A/N: Another sad oneshot. Whoo. Not exaclty thrilled with this one, but oh well. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Troy walked up the stairs of the white hallways, his expression remaining the same with each step. He had been here many times before; three hundred and twenty seven days to be exact. He sighed as he continued, following his now daily routine. Swallowing hard, he reached the last step and began to walk on the floor he dreaded. His hand reached out and pushed the doors open, being acknowledged by many nurses behind the desk.
"Good morning Mr. Bolton," one of them greeted warmly.
Troy merely nodded back as he came up to the desk. "Dr. Mason?" he asked.
The blonde nurse looked down at her sheet. "Ah yes, he will be in with you shortly. You can wait in here or-"
"In her room," he finished in monotone, already knowing the drill.
Nodding, she pointed down the hallway. Troy looked down the corridor and sighed. Gazing down at his feet, he began to make his way down the plain, white hallways that seemed to have no end. He never really liked hospitals; they always brought sadness to his life. This was no exception.
His legs lagging along with him every step, he continued down to the very familiar room he had been visiting for almost a year. Troy then turned at the doorway, and stared at the numbers.
324.
How ironic. March 24 was the day she was rushed here, the day that had changed Troy's life for the worst. Taking a deep breath (though he wasn't sure why, he had done this everyday, so why should today be different?) his hand clasped around the metal handle and pushed it open forcefully.
His breath caught in his throat as he saw her, lying helplessly in her bed. The image still haunted him; every day he walked in expecting something different. As if nothing disastrous had happened, as if it were all a dream and he was just waiting to wake up. It hurt too much; seeing her so lifeless, so weak and helpless. A pang of guilt arrived in the pit of his stomach, as he cautiously made his way beside her bed. Sitting down in the chair slowly, he reached out and took her cold hand in his. Tears began to cloud his vision, gazing at her colorless face. Her russet curly brown hair tumbled down her shoulders, resting peacefully. He took in every aspect of her features, wanting to remember them forever. The guilt that had formed in his stomach had grown massively, causing the tears that had threatened to fall come cascading down his cheeks. His closed his eyes, letting two more hot tears fall down his face. It was his fault she was in here; no matter how many times Mrs. Montez and his parents tried to convince him otherwise, he knew it was. Memories flooded his brain; ones he desolately wished would just go away. He rubbed his free hand down his face, wiping away the tears and remembering everything; down to the last detail.
Flashback
"Ah, a 94, I should've known," Troy joked as he took the test that was dangling from the girl's fingers in front of him.
The brunette beside him sighed. "I could've studied more," she mumbled, "I mean, I didn't need to watch that episode of Friends last night."
Troy rolled his eyes as they began to walk down the street. "Gabriella, take a chance in your life. If you keep playing the safe route, it'll just be boring. You know what, don't study for the next test. See how you do," Troy answered.
"So what are you saying, Troy? I need to take more risks?" Gabriella asked with raised eyebrows.
Troy grinned, walking in front of her. "Yes, Miss Montez, we need to spice up your life a bit," he joked, laughing at his own wit.
Rolling her eyes, Gabriella then ran across the street, pausing in the middle. "How's this for a risk? Crossing the street without looking both ways?" she asked, a wide smile playing on her lips.
"Haha, very funny. But that's not what I meant," he replied, looking at her begin to dance around in the middle of the road.
Gabriella stopped and furrowed her brow. "Well then what do you mean?" she inquired, putting her hands on her hips.
Troy looked nervously down the street. "Gab, I'd be more than happy to tell you, but could you please get out of the street?" he asked, still searching the road.
"Oh come on Troy, nothing is going to happen. Besides, you're the one who said I needed to take more risks, remember?" she retorted grinning.
Smiling weakly, Troy nodded. "Yeah, but still-" he started but was cut off by an ear splitting screech come from the corner of the road. Troy's head snapped towards the sound, and saw two cars; it was clear they were racing. One was blue BMW, and the other was a silver Honda Civic. They turned fast onto the street, both going at violently fast speeds. Troy switched his gaze to Gabriella, who was frozen like a deer in head lights. Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked at the two cars heading straight for her.
Everything then happened so fast.
Troy dropped his backpack and ran to Gabriella, but the car's speed was no match for Troy's. The Honda had smacked right into her hip; her body ejecting in the air, rolling over the hood of the car and hitting the pavement with a loud, sick crack. Fear over took Troy's body as he rushed to Gabriella's side. The car that had hit her stopped with screeching tires, but the BMW kept going and sped out of sight. Troy turned over Gabriella, and saw many cuts and open wounds all over her body. Her eyes were closed, and she had a big gash on her head. Panicking, he looked up and saw the driver get out of the car.
"Quick! Call an ambulance!" he shouted, fright seeming to control his body. He moved his hand around her face, brushing some hair behind her ear. Tears consumed his eyes as he started to shake Gabriella softly.
"Gabriella?" he asked weakly, shaking her arm slightly. She showed no response, her eyes remaining closed and her body motionless. A tear escaped his eye as he started to wobble her with more force.
