DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

After John left, I sat for a few minutes and just let the tears I had held in flow. Gabriella laid there looking so helpless. John said she was going to be okay. She just needed lots of water and some time for the drug to leave her system.

When Gabriella came to a little while later, she jumped up, rushing to the bathroom and threw up. She was an absolute mess. She was still under the influence of the drug, but her make-up was all over her face and her hair was a mess. I sat her on the edge of the bathtub, getting a washcloth wet with warm water and gently washing her face of the make-up.

The whole time she just kept apologizing. I told her that it was ok, that everything was going to be ok. She just shook her head telling me it wasn't and cried more. I put one finger to her lips before continuing to wash her face.

Once her tears subsided, I helped her out of her dress and into the tub. I gently washed her hair of the excess product she had put in it earlier in the night. I massaged her temples gently, trying to help her relax. I used the removable shower head to rinse her off before helping her out of the tub.

I wrapped her in towel before pulling her into a warm embrace. After standing there hugging for a few minutes, I led into the bedroom where some clothes were that Kelsi had dropped off earlier in the evening. I got her dressed, then put her back to bed, where she fell asleep almost instantly.

I let out a deep sigh. I just wanted my Gabriella back and I hoped John was right and that everything was going to be ok. I walked back into the bathroom, getting everything cleaned up, folding up her dress and laying it over the side of the tub along with her towel and the wet washcloth.

I walked back into the bedroom, watching her sleep for a few moments before climbing onto the bed beside her so I would be here if she woke again. I reached to the bedside table and grabbed my notebook I had been writing in over the past several weeks. I turned to a new page and began writing, words coming to me for a possible new song.

When Gabriella woke up for the second time that night, I was right beside her as promised, checking to make sure she didn't need anything. When she saw me she smiled for a brief moment before breaking down into tears.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…" she sobbed.

I wrapped my arms around her, trying to comfort her, whispering, "All is forgiven," in her ear.

She just shook her head and cried more. I softly rubbed her back as she continued to cry into my chest.

When the crying ceased, she looked up into my eyes and I tried to smile at her. She scooted further up on the bed, closer to my face, and kissed me. I kissed back gently before pulling back, not wanting to let things get out of hand. She moved her kisses down my neck, teasing me softly with her teeth and tongue.

I could feel myself get hard as she continued to kiss me, moving her hand slowly down the front of my shirt before stopping when she got to my pants. She began to rub me through my pants. I let out a soft moan as she continued. It had been too long.

I traveled my left hand down her back and around to her hip, caressing it softly as she moved her kisses further down my neck to the opening on my shirt. She stayed there a few moments before making her way back up, wreaking havoc on my emotions. I pulled back before attacker her lips with mine, rolling her slightly back so she was laying fully on her back, me hovering over her, as we were locked in a deep, passionate kiss. Her hands were wound tight in my hair, as mine were still caressing her hips, sides, and anything else I could get my hands on.

That continued for a few minutes before I finally came to my senses, realizing what I was doing. I pulled back suddenly, confusion in her eyes as they shot open.

"I can't do this, I'm sorry. We shouldn't be doing this."

Hurt and confusion reflected in her eyes as she looked at me. I sat back on the bed, running my hands through my hair and taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself back down. Gabriella rolled over, her back to me, and slipped off to sleep again a few minutes later. She slept the rest of the night.

The next morning, I called Burke and asked him to come up to check on Gabriella, wanting to be sure she was ok. When he arrived, I slipped out, telling him I had somewhere I needed to go, but I would be back soon.

I left and went to Jess's room. I knocked on the door and she soon opened it.

Her face brightened when she saw me. "Troy! What are you doing here?" She grabbed me and pulled me in to the room.

"Um…I just wanted to come by and apologize for last night, running out on your party."

"It's alright, I know things got kinda hectic there for a while and complicated."

"Yeah, I just really needed to be with Gabriella at that point. I just wanted to make sure everything was ok between us before it was too late."

Jess looked uncomfortable. "And is everything ok?"

I looked down. "I'm not sure. We didn't really get a chance to talk last night. I'm hoping to get to talk later today, or at least tomorrow before she leaves. That was the whole point of me coming out here this weekend."

She shook her head, confusion written on her face. "What do you mean?"

"The only reason I was coming out here this weekend was to fix things between us. That was the whole point. I planned this trip a couple weeks ago so I could come surprise her. But things seem to keep getting in the way. Everything's just so complicated."

"Troy, you're going to just get hurt, just like I told you last night. Don't do this. Do you honestly think you belong with her?"

"That's the thing, Jess. I don't know if I do or not. But I'll never know for sure if I don't at least try."

I turned to walk out the door, but Jess's hand caught mine.

"Troy, you're going to make a big mistake."

"Well, then let me make it. You can't help me anymore."

I walked out the door and back to my room, hoping Burke could give me some kind of report on Gabriella.

When I got back and peeked into the room, Gabriella was sitting up in bed with Burke standing there next to her. "Hey…I made it back, thanks for checking on her."

"Looks like she made it back, too," Burke said as he turned towards the door.

