A/N: I'm glad you guys don't want to kill me. I was hoping to have this story wrapped up by now but I guess since you guys still like it, I'll continue.
Disclaimer: Same as always.
May 24, 2008 8:30 am
I heard the door creak open as I surfaced from the dream I was having. I looked over and saw Troy coming towards the bed I slept on with a grin on his face. He sat down and took my hand in his before he started talking.
"How are you this morning?" Troy asked me as I tried to get the fog out of my mind.
"I'm good, I think. How did I get here?" I asked him looking around Hannah's room.
"You and I were talking out on the swing and you feel asleep. I brought you up here and put you to bed." Troy told me nodding my head.
"Oh that's right. I forgot about that. What are we doing today?" I asked him as I forced myself to sit up.
"I called the gang and told them to be over here at 10 so we can talk to them. Then it's your call." Troy told me as he leaned over and kissed me.
"You won't leave me will you? And after the gang comes, I want to go over to my house and start packing everything up." I told him scooting over to where he was.
"I promised when we were in the hospital yesterday that I wouldn't leave you. And I won't. Are you sure you want to start packing up your house right away?" Troy asked me.
"If I don't do it soon, then I won't have the motivation to do it. Beside I'm just going to pack up Tina and Lucas' things and some of my stuff but that's all." I told him.
"Well I let you get dressed and I will see you downstairs." Troy told me leaning over and kissing me. We heard the door open and Hannah came walking in.
"Mom's looking for you Troy. I think you're in some kind of trouble." Hannah told her older brother as we jumped apart.
"Way to ruin a moment, Hannah." Troy muttered as I laughed at him.
"She needs to get up anyways. Now go so she can recover from your ugly mug." Hannah told her brother pushing him out of the room.
"Thanks Hannah." I told her getting up and making my bed quickly.
"Um . . . Gabi. I'm sorry about your mom. But I'm really glad you decided to come stay with us." Hannah told me.
"Thanks Hannah. I know this hasn't been easy on you and I'm sorry if the twins and I have disrupted your life." I told her as she came and sat down beside me.
"You haven't disrupted my life at all. You're the older sister I always wanted. And now we've got more siblings. But you and Troy can still date; mom and dad agreed to that." Hannah told me grinning.
"Thanks Hannah. If you ever want to talk, let me know. Since I'm now the older sister, you can come and talk to me, all right?" I asked her looking over my shoulder at her.
"I will. Thanks Gabi." Hannah told me leaving the room so I could get dressed.
I picked out capris and a tank top. I quickly got dressed and pulled my hair up into a pony tail and then walked downstairs. I saw the entire Bolton family sitting in the kitchen.
"Good morning, Gabi. How did you sleep?" Jack asked me as I sat down and poured myself some juice.
"I slept well. Thanks. And I've come to a decision." I told Dana and Jack while looking at the two of them.
"What kind of decision is that?" Dana asked me as I calmed my racing heartbeat.
"I've decided that you and Jack can raise Tina and Lucas as your own children. I'm 18 and I'm not ready for two 2 year olds yet." I told them.
"Gabi you're still going to be their sister; we can't change that. Thank you for letting us raise Tina and Lucas as our own." Jack told me.
"You're welcome. I was going to tell you tomorrow but I figured today would be better. Now another favor. I'm going to need some help cleaning out my house. Will you guys help me?" I asked them.
"We can. We were planning on doing that on the 26th after the funeral, if that's ok?" Dana asked me.
"That's fine. I'm going to go over there later on today to gather up a couple of things." I told them looking over a Troy.
"That's fine. And Gabi, don't forget we're here if you need to talk." Jack told me.
"I know and thank you guys again for opening up your house to us." I told them going over and hugging them both.
"You are most welcome, Gabi. You're part of this family now." Dana told me as I nodded my head.
