I'm holding on for you
Chapter twenty
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March
April
June
July
"What do you mean you haven't had sex yet?" Sharpay practically yelled at her friend with wide eyes, making everyone in the Coffee Shop turn to look at them.
On March, Gabriella had quit her job at the coffee shop, but kept the one at the flower shop so she could have more time to study and do her homework and, of course, so she could spend more time with Troy. They decided to keep using their Spring Ball planning schedule, so Gabriella went to have dinner at Troy's house Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays he would drive her home directly –those days he would take the car and leave his bike home.
But now they were in the middle of summer, and Gabriella talked to her dad so he would let her work in the Coffee Shop again. Greg didn't like the idea, of course, and made Gabriella choose between her two jobs again. The brunette, deciding that working in the flower shop was getting boring, chose to go back to the Coffee Shop. She planned to switch back again once they got back to school.
"Shh!" Gabriella shushed her blonde friend. "Would you keep your voice down?" she whisper-yelled at her. "Jeez, Sharpay, we're in public!"
The blonde looked at her apologetically and twisted her mouth. "Sorry, it's just, you guys have been dating for, what, a year now?" Sharpay asked and the brunette rolled her eyes.
"Three months, Sharpay," she replied, taking Sharpay's empty coffee cup and handing it to Jared as he walked by. "I'm not ready and Troy is not going to force into anything I don't wanna do," she assured her. "I mean, he thinks I'm the kind of girl who's going to wait till marriage."
"And why would he think that?" Sharpay frowned.
"Because that's what I told him," the brunette murmured, leaning over the counter.
The blonde snorted. "Why would you tell him that?"
Gabriella shrugged, looking down to her fingers. "I don't know. No, well, yes, I do," she corrected, looking up at her friend. "At that moment, I thought that that's what I wanted to do, because I knew that when I got married, I would be in love with that person and I'd be sure that that person would love me back," she explained. "Now I'm not so sure anymore," she admitted softly. "I mean, when I'm with Troy… everything else doesn't matter, you know? Like, everything and everyone else don't exist and it's just the two of us. He makes me laugh, even though he's a grumpy ass most of the times, he makes me smile just by pushing a strand of my hair out of my face, and I can be myself around him without worrying that he's going to judge me. Sure, he calls me weird and crazy and a bunch of other things, and scolds me when I do something stupid in the middle of the street, but at the end of the day I know that he doesn't mean it, and that he scolds me only because he looks after me," she said. "You know what I mean?"
Sharpay nodded her head, resting her cheek over her open palm and smiling. "I do."
"A-a-and recently, even though nothing has happened that would lead us to… you know," she cleared her throat and blushed. "I've been… thinking about it. Well not like the action per se, because that's disturbing, but… thinking about what would happen if Troy was my first."
The blonde nodded again, studying her friend's blushing face for a second before sitting up straight. She crossed her arms and smiled. "Gabby, have you ever thought that maybe you're in love with him?" she asked and Gabriella's eyes widened.
"What?" she squeaked.
Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Don't freak out, woman. Think about it! There's a reason why you're thinking about having sex with Troy-Boy, it's not just your teenage hormones speaking, it could be something else too!" she said and Gabriella blinked at her, not following. "Ugh!" the blonde complained. "Gabriella, go back to what you said earlier. You said you told him that you wanted to wait until marriage because you wanted to be sure you were in love and that that person was in love with you too, am I wrong? If you're thinking about having sex with Troy, it's because maybe, just maybe, you're in love with him."
The brunette stared at her with a blank expression on her face for a good couple of seconds, thinking about what her friend said.
"Gabby, did you hear what I just said?" Sharpay asked her, waving her hand in front of the brunette's face.
Gabriella blinked. "No, yes, I did, it's just that- Jeez, I-I, God!" she breathed. "I never thought of it, you know? I mean, I-I-I don't know, uhm… I'm not sure," she stared at her friend. "I mean, do... do you really think that maybe I could be in love with…," the brunette trailed off as something caught her eye above Sharpay's head. "Troy!" she exclaimed, standing up straight as she saw that her boyfriend had just walked through the door. Sharpay bit back a giggle as Gabriella quickly rounded the counter, completely forgetting about her friend and what they were discussing about, and she turned around in time to see her wrap her arms around the blue eyed teen.
"Nope," Sharpay shook her head. "I'm sure," she said to herself.
Troy chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Gabriella's tiny waist and planted a kiss on her head. "Hi, Cupcake," he murmured in her ear and smirked when he felt her shiver in his arms. He loved doing that.
Gabriella's heart picked up its pace as she pulled back a bit to look into Troy's bright blue eyes. "You're early," she told him, placing her hands on his chest. "My shift doesn't end until 3:30."
"Hm, I didn't notice," he told her sarcastically and Gabriella gave him a look. He smiled and pecked her lips. "I came to tell you something," he said.
