"
"No!" Suzanne giggled. "There's only two in the country. I wouldn't give it up for anything."
"It's definitely something," Gabriella replied with a nod. "Amazing."
"Thanks."
The two sat there for the rest of their lunch, making small talk and staring at the ring. It reflected in the light coming from the fish tank. Gabriella couldn't help but look at her own ring finger occasionally and picture a ring three fourths of that size on her finger. She grinned at the idea.
...
"Troy, get the lasagna out of the oven before it burns!" Mrs. Bolton called from her bathroom. The smell of the layered pasta dish in the oven wafted through the perfectly clean house. The windows were cracked open slightly because earlier, Mrs. Bolton burnt the rolls and almost caught the house on fire.
Troy jogged out of his bedroom, a clean pair of dark jeans and a navy blue t-shirt on, and slide into the kitchen with ease. He grabbed a red oven mitt from the counter and pulled out the hot pan, sliding it onto the stove to cool down after shutting the heavy oven door. He looked at the clock, seeing that he had a few more minutes until Gabriella would be there, and went back to his room to make sure he didn't have any leftover shaving cream on his face.
Gabriella's high heels clicked on the sidewalk pavement leading toward Troy's house. She had parked a few houses away since the street in front of his house was currently occupied by someone else's car. She was still in her work clothes, since the only way to get to dinner on time would be to drive all the way to Troy's from work. Her blazer had been discarded in the car so she was left with her pin stripped black pants and a tucked in purple silk shirt.
In the reflection of Troy's front door, she made sure her hair looked somewhat descent. She nearly jumped off of the porch when she heard someone from across the shrubs separating Troy's house from the neighbors.
"You look beautiful, darling!"
Gabriella turned to see an older man at the house next to Troy's, sitting in a rocking chair. He waved at her when she finally made eye contact.
"Oh, thank you." Gabriella smiled, giving him a small wave back.
"You must be Gabriella," he assumed, scouting up on his rocking chair to get a better look at her. "The two of them in there have been fussing all day about you. They've been to and from the grocery store three times so far."
"Really? I hope they didn't go through too much trouble for me," Gabriella said, glancing at the front door.
"I'm sure they're thrilled to finally have some company. The last time Troy brought a girl home, was… well, he hasn't brought a girl home for as long as I've lived here… and I've been in this rocking chair since 1970!"
The laugh of the old man made Gabriella instantly smile. He seemed to know a lot about Troy, and Gabriella assumed it was because he was always in the rocking chair, looking to see what was going on. Gabriella looked away from the man when she heard the front door open and saw Troy looking at her in wonder. When he stepped out on the porch, he didn't seem too surprised to see that she had been delayed by his neighbor.
"Are you interrogating Gabriella, Mr. Silverman?" Troy asked with a smile, waving at his neighbor.
"Oh, no! I was telling her about this rocking chair of mine, nothing important," Mr. Silverman replied. Gabriella laughed softly at the man, considering he wasn't being entirely truthful.
"Is that true?" Troy asked.
"Completely." Gabriella nodded.
"You two have fun tonight, you hear?" Mr. Silverman said, getting up from his rocking chair and walking to his front door. He waved from his spot.
"Bye, Mr. Silverman," Troy called after him.
Gabriella sent him a small wave and Mr. Silverman winked at her, like he knew full well that she lied for him. Troy waited until Mr. Silverman was in his house before kissing Gabriella.
"How was work?" He asked when he pulled away.
"Brand new," Gabriella replied with a smile. "I'm sorry that I'm still in my work clothes, I didn't have time to change."
"You look great," Troy said, realizing her outfit for the first time since he stepped out onto the porch. "Purple looks good on you."
"Just because you said that, I'll never wear any other color," Gabriella joked. "Thank you."
"Do you want to go inside?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded, biting her bottom lip to hold in the huge smile that was trying to form on her lips. She followed Troy inside; shutting the front door behind her once she stepped into the house. The house was warm, Gabriella noticed, as she looked at the open floor plan. The couch looked inviting and the dinning room table, which was a few feet from the front door, was already seat.