I took a tentative step into the room, still holding the door frame. I wasn't sure what kind of response I would get out of Gabriella this morning now that she was returning to normal.

"How are you?" I asked her.

"Alive, apparently," she replied. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," I replied, smiling and holding my gaze a moment longer before Burke interrupted us.

"Got a minute," he asked me, motioning for us to move into the other room.

"Yeah," I replied, turning back to Gabriella. "Are you okay?" She nodded and I continued. "Kelsi brought some of your stuff up last night. I didn't know if you remembered or not."

"No, but I kinda figured," she said, smiling at me as she tugged on her top. I smiled, wistfully, before turning to walk out to the living area, Burke following me and closing the door.

We walked closer to the main door of the suite before we started talking.

"What's up?" I asked, not really sure what he was going to want.

"Listen, Troy, I really didn't like how you acted with Jess last night. When she came back to the party she was really upset. What did you say to her?"

"Why is it my fault that she was upset? Did you ever think that maybe you being drunk the entire time could have made her upset?"

"Damnit, I thought this shit was…done, all of it. This isn't fucking high school anymore."

"No shit, Travis," I snapped back.

"And there you go. Same shit, different day, more people caught in the fucking middle."

"You think I meant for this to happen?" I asked. "Any of it? Jess and I talked about this; she's happy, I'm happy."

"Really? She didn't look too happy last night, especially not when you ran after your friend there. And what about your friend?"

"That's not your concern," I said, my voice low.

"Not my concern, but you call not just John, but me to check her, make sure she's okay. So now not only are you being dishonest with people, I have to skirt around the issue, act like everything's okay…do you really think I could tell Jess I was coming here?"

"She wouldn't mind, Travis, so you may as well tell her." I let out a sigh. "All this time and you couldn't figure out she'd have more compassion than that?"

"Compassion or not, what happened last night has definitely changed Jess's outlook on everything. She says she wants to speak with you before we leave this afternoon."

"Like you said…we're not in high school anymore, Travis. You don't have to act so defensive."

"No, we're not in high school, and yet you still can't get my name right. Let's just forget it's the same as yours."

Burke turned and left. As the door shut, I grabbed my head in my hands and let out a groan. I didn't like him in high school and I still didn't like him. In high school, he was always trying to steal Jess away from me. Well he finally got his wish. He finally got the girl.

I walked back to the bedroom to check on Gabriella and swung the door open. Gabriella was near the door and I saw her jump as I walked in.

"Sorry," I said, giving her a soft smile. "I didn't mean to startle you."

She was trembling slightly as she reached for my hand. "I…didn't get a chance to really thank you."

"Actually you did," I replied with a grin, relieved she was talking to me and things were going ok for the time being. "Over and over." I caressed her hand softly as I reached up to tuck some stray curls behind her ear, realizing how that sounded. "Okay, and that sounded wrong. I promise nothing happened, scouts honor."

"Did I tell you that I was sorry?"

"Yep, that too." I leaned in and kissed her forehead softly. When I pulled back I saw a tear escape from her eyes. "No more tears," I whispered, cupping her face in my hands. "Time's not on our side right now, Gabi, and I swear to you…please, this time listen to me…okay?" She nodded, tears still hanging on her eyelashes. "Trust me?" I asked. She hesitated and I dropped my gaze. "Okay, I deserve that."

"Wait…Troy, please." She reached out and touched my arm softly. "It wasn't you…isn't you, it isn't you, is it?" I shook my head 'no', knowing she was referring to Jess. Her tears started once again. "She's marrying Dr. Burke…not you."

"Yeah," I said softly. She sobbed again. I pulled her to me, holding her close against my chest as she let the sobs wrack her body. "Well, damn…and here I thought you'd be happy over that one." She laughed and swatted me. "Damn…mmmm, that was nice." She hit me harder this time. "Hey…OW!"

"Fucker," she muttered against me.

"What was that for?" I asked, pulling back and smiling down at her. "For taking care of you, for washing your hair, for behaving myself and dressing you instead of taking full advantage and ravishing you? Believe me, it takes great self-restraint."

"I don't understand…after all I've done…"

"You wouldn't have," I said, stopping her rant.

"After last night…God, I almost…"

"Don't," I said, closing my eyes. "I don't even want to think about what could have happened. And I would have felt completely responsible."

"For what, my actions?" she asked, confused.

"My…dishonesty. You're right, Gabriella," I stopped her from interrupting me as I saw her open her mouth to say something. "Omission is pretty much the same. I didn't give you a reason to trust me, and I'm sorry."

"And I went and fucked everything up, just like me," she muttered through her tears.

"Christine…"

"No, I did!" She stepped away from me, throwing her arms up. "You kept telling me not to think the worst of you, you kept telling me you wanted to talk…"

I stepped closer to her, leaning in and silencing her with a kiss, teasing her with my lips and teeth.

"What was I saying?" she asked, breathlessly.

I smiled down at her. "Exactly," I said, before leaning in to capture her lips once more.

I think this was one of my favorite chapters to write. It has its moments where it's able to show Troy in a light where he's not a jerk and he does actually care, though his uncertainty is still there and that in itself makes him appear a jerk. Please leave a review!