The brunette frowned. "Everything okay?" she asked, starting to get a little concerned.
"No, I came to tell you that I'm moving to China and that you'll never see me again," he told her, seriousness in his voice, but Gabriella knew he was joking, so she rolled her eyes.
"Uh-huh, yeah, have fun and send me a postcard," she told him sarcastically, making him chuckle. Gabriella smiled. "Really Cinnamon Roll, why are you here?"
He sighed. "I have to take Annie to her doctor's appointment at 4. Her husband is doing a surgery at that hour and she's afraid that she'll go into labor while driving there by herself," he rolled his eyes. "So, I can't really take you home today," he concluded.
"Oh," Gabriella blinked and then gave him a half smile. "It's fine, Troy, don't worry," she reassured him, kissing him on his jaw. "Sharpay will take me home," she pointed behind her with her thumb and Troy took a quick glance above her head to see the blonde waving at him. He rolled his eyes and looked back down to his girlfriend.
"Okay," he said. "I should be probably home by 5, so, I'll call you by that time, okay?"
The brunette nodded. "Sure," she smiled. "Don't flirt with any nurses, okay?"
"Yeah, the thing is that you don't own me and I'll do whatever the hell I please," he smirked at her.
"Uh-huh," Gabriella rolled her eyes and stood on the tip of her toes, wrapping her arms back around his neck and pressing her lips on his. "I own your ass and you know it, Cinnamon Roll," she mumbled against his lips and Troy chuckled.
"You wished, Cupcake," he mumbled back, pulling her body closer to his to keep her in place. He pulled his head back and pressed his nose to hers. "But I'll try not to flirt with the nurses."
"Oh, you better not, or your dick will pay for the consequences," she smirked evilly at him.
"Are you threatening my manhood, Montez?" he arched an eyebrow at her, smirking back at her.
"Indeed I am," she nodded. "So watch every move you make, Bolton."
"Yeah, okay," he said, sarcastically. "And how will you know what I did or did not do?"
"Oh, don't you worry about that, I'll know," she shrugged, smirking at him. "Just imagine my little head up here on your shoulder," she raised her right hand and made an air ball with her fingers. "So when you're about to do something you're not supposed to do, you'll hear my voice whispering in your ear threatening your dick," she told him and began giggling at Troy's grimacing face.
"Has anyone ever told you how weird you are?" he asked, frowning at the short girl.
"Besides you?" she asked and giggled again as Troy rolled his eyes.
"Funny," he said and then sighed, pecking her lips again. "I gotta go," he told her, clearing his throat and unwrapping his arms from around her waist. "Annie will beat me up till death with a pan if I'm late," he said, making Gabriella giggle.
"Okay," she nodded. "Have fun."
"Uh-huh," he rolled his eyes and kissed her lips one last time. "I'll call you," he said and Gabriella nodded before he turned around and exited the Coffee Shop.
The brunette watched as he got onto his motorcycle and put on his helmet. He kicked down the pedal to turn it on and Gabriella waved at him. He waved back before pulling out of his parking space and drove off. She sighed, smiling to herself and then jumped startled when Sharpay spoke behind her, or more like sang.
"I think you love him, I think you need him, you want to fuck him, marry and cherish him," she chanted Ms. Congeniality-style while making a silly dance and giggled when Gabriella rolled her eyes and punched her in the shoulder.
"Shut up!" the brunette blushed and walked back to her counter.
"What!" the blonde asked as she followed, rubbing her shoulder. "Don't hate me for speaking the truth!" she said, raising her hands up in defense as she sat back down on her stool. Gabriella narrowed her eyes at her and then shook her head, making her way to the kitchen.
By the time that Gabriella finished her shift, she got a call from her dad saying that he was in a job interview and that he wouldn't be home by the time she got out of work. The news took Gabriella by surprise and made her jump in excitement. He told her that a small company had called him and asked him if they could interview him that afternoon, and that he had said yes. The brunette told him not to worry about it and that she wished him the best of lucks.
She sighed, feeling extremely happy as she took off her apron and took her hobo bag. Her dad hadn't had a job interview in more than two months and she was hoping that this would be the good one. She wanted to call Troy and tell him about it, but she didn't want to disturb him, so she decided to wait until 5 so he would call her.
Until then, she didn't have anything else to do but lie on her bed and maybe watch some T.V. Neither her dad nor her brother were going to be home (since he was also working), so she would be bored as hell. And when she was bored as hell, she would tend to think… and she honestly didn't want to be thinking about what Sharpay told her about… loving Troy.
"Well, why don't we go shopping?" Sharpay suggested as she drove to Gabriella's house. "You have nothing to do, I have nothing to do, Taylor's in Hawaii, Zeke's out with Chad, and your Troy-Boy is also busy; so the least we can do is be there for each other when we're bored," she said.
