Thank you for the two sweet reviews I got :) Enjoy!

Dru


Chapter 2

Remember…

It was Troy's turn to let guilt leak into his body. It wasn't supposed to feel right sneaking Gabriella up to his room. But for some reason it did. His dad was away at this basketball scrimmage camp that he and Chad had gotten out of. His mother was away visiting a friend. Not often was it that Troy and Gabriella were left alone to be 'responsible adults'. So, okay, if no one was home to catch them then it wasn't really sneaking. Therefore guilt wasn't necessary. But present all the same.

"Troy!" Gabriella let out a tiny squeak of disapproval as Troy squeezed her side from behind on their way up the stairs.

"Sorry," Troy said softly, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "I couldn't help it."

"You probably could," Gabriella teased softly back. The house was dark. Dark and empty and somewhat intimidating. "I better call Taylor and let her know where I am." Troy opened the door of his room for Gabriella and handed her a house phone. She slowly dialed the numbers. Taylor answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tay…,"

"Gabriella! Where have you been? Where are you?"

"I went to the hideout," Gabriella said softly, somewhat apologetic. "I'm with Troy now."

"Okay…Are you okay Gabby?" Taylor caught the trace of sadness in her friends' voice. Kelsey's death had been a lot for all of them to handle. Three weeks later, Gabriella was still suffering. She took a breath.

"I will be."

"Do you want to stay with Troy tonight?"

"Yes…I mean…if you don't mind."

"Please be careful Gabby girl okay?"

"Okay…I'll see you tomorrow Tay."

"Night." Gabriella hung up and handed the phone back to Troy. She shivered gently even though the room was warm.

"Can we turn on the light?" she whispered. Gabriella had a thing about the dark ever since that night. Troy was quick to flip the switch.

"Sorry." Gabriella pulled her knees back up to her chest and closed her eyes. Troy crawled up next to her on the bed, resting a hand on her back.

"I love you so much Gabriella," he said. Gabriella sniffled slightly, leaning into him.

"I love you too." Her legs stung with razor burn and bug bites. Her neck was sticky from the humid air, her thick mess of hair tucked up in an elastic band on the top of her head. Troy's hand hadn't moved. She nudged gently into his neck.

"I'm sorry Troy."

"You don't need to be sorry. Everything your feeling I am too. That night…," Troy trailed off. He didn't like going there. Didn't like thinking about sitting in that waiting room with Kelsey's parents and Gabriella as the doctor came out and ushered them into an empty exam room. To tell them they had encountered a 'pulmonary embolism' and Kelsey hadn't been able to pass the clot. Troy didn't know what that was. Gabriella had burst into tears everyone staring at her intently. Obviously she had understood something they were still waiting for an explanation. Kelsey had died. Gabriella had clung to Troy's shirt. Clung to him and screamed. It still rang strong in his ears.

"Anytime…I feel happy…I see her," Gabriella could taste the salt of her tears on her lips. Her head was still rested against Troy's collarbone. "I see her…and I don't feel happy anymore."

"Oh Gabriella," Troy sighed softly. "Kelsey would want you to be happy." Gabriella closed her eyes, allowing two more tears to slip down her face and under her chin. Troy gently stroked her hair.

"What were you thinking about that made you happy?" he whispered. Any opportunity he got to take her mind off of Kelsey was one Troy always took advantage of. Just thinking about it made Gabriella smile again.

"When you and me would play that silly game. Remember? When I ran from you?" Gabriella could feel Troy smile against her before pressing a kiss to her temple and whispering into her ear.

"When I'd catch you?" Gabriella gently hit him.

"Not always." Troy laughed.

"Yes always!"

"No!"

"I always caught you!" he argued, smiling as he tickled her belly like he would after their little game. She gasped and giggled, turning around to fight back. She pinned his shoulders down to the bed and gave him a kiss on the nose.

"Troy…," she whispered.

"Yes?"

"Will I ever stop thinking about her?"

"Of course not Gabriella."

The night was still prominent in Gabriella's mind. The waiting room…it was so cold…so lonely and cold and scary. Kelsey was going to die. There was nothing she could do about it.

Flashback

Gabriella was stuck in a hunched over position, staring intently at the tiles on the floor. She wasn't sure if she was going to be sick. She was surrounded by people who were hurting. Troy had his hand rested on the small of her back and she could feel it shaking slightly. Troy was the center of her emotional world but she could tell he was as scared as she was. She knew Kelsey's parents, sitting nearby, were whispering fretfully to each other but she couldn't make out what they were saying. After a while, Troy assumed the position Gabriella was in, leaving his hand on her back.

"You okay?" he whispered, his forehead touching her temple. She closed her eyes. He was still shaking.

"No. I'm scared." She wasn't afraid to admit it to him. There was so much blood…

A doctor appeared into the waiting room, gripping a clipboard, his knuckles as white as his lab coat. His face was grim.

Please don't be for us…Gabriella prayed. He called them over.

It all went downhill. Gabriella couldn't remember feeling so hopeless. He hadn't said anything but hello.

But she knew.

Present

Gabriella was laying in Troy's protective grasp. He was stroking her hair, slowly lulling her to sleep.

"Can we turn off the light now?" he asked softly.

"No," Gabriella was quick to answer. "Can we leave it on?" Troy gave her another kiss.

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"Try and have sweet dreams Gabriella," he unconsciously held her a little tighter. She closed her eyes breathing in his scent. Knowing she was safe. Knowing she had gotten through another day.

"I'll try."