Chapter 13 – A dead sister
While Troy was lying in his bed looking at those pictures, Gabriella slowly got into the room. "Hey," she smiled and lay down beside him.
"Hey," he said still looking at a picture of him and the girl.
Gabriella looked at the picture of Troy and the girl hugging tight and smiling, Gabriella felt like something hard just had hit her and then she took a deep breath, "who… who is she?" she asked slowly, feeling the fear of Troy with another girl. Not that she needed to have to him for herself or anything, but this girl on the picture… she was so pretty. Gabriella felt a knot in her stomach as she looked at Troy.
Troy looked at her, with the tears rolling down his cheeks, "it… it… is my sister…"
Gabriella looked at him a little confused, that she had not heard of her, and where she was, "where is she?" Gabriella asked softly, as she felt the knot untie itself in her stomach, and she started to relax just a little. But by the look on Troy's face, she knew that something was wrong. The tears on his cheeks and the pain in his eyes.
"She…" Troy looked down and closed the album and then he stood up and took another album down from the shelf and gave it to Gabriella, "I can't tell, but look at this, then you probably will understand…" he looked down and let the tears roll.
Gabriella took the album as Troy sat down beside her and then she opened it and looked at Troy's sister, she was scaring, she was like a skeleton with skin around, Gabriella looked shocked at Troy, "anorexia?" she asked softly.
Troy nodded and even more tears fell down his cheeks.
"Is she…" Gabriella took a deep breath; "is she… dead?" she looked at Troy.
"Yes… she… she would have… turned 20 today, but she… she didn't survive… she died… and I… I wasn't able to help her!" Troy sobbed before broke down.
"Oh Troy…" Gabriella hugged him and kissed his hair, "I'm so sorry to hear that! Why didn't you tell me before?"
Troy did not say anything, he just cried into Gabriella. "Bella… if… if… I lose you too… then… then I can't keep living… I… I just don't want live then! Bella, you are the only reason for me to be here now, please, please stay here with me," he cried into her hair. Now it all fell into place for Gabriella. How he understood her and the pain she was feeling about the food. He had seen it all in his sister. It scared Gabriella to see those pictures of Troy's sister.
"Troy…" she said softly while stroking his back, "you won't lose me, I promise you!"
"How can you promise me that?" he said with a shaking voice. His sister had promised him the same thing, but she was gone now.
"Troy, I'll do anything for you not to lose me," Gabriella said and looked him directly into his eyes.
"Thanks," he sobbed and looked down.
"Troy… don't look down, please," she said softly.
"Bella, you don't understand…" he said still looking down.
"Then explain, Troy, I want to help you as you help me," she said as she lifted his chin to make him look at her.
"Bella… I can't…" Troy said and the tears started to roll down his cheeks again. Gabriella slowly got Troy to lie down at the bed and then she lay down beside him and took him into her and hugged him tight while he was crying. Gabriella slowly got the blanket over them and then they just lay there, Troy crying and Gabriella holding Troy tight.
After sometime Troy was starting to calm down, and he looked up at Gabriella, "I lost her…" he said.
"Troy, please, tell me about it," she said softly.
"Now?" he asked.
"When you want to," she said softly.
Troy looked at her, "I need you to hold me, when I tell…" he said trying not to cry.
"I'll hold you every time you need to be held tight, and every time you cry," she said holding him even closer, trying to take some of the pain he felt, but somehow it did not work.
"Gabriella, can I talk to you?" Troy's mom called from downstairs.
Gabriella looked at Troy, who slowly loosened his grip to finally letting her go.
"Hurry…" he said, still trying not to cry. She nodded and walked downstairs.
"Sweetie we need to talk!" Leslie said, showing her into the living room, where Troy's dad, John, also was.
"Mr. Bolton," Gabriella said a little confused. "What do they want to talk to me about?" she thought.
"Leslie, do you want to?" John, Troy's father, asked, looking at his wife concerned.
"Can… can you?" She said, with tears in her eyes.
He nodded and looked over at Gabriella. "Gabriella, when we look at you, it's like looking at our daughter…" He said and sighed deep, "she died of anorexia a half year ago… Troy was heartbroken, and didn't find a reason to live, before we moved here. Then he met you, and he did see your silent scream for help. It finally made him smile again, not your scream for help, but the fact that he was able to help you, and we were so happy to see him smile again. But yesterday Leslie told me you suffered of anorexia too, or that you were on your way towards it… and if you die too, then we have no son anymore…"
He sighed and continued, "He would die, because he wouldn't survive another person died from him! He was closer to his sister than he was to anyone else, and we can see the smile in his eyes, when he is with you – and I'll bet you guys will be as close as Troy and Amber were. Gabriella I'm begging you! Please eat! If not for your sake, then for Troy's!" he said and looked over at Leslie.