The brunette thought about it for a moment before agreeing. "Yeah, okay, sounds good. But I'll just window shop, you know I don't have any money."
"Oh, don't be silly, Gabby, if you like anything, just tell me and I'll buy it for you, okay?" Sharpay smiled at her friend, turning her pink Mustang around and making her way to the mall.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Sure, Sharpay," she nodded sarcastically.
The two girls walked around the mall for a while, checking out some stores and trying on clothes randomly. Before they knew it, an hour had passed and Sharpay had bought ten different items. No wonder why Taylor said she was a shopping freak, the brunette thought, shaking her head and followed her friend into another store. She winced as she heard Sharpay squeal as she found a new piece of clothing and rolled her eyes. That girl had a hawk eye for clothing.
"I'm gonna try this on, okay? Do you mind watching my bags for two minutes?" Sharpay asked her friend, handing her over 4 shopping bags.
"Not at all," the brunette shook her head and grabbed the bags. The blonde thanked her and then proceeded to rush into the fitting rooms.
Gabriella sighed and sat down on a random chair she found, which happened to be outside of the fitting rooms. She placed the bags on the floor and took out her cell phone from her green hobo bag to see if she had any lost calls or texts. She smiled when she saw a text message from Troy.
Thanks to your weirdo comment, I can't flirt around. –T.
The brunette giggled. "Yeah, right," she murmured to herself and texted him back.
It wouldn't kill you to admit that you miss me ;) But I'm glad to know you're behaving xo.–G.
She shut her phone closed and sighed, waiting for him to text her back. As she waited, she looked around the store and blinked twice as something caught her eye by the man's section. She cocked her head to a side –It was a simple white T-shit with red long sleeves, nothing special really, but for some reason, she imagined Troy in it. She smiled and stood up along with Sharpay's shopping bags before making her way over to the shelf on which she saw the shirt on a mannequin. She took one of the folded t-shirts and checked the price tag. Her smile grew bigger when she saw that she could afford it.
She knew it wasn't something that Troy would wear because all he wore was black and dark blue, and sometimes even grey. But for some reason she thought she had to buy it; he needed to wear some color once in a while.
Without giving it a further thought, Gabriella took the shirt over to the cash desk, still smiling widely.
"Is this it?" the lady behind the desk asked, scanning the price tag, and the brunette nodded.
"Yup," she said, taking out her wallet from her hobo bag and pulling out the only two bills she had in there–one of 20 and the other one of 5. The lady took her money and typed a few things on the cash register before ripping off her ticket and handing it to her along with her T-Shirt in a plastic bag.
After thanking her, Gabriella turned around in time to see Sharpay stepping out of the fitting rooms in a pretty pink summer dress. The blonde looked around before posing her eyes on her friend, who started making her way back to her.
"Hey, what did you buy?" Sharpay asked, smiling, when Gabriella was close enough.
She shrugged, putting her friend's shopping bags on the floor. "Nothing, just a T-Shirt I saw."
"Can I see?" she asked and Gabriella shrugged again, handing her the plastic bag. Sharpay took it and pulled out the T-shirt. She gave it a once over before arching an eyebrow at the brunette. "It's a guy's shirt."
"Uhm, yeah," Gabriella blushed, scratching her elbow. "Uh, I-I got it for Troy."
Sharpay smirked, putting the shirt back into the bag. "So you don't have money to buy something for you, but you do have it to buy clothes for your boyfriend?"
"Yeah, well, all he wears is black, grey and dark blue. He needs some color in his life!" the brunette tried to excuse herself and Sharpay continued to smirk, shaking her head. "He needs it more than I do, trust me. Plus he got me that dress and those shoes and the helmet. It's not much, but I think he'll like it."
"Well, if you put it that way, I believe it's really thoughtful of you. It's nice; I think he'll like it, too," the blonde said, returning her the bag. "Anyhow, what do you think of this dress?" she asked her friend, spinning around.
Gabriella smiled. "I like it," she nodded approvingly and then she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and smiled when she saw that Troy had answered her text.
Fine. I miss you. –T.
"Aw," Gabriella's smile widened, making her heart flutter with joy in her chest. "I can't believe he actually wrote that!"
"What?" Sharpay asked curiously, leaning over Gabriella's shoulder to read the text message. She smiled too. "Aw! That's so cute!"
Gabriella nodded. "I know," she cooed, smiling goofily.
Miss you too. Don't forget to call me xo. –G.
She closed her phone again and before she could shove it back into her pocket, it vibrated again.
You're not my boss. –T.
"Ah," Gabriella nodded, grinning. "There's my Troy."
That's what you think ;) –G.
After Sharpay bought the pink summer dress she tried on, the two teenage girls decided to go have something to eat. While Sharpay got a salad, Gabriella got herself half a Subway sandwich. They chatted away while eating their meals, discussing how they couldn't believe that half summer was already gone and that when they least expected it they would be back to school.