I walked out of the kitchen and walked back up to Hannah's room. I rustled through the suitcase I had packed yesterday afternoon. I was looking for something I knew I threw in there. I grabbed the notebook and headed out to the hammock in the backyard. I eased myself onto the hammock and started to swing back and forth. I opened the notebook and stared at the entry.
January 4, 2006 7:20 am
Well this is the big day. I'm starting school at this new school. East High. Who names a fricken school East High? New Years was 5 days ago and I'm all ready wondering if I will ever see Troy again. I'll admit he was good looking and his voice was amazing. Oh well. Mom's calling so I've got to go so I'm not late. Adios!
I smiled thinking how happy I was that we had moved again. I hated my old school and was glad to start again at a new one. I flipped a couple of pages until I found the entry I was looking for.
June 16, 2006 9:00 am
Well today's the day. Mom and I are going to pick up our new member's of our family. Mom did the ultimate surprise and surprised me with siblings. A friend of hers was pregnant and wanted to give the babies up for adoption. She called my mom and mom said yes. I have a little brother and sister. They were born June 14, 2006 at 7:38 pm and 7:45 pm. My sister weighed 7 pounds 2.5 ounces and my brother weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces. They are so tiny and I'm so excited to be bringing them home. Mom and I finished the nursery and it's a moon and stars themed. It's so adorable.
I've got to go. Mom says it's time. When I come home, I'll have two new siblings.
I smiled as I saw Troy walking towards me. He eased himself onto the hammock and looked at me.
"What are you doing?" Troy asked me wrapping his arms around my small frame.
"I'm going through my journal trying to remember the happier times with my mom. I don't want to be sad because then I'll start to cry. And I want to save all my tears for tomorrow." I told him.
"You know Gabi, you don't always have to be the strong one. Crying isn't a form of weakness. It's a sign of grieving." Troy told me as I tried to hold back tears.
"I don't want to be crying nonstop. I was to enjoy life and I don't want to miserable all the time." I told them.
"It's been only a day since your mom passed away. My parents, our friends, and I don't expect you to be your normal self. We don't expect you to be happy go lucky all the time. I'm not saying cry all the time but if you need to, you can cry in front of all of us." Troy told me.
"I'm scared to cry in front of everyone but especially you." I told him looking at him.
"Why are you scared to crying in front of me?" Troy asked me stroking my cheek.
"I don't want to feel weak to you. I want you to think of me as the girl who is never down." I told him in a whisper.
"Oh Gabi I know you and I know the true person I feel in love with. I know you're going to have your bad days but I'm not going to make you weak. I promise." Troy told me pressing his lips to my forehead.
"It feels like I'm in a bad dream and not going to wake up anytime soon. I feel like I'm a zombie walking around the planet." I told him laying my head on his chest.
"It's ok to feel like that but don't feel like that too much longer. How can I make you feel better?" Troy asked me running his fingers through my hair.
"Just sitting here talking is making it better. Thank you for everything you've done in the past few days." I told him looking up and kissing his lips.
"You are most welcome princess. I'll do anything to take your pain away." Troy told me as we sat in silence and the hammock rocked back and forth.
10:00 am
I felt someone stir as I opened my eyes. I heard Troy stretch and his hands came to rest of my arms. I looked up and saw his lazy grin grow wider.
"Did you have a nice nap?" Troy asked his voice full of grogginess.
"Yeah I did. I wonder what time it is." I asked him as he looked at his watch.
"It's 10. Our friends should be here soon. Do you want to tell them here or go down to the park?" Troy asked me stretching some more.
"I don't care. Do you think they know all ready?" I asked him yawning.
"I don't think so. The obituary hasn't been in the newspaper yet so I doubt they heard about it." Troy told me as I looked at him.
"I have to make some calls later on. Will you be there when I make them?" I asked him.
"You know I will be. Who do you have to call?" Troy asked me his voice returning to normal.
"Belle and some other relatives. They don't know about mom's death yet." I told him whispering as the back gate opened and all of our friends came in.
