Troy drove to Denver, speeding through the quiet roads where he knew he wouldn't get in trouble or cause an accident, so he arrived at the hospital in five hours instead of the six-and-a-half hours it was supposed to. He ran to the front desk. "I'm looking for Gabriella Montez."
The woman behind the desk looked at him skeptically, noting the time. "Visiting hours are over Sir, you'll have to visit your girlfriend another time."
He shook his head. "I got here as fast as I could, I had to drive from Albuquerque. I'm her foster brother, my parents had to stay home with the younger two so they sent me up to help her and bring her back. I have all of the paperwork here." He said placing down everything Lucille gave him. The woman looked through it then gave him the room number. He ran up to the room in time to meet the doctor who was exiting. "I'm Troy, her foster brother. How is she? Is she ok?"
The doctor looked at him sadly. "I'm Dr Reese. She's doing well, considering how we found her. She's been staying conscious which is good considering her head injuries. There's been no permanent damage done but just be prepared, she has been... beaten for lack of a better word, to a pulp. That poor girl."
He sighed. "Thank you so much, can I go in and see her?" The doctor nodded in response and went off to continue her rounds. The first thing he noticed when he looked at his girlfriend was the bandage around her head then the matching black eyes she adorned followed by the brusing on her left cheek. His heart broke at the sight. He pulled the chair to beside her bed and took her right hand between his own, placing a kiss on the back of it. "You're safe now Baby, I'll never let anything like this happen again.
He noticed her eyes fluttered a few hours later before they opened and she looked around. He smiled gently as her eyes zoned in on him. "Troy?"
Her dry voice stabbed at his heart and he held her hand tighter. "I'm here Baby." She immediately broke down and he gently brought her into his arms, careful as he didn't know the true extent of her injuries. "I've got you, you're safe."
"I-I'm sorry, I should've fought harder. I should've tried to escape. I should've done something."
"No no no." He lifted her chin gently, a stark contrast to David's treatment making her gasp. "You have nothing to apologise for, you did nothing wrong. Those monsters hurt you, please don't feel guilty about anything."
When she finally calmed, she moved over so Troy could sit beside her on the bed. "How's Livie?"
He chuckled. "I knew that'd be your first question. She's good." Gabriella looked at him skeptically. "Ok she's alright, extremely worried about you and missing you like crazy and I've been instructed to tell her everything that's happening and bring her Bria back to her."
Gabriella smiled for the first time since she'd been taken. "That's my girl. They read out all the messages Troy, they made up all the responses to you and it killed me. I'd never say those things."
Troy shook his head smiling. "Are you kidding Baby, they beat you to a pulp and you're hung up about the messages they sent?" He brought her face in his hands, careful not to put any pressure on her bruising. "I don't give a single damn about any of those messages, what I care about is that I have my girl back in my arms and she's safe and that the monsters who hurt you never see the light of day again."
Gabriella rested her head on his chest. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too Baby. Now I know you're tired and this isn't a conversation to be having in the middle of the night so try and get some sleep, I've got you and you're safe with me." With her snuggled into his chest, he kissed the top of her head. "Sleep well Baby."
Just as Troy was closing his eyes, his phone rang, showing the home number. He answered and Lilliana started speaking. "Troy, you said you'd call when you got to Bria and I got worried. Are you ok? Are you in Denver? Is Bria ok?"
He chuckled quietly. "Calm down Lil, it's ok. I'm sorry I didn't call earlier, Gabriella's ok for the most part, she was awake before but she's sleeping at the moment."
"Will you be home soon?"
"I'm not sure, I'll ask the doctor next time she comes in, if everything goes well, we may be able to leave tomorrow."
"Ok... Lucille and Jack want me to go to bed and said they'd call you tomorrow to see if everything's ok. Can you tell Bria I love her and miss her and hope she's ok."
Troy smiled. "I will Angel, sweet dreams and I love you."
"I love you too Troy, good night."