"Mom, Gabriella's here," Troy called out, noticing that his mom wasn't in the kitchen where she had been when Troy went out to save Gabriella from Mr. Silverman.
"Oh! I'm coming!"
Gabriella's heart fluttered in her chest at the sound of Mrs. Bolton's voice. When Mrs. Bolton appeared from the hallway, Gabriella was surprised to see her hopping on one foot toward them.
"Gabriella," Mrs. Bolton smiled once she was closer to them. She held out her hands, and Gabriella took them, noticing how Mrs. Bolton gripped her hands, as if trying to stay standing. "It's so nice to see you."
"You too," Gabriella replied. "Thanks for inviting me over for dinner."
"It's our pleasure. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to have someone over."
"Well, I'm happy to be here."
"Troy, I misplaced my crutches again, will you find them for me?" Mrs. Bolton asked, sending Troy a communicating look.
Troy nodded, leaving the two women alone as he went toward the hallway. He shook his head as if thinking of something as he left them be. Gabriella was caught off guard when Mrs. Bolton instantly hugged her.
"You're so beautiful!" Mrs. Bolton exclaimed. "I didn't want to embarrass Troy by getting all motherly on you, but wow! You're wonderful, I can tell."
"Thank you." Gabriella grinned. "That means a lot to me."
"Come sit, come sit," Mrs. Bolton said, waving her over to the couch as she herself hopped over to it. She sat down, grabbing a pillow and placing it on her lap.
Gabriella sat next to her, smiling as she briefly looked around the room, noticing more knickknacks and memorabilia as she glanced around.
"So, you have to tell me everything about you," Mrs. Bolton said. "Troy hasn't told me a thing about you."
Gabriella raised her eyebrows, laughing softly at the fact that Mrs. Bolton wanted to know everything about her. Where would she start? I was born on a hot summer day…
"Don't blame him, though," Mrs. Bolton told her, patting her on her knee. "He probably just doesn't want to share."
"Oh, well…" Gabriella started with a shrug.
"Seriously, Mom, your crutches were in your room where you always leave them," Troy said as he came back into the family room with the crutches.
"I must have forgotten," Mrs. Bolton told him, winking at Gabriella. Troy set the crutches by the couch and inhaled the smell of the lasagna, which was evident the second Gabriella walked into the house.
"I think we should eat," Troy said. "The lasagna is probably cooled by now."
"Let's eat then," Mrs. Bolton said. She got up from the couch quickly, swinging on her crutches and went toward the kitchen. Troy waited until she was hidden behind the counter before turning to Gabriella, who was now standing up next to him.
"You don't have to answer any questions she's bound to ask you," Troy whispered to her as he led her to the dinner table. He pulled out a chair for her and she sat in it, letting him push it in for her too. "She gets excited about guests."
"I don't mind answering questions," Gabriella said with a shrug. She looked up at Troy who was pulling the chair out next to her. "You know, maybe if you told her a few things about me, she wouldn't have to ask me so many questions." Gabriella sent him a teasing look and he opened his mouth to reply, but closed it when he realized he didn't have a good response.
"I'm going to see if she needs help with the lasagna," Troy said, smirking as he escaped to the kitchen.
Being left alone gave Gabriella the chance to look around from her spot at the table. The house was cozy, with a basket of shoes by the front door and an umbrella rank right next to it. The rug by the front door was worn with many exits and returns, and the coffee table was cluttered with magazines and books. The kitchen was small and from the table, Gabriella could see Troy picking up the lasagna pan with oven mitts covering his hands. She smirked at him when he came from the kitchen and set the pan in the center of the table.
Mrs. Bolton was close behind with her hands free of everything but her crutches. She sat in the chair across from Gabriella, and Troy sat down next to Gabriella once he had gotten everyone a large piece of lasagna.