As they went to throw away their trash, Gabriella felt her phone vibrate once again.
Annie barely got out of the doctor's office. I'll call you when I get home. –T.
She read and then frowned. What time was it? She got back to the main menu to check the time and saw that it was 5:05. Huh, she blinked. She thought it would be later. She couldn't believe that they had been in the mall for only one hour and a half.
The brunette smirked as an idea popped into her head; it was still early, Troy wasn't home yet, and she had an excuse to go see him –his new T-shirt.
"Hey, Shar?" the blonde turned to look at Gabriella with questioning eyes. "Do you think you could drive me to Troy's? I think I want to surprise him with the T-shirt I bought him."
Sharpay smiled. "Of course."
By 5:20, the brunette was in front of Troy's house with no sign of his black Audi A8. There was a black Mercedes parked in the driveway, but she didn't give it too much thought, thinking that maybe it was Annie's, and took her hobo bag and Troy's shirt before getting out of Sharpay's car.
"Good luck!" her friend yelled at her and Gabriella waved at her as she drove off.
Gabriella bit her lower lip, smiling, and made her way over to Troy's front porch. She was so excited to see Troy's face when he saw her sitting there in his living room. She could practically see him widen his eyes and blink a couple of times before smiling at her with that soft smile of his. How much she loved his smile, it could make her heart go faster and her insides turn into mush.
The brunette rang the doorbell and waited a couple of seconds. She was prepared to see Nicole or Isabelle, so, when the door opened, she was taken aback when a tall blue eyed man in a black suit appeared in their place. Gabriella blinked twice as her breath hitched in her throat, taking in the forty-something handsome man. No one needed to tell her who he was, she had seen him before, plus she would recognize those eyes anywhere. Jack Bolton. The man she swore she would punch if she ever saw him.
Jack smiled at her, and for some reason, Gabriella felt a sick feeling in her stomach and the hair in her nape stand up. "Hello there, young lady, how can I help you?" he asked kindly. It was obvious that he didn't remember her.
Gabriella gulped, faking a smile at her boyfriend's father. "Uhm, good afternoon, Sir, uhm, I'm sorry, I believe I got the wrong house number," she said, knowing that Troy wouldn't like it if he knew that she was talking to his father.
"Mm," Jack frowned, looking her up and down. "Maybe not, who are you looking for, honey?"
"Oh, just a friend," she said, trying to keep calm as best as she could. "Her name is-."
"Gabriella!" she suddenly heard Isabelle exclaim happily with Nicole by her side. "See, I told you I heard the door!" she said to her co-worker as they appeared behind Jack.
Gabriella could swear her heart stopped along with her breathing when Jack's frown deepened and he turned to look at his employees. Shit, shit, shit, she thought.
"You know her?" Jack asked them and Gabriella shook her head at them; Nicole was the only one who had caught her sign, but before she could stop it, Isabelle had already opened her mouth.
"Yeah, she's Mr. Bolton's girlfriend," Isabelle told her boss, and Nicole elbowed her. "Ow, what?" she frowned at her, but then turned to look at Gabriella who had closed her eyes almost as if she was in pain, and knew that she shouldn't have said anything.
Jack turned to look at the young brunette and arched an eyebrow. "Oh really?" he smirked, eyeing her. "Troy's girlfriend, huh?" Gabriella gulped under his studying gaze and didn't say anything, not only because she didn't know what to say, but because she felt like her throat went dry. This is bad, this is so bad, she thought. How did she get into this? "Well, he didn't tell me anything," he continued to smirk, opening the door wider. "Would you like to come in?"
"Uh, uhm, w-well, I-I don't think it's such a g-good idea, y-y-you s-see, I-I was just s-supposed to drop s-something off and…," the brunette stuttered and felt like whimpering when she saw Jack's smirk grow bigger.
"Oh, don't be shy; I'd love to get to know my son's girlfriend," he took a step closer to her, and if Gabriella wasn't totally frozen in her spot, she would've stepped back. Jack placed one large hand on her back and started pushing her in. "Have a glass of water, tell me your surname, how you met, and then you can be on your way, okay?"
The brunette stared at Nicole and Isabelle, asking for some kind of help with her eyes as Jack closed the door behind her, but they simply stared at each other, trying to figure out what to do. Gabriella gasped as Jack placed his hand back on her back and led her over to the kitchen. She would have to deal with this on her own; she just hoped that Troy would be there soon to help her.
"Have a seat, Gabriella," Jack told her, kindness in his voice, but for some reason, Gabriella thought that he was faking it.
"Thank you," she said softly, and sat on one of the kitchen stools, placing her bag on the stool next to her. She watched as Jack grabbed a glass from the cupboard and walked over to the sink.
