A/N: Sorry for not updating for a while. I have been really busy. So here is the story!

Chapter 8

"Gabi, Taylor died on impact," her mother said through tears.

Gabriella felt her whole world come crashing down. For a second she felt like she was going to die too. Taylor was her best friend. She couldn't be dead. She was only 17 years old! Taylor couldn't be dead. She just couldn't.

"Gabi, I'm so sorry!" her mother said interrupting Gabriella's thoughts. Gabriella looked up at her mother slowly. Her mom was crying softly.

"Mom," Gabriella said softly. "I think I want to be alone."

Maria looked at her daughter worriedly. She wasn't sure if she should leave Gabriella alone, especially after she heard the news about her friends. But she obeyed her daughter's wishes and reluctantly left the small white room.

After her mother left, Gabriella started to cry softly. She cried for Taylor, her best friend. She cried for Troy, the love of her life. She cried for Chad, because he lost his only love. She cried for Sharpay, for she might never be able to walk again. Finally, she cried for herself. Gabriella cried until she thought she could no longer cry. She was so exhausted, but she couldn't get to sleep. So she just lied in bed thinking.

She thought about her best friend. Taylor was so full of life and she had so much to live for. She still had to go to their end-of-year dance. Gabriella and Troy were double dating with Taylor and Chad for the dance. They were going to go together in a rented, black limo that Troy and Chad's parents paid for. Taylor had bought this amazing pink-laced dress. Gabriella remembered when she went with Taylor to buy it. Taylor had said that it would "rock Chad's world" when he saw it. He'd never be able to see her in it, she thought bitterly to herself. Just when she thought that she couldn't cry anymore, she started to cry again. She was so afraid. She was afraid for what would come ahead. Gabriella didn't know how Sharpay or Chad would react to this. She wasn't sure what Chad would do without Taylor. He loved her. Despite what Gabriella thought about their relationship, Chad truly loved Taylor. She couldn't help but think bitterly that Chad got his wish about Taylor not going to UCLA. She was never going to be able to accept her scholarship. Gabriella continued to cry.

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"Gabi? Gabriella, are you awake?"

Gabriella woke up with a start when she heard the deep voice in the doorway. She looked over to the cracked door and saw Ryan peeking through it, looking at her. Gabriella mustered up a small smile and said, "Come in, Ryan."

Ryan stepped into the room and slowly made his way to Gabriella's hospital bed. He gave her a small smile as he sat down in the chair by her bed. He looked up at her slightly and said, "You know, I still can't believe that the hospital insists on keeping these rooms so cold!"

Gabriella lightly chuckled at Ryan's comment.

"When I asked for the nurse to turn the A/C down, she told me that it was hospital policy to keep the rooms a certain temperature. Something about keeping the IV's cool." (A/N: I don't really know if that's the reason. I'm making it up. It sounds intelligent though, doesn't it?)

"Yeah," Gabriella responded smiling at her friend. Ryan could be a little strange sometimes, but he was a great friend. He could always find the light in a dark situation. When Gabriella's great uncle died during his back surgery, he told her during lunch that her great uncle was probably in heaven now doing the limbo and having the time of his after-life. She chuckled at the memory, because Ryan had made her laugh so hard that milk spilled out of her nose.

She looked up at her friend. He gave her a weak smile. She couldn't return his smile though. She was worried about him and especially Sharpay. She gave him a pleading look. She knew that he understood what she wanted. He looked down again as if looking at her caused him pain. Some how everything didn't seem funny anymore. Ryan became dead serious and said to her, "Sharpay is paralyzed from the waist down," he said solemnly. He didn't look at her while he said it, but he looked up at her slowly and watched her reaction. Gabriella wouldn't react for a long while. She couldn't think or comprehend what Ryan said. Ryan looked down again slowly. He then started, "Gabriella, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said anything. You don't need this right now. I shouldn't have upset you anymore then you already---"

"Ryan, it's okay!" She interrupted he looked up at her surprised. "Ryan, you are in tremendous pain also. You don't have to be careful of my feelings, because I know you are feeling the same thing. We both love Sharpay. We can be upset. We have a right to be, Ryan!"

She realized that the last couple of lines were kind of harsh, but she didn't care. She just stared at Ryan fiercely trying to prove to him that she could handle everything. She was brave, too. Ryan looked back at her softly. He was surprised at how tough Gabriella was. She was handling a lot right now, but yet she was doing better then Ryan was. Inside, it was tearing him apart. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore. He broke down and started to cry. Gabriella stretched herself out and embraced her sobbing friend. They cried together in each other's arms for a long time. They were crying for so many different reasons. Much of it was from all the stress from the whole accident.

Finally, Ryan broke away from their embrace and said he had to go. Gabriella told Ryan that it was okay for him to crash in her room for the night, but he said that he had to get back to Sharpay. He got up and left her. She was alone again. She couldn't bear the aloneness. She wanted to get out of this room. She hated how the walls were so white and everything was so clean. It was just too damn perfect. Nothing was perfect. Nothing would ever be perfect for Gabriella again. She had to get away from this. Gabriella slowly got out of her bed and grabbed her IV rod. She walked towards the door and left the room. She walked down the hallway towards the nurses' station. She was going to find Troy.