"So, Gabriella, let's start off with the basics, how'd you and Troy meet?" Mrs. Bolton asked. Gabriella looked over at Troy, sending him a communicative look.
"Well, it's a funny story actually."
...
"Did you meet Troy's friends?" Mrs. Bolton asked from her spot at the dinner table. Troy was making trips to and from the table, taking dirty dishes to the kitchen.
"I did," Gabriella nodded. "They're great people."
"They fooled you," Troy joked as he came back for another round of dishes. Gabriella giggled at him when he winked at her, and Mrs. Bolton shook her head at her son.
"Have you met Gabriella's friends, Troy?" Mrs. Bolton asked, leaning her elbows against the now empty space on the table in front of her.
Troy and Gabriella exchanged a look as Troy shrugged at his mom's question.
"Yeah, I guess," Troy nodded, grabbing the sets of utensils from the table and stacking them in an empty basket that was used for the rolls.
"What do you mean 'you guess'?" Mrs. Bolton asked. She noticed the way Gabriella occupied herself with her glass of water.
"I've seen them around town," Troy answered. "I've worked for a few of them too."
"So you haven't really met them," Mrs. Bolton assumed.
"My friends aren't the most accepting people, Mrs. Bolton," Gabriella told her. "I wouldn't be surprised if we weren't friends anymore in the future."
"That's too bad," Mrs. Bolton said, leaning back in her chair.
Gabriella nodded, glancing over at Troy who seemed to have a few questions of his own because of her confession. He turned back to the kitchen, though, and went back to doing the dishes.
Mrs. Bolton trailed her index finger around the rim of her wine glass as she listened to the sound of the water from the sink in the kitchen. Gabriella watched in comfortable silence, wondering if Troy did the dished every night for his mom. She couldn't help but grin at the thought.
As Mrs. Bolton's hand came around her wine glass for one more swipe of the rim, a sparkle caught Gabriella's eye. Mrs. Bolton stopped her hand when Gabriella looked at her wedding ring in surprise.
"Your ring…" Gabriella started, noticing that it look almost exactly similar to Suzanne's ring from work.
Mrs. Bolton turned her hand to look at her ring and smiled longingly at it. She shinned it with her napkin, and showed it to Gabriella.
"The one thing I have left of my husband," she said somewhat sadly. Gabriella swallowed and blinked at the large ring. She knew that it was so expensive, that if they sold it, Troy wouldn't have to work four jobs. "I wouldn't give it up for anything."
Gabriella nodded, looking at the ring again.
"It's beautiful," Gabriella nodded. She decided in that moment not to mention that she had seen one just like it only a few hours earlier, since the look on Mrs. Bolton's face showed that she thought it was the only one that mattered.
"Would you like to take a walk?" Mrs. Bolton asked.
"I'd love to," Gabriella said with a nod. She pushed back her chair, glancing toward the kitchen.
"Troy, we're going on a walk," Mrs. Bolton said. "We'll be back eventually."
"Be careful," Troy called after them.
Gabriella and Mrs. Bolton walked slowly down the street, past Mr. Silverman's house and toward town. Mrs. Bolton hobbled, more than walked, and Gabriella had kept a good walking pace so that she wouldn't pass her.
They were currently talking about Troy.
"When my husband died, we thought that life couldn't get any worse, but it somehow managed to," Mrs. Bolton said.
Gabriella nodded. "Troy told me about his dad's business partners."
"I'm surprised," Mrs. Bolton admitted. She walked toward a bench that was at the end of the street and sat down on it. Gabriella did the same. "He usually doesn't talk about it."
"I got that vibe," Gabriella admitted, laughing softly.
"Troy's whole life got ripped out from under him when everything happened. He only went to college for my sake, I'm sure of it," Mrs. Bolton explained. "He graduated as quickly as he could, and the second he got the chance to move here, he did… and I came with him."
"You didn't always live in Boyne City?" Gabriella asked.
