Until We Bleed

by: LunarEclipse360

A/N: don't know how I managed to get this chapter done in three days, but I did it. I'm curious, one of my readers have already said that she thought she knew what happened to Gabriella on her birthday. Anyone else have any theories? And, guys, this story is coming to an end. I'll probably end it at 37 or 38

Warning: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 34

Something woke her.

What that something was, she didn't know. But when she reached for the warmth that had been beneath her finger tips only hours ago, it wasn't there. Her eyes opened and her body shot upward. She searched the room for the missing occupant, but found no one. She was alone.

"Troy?"

When no answer was returned, she slipped from the sheets and went to look for him. She found him in the living room, asleep on the couch. Confusion passed through her. When had he left the room? Why did he leave the room? She walked over and took a seat on the coffee table.

"Troy, wake up."

He groaned and opened one eye. "What?"

"Why are you sleeping out here?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

That was a lie, but he was certain she hadn't picked up on it. Slight hurt passed through her eyes, leaving as soon as it came.

"Oh, well...do you want me to make breakfast?"

"Honestly, I just wanna go back to sleep."

She nodded and watched as he turned over, facing his back towards her. With a sad sigh, she stood and went into the kitchen. She made breakfast for herself in silence and ate it slowly. The pain that had filled her heart just hours before was beginning to bloom once more. Finding she could no longer stomach her food, she threw it away and placed the used plate and utensils into the sink before going upstairs.

Taking a deep breath, Gabriella busied herself with finding something to wear while trying to hold back her tears. She didn't know why he was acting this way, but she didn't like it. As she moved towards the bathroom, her cell phone went off and she calmed herself before going to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Gabriella, it's Max. Listen, would it be possible for us to meet today. I have to leave in a few days for business and I have a few things I want to discuss with you before I do."

"Oh. Yeah, sure. Just say where and when."

/0\

Sitting in the small café she'd agreed to meet Max in, she wondered what it was that he wanted to talk about. On the way over, she decided that this would be the perfect time to tell him that she was no longer interested in this deal that their parents wanted. Hearing the tinkling of the bell above the door, she watched as Max walked in with Taylor by his side. Confusion spread across her face as they sat down.

"Hello, Gabriella. Sorry we're late," he said as they took a seat across from her.

"It's no problem at all, but...what's going on?" she asked, looking between the two.

"Well, that's actually what I came here to talk to you about." She tilted her head. "I think it would best if we don't get married."

"Wait...what?"

"It's just that...since you introduced me to Taylor, we've been seeing more of each other and we found that we really like each other and enjoy each other's company. I talked it over with my parents—told them what I wanted—and they weren't exactly happy, but they said that they would wait another year before I took over the company. This will allow Taylor and I to really get to know each other."

"D-Does my Father know this?"

"Yes. I told him the entire situation and that it won't affect the merger at all." She nodded. "A-Are you okay?"

Okay? She was relieved. She was now free of an obligation that was sure to push her into the deepest depression in her life. She was now free to pursue a happiness that her heart saw fit; happiness that only resided within one person.

"I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than fine, I'm great."

He smiled. "That's great."

"Why do I have a feeling I know where that smile is coming from?" Taylor asked, a knowing smirk on her face.

Smile? She was smiling? Gabriella hadn't even realized that she was. Looking towards the dark-skinned female, she shrugged. Her head and her heart were on Cloud Nine. If Taylor knew the reason why she was smiling, then that was fine. Snapping slightly out of her dreaming state, she looked at Maximilian, softening her smile.

"I am so happy for you. I'm so glad that now you can marry someone you would actually want to spend the rest of your life with."

"I could have spent the rest of my life with you."

"Yes, but think about it, Max. Would we really have been happy?"

He shook his head. "No, I guess not."

"At least now, you have a chance at that."

Nodding, he looked to her. "And you?"

She shrugged. "I might."

"You might?" Taylor asked, giving her a knowing look. "I think it's more than just 'might'."

Grinning, she rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Taylor."

The dark-skinned woman laughed while Maximilian chose not to ask what he was missing.

/0\

After an hour of conversation, it took Gabriella all her will power not to skip home like a little school girl. She could not believe her luck. Now all she had to do was tell Troy that she loved him and all would be well in her life. When she opened her front door, however, she did not expect to find Sharpay and Chad sitting in her living room. Confused, she closed the door behind her and moved towards them.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"

"Well, supposedly Troy has something he wants to tell us, but we were waiting for you to return," Chad explained.

