Closed Book
Disclaimer: I don't own HSM
AN: I am so sorry it has taken me sooo long to get this up. There are many reasons which are basically, I got really sick and missed a week of school, I had to catch up with my schoolwork and then I also started a new job and am very sports busy as well. I am still very sick whereas if I stand for too long I get dizzy and light-headed but oh well. I'm not going to use that as an excuse for a bad chapter, but well, I told felt like telling you because no one else wants to hear it. Sorry! Anyways…let's see what happens.
Troy Bolton
I got home from my date at around 6am and my parents hadn't awoken so I got off the hook! The date was amazing and perfect and everything just went right. Well besides the whole falling asleep in the middle of the woods thing. But hey! We're still alive, and don't appear to have been raped. Alls well that ends well.
I think I'm going to take a nap. My back hurts from sleeping on the ground.
RING RING. Yes, that would be my cell phone ringing and waking me up from my very nice nap at 10:30 in the morning! Doesn't anyone have any respect? Well, I suppose they don't know I was out all night but still. They should know!
"WHAT!?" Okay, that was a little rude to answer the phone with…
"Troy?" Oh great, Chad. I didn't think he even woke up before noon.
"Chad? What do you want?"
"I was wondering how the date with Gabriella went?" Really? Do guys usually call and talk about their dates? I thought that was a girl thing.
"It was good." That's all he's getting.
"Good? Well what happened. Are you two dating now? Did you kiss her? I need details!" He sounds so much like a girl.
"Details? Since when did you become a girl?"
"Dude, you don't want to know. I will tell you later but right now just give me the details please." I'm very confused.
"Uhh. We are dating. And no, we didn't kiss. We fell asleep in… my, uh…car. So I drove her home this morning."
"You fell asleep? For real? Was the date that boring?" BORING! How dare he call my date with Gabriella boring!
"No it was not boring. It was awesome. We were just tired. Now, I would very much like to get back to my nap that you interrupted!" Truthfully I just want to stop talking to him.
"Okay, whatever. Later." And he hung up. Possibly one of the weirdest conversations I've had.
I'm about to go downstairs when my phone rings again. My god, when did I get so popular?
"Hello?"
"Troy. I need to talk to you." Taylor? Man oh man.
"Uhh, okay."
"Chad just told me about your date with Gabriella and said that you didn't kiss her." Chad? Huh. Oh wait, I get it now.
"Taylor, why did you make Chad call me and get details from my date?"
"Because I wanted to know and Gabs isn't answering her cell. But that's beside the point. Why didn't you kiss her?"
"I don't really know. I just didn't" I really hadn't thought about it. I mean I definitely have thought about kissing Gabriella, but I just didn't think I should this morning. The time wasn't right.
"She probably thinks you don't like her." What!
"She couldn't possibly think that." There's no way.
"Gabriella is a female. Of course she thinks you don't like her. A girl needs constant reminders and a kiss is the perfect way to do so without making her feel like you are just saying stuff to make her feel better!" I didn't really understand much of that.
"Taylor, it's been nice talking to you but I gotta run." And I hung up. I never really seem to enjoy my phone calls with Taylor.
Now she's got me all paranoid. I need to make sure Gabriella doesn't think I had a bad time on our date. I'll call her.
"Hello?"
"Gabriella?" I know it is. I could never mistake her voice.
"Troy? Is that you?" She sounds… hopeful? Confused? I can't be sure.
"Sure is. What are you up too?" How am I going to turn this into a conversation that shows her how much I like her? Wow, what a confusing question.
"Nothing too fantastic. What are you up to?"
"Just thinking."
"About anything interesting?" Yes.
"I think so. It's about something Taylor said actually."
"Taylor? When did you talk to her?"
"She made Chad call and grill me for details and then she didn't like something she heard so she called me herself."
"Details on what?"
"Our date." She chuckled lightly.
"Man, we have strange friends." Very true. "But wait, you said Taylor didn't like something she heard? I thought the date was perfect."
"Me too. But Taylor pretty much yelled at me for 5 minutes about one tiny little detail." Oh come on! Just tell her.
"Really? Do I get to know what this detail is?"