"You don't mind if it's tap water, do you?" he asked.
"No," Gabriella shook her head and bit on her lower lip. She shifted uncomfortably on her seat as Jack placed the glass of water on the counter and sat in front of her. "Thank you."
"Oh, no need to thank me, honey," he waved her off and crossed his arms. "So tell me how you two met," he asked with some sort of spark in his eyes, a spark that Gabriella couldn't quite name. All she knew is that it wasn't curiosity; no, she knew he wasn't interested in how they met. So she lied.
"In school," she replied, and Jack nodded. "We were in the same homeroom and Mrs. Darbus made him give me a tour of the school."
"I see," he smiled. "And you two hit it off after that?"
"Uhm, yeah, we could say that," she lied again, faking another smile at him. "He's a really nice guy."
"So he's been good to you?" he asked again and Gabriella nodded.
"He's been the best," she told him.
"Great," he nodded and his smile turned into a smirk once again, making Gabriella feel like he was about to do something she should be afraid of. "I'm glad you guys get along fine," he sighed. "Because you guys get along fine, right?" he continued to smirk at the brunette.
"Uh, yeah," Gabriella frowned, getting her guard on. "Why wouldn't we?"
"I'm just asking," Jack shrugged. "And I bet you two trust each other, tell each other all your secrets, know each other well," he arched an eyebrow.
"Y-yes, I-I guess," she replied, unsure. Yes, something was wrong.
"So I'm sure he told you that he's not allowed to have a relationship, right?" his smirk grew larger and Gabriella simply stared at him, gulping again. Where was he leading this to? "Any kind of relationship, really; you must know why, am I right?" he asked and the brunette narrowed her eyes at him, feeling the sudden urge to stand up for Troy.
"No," she answered, truthfully. "But I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that you told him that he doesn't deserve to be happy," she said, looking directly into his eyes and taking Jack by surprise. She didn't know where she got out the courage from, because moments ago she felt like running out of there. Jack smirk returned to his face, making Gabriella angrier.
"Huh, he got himself a sassy one," he chuckled and stood up, sighing. "But yes, in fact," he paused. "He doesn't deserve to be happy," he crossed his arms and started making his way around the kitchen island. Gabriella didn't tear her eyes away from his figure.
"How can you say that?" the brunette frowned, standing up too as he began getting closer. "He's your son."
Jack scoffed. "And what an ungrateful son of a bitch, he is," he said, making Gabriella's hands curl into fists. He looked at Gabriella's furious expression and his smirk disappeared. "I mean, after he killed his mother, and I took him under my roof, he's still got the nerve to act like an asshole and yell at me like if he was the victim. I mean, I wasn't the one who pushed her in front of the car, you know?" Gabriella's eyes went wide and she stopped breathing. Jack smiled a bitter smile. "So can you really blame me for not forgiving my own son? Do you still think that he deserves to be happy? How can a person who kills his own mother just because he hates his father, ever deserve to be happy? Tell me, Gabriella, would you forgive him if you were me?"
Gabriella stared at him, registering his words. Her hands were still curled into fists and her heart was beating rapidly against her chest. Was that the reason why Troy didn't want anything to do with her at first? He felt guilty for pushing his mom in front of a car and couldn't forgive himself? She let out a shaky breath and looked down at her shoes for a moment, trying to find some kind of comfort in them. It was too much information to take all at once, but at that moment, she couldn't lose it, not in front of Jack Bolton. For some reason, she didn't want to let him win. So she took a deep breath to pull herself together and looked up.
She studied Jack's face for a few seconds. All he wanted was to deprive Troy from his happiness; she knew that that was the reason why he told her about Troy's mother. That was the whole point of inviting her in, in the first place. She studied his eyes; they were the same as Troy's, but at the same time they weren't. Jack's eyes were different. Call her exaggerated, but she could say that they were evil; she could tell that all he wanted was to see his son suffer, like he would do anything to never see him smile. Troy's eyes were… kind. They weren't the eyes of a murderer; they were the eyes of a boy who had suffered a lot. They were the eyes of a guy who cared a lot about her and would never hurt her, not someone who would say and do anything to make someone miserable.
And that's how she knew that Jack was lying. She refused to believe that Troy had done something like that on purpose. She knew it wasn't true, she could feel it; she could see it in Jack's cheap imitation of Troy's eyes.
"You are a liar," Gabriella finally hissed at him, making Jack look at her surprised. "A liar and a horrible father," she took her hobo bag from the stool she had left it on and put it on her shoulder. "I know Troy and he's not a murderer," she narrowed her eyes at Jack. "So I won't stay here and listen to your bullshit anymore."
With that, Gabriella pushed past Jack and made her way out of the kitchen. She wasn't even at the middle of the living room, when a hand grasped her arm, making her turn around. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Jack's angry eyes boring into hers.