Troy and I got out of the hammock and walked over to where they were. Hugs went around and before I knew it, they were all looking at Troy and me like we had some secret party going on.
"Troy called and told us that it was urgent. What's going on?" Taylor asked me.
"We wanted you guys to know before tonight's paper." I told them clearing my throat.
"What's going on, Troy, Gabi?" Sharpay asked us her voice sharing the fear she was feeling.
"Do you want me to tell them, Gabi?" Troy asked me as I nodded my head. I could feel the tears rushing to my eyes.
"Just tell us all ready. Is everyone ok?" Chad asked me as I looked at all of our friends.
Sharpay was holding Zeke's hand; Taylor was holding Chad's; Jason and Kelsi were holding each other's hands and Ryan was just staring at the ground.
"Gabi and her siblings have moved into my house for a while. My parents have taken custody over her younger siblings." Troy started off.
"What's going on? Why would your parents take custody away from Gabi's mom?" Ryan asked Troy and I.
"Just tell them Troy. They deserve to know." I told him gripping his hand.
"After graduation, Gabi and I went out for dinner and just to unwind from the high of graduation. I took Gabi home and everything was fine. Gabi then went upstairs to let her mom know that she was home and she found her mother unconscious and called the ambulance. Gabi's mom was taken to the emergency room which they treated her and said she was going to be fine. On Friday morning, Gabi and I went up to see her mom and the nurse told us that she had died during the night. Gabi's mom died of a massive heart attack." Troy told our friends as I watched the girls get tears in their eyes.
"Oh my God Gabi I'm so sorry." Taylor and Sharpay told me as they came over and gave me a hug.
"Thanks guys. That's why I've been living with Troy the last couple of days. Her funeral is Monday and I would like you guys to be there just to lend me support." I told them looking around. I felt the tears rush down my face.
"I'll be there." Chad told me as I looked at him. Chad and I had always been there for each other.
I gave him a little smile as the others nodded that they would be there also.
"How are you holding up?" Kelsi asked me as I something caught my eyes.
"I'm doing pretty well, I think. I haven't cried much but I have to be strong for my siblings." I told them.
"You don't have to be strong for anyone, Gabi. You can break down those walls and let people see the real you." Sharpay told me.
"I know but I'm not really in the mood to cry yet. It hasn't sunk in that she's really gone yet. In th next couple of days, it's going to and I'm going to be a mess." I told them.
"What time is the funeral on Monday?" Jason asked me quietly.
"It's at 11. It's going to be held at the Baptist church downtown." I told them.
"Have you tried telling Tina and Lucas what happened?" Taylor asked me.
"They're 23 months old. It's almost impossible to get them to understand when I'm leaving and that I'm going to come back. This would set them over the edge." I told them.
"Now what's going to happen? Are you going to be living with Troy through college or what?" Chad asked me.
"I'm still planning on going to the University of New Mexico but I don't know how I'm going to do housing. I'll probably just live here and go to school. I want to be with Tina and Lucas as much as possible." I told them.
"You know you can't raise two 2 year olds while going to school, don't you?" Ryan asked me as I smiled.
"I do and that's why Troy's parents are going to raise Lucas and Tina like their own. So instead of having 4 kids they're going to have 7 kids now. Well I guess I can't be a Bolton because that would be just wrong to date my brother." I told the group as they all laughed.
"So Troy's parents are going to raise Lucas and Tina like their own?" Zeke asked us.
"That's right. I'm just going to be living here and Troy's parents will help me out with anything I need." I told them.
"That's cool. Now what about your house and everything in it?" Sharpay asked me.
"I think I'm going to put the house up for sale and then put everything in the house in a storage bin. Mom's got certain stuff that she had written out that she wants given to certain people but everything else I'm thinking is going in a storage bin until I can go through it." I told them.
"Have you read through the will yet?" Chad asked me grinning.
