Chapter 35: A little bit more control

The next morning Troy Bolton got greeted by the door tearing open. Then the sunlight made its way onto his face, after he heard the curtans moving. He growled. The next noise was the glas, which got placed on the night stand. It was a horrible loud voice which filled Troy's ear. It didn't really go well with his headache.

"There's an aspirin next to the water. It's already 10 a.m., you should get up." Gabriella's voice filled his ears.

"What happened last night?" he asked her as he felt the headache. "Ow..." he said as he opened his eyes. This wasn't their bedroom. This was one of their guestrooms. Damn it, he really must've screwed it up.

"You don't remember?"

"Last thing I remember is a woman in a red dress bidding for me." he answered slowly, hoping he didn't say too much.

Gabriella nodded, "You had a little bit too much fun with her last night." she said and walked out.

Why was she pissed? Troy got up and took the aspirin before he followed her. "Why are you pissed?"

"I am pissed because you can't even control yourself for one night, Troy!" she yelled at him. "That's exactly why I won't have any public appearances with you. Because you got beyond drunk last night! Beyond!" she yelled.

"Could you lower your voice?" he asked her slowly.

"NO!" she yelled to his face. "I thought this weekend would be good for us. But so far, this is a disaster, Troy!" she said.

The man sighed and brushed through his hair, "I am sorry. Whatever I said or did, I am sorry."

"That's not the point! I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to be more aware of your actions. What you did last night wasn't very grown up. You did not act like an adult. Leave alone like a parent of two nine year olds." she explained to him.

"There's nothing I can do but feel sorry for it."

"No there is something you can do. You have to quite doing what you did last night. You have to start acting like a parent instead of a single man! But the problem is, you still feel like a single man! I couldn't hold you ten years ago and I still can't! That's why I didn't want to get back to together in the first place. That's-"

"Stop." he said into her eyes.

"Why? Because my voice is making your headache even worse? I don't care about-"

"No, but because you're about to say things, you will regret saying." he answered, although she was right.

"You don't know me!" she yelled back and heard Roxy running to her.

"Oh yes I do, Gabriella. How do you think I-"

The brunette turned around and walked down the stairs. Without looking back. The Australian Shepheard stood still for a couple of seconds, before she got up and followed the brunette.

"Gabriella! Get back here."

She did not respond. Instead, she walked through the living room into the kitchen.

Troy sighed and walked into the master bedroom, to get dressed. She had to calm down. But she was right. He must've done something horribly wrong last night. And he needed to stop acting like a bachelor. He needed to stop flirting with other women. Because in the end, he knew that he didn't want them. He always would want her. And he couldn't let anything happen that would make him lose her again.

The brunette sat on a couch in the wintergarden, starring out of the window. It was a rainy day in Santa Barbara. A rainy day in California. She watched the rain drops flowing down the french windows. It was also already cold in the city. She wrapped the cozy blanket around her body and brushed through her dark brown locks. She should have seen it coming. She should have known that something like this would happen. She should have known that getting back together was a bad idea. She should have known.

Her thoughts got interrupted by two cups of hot green tea, which got placed on the glas coffee table next to her. But she did not look at him. She kept staring out of the window, watching the rain.

He sat next to her, "I brought you tea. Green tea."

She remained silent.

"I know that what I did last night was wrong. I absolutely did not act like an adult. I acted like a seventeen year old, who got home after a party. It was inappropriate and I am sorry for that." he apologized and fondled her cheek.

She pushed away his hand and remained silent.

"Alright." he said and nodded, "I guess I deserve that."

The brunette turned her head around and stared at him. For minutes, she stared into his bright blue eyes. And for the first time, in a long time, she did not get lost in them. He was sorry, she knew that. She saw that. But she was not going to forgive him just like that. It wasn't because of last night, I mean yeah it did play a role but it was more about the principles.

"I'm going for a walk with Roxy." she said and got up. "You should take a bath."

He watched her walking into the kitchen, wondering if she ever will forgive him.

Gabriella walked down at the beach, throwing a couple of sticks once in a while, making Roxy ran in the sand. It was windy today. Windy and rainy at the beach. Although it was a bad morning, she passed several joggers, who ran their ordinary routines. The waved were crashing against each other, it was almost stormy.

But Gabriella didn't care. She didn't care how the weather was. All she knew was she had to get away from the house. Well, mainly from him. She had to have some space. Some time to think. Time to calm down. Time to relax.

Suddenly Roxy started barking. "Roxy, out!" Gabriella yelled at the dog.

She stopped immediately and looked at Gabriella.

The woman walked to her dog and saw that she had been barking at a man. A man she knew.