"You're an insolent little creature, aren't you?" he told her with gritted teeth.
"Let go of me," Gabriella snarled, pulling on her arm, but Jack only tightened his grip.
He chuckled sourly as she winced. "You can believe whatever you want, Gabriella, but sooner or later you'll find out that I'm right," he smirked at her before throwing her on the couch. Gabriella whimpered and stared up at Jack with a combination of shock, anger and fear in her eyes. "Nicole, Isabelle!" he yelled.
"Yes, Mr. Bolton?" they chorused together as they appeared around the corner.
Jack smiled at them, fixing his blue tie. "I got the papers I needed," he said, picking up a folder from the coffee table. "So I'd be leaving now. Gabriella can stay as long as she likes, so make sure she's comfortable, okay?" he winked at Gabriella and she gulped.
"Yes, Mr. Bolton," they nodded.
"Thanks so much for driving me, Troy," Annie smiled at the teen as he made a turn into his street.
"Yeah, well, after you practically blackmailed me, saying that if you went into labor in the middle of the road you would blame it on me, you didn't leave me much of a choice, did you?" he asked sarcastically, making his cook roll her eyes.
"Such a drama queen," she said, rubbing her 38 week baby bump. Troy scoffed and shook his head. Annie sighed and then frowned when she noticed a black Mercedes getting out of the Bolton's driveway. "Hey, isn't that your dad's car?" she asked.
Troy frowned as well. "Looks like it," he said as he watched it drive away.
"He probably came to pick up some papers," Annie said. "He does that sometimes when you're in school."
"Does it look like I give a fuck of what he does with his life?" Troy asked sarcastically as he parked the car in the driveway and Annie shook her head at him in disbelief. The blue eyed teen put on the emergency break and unbuckled his seatbelt before getting out of the car and helping Annie get out as well.
"God," she grunted as Troy helped her up. "Two more weeks," she breathed as she placed her hand on her back. "Two more weeks to end this torture; I can't believe I went through with this for a third time," she complained and Troy chuckled as he took Annie's purse from the passenger's seat.
"Come on, blow fish," Troy handed Annie her purse and smirked when she glared at him.
"Ass mouth," she hit him with the purse and looped her arm through Troy's before they started making their way to the front porch. Troy shook his head and sighed. She should be at home resting, but she had insisted on staying until she felt like she, indeed, needed to rest.
Troy took out his key and opened the door only to be met by Nicole's worried expression. Both Annie and Troy frowned, immediately knowing that something was wrong.
"Nicole, are you okay?" Annie asked, eyeing the girl carefully.
"Uhm," the curly haired woman gulped, looking at Troy. "Mr. Bolton… uh… we're so, so, so sorry, s-s-she just came, and Isabelle didn't know she wasn't supposed to say anything a-a-and she told your father a-a-and…and, and-."
"Nicole, slow down," Troy cut her off. "Who came?" he asked, still frowning.
The maid gulped again before answering. "G-Gabriella," she stuttered out and the teen immediately paled.
Annie's eyes went wide and turned to look at Troy, who seemed to have turned into stone; she wasn't even sure if he was still breathing.
"Where is she?" he asked, his voice hard and serene.
"In the living room," Nicole answered and without saying another word, Troy let go of Annie's arm and started for the living room. His mind was a chaos as he imagined many different scenarios, a rush of mixed emotions was flowing through his veins and his heart was beating in his ears. He feared for the worst. So when he saw Gabriella sitting on the couch, covering her face, with no obvious physical harm on her, a part of his soul came back.
"Gabriella?" he called her name softly and she immediately looked up; she looked like she had just seen a ghost. Her eyes seemed to fill up with tears as she stood up and rushed towards him. Troy took a couple of steps and met her half way, wrapping his arms around her.
"Troy," she whimpered and he tightened his grip around her. She buried her face in his chest. "Took you long enough, you bastard!" she mumbled against his chest, her voice tight with emotion.
Troy sighed, closing his eyes and resting his chin on her head. He rubbed her back up and down, feeling her shake as she cried into his chest. He had never seen her cry, and it made him so angry that his father was the one who provoked her tears. But at that moment, he couldn't think about him, he had to think about the brunette coiled around him.
"Calm down, Cupcake," he murmured into her ear, making her tighten her grip around his waist. "He's gone," he told her. "He's gone."
Troy looked up and turned his head to his right, seeing Nicole and Annie staring at them with worried eyes.
"Where's Isabelle?" he asked.
"In our room," Nicole told him. "She feels horribly guilty."
The teen nodded. He would have to speak with her later to tell her not to worry; he knew she didn't do it on purpose. "I'm gonna take Gabriella up to my room," he said. "If we need anything, I'll call you, okay?"