"Oh, no," Mrs. Bolton said with a shake of her head. "We lived in Grand Rapids, in a mansion on top of some huge hill with a winding driveway and iron gates. Troy went on a vacation here once to visit Rocket and he loved it. Life was simple here."
"Why doesn't Troy find a job out here, then?" Gabriella asked. "He doesn't have to work four jobs."
"That's what I keep telling him," Mrs. Bolton replied. "He says having four jobs builds character."
"He has a lot of character," Gabriella commented.
Mrs. Bolton nodded.
"I think he's just making up for the fact that his dad wasn't liked by everyone. He wants to have a positive impact on as many people as he can before his time is up in this world."
"Does he think picking up trash has a positive impact on people?" Gabriella asked, half joking, half not.
"I think there's a method to his madness," Mrs. Bolton said. "He just wants to be happy. It doesn't matter what he has or who he's friends with, as long as the people he cares about are doing fine, he's fine."
"I've never had someone in my life like him," Gabriella admitted. "I'm glad I have him."
"I know he's glad to have you too," Mrs. Bolton smiled.
A convertible flew by them in the street. It was filled with a group of girls, all singing to the music playing from the radio, as a Jeep of guys followed them, all hooting and hollering after them. They were all absorbing the partially warm weather while they could. Gabriella watched them disappear down the road, laughter trailing behind them.
...
Troy and Gabriella's hands were clasped together as Troy walked Gabriella to her car. The sky was dark, and most everyone on Troy's street was likely tucked into their warm beds by now. Gabriella's black car was parked just a few houses away from Troy's, so they walked slowly to make their time together last longer.
"I love your mom," Gabriella told Troy. She hugged his arm with her free hand, and looked up at him. She smiled when he did.
"I'm glad to hear that," Troy replied. "She can be hard to get used to."
"Well, I like her," Gabriella said with a giggle.
They were almost to Gabriella's car by now, and their walk kept slowing. By the time they were standing by the driver's side of the car, they were laughing because they nearly dragged themselves there. They faced each other, and Troy brushed Gabriella's bangs away from her face.
The stillness of the night sprinkled a tired feeling over the two. They simply just looked at each other for a while before either of them said anything.
"Do you want to dance with me?" Troy asked, never looking away from Gabriella's eyes.
"In the street?" Gabriella asked, grinning.
"No one drives down here."
"Okay," Gabriella whispered. She stepped away from Troy, though, and turned toward her car. She opened the driver's side door and sat in the seat momentarily. Troy saw her open a navy blue CD case and slid the disk into the CD player before stepping out of the car again.
A soft song played from the open window of Gabriella's car once she shut the door, and she stepped back in front of Troy, placing her hand on his shoulder. Troy easily wrapped his arm around her and held her other hand in his. He inhaled the smell of her hair as he pressed the side of his face against her head. Gabriella smiled to herself.
"I've never danced with someone in the middle of the street, in the middle of the night," Gabriella said to him, interrupting his soft humming.
"You haven't lived then," Troy answered. His laugh rumbled against her hand, and she held him tighter.
"What other crazy things have you done?" Gabriella asked.
"Well, let's see…" Troy paused for a minute, going down the list of crazy things he had done and picked the ones he actually wanted to share. "How about going somewhere you don't know and trying to find your way back home?"
"Sounds tiring," Gabriella answered.
"Dying your hair blue," Troy listed.
"Never."
"Getting in a bar fight."
"You're making that up," Gabriella laughed, looking up at him. He wiggled his eyebrows and sent her a look that told her that he wasn't joking. She shook her head, waiting for him to continue.
"Falling in love's pretty crazy," Troy told her, dancing her around in a circle before just swaying in place with her.
"Hmmm," Gabriella hummed, smiling at him. "I agree."
Troy smiled down at Gabriella, running the hand that rested on her back through the ends of her hair, giving her the chills. Gabriella raised herself up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him and left the conversation at that, dancing in the street in the cool air and under the stars.
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unknownbyhim22