"You know what, I just thought of a better idea. Can I come over right now?" Normally I don't invite myself places but I just got a brilliant idea.
"Uhh, sure." She's confused; that's alright.
I hang up and am out the door.
Gabriella Montez
Troy's coming over. What for? What detail about our perfect date could Taylor be mad about? Wouldn't things be so much easier if there weren't so many questions?
Knock, knock. He's here.
I open the door and Troy is standing there with a big grin on his face. Just seeing him smile like that makes me smile in return.
"Hey." I greet. And then out of nowhere before he even responded I felt his arm wrap around my waist and his lips crash down on mine.
The first kiss, perfect, flawless, amazing, unreal. The type of kiss where you can't think, breathe, move, rationalize, or do anything. The type of kiss where nothing else matters but the feeling of the other person's lips on yours.
It takes me a minute but soon enough my rational mind takes control again. I slowly pull back. Troy is still smiling. How am I going to do this without hurting him?
"Troy. I'm sorry."
"Sorry? What for? That was amazing." It truly was.
"I…I can't" His face falls and my heart breaks.
"What?...Why not? I thought this is what you wanted" I want this more than anything.
"It is."
"Then I don't see the problem." Stubborn Troy is back.
"You wouldn't understand."
"So explain it to me." I am so not in the mood for stubbornness.
"Fine! You want to know why? It's because I'm scared! Terrified! I have never liked someone this way before! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" So I kind of yelled this at him. Sue me.
"And you think I do? Honestly, I have never even come close to liking anyone like this before. I'm scared too! I don't know what's going on. I don't know why I think the things I think or feel the things I feel. All I know is everything is telling me I am supposed to be here right now with you. And you can't honestly tell me that you don't feel the same." He's right, I can't.
"I can't. But I still can't do this."
"Give me one good reason why not?"
"Because. Since you moved here you are the only person I have really been able to talk to. And if you are my boyfriend then I can't go to you with problems." That was a really bad reason. Troy noticed. He gave me a funny look… and then he kissed me again.
Oh what the hell. And I get lost in the kiss. All worries and doubts are gone.
Troy Bolton
Man, that was quite the kiss, er, kisses. Soon oxygen becomes a necessity and we both reluctantly pull back.
This time she is smiling. That's the way it is supposed to be.
"You okay now?" Please say yes!
"Yes. Apparently your kissing skills have magical powers." I laugh out loud and she follows. "So, is this the detail Taylor yelled at you for?"
"Yeah. She flipped out saying you probably thought I didn't like you and that I didn't have fun. I don't really know what she was saying. None the less I decided I'd come here and show you just how much I like you."
She smiled. "I'm glad you did because it would have been slightly awkward trying to have that last conversation at school."
Gabriella Montez
Life sucks. It's complicated, confusing, mean and just plain stupid. People always say this when something bad happens to them. But what about all the good stuff? Does anyone ever factor in all the good stuff that happens to them? Because 90% of the time all the good stuff will totally overrule all the bad stuff. Unfortunately I am one of the 10% where the good doesn't overrule the bad.
You'd think that I would be preaching for the good in life considering all that has happened with Troy lately. But nope. Hear I am being on the pessimistic 'Life Sucks' type people. There is a reason.
After Troy left because he had to go to basketball practice, is when everything went downhill and ended up with me here rethinking everything that happened with tears rolling down my face and my knees clutched to my chest. One might confuse this with the state of heartbreak. But it is not. Not for me anyways. Nope, this is the state of devastation, grief and mourning. The memories are creeping back now and I'm going to relive what happened from start to finish.
After Troy leaves I am in the state of pure bliss. Nothing can bring me down right now. Nothing. Everything is perfect. I'm on top of the world. I could go on… but the phone rings.
"Hello?"
"May I please speak to Gabriella Montez?" Hmmm, not a voice I recognize.
"Speaking."
"Oh. Hello. My name is Dr. Andrea Browne from Albuquerque General." Why is a doctor calling me?
"Okay…" What does she expect me to say?
"Yes, well I was just calling to ask if it would be possible for you to come to the hospital right now." What?
"May I ask why?"