Annie and Nicole nodded, and Troy pulled on Gabriella's arms softly so she would let go of him. He put his arm around her waist and led her upstairs. Once they were in their room, Troy closed the door behind them and locked it, just in case if Nicole decided to walk in without knocking again. He sighed and turned around, taking in Gabriella's small and trembling figure. He walked up to her and cupped her cheeks between his hands, making her look up at him.
Her eyes were red and puffy, she had a runny nose and a trembling lip; even though he knew that she was frightened, he couldn't help but think that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.
Troy wiped away her tears with his thumbs and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Come," he mumbled against her forehead and dropped his hands from her face so he could intertwine his fingers with hers. Gabriella nodded her head and Troy led her over to his king-size bed.
He scooted over to the middle of the bed and pulled Gabriella so she was sitting between his legs. The brunette took off her hobo bag and turned to her side, cuddling up to him. He waited until she was comfortable enough and wrapped his arms around her. She placed her right hand on his chest and closed her eyes, sniffling.
Gabriella's breathing started to even out as Troy stroked her hair in silence, resting his head against the headboard and staring up into space. He knew he had to wait until she was calm before asking her about anything, so he waited patiently until he couldn't hear her sniffle anymore.
"I'm sorry," the brunette apologized softly and Troy looked down at her. "I-I shouldn't have come without asking you first. I just wanted to surprise you."
Troy couldn't help but smile softly as she said that last sentence. "Surprise me?"
Gabriella nodded and sniffled before sitting up, making Troy drop his arms from around her waist and look at her curiously. "Yeah," she said, reaching for her bag. She opened it up and pulled out a plastic bag. "I-I got you something."
Troy sat up a little straighter and frowned at her. "You did?"
"I-It's not much, but," she shrugged, handing him the plastic bag. "I-I saw it and I thought of you," she sniffled again, blushing a little as Troy took the bag from her. She watched as Troy dug inside the bag and pulled out the T-shirt.
"You got me a T-shirt?" he arched an eyebrow at her, a tiny smile playing on his lips and the brunette nodded.
"I know it's not something that you would usually wear, but I thought that you could use some color. Plus you bought me the dress and the shoes and the cupcake helmet, and I thought that maybe I could get you something," she told him. "Like I said, it's not much, I don't have that much money, but I hope you like it."
Troy continued to smile, feeling warm inside as he looked down to the white shirt with red sleeves. Yes, it's not something that he would usually wear, but he would, only because Gabriella got it for him. He put the T-shirt next to him, and scooted closer to Gabriella, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I love it," he murmured, kissing her softly on the lips. The brunette smiled happily and accommodated herself so her legs were on each side of his waist and above his legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I can't believe you went through all this trouble just to bring me a shirt," Troy grumbled, rubbing Gabriella's back up and down. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Yeah," Gabriella nodded against his shoulder. "He… just… really startled me."
"Did he hurt you?" he asked and she shook her head.
"No," she said. "Well… he… grabbed me by the arm and threw me on the couch before he left," she admitted softly and felt Troy tense up in her arms. "But I'm not hurt, really," she said, lifting her head up from his shoulder and staring into his eyes. Yeah, those were the eyes she loved.
"Which arm?" he asked.
"The right one," she told him and then smiled softly as she saw how Troy grabbed her right arm with his left hand and leaned his head down to press a kiss there. She sighed as Troy pulled back and ran her fingers through his disheveled hair.
"What else did he do?" he asked, worry evident in the tone of his voice. Gabriella looked into his eyes and bit her lower lip before lowering her head; she wasn't sure if she should tell him, especially when she knew that it was a sore subject for him. Troy frowned at her silence. "Gabriella, tell me," he told her softly but firmly at the same time.
But the brunette remained silent, pondering her options and their consequences. She knew that sooner or later she would have to tell him, and she knew that she needed to know the truth. But she was worried that he would react badly.
Troy gulped, his head starting to piece something together. "Did he tell you something?" he asked softly. After a moment of silence, the brunette nodded. "What?"
Again, silence.
"Gabriella, tell me," he ordered again.
Gabriella sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to let it go. She was going to have to tell him. "H-he… told me… something… about your mom," the brunette said slowly, afraid to look at him for the first time since she met him. Once again, she felt Troy tense up.
"What?" he asked; his voice hard and cold. The brunette gulped and took a glimpse at him through her eyelashes. She was unaware that his breath had caught in his throat or that his heart started racing it's pace or that his stomach had twisted with discomfort. The only thing she knew is that his eyes had darkened into a deep navy blue and that his lips had paled a bit.
Instead of answering with what Jack had told her, Gabriella decided to answer him with another question. "Will you tell me how she died?" she asked, her voice merely a whisper.
"No," he replied immediately, taking Gabriella by surprise as he untangled their legs and got off the bed. No, he couldn't. Not yet. He couldn't let her know he was a murderer. He knew that eventually he would have to tell her why his life was so dark and why she was the only light he had, but he wasn't ready to risk it.