"Gabi? Please answer me," he pleaded softly, now fearing the worst. Suddenly he heard a roar of thunder come from above. Tearing his eyes away from Gabriella, he looked up into the dark, violent sky. It was extremely cloudy, and raindrops had started to fall, leaving spots of wetness across the street. In the distance, he could hear sirens playing loudly; getting louder as the ambulance got closer. Closing his eyes, he let more tears fall and splash onto the pavement. He choked back a sob as he opened his eyes and looked back down at Gabriella.
Sniffling, he tried to wake her up again. "Gabriella, please," he begged, wiping away a raindrop that had fallen on her face with his thumb. Suddenly, the ambulance rushed onto the street, only stopping when it was about twenty feet in front of him and Gabriella. About five men got out, three of them racing to Gabriella and the other two making their way over to the Honda Civic.
"Okay, young man, you're going to have to move aside," one of them said, as the other two pulled out a stretcher.
Troy hesitated, but was then pushed out of the way by another officer. Troy's eye widened in fear as his hand was disabled from Gabriella's.
"Sir, can I please come in the ambulance?" he asked as he watched Gabriella being put on the gurney.
The officer shook his head. "Sorry son, but you have to stay here to get checked out yourself. And I'm going to have to bring you downtown for questioning, to find out the events that had taken…" the officer rambled on, but Troy ignored the man as he watched his best friend get hauled into the ambulance; away from him.
Troy shook his head, trying to erase the memory. His gaze switched back to the girl in front of him. Her face was pale, and many machines were hooked up to her body. He could hear the beeping that signified the beating of her heart, which was at a constant pace. He felt his heart tear a little bit more as he stared at her. She was so white and pale that she could blend in with the sheets. What killed him the most, however, was the fact that he didn't get to tell her how he really felt. He was positive he was going to that day- but instead he was at the hospital for the most of the night, only to be informed that she had fallen into a coma during emergency surgery.
"Mr. Bolton, I see you're here already," a voice said from behind.
Wiping his face clean of tears, he turned around. "Yes," he answered, now facing Dr. Mason.
Dr. Mason was a portly man; having auburn graying hair and a mustache. He had a rounded figure; his white coat could not be buttoned. Dr. Mason pulled over a chair and sat in it with a grunt. Pulling out papers on his clipboard, he faced Troy.
"There's nothing you can do, is there," Troy mumbled, more to the floor than to the doctor.
Dr. Mason frowned. "She's shown no improvement. It's been almost a year," he replied. "The treatment we injected gave no response. I'm afraid she'll most likely stay like this."
Tears prickled Troy's eyes. "What do you mean? She'll never wake up?" he asked, his voice cracking.
The doctor hung his head. "I'm sorry son," he said feebly.
Troy managed a nod as he turned back to Gabriella. The doctor watched as Troy took her hand back in his and started to speak. The portly man then made his way out of his room, leaving the troubled young man alone.
"Gabriella, I know you can't hear me…but I'm so sorry. It's my fault you're here-" he stopped, and hung his head, not able to stop the tears from coming down. He strongly lifted his head and took a deep breath. "You don't deserve this…" he said weakly, looking at her.
Suddenly, the heart monitor began to beep rapidly. Other machines started to go off, making loud, violent sounds. Troy let go of her hand and backed away from the bed as three nurses came rushing into the room. One of them pushed Troy out of the room and brought him into the hallway.
"Sir, you'll have to wait out here," the nurse said quickly. She then turned around and rushed back into the room.
Troy waited impatiently in the hallway, pacing back and forth. His cheeks burned from all the hot tears that had streamed down his face, pouring down nonstop. He saw more nurses and a doctor rush into her room; causing Troy to worry even more. He paused as he tried to look through the window in the door. All the nurses were around her bed, moving fervently. Suddenly, they all stopped, and Dr. Mason hung his head. He then turned around, and began to walk towards the door. Troy's heart was beating rapidly in his chest, hoping for him to tell him some good news.
Dr. Mason made his way out of the room and shut the door quietly, pausing in front of Troy. He took the mask off his face and looked at him with sad eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said softly.
Troy's eyes widened as he looked past him and into the room. "No…" he whispered, as his eyes found their way on the heart monitor, which was now a flat green line.
Dr. Mason put his hand on Troy's shoulder. "I'll go contact her parents," he said before he walked off down the hallway.
Troy stood there in shock, his feet glued to the ground. He watched as nurses began to unplug the machines that were hooked up to her, and begin to shut them off. One of the nurses spotted Troy, then walked forward and closed the door quietly. Troy fell back against the wall, and slid down it slowly. He stared at the door, his face showing no expression. He let his head hit the back of the wall lazily, as he closed his eyes. Now that she was gone, maybe she could actually hear him; rather than in a coma, oblivious to the world. Maybe he could still tell her- maybe it was possible for her to know.
He then spoke the words he had wanted to for so long. "I love you, Gabriella."