"Which by the way...what took you so long?" Sharpay asked.

"I met with Max today and I..."

"You're back."

She turned at the sound of his voice, a bright smile on her face. She failed to hear the tone of his voice, but didn't fail to see the emotionless look in his eyes. Her smile faltered and she nodded.

"Yeah. Listen, Troy, there's something I need to tell you."

"Let me, first. Please sit."

Nodding, she took a seat beside Sharpay and waited to hear what he had to say. Something in the back of her mind warned her that this wasn't going to be good, but she just thought she was being paranoid.

He took a deep breath. "I'm...I'm leaving...again."

"Again?" Sharpay asked. "For what?"

"I still have things in my system that I need to flush out before I'm completely back to normal. Not to mention there's...there's a promise that I made that I need to fulfill."

Gabriella stared at nothing as Troy explained why he needed to leave. She could feel her heart breaking in her chest all over again. He was leaving. He was leaving and she hadn't even worked up the courage to tell him that she loved him.

"Are you gonna come back?" Chad asked.

"If I do, it won't be for a while. There's someone I need to find."

Her body went rigid. Someone he needed to... Daisy. That was the only person she could think of that he would want to find. Biting her lip, she nodded and stood, capturing the attention of the other three occupants. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought against it. Instead, she walked out of her apartment, leaving two people clueless and one worried.

/0\

Tears slid down her cheeks as she stood on the wet sand, facing the ocean. Somehow or another, she'd successfully made her way from her apartment to Venice beach without managing to break down and on foot. It was the farthest she'd ever walked in heels, but the pain in her feet was nothing compared to the one in her heart. She should have told him; should have told him that she loved him. But what good would that have done? Would he have changed his mind? Probably not.

She cursed Sharpay for making her believe that he really did love her. She had completely forgotten about the ex-prostitute and his devotion to her. Did he know that she didn't see him as anything more than a brother? Did he know that his love for her was one-sided? And if he did, did he believe he could change her mind?

Stop it, she berated herself.

Thinking that way wouldn't help. Thinking that way would just make things worse. Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, she desperately tried to fight the urge to just break down and cry. She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to, but she wouldn't allow it.

"Gabriella?"

Her body tensed, but she made no move to face him. "Go away, Troy."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong."

She shook her head. "What does it matter? Nothing I say will change anything."

"Gabriella..." He grabbed her bicep, but she quickly ripped it out of his grip.

"Don't. Just don't."

"Tell me what's wrong."

"You're leaving; that's what's wrong. You're leaving and I..."

"I told you, I have to."

"You have to? Just cut the bullshit and just...say you want to."

He sighed. "Alright. I want to. I want to because I need to find someone."

"Daisy."

"What?"

"I know you want to find Daisy. I mean...you love her so it-it's understandable."

"Gabriella..." He wanted to tell her the truth, wanted to tell her that he didn't love Daisy, but it seemed like the best way to go. She was giving him a way out of it without even realizing it, "thank you for understanding."

She nodded, but said nothing. Somewhere deep inside of her still hoped that he would deny loving Daisy, but that hope was gone now. He thanked her for understanding, a clear sign that he, indeed, loved the blonde. On the verge of breaking, she turned away from the ocean and walked in the opposite direction of him.

"Gabriella." Catching up to her, he moved so he was in front of her and grabbed her arm. "Gabriella, what...?"

"Please, Troy, just let me go."

"Not until you tell me why this is upsetting you so much?"

Shaking her head, she looked anywhere but at him. She couldn't say it now. It wouldn't make things any better. She loved him, but he loved someone else. Just thinking about it made her heart hurt. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she stared out at nothing.

"Gabriella, tell me," he whispered.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because...it'll just reinforce the fact that...that everyone I've ever loved...never loved me."

"What?"

Finally, she looked at him; brown eyes shining with hurt, sorrow and love. "I love you, alright? I have since the beach party; since the day you smiled at me and didn't accept until the day you left for rehab. But none of it matters now. You're... You love someone else. You're gonna be happy with someone else. That's what really matters, right; your happiness?"

He nodded, though still shocked at her confession. "...Right."

Breaking her gaze away, she looked at a spot on his shirt. "Happiness; the one thing I'm not entitled to."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is. All my life, I just wanted someone to love me, but...no one ever does."