"I haven't but its being read later on today by my mom's lawyer and I don't know if I'm going to it or not. Can we talk about something else?" I asked them.
"Sure. Want to go get some ice cream and then maybe a walk around the park?" Taylor asked me as I stood up.
"That sounds great. Let's go." I told them as Sharpay, Taylor, Kelsi, and I all linked arms.
We walked out of the backyard and onto the sidewalk. We started to skip and giggle all at the same time. I looked back and saw Troy blow me a kiss. I returned it before the girls pulled me back to them.
10:45 pm
For some odd reason, I couldn't sleep. I decided instead of waking Hannah up, I went downstairs and sat in the living room. On the table was a photo album. I picked it up and flipped through it. It was the photo album that mom and I had made for Dana and Jack as a Christmas gift. I heard someone walk down the stairs and stand in the doorway.
"What are you doing up? You should be in bed, dreaming sweet dreams." Troy voice pulled me out of a photo.
"Oh I couldn't sleep. So I decided to come make myself sleepy." I told him patting the couch's seat.
"Well you have a busy day tomorrow. You should try to get some sleep." Troy told me as he came and sat beside me.
"I know but I don't want tomorrow to come. I'm afraid of putting mom in the ground and never remembering what she looked like or how she smelt. I'm scared for forgetting my own mother." I told him as tears rushed down my cheeks.
"Hey, Hey you're not going to forget your own mother. You could never do that." Troy told me as I looked at him.
"It's been a day since she passed away and I've all ready forgotten what she smelt like." I told him crying into his chest.
Troy just sat there and let me cry. He ran his fingers through my hair and just said calming words into my ear. I picked up my head and looked at him.
"This is why I don't want you to see me crying. I look like a mess." I told him as he handed me a tissue.
"You look absolutely beautiful. And I don't care if you look like a mess. You're just grieving." Troy told me kissing my forehead.
"Thank you." I told him as I laid my head on his shoulder and took his hand in mine.
"You've got to stop thanking me. I'm your boyfriend and its part of my job description." Troy told me.
"How can I stop forgetting who the person my mom was?" I asked him.
"Tomorrow afternoon we're going over to your house to start getting thing together. We'll grab some of your mom's favorite things and put it in a box. That way when you're feeling sad or missing your mom, you can take these things out and surround yourself with your mom's favorite things." Troy told me as I looked at him.
"That's a good idea. How did you come up with that?" I asked him.
"When my grandpa died, that what we did for my dad. So I figured it would work for you too." Troy told me as I hugged him.
"You're amazing, you know that? I'm glad I'm friends with you and I'm glad we're dating. I don't want anyone else helping me through this except you, our friends, and your family." I told him.
"I'm just glad you're letting me be there for you. I want you to make me a promise." Troy told me squeezing my hand.
"Hm . . what kind of promise is that?" I asked him smiling a little bit.
"If there is a moment that you feel like your slipping or something is wrong, I want you to come to me and tell me. I'll help you through it as best as I can." Troy told me.
"I promise I can do that. I love you." I told him leaning over and kissing him.
"Oh babe, I love you too. Now let's go to bed." Troy told me standing up and pulling me up with him.
Troy and I walked upstairs. He had his arm wrapped around my waist. He stopped in front of Hannah's door.
"Sleep tight, I love you, and if you need me, I'm right next door. Sweet dreams, my love." Troy told me kissing me once again before I placed my hand on the door knob.
"You really are my prince charming, you know that? I love you too." I told him pushing open the door and gently shutting it.
I sent a prayer upstairs and thanked Him for brining Troy and his family into my life. I fell asleep with dreams of our future together.
Ok Readers: I need YOUR help! I need ideas on how Troy should propose to Gabi. I know you guys have ideas and I want to hear them.
As always, FEEDBACK AND REVIEWS are appreciated and expected! A huge thank you goes out to all my readers who have stuck with me. You know who you are!
