I know, I left you with another cliffhanger! To make up for it, the next few chapters are full of Troyella moments. Enjoy! :)
"Troy? What is it?" Gabriella asked tentatively. She was afraid of the answer, but didn't want to wait for him to speak first. He said nothing for a short while. Then, finally, he spoke quietly, hardly looking at her. "I finished my last lecture early. Went to find you at the university. But when I gave your name, no one had heard of you. I even made them double check. Made myself look a complete idiot. Sure enough, they tell me again. They've never had a student by the name of Gabriella Montez." She had no response prepared for this. None whatsoever. She couldn't focus on anything other than the look in Troy's eyes. There was only a hint of anger there. What was most crippling for her to deal with was the hurt and disappointment that shone through them.
Gabriella was desperate to make some kind of attempt to justify her actions. But any straightforward way to do so didn't come to mind. As far as he was concerned, she had lied to him. She had told him of the university at which she studied. But of course, she wasn't a student there in this world. Only in her own time. It seemed the only solution was to tell the truth. The bizarre, unexplainable, yet very real truth. "I...I can explain this, Troy. Really I can. I know it feels like I've lied to you, but..." she was cut off by Troy as he looked her straight in the eye. "You did lie to me. And I don't understand why. It doesn't make any sense. But I'm not sure I can listen to an explanation right now. I have to go. Please don't follow me," he stated simply, before turning and walking out of the door. Dumbstruck, Gabriella sat frozen in her chair, wanting to move but also wanting to respect Troy's request of her.
After a couple of minutes she stood up and slowly walked outside, needing some air. She didn't glance Anna's way as she passed her; she couldn't deal with the woman questioning her on what had just happened. The cold air doing nothing to soothe her distress, Gabriella ran as fast as she could back to her apartment. She had to think about what she was going to do. If Troy had let her, she would have had every intention of telling him the whole truth. But now as she went over the idea in her head, it struck her that if he didn't think she was mad after hearing her story; he would probably think she was patronising him instead. Mocking him. Something she would never do.
Rushing inside, she ran into the bedroom and flung herself onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow. This had to be a nightmare now. She just wanted to be back in a world that made sense again. As much as she wanted to be with Troy; she would never be able to be completely honest with him. It hurt more than anything to know that. She had finally fallen in love, a love she had never known before; and it had to happen in what had to be an alternate universe. Gabriella let the tears fall, feeling utterly hopeless. That was the last thing that went through her mind as she drifted off into an uneasy sleep. A feeling of total hopelessness.
.HSM.
She was woken in the early hours by a knock on the door. Lifting herself up and off the bed, Gabriella glanced at the clock and saw that she had slept away the rest of the day. As the knocking began again, this time slightly louder, she rushed towards the door and opened it, not expecting to see the person that she most wanted to, who was stood leaning against the doorway. He wasn't exactly smiling; but he didn't look angry either. She couldn't decipher his expression as he stood there and faced her. Then: "hi," he said quietly.
"Hi," she replied in barely more than a whisper. She didn't know what else to say to him. It was all she could do to keep herself from bursting into tears right then and there at the unfairness and confusion of it all. Moments passed with neither one of them moving from their positions. Gabriella would have let Troy inside if she wasn't rooted to the spot. Suddenly, her emotions got the better of her and she began to sob uncontrollably. As her exhausted body shook with despair, a pair of warm arms surrounded her and in that one gesture she felt safe again. Ever since the moment Troy had walked way from her in the coffee shop she had felt as though she was lost all over again. But now as he held her tightly to his chest, Gabriella allowed herself to relax a little. That didn't stop the gut-wrenching sobs that were still coursing through her, though.
"Shhhh, it's okay. Please don't cry, I'm here," Troy told her gently, still cradling her in his arms. They stood like that for what seemed like hours, neither one of them moving. Eventually, he pulled back to look at her pale face, then led her inside. He set himself down on her couch, bringing Gabriella with him. Finally, she calmed down enough to blink away some of her tears, and managed to look him in the eye again. Her voice was shaky as she started to speak. "I want to tell you why, I really do. But I...I can't," she said fearfully.
Troy noticed that she seemed scared to tell him about the reason behind her lies. He was still upset that she had lied to him in the first place; but he was worried about her now. Wanting to reassure her, he took her hands in his and placed a soft kiss on them. "You can. You can tell me anything, Gabriella. I need you to know that and believe it." She closed her eyes briefly, now even more tempted to tell him the truth. But she was still holding back as she replied, "I do know that. Of course I do. It's just that if I tell you this, you'll think I'm...crazy." She saw his face soften at her response.
"Hey, listen to me. I wouldn't think anything bad about you. Not ever. Please tell me what's going on so I can help you," he said softly, his blue eyes pleading with her to let him in. Gabriella saw the sincerity in his eyes and took a deep breath. She was taking a risk with a confession that she knew would sound like total lunacy. But if she didn't do this, she feared losing Troy anyway. And she couldn't bear the thought of that.
Please Review!
Next chapter, Gabriella tells Troy everything. How will he react?