The brunette turned to look at him, still sitting on his bed. His back was facing her. "Troy, please," she pleaded. "I need to know."
"You don't need to know anything," he growled, his shoulders square and his hands curled into fists.
"No, yes I do," Gabriella countered softly as she stood up from the bed. "I need to know the truth, because I know that what your father told me is a lie!" she said, taking hesitant steps towards Troy.
The blue eyed teen turned around abruptly, making Gabriella involuntarily gasp. For some reason her mind traveled to the time when Troy first drove her home from the Coffee Shop, when he still had his wall up and his eyes didn't express anything, like if they were under a triple lock. So as she looked at his face in that moment, she saw the same expression he had that night, that same triple lock in his eyes expressing nothing but… nothing.
"Troy, don't do that," she pleaded again. "Don't shut me out."
"I'm not shutting you out. I just can't tell you," he growled at her. "Don't you get that? It's simply none of your fucking business, Gabriella!"
"But you are! You are shutting me out!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Troy, I know it's hard for you to open up to people! I know that better than anyone else in this world! But, please, it's me! I'm not just anybody! You know you can trust me!"
Troy narrowed his eyes at her. "I know you're not just anybody, Gabriella! That's exactly the fucking point!" he yelled. "So stop asking me about it, because I'm not going to fucking tell you!"
"Troy-."
"No, Gabriella," he cut her off before she could say anything else. "It's easy for you to push; it's easy for you to simply expect me to open up to you with something as private as my mother's death. But no, it's not. I honestly don't give a flying fuck of what my father told you, he's always been an asshole and a liar; it's your problem if you want to believe him or not. I won't tell you what really happened only so you can have a peace of mind. So get your nose out of my fucking business and mind your own! Are you able to understand that or do I have to make a fucking graphic for you?" he finished off, not really caring about the pain he saw flash through Gabriella's eyes.
After that, the already tense atmosphere became unbearable. The brunette stared at his face for a couple of seconds, analyzing his stoic expression, and expecting him to go back to the normal Troy, the Troy she knew so well. When he continued staring at her with absolutely no other emotion but anger, she nodded to herself and turned around, taking her bag from the bed.
"You know, Troy?" she started off softly, staring down at the mattress. "You once told me that you weren't a coward and that you faced your problems instead of running away from them," she said, turning around and facing him once again.
Troy rolled his eyes. "Oh please, don't start-."
"No!" she cut him off firmly. "You said what you had to say, now you let me talk!" she told him, staring at him with anger and hurt. "All I see here is that you're scared; scared that I'll run away if you tell me the truth. But Troy, you've always been the fastest out of the both of us. You've always been the one to run away from your problems, from reality, from consequences, from your fears…even if you say you don't. And it hurts me that you think that I'll just leave."
Troy's eyes began to soften as she spoke. "Gabriella-."
"Shut up! I'm not done yet!" she yelled at him, getting him quiet. "It hurts me to think that you don't trust me. I thought that during these past few months I've showed you that I'm not only your friend, but I'm someone you can rely on and count on, and someone who won't ever leave you alone," she stared directly into his eyes. "So go ahead and run away, avoid your fears! I don't care anymore! I thought we were past this whole wall thing you try pull off, but I see that we're not. I already know that story, Troy… and I'm sick of it; I've been through that, and no, Troy, just… don't try to pull that off with me anymore. Not me."
With that, the brunette walked past him and started for the door. Troy stared after her, not sure if he should stop her or let her go. But before he could decide, Gabriella did it for him and unlocked the door quickly before she stormed off, not giving him the time to react.
After that, he just stood there, staring at the open door as if he was waiting for her to return. But he knew that she wouldn't. He knew she was right, he was awfully scared. He was scared that he would lose her; she was the best thing that has ever happened to him and he wouldn't bear to lose her.
To be continued.
TEEHEE! *Troll Mary* (you know, instead of Troll Dad? xD I have to stop being on Facebook so much -.-)
Oh, aren't I a little evil creature?
I was planning on doing this chapter a little longer, but if I had added what's coming on next chapter, it would've been a 12 thousand word chapter, and for me that's a bit too long, so I decided to cut it down a bit!
Don't worry, don't worry, the next chapter will be out soon, I wouldn't leave you with such a cliffhanger if I wasn't going to post next chapter soon! You know I don't update too often xD
But yesss, this was fast, I know! I told ya that the last chapters were going to be hell easy to write because they are the reason why I created this story in the first place! :3
Anyway, hope you have liked it! It didn't go exactly as planned, but… meh, I kinda like it!
Don't forget to leave a review behind saying how horrible I am! Lol.
Oh! And sorry for grammar and spelling mistakes! (I get mixed up at times -.-)
Lots of love,
Mary.
P.S: Don't forget to follow me on twitter! (btzzmary)