"Andrew, how nice to see you again." the brunette said with a fake smile on her lips as she peted Roxy.

"Gabriella, I didn't know you live here."

"Well I don't. I live up in the hills actually." she explained. "Sorry about Roxy. She tends to bark at strangers. Something I couldn't change yet."

"What race is she? Australian Shepherd?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah..."

"I had one when I was four... His name was Bo."

"What happened?"

"He had cancer. Two years later he died."

"Must've been hard for you..."

Andrew shrugged, "That's life. You get born and eventually you die."

Gabriella nodded, "Well it was nice seeing you again, Andy." she added before she walked away with Roxy following her.

Andrew turned around and watched her leaving him. This woman had something special. She was nice, had humor... She was a wonderfull woman.

Three hours later, Gabriella opened the trunk of the Range Rover Sport and let Roxy out of the car as well. The Australian Shepherd was all dirrty from the sand and wet from the rain as well as the water from the ocean.

"Alright, Roxy. Now you're going to have a shower to get all this dirt from you. How does that sound?" Gabriella asked as she peted her.

The dog responded with a loud bark and walked to the front door.

Gabriella opened the door of the Spanish house and let Roxy walk into the closest bathroom. She smiled as she watched the dog jumping into the bathtube. She would never understand why, but this dog loved getting a shower. The brunette got out of her shoes and took off her wet jacket before she walked into the bathroom as well. That long walk on the beach was just what she needed. She was feeling better now, relieved in some way.

After Gabriella cleaned up Roxy, she hoped into the shower herself. The hot water rained down on her cold body and it felt so good to not have to worry about anything for a couple of minutes. This was the only time when she stoped thinking. She stoped worrying as well. She just enjoyed the hot water on her skin.

The house was filled by a delicious smell. And the smell was coming from the kitchen. Gabriella walked into the kitchen with a towel around her head and a robe wrapped around her body. He was cooking. He's a great cook. He always was. It was his way of apologizing. If the tea-thing didn't work.

Gabriella stood in the kitchen, watching him cutting vegetables for a salad. Then he turned around and saw her. "You're back."

"You're cooking." she said.

"Yeah. Dinner will be ready in five minutes." he announced and smiled softly.

She did not smile back. Instead she walked out of the room.

"Come on! You can't be mad at me forever!" he yelled after her.

She did not respond. She remained silent as she walked up the stairs and into the masterbedroom's bathroom where she blow dried her hair.

After blow dring her hair, the brunette stared at her reflection in the mirror. For minutes she looked at herself, not saying a word, not moving an inch. Then she opened the drawer under the sink and got out a squaretic little box. She took a deep breath before she opened the packaging, "Okay, let's find out."

The whole dinner was filled with silence. Neither of them talked. Neither of them knew what to say.

"The Ham is good." Gabriella answered.

"Are we going to talk about this or not?"

"What is there to talk about, Troy? You're not going to change. I am not mad at you because of what you did last night. It's about the principles." she explained.

He shrugged, "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to stop acting like a bachelor when you are a father of two nine year olds."

"But I am-"

"No you are not. And this is my problem. That's exactly why I don't like those events. Because once you take a sip of any alcoholic drink, you change. You flirt like a hero! You don't know who you are any more. That's what alcohol does to you."

"Oh you're one to talk to."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"You are the same! You're just like me."

"That's not true! I used to be like you still are. But I changed. I changed nine years ago and there is no way I am going to change back. I quit drinking alcohol and you should also."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Fine then don't. But you should be more aware of the effect that alcohol has on you." she said and got up.

"Why are you running away again?"

The bruntte turned around, "I am not. I just decided to clean up." she explained.

"Look, I am sorry."

"I know you are. But sorrow won't help you."

"Then what do you want me to do?" he asked her helplessly.

"If I knew, I would tell you." she answered as she walked into the kitchen, holding the dirty dishes. "This situation is just as frustrating for you as it is for me. But the problem is, what if Emily and Johnathan were home? You think they would want to see their father in such a state?" she asked and brushed through her dark brown locks. "It's not just about me, Troy. It is about them as well. And my first concern are they."

"It's not gonna happen again."

"Oh you say that now, but just wait until there's another even coming up..."

"Gabriella-"

"Look, I am not forbidding you to go to those events, but you have to learn how to control yourself. That's what I am asking of you. To have a little more control."

He nodded and walked over to her to embrace his arms around her waist, "Okay."

"Okay..." she said and placed her forehead against his.

"Are we good again?"

"Yeah..." she said and felt his lips on hers seconds later.

New chapter :)

I posted the link to their house in my profile, so make sure you check it out.

Please review.

Xoxo Nic

P.S.: The next chapter is coming out tomorrow :)