"I would really rather you just came here first and then everything will be cleared up."
"Okay… which ward?"
"I will meet you in the cancer ward." Cancer ward? Mom!
"Does this have to do with my mom?! Is she okay? Tell me!!"
"Yes, this does have to do with your mother. She is here right now but she is fine. Please just come here and I will explain everything." Oh my god. I hang up without saying goodbye and I leave as fast as I can.
I get to the hospital in record time surprised that I didn't get in a car accident. I practically run to the cancer ward where I see a young female doctor standing there probably waiting for me.
"Gabriella Montez?" Yup, I was right. She was waiting for me.
"Yes. Dr. Browne?" I'm surprised I remembered her name.
"Yes. Please follow me." I do as told. She leads us to a small office. I don't want to be in an office! I want to see my mom!!!
"Doctor, please tell me what's going on. Can I please see my mother?"
"I will take you to see her as soon as possible." I was thinking now would be ideal.
"Fine, then please start talking to me."
"Very well. This afternoon your mother was admitted via ambulance. She was at the grocery store when she suddenly collapsed so the paramedics were called. This isn't the first time this has happened to your mother I understand?"
I nod to confirm.
"Well, this time we decided we would take an MRI to check on the tumour. As you know, her chemo has just been completed. Now, normally at the end of chemo session the tumour has at least shrunk in size. This, however, is not the case with your mother. Her tumour has grown. Your mother refused a mastectomy when she was first diagnosed and her decision there has not changed. None the less, at the beginning it looked as if a mastectomy would not be necessary as we thought the chemo would work, so we did not push the mastectomy. Now that the chemo has not worked the cancer has progressed into the later stages a mastectomy would do little to no good." What does this mean? What's going to happen?
"What is going to happen to her now? What are the options?"
"Well, your mother could do a round of radiation but you should know that the percentage chance of that doing much is low."
"What does that mean? Are we supposed to just sit around and wait for her to die? How can you ask someone to do that! You're a doctor there must be another option! Give me another option!"
"Why don't I take you to see your mother now?"
"Fine. But I still need another option."
She walks me to a room where I see my mom sleeping. She's hooked up to all kinds of tubes and wires. They took off her wig so she is lying there bald and broken. She looks so weak and fragile. This isn't my mother. My mom is a strong and amazing woman. She isn't supposed to look like this.
I rush to her side and take her hand. "Mom?" Her eyes open slowly. She looks so drained.
"Gabriella? Is that you?"
"Yes mom, I'm right here."
"I'm so sorry sweetie."
"Sorry? Mom don't be ridiculous. This isn't your fault."
"I know. But I'm still sorry."
"Mom…"
"Did they tell you about the tumour?"
"Yes..."
"And about my options?"
"Yes…"
"Good. Well I guess I should let you know that I've decided."
"Decided? Decided what?"
"To stop treatment."
"What! Mom! Are you crazy?"
"Maybe, but it doesn't matter. The radiation wouldn't do much anyways. I would just be suffering for nothing. It's not worth it sweetie."
And now I can't even respond. I just let the tears roll down my face as my mom strokes my face before falling asleep.
And that brings me here – still crying and still trying to cope. My phone rings. I don't want to talk to anyone right now. I ignore it. It just keeps ringing. I keep ignoring it.
Soon the ringing becomes ridiculous.
"What?" My voice comes out broken, sad, and not right.
"Gabi? Is that you?" Damn it. It's Troy. I try to make my voice sound normal again.
"Yes." I failed miserably.
"What's wrong? Are you crying?"
"No…well yes. But it's nothing. Well actually it's everything. It's just well… I don't know." I couldn't decide whether to tell him or not. I don't want to spring something so heavy on him so early into our relationship.
"Gabi…I'm coming over."
"No Troy. It's late, and I'm fine. Really." Not really.
"Bullshit. I will be there in 5 minutes." And he hangs up before I can protest.
AN: So, I managed to finish this chapter. As you can see some drama is coming up, er well, it's already started. But whatever. It gets good. I think. We will see. I'm not very sure right now. I've lost my inspiration for this story but I'm trying.
Review please? :)