The first thing Troy did when he got to Santa Fe was go to the bus depot, and ask if anyone there had seen Gabriella. Luckily, someone had, and had heard her say that she'd be staying at the motel down the street. Troy thanked the man that had helped him, and drove down the street to the motel. He parked his car in the parking lot, and went inside to the front desk.
"May I help you?" the young blonde woman on the other side of the counter asked.
"Yes, I was told that my girlfriend was staying here, and was wondering if you could tell me what room she's in."
"I'm sorry sir, but it's against our policy to give out information like that." Troy sighed. He knew that it couldn't be that easy.
"Okay." He paused to read the gold nameplate on the woman's chest. "Brenda, let me tell you something. My girlfriend has runaway from home, and is in such an emotional state of distress that I'm afraid that she might do something irrational. I need to get to her hotel room, and bring her back home. It's crucial that you tell me her room number." Brenda sighed.
"One minute please." She disappeared through a doorway behind the counter, and returned a minute or so later followed by a woman in her 40s with light brown hair in a bun, and a pair of glasses perched on her nose.
"You need to get your girlfriend's room number?" the woman with the brown hair asked. Her nameplate said "Cynthia" with "Desk Manager" written under it.
"Please, it's important. She's such an emotional wreck, I don't know what she might do if I don't find her."
"Okay, here's what I'll do. Most guys carry a picture of them and their girlfriend with them. You show me a picture of the two of you, and tell me her name, and if I recognize her, I'll take you to her room, and stay with you there." Troy nodded. He pulled out his wallet, and showed Cynthia a picture of him and Gabriella after they had won the Championships.
"Her name is Gabriella Montez." Cynthia studied the picture closely, and nodded.
"Yes, I remember her. She seemed quite jumpy. Always looking over her shoulder. She checked in around 6:30 this morning. I'll take you to her room, but I won't leave you alone there. I saw her go out this morning." Troy let out a breath of relief.
Troy followed Cynthia down the hallway to a door at the far end of the motel. She slid her key into the slot, and opened the door. Lying on the bed of Gabriella's room was her backpack. Troy looked around in hopes of finding a hint as to where Gabriella had gone. Sitting on the nightstand was a brochure for White Rock Overlook.
"How far away is this place?" Troy asked Cynthia, holding up the advertisement. Cynthia looked at it.
"About five minutes. We have maps at the front desk. Is that all?" Troy nodded. He knew where Gabi was.
Meanwhile, Gabriella stood on one of the rock formations at White Rock Overlook feeling very small and unimportant. Ian was right. She had had her cell phone on for part of the morning, and no one had called her. No one cared about her. What was she doing here? Why did she come to Santa Fe? Santa Fe was so close to home, she should have gone somewhere else, but where? Maybe it would be easier on everyone else if she just dropped off the face of the Earth, never to be found again.
Troy jumped into his car with the brochure for White Rock Overlook and a map in hand. He had to get there quickly and find Gabriella. While on his way to the park, his cell phone began to ring.
"Yeah?" he said as he kept one hand on the steering wheel, and looked at the map that the motel had provided him with.
"I just got off the phone with Rosa, and she said that you left too," Adam said on the other end. "So, she gave me your number, and I said that I'd call you. Where are you?
"Do you realize how secluded parts of Santa Fe can be? I guess you know that because you filmed here."
"You're in Santa
Fe? How did you figure that one out?" Troy explained to Adam the
conversation he and Gabriella had had the night before. "Smart
boy. Should I call Rosa to tell her that you're safe?"
"If
you don't mind."
"Where in Santa Fe
are you exactly?"
"White Rock Overlook. I'm driving
around, trying to find Gabi. I'm really worried about what she'll
do to herself."
Gabriella stood alone with a single object in her hand. She was going to put the world out of it's misery, and do what she should have done a long time ago. She didn't deserve Troy, or her friends, or her Mother. Things were better off this way.
Troy was talking to Adam on the phone when a lone figure caught his eyes. She appeared to be…
"Adam, can I call you back? I think I just found Gabi," he said.
"You found her? I have to call Rosa to tell her. She's worried sick about her. She can't figure out why she just ran away."
"Don't call her yet, I'm not 100 sure that it's her. Oh God, I really have to go." Gabriella was on the verge of taking her own life. "I'll call you back, by." Without waiting for an answer, Troy hung up his phone, parked the car on the side of the road, and ran up to Gabriella. "Gabi! Wait, please, stop!" He cried out.