Removing her arm from his grip, she proceeded to leave the beach. She wanted to get back to her apartment and lock herself in her room so she could cry in peace. Troy followed behind her, but she didn't acknowledge him. He was, after all, the reason why she was heartbroken.

/0\

When they arrived back at the apartment, Gabriella gave Sharpay one look at the blonde knew something bad had happened. She followed her best friend upstairs, knowing she needed someone.

"What happened?" Chad asked.

Troy sighed. "She loves me."

"You're just now finding that out?"

He turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"Dude, have you seriously been blind? She's been in love with you for a while."

"Why haven't I noticed?"

"Because after you found out about her being engaged to someone else, you seemed to have shut off your people reader when it came to her."

"It doesn't even matter anymore. She's still engaged to Max and she thinks I'm in love with Daisy."

"And you let her believe that?"

"Yeah. It'll make moving on easier for her."

"No, it won't, and you know it won't.

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

"You know it does, so don't try and deny it."

/0\

She was tired of this.

Staring numbly at the wall across from her, Gabriella barely registered Sharpay's feather light touches on her hair. It took everything in her not to push the blonde away. Out of all the people in Gabriella's life, Sharpay was the only one who cared enough.

"Everything's gonna be okay, Gabs."

"No, it's not," she said, her voice cracking in places. "He...he doesn't love me."

"What?"

Tears fell from her eyes. "Troy...he doesn't love me."

"How do you know?"

"He basically told me himself." Bringing her legs up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and leaned her chin against her knees. "I told him that I love him and...he just wrote it off as if it were nothing. He...he loves someone else."

"That's impossible. I'm never wrong."

"Well, you were this time," she snapped.

Sharpay coiled back, never experiencing this side of her best friend. Gabriella wasn't the type to get angry. If she did, her body language and words never held this much venom.

"Gabi..."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'm just... I'm tired of it. I can't take feeling this way anymore."

Sharpay said nothing as she wrapped an arm around Gabriella's shoulder and leaned her head on her shoulder. She could not fathom how her best friend felt. Growing up, Sharpay always thought that Gabriella had a great life, but after they became friends, she saw the truth; her life was far from great. It hadn't helped that it just got worse as she grew older.

"I hate my life."

The doorbell sounded and Gabriella got up to answer it, ignoring Sharpay's worried looks. She quickly made her way to the door, not caring that Troy said, repeatedly, that he would get it. Opening the door, she smiled slightly at the woman on the other side.

"Hey, Kelsi."

"Hey."

After her initial visit with her grandparents, Kelsi had been asked to be a bridesmaid by Maximilian's mother and stayed in California to help with wedding preparations. There was no doubt that she now knew that there wasn't going to be a wedding.

"I'm guessing Max told you."

She nodded. "That he did. As much as I wanted to have you as a cousin-in-law, I know that this is better for you."

"So what brings you here?"

"I just wanted to..."

"Kelsi?"

The brunette's eyes glanced over Gabriella's shoulder and she went into shock. "T-Troy?"

Gabriella turned to the male behind her. "Wait, you know each other?"

He nodded. "She...she's an old friend of mine."

"I...I just remembered that I have some place to be, so I'll call you later," she said to Gabriella before turning to leave.

"Are you shitting me, Kelsi?" His voice stopped her. "Are you really just gonna leave and pretend like you have nothing to say to me?"

"That's because I don't." She turned back to him, her expression guarded. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Bullshit! Emma went with you that day; I know it. That family took both of you, so don't act like you can just walk away and not say anything to me."

Gabriella flinched at the anger that radiated off of him. Whoever this Emma was, she was important to him. Could she be the one, not Daisy, who he had been talking about; the one that he needed to find? And if so, who was she? What role did she play in Troy's life?

"Believe me, Troy, you don't wanna know."

"Yes, I do, and I believe I have the right to."

"But it won't make anything better," she answered, her voice cracking as her façade slipped.

"What?" he asked, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"She's dead, Troy," she said, a tear sliding down her face. "She's been dead for three years, now."

His body froze. "What? H-How?"

"Some asshole, he...he killed her...he raped her and then drove a knife through her heart...and threw her body into the ocean," she explained, tears now falling freely down her face. "She's gone, Troy. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Without saying another word, Kelsi quickly made her way down the hallway to the elevator, crying the entire time she waited. It came moments later and she stepped inside, her sobs cut short by the closing doors. Gabriella looked to the blue-eyed male standing a few feet beside her. The emotionless expression on his face caused her to forget that her heart was in shambles.