She was silent a couple of seconds, and then she said: "Gabriella I want you to do a favor for me?"
"Anything!" Gabriella said.
"I want you to take care of my son. I want you to make him smile and laugh again, just as he did before we lost Amber. But most of all I want you to let him cry and hold him tight, when he needs a shoulder to cry on. We know it will be hard, but I know he will go to you instead of us, so please do that, Gabriella. Would you do that for me?" she asked, looking at Gabriella with gentle eyes.
"Yes, I will! He has held me, and I want to hold him too, no matter what the problem is, I'm here to stay, and I'm not leaving him!" Gabriella said and meant it, she really liked Troy, and she cared a lot about him.
Leslie stood up and asked Gabriella to follow her. They walked into the kitchen, and Leslie sat down and Gabriella sat down at the other side of the table. "Okay, Gabriella, we need to make a plan for you, what you have to eat every day, and of course you can eat more if you want to, but this plan would be what you need to eat," she looked at Gabriella.
"Okay," Gabriella said, glad that someone actually sat down with her to help her.
As they were about to begin to plan it, Troy came downstairs, he looked down, "am I interrupting something?" he asked as he sat down beside Gabriella.
"No, of course not," his mom said and looked at Gabriella, "Gabriella we'll do this tomorrow, you guys can go upstairs again," she smiled gently and walked back into the living room.
Gabriella looked at Troy and took his hand, "sweetie?" she said.
"Yeah?" Troy said still looking down.
"Do you need anything or are we just going upstairs now?" she asked softly.
"A bottle of water, but I'll go get that," he said and stood up, "do you want one too?"
"Yes, please," she said and stood up. Troy grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and then they walked upstairs to Troy's room.
They just got into Troy's room and had closed the door behind them, when Troy broke down crying, "I can't live without her here, Bella," he cried harder and felt to the floor.
Gabriella bended down beside him and held him tight, "Troy, I'm here, and I'm not leaving, just cry," she whispered softly.
"Bella…" he cried.
"Shh… it's okay, Troy," she said rocking him slowly.
Troy cried and cried until he hadn't any tears left, "thanks," he whispered into her hair.
"For what?" Gabriella asked still holding him.
"For holding me and letting me cry," he said as he slowly pulled back to look at Gabriella.
"I'll always do that, Troy, I promise," she said as Troy pulled her up from the floor with him.
It was hard for Gabriella to see Troy like this, hard because he was the strong, caring boy, who had held her tight, when she was crying, hard because she could tell from the way he looked at her and his parents, that he was afraid to lose them too. It was tearing Gabriella up inside to see Troy like this, she wanted him to smile and laugh, she wanted him to be happy, whatever it would cost, she would do everything!
"You want to change into something more night friendly?" Troy asked as they stood there in the room.
"Yeah, I'll go change, and then you can get ready for bed too," she smiled and kissed his cheek,
"I'll be back in two minutes," she ran into the bathroom and then she changed and got back into Troy, who was lying at the bed waiting for her.
"Hey there," he smiled weakly.
"Hey there yourself," she smiled and lay down beside him.
Troy smiled at her, "you stole my shirt, again?" he chuckled.
"Yeah," she smiled, "I love the scent of you!"
"But the real me is right here next to you, so technically you don't need my shirt," he smiled at her.
"Yes, I do," she smiled and took the blanket and placed it over them.
"Bella?" Troy said softly, when Gabriella had turned out the light.
"Yes, Troy?" she said and turned her face to him.
"Can I sleep with my head at your chest?" he asked a little shy, because of the fact, that they weren't more than friends.
"Of course you can, Troy," she smiled and opened her arms to let him into her arms.
"Thanks," he whispered and lay down in her arms and placed his head at his chest.
"Anytime," she whispered back and caressed his upper arm. Troy slowly fell asleep in Gabriella's arms and Gabriella just lay there with Troy in her arms and thought of, what she should do to make him smile again, but she really didn't get any ideas, and as she lay there thinking she also fell asleep.