"Troy."

His eyes snapped to hers and he shook his head, already seeing the questions forming in her mind. He didn't want to answer them; he didn't even want them to be voiced. Turning on his heel, he walked back to where both Chad and Sharpay sat looking more confused than Gabriella.

"Leave," he said to them both.

"But," Chad started, but Sharpay motioned for him not to.

She was used to that look on Troy's face. She'd seen it many times on Gabriella and she knew that he just wanted to be alone. Grabbing his arm, Sharpay pulled Chad up from the couch and towards the door. She sent a sad smile to Gabriella before leaving with her boyfriend at her heels. Gabriella waited until the door closed before moving to confront Troy. Her eyes fell on his slumped over form on the couch.

"Troy..."

"I'm not in the mood, Gabriella."

Keeping quiet, she took a seat on the coffee table, right in front of him. Cautiously, she brought her hand up to his cheek and touched him lightly. At the feel of her skin making contact with his, he pushed her hand away and stood.

"What part of 'I'm not in the mood' don't you fucking understand?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was just trying to help."

"I don't need your fucking help. I don't need anyone's help..." His angered expression faltered, "I don't need anyone," he whispered before going in the direction of his room.

"That's not true." He stopped, keeping his back to her. "You do need someone. Getting through this on your own won't be easy... I should know."

She stood and carefully made her way to him.

"You just...you don't understand."

"Then help me to."

He turned to her and she stopped walking. "How? How can I help you understand when...when I don't even understand?"

"Tell me what happened."

"I-I don't know," he said, his voice filled with pain. "All I know is that...she's dead."

"Who is?"

"Emma," he whispered, "my sister."

His sister? Kelsi's adoptive sister had been his real sister? That... How was that? What about his parents? Shaking her head; now was not the time to question anything. She needed to focus on the man who had just found out that his sister had been dead for the past three years...and he hadn't even known.

"Troy..."

"She was all I had left," he cried, crumpling to his knees. "She was all I had."

Gabriella watched him, her heart aching in response to each cry that escaped his lips. Rooted in her spot, her mind pushed and pulled her into different directions, trying to get her to do something. But do what? What could she possibly do or say to comfort him? Would he accept it if she tried?

He'd always been so strong, but now...now he was just as fragile as she had been only minutes before. She was usually the one that needed comfort. He was usually the one that gave comfort. But now the roles were reversed and she had no idea how to do what he did so well.

How do you provide comfort to someone who's always been invulnerable?

What do you say when 'sorry' feels like the wrong word?

The strangled sobs that echoed through the apartment brought her back to reality; back to him. She knew that she had said he needed someone, but she didn't expect it to be her. She didn't expect him to show her this side of him. She desperately wished that she could call someone who was better suited for this, but, apparently, he didn't want anyone to see him this way. If he had, then he wouldn't have sent Chad and Sharpay away.

Tired of standing there and doing nothing, she slowly moved to stand before him. She stared down at him with sad eyes before kneeling down to sit across from him, tucking her legs underneath her.

"Troy," she whispered as she reached for him.

Without warning, his hand stopped hers in mid-air and she watched as his fingers wrapped around her wrist. She kept still, not wanting him to push her away again. So she waited; waited for him to accept her. Her patience was rewarded minutes later when his hand slowly moved from her wrist to her fingers, lacing his with hers.

When he opened his eyes, she felt her heart stop. The expression in them was one she'd never seen before; at least not in the blue irises in front of her. It was one of raw pain; one that she was sure had been on her face a few times in her life. This look was foreign on his face and she hated it. Not giving it a second thought, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close.

She didn't care that he was ruining her shirt. He was all that mattered. As many times as she cried on his shoulder, it was about time she returned the favor. Running her fingers through his hair, she let the severity of the moment get to her and a single tear slid down her cheek. Seconds later, his arms wrapped around her midriff and grasped the back of her shirt, pulling her closer.

It was obvious to her, now, that she had always been that someone he needed...whether he wanted to admit to it or not.

A/N: before the questions start, the answer to why Gabriella didn't tell Troy she's no longer engaged to Max will be answered in the next chapter. Also, I will admit that I did get teary eyed writing this chapter.